Q4 Schedule

Can we please get clarification on what Portalarium is thinking regarding a final wipe just prior to launch? The beginnings of a persistence discussion in this thread without a mention of a "final wipe before launch" could be a suggestion that there might not be a final (complete) wipe before launch. I think it is safe to assume that lots will be wiped to allow the proper lot selection sequencing, but as testers I think we need to know whether we are testing the game or playing the game once things start becoming persistent - there is a big difference in how I would approach testing versus playing. For example without knowing there will be a final complete wipe (like previous wipes) before launch would prevent me from testing some character interactions and trading away certain items.

Some history from this thread:

What most of us are probably assuming:

But on the other hand, without confirmation from Port (no plans to lawyer anybody), I intend to play as if the world were going to be persistent and not test things that would be bad for my character.

 

IMO housing costs in-game should factor in (although it's hard to quantify) the cost of obtaining housing by pledging. How you do that, I'll admit, I don't know. Just balancing. Whatever they come up with won't please everybody, that's for sure.

Even if they DON'T factor in the cost of a backer/pledged property, it should nevertheless be costly and time consuming to obtain housing, especially higher-end housing. That's important for at least two reasons. First, if housing is too cheap, and players can have multiple houses, then I can assure you that property in the most desirable locations/towns will become highly concentrated among too few players. Second, in general I believe that housing should be aspirational, rather than automatic, to keep the game interesting for new players. If it's too easy to obtain property, the game becomes less challenging and less interesting. Balancing availability and scarcity is an important tool to keep up interest in the game.

 

Limited supply, the plots are finite. Even if they cost 1 gold and the players start with 200 gold the plots could be hard to get. Knowing that would certainly push more people to use the store. So yes, the cost should be limiting enough to slow the pace of the land rush but at the same time not push players to feel the need to use realm money.

Rent should be calculated into the overall cost to survive. Durability is the economic stimulant of choice here. Rent is not much different. (If they include some player crafted items into the rent - maintenance, then it's also a durability) The effort we must put into maintaining our "fun" readiness is the focus here.

Again, this is all a moot point if there is no store option for covering this durability, rent, bank space weight, etc. The costs we endure will balance out if it's all in game currency. Not so easily done when there is both in game and real money.

 

When this inventory issue came up in this thread originally, I believe Richard's reply said it best:

So yes, ongoing costs very definitely factor into pledge rewards and they've been very explicit about this. Become a backer, help fund the creation of this game, and you will be rewarded for doing so. And they have continued to pile on to those rewards. Every backer deserves exactly what they're getting, including tax free status on not just land deeds and vendors if you pledged high enough for those rewards, but potentially other ongoing costs that have not yet been announced.

 

Not what I was saying. Those that pledge get their reward. That includes the on going costs.

The on going costs that everyone else must pay should not be adjusted to make the rewards of those that pledged even more rewarding. The on going costs should be based on in game relevance not pre-sale pledges. (while not devaluing those pledge rewards)

 

There will be at least one wipe before launch. Likely several. Do not count on anything being permanent nor persistent until we give you a date when it things will be permanent/persistent.

 

So with the wipes, we won't be able to retain anything except the quest rewards from each release, right? Any plans to offer anything other than different hats (i.e, like pieces of an ensemble - first came the cavalier hat, then comes the cavalier tunic, followed by the cavalier cloak, etc.)?

 

.... or a scholarship to the University of Virginia, perhaps?

 

Anything that is supposed to be account bound you should receive when the game finally goes live(official release, v1.0, etc..) I don't see any reason to assume we'll just be getting hats or clothing items for release quests... we could get pets, decorative items, interesting items that can be used(something akin to the fireworks or snowball box, maybe a glob of mud, or replenishing spoiled fruits we could throw at other players). I'd personally hope for a variety of items rather than yet another set of clothing that I wont wear.

 

Well, yes, a variety of items would be nice

 

I guess they get thier wipes from costco

 

I think was a great idea to implement the "Hat" quests for releases to boost more people to test.

I would also like to think that perhaps another incentive could be a "Bag of Supplies". For every day you log into the game to test, you earn 1 Bag of supplies for use after release. It does not have to be anything crazy, 1 random reagent, harvest-able material, crafting supply. perhaps a 1-3 random - whatever seems fair and not too unbalanced.

I mean at the most you get a few hundred supplies to start the game with, hardly game-breaking but still an incentive to log-in each day of testing.

It also would not require a lot of man hours to implement and it is not new art/asset.

 

I like the idea but the implementation might be problematic when you consider the criteria for receiving the reward. Simply logging in doesn't't get you additional data but does give me the reward. So completing a quest or similar becomes necessary. Do you create a quest foe each day or repeat the same quest each day? Both come with negatives: time to create, time to complete, or repetition. You could string rewards from multiple releases, but that doesn't convey a sense of urgency to complete it that release as I could complete it next release or during any release. So that defeats the purpose of the reward.

 

It depends on how you look at it. Simply logging in only tests that feature, however, you GOT them to log in. What is the percent chance that they will simply log off (after taking the time to sit down and log in?). Just as with stores, get them in the door.

OTOH, you could tie it to an action. Perhaps any sort of XP gain, be it crafting, harvesting or attacking. If you earn XP, you get credit for the bag. As you are not giving away a new art asset or something like that, you do not need to create anything hard. Simple XP gain for a regent or crafting mat.

 

Will be a wipe between R12 and Dec 1?

 

Unknown at this time. As soon as we have ANYTHING definite about wipes and when we will let everyone know. For now assume wipes will continue with each release until we tell you differently

 

@DarkStarr, will you be adding the funding from Steam Early Access to the campaign tracking page?
https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/?page_id=35155

Perhaps a couple new lines for Steam:
- Raised through Steam Early Access: xxxx
- Steam Early Access Backers: xxxx (assuming this number will not include existing backers who get Steam keys, but are new backers to SotA who went through Steam exclusively)

And yikes, we still have nearly 5k KS backers who haven't yet linked!

 

Sadly that number has not changed in like a year. Crazy.

 

Just curious on the KS backers who haven't linked yet. Is that a big deal or I am I missing something?

 

Not really. They're probably just not interested in playing the monthly pre-alpha releases (i.e., waiting for beta or final version)