Open interview about SotA

It seems that the devs of SotA think that I am on some kind of crusade against their game, trying to damage it in some „organized group“. First I want to make it clear, that I am not part of some organized group trying to damage SotA. Just because I write on different websites including Reddit doesn‘t mean I belong to some group of people who organize themselves to constantly attack the game. I don‘t know if such a group exists and I don‘t care. Also I find it ridiculous and even a bit insulting that some might believe that I want people to get unemployed by trying to make SotA fail. This is definitely not the case! I also don't think that I ever insulted anyone.



It was also implied that I am a „troll“, who is attacking the game openly. So I want to set this straight. Yes, I am an author of several german news sites and yes I point some things out which I think are not going so well with the development of the game. Yet I always try to remain as neutral as possible as this is what I was taught during my training as a journalist (and no, I am not a pure gaming journalist anymore. I have many other employers outside of the gaming industry).

Let‘s compare this situation to the lootbox debate of Star Wars Battlefront 2. Do you think EA is pleased with all of the negativity surround this topic? That magazines write, Disney wants to take away the Star Wars licencse from them and ordered them to take the lootboxes down? They are not! And does this mean that no one should write about that? Just because EA doesn‘t like such articles?



SotA is available to buy – yes it is an Early Access version, yet still this version is being sold. So people want to know if it is worth spending their money on the game. And I believe they should know about what is going on and not just write about all the good things. If there is something that is not going so well customers need to know about this, too.



As SotA was described as also being a single-player game - or that we are able to play it as a single-player game, too - I of course want to point this out to others. People should know that SotA is or was meant to be a SP game, too. And by it being described as also being a SP -game, shouldn‘t it then play like a SP-game, too?



In 2013, during the Kickstarter campaign of SotA, I did an interview with Richard Garriott. You can read about here. It is in German though, so maybe you need to use Google Translator. This interview made me believe that the SP part of SotA would be a real SP game. So of course I thought that the SP part was a big part of the game. And of course this was a big influnce on the impression I have about this game since then.

I was contacted some time ago by the PR agency of SotA to do an interview with the devs. To set things straight and clarify all of this. I asked several times about when this interview would happen. And suddenly I didn‘t get any answers anymore. So the interview unfortunately didn‘t come to be. And at some point I simply didn‘t ask about it anymore as it was obvious to me that there was no interest in doing this interview anymore.

But to show that I am not some kind of monster who is on a crusade to destroy SotA (which is ridiculous!) and to take a step towards the developers I offer the opportunity to do an open interview. Right here on this forum where everyone can read it and be a part of it. This way many things can be clarified in the public. This should have happened some time ago and I put part of the blame on myself for not offering this sooner. But maybe we can use this opportunity to set things straight, so that SotA can be seen in another light in the public. Maybe even I learn something new about the game.



So here are the questions in the hopes that @Lord British, @Darkstarr and others might answer them.



1. Shroud of the Avatar was announced as a story-driven Selective Multiplayer RPG with an offline mode. The FAQ on the Kickstarter website even says that "Though Shroud of the Avatar won’t be a massively multiplayer online role playing game, it will be a multiplayer game". But when SotA is mentioned now nearly everywhere it is called a MMORPG, even on the official website. You say that the vision of the game hasn‘t changed. But can you understand that this sentence led to confusion and to people believing that SotA wouldn‘t be a MMORG which in turn led to frustration?



2. Maybe some backers got it all wrong and maybe you can help me clarify this: When SotA was announced many got the impression that the game would be a story-driven basically singleplayer experience with the option to play online together with friends or strangers. So basically I and others thought that we would play an „Ultima 7“, a story-driven SP RPG, but if we wanted we could play together with some friends or go into an open online mode to participate in some player events. But now the game gives the impression that this has changed 180 degrees and that SotA now is a MMORPG with the option to play alone. Did we get it wrong when the game was announced? Because for me those are two different game designs, are they not? For example designing a Witcher 3 with the option to play online would be a very different game than a World of Warcraft that can be played offline. „WoW offline“ would not automatically become a „real“ or „good“ single player RPG.



