State of the single player experience?

I really try to not even touch the previews and what have you, to avoid most of the spoilers. The forum is huge, and I have no clue where to look for answers to these very humble concerns of mine. Maybe some of you could help me.

While I'm eager to join the online part of the game, Ultima has always been a single player adventure to me. Like with many of you. We are the Avatar, we are here to save the world. Again . Very plain, and very simple.

Now -- every time I see the media report on Shroud of the Avatar, only the MMO part is mentioned. They even go so far to just call the game an MMO. So I'm here to find out ... just what is this game going to be like, in the single player experience? My hopes are that it's gameplay is going to be comparable to that of Ultima 7.

There are so many little, subtle bits in that game that are still important enough to make it what it is. Like the character portraits. I cannot imagine 3D characters like the ones I've seen in Shroud of the Avatars Screenshots, to even remotely have the soul and depth of hand drawn characters. They look rather plain to me.

The conversation system looks more like that of Morrowind or Neverwinter Nights, to me. It's a resizable box, from what I've seen. Would take time and be quite hard to get used to that.

All the MMO aspects like crafting, housing and such. Do they get in the way of a single player experience? Just how present or omni-present are these?

What do you do without a house in the MMO anyway? Is everybody who paid less than $500 a homeless bum? XD

Maybe these questions are odd to you, but over the many months of just getting email updates that I tried not to read "too closely" to miss those spoilers, I'm probably already "robbing" myself of any advantage I might have in the online parts, and hopefully the story spoilers.
What do you think the single player experience will be like, judging from what we know and have, today? Could you describe it for me, without giving away bits of the story?

 

You don't need a house to play the game. Housing is available for in game gold. Guilds can give you access to a guild house as well.

Single player games have plenty of crafting and such as well. Housing is one of the biggest parts of Fallout 4 right now.

I don't think these things detract from the single player experience.

Portalarium has hired a few more devs to work on world building and it really shows in the past few releases. We're getting more scenes and content faster now.

 

I really try to not even touch the previews and what have you, to avoid most of the spoilers. The forum is huge, and I have no clue where to look for answers to these very humble concerns of mine. Maybe some of you could help me. Don't know if I can, but I'd love to give it a try.

While I'm eager to join the online part of the game, Ultima has always been a single player adventure to me. Like with many of you. We are the Avatar, we are here to save the world. Again . Very plain, and very simple. Yes! Even a nub (points to self) can be MIGHTY!

Now -- every time I see the media report on Shroud of the Avatar, only the MMO part is mentioned. They even go so far to just call the game an MMO. So I'm here to find out ... just what is this game going to be like, in the single player experience? My hopes are that it's gameplay is going to be comparable to that of Ultima 7. This has been explained as - we are pre-alpha. Meaning we need the mechanics to go into place first and be tested. I've always thought that perhaps with all these multiplayer updates these mechanics are getting a rather vigorous testing by individuals. And as it has been pointed out countless of times, SP is different from MP in regards to combat, crafting, etc. I still think that you probably have individuals testing (mechanics) in this state with solo playstyles (as seen by certain individuals that go about soloing trolls and such things) and it can still provide useful data that can be applied to the SPOff experience.

There are so many little, subtle bits in that game that are still important enough to make it what it is. Like the character portraits. I cannot imagine 3D characters like the ones I've seen in Shroud of the Avatars Screenshots, to even remotely have the soul and depth of hand drawn characters. They look rather plain to me. I definitely hope they look plain at the moment as they really haven't been buffing that up yet. Been said, I think, that's more of a beta period thing when they start concentrating on those things. And yes, better looking avatar threads are still on the loose around here so I don't think we need to worry about it being forgotten much - when they come around to it.

The conversation system looks more like that of Morrowind or Neverwinter Nights, to me. It's a resizable box, from what I've seen. Would take time and be quite hard to get used to that. I don't know, for me, it feels more like how the old rpgs use to be - having to talk to npcs, finding their keywords, etc. You can kind of even have a conversation with some of them, if you're into frustration. You can unwittingly try to hire a guide and be told to buzz off because you already hired the other guide. The other guide won't let you fire him - at least he keeps refusing to take the hint, you know? Had to ask him if I managed to fire him before he finally got it. Talk about dense npcs

All the MMO aspects like crafting, housing and such. Do they get in the way of a single player experience? Just how present or omni-present are these? Depends on your definition of SP experience? I like doing all those things intensely in SP games. Takes me 3 years to finish some games because of it. But for those that don't enjoy it as much, I suspect, this is where NPC help will arrive - not so much in the MP mode because it's suppose to take care of itself in that mode.

What do you do without a house in the MMO anyway? Is everybody who paid less than $500 a homeless bum? XD You work your posterior off so you can go and buy one. If you chose to be tied down to the old ball and chain. Don't really see what was so good about it, other than the fact it lets you relocate yourself. I enjoyed my stint as a wandering vagabond when I first started almost as much as I did my home when I got it. I'd imagine you'd feel pretty good about yourself if you managed to save up and buy a house too eventually.

