Hear Ye, Hear Ye! Thou hast been invited to the Release 19 Postmortem!
Please join us Thursday, July 9th at 3:00 PM Central (20:00 GMT) for our next Hangout of the Avatar! Richard, Starr, and Chris will be chatting about Release 19 and looking ahead to Release 20. And, of course, FireLotus will be taking your questions and feedback live in the chat-room and also in advance right here in the comments section.*
We will be giving out 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. And, some very special guests will be joining us to close the show. As always, the link to the hangout will be posted here directly before the hangout begins.
Will we have ways to remotely scry on people and places far away from our current location? Like a crystal ball…
Will there be ways to block this activity?
Like what we have with Fyndoro’s Tablet of Finding?
https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/?p=41588
Not exactly, no. That just shows location. I’m looking for something that allows for spying on a scene, complete with dialogue.
Speaking of Fyndoro’s Tablet, I certainly hope there’s a way to counter that.
I certainly hope there is not. If somebody flies by to attack me, I don’t want the bugger to get comfortable and hide from my revenge when I could prepare like they did. If you want ‘victims’, you at least need to give them ~SOME~ means of a possibility of revenge, not simply ‘kill everybody, then hide out and happily grind till you get on the next killing-streak.
There should be a balance. If you can’t hide inside the game then you will be encouraged to use multiple accounts to avoid accountability. Plus all attacks should have a viable defense or counter.
What are the Words of Power for New Britannian magic? When will reagents matter/be required?
Duell/Combat Idea
If the HP of one of the duellists would drop under 0 a exausting animation would start where the defeted would begging for merci (he is alife with 5 HP)
http://static7.depositphotos.com/1292351/792/v/950/depositphotos_7927323-Cartoon-man-begging-for-mercy.jpg
The winner than could decide to spare his life (he wins the duell)
Or to give him the final blow. (he wins allsow)
This could effect the moral system. You could even give the defeted to choos if he wants to beg for merci or takes its faith like a man/woman!
Question 1
Combat XP, Crafting XP…
I have been wishing to ask this question for a couple releases… There are many that are interested in “Social” XP. Any thoughts on this?
Many people enjoy the RP and not doing much other. We enjoy spending time together doing open mics, release parties, and even plays. Where our hours spent are enjoyable however.. there could be a grand ability here for experience gain and rewards for building community. Which is one of the grand aspects and best things about Shroud of the Avatar – The community.
Social XP could give extra little “fun” abilities.. extra dances? Emotes? Other little cantrips or social aspect rewards.
Question 2:
Dyes are now officially in game and the multitude of colours are amazing to see.
Multi-part question:
1) Will we be able to see enamels to dye metal armor?
2) Will Alchemists be able to create these wonderful dyes anytime in the future?
3) When will Social Clothing be dyable?
I love the Social XP idea!
Please remember that really verbose questions may be skipped or altered, as they can be a challenge to shorten and summarize live on the air. In brief… please keep your questions… brief. Thanks!
I have no issue with my questions being paraphrased ^.^
Can we expect “special arrow” crafting recipes and the missing ranged tree (archery) skills to be included in R20 at least in their basic form?
As the R19 Hangout screenshot seems to be implying, when will we be getting the ability to make a temporary campsite in the wilderness?
Question – Printing Presses are soon to be a thing. How will these work if someone else prints your work, will their name show as the author? What if you use someone else’s printing press?
During E3, Richard admitted its conversion from locked decks (yay!) to dealt decks (boo!). Knowing that balance of locked decks will come eventually, as per Chris comments, my question is: there will *still* be a locked deck to balance? Or we’re ready for extinction? TIA
*His
1. (at Richard Garriot) I would like to know what combat system Richard originally had in mind for the game before he converted/heard Chris ideas. ( https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/forum/index.php?threads/convert-to-cards.31837 )
2. (at Richard Garriot) How does the conversion to the random system convey with the desire to have no GUI (one can play a locked deck fully hiding the GUI, but not a random deck)?
3. (at Chris) How do you intend to balance the locked deck mode, makeing it a meaningful choice if it has no access to the main amount of skills (no combos) and far worse damage per second (due to random deck having next to no delay on skill use)?
More even than no GUI, how, specifically, does he feel this jives with his overall statement of “If you see it, you can use it” when in some instances, I’ll see all the things I need to use a skill, but still won’t be able to simply because it hasn’t been dealt?
