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Q2 2017 Schedule Update

Discussion in 'Announcements' started by DarkStarr, Mar 30, 2017.

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  1. Drocis the Devious

    Drocis the Devious Avatar

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    @DarkStarr
    Although I remain optimistic about the game as a whole, I'm incredibly underwhelmed by the 2017 Q2 Status Update. I trust the team believes this is the best way to achieve overall success and I know it's difficult to please so many competing interests. I'm also aware that Richard appears to be fixated on a Summer commercial release - good luck! (I mean this both sincerely and skeptically)

    However, when I personally think about commercial release what you have outlined in this schedule is miles away from where I thought we'd be.
    • NPC Guards
    • Agriculture Improvements
    • Refining Improvements
    • Combat Balance (we're far away from this one)
    • Brewing
    • Custom Duke Heads (I know we don't have a single one yet)
    • Meaningful PVP (I'm not sure if anyone knows what the word meaningful means anymore. But I do know that what we currently have in PVP is not even close.) Btw, NPC Guards would push you in this direction and you could count it as TWO improvements in one!
    That's just off the top of my head. I'm probably forgetting at least 10 other things I've been waiting patiently for over the years. I'm also not addressing other items that people no doubt would feel equally passionate about that are not on the list. But to see a schedule devoid of ANY of these things for the next 3 months is...surprising and disheartening. So my feedback is that I have a concern that after these three months you will be commercially launching the game and only based on that launch success will we ever see the pledge rewards, kickstarter stretch goals, and obvious improvements needed to deliver the full EP1 product.

    Of course this is not a concern that I haven't had from time to time over the years, but the month to month improvements to the game always made me very hopeful. When I look at this schedule I don't see anything that gives me hope (other than perhaps the ability to rent rooms in R43), and instead I see an all hands on deck effort to make the most of the remaining unfinished story elements of the game so that you can meet an arbitrary Summer launch date. I say arbitrary from my perspective and not yours, and yes I realize there could be a significant gap between our points of view. Still, I wanted to deliver this feedback in the hopes that you would...
    ...and perhaps find a way to add some improvements, kickstarter pledge rewards and stretch goals to the schedule.

    It may not bring you closer to commercial release, but it does help keep some people from looking at the future and yawning.
     
  2. 2112Starman

    2112Starman Avatar

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    Well said all around. Funny that I have heard people call you a "White Knight", make sure to show them this :)
     
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  3. 2112Starman

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    That depends. This is just my opinion but I think this gang actually got together to create a game for themselves and pay a salary. I actually think they are doing this for themselves AND those of us who have wanted a game like this for some time. Im not sure they ever really wanted a big "profit". The game is backed by RG who is a multi-millionaire who is famous for forking out a lot of money for things that he likes doing in life (like all his haunted houses). Creating a new Ultima like game is something that they and us as long time players wanted. I think people forget this.
     
  4. Boris Mondragon

    Boris Mondragon Avatar

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    I will just add my two cents.

    1) For those of you that suggest a total wipe due to exploits abused and new potential players so far behind the experts, NO WAY. Many of us have not only paid out large dollar amounts to accomplish many things in this game and a good chunk of that money spent has been in the Kickstarter program which keeps paying the Devs' salary I am sure.

    2) New players will be far behind and never catch up, maybe and maybe not. I have a solution for new accounts at release, give them 3 or 4x skill gain until they reach level 60 or 70 and watch them get competitive quicker. Their accomplishments and vision of being competitive sooner than later may help bring even more people into this game which equals more funding for Portalarium future episodes.

    3) Again to reiterate, No Charater Wipe. The most important and precious resource we all have is time, which many of us including myself have spent on this journey. We cannot get the time back once it has gone so think about it.

    R/Boris/El Pirata
     
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  5. 2112Starman

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    I actually have a feeling that when the game goes retail release that they have this kind of thing already planned. Thinks like the GM cap. Its not very useful to go above GM in skills. The cost becomes to great. I think they may make that 150 at release and the race up to just GM (100) a lot shorter. I also think they may add more break out skills like say 1h sword and 2h sword which will force the existing players to also start from scratch, I suspect crafting skill break outs too. I just think they plan on putting some stuff in the level the playing filed as well as give people who are already topped out (100+ gm type people) more things to work on. Add to the fact that they are bumping up xp loss from 12 hours to 24 hours, even top players are going to start needing to specialize a lot more (or simply never die in the game).
     
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  6. Boris Mondragon

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    On skill cap, I would suggest a 120 cap for episode 1 then bump up 20 points for each subsequent episode. The simpler and most cost effective measures may be the best way to get Port to consider it.
     
  7. Barugon

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    Do you know of anyone that has a skill higher than 120?
     
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  8. 2112Starman

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    Its possible for easy things like say base bludge skill, I had mine up to 110 once and that was not hard.
     
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  9. Arya Stoneheart

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    Kabalyero says he has three skills at 124.
     
