My suggestions to really 'next level' Shroud of the Avatar'

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by sypher001, Aug 2, 2018.

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  1. sypher001

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    Go gently, i posted this in DarkStarrs "healthy criticism" thread but thought i would put here to get input/insight from others in the community considering i am a "new" player but long time MMO'er.

    Let me know your thoughts.

    ----------------------------------------------

    @DarkStarr - I know this is a long post and your time is very valuable, but I hope that you read it in it's entirety.
    @Daxxe Diggler - Shout out to this community member as he put it best i have seen so far, clear, concise, and constructive for a development group to turn "feedback" into "requirements" which is what they need desperately.

    This will be long but will try to keep it as readable as possible to hopefully help this development team and community on some constructive feedback for this game, which i have followed closely since the beginning, i have invested $100's of dollars to fund the 'vision' of the game and bring around a new multiplayer online role playing game that not only pays homage to the Ultima Online and Ultima games of old (of which i have played all except the 1st 2 (i believe i started with Ultima 3 back when i was around 14 yrs old, i am not 42 today).

    I beg of you PLEASE listen to the community and grow this game into something even better, because your vision is sound and we support you. DO NOT go the way of Star Citizen and turn into 'pledge-nazi's' looking to milk every $$$ out of people to keep a sinking ship afloat because that is NOT what i think you are, but perspective out in public is not good right now and we want to help correct it! This post is if *I* was in control of your product road map this is my manifesto how i would approach it.

    The rest of my intro about myself will summarize:
    • I am new to the game (so i am part of your target demographic)... i 'tried' to play off and on in beta, but wracked up maybe 4-6 hours total before i put it down, but NOW i am in it (about 32 hours in thus far). I decided waiting on the UI overhaul wasn't going to keep me from trying it.
    • I play in UWD (ultra wide screen mode) on an Acer Predator 30 inch, with GTX 1080, and other solid stats in my gaming rig.
    • 42 years old, i am a development manager for a fortune 500 company. I started as an engineer/developer long ago and moved into mgmt.
    • Have worked in gaming, but not in gaming industry today even though still passion of mine.
    • Played most MMO's (at least 80% of them) since days of early MUDs and Meridian 59, and Ultima Online started it all (no Everquest and Wow didn't start it all but EQ led the charge and WoW made it accessible to everyone!)

    Development/Executive Summary
    • New User Experience - New scenes and quests are great, more detail and 'hand holding' into early features and systems needed (experience/skills, hotbars, enchanting, encumbrance, inventory mgmt.
    • Performance - Performance has been solid was painful in beta, but i personally don't have any problems thus far 30+ hours into the game, loading screens are MUCH better, console mode is amazing! and makes game play completely different and better in my opinion.
    • Accessiblility - Similar to NUE, accessibility mostly around inventory mgmt, maybe adding default 'small' bags in inventory to start... adding some drag/drop features, and some tweaks to UI mobility and the Journal (quest log) would go a long way to not scare off new users, its alot and daunting. You don't have to hand hold everyone, but usability IS a factor in today's consumer services.
    • Lore, "Surprises/Exploration", and overall Visualizations - This is probably the best part of the game, lore rich, text driven it takes getting use to but is VERY cool, with some minor tweaks you could balance old school vs. new school and lead to a whole new gen of gaming. Love that there are tons of hidden quests and locations and stuff which is what I REALLY want, its my #2 feature i want in MMO/RPG's... i love detailed systems that grow as i get deeper into the games (not everything all at once) and LOVE exploration and secrets so kudos!
    • User Interface - This is what needs the most work... Skills pane needs complete overhaul, looks awful, very 1998, pay homage but don't dumb down just for nostalgia, character pane, inventory mgmt, all needs some tweaks, but steps made thus far are in right direction.
    • Presentation - Love the vision, the custom concept art, the in game scenes, the overhead map, all great, REALLY great.... graphics have come a long way... just looking for some next steps and polish to really make it shine and accessible to the 21st century gaming.
    • New User Campaign and Marketing - This needs alot of work, seeing only 10's of peoples playing game at a time is a shame, i hope this grows, external community grows, more streaming and community centric communication outside of just the dev streams (which is a good start!) .... and hopefully get phsyical copies of the game on store shelfs at some point but NOT UNTIL IT IS READY!!!!! Fix the things below, and other bugs and stuff before it goes out for gold image/release.
    • Early Release Mindset - Early release is good in some ways and POISON IN OTHERS! At some point you guys need to step out of the early release mindset, you can keep pledging and campaigning, but its should NOT be the overall capital ($) goal(s) of your company to keep things alive is getting more money from your existing players... eventually the money will dry up and people will resent you for it.... you can already see some of the vitriol out there today. Step 1. Build a road map. Step 2. Stick to the ROADMAP!. Step 3. Execute, Test, and Implement the Roadmap. Step 4. Fix the NUE, gold image, expand user base, and get game in big box stores. DO NOT work on "Story 2" or whatever you call it until Story 1 is polished, and ready to go, then take all the resources you put into DEV streams and get them hustling for public domain and new users.... cleaning up Steam comments.... bring in new streamers and provide incentive them to review your game, get the MMORPG, IGN, Gamespot, etc. to take a 2nd look at you guys.
    • Loot - I haven't gotten deep enough to know the various qualities of loot tables and 'unique' gear, some things i like what i hear and what i have read from patch notes across past 10 releases it has improved. So maybe just clean up end game loot tables and provide some long term 'artifact' type gear to go for to keep invested. One thing though finding just a 'ring' which you find is an artifact is cool.... but can be easily overlooked so my suggestion would be to either put in some sort of lore/quest mechanic to 'unlock' "Un-identified Artifacts" (take it to this person to hear the back story and unlock) could be simple enough, or maybe as simple as in tool tip there is something generic and the click a button to clean it or unlock and a particle effect is triggered and unlocks the full lore and powers of the item.... again just should stand out and feel like an EVENT.
    That being said let me get into the hopefully constructive feedback that if followed or at least built into requirements definition phase and continuous development that Shroud is built on will make this much more accessible to community as a whole.

