[POLL] How was the Pre-Alpha Release 1?

I was able to create a character and walk around, talking to the npcs. I liked the graphics so far, that is going well. I was not able to decorate a house and did not understand why I did not get the items the bulletin said we would. All in all I am anticipating much enjoyment in the months to come up until release and then after.

 

Ok, let's begin =)

1. Install / Patching System

Worked excellent for me

2. Login / Registration

had some problems with logging in sometimes, but after three or four times at the latest it worked for me.

3. Character Creation

Worked without any problem and I'm sure we get more options with future releases

4. Single Player Online

Worked fine. I had two or three crashes, but mostly after being offline for quite a time

5. First Town (Owl's Head)

Most important thing first: I love, I really absolutely love, that I can enter houses without loading times and without being transported into different spaces! I can't believe, that so many 3D RPGs don't find this necessary. It bugs me in every online and offline game I play (worst in Lotro, where the game loads all the time in cities, because of the many houses you have to visit).

I like this city a lot. It has several markets and districts and it isn't flat, but has hills, etc. I like all those little details like the cattle running through the streets, the fireflies in the evening, the wonderful birds, etc. I'm hoping, that the NPCs get some schedules. Didn't love, that the guards are standing on their posts all of the time without a change of shift, for example. Some work schedules for basic NPCs would add a lot of life to the towns.

6. Conversation

loving the system. Needs a lot of work, but it has a huge potential. Some convenient options could be introduced, like the option to click on every word in the chat as a quick response. Or let players program some standard phrases (hello, bye, buy, shop, sell, etc.), that they can simply click on in a conversation (those could be a bit more elaborate, too)

7. Bag Inventory

I had some problems with keys in the classic Ultima 7 inventory, so I hope, there will be some form of key ring, etc. ;-) . And some more options would be nice, like quick pickup with dual click and an quick pickup or transfer from one bag to a specific bag with Ctrl+Nr of Bag+LeftClick. Those two additions, and the bag inventory would be nearly perfect for me (some items were too big in the inventory, etc.).

8. Equipment

Not a lot that I could tell at the moment. The items look quite nice on the avatar and the weapons look fine. But we'll surely know more with coming releases

9. House Claiming

worked without a problem for me. Like the size of the bigger houses. Maybe I'll start an offline game, just to get on of those Manor Halls =)

10. House Decoration

I can put stuff on other stuff and rotate and move it at the same time + I can put books, etc. in shelves. It's the best housing system I've seen so far in an 3D Online Game and it gives an immense amount of customization possibilities. So I'm very happy at the moment.

11. Metrics

some issues with clippings, items that didn't want to become decoration (the books lying on the side, for example) and falling through the ceiling of the floor house. But nothing unusual for a Pre-Alpha

12. BONUS QUESTION: If there is *one* feature that you'd like to see improved more for Pre-Alpha Release 2, what would it be?

The Conversation System of course. I still plead for the crowdsoarcing of non plot important sentences to get most of the possible answers on usually asked questions (I know of course that the amazing Lum did exactly this through recording all conversations in R1, but the process could be expanded through the help of the backers).

P.S. Jumping would be a nice addition to the game, but please not Jumping too high. It looks ridiculous in most games and it becomes annoying pretty fast, when players jump around all the time, especially in combat. Instead let the Avatar climb intelligent over obstacles ( like in Ultima IX (it doesn't have to be an extra button, but could all be handled by "Space") and give controlled jumping through Space+Mouse Cursor. I know, this would need a ton of more animations, but it would give a lot of life to the character models, that seem a bit stiff at the moment.

Cheers,
Andreas

 

lolol

 

So DAY 1 I was horrified! I rated this game a 1 as far as how I felt OVERALL!

But I was really just irritated w/ the CONTROLS, the MOVEMENT of character & the ackwardness of the characters body & overall look. I could not get over any of those while I played. I still do not like the player AVATAR, or the NPCs in the cities. They just aren't good. And do not seem as good of quality as the WORLD around them. IMO! I also do not like the Chat System now that I played it. I KNOW OTHERS DO! I just don't. I dread knowing I have to type so many conversations just to go do some simple quests. I know I am a barbarian, dummy who does not want to use his brain in a RPG (NOT TRUE). I just do not want to engage in talks over and over trying to figure out what this npc needs me to say to trigger the info I need to do what I need to get done. But maybe it wont be like that once dev'ed further.

Lucky for me the R1 was a few days and not 24hrs. but after some time & thinking I booted up R1 again to see what may be enjoyable & not concentrate on what i hated so much. I ran across a video by, The Mad Hermitt & it made me remember why I backed this game in the 1st place. It also opened me up to alot I did not know how to do in the game & how fun the R1 really could be. Hermitt also had some nice gear I had not seen, so i wanted to see what else may be out there I didn't know about.

I found myself playing for a few hours and then the next day booting it up again. My house was looking AMAZING! My character though I hate his over BODY structure & walk even he looked good in full set of EPIC PLATE ARMOR, my LB CLOAK, had a nasty HAMMER! I was really enjoying the game even w/ horrible controls. This game is in a great place and the Devs are doing GREAT things. I am excited to see the changes in R2 it will tell me alot about this project seeing the differences in R2 from R1.

