Hear Ye, Hear Ye! Thou hast been invited to the Release 15 Postmortem!
Please join us Friday, March 13th at 3:00 PM Central (20:00 GMT) for our next Hangout of the Avatar! Richard, Starr, and Chris will be chatting about Release 15, recounting their favorite moments while also looking ahead to Release 16. And as usual, Fire Lotus will be taking your questions and feedback live in the chat-room and also in advance right here in the comments section.*
*Please keep in mind that questions and feedback related to Release specific topics will be given priority and really verbose questions may be skipped, as they can be a challenge to shorten and summarize live on the air. In brief… please keep your questions… brief. 
We will be giving some really awesome prizes during the 90 minute extended Hangout, and all you have to do to qualify for one is to come hang out with us in the IRC chatroom during the broadcast. The link to the hangout will be posted here directly before the hangout begins.
UPDATE: We will have a special guest for this hangout! Our very own Tracy Hickman will be joining us!
QUESTION: Will Lord British and Darkstarr still have a role in the single-player/story aspect of the game, despite their obvious real-time online presence? If so, will they be voiced?
Will there be another Tracy Hickman dev hangout in the future? I would love to have a few more spoilers for the storyline.
After reading Blade of the Avatar and Reading the last spoilers from the scene jams, I am really excited about the story and want to tie my character/guild lore in with the game. 
Your wish is my command! Tracy will actually be in this hangout!!!
Awesome!
Awesome! Thank you!
The true cost of a single arrow is more than 67 gold pieces.
2 chunks of coal = 6 gold
4 iron ore = 20 gold
4 wood = 20 gold
1 chemical = 1 gold
10 feathers = 20 gold
TOTAL = 67 Gold
Does this mean that we’ll probably see NPC’s selling arrows for over 100 gold at launch?
I second this question!
QUESTION: In which direction are you planning to expand Novia in the next release North or West?
Will player homes be easier to find by the release? It is very hard to find player homes and event locations in the game. I am hoping for some sort of LOT address and a method to find them.
Good overhead maps that could “toggle” a coord grid would be an excellent beginning…. Just sayin.
and, of course, zoomable…. It’s 2015 folks
What are the current plans for monsters? Models, sounds, loot, AI? Tell us what cool stuff is coming!
I second this! Particularly curious to hear if ettins will return – I kinda enjoyed slaying them in UO.
Suggestion: Crafting- How about adding a “Reclaiming” option for Smelting. Would be great to be able to get a couple of ingots from looted weapons.
Agreed. I would like to see this, plus a repair option. I’m also hoping for a less demanding recipe system. at the moment, crafting things appears absurdly extravagant.
That’s a great idea. It would be great to have a chance to learn the recipe for the item too.
Last HotA they mentioned a scavenging system, but it would not see implementation until summer time.
Can we get some news about localization in R16 or will it be postphoned?
I would second that.
Especially Japanese languaege support.
I would like to have some information about the levelling system.
Will you consider removing the current system for a more realistic skill based system (similar to UO)?
Thank you
I vote with u bud, but no is reality. It’s to late for skill based leveling now. Tragic mistake and i. Saddened buy it.
I’d like to have a straight answer from the developers, for many this is a real deal breaker.
I am just asking an official answer, several months ago I read somewhere that devs might consider to switch to a skills based system.
Thank you
Will we be able to steal from other players?
As far as I understood the answer should be no.
Otherwise most PvE players would start to complain and unfortunately recent games are made for PvE people which are the majority. Therefore, no full loot, no stealing, no full pvp, etc..
Any stealing should be a part of PVP only. The game is 100% consensual.
I currently have a hard time selling SotA to PvP fans. Can you share any new and big meta ideas you have for PvP and how I can pitch the game to those care about epic PvP situations?
Just to add to this…
Are there any plans for giving players the ability to perform actions of conquest? Where they can can take over areas of the world that will have a meaningful impact on other parts of the game?
Control points we know about. But I was thinking on a more grand scale. Cities, Towns, Fortifications, places where housing could be claimed?
Warsong Gulch.
Regarding PVP: Instead of having “leaderboards” and stats like “kill ratios” have you (or will you) consider having a more roleplaying friendly approach to “who is the best pvper?”
For example, you could have a temple of cultist in the game that recorded all pvp events. But instead of posting this externally on a website, players would have to visit the temple in-game to view the “stats” that are recorded on granite walls. Something like that.
Excellent idea!
Your autocorrect changed “Thou” to “Though.” No biggie but you might want to change it.
Thanks. Fixed
Celowynn said to the Lord Almighty Autocorrect : “I’m tired of your shirt!”