    1. Re-read @Daxxe Diggler input on this thread, (Tab 1), i will try not to rehash those such as focusing on card and feeding and current state of the game instead of new content for time being. I know its hard as a development group, with think "well the next feature will fix everything", but in reality going back and fixing the old stuff will fix everything (figuratively) but will provide more value long term.


    2. I know the New User Experience (NUE, as much of a bad word that is!) has been talked about but this is one want to rehash slightly just to add a few nuances from my perspective, since i am a new player and what was difficult for me from the start.
    • a. Console mode vs. Cursor mode - i say this with embarrassment (being a veteran gamer) so learn from my mistakes, i wanted this game since release.... as i said i dabbled in beta, but now i have over 30 hours... and i am not joking when i say that i HAD NO CLUE CONSOLE MODE EXISTED until 30+ hours in the game... and it was literally a game changer. Playing completely in cursor mode is clumsy and slow and not the core way game should be played... The pacing of the game changed from night to day... suddenly i could kill multiple mobs at same time... not having to hold down right mouse to move around and pan the camera... being able to use 'interact' key to loot and the rounded/gear icon was so much better than the tiny default mouse pointer. please ensure there is at least an 'in game' walk through education session for the differences of console mode vs cursor mode.
      • Summary: Highlight benefits of cursor mode more, the tiny default pointer, is painful to interact with stuff, the "dull green" for interacting, or "dull blue" for looting certain mobs is painful and a strain to gaming long term.
    • b. 1st quest line in new scenes - Last quest is broken since Release 52, cant enter into the last mirrored portal even with the key shard. Very much a turn off for new users when 1st main quest series is broken, please prioritize.
    • c. Feature detail and education - i know as game designers we want our systems to stand on their own, and be intuitive; but also to be easy to start and difficult to master. I have no specific preference, right now game really depends on community and 'wiki-like' content for some features, which are still good, but for some key things (like a. above, console mode) you need in game representation to educate users. Doesn't have to be a quest but at least some modals (popups) and walk through.
    • d. Key basics that need to be outlined (@ minimum) - Console mode, Key differentiation between Active Hotbar and Passive Hotbar (what can and cant be done, and some skills CAN go on passive bar but you have to be out of combat, etc). Skills can be used multiple times without global cooldown (game takes a revolutionary approach to global cooldown and cooldown in general allowing some skills to be used multiple times), detailing that more than just in the skills window being (<this skill> X 3) i didnt even understand this till 16+ hours in game. I do like the 'pie chart' type cool down but maybe a text indicator in bottom right of each icon might help reinforce that too... (Icon of skill, + the pie slice cooldown + 1/3, or 2/4, etc to show you can use this more than once during cool down).
    • e. Skills and Experience - Experience is a complete mystery i am 'starting' to get it thanks to the community outlining things like the 80/40 method, and pooled experience, but things like unlearning skills, or training too many skills at once... and/or questions like "Can i get GM in everything?" or "do i need to balance (x) amount of skills?" are not answered in any measured fashion in early game.
    • f. Intro to advanced features - quests like how to enchant weapons - i turned the quest in but learned absolutely nothing about how to enchant something.... needs work/polish. Combat deck is just mind blowing complex to master i still don't understand half of it.
