Sorry, but Etceter is ugly

To pound a mountain flat would take much longer than 200 years.

 

I did a quick search on Etceter, and I didn't find a whole lot that described it as being drastically different than what is in game now. Maybe I'm not looking in the right place.

 

I'll have to go back and look later, just did a quick run into Etceter for the hat quest, but I don't think I saw a Baron's Keep there either, and certainly didn't see anything there that could be described as opulent.
http://sotawiki.net/sota/Etceter

"In the time of the Blade of the Avatar novella, Etceter is presided over by a baroness. The Baron's Keep stands as the most opulent structure in town."

 

I'll read Blade again when I get home. I remember climbing a hill from the docks.
Maybe I'm wrong. We'll see.

 

Fair enough. I'm interested to know. From SOTA wiki there appears to be some kind of baroness house or something? I don't remember that at all, so it must not be a big deal in the book.

 

Agree with Darkmoon. When I first visited the town, it looked unfinished somehow. I'm hoping it will get some more TLC later. I know the Devs have a busy schedule

 

A friend has pointed out that I am not considering that something like an earthquake could have changed the landscape in the 200 years that have passed.

 

As a little sorry for sometimes being a overly harsh Fan in regards to visuals.

This little thank you video for the wonderful visuals you Developers create.

 

True, but unless the earthquake buried the town completely, and another one sprang up to take its place AND name, there has to be something that links past to present, or something that explains why what it is now is not what it was then.

 

It's around page 85 I believe in the book.
*Edit* Just look on my account page and did a quick look at the book, first mention of Etceter starting page 84.
*Edit again* Page 87 mentions the keep.

 

The harbor doesn't do it for you?

 

Honestly after the handling of the Player Owned Town bug last Friday (Updates on their website, a Dev Team of around 30 people fixing the issue within several hours late on Friday night) , I am not worried about this Dev team delivering a great game within the financial constraints, as @DarkStarr posted in this thread that they are aware of the issue and are going to polish this town and I am sure many others. I feel confident taking their word on it, with that said I think the best thing we can do is continue to provide constructive criticism where appropriate and this thread in my opinion is on point.

 

If the harbor was the only significant landmark, then yeah.. but it isn't.

 

I'm not trying to be difficult but so far just casually reading some of BOTA, I haven't found other significant land marks. What's missing?

 

Thanks, DarkStarr, for the feedback and reassurance!

 

Spoiler: descriptions of Etceter from BotA

'From a small cottage you could look down the street. Through the small squares of wavy glass fixed into the lead latticework, you could look over the top of the Harbor town of Etceter to the docks beyond'. (these means that some cottages up the main road are situated on a hill that overlooks the rest of the town, and the docks in the harbor beyond.) 'You could watch as the ships came down the coast from the northwest, or along the eastern shores as they navigated the fringes of the tempestuous Bay of Storms. On a good day, you might catch the dark outline of Siren Isle sitting on the horizon to the north, but far more often, the perpetual squalls which gave the bay it’s name would veil it from sight.'

'Walk down the length of the dirt road and sail away.' (it shows the roads were dirt)

'It was the only deep water port on the southern shore of the Bay of Storms, and as such, had become the Gateway to the Southern Straits, the only access for the overland trade routes from Midmaer through Quel, or from the small harbor at the mouth of the River Fang.'

-So we can't have any other PoTs with water access along the southern shore of the Bay, or the eastern shore.

In days long past, Etceter had been a pirate haven and the town had grown up as a wild and lawless place. Its name was even taken in those days, the word meaning ‘and so forth’ which seemed to perfectly fit a village that had grown up as something of an afterthought.
-should be some clue as to this being an ancient pirate haven.

Etceter, which was built adjacent to the mouth of the River Barren, the surrounding ground was rocky and difficult to till. Farming was largely an exercise in frustration, with sheep ranching being only marginally more successful. (-but the cottage has a garden, so people till grow food, just no big farms.)

And so, the living breath of Etceter was the constant inhale and exhale of commerce and shipping. The result of all this was a town of moderate size sprawling out from the base of the Baron’s Keep which was kept safe largely due to the fact that it was too far across the barren countryside to be worth the trouble to attack it from the land, and too dangerous to cross the Bay of Storms to be worth the trouble to attack from the water.

'looked up the main road of Etceter to face the cottage near the crest of the hill. at the bottom of the dirt street that ran through the center of Etceter, started her climb.' (- so there was a hill overlooking the town, and it seems a dirt road shoots thru town and up the hill.)

Two major buildings are mentioned: The Hall of the Baroness, and the Stockades which seem to be situated near the docks.

Inside the Hall:
'great double doors that were the main entrance to the audience hall. The doors opened outward, Tall pillars on either side of the room supported the beautiful arched ceiling twenty feet overhead. The floor has an inlaid pattern. Stop on the circular shaped stone in the center of the hall..'

It doesn't sound like a mountain, it says the surrounding terrain is rocky and barren, difficult to traverse, and easy to spot an army from a distance.. but there's definitely a hill. I hope this helps get a picture of how it should feel to live there. Lots of wide open space beyond the town, living on the hill gives you a view up, down, and across the bay on a clear day.

 

I just startet the latest Alpha of Kingdom Come: Deliverance and walked around in a small village. I took screenshots from places which didn't sport much activity but still they show that even empty streets and spaces can look detailed.
It is not so much about graphical quality (although SotA could use more shaders (wet and shiny surfaces) as well as textures with more depth (parallax mapping). It is about the details in the scenes.

Straw and small rocks on the street, much more vegetation, some planks, fences, wood, barrels, benches etc.



Even the ground texture does look much more diverse:



Some broken things on the ground, more vegetation...



Empty and still detailed:

 

I believe this covers what is missing. I would think that there should be:
-mention of the Baron(ess)
-his or her role in establishing the town the way it is now
-the hill overlooking the "main drag" and the ruins of Syenna's sister's cottage (as a nod to the novel)
-the Baron's Keep, or it's ruins
-the stockade

Just for starters...

 

It could use some work, but I found it quaint and enjoyable while I was there.