3. It was said that the „MMO“-base of SotA would have to be built first and that on top of that the SP-experience and the story will be build. This lead to many players believing that SotA would be a MMORPG first and foremost as the game right now plays and feels like an MMORPG. Now there is confusion because of all of the other modes and how they fit into the game. The MMO-fans seem to be pushing the game more and more into the MMO-corner whereas the SP-fans get confused more and more as they don‘t see very much of „their“ mode. Do you still think that this was the right approach and can you understand that SP-fans are alienated as the game continues to play and feel like a MMORPG and not like a SP-RPG?



4. With all of the MMO gameplay features in place how do you plan for the offline mode of SotA to feel and play like a "true" single player RPG?



5. Do you think that some of the „MMO“ features like player housing or the fact that the scenes have to be created in a way to accomodate other players has a negative effect on the story? For example choices with consequences which were announced during the Kickstarter campaign. What we do can‘t really impact the and change world, can it? So how does the online part affect the story and quests of SotA? I read for example that events would be hard to include - for example a dragon swooping down from the skies burning down a village or a thief running out of a shop with the shopkeeper yelling for help because players would just wait for those things to happen and "prevent" them in Open Online mode. Also I read that it is not possible to do instancing in scenes with player homes – which are in every city of the game. So doesn‘t this mean that for example something like the Banes destroying the city of Monitor in Serpent Isle would not be possible in SotA? Do such "limitations" „negatively“ affect the design of the quests or the story, the single-player narrative of the game? Or let‘s take the sieges for example. They don‘t really fit with a „single-player narrative“ as basically nothing can happen, no one reacts to them and they even happen again and again. So no matter what we do, nothing changes. We can‘t help the people of Novia but even if we don‘t help, this doesn‘t matter.



6. To dive a bit deeper into this topic: You said that there would be choices and consequences during quests and the story. How do you include this in a game that is also a MMO? Are those consequences visible to other players as well and affect them, too? There is one quest where we have to find someone who put a refugee camp on fire but when we expose him, nothing happens to him. This is quite disappointing. As is the ending of the tutorial quest in Solace Bridge as we cannot reunite Charlotte with her mother in Soltown. Is this also due to the fact that there can be no instance of a scene due to player housing? Will there be a solution to this so that quests can get satisfying outcomes and we can see real consequences?



7. MMOs do have a big narrative disadvantage compared to single player RPGs as every player is doing the same things. Everyone is doing the same quests, is rescuing the same princess, killing the same dragon, finding the same one and only legendary artifact - and this never has any consequences. In an MMO the princess gets abducted again and again and the dragon reappears, too. Therefore a player never gets any real sense of achievement. Will this be different in SotA? Will the evil Lichlord stay dead for me once I dealt with him? Will the world give me the impression that everyone is on their own journey or will I still get the feeling that everyone is getting this one hidden key from this one haunted house to open this unique chest in which lies the one and only magic wand? Why was such a respawn rule chosen although you initially said there would be choices with consequences?



8. The narrative of the game is a bit, let‘s cal it „dry“ in SotA. The story is being told with conversations which offer really huge amounts of text. And it is not easy talking to NPCs to get the information we want. Also talking to the NPCs feels like talking to robots. They don‘t really react to the player and just say the same sentences again and again which doesn‘t make the conversations feel organic or like a „real“ dialogue. Is this how you envisioned the story to present itself in SotA?



9. Shouldn‘t the narrative be more exciting and be more like the story of a book or a movie? By this I mean that there are dramatic things happening in the story of books. Cities get destroyed, important people die etc. If the story of SotA was written down as it is as a book, do you think it would be exciting to read it? By this I don‘t mean the overall story of the game but the narrative and the presentation of the story, the tasks and quests the hero has to do and how those play out and present themselves.



10. Speaking of the story of SotA, is Tracy Hickan still a part of the team and what is his involvement with the ongoing story of the game and the two remaining novels?