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  10. Qwark

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    Maybe one of the lessons learned by the Devs is how to write a more general game projection. Listing every single piece of the puzzle and when it comes into game creates disappointment and the illusion of failure if it has to be delayed. I dont think it says anywhere that the items delayed will catagorically not be in a release, it just no longer promises them at a specific time. One of the main issues with this community is the constant state of negativity on these boards. There is a number of folks who do say positive things, but the complaints far outweigh that. We all recognize that none of us are going to get exactly what we want. It only remains to be seen whether the final product meets in the middle well enough that we all still want to play. I must adnit if i were a developer, i probably would have lost heart a long time ago.
     
  11. Boris Mondragon

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    @discipleofweb Glad to see Kabalyero has three skills at 124. I would give him and anyone else in the same predicament the choice to keep them or return the extra xp over 120 for full refund but not allow any further progression on those skills at or over 120. . A cap of 120 would allow the new players coming on board to catch up to 120 before episode 2 raises it to 140. Maybe too simple? I try to find simple cost effective solutions to problems. It must come from military background. R/Boris/El Pirata
     
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  12. Della kit

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    I feel the same. It may be cold to say 'get over it' but I feel like we're at that point. The past cannot be changed, and a lot of time has passed already. It's time to move on.
    I know there are people who would love a wipe because they want a chance to be a part of that 1%. But I feel it's strictly a novelty thing. I personally do not feel limited in any way because there are people with more GMs than I. I'm proud of my 18 GMs and this isn't a contest. I feel I can take on most mobs and earn just as much in game gold as anybody else. There is no single set path. Ultimately, people are only going to be gimped because they keep believing they are.
     
    Last edited: Apr 7, 2017
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  13. Della kit

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    It depends. Games like Eve Online come to mind....it's certainly not for everyone with that learning curve, but the effort is rewarding. It's niche enough to not be considered a huge mainstream success, yet it is still a very successful franchise.
    Granted they have a tutorial that knocked my socks off, it's so good yet a bit overwhelming.
     
  14. Jocularis

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    when alchool will be released?
     
  15. Brass Knuckles

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    /fan of hardcaps, even though id have to train stuff down I AGREE.

    120 = hardcap and the new gm line.
     
    Last edited: Apr 18, 2017
  16. Rennik

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    Totally agree. Even though I didn't start from day one like a number of my guildmates, and I also don't play as often, I don't look negatively upon those bigger than me, just because they started earlier. Practically EVERY MMO-style game is that way.... to quote Qui-Gon Jinn, "there's always a bigger fish." Further, by having a large number of established players already i-game give new users plenty of places to ask for help or advice, lots of player vendors for a great shopping experience, plenty of established POTs to choose from, etc. This is only my opinion, but I really think that if I were a new player coming in, the world would feel far more vibrant and alive if it's already "lived in".
     
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  17. mike11

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    This sounds like a great idea for focused development in the coming releases. This feature has the potential to have a very large impact if done well, but if done like a first-pass version won't be as impactfull.
    Now is really the time to think about party's, players abilities (group), social, roleplaying and overworld. What it means and how players are really reacting to the "game experience".
    I've had a ton of ideas about this, too.

    I would really change the way parties are working with some major things in mind.
    1- travel and overworld and how players join and lead around the world in many instances. for example, placing only the leader on the overworld when in group mode. When a non-leader member is in another zone he gets the option to teleport to the leaders area - this is to make travelling much easier and to avoid 'fighting the interface'.
    2-effects of abilities with groups in mind with the idea of travel/adventuring effects (speed buff, terrain boost, intellect decision making, charm neutral (music features laters)
    3- encounters get interfaces
    4- pvp encounters (group vs group)
    5-better social messaging support (3d portrait?)

    Another concept which might help relating to the idea of 'public grouping' is using the HIGHLY ASKED FOR FEATURE of campsites and inns, which might reside in separate small instances, and contain various fun and cool things to do. This requires very little design other than base systems.

    Certain player instances open to others to invade get shown on map. Both solo players and group versions. Adventuring skills will help in the 'discovery' by the invading group.

    Raid bonuses for Clan leaders (eg Baron guilds?) for in range of their owned areas which impact instances nearby.

    The whole idea of this grouping and handling how players are all coming and going from different places needs to be well thought out.
     
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  18. Boris Mondragon

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    @Brass Knuckles, Well instead of training down anything over 120 you can always have Port refund the extra xp between 120 and 120+ to reuse in other skills or save for episode 2. I would also leave GM at 100 for those that wish to keep their grandmaster title and have 120 title set as either Elite or Legendary. If you couple that hard cap with new characters getting 3x experience to adventure level 40, and 2x to level 60 it may give the new ones hope to catch up to a certain point and be competive and viable in the game. R/Boris/El Pirata
     
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  19. Whitestag

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    Blades is at 112 and I have never had either xp pool over 200k since last wipe. 6 GMs
     
  20. Nikko

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    I have kids. Two young kids. I don't have much time to play this game. When I do have time, I spend all of the time I possibly can (sacrificing sleep at times) to make the progress to get where I am now. I was told that there will be no more wipes after late July last year, and I expect exactly that to happen. I would be VERY upset if all characters reset at this point. In fact, this would likely lead to my leaving the game and finding another one (as much as I love R.G. and crew). I highly doubt I am alone here. There are a lot of people in my shoes. I believe that the result of them going back on their word and having a wipe at this point would be devastating to the game's experienced fan-base. Mass exodus would ensue.
     
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