Game is missing major features - working on add ons instead? What is going on?

Ugly is in the eye of the beholder

I personally am willing to put up with 'ugly' in order to also have 'stunning'. It is much more interesting than 'bland' cookie cutter. IMO

 

Yeah, my bad. . . . i'm getting old (45) and maybe it's time to move up to some stronger reading glasses . . . .

 

I'd like some compromise that would give room for creativity while restricting some of the excesses. So for example, rather than tile-by-tile, I think it would be good to make housing modular, so you could attach an addition to your house, say like an antechamber or conservatory.

A similar type of compromise might also work on item dropping.

 

Those words were tempered though and i stopped reading after page 2 so i apologize if you didn't get full credit.

 

I'm not sure what camp I'm in but when I saw that chest on the ground I thought "Bring out the Gimp", not sure why. I want to believe that the game development wont magically stop at release. I think they will continue to listen to us and work with us to keep improving the game for years. I getting up there now, 45 as I type this and have invested heavily in SOTA and more so in Starr Citizen. I plan to end my gaming days here (SOTA) and there (SC). I saw Star on Galactic Inquiry and decided to pledge. His time away from the office has been rewarded somewhat with new funds and new players. (I like to imagine RG tele-remote robot things sprout whips and cattle prods once the cameras are off to help motivate his workers). Stepping away from there main focus and even the office itself may benefit the game. They seem like a good bunch, a diverse team with a great skill set. Over the long haul I don't think they will let us down. The constructive criticism and forum debates can help, metal sharpens metal etc.

 

The OPs point was taken not ignored, and a Dev has answered many times see below, all comments together for you. So to catch you all up if you did not read the whole thread and answers. Darkstarr told us what we need to know at the moment, not everything is known until it is tried out and that time is not now. I am still hoping but am willing to wait. I am not surprised he went back to work, why should anyone be. Following comments below:
*************First Reply from Dev on this thread*************
Smitty said: ↑
Hello all,
It's been awhile since I played a release seriously (maybe R9 or so), but I'm noticing a disturbing trend in this game's development of spending time creating money churning add ons (like the new boat monstrosity) vs. creating features that will make an immersive game (like UO).

The major feature I've seen brushed to the side ( and please forgive me if this was formally addressed ) is the ability to drop items in the world. Does anyone know the status of this?

There are some other questions I have (like when actual consequences will be put into dying, where is fishing) but I'm sure there are on the forum somewhere so I'll search.
Thanks all
Click to expand...
****Darkstarr replied:*****
Sorry that this particular feature has not come online yet and I understand your frustration at the delay. However the comparison between content (like a new house) and a feature is a completely illogical. A new building takes the resources of a single artist several days and then some design side data entry of a few hours. A feature like item drops anywhere takes about 2-3 programmers multiple weeks (if not months) to get working properly without killing performance.

Death system improvements will slowly come online but we are in midst of major overhauls of the combat and skill systems so any work on death would be wasted.

Fishing is near and dear to us as well but until we have the gear economy / crafting backbone where we want it we don't want to prioritize that work.


**************Second Reply from Dev on this thread*************
Jackrabbit said: ↑
@DarkStarr Thanks for taking the time to give us a clarification DarkStarr. You mentioned that this particular feature has not come online 'yet', does that mean it is still intended at some time?

****Darkstarr replied******
It is still something we want to consider but we have major performance concerns because of the increase in dynamic objects in a scene. Just go visit any town with player housing and decorations and watch the performance go down. Until we can solve that we don't want to compound the issue.

*********Third Reply from a Dev on this thread**********
Jackrabbit said: ↑
I personally, would be more interested in them spending the money they have already received, for the things we were already promised for that same said money. It's great that the community can buy new features, but that development time or resources should not come at the expense of the promises that were made prior to that.

****Darkstarr replied****
Again this is a FALSE assumption. These are completely different resources. No money was diverted from feature development (programmers) to make a house (artists). Please stop spreading that false assumption, especially after I offered an explanation that refuted the false claim.

********Fourth reply from a Dev on this thread************
Jackrabbit said: ↑
Ok, point taken, let me rephrase that, I would like to see the priority and focus be put on completing the features that were originally promised first, then the extras afterwards. I feel like all the add-ons keep adding on to the delay of bringing some of the things we were originally promised to fruition, with the random item placement being a good example. It is very hard to get excited about some things, when the things that originally excited us are now moved from intended features, to definite 'maybe's at some time in the future.

****Darkstarr replied*****
I am not sure how to phrase this because my point keeps getting lost. NO feature (code) is being delayed because of add-ons (content). It is DIFFERENT employees with DIFFERENT skill sets. Your perception that there is a cause and effect there is FALSE and only serves to get people riled up.

*****Fifth reply from a Dev on this thread***********
Jackrabbit said: ↑
I'm not trying to 'rile' anyone up, so please tell me, how 'should' we voice our frustration over finding out that this feature will not be available? This is a big deal to lots of people. Or should we just shut up and go away?

****Darkstarr replied*****
No one told you to shut up. Sorry if you got that impression.

******Sixth reply from a Dev on this thread*****

Smitty said: ↑
Can't the add in store have things that would put $ towards the development of core features and this separate team? I was under the assumption as well, and apparently wrongly so, that an 'add-on' store buy (I bought a plot, some houses, basement, cats, etc.) would go to the general slush fund of the project and help it reach fruition.

****Darkstarr replied*****
I don't understand your point. All pledges and add on dollars go to fund the project. Those funds pay the salaries of employees. There are no separate teams. We only have one very small team of about 25 people. Some of those people are artists and they can make content (like a house). Some of those people are programmers and they can make features (like item drop).

