Release 32 Feedback from a Noob

Standard disclaimer – these are my opinions …

· Starting personal inventory weight should be increased.

The game coached me to start with bow rather than sword and board, that may have had something to do with it as it relates to strength. Even after putting my alternate gear, craft materials, etc in the bank I can only grind/explore for about 20 minutes before being overweight. Then I have to begin the journey back home to sell. In my very meek and humble opinion the starting inventory weight should be at least double if not five times what it currently is. Fun factor is the consideration here.

· Need some sort of in-game mini-map for towns.

Sure use the fog of war to cover un-discovered or areas not visited in a while. Need an in-town map showing merchants, bank, crafting area, etc. the icon on the compass is not good enough. We already basically have a map of the overland – we walk across that map, why not incorporate some sort of in-town map too. Maybe I’m just directionally challenged but I have spent more time just wandering around trying to find stuff that I know I have already found several times before. Talking fun factor here again. Get me to the fun part, not the wandering around frustrated part please.

· Do away with skill degradation completely.

At some point I worked to get that point. Please don’t make me rework it. This item is important. Of course it’s fun to level up and enjoy new skills/abilities, not so much to have to repeat it to recover what you had and lost because you were concentrating on a different aspect of your character.

 

1) I don't mind the lower starting weight limit. When you train STR, your limit increases. When you train...whatever the skill is for limit increase...your limit increases. The whole point is to work toward what you want, not have it handed to you.
2) The map I'm 50/50 on. If I haven't been to a place yet, sure, maps would be good. If I go to a place a lot, it just becomes muscle memory for me to go to where I need to. Also, there are great online maps, the links to which I don't have on my computer at work, so I can't post them. But I use one that shows me overland, and then can go into each city with key people/places/trainers with an icon showing where they are.
3) As far as this goes, they have worked on it. You shouldn't already be getting hit with decay/degradation already, as you wouldn't really see an effect of this until after a few days of no playing/using the skills. Additionally, it only hits you upon death, and you can get the decay/degradation taken away by talking to an Oracle.

 

Encumbrance is pretty unforgiving at the start right now. There is a Heavy Lifter skill you can learn once you get Strength up to 40.

There are maps you can use in scene as a mini-map. You have to purchase and use the map item.

I'm not a big fan of skill decay either.

 

From many threads ago, Starr did mention about in-game mini map, but that won't come in until they finalize all the maps.

For now, just stick to sotamap.com, I guess...

 

This game needs a 100% complete new GUI. It is horrid and clunky... almost as if on purpose, for no reason.

ie: typing /map should bring up a map of that zone, if you have it in your backpack... very simple stuff.

 

They've said before that they may add an interface for pulling out the scene's map, but first they're working on finalizing maps. Many of these scenes keep changing. That stuff is coming later.

Are there other specific GUI/interface changes you'd like to see?

 

The GUI looks like it is a damn Spreadsheet... even EQ's 17 year old GUI is superior.

Game doesn't matter how good, or great it is, when how you interact with it is draconian and sluggish. Even the option menu is horrid, or even how you build a deck, etc. What about a Paper doll that isn't out of 20 years ago.. Why cant I resize my damn hotbar... etc.

 

You know it's not finished, right? Perhaps helpful suggestions in the feedback forum rather than simple derision would be more beneficial.

 

Do you have specific constructive criticism on how to improve it?

 

Train strength, then Heavy Lifting. You cannot have cake and eat it too.

www.sotamaps.com is your friend. Patience for UI map, I guess.

This is absolutely the best idea EVAH (I'm exaggerating of course). Here is why it's good: you can literally try to train EVERY skill. That would make this EVE Online, where someone who has been playing a long time has all the skills. This way, you won't have super-uber players after some time, because those people will be limited to what they actively use. The alternative is maybe something like UO wherein you have set max skill allotment (700+ or some such, I forget). This prevents people in UO from having an all skilled character. I think it's great because I don't like to ALT, and I do see a bunch of skills I want to pick up (and hopefully use, or else they decay DERP).

Another note: You only lose points in the tier of that skill. So, a Tier 2 skill can go to 40 to get to Tier 3, and if you do not hit Tier 3 and then do not use the Tier 2 skill it will only degrade to the first level of Tier 2. In other words, you will not go down a tier through decay. I believe this is correct.

And the decay seems to go hand in hand with your pooled XP, again limiting uber characters.

 

First off, welcome to the community.

I disagree on how well the game looks. I think the game looks pretty good for the most part, though a few areas look particularly bad (old water, NPCs, a handful of old models, etc).