I understand his comments for the jist of which is: “In game development, you share the process”, but that doesn’t mean you share the game design philosophy. After all, this was a bid for a Lord British game. When I asked him previously about how much control Hickman would have over the story, he said his hands were firmly on the wheel. Now it’s “my hands are tied, but it’s Ok, because I’ve decided to like it!”
I’ve seen other interviews where he liked other games as well. That doesn’t mean they’re his game. Since many of us bid solely on his name, and the promise of design it’s supposed to bring, is there any wonder why some of us fluctuate between disappointment and betrayal?
P.S.:
4. (at Richard Garriot / Tracy Hickman) How does the ‘random deck mode’ find it’s spot in the lore?
E.g.(spoiler): Even the Obsidian mage following chaos could use the teleport ability at will and would not have to wait till it was randomly available.
Just a Suggestion: With the new free attack mode, how about making the skills in the decks “special attacks”? We would attack normally with the free attack mode, maybe even get a free dodge and block mode. But we still have our card deck that actually looks like a card deck and from time to time we get to draw a random card from this deck and add it to a special attack bar consisting of just about 3 skills at maximum. Now we can choose to perform this special attack or we can wait to get to draw another card. Up to three cards can be saved and chosen from during combat (per fight).
This way the skills would still be neccessary, the random deck would still apply but by saving the chosen cards we would also get the option to at least perform some special attacks on demand. Also the free attack would add more action, dynamics and fun to the game. So it would be a combination between a freeform attack system mixed with the random card decks and the ability to save some skills to chose from when we want to use them.
When will we get show/hide options for helms ?
Show helm = wear a helm
Hide helm = take your helm off
Problem solved.
I agree with Jack Knyfe here.
+1
As much as I’m for customisation, make it meaningful. If I decide to wear a bathing costume in a blizzard, then I should take consequences for my fashion.
I agree as well… Hiding a helmet, for instance, will also mean you’re hiding the amount of protection you are wearing, which could give you an unfair advantage…
Wrong….. if I do not wear a helm, I lose out on the stats ….. the games i played allows you to show/hide helm so you do not lose the benefits of the stats….
At least since they are not going to implement show/hide helm, give us female players more choices in female head gear… I like seeing as much as my hair as possible
AFAIK the estimated release date is end of 2015 (only 6 months from now).
Could you please give an update on that and a (rough) timetable (crafting, POTs, landrush, etc.)
Question – At some point, will we be able to set up permissions in Public Chests so that only a specific person or owner of the chest can remove a specific item?
I point you to the following forum thread:
https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/forum/index.php?threads/simple-yet-powerful-improvement-to-geocache-chests.33552
…in which that very thing was brought up, and added as a JIRA task.
So, it will be coming, just no ETA at the moment.
Thank you for the heads up.
Question – Will writable books include Runic fonts in future releases?
Question 1: Do you feel the manual attacks were warmly received by the public?
Question 2: Do you feel the combat balance changes were worth while (aka: has the response been good?)
Question 3: Do you feel the lighting limitations in housing is where you want it?
Question 4: Do you feel the housing decoration limits are where you want them?
Question 5: Do you feel the stackable limits (ONLY FIVE OBJECTS HIGH?!?!?) are where you want them?
Question 6: Do you feel the cheat/hack security checks on the server are on pace for release?
Question 7: Do you feel the level design (specifically about camera angles and how things look) from R16+ is final for Episode 1 release?
Question 8: Do you feel the town design and implementation for the first 4 towns is meeting goals to allow continued sales of towns forever (on episode 1 launch start selling towns for episode 2?)?
Question 9: Do you feel the health bar update issues will be resolved with aesthetic feedback on armor/blood when that’s introduced?
I feel stacks and (outside) light limits are too low… (Also for a lot of items the Z-offsetting needs to be fixed. There’s no way a stack of 5 letters is almost as high as a loaf of bread, but that’s a different issue altogether)
What are you most proud of, when it comes to game mechanics?
What are you most unhappy with, when it comes to game mechanics?
Question 10: Do you feel like the new plot/town ban system went over well?
Biting my tongue….
Not many questions this time around from me
1. Will it be possible to place multiple vendors on the same lot in R20?
2. Is it possible to get a way to restrict the public chests so that only one item of the same type can be looted per person within a certain timeframe?
Thanks,
Kendric
Question: With the Master Crafting tables, will we as players be able to purchase (in game) or otherwise be able to acquire then for our own? Outside of pledging…
Question: With new recipes/resources being added/adjusted almost every release, when will you consider crafting complete for episode 1, only balancing left to do?