To help balance the game in PVP. Would you consider turning off auto-attack for PVP?
no
Spawn camping in pvp zones is an issue, no fun zoning in and have 3 guys nuke u, same issue upon rez. What’s the plan to fix this?
Just to add, would it be possible to have random spawn points when players enter a known PVP zone (ie. one of the shardfall zones). It would make spawn camping more difficult because of the randomness of players entering such a zone.
R15 was an amazing release overall. Can’t wait for 16 but in areas near andoris there are.to many tons felt cluttered. Also several times upon leaving zone where my house was I kept porting back to spectral mines.
Sorry to ask, but isn’t 3:00 PM Central = 21:00 GMT (and not 20:00 GMT?)
Daylight savings time switch was last weekend for Central Time, so there is only a 5h difference to GMT now.
Why do they do this stupid thing on another day as germany, can’t we switch times on the same day to avoid trouble?
We like to do silly things in the states. Its why we don’t use the metric system or a 24 hour clock.
QUESTION-Will there be a “free-view” while walking? Or a control configuration option similar to WoW?
I heard you talk abut making everything better looking, My question is too combat do you guys have plains on making the weapons seem to connect more with the mob so it seems as you hit the mob? as of right now its just looks like you swing is all over.
Thanks for all the good work you guys are doing
I agree there needs to be more sensory (audio/visual) feedback in combat.
Q: any love for archers in R16?
Q: UI to repeat Craftings a set number of times?
Q: any optimiziation (caching, pre-baking, sensible garbage collection), at least in loading scenes?
Q: a proper log on disk? 1) Eventually following the filter rules of chat tabs, 2) Eventually disabled at release – but please, at least during tests/alpha/beta, logging is #1 tool for any serious QA.
Agree completely….. Want constructive feedback? Give us direct access to what we must resort to F11 for now. And don’t disable it at all. Why not have it? It benefit’s all of us to have access to it…… Right?
What would always allowing us access to that real time data (like we have now – only in text form that we can access later) have any sort of negative impact – I ask respectfully….
Most bow hunters (IRL) can take down game with one shot. Do you have passive abilities planned that would give a % chance for instant kills for archers? Follow up question, will certain arrow/bow crafting components give a % chance for instance kills / critical hits / armor piercing?
Or is it possible to merge auto attack DPS into active use glyphs? Without auto-attack (only for archers), you don’t burn through your (crazy expensive) arrows nearly as quickly. Makes shooting a single arrow in someone’s face a bit more believable.
Add-on store question: Where do you see the add-on going from here? Do you plan to add/remove more items? Personally, I’d love to see more items with a *very* limited quantity added to the store.
Second
Any chance of a limited-run resale of some of the expired add-on store items?
As a newer pledge there are a few items in the add-on store that are now expired that I missed but would like to purchase and help support the game more. In particular the pavilion, ring of stones, some of the houses
Stretch goal question: Will the Elven House be making an appearance soon?
Yay for the Elven House!
Like a lot of people on here I played UO for years and one of the things I enjoyed most was having to save up rare ores for months to make something really rare. I love what you guys have put into place already with alloys but could we get more information about what the plan is for rare ore, leather, cloth, etc. so we know what’s on the way (i.e. how many types, expected drop rates, etc.)?
Right now it is easy to visit a skill trainer and totally rework your skill setup. While that is ideal for the testing phase, will it be more restrictive after release? Can you give us an idea of your vision for skills allocation in the future?
+1
(I still think decentralized, skill-based XP makes for better control over how skills can be respec’d later)
Giving away prizes to the same group of people that can be in IRC during the normal working day in the US? That still seems unfair to me.
Perhaps they should consider giving prizes to some players, chosen at random, that posts a question here too, as that is a form of participation even if they can’t be online during the Hangout.
That would make me feel better. Good suggestion.
I fully concur.
Agreed
Fourthed
Agreed
Just how rare are the Grand Tour hats? How many players have got the Silver Jesters Carnival mask from R15?
People are still unlocking them. The numbers for the prior release rewards would be cool though.
Will we have the ability to make pledge payments past the current 4 month mark or is this going to be the final cut off point for increasing our pledges?
Would love to know this.
If I understood correctly, Tracy will be writing a trilogy for SotA (thought I saw that somewhere) and now he is also going to write a novel for Underworld Ascendant. How will these books tie together and can we expect to see more down the road?
Reference:
Books to be a trilogy:
https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/forum/index.php?threads/blade-of-the-avatar.19519/#post-297426
Underworld Ascendant novel:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/othersidegames/underworld-ascendant/posts/1154069
If the Blade of the Avatar novel was purchased in the add-on store, does this purchase include the following books in the trilogy or will they be a separate purchase?
