The Intro(Blood River Massacre) Needs Work

Yes, when I first started playing, I had assumed elves were a race like any other you would find in similar games. I did not know that the elves were fabricated war automotons created by the obsidian wizards 400 years earlier to fight in a war against humans. But knowing that now, its still confusing as to how they could have children and be farmers who dont know how to fight(anymore). Unless that is explained somewhere in the intro... I didnt find it. I got the impression that the elves are like robots. If thats not the case, some more explanation would be nice.

But after its updated I may start over with a new character to review the changes and write new feedback.

 

It's been a couple of weeks since I last restarted, and I also went through Blood River.

When I spoke to the Oracle on the Isle of Storms, I seem to remember getting a pop-up encouraging me to choose bow, because the Path of Love which passes through Solace Bridge was the most polished. I chose the Path of Truth knowing that it was under construction. This also would have been a clue that there were three starting zones, Solace Bridge being the most polished and the other two unfinished.

I also remember being told why I was being directed to Soltown, but also had the option to continue to Aerie. I chose to follow that advice, and went to Soltown, fully understanding the discontinuity.

Because I have restarted several times, and most often choose to start in Blood River, I remember that it was very different. The child being in the cave, for example. That scene was in the process of being remodeled when the decision was made to put all available resources into polishing the Path of Love, so I was aware of why Blood River has issues. I suppose a new player might not know the reason, but they are told Blood River isn't polished.

The Magistrate recognizes you as one of the avatars that have suddenly started popping into the world from the lunar rifts. Maybe it's a stretch that he trusts you and expects you to lead, but avatars are supposed to be legendary heroes, so maybe it's not a big stretch. And yeah, everybody thinks they are the chosen one. They think they are, but I'm pretty sure it's just me. Don't forget there is supposed to be a single player game here, so to those folks, they ARE the chosen one. Also, it's a Lord British game. There has to be an avatar, virtues, a cloth map, and children to kill.

Up until recently, we were penalized for looting all of the bodies. Maybe they should add that back in, as well as having Randal refuse to help you if you insist on looting them.

About the kid taking the Bonesteel Dagger, kids mess with stuff their parents tell them not to.

I also fail to understand why folks skip reading all the help and lore they are given in the introduction and then complain that nothing was explained to them.

But technical issues are good to know, and will be addressed when they polish Blood River.
As I understand from reading the updates, they're looking at the Path of Courage now, so Blood River will be a while.

 

If you want to know about elves, you'll have to do quite a bit of reading. The reason behind the two elf factions is available in Blood River.

 

I just wanted to make a character and start playing, so I skipped the isle of storms reading material. I usually dont mind reading stuff but I was anxious to get in the world and play. I read plenty after I got in the world. And as you can see from my detailed feedback, the dialogue and info that was there was poor quality. Thats why I reported it. I wasnt "complaining," I was reporting problems with the intro. Nothing more.

Besides, darkstarr mentioned today on twitch stream that they are aware the new player experience is bad and will fix it.

 

"I skipped all the story presented to me in the introduction because I just wanted to play.

I don't understand the backstory at all."

While this is entirely valid, I hope you understand why it is more than a little frustrating.

 

I know you just want to take a stab at me personally, but me not reading the isle of storms books has nothing to do with the simplistic and inconsistent npc dialogues(in blood river)and poor writing of the lorekeepers journal, nor any of the technical issues I reported. If you read all my posts here, you would see that I went back and started reading all the books. Its not books I took issue with. I even complimented a couple of them... 99% of all the other NPC's dialogues I have encountered in the game are excellent.

 

The elven lorekeeper is not human.

His journal is actually the clearest explanation in Blood River from the eleven side why elves and humans come to blows.

If you think it is poorly written, that's entirely a valid opinion, but it is not intended to be a human voice. The lack of understanding of the world they find themselves in is intentional.

Elves in SOTA are not elves in other games. That is very intentional.

 

How do you explain the elven farmers letter then? Its not written in the same style as the other elven writings. Thats what I mean by inconsistent. Compare the lorekeepers journal with the farmers letter and you will see what I mean.

I still dont understand lore wise how the elves are able to have children. Ive not found any info yet in the game to reconcile my confusion.

 

Sorry Teralitha! That's my bad. We do our best to get around to these posts, but it's also my job to help ensure the devs are aware of them. As you can see, all is well now.

