Things i like, and things i don't

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Lano, Dec 17, 2014.

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  1. Lano

    Lano Avatar

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    Hello.

    First of all: Thanks for bringing this epic game to life, great job so far, we have been waiting for quite a while, for a new chapter in the book of "Ultima gameplay feeling"

    The list below should in no way be seen as some sort of angry hiccup, or me just "hatin", its just my observations so far.

    I have always and will always love Ultima Online, it was my first and last big mmorpg love, still unbeaten in its freedom of gameplay, and that was the exact reason why i chose to try Shroud Of The Avatar, c'mon, its Garriot, i played all the games he made so far, even Tabula Rasa ;)

    After watching a fair amount of reviews/videos on Youtube and hearing/seeing people in extacy shouting out, "YES this is it, the sucessor to Ultima Online" .... well there was no reason for me not to join the fun, so i made an account and bought the game on steam, easy peasy.

    First off i have to say that i still am a very low level character, so my observations may not be a 100% correct when relating to higher or end game gameplay, but that was the magic about Ultima Online, you could go out and be yourself from day #1 in game, you did not have to wait 60 levels, there were no goddamn levels, just your actions...

    Some of the most basic features that made Ultima Online the real sandbox mmo it was, features i hoped had survived from Ultima Online to be added to SotA, well they had not survived...

    I am talking features like:

    ► You see a tree, you chop it, no need to look for that slightly, graphical, different looking tree that stands out, that one in 10 that allows you to chop it, in order to get logs from it. Or looking for stupid branches that has fallen to the ground... i am a grown ass man, i got a grown ass axe, the forrest is seeded with grown ass trees, guess what, i wanna chop the hell outta them.. now thats realistic freedom... where has that gone? i want to go out and make some money from day one, be the log-pusher in town, the wooden-go-to-guy, where has that opportunity gone. I dont want to be wasting daylight looking for that very special tree, the right tree. Nay, thats just not the real way....

    ► Same goes for mining... are there even any real mines in game?! Where you can spend 12 hours straight just mining the **** out of it, and then go and be a happy little crafter? .. people did that, people loved that .. i came home from real life work, and spent the next 8-12 hours on my "Ultima Online job" i was a goddamn harvester and crafter, a supplier, and i was proud about it. "but thats boring, just mining for 12 hours staright" .. well beauty lies in the eye of the beholder, and i found it freaking beautiful. Those small patches of minable stuff on the rocks around the world in Sota?! get outta here! .. Thats just to mainstream, modern mmo, theres no soul to it..

    ► "Active/Action"-Skills: Are there any active skills? like animal taming?! that was quite the fun, join the world, go out tame a rabbit, tame ten more, be lord of the rabbits.... fair, i sure would accept a "active companion limit" but again, the freedom of seeing something and claiming it, where has that gone, i havent seen any active skills yet, just fighting, gathering and crafting. (And yes, i know this is alpha, like i said, just chippin in with my observations so far)

    ► Skill-System: This is a biggin' What was the absolutely most awesome part about Ultima Online? The ONE thing that made it stand out, the ONE thing that claimed dedication and rewarded individuality?
    Answer: The skills-system, if you wanted to be a mage, you used magery, you repeated that nightsight spell for ages, you macroed at night and you gained that goddamn magery skill, THAT was stellar, that was outstanding, that was true, yes, it gave meaning, it felt true, it had soul, it had purpose. (The macro-part may be discussable, and is not a need/requirement, but fact is, it was hard to gain skill, and that was nice, it felt rewarding to use higher level spells/skills)

    And now?! WHAT have you done to the skill-system Garriot and Co. ?! i go out in the wilderness, and i swing my rusty sword a few times, at some random wolf (which i can't tame), i gain a level, i gain some points that i can spend in ALL skill trees?! - like any other mmorpg. - What the f...

    So basically i swing my sword and become better at magery.....what?!... Thats like driving around in a Toyota Prius and getting better at flying a goddamn space-shuttle, yes both are means of transportation, but damn, it just makes no sense. Just like fighting with a sword shouldent give the opportunity to become a better mage... This is the one that almost makes me cry, this is the one that has broken the Ultima soul.

    Use spells = gain skillpoints for the magery tree. Use a sword = Gain points for the "bladed tree"
    Level up = gain points for character progression (focus, stats, armor types, and so on)

    That would be the "right way" in my humble opinion.

    Yes this is Alpha, and yes i may sound like a douche, but i only even take the time to write my thoughts down, because i see the potential of this game, and frankly even if things do not change in the direction i would like them to, i would still play the game.. it would just not be able to push Ultima Online from the top of the ladder.
    Would be a shame if this game ended up with skill-systems and functions and so on, like any other game, like: Rift, WoW, Archage, or well, yeah, you name it....