    3. User Interface - This is the #1 thing that kept me from really digging into the game, i am completely serious. And i know this is touched on SO MUCH, but want to state my case. As a gamer and a developer myself, the main problem i have with it is the User Interface is the 'gateway' into the game. So in my mind when i see an old-style UI, or it not receiving enough *flare* into it, it makes me the think the rest of the game is going to cut corners, or not take key things seriously. Its subjective i know but i know many many other people that feel this same way. It doesn't "fix" everything (hell , even Tabula Rasa had a great UI), but it is important non the less.
    • That being said, lets dig into key things that would make a HUGE difference to me, and hopefully others in community.
      • a. Usability / Manageability - It has gotten better i will give you that, some tweaks that were made has made it more approachable, but here is a few suggestions to increase adopt ability:
        • Highly recommend having some initial basics, walked through with the user and granted for free for new characters, things like.
        • Think users should get like 2-3 small bags in their inventory to start, but small capacity to keep other bags viable... (maybe like 3-10 slot bags). and walk users through moving their 'equipped' tools into the 1st bag, making a bag for loot, or misc "junk" like books and notes to help with organization. The inventory management is DAUNTING for new characters so much junk and need intro to encumbrance.
        • Add the ability to drag and drop items into the bag without opening the bag (drop on the icon/text).... OR for bags in your inventory the ability to be able to turn them into UI 'elements' on the screen.. for example, if you grab the bag and drag it into the playspace (out of inventory window) it could make an icon, that you could just 1-click on to open the bag, and you could drag those elements around bottom of your screen.
      • b. Intro to the UI - NUE should definitely focus on outlining the major screens and what they do, main one that need alot of details for new users. It has gotten much better though.
      • c. Skills Panels - Needs complete overhaul, presentation wise it looks dated and clunky, i like the overall vision of the 'tabular' approach with the service map type chain view but the icons, fonts, low-res lines connecting each skill etc. Just needs a presentation overhaul.
      • d. Icons for Active/Passive Bar - This one is tough because overall i like the overall style-guide for these icons and some are much better than others don't get me wrong... so this is 'subjective' for sure, but some of the icons look rushed, or clunky or terrible pastel coloring and background shading, and i do not want to be rude, but it makes me feel like the graphic designer either took shortcuts or wasn't quite skilled enough for a top end game (i apologize, i promise not trying to be rude just way i feel). Again this one is subjective, some may like ALL the icons.
      • e. No ability to change the opacity settings on your own UI elements. - self explanatory, EACH window (inventory, skills, system menu, etc) should have independent opacity slider to change as wanted from 0 - 100%, even adding in ability to change some customer background colors or styles (marbled, etc), would be nice!
      • f. No ability to move UI elements outside of the compass and skill bar. Again, i am new so maybe there is a way to move the User panel (hp/focus), the quest tracker, etc. More customization options for the UI to set things up your own style would be a huge relief... Black Desert Online does this VERY well, and realize in online mode can't use mods so having a built in system in game would be huge help.
      • g. Tooltips could use some love - consolidating some info, and just general presentation instead of using the blocky 'text box' of text, perhaps a rounded edge popup, or something a little more stylized. Again this one subjective. the holding the CTRL key is a good touch but had no clue you could do that till community told me. suggest put a little icon bottom right (Ctrl + hold)