If I could revote I'd give a 3 1/2 for my overall feel after a more thorough testing period.

 

Looks like the weighted mean is around 51% so far.

Total votes: 480

13*1 + 2*14 + 3*42 + 4*97 + 5*74 = 925
13 + 28 + 126 + 388 + 370 = 925

ergo:
480/925 = 51.89%

No conclusion to draw, but subjectively seems to e part and parcel for the community 50/50 =)

 

I was impressed. I didn't expect to get in at all so just kept going until I was in.

First reaction to character creation was "Eww..." then I remembered it was pre-alpha and let go of any expectations. I played for hours without any crashes or game interrupts, and time flew by while I explored, talked to NPCs, looted chests and decorated my house.

Things are rough, yes. But they are a heck of a lot smoother than some released games I've seen. This bodes well for the future.

 

I had an overall pleasant experience with the Alpha. I loved the look of the world- and the fact that it looks this lovely in pre-alpha bodes well.
I had a blast with the conversation system, which felt rather liberating, really. In 99.9% of RPGs nowadays you're stuck to a pre-set conversation tree, and there's always that moment where you say "Damnit, I wish I could ask him about THIS..."

I know a few people have blasted the system... I guess that the thought of independence can scare some people- just like not having map markers or handholding.

Me? Lemme at 'em! I can't wait for this game to be fully released so I can go around causing trouble in the world, carouse a bit, hero a bit, and do a lot of interior decorating.

 

people are not going to like what I say now,but I payed full price for this game.
I expect modern fraffix and modern gameplay mechanics when the game releases.
better than skyrim or the witsher 2.

 

I think that the developers should have allowed us in. If you're incapable of judging a pre-alpha as a pre-alpha and instead you judge it as a final product, the epistemic failure is not the developers' fault but yours. Maybe you should meditate on the development process and what a 'pre alpha' implies--- basic systems, no quests, no battle, it is simply a stress test of the early engine, with a lot of placeholders in. There are no 'oughts' for a pre-alpha (and mind you, one of four releases away from full Alpha)- merely what's in there is what the developers have ready to test and want to test at the earliest convenience.

Please consider some critical thinking. There's a lot of emotion in that post, and passion is commendable... but it is useless unless there's some Logos thrown in to rein in the wild horses.

 

I feel the pre-alpha went brilliantly. The devs got much of the information they were looking for so that alone tells me it was a success. I think a lot of people had some higher expectations for it because they didn't seem to understand what a pre-alpha is or why they were doing it, but overall there was a lot of great feedback; both good and bad as well as many well documented bug reports. Can't wait to see what we find in alpha.

 

Skyrim had 85 million in funding before it was released. Witcher2 had more than 10 million. SotA has less than 3 million. Just so you know what you can expect for that money.

 

This is not a excuse to make a sh*tty game :/ I dnt understand why all the sudden everyone wants to use SotAs budget as a reason the game COULD suck.

If SotA is as good as Elder Scrolls franchise it to may be worth a 85 million dollar budget 1 day. Elder Scrolls EARNED that. SotA can earn that type of budget to for future games. BUT AS OF NOW IT IS NOT!

We have got to stop this budget excuse. If this game ends up trash it is not because they only had 3 million. It will because of PEOPLE!
Elder Scrolls is Elder Scrolls. SotA is SotA, they need to do GOOD with what they got from us NOW! If they dnt it is because of them as DEVS, not because they only had a measly 3 million :/ <--(sarcasm)

 

I think most of us are expectign a brilliant game, but not the scale of production polish you may see in Skyrim.

Your earlier comment makes me, and likely others, think you expect SOTA to be better in everyway.

Almost every element of the game is incomparable to Skyrim and The Witcher. From combat, to world generation, to economy, to online capabilities.

Your impressions of Pre-Alpha, while valid, demonstrated that you did not apporach the pre-alpha with the expectations the devs outlined for us.

Frustration with talking to NPCs should have been expected as they explicitly stated they were doign preliminary tests and also collecting data on what we would say to the NPCs in order to build the system to something feasible. Anyone going in should have expected this so while you might have found it frustrating it was 'as intended for pre-alpha purposes' which was to get players side of the conversation to make the NPC resposnses as robust and relevant as possible.

The rest of your post concerning movement and the things you did enjoy were constructive, but I thin in future releases you should focus on the specific elements being tested instead of getting caught up in things not yet being refined, or outright no implemented yet, like broad NPC responses.

 

As I stated in another thread, many of these higher budget games end up blowing most of it on cut-scenes, intros, and ending movies as well as big-name voice actors. Looks like with SotA, they're focusing on the GAME and according to Starr, they already know that R1 had an issue not utilizing higher end video card features.

We're in PRE_Alpha and there are aspects of the graphics that are already pretty amazing... and that's WITHOUT the polish that's coming later.

 

I have never played a game created by Richard Gariot (LB) but people have said great things so I am still very positive about this game.

