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Offline mode: general feedback

Discussion in 'Release 55 Feedback' started by Kara Brae, Jul 15, 2018.

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  1. Kara Brae

    Kara Brae Avatar

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    I started a new offline game in R55 and it took me a couple of days to complete all the beginner quests in Solace Bridge Outskirts and Soltown and pick up Fiona as a companion in Ardoris. I had an easy time of it because I am not a real new player and know my way around, but I will try to give feedback from a new player perspective. My initial feedback:

    • Recipes have to be purchased at 250g per recipe. I really didn't mind that, but since there are no online friends to teach me beginner recipes and it appears you can't "discover" them by simply placing the ingredients on the crafting table, finding recipes is a terrible hardship.

    • The "rewards" for harvesting resources, looting mobs and visiting the Oracle are truly rewarding and motivate me to keep playing (I submitted separate feedback on this).

    • It was nice to meet Fiona and take her on as a companion because she is indeed a real help in keeping the beginning mobs off my back. (I don't know how much help she will be in higher level areas). I knew where to look for her, however. There should be some Journal entry for newbies pointing out that there is a companion to be found in Ardoris.

    • Resource gathering seems to be faster than in the online game (hooray!). Maybe I am imagining this because I have only been harvesting in tier one zones, but quick harvesting is wonderful. Please make harvesting faster in all tier zones, even if it means that levelling up the Swift gathering skill will result in immediate harvesting without any waiting time. Fast harvesting in offline mode really made me realize what drudgery it is to gather resources in Online mode. Let offline mode be less tedious than online mode.

    • Fast travel: I assume I can still bind myself to only one lot. "Teleport to friends" is not an option, so the offline player is handicapped. Please allow fast travel to any lot the player owns. Even better would be a teleport system like Skyrim has - there you can return to any place you have already been.

    • I was very pleased to meet the grand tour guide in Owl's Head and have embarked on the Grand Tour using the Lunar Rifts. I like the Grand Tour as a way of teaching new avatars to use the Lunar Rifts. But a new player who buys the game on Steam and is interested in playing an Ultima-like offline game won't run into the Tour Guide until much much later, so the Grand Tour needs work which I am sure won't be done. I assume it will be removed.

    • Towns with crafting pavilions never seem to have all the crafting stations. In the online game, this is not a hardship because you can use crafting stations that other players have placed on their property. In the offline game, you don't have that option. Being over-encumbered with carcasses and not being able to find a butchery station to butcher them is NOT fun. Please equip every crafting pavilion with all the crafting stations.

    • Oddities in the offline game are books about POTs, e.g. "Vengeance, a Tour Guide". I don't see this as a major problem, but some poor soul may go off looking for these towns :)

    • All residential districts in all towns are ugly as heck with the undecorated houses and For Sale signs. Please please please make it easier for an offline player to buy up property and decorate lots.


    Unfortunately, the offline game is really not ready for release to new offline players. Just in a couple of days of game play I came across too many inconsistencies and references to online aspects that only make sense to a player who is familiar with the online game. Examples:
    • Chat box (with party, guild, etc. options)
    • Recipe book still differentiates between teachable and non-teachable recipes
    • Prices for lot deeds on vendors vary wildly for the same size lot deed, a remnant of the online system of Tax-free place-anywhere deeds, taxed place-anywhere deeds, POT deeds, etc. etc. Any new player will be totally confused.
    • PVP Castle Arena (Owl's Head)
    • Teleport scrolls (no friends to teleport to)
    In summary, as an experienced online player, I enjoy playing the offline version, but the offline mode needs even more fun and motivation than it already has. In its current state it can't compete with games like Skyrim in enjoyment.

    The greatest potential is in SotA's wonderful housing and decorating system. This has to be made much more accessible to offline players than it is now (reduce prices, eliminate taxes, allow fast travel between properties (or at least to town entrances where the Avatar owns property).

    Online game vexations geared towards slowing progress (lack of fast travel options, slow gathering of resources and crafting, etc.) need to be relaxed so the player can concentrate on exploration, solving quests and beautifying the world.

