Quests - What's wrong with people?

Yes I agree, we should have a separate chat for just us in game with no other noise in it and be able to drag it where we want.

I was thinking it would be great if starter areas were a tutorial with examples of questing in shrouds.

Like having a few NPCs needing things before we leave the area that give rewards to help get people started, such as quests giving out a little gold and xp.

The quest could work like if an npc has info you need to pry out of them, and you don't ask the right questions after a while a pop up hint could say something like "perhaps you need to ask the NPC for something", or "perhaps you need to offer to give the NPC something". Then if the person still doesn't get it then give the answer away for them.

 

This is how the dialogue window should look like.

A cool looking border, non-transparent, a fixed position in the middle of the lower half of the screen. Spaces between what the dialogue partners say, formated text and easy to spot who said what by having the dialogue be left-aligned for what we say and right-aligned for what the other says.
Also it should just feature NPC text.

 

I'm a fan of old school notes. I have used seven notebooks for Ultima Underworld 2 to annotate my journey through the labyrinth of worlds

Here is a an example



But I must honestly admit, I've written these notes 1997 already ;-)

 

I REALLY like that dialogue box @Lord_Darkmoon !

 

Me too

 

If they redo the dialog box with ALL THE TEXT IN CAPS OR SMALLCAPS, I'm going to find Darkmoon and physically harm him.

All-caps is the single, worst readability error in any typographic venture EVER. It's ok for titles, it's ok "to shout", it's ok as emphasis. If I have to read the entire SotA story in capitals, I'm gonna bite someone.

 

As much as I would love to see it, I highly doubt we will be getting a better UI for single player :/

Any requests for additional differences between single and multi have been met with crickets

 

And of course, a browsable, searcheable, lockable and separate journal would be AWESOME.

 

Also : Being able to move those windows on my second screen (out of the client window) would be great !

I tend to always feel cluttered on my small 21 inch screen... but sometimes I need all those windows open its a pain that my second screen is useless.

Many programs offer this functionality I hope there is a unity feature for that !

 

Rofl it's just because of the choosen font i take note that Lithos pro is not Kat friendly.

I'd love to have an UI like the one Lord Darkmoon proposed (with a different font don't hit me Kat) for the game in general, not just for Single player... NPC conversation and player interaction in the local chat should get some love, to make those two the main forms of interactions in the game, relying on the chatbox for the rest.

 

While its good for everyone to give feedback, it should be more than obvious that "early access" is meant to test game features, game mechanics, graphics, stressors, combat balances, etc. I pretty much assumed the "polish" on the quests was going to come in later releases.

When I ran through that intro zone (where you need a key to open the gate), I was slightly disappointed. I went into every single house, opened every single door, opened every chest and bookshelf, smashed open every crate and barrel, and to my surprise - NOTHING. Maybe an apple or carrot there, but really, nothing. Not even a funny book with ironic text containing "everything an avatar needs to know about sex." However, I immediately assumed this was because the devs are busy making the game function well. I assume this sort of polish, easter-egg finding, and overall game-world enrichment will be phased in immediately before or just after the "formal" launch. I am more than OK with this. Make the game work, then iterate and make it better . Strive for the ideal of Ultima VII, but for now, lets just make sure spells cast, doors open, and zones load.

I absolutely advocate deeper quests, and not feeding the gremlins of modern gaming with easy treats. It took me all of 1-second to guess clicking on the bard and asking for "key" to get it to open the door. In all honesty, if that pisses someone off, then please, dont be part of my game's community. Go back to starcraft or whatever clickfest you came from . Srsly, forget the steam kiddos. They wouldnt know a good game if it were free .

Please provide enriching, engaging experiences! Please do not dumb-down anything, except for "alpha-testing" purposes to encourage players to stress-test various zones!

 

Of course the font in the game should not be in caps. It was just an example chosen to illustrate the dialogue box.

 

@stratigos As much as I feel where you're coming from... we've been here since kickstarter and beleive me when I say Lum's input GREATLY ALLEVIATES our concerns. I'm not saying that out of the blue. We just want to make sure it gets worked on before release of episode one because we want to KEEP as much casual players as possible to fill the HUGE world that was built.

Secundo, STOP telling people to leave the community, STOP saying they don't belong and should go back to whatever, WHATEVER the underlying point you're trying to make this game was made from day one to be ALL INCLUSIVE. I really SACRIFICED my own true pleasure in accepting there will be no siege perilous. Comments like this are enraging to say the least, they are immature we are trying to bring people together in one world.

This combined with your request to provide something engaging and enriching... well makes me think : THATS EASY TO SAY BRO. DON'T LAWYER THEM BRO.

Grr.

 

I fear that you are right
But at least the dialogue window should definitely be changed. A chat protocol is not only hard to read, it doesn't fit into a single player experience.

 

Oh, so much this. If you want to push every last button I have, it's when I see people being dismissive or flat out aggressive towards driving people out of the community. We can all disagree, and agree to continue to do so at the end of the day. The game will be made and decided by the developers, and the ONLY way it will continue to operate and be successful is with continued support of fans.

If your snap reaction is to tell someone to get out, take a look in the mirror first.

 

I also think it would probably help if said gate mentioned throughout this thread had a lock on it instead of being a barred gate.

 

This seems a bit heavy handed and over the top.

And besides, his delivery may be a bit misguided, but he has a point. Dumbing down the game goes against nearly everything SotA is supposed to stand for.

 

Yup especially since we can smash some heavier looking gates later on with a simple sword...

 

Bub... we've been saying that in the whole thread, of course that wasn't personal anyways...

 

I admit I got lost too, I tried finding a way to jump over for hours hehe... that plan would be good if there were tons of stuff to find and do in the scene. I would even say it would be great if there was TOO MUCH stuff, so that a player also has to make choices as to what to bring and leave behind Will you choose books and virtue items ? or will you try to maximise the gold and items... would be great if the oracle also derived some analysis of your personaly from that as well. Makes sense there would be tons of loot there as I think the bad guys aren't exactly motivated by profit so they would not dry loot the whole town.