What IS Shroud of the Avatar?

There are many additional restrictions in SotA when compared to UO. Because of this, the open UO playstyle has been replaced by a rigid WoW playstyle, while still in a UO setting.

This is likely his (and mine) frustration.

 

I can understand that Betamox, but we were aware from the beginning this wasn't going to be an open world with a top down isometric view.

I'm more concerned about stuff like things really aren't interactive as they should be yet, at least not at the level of U7.

The fundamental thing is, they appealed to UO fans and to Single Player fans, and trying to mesh those worlds so everyone is happy is a pretty difficult thing... probably more difficult than they considered.

 

Well if they were still going to try for an October release I would be panicking a bit too. However as I understand it they are extending the release. How long I do not know I know they can't extend it forever but what I am trying to say is if you are still thinking we only have like 5 months left that is not accurate.

Hopefully they work on stability again and we can get both the graphics and a game that runs well on different platforms. I do think even at this early stage improving the graphics was important though. Sure gameplay is super important but when your trying to get people on the fence to try the game pretty graphics can really help get them in the door. Of course you still need good gameplay to get them to stay, but I am sure we will see that. I am hoping by R7 or R8 we will see a return to more improvements/additions to the gameplay.

I think its relatively easy to come up with a plan and say ok this is what we will do. However once you actually start working on that plan you find that somethings don't exactly work quite like you wanted them to and need to be changed or even scrapped. That sometimes you need to switch the order you work on things around a little bit. I mean it can be concerning when they don't meet their release goals but at the same time I can understand things don't always work out like we plan. In this release for instance I suspect having the scrap the work they were doing on the 2d overland map and start work on a 3d based one probably is the reason a few things didn't make it in.

Anyway I am not saying you should not be concerned. I think it is important now to voice your concerns so these things can be addressed. But I would not start worrying too much at this point.

 

That's not how I read it.

I read that to mean he and the OP, those who want UO2 with all the freedoms they had in UO, are unchanged while the "new generation of players" (anyone who DOESN'T want UO2 or UO-like freedoms) need those things like X, Y & Z.

Perhaps I was wrong.

 

I do agree that trying to make everyone happy I think has been far harder then they anticipated. I also think that maybe they didn't anticipated just how demanding we all can be lol

 

Yeah I agree with you. I'm not super concerned, and I don't want to do what some people do which is show up, say this looks like 90's graphics (you weren't around in the 90s, were you ? ) and it sucks, and then bail. I'm not that type of person.

But yeah, I was hoping this polishing release was going to result in like a really polished version of R5, and it seems like for the most part, that's the case, if you're on windows anyhow.

The anecdotal evidence I've gotten from the forums is windows users are fine, people with Intel HD Graphics 3000 are fine, people with more powerful cards on mac and linux are not fine.

 

It's not really something players will ever *see* per se, but Portalarium's underlying network architecture is quite novel. I imagine they're not wanting to push it too hard at this stage -- poke at it, but not try to break it -- until they get much more of the client-side gamplay nailed down. Once they get more optimizations in -- in every system -- they can start trying to crank up the number of players per instance. I suspect they're running that conservatively now.

 

This is a side point, but it got me thinking about how increased graphical power, while cool in its own right, has led to a downside -- meeting the expectations of "awesome graphics" eats up time and budget. Imagine the same game done in an Ultima VII or VIII style; they'd be done by now. I remember reading something about this being the reason Square Enix has resisted doing an "HD remaster" or something like that of Final Fantasy VII; there is so much content in that game that to polish it all up to modern graphical standards would be too much work. And coming from the other side, notice how there's little difference between watching someone's "let's play" video of Final Fantasy XIII and playing the actual game yourself.

 

The more I think about it that has to be some kind of driver issue, which is good because it means it is fixable, if/when the devs just need to buckle themselves down and crank through it.