*******7the reply from a Dev on this thread******
Jackrabbit said: ↑
Well Dang, Starr, combat is a mess, pvp is basically non-existent, we never got the pvp post Chris promised was coming last week, we don't have interactive item placement coming any time soon. I'm not trying to be a problem, but it is very, very hard to continue to 'have faith' sometimes when information like this is verified.

It's sorta like if we got nice tangible items for pledging and then 6 months later were told, 'well, we would 'like' to still honor that promise, but, you know, postage costs, logistics, etc., but we are still 'planning' on delivering them at some point, but in the meantime, thanks to backer's interests, we are adding some more great tangible items that you can get.

It's enough to make grownups cry.

****Darkstarr replied*****
I'm sorry we have made you cry. We certainly did not intend to. I am very sorry if the features you feel are important have not been delivered and addressed in the timeliness you desire.

It is worth pointing out that we have consistently delivered new features and new content every single month for almost 2 years. The order of those features changes constantly. That is how development works, you guys are just getting to see it for the first time.


****8th reply from a Dev on this thread*****

Jackrabbit said: ↑
It's not about the features 'I' feel are important, it's about the features 'you' & 'Richard' indicated would be included. But that's fine Starr, i'm done beating my head against the wall trying to point out the obvious. I will 'accept' the demise of these features (like I have a choice) and move on.

****Darkstar replied*****
For the record discussions about item drop were AFTER the kickstarter and what we said about items dropped anywhere is that Richard really wanted it but Chris and I felt it had a lot of issues connected. Richard is the dreamer where Chris and I are the guys who get the tough job on how to make practical implementations of those dreams. Despite our concerns we still wanted to experiment with it and we are STILL committed to that, just not now. We have NEVER said this was off the table.

 

for the record this becoming a full blown MMO was after the kickstarter as well...didn't have a say in that.

 

Which is a sore point in itself...as I don't see that either.

 

One persons happiness in the change in direction is a unhappiness for another.

 

As majoria reiterated, Starr has responded quite patiently to the outcry here. Be satisfied with that. Item littering was never a "major feature" nor was it a promised feature. Yet he is saying it is not off the table. Plus, OP might want to familiarize himself with the differences between offline and online games because using U8's sandbox as an example makes no logical sense here. You seem to be impassioned about something you don't fully grasp the scope of. No offense. But the devs can't just snap their fingers, wrinkle their nose and make something work because you want it to work. If you feel so strongly about this, perhaps try to offer constructive criticism and solutions instead of just firing off spastically and making false claims. This thread could have become very constructive, but it instead turned combative and senseless pretty quick and those offering constructive input have been overshadowed by the stint of flaming. I wanted to actually offer my input as I am all for some kind of system that allowed item dropping...but at this point I hesitate because I feel like I'd be wasting my time offering any creative ideas here.

Well, I'm going to do it anyways. Because it's an interesting topic. And one I think can be constructively discussed and turned around if everyone would just drink a juice box and chill for a bit. So here is my idea about about IF we were to have item dropping in ON-line mode: It would be neat if there was a street sweeper NPC or two who was on a schedule and wandered around town picking up items. I say, these street sweepers, scavengers, whatever you want to call them could replace a few iterations of Jack. Really, I love Jack..and the doormen, but they just sort of get in the way. Scavengers who picked up the litter could then pawn the stuff to you for a price. After a certain amount of time, the items would go away. Between the scavengers picking up items and players picking up items and there being a timer for items that might have been missed...it could be possible. Just an idea I thought might be an interesting twist if they ever do decide to try it out. Also, enabling us to place equipable gear in our homes like deco. Lean a shield against the wall. Or a sword on the table. Show off your collection of armor. Have a backpack resting by the door. This seems within reach at least.

 

Haha Nice post. I love the streetsweeper idea, that is really cute, I mean cool lol

 

I think this idea is borderline brilliant. Well played.

I have also requested this feature, more than once, but have received no response on the matter. Especially considering some of the higher pledges come with so many different sets of armor, weapons, etc... it would be very nice to be able to lay them out in our homes.

 

U have to admit putting piles of money on ur floor was kinda cool esp for a treasure room decor.

 

UO remains the only RPG game I know where you can craft a chair, place it anywhere in the game world, and sit on it. The elder scrolls games (particularly Morrowind) are the only ones that come to mind where I can just leave items lying around anywhere I wish. They sound like such small things but they are not to me and obviously not to other people. I can understand the need to ensure performance is high but I hope those kind of features make it in - even if just for single player offline mode.

 

I am all for item placement. Concerning the streetsweeper idea, I love it! Also, I am sure many new players will take care of that problem very quickly . When I was a new player in Ultima Online, I'd scavenge anything of value for a few coin. Same goes for games in the Elder Scrolls series. There would need to be rules and restrictions in place. There many pros and cons to such a system. However, being able to lay down a carpet on the shore, place a chair and fish the hours would be such an immersive escape.

 

I'd like to tag @DarkStarr again on this, assuming he has wiped his hands of this contentious topic. Darkstarr, please consider the street sweeper idea!

 

Why not? They already have the Jack...

 

There have been multiple issues with this thread so it's closing for review.


Edit: Review complete and thread re-opened. Regards, ~LV

 

The world would be a better place if we could all just love one another.

 

Yes it was, I also loved being able to build a custom workshop/stables on the bottom floor etc.
Touches like that (and also like in Archeage being able to hang pics of my kids on my house walls) are huge huge intangibles that offer hours of fun gametime to people.
However, those abilities in UO came in later years and I fully expect SotA to continue to develop beyond launch. What concerns me is that this game is going to be 'such' a niche game, that it will have very limited mass appeal in the early years as the game develops and will not have a large following.

nah, it would just be boring.