Petition for a deeper, better introduction to SotA

Snowcrash-type static... That reminds me of the U7 intro, where the Guardian speaks to you through your computer screen...

 

I have the Guardian's speech in the U8 intro memorized. There are a lot of cool intros in old games; also thinking of adventure games. Heck, I remember Loom even came with an audio tape.

 

You know what intro I thought was really cool that was just a composite of painterly illustrations with a narrative... Arx Fatalis.

The devs kind of are trying to use the same type of tech.

In defense of the current intro, btw, it isn't too far from the very beginning of the Ultima Underworld intro... There, you see a ghostly figure in your dreams calling out to you and you figuratively "move into it" in the purely mental and emotional sense, and *zap* you're in Britannia.

Though, then we get a bunch of cool drama afterwards.

 

Thank you for the feedback. While we would love to spend time and money on a deeper and fancier intro it is something we just do not have the bandwidth nor the expertise for at this time nor do we believe it is the best expenditure of the funds available versus other priorities like performance, user interface polish, side quests, story polish, new user polish, etc..

 

Thank you for taking the time to reply. However, to be clear, making the intro "deeper and fancier" was never the point. Some writing and voiceover changes are what I was trying to encourage, and perhaps a few small additions/tweaks to the 2d art to support the adjusted narrative.

Making narrative adjustments to the introduction sure seems like it should/would fall under "story polish".

 

...sigh.

I guess that's it then.

I have to say, a two line response that doesn't actually address the concerns of my OP is... pretty disappointing.

 

Hey at least a dev responded and didn't lock the thread....

 

Good point... :/

 

What response would sate you? Just wondering...

 

@Sempiternal Dragon

Its possible that they dont see this as a priority in any case, but DarkStarr's reply gives the impression he might have misinterpreted.

I saw @Bubonic proposing this as part of story polish, too, since the intro has the job of introducing people narratively to the game, and can be important to getting people into the story.

I don't really think there should be so much negativity around DarkStarr's reply, since sometimes there is just miscommunication.

 

You're probably right. My negativity stems from the fact that i attempted to clear up the miscommunication immediately after he replied to this thread, quoting him so he would see the reply, but no response was forthcoming.

I realize he may very well have simply left the office at that point... i think it might have been 5pm cst

 

And then again, maybe not.


Looks like we're stuck with a crappy, poorly written, uninteresting introduction.

So much for a story as compelling as Ultima VII.

 

You first thank him and one day later your comment is this?

The nerves and impatience are killing some of our community members. I would love to see what you asking, like everyone else, but Starr already told us why they can't work on this, and sounds fair (even what you asking needs time and people working on that = money).

 

actually, no, he didn't.

He told us why they couldn't make a "deeper, fancier" introduction. That is NOT what this thread was about. Of course it would take some time and money to adjust the narrative, but not anything like what it would take to make the intro "deeper and fancier".

And like I mentioned above, this request certainly seems like it would fall under "Story Polish", which is one of the items he specifically mentioned as to what their priorities are.

 

No doubt a really good story intro can be done like a motion comic with great narration and not be required to be a full blown Blizzard (and other devs) animation.

 

Looks like editing issues. So uhm... I may have done a Fan Edit!



It's a bit rough but I tried to make it snappier. I removed the "An update here, and update there, you click on stuff, a patch here, a download there, you're on the forums, you're looking at YouTube there..." fluff off the start and shortened the bit where you get sucked in for snappier drama.

I also made the history of the world a bit more mysterious.

Not my greatest work but I feel it's a bit leaner and packs in a bigger punch. Sound would have to be smoothed out and needs a bit of tightening in the transitions.

@DarkStarr, I mean no disrespect, just thought I could contribute something.

 

Losing those poorly written lines that you did does help a bit, to be sure. Of course, it doesn't change the fact that you get sucked into your computer for no real reason, which is still lame. But thanks for making the effort!

It's more than just editing issues.

 

To change an introduction at 5 to 12 would be interesting, beside all the work they have to do...
Well, a day has 24 hours

Beside this:
Why is it so important HOW we get there? A stone, a Moongate,...
Isn't it a synonym for a remote in our hand, watching a TV (gate)...

Have you ever thought, SotA could be a Kind of virtual reality?

All this electricity and mechanic stuff around, the Oracle, the watchers ...

When we die, we come back to life in Novia - well, what are we? We start in Novia as a kind of Energy.

In old Ultima our whole body was transfered to the new World through a Moongate.

In SotA, as I understand this, it's only our mind...

After following and completing Episode 1, I think, how we - and also the other Avatars - came to Novia was not a coincidence

Let's see, how the story goes on ...

 

It's important because it is our first introduction into the lore of New Britannia. By definition, this is supposed to be the spiritual successor to previous ultimas. In all of those ultimas, there was a physical, tangible connection to the world of Britannia - moongates. And usually, the activation of said moongate was instigated by some other party, intentionally. In other words, something that was thought out, and ties in directly to the storyline of the game to follow. What we have currently does none of those things. There is no reason and zero justification for the player's transportation to New Britannia... you just get sucked into your computer because you feel the pull of your destiny.

ummmm... no, I don't think it was.

Jesus, I hope not. That would be even worse.

 

Sorry, writing in my BlackBerry while on train, not as easy to write and correct words

As you said:
There was a physical connection, brought our whole body to Britannia.

Now we have a virtual or may be spiritual connection, which brought just our mind to Novia...

This don't mean, the World of Novia isn't alive, it just could be a virtual one...