    4. Journal / Quest Tracker - Let me start with, i like the 'old style' of the journal, the Ultime Online homage, just wanted to preface. That being said, Journal is DAUNTING for new users.... by time i got out of Highland Outskirts, and into Highland, i had like 15+ quests, i cant imagine how daunting it will get in another 20-30 hours) Here are a few suggestions:
    • a. Make the headers/heading for each quest stand out (color code, bold, etc) and put a mini mouse icon on it so its clear you can click on it. Maybe when you click on it right now you can only "hide on HUD" but perhaps can have an API that links back to the Map and pulls up the location, or have a modal with a verbose mode that pops out to show some of these requested details below.
    • b. Also would suggest adding some basics to the 'narrative' part of the quest journal, having a few bullets under the header with : Quest Originator at a minimum and maybe Quest Originator Location: Highland (for example) would be helpful...
    • c. Add a 'search' tool to the Journal to be able to search key words at least would be really helpful to navigate the huge amount of data new users get lost in..... there is a CLEAN way to make it better but not dumb down the narrative based experience too..... there is a balance.
    • b. Move-able / Adjustable Quest Tracker - as mentioned above being able to move this around is one thing, but also being able to drag and expand to show more quests would be a HUGE help.
    5. Launcher + Intro Starting Screen (triangle/PLAY button, etc) - Needs complete overhaul, i completely understand the placeholder launcher during development. But just like the UI, i completely thought during pre-launch phase the new Launcher, and new UI could come into play but it never did. Just like i said with UI being the gateway to your game, as simple as it is the launcher also makes me think of developers coding games in VB .NET or something extremely legacy. Put a 'pretty face' on your launcher, with informative links (like videos or wiki links into New User Experience education) Release Notes, etc. and slap a pretty image on it.... its not a hard dev task but pays equity in the end and provides value add. I like the custom 'concept art' graphics, but again, presentation elements need a lot more work and MMO flare.
    • a. Some sort of tool tips or presentation-based way to outline the differences in Online and Offline mode for people would help New Users.... it sounds simple (offline and online) but in execution it has a ton of key differences that need outlined.

    6. Character Window (c) - again i love the homage to UO, and think there is a balance to keep the spirit but yet clean this up... specifically for UWD modes this screen is WAY to small, and the item icons in the character window are just so hard to visualize and interact with. Not a deal breaker, but would like a little polish on this frame to make it a little cleaner, something like changing the little 'archway' background - tweak the opacity or remove/tweak all together, make icons a little bigger, or add in a drop down setting to be able to show small, med, large icons in this view that adjust according to resolution or something like that.... that way in larger resolutions you can tweak this... (even for smaller resolutions, they may want to LOWER the icon sizes etc.). Frame sizing in unity can facilitate these dynamic sizing.

    7. Dialog Window with NPCs - Overall this has come a long way and its functional and matches the overall vision of a narrative-based game in an online RPG environment so mostly i like it... just a few minor suggestions. For new users there are some 'common' key words that are always used, personally i would like to see these pulled out to the side and fairly static, based on the "NPC-type" (merchants have a set keywords, narrative/quest npcs have their own, etc.) and the goal isnt to auto pilot the system or dumb down anything, but to make it more accessible to new users and to get people unfamiliar with a text-centric narrative give them some 'bread crumbs' into the system. Secondly, keeping the narrative specific items on the bottom as is, is great and sorting them by relevancy is important (putting main ones to the far left). Other than that just some minor graphical tweaks may be nice. All subjective.
    • Here is a link to a mock example of what i mean for dialog window.. be gentle its in 3d Paint lol... but you will get the gist.
    • Link: - wont let me link for some reason, basically dialog window should have a bar at top or on left side with 'static' words that are applicable to NPC-type to speed up the game but still keep it narrative based.. (bank, buy, train, etc).
    Those are the main things that to me would change the game from average to AMAZING.... see my executive summary for the positives i cover, but overall the visualizations, the lore, the exploration all those are top notch in my opinion and i like the vision of the game.... taking these things next step and honing focus could really make this a stellar title.

    8. (Added) The Deck System - i still have not had much experience with this at all, my "assumption" without seeing anything explained in game, was that it was a mix of combat/passive profiles, or a semi-macro system you could switch in and out of. And think that is partially the case, but this needs A LOT more detail for this to be understandable from a end user / consumer perspective. Community members such as Lace Delamorte have helped educate me and i am sure there is more resources out there but i have much more to learn. Differences in stacking, charging, etc, and how that works needs explanation.