 

Yes, thank you devs for responding. Let me guess, the name Berek is from, *wrath of the dragon god*?

 

I don't have the farmer's letter close at hand at this moment (I wrote most of the text involved, it was actually based on a real-world genocidal event) but I would guess that farming the soil is easier for elves than dealing with hostile humans.

Elves, like other beings genetically engineered by the Obsidians, are not robots and have survived their makers. The path that a group of elves are taking to overcome their past is a part of the game's story.

 

Oh... "genetically engineered," now it makes sense. So they were grown then... like incubated from a patry dish

 

Or they just procreated after being magically created by the obsidian order. Fantasy lore is full of such stories, think Tolkiens orcs (perverted elves)

 

The obsidians wanted them for an army, I doubt they were bread from a single pair, that would have taken a really really long time to make an army.

 

Actually the obsidian used magic to pervert/modify existing living creatures and I wouldn't be surprised if they also bred them. But that's lore and can be found in game and the prequel story.

 

Well if that bit of lore is true, then it stands to reason that the original sentient creature is also still around. So if they were a "modified" species... what were they modified from? And where is that species now?

When you create lore about an important part of the game, you gotta fill in all the history gaps or people like me will poke holes in the story. Or at least explain away the gaps somehow.

The amount of dialogue keywords that could be added to npcs in the game is practically unlimited. And that would certainly take a long time to implement. It would be vry interesting for any random npc to have an answer for almost anything you ask them about, even if its not related to teh game world. For example, if I asked an npc about a keyword"donald trump" and they responded with something comical. Or if I asked them about a keyword that gets them to expose hidden lore or a lead to a hidden quest. This is what people did in EQ back in the day to discover new or hidden quests, and I bet even to this day there are probably quests in EQ that were never discovered because they were so well hidden. But the chase for that quest discovery drove people to a level of fanaticism that has never been seen again in any other game because they knew they might find something new or yet undiscovered.

Will we see that here? I dont know, but the potential is there with the way the game is set up.

Right now, if you ask an npc about their own name, they say they have no idea what you are talking about, and that kind of response is immersion breaking to me.

 

Actually that species woukd have been humans.
There is a lot of lore and it makes sense (if magic makes sense). Your points about reading in a tutorial scene are valid, however there is a lot of open and hidden lore in this game to be found.
Also consider the setting with lots of history lost. I'd recommend your character to visit Desolus to find out more

 

You see... that comment about history lost, sparks my interest in trying to re-discover that lost history. Whether or not it actually exists in the game I have no idea. But at the present, with what I already know... Im not too confident it does exist so Im not all that motivated to try looking for it. They might do well to add in cinematics for the intros to help explain the lore a bit and plant the seeds of curiosity. Not everyone wants to read a pile of books right after character creation.

I think they should make a rule.... every note, every letter written and placed in the world should be tied to an existing npc or quest, or a clue about a hidden quest or treasure, otherwise why does it need to be there.(not referring to books) I have already read a number of notes I found that dont seem to have any purpose or spark any curiosity, or give enough relevant info to lead you anywhere. They just seem to be fillers when I wish they were more...

 

If its frustrating to you, the developer, who better to change it for us, than you, the developer? This is your end user, complaining about how this set up is dis-interesting. Perhaps take note of it and adapt to fix it.

 

I don't think I've posted on the forums yet, but I wanted to jump on to say that I have to agree here. Reading this thread, the OP's criticism is harsh, but important feedback that shouldn't be dismissed.

Regarding Lum's response here:

To be frank, this is a failing of the storyteller (and the game) not the gamer. If the combination of visual queues, character dialogs, key quest item copy, and events haven't made it clear what the story is, how is that the gamer's failing? While a bit sharp-tongued, the OP's posts are clear and he seems relatively competent; I find it hard to believe his reading comprehension is low.

Further, the OP's argument regarding the in-game literature is valid. Many players aren't going to read every book or letter strewn about, and they will (and should) miss out on some story elements because of that, but for an intro quest every effort should be made to immerse the player in the story utilizing every game mechanic. Hit 'em over the head with it. Maybe cutscenes will be added later on to help in this regard?

I understand the scene is being reworked, and I haven't even played through it, so I can only speak to what I've read in these two pages. That said, the type of feedback the OP is providing is important, and while you can't (and shouldn't) cater to every voice, the response feels a bit dismissive. I think that's the wrong attitude.