 

Agreed... it's worth pointing out that no game of this scale has allowed such consistent access this *early* in the development process before. Portalarium is really sailing through uncharted territory. One thing I've noticed about Richard Garriott -- both watching him speak at cons and such, seeing him post here, seeing him on Twitter -- is that he remains eerily cheery and positive even in the face of withering (sometimes valid, sometimes not) criticism. A project without someone like him at the helm, I think, would have to be much more circumspect about letting people poke at pre-alpha versions.

 

BINGO.

I've seen interviews with RG from a decade and more ago where it's clear that's something he's been thinking about for a long time... how to mesh a single-player style story with an MMO structure. Sometimes I wonder if Portalarium would have been better off focusing on a straight single-player game first, since that would be much easier to pull off, and maybe start developing some of the multiplayer tech in parallel to use on a related but different game.

 

I think they're pretty much matching every software development project. I've yet to see one in which the original schedule wasn't super optimistic and drastically revised as development went along. They're more or less operating in the mode that most games are developed in; just usually people from outside aren't let in to see how the sausage is made.

Or... the jerky.

 

The OP has every right to judge the game as it is currently with a view towards what it will end up like. I'm sick of hearing 'the game is hardly done yet its just alpha' when we know full well what the final vision and plans are.

Course, that won't stop the usual apologist fanatics around here rushing to claim everything is fine.

Plain and simple the end result of this game will be fairly removed from what at least 40% believed or hoped for, and its unquestionable that there is a heavy pay to win element here.

 

Well, there has to be a balance. Calling people who rightfully are trying to add perspective "apologist fanatics" isn't really nice or the right way to say it.

But on the other hand, yeah, you know it's difficult to see something being born and you're not sure if those are arms or dragon's wings

There's a lot of goodwill I have towards the project, because Ultima was influential on both my professional life and my love of fantasy, so it's not like any other game, but yeah I know where people are coming from.

I don't really see pay to win here. I mean the game has to be paid for somehow, without a recurring monthly subscription, something I hate, honestly, I'd rather have the game fund itself through a store, but it's got to done *right*.

 

I don't feel bad for those who are upset this isn't UO2, that they were lied to. This was never going to be that way, it would literally take 5 minutes to figure that out by reading about the game.

Tradyblix you have been posting how upset you are now with how the Mac port is broken at the moment....it's an issue yes, but relatively minor to fix bugs like that this far in advance of release....if it releases like that then sure.

 

Does this 40% number have ANY actual foundation in fact? I have no sympathy either for people who get worked up and blame others for what is ultimately their own misunderstanding. I've been following SotA since the day the kickstarter launched and never once did I ever feel led to believe the game was going to be anything other than what Portalarium has said. Which is what we're getting so far.

If someone got all excited because they didn't understand it wasn't UO2.. that's on them. And I seriously doubt 40%+ fall into that category. I would say even 10% is most likely high.

I guess it doesn't matter how many times this pay to win nonsense is debunked. People are going to insist its true. Buy a house that gives you no advantage towards winning the game.. it's pay to win! A non-combat pet! Pay to win! A hot tub! wait what are we winning exactly? None of that is going to help you fight that army of skeletons or explore that dungeon down the road.

 

I think it really might be a language barrier for some...

 

Well there's that.. and there's misleading articles out there where author's didn't seem to quite understand something. But when they come on the forum all in a huff and start blaming Portalarium claimed they've intentionally misled or lied about this or that rather than taking the time find out what's real and what's misunderstanding. That's a bit much.

I can respect those willing to admit their part in a misunderstanding and more so those willing to correct themselves or be corrected but pointing fingers to cast blame and throwing a fit in public is just not productive.

 

All I have to say is I didn't get to place a house for the second time in a row because my client was unplayable for 2 days.

So if this had happened to windows users, then yeah, I bet I'd see some of you posting how pissed you were about it

 

That sucks, but it's an alpha...not the final game...and it didn't cost you anything. This isn't a finished bug free product you kind of have to expect things like this when testing.