    Dear Garriot and Co. You have the knowledge to make this game right, you have the skill, you have done it before.. There is absolutely nothing wrong with repeating perfection, put some more Ultima/UO into it, and let us enjoy that spirit, that feeling, but in new fancy "clothes" (read: graphics) - That ladies and gentleman, that would be the Ultimate game....

    - Good job so far, i like what i see, and i like being a part of something that could become the rise of the phoenix which the Ultima saga is. Keep it going, keep on working, and do what you think is the right course for this saga, but do it with an open ear and mind ;)

    I may come back and write some more stuff, when i get to the PVP part :)

    And on a side-note, whats up with corpse carving? i miss that :D

    Sorry for the long post, the typos, and the bad english.
    ► In Game: Gordon Treeman
     
  2. majoria70

    majoria70 Avatar

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    Welcome Lano to Shroud of the Avatar, and I hear you about the skills that you work to improve. I have always loved that about Ultima, so who knows how it will all pan out. So many little things have changed since I've been here based on the feedback we give, while this won't be Ultima we will take many things we love from our experiences from Ultima. So good job with the introduction and describing your view of what you see so far and what you are wishing for. We will have taming, fishing and much more once it is in, also the story won't be in so it doesn't give everything away. Combat has only been in a few releases so it is a hot topic. We are hopefully just getting the trash option to throw things away lol, so you can see we are a bit barebones right now. Anyway now you will be able to contribute with your feedback and won't have to say 'oh if only I had been there to give my feedback, maybe I could have impacted that decision'. So you won't have to say that. ***cheers to you***
     
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  3. Lano

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    And those were the very words, i was hoping to hear. :) Thank you.
     
  4. Fox Cunning

    Fox Cunning Localization Team

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    Welcome aboard!

    I share both your love for this game and your concern about resource gathering and skills (also see this thread).
    I know there are good reasons for doing things this way, but I still think gameplay (which should always have priority) would benefit from a slightly more UO-like system.
     
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  5. majoria70

    majoria70 Avatar

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    You are very welcome. I am a SOTA fan. My Ultima years were very special times for me also.
    Lots of life changes and the game gave so much opportunity to work through things for me.;)
    Strange that a game could do that, but for me it did.:)
     
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  6. Stahlknecht

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    @Lano : i totally agree !
    The ressource gathering and the skill system are much worse than in UO. I think a game that was developed 15 years after UO should be have at least equally or better features in it.
    Hmm, i think my last sentence was a syntax-disaster, but i hope you get the point.
     
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  7. Arlo Serpenthelm

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    You just got a fan, Lano!
    You should know that there are a lot of people with the same opinions in the matters you mentioned.
     
  8. rune_74

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    Imagine how those of us who loved the Ultima games(not UO) feel.

    It is nothing like those.

    I can see where you are coming from but I don't see setting a macro to run so you can gain skills as an awesome feature...I see that as weakness to be honest.

    Taming is coming, it was already stated.
     
  9. E n v y

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    Well it would mean you would have to do much more macroing across lots of skill sets.

    As it is, you can macro far easier than you could in UO :)
     
  10. Lano

    Lano Avatar

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    I hear you Rune_74, truth is, i did not like the macro part either, but if you wanted to keep up with the competition, you had to go paths that seemed dark, in order to come out "shining" ;)
    I liked the Ultima (single player) series as well, but it was UO that caught me big time, the whole "now we share this world, but ill be damned if i aint gonna be the best or richest or most famous" part :) - Competition on individuality, freedom to progress... gosh .. memories....
     
  11. enderandrew

    enderandrew Legend of the Hearth

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    Welcome to the community!

    As it was mentioned, animal taming is coming.

    I agree with Rune that running a macro to gain skills is the precise opposite of awesome.
     
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  12. E n v y

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    Each to their own over macroing, but the point is still valid that the current system is far easier to macro or exploit than the UO system. On top of that, the UO system felt like it had more of a purpose and that you were really achieving something in a skill that you trained.
     
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  13. Sold and gone

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    Not sure what you mean. Can you elaborate for me how it is easy to macro? Is this by programing your keyboard to do it through key bindings? Or is it some kind of scripting that the devs allow? Just curious.
     
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  14. E n v y

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    To level up akf
     
  15. E n v y

    E n v y Avatar

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    My point is that to use macroing as an excuse to not go down a route of skill based levelling is not a valid reason.
     
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    ohh, ok. Now do you use a third party client for that or do you use in game features that allow for this?
     
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  17. E n v y

    E n v y Avatar

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    Not going to discuss how you can do it, but you don't need a great amount of imagination to loop very basic afk stuff.
     
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    Ok, thanks. :)
     
  19. enderandrew

    enderandrew Legend of the Hearth

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    It is an absolutely a valid reason. And eventually they should take greater measures to prevent macroing.
     
  20. E n v y

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    Current system = very easy to macro afk
    Skill based system = easy to macro some skills afk, others more difficult, would take a lot longer and more effort.

    So let's use macroing as a reason not to go for a skill based system.........errrrrr can you explain why that is valid??
     
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