Maybe these questions are odd to you, but over the many months of just getting email updates that I tried not to read "too closely" to miss those spoilers, I'm probably already "robbing" myself of any advantage I might have in the online parts, and hopefully the story spoilers. Truthfully, you could probably still participate right now and get a feel of the mechanics and not worry too much about the spoilers much. Most of it isn't in at the moment anyway.
What do you think the single player experience will be like, judging from what we know and have, today? Could you describe it for me, without giving away bits of the story?It's really hard to tell. I'd need a lot more to go in - the main story, for example, before I know what it might be like. Most of the quests we have, don't seem to be the type might eventually be in place - if the eyeball tower quest is any indication? Mostly speculation, I'd think

 

I share your concerns and there are many differences between a true single player RPG and an MMORPG. So it worries me that the foundation of SotA will be that of an MMO and the SP part will be built on top of that. For me this sounds like SotA will play like an MMO without other players and this - at least for me - is not how I envision a true single player game to play like.

I compiled a list of features the game would imho need in order to be a true Ultima-like single player RPG:

https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/f...a-needs-to-be-a-true-single-player-rpg.40168/

 

3D is hand-drawn, too, you know. The artist creates the model, like a sculptor, in a program, and then draws the texture for his face.

The portraits for a lot of NPCs though are placeholders.

 

I agree with you greatly.

 

Redfish, I didn't even know we have placeholders. All I saw was 3D representatives of faces. I know people can do a lot in 3D, but that's not hand drawn, that's modelling. I'm not talking about connecting dots with lines, making a lot of polygons and strapping a texture on to those. I'm talking about hand drawn 2D art that would be the texture itself. Better yet, a more detailed version - just the bust, for the portraits.

Thanks so much Lord_Darkmoon. I'm glad that there are players like me, who're looking for that kind of game, too. Sadly, we might be a minority. So I really try to support these ideas as best as I can. Nothing else I can do. Most people seem to just dismiss these ideas as if they were bad ones. Even though most of what you suggest for the single player game would vastly improve the multiplayer part of the game as well.

And I really hope it's not going to just be an MMO with Singleplayer shoehorned into it. RG made excellent roleplaying games that I will not forget my entire life. This is likely the last chance to relive that again.

Thank you EnderAndrew and ForeverLost, for explaining and detailing so much! It's much appreciated! <3

 

2 minor 'reluctantly given' posts from the devs regarding single player in 3 years?... After being hit by tsunami after tsunami of mmo updates and discussion, hangouts etc...

It sets off alarm bells in my mind.

 

What? Just 2? Did those encompass the entirety of information available early, or do you thing they're just neglecting it now?

 

It is a mystery. Port does not answer on this.

 

This is usually where some sausage says "but there will be a story brah" or "pre alpha, BOOM you just got lit up cuz"

 

@Jamet
Check out this topic:
https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/f.../single-player-offline-unique-features.21739/

 

There are many of us here holding our breath to see how the storyline/single player etc plays out.

 

Really good post Jamet. It is the essence of years of arguing.
Thanks

 

You are not alone

While technically partially true, this falls mainly in the category of "nice try"

Unfortunately, port has already gone on record saying they will not be doing any sort of 2d portraits.

 

Nah, I meant it seriously. I don't agree with people who say only 2D can be artful. I know someone else who was working on a game and he was deciding between hand drawn 2D and 3D, and picked 2D with the same idea that 3D was soulless or something. I just disagree with that kind of dichotomy.

 

I'm of the view that the silence speaks volumes (i.e. the reason they aren't saying anything is because there isn't anything to say).

I understand that the current focus is on getting mechanics implemented because those affect both versions, but things like skill decay, PoTs, PvP balance, and the other hot topics right now really don't do anything for single player offline mode. It would be nice to get more of a feel if this is going to meet my desire for a single player game that is worth playing, unfortunately I honestly don't think it will based on the MMO push I've witnessed. I like the community here greatly, so I don't mind the MMO aspect as I've made a bunch of friends, but it would be nice if this had the depth that U7.

 

I would really like to know how the single player (offline) mode will play. When I look at The Witcher 3 or Fallout 4 I simply cannot imagine SotA to offer such an experience when so many game mechanics are geared towards the MMO aspect. I am not talking about graphics or production values, I am talking about how the game experience feels like. Fallout 4 or the Witcher 3 feel like single player games because of how the game mechanics work. SotA on the other hand feels like an MMORPG. And just adding quests and removing other players won't change that I fear...

 

There is nothing to discuss. Only a few features will be different and they talked about it.

They won't talk about the story. They want to keep that secret.

What else do you want them to talk about?

 

I've seen some amazing 3D characters and tend to side with you on this. Yes, currently it is nothing but placeholders and "soulless", but if the devs (hopefully) are able to start customizing the faces it should improve this greatly. The only reason people jump on the 2D bandwagon (I assume) is because they haven't had the pleasure of witnessing well done 3D character models.