BurningToad has a task opened to work on our most burning chat interface requests: https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/forum/index.php?threads/chat-ui-feedback.23761/
Question: When might we see improvements for in-game chat?
Question: Will we ever see IRC style “/me” chat emotes? (/me sits down with mug of beer)
Question: Will we ever see “/target player” chat commands? This would make interactive RP in crowded scenes easier (craft fairs, taverns, events where we are giving out prizes, etc.)
We have Dyes for cloth, and plans for Enamels for metal.
Question: Will there be leather staining dyes?
QUESTION: When Full Loot ll be added ?
Question: Why did you removed from the store just a certain type of house? Wouldn’t it be better to keep them all in the store or remove them all? Otherwise we might risk to have a very repetitive and homogeneous world.
They wanted to keep certain houses more rare. Also they’ve recently added new ones, and I’m sure we’ll see other houses in the future, as well as the possibility that more houses get ‘retired’…
1.) Will the free form combat functionality be expanded upon?
2.) Do you think an all crafted type economy will water-down equipment choice for players?
3.) Have you ever truly had a REAL Philly cheese steak? <– South Philly Avatar!
When will you dedicate more time into performance?
We noticed that you need after 2-3h a restart of the game because the lags increase a lot after that time. The loading times(loading screen and loading lots) are also increasing and the overall performance is really dropping each release.
Question: Can you tell a bit more about the roving encounters that will be introduced with R20?
Maybe give an example on how such an encounter with an enemy and with an NPC will play out?
Are there other elements planned for the overland map? Like discovering secrets or secret scenes?
How about ambient animals for atmospheric and hunting reasons?
Almost forgot to ask,
3. Will it be possible to get an alternative player written book cover that is more like a parchment for items like flyers or “suspicious notes”
Bump..
Would love to be able to put a letter on my desk whith actual writing on it. Understanding that you would have to open it to see the writing but still … cool
We have stags, rabbits and bears. As a hunter, might I ask if we can expect wild boars as well? (also, does, moose and hares would be a welcome variation of stags and rabbits). How about ducks and pheasants? Would love to eat some crafted meals from them!
Breaking thru floors gives having a ladder animation renewed precedence.
When can we see ladder-use interactivity implemented?
R19’s Skills wipe made evident the ‘gold-sink’ of skill allocation.
Since leveling up punishes us by requiring the purchase of more skills we may not even want,
Can we get a ‘level up’ button that we can choose not to push?
(allowing us to stay eternally at whatever level we prefer?)
Backdoors were added to Viking and Knight homes in R19:
Will we see backdoors added to all homes in the future?
Will we ever see farms in-game?
Before the industrial age, farming had always been the backbone of a culture’s economy.
Will this importance of food, and growing i.e. ‘farms’ be reflected in New Britannia?
We saw new Ghost music (Thanks Shooter Jennings!), and jumping while dead implemented.
Is there more love planned for player-ghosts? What do you have in mind?
Astronomy (New Sky): “That’s no moon. It’s a space station.” -Maybe? =)
Regarding player ‘Titles’, are there plans to implement means to obtain new player Titles ‘in-game’?
Alternate uses for ‘Gustball’:
This thing, it has hitpoints, so is it alive?
A magical air elemental, trapped inside leather?
(like a genie in a lamp)?
Can we (mages) capture the souls of air elementals, then sew them up into dyed leather, to create our very own colorful gustballs?
In R19 we can now forfeit a duel:
Does forfeiting a duel cause a loss in our ‘Virtue’?
As we come closer to being able to rent-out rooms in player housing,
is it yet official whether we can rent rooms in an NPC inn?
After seeing dyes in game, what do you hope to change about dyable gear in the coming releases?
Dynamic Spawning:
Could there be a small chance that a group of friendly/unfriendly adventurers will spawn in random hexes?
Could there be a small chance that groups that spawn and are normally kill on sight, will spawn friendly/neutral?
Thanks for your time, it will be 4:00 am my time during the hangout, so i may not be there live. Please consider my questions.
Speaking of dyables (and being brief): Can we please dye our briefs?
Good luck to FireLotus to summarize this wagonload of questions!
May I suggest to have most of these questions answered with ~brief~ statements (like it usually happens in 2-hrs hangouts, after the first hour and half)? TIA
QUESTION:
When will we start seeing new templates for our Player-Owned Towns, other than the “PaxLair-with-a-different-biome” template?
(Lum is awesome!)
