Your thoughts and concerns for Release 2

Greetings All!

A Whole In One... A long long time ago in a land far far away, a man had a dream... And that man was our Sovereign Lord British...

Truth in Time, is always stranger than any fiction;

These are only the effects of Lord British and Lord Blackthorn's casting of the, what might be called, "The Sil~Rel~Por~Cor~Serpentis Spell" on the Guardian, hinted at as a possible prophetic future, in a Guardian outlawed in~game Ultima Online re~spawning book that some of you from the early days of Ultima Online may remember. This book one day mysteriously disappeared from being able to be purchased from any NPC venders shortly before the beginning eventual exodus of Lord British and Lord Blackthorn from the Ultima Online Developing Team. This book was about an event that had happened sometime during Lord British's lifetime after the days of Ultima Prime and the shattering of the Gem of Immortality with Ultima Online.

For those who were not there during those earliest days in Ultima Online or are un~familiar with such an in~game re~spawning NPC purchasable book, I can't say that I remember it all. (and there are parts of it I will not mention here out of respect, because the book's choice of words were un~expectable for young children to hear)...
But out of what I do remember in it's more pertinent part, it spoke of the moment when Lord British first discovered he was a shattered, multi~sharded man, which was revealed to him when Order Guards from a different reality came hunting to arrest or kill one of his shattered pieces of persona (I speculate that this "Outlaw Lord British" that these Order Guards were looking for was the darkest part of what makes any person whole). Yet the book also revealed that if all parts of Lord British's self could be somehow re~united, 1000, 100's of thousands or even millions of people who had been born after the gem had been shattered would all loose their lives, leaving only the original population of people that had been born before the shattering's event.... yet spawning a new land, a more perfect land and a land where all could be "a whole in one" SotA...

Ultima's Evolving Time, Space and Gravity;
In and during the evolution of Ultima we have been taken or have traveled to places where we seem to have a greater strength than we did in the preceding world (game). In Ultima Online, we couldn't jump, but we could run all day if we wanted to, which we could have never done back here on Earth. Currently here in New Britannia, there is much less gravity than UO demonstrated by our ability to jump as high as our head. The greatest Olympic Jumpers on Earth can barely jump higher than their knees. In UO, we couldn't see the sky but by moon phases. Yet there was never seen a shattered moon or a Sun that acts so funny. I personally think that we have a binary star because if you watch the full Sun set there is a hint of a smaller light winking over the horizon that may be camouflaged from view by it's larger sibling's light, the one we can barely see.

I also think that our planet is currently in an elliptical orbit and that (for now) there is nothing but a very hot parking lot on the other side. I draw these conclusions from the facts that, for one, an in-game solar day equals one Earth Time hour and secondly because the nighttime only equals 15 minutes Earth Time. With having only about 170 or so degrees of visible sky, and a day lasting much longer than the night, this is very disturbing indeed. But also, as the most observant Sir Tarsilion clearly points out in his "weight to ratio biological" observations, I too think we're all breathing in something much stronger than even "pure oxygen"... it could be possible that we are breathing the Pure Ether it's self !

A Developing Alternative is available in Video and is worth checking out on the "Astronomy Unity"
By Th'Grand StarMaster Crytomancer"

He has been working on a very interesting Orrery Concept (prototype orbital model) that I hope will show to be inspiring to those who will govern out Time, because the planet may be flat right now or scorched to a cinder on it's other side.

But I say to you all that currently, all these great changes may be due to the works of Lord British and Lord Blackthorn having cast the "Sil~Rel~Por~Cor~Serpentis" spell and that many things will be changing when these temporary effects end with the coming date of Oct 2014 drawing close,
"The Story's Possible Prophecy Indeed Forfilled" ! Where 100's of thousands and possibly millions of Chr's everywhere, in every online game but this, will Die!

They will die young Skywalker's... oh yes, they will...

~Time Lord~

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_Serpentis

"Sil~Rel~Por~Cor~Serpentis"

Opening a star gate to the head, or neck of the snake. I just knew he was doing something special for us while he was out there in space

~TL~

 

My thoughts and concerns on NPCs:
https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/forum/index.php?threads/feedback-npcs-expressions-etc.6598/

 

My thoughts and concerns on Atmosphere in Taverns:
https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/f...ecor-in-taverns-and-other-npc-buildings.6599/

 

Hello,

So I'll add some of the things that I have noticed.