Performance is poor, but it hasn't been fully optimized yet. Part of the poor performance is the design decision that ALL lights are dynamic. Richard prefers that players have control to turn every light in the game on and off on the fly for the sake of interactivity. I love interactivity, but I wouldn't have made that decision myself just because the performance hit is so big. But it is what it is.

It was a huge mistake to list 2014 for release. I have no idea why they did that, but it was never a realistic goal. I get this is a selective multiplayer game and not a traditional MMO, but making an MMO from scratch can take 7 years. SWTOR took 7 years. Elder Scrolls Online took 7 years. SotA has been in development for 3 years. 3 years isn't that long of a development cycle for a single player game, let alone a MMO.

 

I think the game needs more natural UI elements and less windows that look like windows or lists. For example I like playing with bag inventory mode. it may be clunky and hard to use but it looks more atmospheric than the excel list of the list inventory mode.
Also the look of the windows with this uninspired golden frame and black interior... It just looks like it is a placeholder put together in a few minutes. Everything should be more graphical, atmospheric, less Excel-like and less intrusive.

 

I agree on the first point. I never believed it for a moment. Also look at the budgets of the noted products in comparison to this one.

 

I didn't complain about this paltry GUI 2 years ago...!

Today I am... because this is nearing the end, and if $500 paying Fan does not like the development & the "has-been" feel of the UI, the public won't either. It is way too clunky and restrictive... even when interacting with an NPC the "lockout" is horrid mistake and cheaply done, instead of a simple cinematic of a camera sweep, then giving you back FULL control of your character, without having to be locked into a conversation.

The mere fact I find myself having to hit escape button, a millions times is bad interface & direction. Targeting friendlies is way beyond clunky too... anything you target (click on), should appear on your target box. Even a freaking candle.




Secondly, the GUI in Shroud of the Avatar has zero stylization, and is missing things like an interactive paperdoll, Or GUI buttons on windows, everything is like a Microsoft Windows Spreadsheet, doesn't set the tone for this game.... unaspiring. Look at EQ's graphical interface for how oldschool trumps what we have here. It too bland, & no where near the polish this game should have at this point IMO. They can slow down on content, since they have fans making everything for them and start to work on end user polish. Project still feels alpha to me, no where near beta, or even close to release.


Suggestion...? Yeah, have the development team go play any modern MMORPG for ideas, other than the direction this UI is. The icons for Paperdoll, Inventory, Options, etc... are absolutely horrid, even for a game that is still in beta. These things should already be finalized and being pushed out, well before final content is added. Because ALL content in Shroud is consumed threw the GUI's eyes & if that content is consumed under frustration or duress of a piss-poor GUI, then that is how the game is perceived & taken. The GUI is what you interact with, dosn't matter how good the mechanics, if you can't play along and marred by a fettered GUI. Even the deck building is remedial and not at all what a Magic Player would consider easy, or strait forward. The concept is not implemented well.



My comments may hurt, but they are the truth and meant to help this project, so that it becomes better.

 

You're entitled to your opinions. But you've been asked repeatedly if you have specific constructive criticism.

Saying "IT SUCKS!" doesn't help the project or make it better.

Saying "This can be improved by changing X to do Y..." makes the project better.

 

Would you give more specific example of which MMORPGS games you would like to see their UIs being adopted here?

 

@Garrett Ohrmsford have you tried the bag mode yet? Would that be more in the direction of what you'd like to see maybe? It's kind of fun playing with it .

 

As SotA is not a MMORPG but a Selective Multiplayer RPG with a single player (offline) part/mode the devs should take into consideration that the UI should work in both modes. No one wants to have a MMO UI in a single player RPG!

 

Honestly, if you guys have qualms with me bringing this up, it is then evident many here do not know what a good GUI is, or ever used one.

It is easily evident how clunky this GUI is.. compared to others. There are ways to implement all this. I am not going to spend hours here doing their job... but it would help if the took a look at the competition first. I think many of you are being fooled thinking it will change in the future... is there an official when?



Secondly, why just not solicit fans and others persons that has done GUI's in other games, even FAN stylized user interfaces are superior to what we are dealing with. I have been gone from this project over a year (read my posts history). I am not a complainer, but offering my dislikes on this project, for a better future. Oddly, which means Others find this GUI awesome, which means most of you are content should remain silent.... And let those who have experience hundreds of different GUI's (over the last 30 years of gaming) criticize please. Again, IMO it seems none of you want a better GUI... and this one is quiet acceptable. So you are not helping anyone... I am.

This GUI needs considerable work to be an enjoyable game.

 

Great feedback! Agree with the points. Only I think skill degradation needs to stay or there needs to be away to prevent players from maxing all skills. This helps ensure uniqueness.