Super excited about fighting the Troll, the introduction of Roving Encounters, and the improvements to Random Encounters, especially now that combat feels much more enjoyable with the addition of Free Attack. Interacting with the Kobolds was hilarious and a blast, and I love how unique the Elves are to this world.
Question:
When can we start seeing some more unique wildlife and monsters rather than standard wolf, standard zombie, etc.?
Like these guys: https://d2sx9mrt4zumaq.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/SotA_enemy_wildlife_02-682×1024.jpg
My first question might be a bit far out there. This one might be more reasonable…
Question:
Currently only melee players have the opportunity to enjoy Free Attack Mode. Will Magic Users be able to ditch auto-attack soon for a chargeable projectile?
Is there possibly going to be a way to add Custom POI on the compass?
Question: Has the capability to consentually see another avatars paper doll, player stats or inventory been considered?
There could be many applications for this including giving another player direction, comparing results in combat or crafting, and of course player run events.
(1) What approximate dates are hoped for transition to alpha, beta, and final releases?
(2) When is the Kickstarter re-cap scheduled?
(3) When is dev Q&A coming back?
(4) When will we see Chris’ multi-page mega post on combat?
(5) Are you happy with combat?
(6) When can I upload my CoA image?
(7) What process did you use to determine that the deck system was the right solution for SotA?
(8) What process did you use to determine that level based progression was the right solution for SotA?
(9) What process did you use to determine that the skills tree was the right solution for SotA?
+1 on #6
A lot of these were mentioned during Chris Spears interview on NBNN yesterday.
Twitch broadcast: http://www.twitch.tv/nbnnnews/b/676677931
Have you considered people adding Custom POI marks on their compass?
Sorry didn’t mean to double post I spaced I already posted the question
What was the combat mechanics that free swing mode was trying to fix? (Other than people wanting auto attack to go away?)
Will there be a hot key to use it instead of having to use the mouse?
In the NBNN interview, Chris mentioned that the ability to place lots will be given to PoT owners.
Will that allow them to place any sized lot anywhere or are they still restricted to city sized lots that need to be broken down?
Will it allow them to place NPC buildings as well?
Will PoT owners still be restricted in the number of NPC buildings they can place?
Will avatar names used by players in the pre-alpha be protected from being “stolen” by others when the game is released?
Yeah… I’ve wondered that a lot myself as well!
+1
Book Publishing Questions:
1.) What is the current design plan for the lifetime of a published book? Printing to Publishing to Vending?
2.) Do you have any plans for NPC owned “Libraries” in game that players could submit their books too?
3.) Do you have any plans for date stamping books, First/Second editions or any form of “copyright” mechanisms in game?
Crafting Questions:
1.) Click. Click. Click. Sigh. (FireLotus to do sound effects!) You know what I’m talking about. Thoughts?
2.) What is the current thinking for the development of Production skills?
3.) Meticulous collection changed the resource availability, are you happy with how generous it currently is?
4.) Those Public Vendors pinched my crafted stuff! What are they going to do with it?
Geocaching Questions:
1.) Have you seen anything interesting with the boxes so far?
2.) Currently there’s no way for the owner to see or influence the activity of the public boxes, will this be added later?
3.) I’ve asked before about placement in the game world, and this was rejected at the time. Has this been looked at again with the current limitations of privately hosted boxes?
General Questions:
1.) Those poor Kobolds have been unable to have any fun for release after release, and now we’re stealing their heads! When will we see the Kobold hammer come down?
2.) I want to keep a cow in my row house; are there any plans to implement zoning and licensing laws which the guards might complain I’m violating as they do their rounds (“Oi, you can’t keep a cow in there!”). Or in short, more local flavour to cities, that they’d notice if players didn’t abide by?
3.) Hide Helm / Show Hat and Shirt instead please?
4.) I’m really just waiting for the Fishing update. I see’s it’s comin’ now; No puttin’ it back mateys!
Can we ask for the Book font to be released to backers for use out of game?
The dyes on some things -dont color as well as expected…any plans to make improve? For example spent 10k on dyes to find it only colored parts of my armor (heavy) hardly seems worth the price.
Question: There had been some debate about whether New Britannia is in the same galaxy and plane of existence as Earth based on Richards comments at the end of the R18 post-mortem. Can you please clarify if a spaceship could fly from this Earth to New Britannia, without traveling through any portals, thereby putting it squarely in this universe? Or are you just using the Milky Way backdrop because it’s the only real example we have of being inside a galaxy? (Which would not be as cool