Still don't get the vibe...

Hey there,

I check back every few month or so to see how the game advances and try to feel myselft into the game. This still did not happen, it just doesn't vibe at all...

This is meant to be constructive critique, so please do not post any "play something else" answers, I pledged my part sane as any of you might have done or not, so I have the right to say what I see, does not work for me. Anyone else can see this different.

1. Graphics

This game is not even ready yet, still its graphics are not even close state of the art.
(Its a secondary concern, cause I played UO for the gameplay for 9 years but it needs to be said)

- I walk 2 Minutes and see soo many repeated trees, vines, stones, market carts, character models and animations ... so I wonder how many game assets do you have right now to build the real game?
- Char creation is not giving too many options to look special
- NPCs also are no so diverted, it seems there are a few models and skins, but it all comes very repetetive to me
- a lot of the textures still are not very detailled. Sometimes a small part looks awesome, but its the smaller part
- I did not see to many mobs yet (going to look for them) but they all have the same movement patterns

2. Gameplay
- its a bit slow to me, but that might be intended for all the hardcore RP guys out there
- to many PVP limitations (part of what made UO be so rewarding imho was the chance of BIG losses)
- Like Richard G. says, one of the most rewarding gameplay should be exploration, but thats for my opinion not just running around is it?
- I do not feel this game being related to UO, it does neither look nor feel like it, not even close

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I know this has been a great effort and I appreciate the load of hours being put into it and I am sure this CAN and will be a great game, but maybe someone takes what I wrote and thinks about it. I am 100% sure I am not the only one seeing it this way.

Oh and please no "this game focuses on roleplaying and does not neeed to look as good" or "I think it looks awesome", "I think its all good" replies, you can not convince me - I can not convince you, thats ok as long as the dev team reads this and reckons not everybody is as flashed and hyped.

Thanks for reading,

Shadowknight aka Kaluha Migosh of DF

 

@Shadowknight

Small tip is to put things like this in the release feedback, this since it is about how you feel about the current release you tested and you are aiming this towards the devs and you aren't really looking for interaction with the community.
The devs usually will and should ignore the General Discussion forum since the signal to noise ratio isn't usually worth it, instead it is mostly frequented by the community ie players.
While the release feedback is regularly skimmed by the devs and is usually not as community opion heavy.
Here is the current release feedback:
https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/forum/index.php?forums/release-27-feedback-forum.514/

 

Well...the vibe, in my case...doesnt come from graphics, from mechanics or gameplay stuff.

In my case, its the community of aged people (no...dont you take that wrong! I meant seasoned...no..I meant...arg..you know what I ment) that like to take time at what they do. The fact that SotA is not a game, but trys to be a digital home that you can turn on after work...without ANY level to chase.

Young players...the kind that needs to be taken by the hand to acomplish anything...those people wont stay in SotA long imho. UO was not PvP...it was a big part of it FOR SOME...but not anyone. I knew I was back in Britania (ahem..Novia) when I heard the music in the log in screen.

 

Great feedback Shadowknight!

Polish over the next 6 months should go a long way to at least somewhat addressing many of these issues.

 

I like the graphics. And while not a graphics snob, I upgrade my GPU regularly to stay relevant (GTX 970, currently)

Everything is placeholder at the moment. Once a basic model is in place for the full game, they will circle back to polish and differentiate. Their schedule puts that task to be complete by the end of the year.

The Male Avatar model has been worked on recently and is expected to be released in R28.

New Overworld discoverables are just starting to be worked on. We all aren't sure exactly what that means.

I look forward to the finished product and beyond as well. You are correct that this game will be amazing with more time.

 

Welcome back!

 

There's nothing state of the art and I never expected any RPG worth their salt to be prettier than the empty shells that most games these days pride themselves with. The more graphically advanced RPG series are the Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Dragon Age, Mass Effect and Witcher and they have very static worlds. Some of them in each series I'd even argue that there's very little RPG to be found at all.

A decent RPG will always be technically behind when it comes to visual fidelity. It's more expensive to make and it's technically more demanding.

For repeated assets, I think it's an issue with having a small team. Nothing stops them from adding more assets in future patches so it doesn't bother me.

Gameplay wise, I'm happy to tell you that they've recently changed the overall pacing of the combat. So they're slowly starting to work on the actual gameplay instead of focusing entirely on game systems.

 

You are doing just fine keep checking back and see if / when the game actually become what you "think " it should be. Good Luck, they are taking steps forward each time, all be it little steps, they ar still forward.

 

Placeholders. Pre made and bought assets from the unity store. Some are made by port, but mostly all placeholder textures till they have the game systems in place and have a lot of time to devote to creating large textures.

I think you are holding UO in a high regard. SotA has a achieved much of what UO did.
There are some rule changes but other than the content not created yet,I don't think UO did much more.

Also RG has said he chose Gameplay/Content over graphics, they did not have the budget for both.
So just be patient.

Maybe actualy give leveling up a try, since you've like never seen a monster before.
Or try jumping into the community and do some stuff like kill dragons and trolls and stuff.

I imagine if your just spawning in and standing around looking at stuff, then yea the vibe might be dull...

 

The word is experienced

 

Nope. This is not the case.

EDIT: It is true they will be doing some polishing, for instance they said they are doing another pass on the player avatars. But if you are holding your breath for them to up-rez and/or re-texture the majority of the game, you will be disappointed.

They have far too much content to create still to have time to fix the stuff that is already out there.

 

merci mon ami! Arrrg...I ment danke vielmals, ok sorry...you know what I want so say

 

Tell that my neighbors that spend days watching the telly

 

@Bubonic There's a difference between expecting them to replace all assets before release, and knowing that they'll have more resources available to add an/or replace assets later in the game's lifespan... even post Episode5.

That's probably the last thing I'd suggest anyone to try. Every aspect of "interacting with monster" needs a lot of work and it's the most frustrating thing the game currently has to offer.

 

I don't even know how to really respond to this. First, people were saying "don't worry about the GFX they are all placeholder, we are in pre-alpha."

Replacing assets after episode one is released doesn't count. Once the episode is done, the episode is done, and it will be judged as such. Better art several years later is not something anyone can or should count on.

 

I have very similar Sentiments myself... i cant even stay logged in more than 30 minutes without feeling like my time is wasted. (other than if there is a player event giong on) but even then its just people using the dancing commands and hitting dustballs... When i first came in October 2015 i spent a bit of time and was enjoying myself, but burned out very quickly. All we can do is keep checking back and hope for the best!

Im glad i didnt jump the gun on pledges though.

 

I would agree with the feedback , but everyone has to understand they just cant throw bodies at the project. its a coaster of a ride for sure with peaks and valleys and many of the valleys where caused by us requesting , changes and tweaks to this or that. it will come together keep watching .

 

Agreed. This is how it works. Whenever press gets the "start"-command they will judge the game. And final-wipe sounds like start even if it's not intended to. Lets hope they work some wonders ...

 

... and who's making up these arbitrary rules and where can I get subscribed to their twitter?

 

Hey thanks for all the answers !

Maybe I should play UO on a freeshard with a pre trammel ruelset ;-)

Just kidding, I will keep checking back, and I will spend some more hours now to get a better picture...

Cya all...