Repost of my grim Outlook - sorry for the negativity, and I can handle some flames :-)

No one necessarily wants a wipe, that is not what has been said at all. If it is needed is the point, can it be done, evidently I was not aware of real dollars having come into play for resources.

Perhaps sometimes the time is not right for the feedback. I am way too wordy in my feedback. I so wish I could speak with concise, stick to the point thoughts that are easy to read. I am so working on that. We lose people with words sometimes which is frustrating to say the least. I have such high hopes for this game, as we all do. I want the details to be added in, I want the separation of the game areas to be breached by bulletin boards, town sieges, and a smart UI that knows where we have been and how we got there demonstrated by comments and reactions from our character and journals. I want discoveries that forward the game and are plentiful to be found. I want the easy way out to stop, let it be done right like our agriculture system needs so much more and fishing etc. Can't wait to see what is done, but really, really, hoping that things matter and are tied in to each other. Let me know I have things to do that have a deadline, need to eat, rest, etc. ok ok here I go. thanks

 

what does 'catch up' mean to those of you that use it as a goal?

 

Not even close. What I don't understand is this strawman argument that things are going to be worse!

Portalarium has made visible moves against botters and exploiters and their position on these things has been well publicized. Portalarium is making crafting professions more meaningful by breaking weapons/armor and pulling recipes off vendors. This should also encourage a more regional approach to player strategies in-game... we'll have to wait and see and then wait some more while it's balanced. But what I expect will come out in the wash is a more meaningful experience in game.

I see the recent moves as strategies to make things better, and for players that think it makes the game harder, I say get out of SPO and try some cooperative play in multiplayer - players may just find that these hard things get a lot easier that way.

 

Sorry, I have to disagree. When you ask people to 'pledge' real money on something that is only shown in the barest, minimalist state and ask them to trust you to deliver, you absolutely do owe them an explanation.

 

I do have to say the "end game" is what I hate. Whenever you have a sandbox game, but people speak of an end game, something went wrong. As you said, things need to break, sandboxes only work when the sand keeps eroding and you need to keep building. If what we make in a sandbox never crumbles, then we get bored once there's no more sand to build with.

Did I hit that analogy too hard? haha

 

No you're absolutely right Derium ..there's not an awful interesting sand in this box yet i think

 

Lol yes repetition is what gets it in the game, well hopefully. Some things so matter and the Devs don't see random mentioning of things.

It is really important to get the character reacting to the environment and the smarter UI in the game. Why are we doing anything we are doing, does food, buffs, sleeping, interacting even matter?

Does our character or the npc's even know we are doing anything, can they even understand us and or advise us? Does our journal even know we are doing anything?

Do we have rewards that mean anything, do we have discoveries that mean anything?

Do we have to strategize to battle, have we had enough sleep, or enough to eat, or are we buffed up enough, does the enemy have a resistance that we have to think about?

Why do we come back and play this game over and over for years and years? What reason for doing anything matters? These things need in. Rewards, achievements, reasons and even time frames for doing some things that matter. Like hey you ran out of time or you fished up an item with a curse on it with stat reductions and you need to solve the mystery to fix yourself. Or you find a dead body your character states hmmm perhaps you need to tell someone about this and your journal notes perhaps you should ask someone about the dead body you found in ravensmoor by the campfire for example. Tasks and more galore to keep us coming back

How do we connect the world so there isn't just a bunch of empty towns and little to no reason for them outside of having a place to live, let's random siege them for one thing and not drop the ball, at least with creatures and wars with pvp.

Give us the fiber to connect it all and give us bulletin board work orders and wanted posters with criminal points getting players on the boards. Give us the crafting quests that teach us and crafting discoveries form doing crafting, like hey you've learned a new skill. Buying skills from a trainer is ok but it has never been about discovery and it sped up the learning curve tremendously, we should not be GM's no way. That should take forever.

Also make pvp important by those criminal points and work orders that send people for body parts and rewards for bringing back the head of the criminal. Things like this need to be here. All and more of this all needs to be there. This is what we are talking about. to the @Devs @DarkStarr @Lord British2

 

it's not about us telling you how to play the game, it is about the game, read on.

 

I can see the value in a wipe but as many have stated it would equally cause a lot of disruption to the current community for many reasons that have already been stated.

 

Great..... That should be a given...... But that's not even one of my issues, along similar lines though it is differing builds that can farm XP at 20*times what another can, and then that XP can be applied to ANY skill, turning this from an alleged RPG into a F(farming)PG....

Great.....apart from the coto use within the mechanics. And by pulling recipes to those that don't have them now, it makes the game harder for them and keeps the ones ahead, ahead.

Great....I am for making the game harder, for everyone. Not now harder for the ones that missed the boat, didn't earn enough xp to afford 2+ GM skills an hour, didn't raise their skills before less experience was applied, where gold was easy to get, for present and FUTURE players.