    9. Melee Combat Effects having 'weight' to them - Particles and melee and magic overall have come a long way in improvement, i think only thing really holding back now is for hits to have 'weight' to them. Look at Black Desert Online, hands down i think best 'combat' system for online games.... SotA doesn't have to have all that FLASHY effects, but when you hit and make contact with something it should resonate... goes a long way for a game where you spend a ton of time fighting. you want to feel like the Avatar, like a hero

    10. Harvesting System - its great, not looking for much here... mostly when it comes to "trees" specifically cant figure out which ones you can harvest, and which ones you cannot... some more obvious visual indicator would help noobies.

    11. Combat Advanced Tactics - so far i had to learn also outside of the game that you can HOLD BUTTONS to charge them... took over 40 hours before i learned that .... adds a whole new dynamic to some skills... needs to be clearer.

    ************************************************************************************************************************************************
    Kudos to the entire team, Dev, QA, Release, Product, Marketing, Sales, Lord British, DarkStarr, all you guys, we DO VALUE YOU!
    ************************************************************************************************************************************************

    I was a NAY-sayer, now i want to be a YAY-sayer!
     
    Last edited: Aug 2, 2018
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  2. Floors

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    This is a better place for it. Thank you for y0ur thoughts, I did read it.

    There have been many many similar posts over the years to this so if some responses you get are not super enthusiastic that is probably why.
     
  3. Max Bennis

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    Personally I heartly agree with @sypher001 opinion. Very detailed and valid indeed!
    Thank you for taking time to post this :)
     
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  4. Xul Rasha

    Xul Rasha Avatar

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    This is the first I’ve heard of console mode myself. Well said.
     
  5. jammaplaya

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    Excellent post. Though I will say that breaking down your post into singular topics posted in the appropriate sections may be a faster method for getting the changes in that you want the most.
     
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  6. Canterbury

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    @sypher001 That's the sort of stuff that should have been done - and done competently - in the first place. So I am all over your post. It's great.

    I just fear at this stage of the game's history, getting this stuff done at all - let alone getting it done well - is a bit of a dream. I don't see it happening.
     
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  7. sypher001

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    No sweat man, just speaking my truth, its all subjective in the end. I don't mind if there is negativity toward it, i know community is pretty hurt in some ways by this stuff not being done out the gate. All we can do is move forward :)
     
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  8. sypher001

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    I am with you Canterbury i agree 100% which is why i hesitated to even jump in and give things a try.... i am pleasantly surprised i like more than i thought i would!

    I came from Conan Exiles not long ago, completely different game, and i wont be going back after i see how Funcom developers handle their defects.... by putting out more DLC.... those guys are crooks.... i hope Portalarium come through for us in the end!
     
  9. sypher001

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    good point, open to suggestions, new to the forums completely, main thing that stood out from combing reddit for awhile was DarkStarr finally speaking up on that other thread so i figured i should jump in :)
     
  10. jammaplaya

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    In the past, posts with multiple topics had a tendency to derail, which hindered progress due to moderators therefore not having time to read and relay the requests to the developers. Hence, we were asked to post with a more singular focus on individual topics.

    Nothing wrong with your summary in my opinion, and these days the forums are much healthier so it may not be needed anymore. We shall see!
     
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  11. Rufus D`Asperdi

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    Judging from the reactions, I'm sure there are many fine ideas in here... I just find it very difficult to consume such walls-o-text.
    Many of your bullet point headers align closely with the current focus of the team, however.
     
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  12. Greyfox

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    OP, very good points and agree with each. As a veteran of SOTA and actively playing for years now there is a bit more perspective.

    Frequently incredible promises are mostly delivered only to be destroyed. Examples of death by a thousand cuts.

    The latest is the Brewing system. Mostly praised upon release, mostly hated now due to nerfs. I absolutely understand the need for nerfing a system that introduces too much currency into the economy. Yet the methodology is what drives people away. Eventually, I'm certain the Developers will fix the economics of brewing. Unfortunately once a player leaves they are very unlikely to return.

    Taming is another incredible promise delivered. Upon release the taming system was very likely a bit overpowered, especially at lower levels. The system was nerfed to the point it was worthless. Players who loved the idea of taming left. Subsequent patches eventually brought taming back to a mostly, although still under powered capability for the investment. Consider all of the hours wasted developing, balancing and rebalancing, only for the end result to be a loss of players over such an incredibly promising feature to the game.

