Wings? Really?

When the goal for the first summer Telethon were announced, one of the included items was a pair of clockwork wings. That could be cool, I thought. Seems like a rare piece, even tho it doesn't grant flight.



However, this didn't stay rare. Watching Sketchfab, this was quickly followed by two additional pair of Clockwork Wings.




Ok, so the Clockwork ones will have an Add-On Store, and probably crafted version as well. So not really common, but a neat addition. I can live with that, I suppose.

Then, today there were these additions...




Really? Look, these would be great for spells, or for use on humanoid creatures. But I get the distinct feeling that (like everything else that has shown up on Sketchfab) that these are going to be Add-On Store items. Do we really need folks walking around in fairy wings and demon makeup? The only legitimate use I see for these is theater work, but there is no way they will be that limited.

This type of thing really turns me off to the multiplayer modes. Please don't turn this into one of those types of games!?

 

But....but headless avatars need wings!

 

I was wondering when Aion 2.0 would come out...

 

Ah...yes, I can definitely use these in some of my plays

 

Inevitable, the people want wings! I think they look pretty nice.. I hope they do a teeny bit like reduce fall damage or something though.. they do look awful heavy imo as well...

 

Were there any sketchfab views of these unfolded, or do you think they will always be displayed as extended open? Also, do you think they will have a flapping or open/close animation or just stay open when equipped?

Personally, I think they should have been held back until a later release when mounts are introduced and these could be used in lieu of a mount and make you hover with a slight speed boost. That would have been cool and likely would have sold a ton on the add-on store!

I think these will look cool and all now, but without any flight/speed benefit I think they are sort of worthless IMO.

 

they need to generate more coin, if they don't the game will fall apart and pixel crack is the only way now.

To bad they cannot spend more time and money actually working on the core aspects of the game - crafting / combat mechanics / crashing. More and more time spent on graphics is starting to get me very down and to the point of not caring.

Crafting Skills are dead at level 68.

Crashes are way to frequent and Unity is to blame.

Combat is so dysfunctional and convoluted you have to hit 4 different keys to pick a target stay with it, change to loot, change back to fight and healing is almost impossible.

But yea we need "wings"

 

Really @Weins201? I figured you'd been here long enough to realize that not all devs work on all things. Do you really think that if he wasn't working on textures for wings he's be balancing combat?
Oh, right. Grumpy and looking for something to complain about, valid or not.

 

Actually I know full well how that graphics and development are two different areas of game development but as a leader I also know when it is time to stop focusing on menial stuff and put the time, effort and $ where the wheels hit the road and that is the actual game systems. T-10 days to persistence. But ty for trying to make me look stupid and not understanding. Not just unhappy with where my money is being spent.

 

...its a bit late for that.

 

I agree, I wish core game mechanics felt like they are #1 on the list. I don't mind the add-on store getting items added to increase revenue at all, but the quality and time spent fixing convoluted and just not fun aspects of combat, gathering, crafting, loot, fishing, agriculture,and the multitude of other features of the game, should feel like it's moving forward better and being given its due attention as well. I'm not saying they aren't priorities already and they aren't working hard on them, but they sure aren't up to par in quality as they should be by now this late into development. We still got some time, the clock is ticking though.....

*Edit* As for the wings specifically, I'll probably buy the clockwork type ones and prettier ones as long as the prices aren't outrageous as some things tend to be. It may sound weird given the money I've spent on my pledge but I have a hard time justifying add-on purchases that are more than $10 each for an item (though sometimes I'll spend more on occasion sighing at the cost as I click the accept button) One time use items I'm just not interested in at all.

 

You don't think some NPCs or monsters needed wings, so they leveraged that effort to make something for the players to buy or craft?

 

I would be a bit irk if Chris or Starr were to be the one working on these wings. However, that does not seem to be the case here.

The core feature is assigned to certain individual, so if there are things that you want them to emphasize on, it might be worth to reach out to the person directly (e.g., Chris for combat stuff). Adding more people working on the same feature is not necessarily gonna accelerate the process. Most likely will end up with too many cooks in the kitchen situation.

Anyway, the OP concerns is more to do on whether the wing will suit the game lore rather than arguing whether the graphic guys should be working on crafting/combat, though.

 

Yea, although I was hoping the shift to CotO as a funding model meant there would be less of a need to focus on anti-RP items in the cash store to generate revenue.

I guess we're going to have both ?

 

Possibly. I havn't seen any that are humanoid enough that they would be reusable in such a way, but possible. And I don't see any evidence of craft; everything in Sketchfab are Add-On Store items.

Exactly, but when NPCs don't have variances AT ALL, and we have clone armies of merchants, servants, etc, then I'd rather see graphic artists working on NPCs, not on Add-On Store stuff. I get it that this is their primary source of funding, but the game can't get polished without NPCs, and it can without wings.

 

I would also suggest that realistic leathery demon wings should not be craftable.

 

I guess you can always wear your demon wings while admiring your picture of a jet fighter as the magic radio plays bananaphone in the background.

 

i would be more motivated to contribute money to the telethon for things like flowers, curved hedges, clean, pretty furniture or clothes. Not to say that i wont contribute, but i want those things far more than these.

 

I'm fine with wings.

Who knows, perhaps they will fold down and it takes an emote to make them fold up? Or running around with them "up" slows down your running speed or uses more stamina?

I agree we probably don't want 90% of avatars running around with wings up all the time.

 

Micro-transaction Hell

This is why Portalarium needs to be reminded its past promises of not turning SotA into another micro-transaction hell game. Someone needs to right this ship before it is too late @RichardGarriott

These types of items and many others should be for players in the game world to discover and create via crafting and adventuring and fun!