12. How important is a „true“ and „real“ single player (offline) experience like Ultima 7 for you? Many elements seem to point out that this isn‘t the focus of the game. It seems to be some kind of „unloved stepchild“ of the game. For example having the Obsidian Forge being changed only now after many months of complaints by players. If the offline part is really important why have such elements and how they impact the offline mode not been discussed when they were designed? The same for the „forced“ PvP zones. There was no mention of an alternate route to the next area in the game even after many months of complaining.



13. There is complaining that the telethons always revolve around multiplayer and deco stuff. Why should people who are interested in an immersive story-driven game and even the SP-part only take part in the telethons? Wouldn't it be interesting to offer some rewards for those people, too? Like a telethon in which some of the money is used to create a better SP-experience? Or a telethon in which the money is used to improve the immersion of the game with the retrun of a great bag mode or with the creation of a big, cool printed manual of the game full of lore etc.?



14. You once said that SotA will be more about exploring than grinding. Right now the game is rather grindy. Why has it become so grindy and will this change again in order become more like it was said during the Kickstarter-campaign? For example will it be possible to do the storyquests in a „flow“ without having to stop and grind because I am not powerful enough yet for a quest or some area? Will I be able to compete in the economy of the game without having to grind? Is it possible to get and keep a house in the game without having to grind or use real money?



15. Real Money Trading is a difficult topic. You allow this in the game yet it also opens the door for money laundry and tax fraud which is why many developers shy away from allowing it. How will you deal with this topic and how will you deal with the problem of having different laws for RMT in different countries?



16. SotA went persistent in summer of 2016. Do you think it was a good idea to go persistent so early? Don‘t you think that this might turn off new players who see that the best lots for houses are already gone and that some players have the advantage of having played for next to two years?



17. Some people think there is too much focus being put on the item shop of the game and that most of the game revolves around selling items. Do you think that maybe you put the shop a bit too much into the front?



18. Many people are disappointed in the way SotA has developed. Do you really think that this is a small organized group of haters who try to damage the game? The reviews of SotA on Steam are not really good. The player numbers are not that high, even for an Early Access game, the backers on Kickstarter vent their frustration on the Kickstarter website. Do you believe all of them are wrong?



Again, I am not on a crusade to damage the game. I am not part of some kind of organized group trying to damage the game. I want to present the game in a way it was presented to me – during the Kickstarter campaign, the interview with Richard Garriott, with descriptions etc. If I am totally wrong with my impression of the game and how many others see the game then please help me clarify this. I hope that we can clear some things up surrounding SotA with this „interview“. Thanks.

 

I never got the impression that you were anything other than a backer who really loved Single Player, and that you were/are quite passionate about it.
Btw, I confess to not studying that WOT for gems of wisdom, which may well be there.... I'm just not in the mood to read a novel right now...

 

@Lord_Darkmoon I'm not sure anyone considers you a part of any organized group. I certainly don't. Has someone specifically said so about you?

I know you're not personally interested in whether or not there actually is any organization behind some of the attacks on the game, but I just want to add that in April 2017 there were a number of forum users who spontaneously "quit" using the forums (although many if not all of them have continued posting often or on occasion anyways) and I think this left the impression on many people here that there was at least some communication going on behind the scenes. A private discord channel is really all it would take for this to be true, so I don't think it's that far-out to believe that it's happening this day and age, even without evidence.

If being seen as a troll bothers you personally, then unfortunately your only option is to be less vocal, and try to avoid aggravating other players. Be sure not to post repeated topics or too negatively, or in threads you didn't create, to avoid the appearance of trying to bring other people down. Even posting a topic such as this could be seen as a method for trolling moderators or the community in general, since it is likely to get out of hand and cause extra workload and headaches, as per even recent history..

It's really up to you what bothers you more; not getting the game you hoped for etc. or being seen as a troll. That's the scale you're working with.

There are trolls on every game, and Shroud of the Avatar is definitely no exception. It's because of these certain individuals who intentionally try to harm the game that we need to be ever so careful to avoid the appearance of trolling. So be sure to thank those who post purely to aggravate SotA players, or who seek to harm Portalarium by warding new players away from the game instead of encouraging them to try it for themselves, because they're the ones ultimately causing you this hardship.

 

Wow that’s a huge wall of texts...