1) Inventory Management
While freeform inventory may work in some scenarios, it makes organizing items very inconvenient.
While it would work for small numbers of items, this only occurs if realistic size/weight carry limits were upheld.
Considering that players would not be capable of carrying a 50 table in a backpack, this path is unrealistic.
With the large number of various items players need to carry for adventuring, the hodgepodge of freeform invertory becomes a nightmare.
If you look at a modern soldier, they often have various pieces of ammo, armor, food, tools, etc. In Medieval times soldiers would often have their armor, a sword, a dagger, shield, ratios, maps, etc. These would be placed in specific parts on the body which makes them easily found as required.
As it is impossible/Impractical to create such a system, a different system is needed, which allows for the organization of inventory.
List form inventory and Bag form inventory both have precedents. Any alternative system should at least provide the same level of organization.

2) Navigation
While many games now have Maps and Mini-Maps, I find myself liking the lack in this game. That said, game maps and mini-maps have their benefits, such as actually knowing where the inn is. In order to make up for the lack of provided information on navigation, players must be able to obtain similar information. The two main methods of finding your way around in an unfamiliar place are: Signs and Directions.
-Signs: I noticed a major lack of signs in the game. In past ages stores would post signs outside describing their wares. Often these signs were not written using words, but images, as the majority of people couldn't read. Stores would have images of products, which in the case of Inns was sometimes a Tankard, among other things. Either way, there need to be signs.
-Directions: I tried asking for directions....It didn't work. This is something that is major if there isn't a map. If you ask someone where the nearest pub is, or the inn, or the mayor's house, they should be able to give some good directions. Best way would be to point in a direction and give some sort of description.

In addition to these, it would be helpful to give players a map/ be able to purchase maps. And by maps, I mean an ordinary map, with no designation of current location, but with a layout of the area. This could also be an interesting skill/feature, map-making. Thus maps of major areas could be sold by NPCs, and other maps would require the creation/ filling in by players. Maps also don't need to be perfectly accurate, a simple map giving the rough layout of an area, or landmarks to refer to would also fill in realism.

3) Movement, or more specifically jumping.
-Buildup is too long, should be shortened. Currently extremely unwieldy. A person doesn't take 3 Yards to prep for a jump when already in motion......

 

Come on. It's a completely different type of game with a completely different type of budget. Besides, it'll most likely suck.

 

Is there some sticky thread that has the "Full Instruction" on how to play, what are all the hot keys ext...?

I can't seem to find one...In trying to locate them, it seems like I'm on some sort of word key in-game quest or something trying to find them...

~TL~

 

It is the thread posted by Darkstar ... Release 2 instructions ... if you scroll way down you will see a list of hotkeys for certain in game actions

not sure if /stuck is listed however

 

1. I still don't like the chat box - please let us have the text we type over our heads
If you have to have bold words I guess bold the word in the chat above the npc's heads.
I just hate using the chat box all the time.
2. I'm on three screens, please get the windows to open up in the same position even after you log off/on or go to another town.
This includes opening bags or boxes around town.
3. Windows should cascade instead of opening right on top of the next one.
4. We need a torch or something to run around with at night to lighten up the area.

What I like
Love the conversation system
Houses and decorations are good.
Great that we can jump now.

I have not uses the crafting stations yet so no comment.

 

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I generally loved the test and crafting, and will likely dive further into crafting 2.0 once a few kinks are ironed out by R3 as the disappearing assets pushed my attention elsewhere after a time. I do think a few more basic recipes should be available for newbies and also think it would be fun to seek out the info in "Lycaeum/etc" like locales, as it would for cooking recipes and such. It would also serve to flesh out more dialogue for the NPCs. If the recipes are instantly appearing on websites pre-release, I'd like to see another method to obtain/"unlock" them... but that's just my two bit-coin.

I'm not an endlessly evolving graphics-chaser so the animations/graphics to me are a nice start. Water has the 1923 Cecil B DeMille - Red Sea gelatin effect but everyone including the greats need to start somewhere. His next version of the same in the 50s was vastly improved.

Jumping and mountaineering are fun and can lead to a bit of social interaction in-game, and it would be nice to see the mountainside opened up with a few Easter eggs on rooftops and a few 'accidental' areas. Players love to tell their friends about these things (akin to the odd recall spots in UO, Bucs Tunnels, or even "Green Acres"). Please flesh out the volcano if/when time permits as it seems to be an integral part of the town. NPC dialogue might be tuned to match the fact there is a volcano looming directly over their town/garrison. Perhaps someone in Kingsport could mention he'd never live there due to that fact. Also it would be nice if the guards in Owl's Head could comment about the symbols on the cloaks they are wearing. Anyway, NPC chatter and some of the sounds are a bit overdone (chickens) and its very non-immersive to see the shopkeepers spitting out their limited sayings over and over in a short period of time. I do love me the developing conversation system - one of the highlights for me but really don't care for the bread crumb words. Would like a switch to turn them off on my end.