 

Alright, Hempy, I'm going to take my gloves off and say a couple of things that need to be said.

First: Nobody here is saying the game is going to be terrible, except maybe you and others who suffer from similar Photorealistic Sociopathy. The rest of us are actually aware that this is pre Alpha which, if we're talking Band chronology, it means that John and Paul have just bought their guitars and are meeting in the garage.

Second: For someone who likes to cast veiled aspersions at the developers, you seem to forget where you're standing. To put it bluntly, son, there are legends about. Lord British, the guy who is calling the shots, is also the man behind Ultima. What did Ultima achieve? Oh, nothing much... except basically engender the modern CRPG as we know it. To quote Rowan Kaiser's article at Joystiq:

Ultima did it first, and in many instances, did it best--- to this day, no game has managed to really portray the concept of ethics and the Aristotelian question of the Good Life like Ultima IV, as primitive as it is by today's standards.

There is a reason why every single book that deals with PC gaming history has a niche set for Ultima IV due to its revolutionizing of the CRPG genre overall (and Ultima III for basiclly being the inspiration behind the JRPG games Dragon Warrior and Final Fantasy), Ultima Underworld for its competently-realized 3d worlds and environment, and Ultima Online for being the first truly successful MMO.

Then again, if you're as big a gamer as you say you are, you know all of this already- it's Game History 101. So if you do... what gives? Few people have the track record Garriott has, and yet- to quote Paulina- what needs these hands?

The bottom line is that if you want something pretty to look at above everything else, then you're in the wrong place. Deviantart has what you're looking for, and more.

However, if you're looking for a great game, this is where it's going to be made. Will it look pretty? I'm sure it'll be lovely and that the devs will make it look as good as they can with the funds and resources available to them, without sacrificing the quality of the gameplay or the amount of time developing the core mechanics and the very heart of the game itself.

So, ultimately, if you are the kind of gamer who turns up his nose at, say, one of the best games to come around in a generation because it looks like, say, this:



Instead of



Then I am afraid that it is not games that you love, but spectacle, and you are missing out on quality simply because you have given in to the condition stated above, coined by Jim Sterling.

 

Allow me to point out that this Lysistrata-level of histrionics here is over a Pre. Alpha. Release.
You accuse my posts of having no substance, and yet the core that constitutes you and the Hempy one can be reduced to, essentially, condemning a game that is not even in alpha release.

If this baby of a tantrum that you're throwing were any more premature, you'd have to put it in an incubator. There is a lot to be said about counting your eggs before they're hatched... but you and Hempy are essentially demanding an egg count from a chicken that hasn't even hatched out of its own egg.

Yes, and games can have arresting and beautiful visuals...
Without being multi-million photorealistic productions. I give you Night in the Woods:



Bottom line: Shroud of the Avatar is going to look fine.

It's not praise. It's the man's curriculum. If you are allergic to a statement of fact, then I'm sorry-- but the truth remains that the man helped form and improve a genre. I'm not saying he is perfect, but I think that evidence points to him knowing a little more about how the genre works. Heck, he's been doing this for longer than you have been alive and he's made a profit out of it.

The point that I am trying to make, which you completely missed, is that ultimately a good game is not dictated by graphics. And, as Jim Sterling has stated repeatedly, this fetish for ultimate photorealism is both unsustainable and unnecessary. It might benefit you to watch the link concering Photorealistic Sociopathy and watch his video.

I guess those 164 games on my Steam account, including Skyrim and all of the games you have just listed, are just a figment of my imagination.
That is a good thing to know. I'll need to contact my editor and ask if the reviews I've submitted over the last few years have been only a dream, too.

Portalarium's goal should be to make a good game. And you obviously have not spent enough time in the industry to realize that the best games are not, necessarily, the ones that sell on GTA V's level. In fact, most of the blockbuster games aren't very good at all-- otherwise, Psychonauts and Beyond Good and Evil would have sold at the level of Call of Duty. And they didn't.

So no. I'm in my early thirties, I have a lot of life in me, and I don't want to waste my time with dumbed-down, idiotic crowd-pleasers created by committees and compromise and that aim to the lowest common denominator.

 

Are you serious, lol. Take your gloves off? What does that mean? Nevermind, I am good not knowing.
======================

Listen man & everyone else all upset about me not enjoying the R1 release within the 1st 24hrs I played it. I DID NOT ENJOY IT AT 1st. Get over it, I went back replay and expressed my 2nd thoughts here too. MENTION THOSE ASWELL, not just the negative ones Ty!

I gave it more of a chance and enjoyed it more. I know some of you played ULTIMA and had a great time with the first ever mmo. Noone is taking that away from you. If the game is good LB will be the LEGEND you consider him to a new generation. If he fails (AGAIN) he will be just a old washed up dude who tried to use crowdfunding to pay for (ANOTHER) failed game!

All I care about LB is his MOTIVATION & his VISION for what he wants to make this game. I understand he is legend to you from past ventures. He will be LEGEND to me, WHEN THIS GAME IS GOOD!

 

When did he fail? Serious question.