    EDIT: I should perhaps mention that since I am an early backer who had a village lot deed in my pledge, I was able to claim a village lot in Soltown on the very first day and place a container that I had purchased in one of the Telethons. That was a great advantage, and I don't know what my feedback would have looked like if I were a brand new player living out of the bank without help from other players and without the option to rent a room from another player.
     
    Last edited: Jul 15, 2018
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  2. Womby

    Womby Avatar

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    You have made some excellent points. Your comments on recipes, fast travel and crafting pavilions are especially concerning.
     
  3. Arya Stoneheart

    Arya Stoneheart Avatar

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    The companions are very helpful in offline mode.

    The only difficulty that I have run into is near the end of the game with the Tier 5 zones.

    I am only at AL50 and have done most of the quests so having enough XP from the quests and associated combat can be a problem.

    If double XP was available for offline mode, that might be enough to do all the quests and not have to grind at all in order to finish the story.

    Edit - I was able to finish the story after all at AL 52.

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Jul 20, 2018
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  4. Duke Gréagóir

    Duke Gréagóir Legend of the Hearth

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    Thank you for posting this.
     
  5. Kara Brae

    Kara Brae Avatar

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    Additional feedback after more hours of play:
    • Without POTs scattered across Novia, the overworld map is extremely bare and uninteresting. this is more noticeable in some regions than in others, like when walking from Brittany to Northwood in North Paladis. Travel speed should be increased to minimize the boredom.
    • Devotionals are so widely available in the online game that almost every player picks up their favorite 2 buffs before going adventuring. In the offline game this is not possible because you have to visit one of the virtue cities to find a devotional and travel is highly obstructed in the offline game.
    • Passes/Control points: These are a major obstruction to travel and game enjoyment. In the offline game you can't circumvent them by teleporting to friends.
    • Recipes: I already mentioned that it is a hardship trying to find a recipe you need. This is compounded by the travel blockades (passes/control points). Example of a bad situation: if you start out in Solace Bridge and manage to save up enough gold to buy a row house, you still can't craft a container to put in it because there are no container recipes in the region.

     
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  6. Anpu

    Anpu Avatar

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    Going to disagree with a few of your assessments here. But what I am going to do, is provide a great, in-game way to clearly explain a few inner workings of the game to the player:

    NPC when talked to, specifically states they have a task for them to do. And to speak to them if they have the time and want to do this task.
    If the player asks about the task, they will then be given the following tasks and suggestions:
    • The player is given 2 Recall scrolls.
    • The player is then instructed to talk to the Town Crier of the town this NPC is in, and to use the BIND function to the town.
    • The player is then given 200 Gold.
    • The player is also tasked with using the Lunar Rift to visit Owl's Head and to purchase a Potion of Wolf Speed Recipe from the Alchemy Vendor there.
    • The player is told how the Lunar Rift works. And/Or possibly tells them when it will be going to Owl's Head.
    • The player is told if they bind to the town crier, once they have the Recipe, use the Recall scroll to return to town.

    • The player uses the Recall Scroll and return to town, Hopefully they DID bind to town.....
    • The Player returns with the Recipe and gives it to NPC.
    • The Player is given 50 gold to cover the full cost of the Recipe (250 gold, they were only given 200). Insert witty comment that they didn't give the player enough money.. ;)
    • The Player is given 2 Potions of Wolf Speed.
    • The player is told how to use these potions before going to the Overland (You will run at great speed with these Avatar! etc...)
    • Remove all sparkly indicators.... ;)
    • Quest is finished and cannot be repeated.
    The Player now knows how to Bind to Town, Use Recall Scrolls, Where to buy, and are aware of Recipes, How the Lunar Rift works, and what potions of Wolf Speed can do. Also this is NOT forced upon the player.

    And there we go, all problems solved. :)
     
  7. 2112Starman

    2112Starman Avatar

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    They are giving out a row home now for completing the quests. Maybe in offline they should give a free row deed upon char creation.
     
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