 

I also have compartmentalized (probably unjustly) you as being someone mainly passionate about single player offline and voicing criticism about how that aspect of the game seems not to be meeting the expectations awakened by Lord British in the Kickstarter phase.

I share many of these sentiments, but even if I didn't, I wouldn't find what you post here to be objectionable.

I have no idea what you are posting on other sites. I hope, however, that your reporting is factual, objective and not incendiary. I wish more people posting here and elsewhere would come to accept that different people like different things. If I prevent someone from playing a game that I personally don't like, I may end up doing that person a disservice.

EDIT: P.S. the wall of text was too much for me right now - I admit to not reading it to the end.

 

It's just how the world is now. Just take a peek at usa and you notice how everything that is negative, must be fake or trolling.

You bring up valid questions and I hope they answer.

I consider this game as MMO first then SP.
RTM will bring trouble with tax and money laundering if this gets big and push lots of players out. None likes p2w.

No grinding? Yeah right.

Steam has negative reviews from players with 1000h and even 2000h playtime, trolling obviously.

Note: in the end, I still feel positive about this game. So much good stuff also and I play almost everyday.

 

First, sorry for the wall of text. I wanted to be a bit more precise with some questions.

Why do I think someone believes that I am part of an organized group:
Darkstarr mentioned this group in a comment on an article at Eurogamer. My article about the game features a comment - either written using Google Translator or by someone with a little bit of knowledge of the German language - calling me a troll who is attacking the game again and again. I don't mean to imply that this is someone from the dev team yet someone seems to think that I am on a crusade to damage the game - at least this is the impression I got.

I don't care being called a troll- trust me I have been called worse things by fans of games which I reviewed not the way they liked throughout my time as a gaming journalist. But what bothers me is if someone believes that I am trying to make a game fail or be actively involved in a group which tries to do this - this is simply not true.

 

Reading between the lines, yes that is clearly some trolling there. But even without reading between the lines, we've seen individuals proclaim their intent to attack and cause harm to the game. We've also seen them post links on external sites to articles encouraging other individuals who are likely to (and often do) go there and post comments that seek to turn new players away without even trying it for themselves.

So unfortunately for other members of those external sites, like the OP, if they are outraged that someone would suggest that they are part of an organized effort to attack the game, their only option is to distance themselves from such individuals or stand against them.

We could complain all day long about not wanting to be grouped together with those we are surrounded by, but statistically speaking, it's going to happen anyways. So for anyone who sees what others think of them as a matter of great importance, it falls on them to do what they have to do to avoid it. Complaining won't help that situation any, and it's not like developers can just code it out.

Sure you do. You don't want developers to write you off as just some troll who wishes to cause harm to the game, so that they will answer your questions. That's why you want to set the record straight about whether or not you are one, as per your second paragraph, is it not? (Otherwise known as chapter two of your latest novel ) No worries on the novel by the way, honestly I've always found it refreshing to see such a devoted fan frequently making such dedicated posts. That's how I know I'm playing the right game in the first place.

I can only offer the advice again that it's up to you to choose what bothers you most. Posting on certain external sites may end up with people writing off your username as part of a certain group. Posting negatively too frequently might end up with people writing you off as a troll. You'll either have to pick one or the other in either situation; can't have the best of both worlds. It just is how it is my good man. As someone who prizes their image as an unbiased journalist/reviewer, I think the choice for you is clear.

 

I too never thought anything so bad about you @Darkmoon. I have really enjoyed so many of your ideas and feedback for the single player offline game.

I too agree the single player game should play differently in many more ways than it does. I have always thought that if the devs don't have time ATM to do it right they should just say so and make a new promise for when they can take time to focus on the single player offline in the way it deserves. This is communications 101. .

Edited

 

Yes, you try. I will give you that. But you lost it.
There was a time your articles were a good reading. But you are in for the SP offline part. At some point you realized that this game is not what you are hoped for and your writing style changed and you have lost your objectivity.
Since that point, your articles contains only things you dont like and nearly never improvements and especially not when they are for the MMO part. Now you only write an article if its fits your agenda.
First, I was upset about the one-sided coverage, but now, I dont care anymore about your articles.
And honestly, I am not sure if I can read your articles with a neutral eye, because I dont care about SP offline. So, we have completely different expectations of the game.