    Rapid player travel. We were promised regional markets controlled by requiring overland travel that would be difficult and enforce regional economies. The cost of this system was limiting player interactions and making travel mostly tedious and unrewarding. Rather than realizing regional economies is mostly a dream the requirement pushed forward at the cost of player retention. Regional economies can work in a game like EVE Online but the systems of PVP must be in place and enable players to grief and control points of access. The majority of this gaming community couldn't handle such systems and would leave.

    Far too frequently abilities, content, and capabilities are introduced into the game which players truly enjoy. They are later nerfed, players leave, and later rebalanced to become useful again. Along the way, players leave. Control Points were a good example of the too rewarding, nerfed to worthlessness, rebalanced to only partially worthless. Magic spells in each tree another example. Countless examples, veteran players still remaining will know.

    Too much effort on PVP, even the limited amount spent so far is TOO MUCH. The Duke's Challenge set up was incredible. Only to turn out as a PVP tournament. Even with the promise of a TAX FREE POT CITY DEED there still isn't enough participation. This should be the final sign continuing down the path of making SOTA into a PVP game is a lost cause. I know PVPers VERY well. This is not a game that will have success in that realm. Quite simply the systems and game engine/development in place won't maintain a PVP population. Crowfall made Unity (mostly) work, but their graphics are far less demanding. I do like the new arena, it does have potential to give a niche PVP experience and keep a contingent mostly happy. The danger is if skills and abilities are nerfed for all in order to appease PVP balance that will never be achieved. Even enormous teams with millions to spend struggle with PVP balance. Our small but talented development crew with very limited funding will absolutely fail if PVP become a focus this late in development. Turn all those incredible zones like Blood Bay into PVE only. All PVP goes into the Arenas, period. Balance within the arena when time permits. You can't cater to 1% or so of your customer base and expect to stay in business. Your bread will be baked and buttered by PVE people.

    Overworld PVP and PVP in PVE zones make people angry. Players leave when they get ganked and the PVPers leave when there are no sheep to slaughter. Once a player leaves, they rarely return. PVP in the new arenas, or player POTs, no more "PVP" zones developed. PVP nearly killed UO and UO had absolutely no competition. A team the size of Portalarium with current funding has absolutely no hope of creating a viable open world PVP system. Maybe later when we get a constant 100k+ player population. PVP is going to gank SOTA if things are not changed quickly.

    Player generated content as promised will absolutely save our game. Stop making the current small player base angry as described above. Keep working hard but smarter based upon lessons learned. The future of this game depends upon the immense creativity of the development team. We all see insights into incredible talent. Focus on what you are good at and why we donated to fund this project, your creativity.
     
  13. Cyin

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    Greyfox thank you for this post. It states just about everything I feel about Sota currently. I love this game and its community, but spending my money on Sota when it will more likely go to another PvP zone or PvP event really makes me reconsider supporting it through spending. If all the Shardfalls and Ruins and the Duke's Challenge were popular features that brought us new people to the game I would not have these reservations, but these scenes seem like ghost towns and the fact that you cant get 30 players interested in the Duke's Challenge even with a totally awesome prize tells me my feelings may be spot on. Please reconsider making PvP such a top priority and put that energy and money into making it a game people want to stay in for years. This was not meant to bash the Devs or PvPers, but is a plea to stand back and see the game from the perspective of someone who has funded heavily into the game and would love a reason to continue my support.
     
  14. Fungus

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    Some excellent points sir, good job.

    I disagree with some feedback below especially on too much effort on PvP and would counter that with too much time and resources wasted on fluffy stuff that in my opinion adds no real value to the game or brings in different sets of players that quite frankly have been driven out with so much neglect. It'll be a tough ask to get them back into the game but like role players SotA needs ALL player types and to pigeon hole it as RP only will kill it faster than you can say episode three!

    PvP has had very little love within the game and it's a big part of this type of gaming genre especially as it's primarily NOT an offline game, if you want to see revenue generation at it's ultimate best look no further than Fortnite, a completely different game but no material loss but a micro transaction heaven that could in SotA's case help drive the dev of more fluffy stuff. If you dislike the comparison to Fortnite look at ESO, it's got subs, micro transactions, DLC to buy or not, lots of crafting add ons, RP for those who love that style of play and yes PvP which attracts other player types. Its played by substantially lots more people than SotA is currently though it too had sticky times early days but the dev's re-worked it magically and now it caters for all player types nicely, so much so I've subbed and I just want to kill people on a level playing field or in the down times join a proper group for dungeon fun, quest in the DLC available.
     