Reference:
http://ultimacodex.com/2014/12/apparently-blade-of-the-avatar-is-being-made-into-a-trilogy/
Question for Tracy and Richard, regarding Elves:
In Blade of the Avatar they appear to follow a type of Tribal Culture? For example they follow a Chief. What else can you tell us about Elves? What makes Vertas Elves different from Dark Elves? Do they follow a religion? How do they feel about the Oracle?
When will we see either taming or some form of permanent combat pets in game?
Sometimes I like to PVE using a pet for the majority of damage with me giving some orders and doing a small % of damage or healing (sounds like lazy gaming but I have some RSI after all my years gaming and on some days when it plays up I like to play but take more of a back seat overlord style approach). I also like the approach of having named pets that I can train to be more powerful as we fight together. I do expect my character to be fragile in such a build and open to a sound beating should my ‘hired muscle’ die.
I am not asking for an overpowered legion of 5 dragons following me but maybe a wolf/bear I have to keep alive to win fights – the combination of player/ai should only do similar damage to an equivalent warrior build (as the pets get trained or I gain more relevant skills). Maybe along the lines of a hunter with their pet eagle or a wandering bard with a trained dancing bear…
Taming was a great skill in UO and added a lot of variety to the game, I do not however want to see the return of the sale of dragons to fresh characters wearing skill jewelry – it should be kept much more down to earth and less a commodity market of MMO WMDs.
Question: Will there be a wipe with R16?
Localization question: Will the completed German translation of Blade of the Avatar book 1 find a way to entitled German speaking backers for free at any time soon or will this decision (free and being published or not) stay in the hand of the publisher contracted by Portalarium?
i WISH THERE WAS COPPER, SILVER, AND GOLD COINS
Question: Do you have plans to complete the individual naming of all items for sale on NPC’s ?
If so, please begin with the rugs and carpets – then move straight to the plants…..
Oh, and I do LOVE what you’ve given us for floor coverings so far….. Keep the deco coming.
Question: (I know I’m quickly using up my quota of questions allowed, but here goes…)
How soon can we expect to see a toggle for any item to be considered “Locked down” as soon as it is placed? This would eliminate so many problems with the current system. Please at least tell us it’s being “considered”. (If you already have, then I respectfully withdraw the question.)
The in-game books are plagued with an abundance of errors. Is anyone (besides me) taking note of/cataloging these mistakes, so that they might be corrected? (I’ve spent the past few weeks gathering the books, reading/rereading them, and trying to take note of any mistake I find.)
Question: Will Player Owned Town owners have tools to collect taxes?
Question: In the future, will there ever be the possibility to fight encounters directly on the Overworld map, or will all encounters port you into a scene?
Question: Will there be the option to craft temporary/consumable enhancements for weapons such as sharpening stones, poisons, etc…?
Question: I imagine that the Sword and Shield fighting will be updated at a later dated. Right now it just feels like standing and hacking, I always liked the way Quest for Glory had the ability to block with our shield , parry with our sword, and doge attacks. Do you think this could be included?
Keep up the great work.
Question: As a town owner I am concerned about the Public Vendor issue. Personally I am firmly against the plan to offer Public Vendors. Others share my feelings. Any comments about how that issue is being addressed. I love the crafting system, can’t wait for more! Thank you for your time.
Public Vendors are not in the current post. They were in the original Dev+ post but removed because of your concern. You are welcome.
https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/forum/index.php?threads/player-owned-towns-update-scope-npc-buildings-icons-etc.23057/
Will there be more things to do in the scenes? For example find some treasures or secrets, meeting NPCs, getting some small quests, events happening like monsters attacking farms etc.
Will there be animals on the overland map that are not roving encounters? For ambient reasons. Like birds flying by, butterflies, foxes, rabbits etc.
Question for Tracy Hickman: Is there any chance to ever get a sequel to the Dragonlance saga?
Can we discuss fishing a bit please, please, please? I am really excited for it and also want it to be very special with mysteries to fish up that start quests, perhaps fishing up a dead body or a creature you have to fight.
Regarding chat in game with other players, is it possible to take the player chat between each to their own window. I love the way it was displayed in the prototype example, it was really special looking and also I don’t mind the little bubbles over your character which could have an optionto turn off, and also as in Ultima perhaps a private chat window option if in a party which would decrease the crazy amount of chat bubbles all over the screen.
Such a cool event, many thanks for organising these!
This is total bullshit, this is not Ultima, this is a betrayal, Richard should be fixing Ultima, starting with Retelling Ultima 8, with adding both the lost Vale, and Vengeance bay. Then fixing Ultima 9, the one that was released is not even close to the story line, instead of releasing this patok, how far you have fallen Richard, you are no longer Lord British, you simply are his peasant, half step brother, do what is right and fix Ultima, release new Ultimas, and quit with this garbage.