I have flagged PvP as of their latest announcement, The way i intended to, to begin with but never did as why take more risk for no reward. But i generally play solo or in small group so i wont get all benefits associated. This isn't about what's best for me, but the game and i feel all the modes should be totally separate. My ideal, you get two character slots, one for fpo and one for mmo, no spo at all. fpo world will see all houses but not vendors, vice-versa, Keeps it separate and i would imagine MOST people would play in mmo, meaning a more lively world, more attractive to new players..

In my view we cant wait that long. I am not asking for an immediate wipe as that would be useless without changes to the game. But before we go proper live, then that in my view is the time for a wipe, when everything can be ironed out and we have a much fuller and robust game, tried out in a proper live situation as we are now, with the devs much more knowledgeable about what works and what doesn't.


Ive said my piece in this thread. I don't want to argue with anyone about it all. I hate doing this, i don't like to make anyone upset, but these my feelings on the matter and it would be disloyal to them/myself/players if i just smiled happily away. Love the game generally, the devs, the world, the dream...just want it to have as good a start as it can and i believe as stated they have the skill/experience to pull it off...still.

 

I really, really hope they wipe recipe books and implement only purchased and dropped recipes.

Recipe discovery sounds like a good idea on paper...until a site listing all recipes comes out and it becomes nothing more than a mindless task. At this point I wouldn't purchase anything from another player. I can just look up the recipe and craft it myself, which is what I do 90% of the time since other players inundate the market with overpriced items.

 

For me, it's getting to an equivalent level of ability, like being able to craft at the same level or having equal chance to complete high level content at the same rate. Basically, having maximum efficiency in my chosen specializations.

 

They are trying to make us forget a gamemaster ever was a good idea... everyone has the AD&D book and knows it by heart, why not let them all the freedom... would make a fun game... all players and no GMs. Everyone would be a super warrior tank mage...

Not saying UO was better, but at least it hinted in the right direction.

 

The problem with thinking that MMOs have no endgame is that to have no end-game you need a continuous influx of content. Erosion only works for so long before people feel like Sisyphus, destined to eternally lift the same boulder up the same hill. Dynamic content generators might be a better solution, however it is a huge challenge to program. While it may create unique content for a time, it would still at some point become predictable and boring or the rewards may no longer be enticing.

To keep the people at endgame engaged, you need something interesting to keep them coming back. The most impactful would probably be an engaging storyline, and that takes time. I hope that when SotA becomes stable and full of the expected launch features that a development team can split off to create new objects, scenes and story chapters to be doled out on a regular basis. And even still, you'll have people finish the new content that night and log out until the next release because there is nothing in between that interests them.

 

Companies shut down games all the time without explaining why.

You're not a shareholder, you agreed to help fund the game's development, regardless of how it turns out. This "I paid money so I'm entitled to get exactly what I want" crap has to stop.

Pledging is gambling.

 

And this is how they define it.

This means that the progress a player makes will no longer be reset every three months.

Sounds like there is a loophole in there since we all know:

"Every three months" does not equal "never".

There's going to be a wipe in some capacity. The entire statement from the notes has quite a few "outs". All the past catering to the big spenders has come back to bite them in the ass, IMO.

We need this game back on track at any cost.

 

That doesn't make it right.

Legally, sure. I guess the court of law probably couldn't force them to talk.

When someone asks for help from others to make or do something, and another party provides that help, there is a relationship between the two and an expectation that the people who asked for help will do what they said they would do. There may not be a legal or financial relationship, but there is still a social, ethical responsibility to those who provided because without them it wouldn't be possible.

I'm not talking about getting "exactly what I want" or even a final, finished game-- that's a different discussion. I'm talking about open communication about changes in plans and big decisions.

Even a casino has rules to follow. If they all of a sudden decide to change Blackjack rules to have 22 be the magic total while we're still mid-hand, they better damn sure give me an explanation.

Anyway, this is besides the point of the thread. No one is accusing Port of planning to wipe and not give an explanation.

 

Agreed... to me pledging is saying thank you but for most people its a big gamble.

VERY early in development there were guilds (supposedly VERY big pvp guilds) that pushed this game from single player to full fledged MMO with a big focus on pvp.

Anyone tell me where are those big guilds now ?

We raised the alarm, were ignored, and it ended up in LOTS of backers being banned because they felt cheated, only because they were asking for what was announced at kickstarter.

So it isn't only a gamble... its all organised in quite the pyramidal scheme, and I don't think the devs are to blame here.

Our lack of unity, the fact I was so ridiculed for my purist views about roleplaying, thats what gave the impression to the devs that the BIG pvp guilds were going to stick around longer, that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.

How predictable could that be ? The big pvp guilds leaving ?

I used to be a great sorcerer and seer... now I'm just a ridiculous fanboi, optional and disposable.

Que sera, sera...

 

To be clear, I'm referring to people who participated in the real money trade forums. That has always been a no support realm of the game. If you buy something from the add-on store, they have responsibility to deliver those virtual goods. But there is zero protection, even from fraud, in the player to player market. They have no implied responsibility for the consequences of a server wipe on player to player trades.