  15. Gustach

    Gustach Avatar

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    I agree with most of the points in the post, already liked it. I am actually replying because I want to know more about that "console mode".
    What is that? How do I enable it?

    Thank you.
     
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  16. Lesni

    Lesni Avatar

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    You are right.
    ONCE A PLAYER LEAVES THEY SELDOM RETURN.

    Adjustments and 'balancing' should be in FRACTIONS of a percent.
    Balancing should not be even considered if it is over a 1% change. But that falls on deaf ears.

    Since my first pledge I have seen much of this 'balancing'. It has changed the game that I knew.
    I have purchased several founder accounts from players that have quit the game. I am amazed when I look at their avatar. I'm not surprised by the avatar stats but by their friends list.

    Their friends list is made up of avatars that have not been on the game for YEARS. I suspect they have quit. When I see an avatar with 40 friends on the list and only 2 have been online in the last 12 months, that tells me the others have quit or become so upset that they just don't even log on anymore.

    I'm not sure what the solution is to prevent the game from being 'balanced' further but it needs to STOP.

    In my business, my clients would not tolerate my programming being changed so drastically in EVERY release. I fear that many of the former players have opted to go to other games for this reason.
     
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  17. sypher001

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    Understood, thanks for feedback. I realize most things are just a compilation i am sure of what other people have been suggesting for months or years, all good :)
     
  18. sypher001

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    Yah absolutely agree... fine tuning (or micro tuning) is a mixed bag and its quicksand for developers. I feel for them for sure because its tough trying to find that balance because its never 'perfect' its constantly evolving. They just have to make sure the systems they are building behind the scenes, the analytics, the tooling, help them tune more accurately and faster, and have proper unit and system testing cycles and trust your QA and Release teams.

    I haven't been in the weeds on the tuning aspect since im just recently actually diving into the mechanics, but glad community members are looking out at it and giving them constructive feedback
     
  19. sypher001

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    Morning Gustach, i heard it from someone else, that 'may' not be the proper term, but other games have referred to it as such.

    How you can enable it is:

    Step 1. Go into your system menu > controls > set your "Toggle Cursor" to whatever key you wish, i HIGHLY suggest setting it to "Tab" key.
    Step 2. You may want to change your "interact" key to something like "E" or "F" i personally like "F" because for my hotbar i change 5, 6, 7 to Q, E, R respectively as easier to reach with left hand.
    Step 3. Save and exit out

    Using tab will switch from cursor mode to console mode... allows you to just move and lock your camera without holding the right mouse button.... also changes the cursor for interaction to a better icon (a colored gear icon instead of arrow), and you can just point your guy/camera at something and hit "E" or "F" (whatever you set your interact key).... once you get to use to its SOOOO much easier and more responsive than cursor mode.

    Enjoy!
     
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  20. Woodchuck

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    Totally agree with this. Balancing/nerfing something released into the game is very upsetting.

    I don’t PvP or have engaged in serious PvE combat yet so I can’t speak to balancing/nerfs done to combat skills.

    The bulk of my month and a half playing time has been spent on the crafting side of this game. When brewing came out I invested heavily into it. Now with a wave of the nerf wand, I’ve lost all that I put into it.

    The point I’m trying to make is, @DarkStarr @Chris do your <insert here> homework. Expect the worst. Expect any new item, new loot, new whatever that you introduce into the system WILL BE POTENTIALLY EXPLOITED TO THE FULLEST.

    Don’t release anything until you do this homework, do your due diligence.

    Don’t release something half baked, half tested, half considered, then later wave your magic nerf wand because YOU DIDN’T DO YOUR HOMEWORK.

    As far as from a player’s perspective is concerned, we played the game within the allowed game mechanics. Now we got screwed over because you failed to see that your design and pricing could be exploited.

    And you had the gall to blame it on the player base during the livestream saying “This is why we can’t have nice things in the game”.

    Really??

    How about, due to your lack of foresight and thought, and/or homework/testing, you released something exploitable into the game.

    This shouldn’t be new or come as a surprise to you. This is by and large, the UO player base. Exploits are their specialty. You have no excuse.

    You dropped the ball, blamed it on the player base, and waved your nerf wand.

    One wonders why such a great game can turn even the most ardent of players away.
     
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