 

But can you judge him for it? The seperation and segregation of discontent has been pushed by Portalarium themselves. I found his article about whats wrong in this community very well stated and from all perspectives. The problem however is/was that Port never admitted the mistake that was made in how the community was managed. I think they just didn't have the resources to do it properly and should have supported fan forums instead.

 

Interesting that the community is fighting against each other but is not waiting for an answer of Richard. Only several days to official start - it's time for some more questions.

A 20mio-project deserves some more meaningful answers. @Lord British

 

I dont judge him for that. I dont care about his articles anymore.
But to make it clear: I dont think he is in any group who wants the game to fail.

 

We already got many nice answers from him here.

 

Hehe. Nope sorry. From a journalists view that is a promotion. Not qualitative answers.
I met Richard in Cologne last year and he has much more to say. I would encourage him to write it down so it may be discussed properly.

 

That's a tricky thing to tell people that you know that there is much more to say and when you don't explain what it is about or why it could interest us. Basically, if you really know about something and if you are a journalist, I think that you would have written an article for long, wouldn't you ? So, what are we talking about here ? What was the real purpose of your answer to my message ? I'm wondering.

 

Could you clarify a few things?

What was the last release you played of SOTA?

How much time have you put into the Single Player game, before you gave up and on what releases?

If SOTA somehow pulled out an amazing ‘hail Mary’ and released a finished polished single player story, will you be going back and retracting all the negativity you have put out there?


These are important questions... because my personal feelings about your posts on this forum started out good, you had some good suggestions, although I didn’t agree with all of them, but after a while it seemed like you gave up on getting your way and went on a tirade of posting every where on every thread about how there is no single player and the Devs lied to you. It continued to the point where I just stopped reading anything you ever wrote, it all circled back to the same, “the Devs lied to me and that sucked...” post. So if you have continued that type of posting this entire time without actually playing a finished polished product then I would say your reviews of this game are more as a personal attack on the game instead of an un-biased review by a real journalist.

 

I played the last release. Not Long, but I fired it up.

My Steam time for the game says 65 hours. Yet I also played before linking my account to Steam. I started a new game last release and played the Courage part a little bit. I want to start a new game after release and play the released game from the beginning.

Sure if it is a good game then I will definitely offer an apology.

I believe that I never said that the devs lied to me. And I never wrote a review for the game on a website I am writing for. I wrote some news or some articles but never a review with a score.

 

@Lord_Darkmoon . I don't see any evidence about you being part of a group which want to strike down this game.

But I think that you lead your own crusade against this game for some time now.

You made very good points in some of your posts but, obviously, my guess is that you can't ignore that your messages won't help the developpers to improve the game if you express the same critics again and again like you do (sometimes in a very sarcastic way, I could say).

And you can't ignore, given the answers you already got, that some of your complains asking for immediate changes are concerning things that will need a lot more time developpment... that it's not the will which is missing but the time and the manpower... And hopefully, that's something that we will see in the middle/long term after launch.

Therefore, it's just a question of logic. if your posts consist in constantly criticizing, and if these criticisms can not in any way lead to a constructive reflection, then it is just a matter of emotional release.

That said, it's Your problem, not mine. So feel free to do as you want. I just think that you are losing your time.

 

@Lord_Darkmoon I am another avatar that believes you felt like you were sold a bill of goods and your trust in the creators is severely damaged. I also don't feel that you are trolling the game, team or any potential purchasers of the game. I am sorry that so many bad feelings came out of this. I am much more of a troll than you could ever aspire to be. If people are complaining about your conduct, tell them to look me up. I was on my way to the launch party but I felt if would be rude even for me to eat Portalarium's BBQ and then go full on Caska on them when they say something that I think is F'd up.
I am all for calling a spade a spade and you don't owe anyone anything but honesty. If you're going to do the journalism thing just don't be sloppy or biased. The horrible thing about science and journalism is that the crafter needs to check his or her agenda at the door but as we're human I say "good luck with that."