While outside areas look beautiful, interiors could use a little more love and interesting objects/finds as time permits. The inside of the 1st new installment of 'river' housing is a prime example of time well spent. I had no problems with the decorating I missed due to limited time in R1. It worked flawlessly. I loved the fact I could see lighting and details through the windows of the smaller houses (e.g. Kingsport in front of Duke Castle). I didn't have much time to stage, but took a screen-grab at night. I can see where these will make great staged shots for RP events and the like. I'm interested to see someone holding a candle or lantern in window from outside. In a way this feature gives them more character than the larger homes.

The extended wind-farm on the outskirts of Owl's Head gave me a 'driving to Palm Springs' vibe, possibly a little overdone, but I don't mind too much and understand why these are here. The mad scientist hum/bug zapper noise could be reduced a touch.

Anyway, looking forward to more great results and additions from the team. Congrats to all those proactive community members as well who received the new "Order of the New Britannian Empire" honors. It's well deserved.


ps - liked the direction in-game music is going.

 

One thing I just remembered, you can't look directly 'up' in the game. Please include the ability to look stright 'up'.

 

hey!!! He just made a good point!dito!

Sir Hemlock!
~TL~

 

My two cents:

I like the crafting to a point. I guess, if I have a carpentry skill of 50 or whatever it's going to be, I would expect that I am already kind of knowledgeable about my craft (at least apprentice level or so at start). Why would I need to go around discovering recipes for stuff my master should have already taught me. Also, in this day and age of the interwebz, this guessing game system is going to be pretty much a waste as all the formulas are going to be posted online. Seems kind of like another 80's style game mechanic that might just put people off.

Conversations are going to be tough once everyone gets into the game. Your chat window is going to be scrolling so fast with folks around you all talking to the NPCs at the same time that you are going to have a VERY difficult time keeping track of your own conversation and will most likely miss a bunch of clues.... I mean think about it, everyone is going to start off in Owl's Head, I bet. How many are going to swamp the first guard (Michael? Lum's favorite!) with the whole name/job/earth/whatever. Imagine seeing your chat window scroll! Hopefully there will be a way to filter out some of the noise.... I think that side conversations and mumbles from NPCs should be audio only, unless they are a clue to the game and then maybe a chat bubble so you know to talk to them about something. A bit of hand holding, but I'm so worried about the wall of text!

I LOVE the graphics style. I think the environment looks great! The textures are fantastic! That being said: Hair looks like plastic Mr. Potato Head shiny weird. Beards don't connect to sideburns.

Finally, I hope beyond hope that there is going to be a capability to dual wield. The Main Gauche and spiked shield have been a staple in many of LB's games and I'd hate for it to be missed in this game. I'd also like a bit more realism in shields, as in a buckler being useable as a weapon in some instances (from wikipedia):

The buckler was more widely used than is commonly known. It was a simple yet effective weapon, often combined with a short sword, falchion, or rapier. It was popular circa 1100 to 1600. The buckler had a variety of roles when it came to swordplay, but five principal means come to the fore as described in MS I.33. Each use recognizes the shield's small size and maneuverability when dealing with light blades.

• Hand protection: The primary use of the buckler was to protect the sword hand.
• Deflector: The buckler's lightness and curved center made it excellent for deflecting attacking blades.
• Blinder: The light blades used in conjunction with the buckler depended on rapid movements, which meant that a single second was an important advantage. The wielder of the buckler could use the buckler to shield his sword-hand's position from view, keeping his opponent from guessing his next strike.
• "Metal fist": A buckler could be used to directly attack an opponent by punching with either its flat face or its rim.
• Binder: The buckler could be used to bind an opponent's sword hand and weapon as well as their buckler against their body. The buckler was also very useful in grappling, where it allowed an opponent's arms to be easily wrapped up and controlled.

 

I wanna tailor lots of dresses and cute hats and shoes. How'm I supposed to go questing without the right accessories?

Still liking lots of the things even if not all the things. Like moving around's really hard for me. Gonna make a new thread about it, cause I wanna make sure it's all said loud and stuff.

Elli
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