Release date Imminent?

Looking at release schedules it looks as though after Release 25 the game will be released and should be 2015. There are only a few days left in 2015 so I am wondering if Shroud of the Avatar is on target to release before the end of the year?

 

No.

There is no longer a "current release date". The devs have said that we will not hit the 2015 goal, and they do not feel comfortable using a new date.

So the answer going forward will be "it's done when it's done". That said, it will never actually be "done" as the plan is to continue to improve the game each month from now until forever (permitting).

The official end of "pre-alpha" which is the state of where we are now is generally expected to be sometime "soonish". The 1st quarter schedule should be released very soon (maybe even this week) and that might provide more answers.

 

Current estimate is in the first half of 2016, which I interpret to mean no earlier than July.

 

Saw this on the main website "As major milestones such as Alpha and Beta loom ever closer on the horizon," So no shroud of the avatar this year?

 

With only 2 weeks left and some stuff still missing, probably not.

 

O okay, I cannot play knowing my progress is meaningless so I will wait.

 

You can play the current version of the game right now, it's just not going to be persistent and the quests are not going to be finished and the combat will be unbalanced and it will have a lot of bugs.

The official "launch" is all about the game being feature complete for Episode I and the developers turning on persistence for things like housing. So it's all relative to your point of view. If you're looking for the finished product, you are probably about a year away based on my point of view.

 

Well, the new release starts tomorrow. At the very least, it might be worth it to log in today and complete the grand tour quest and get your pilgrim bonnet hat. They are account bound (which means they survive the wipes and will still be yours at launch) and starting tomorrow will not be obtainable in game (without purchasing them from someone who went through and completed the quest this release).

 

We'll be lucky to hit alpha before Q2 in 2016, and that's only if they really push hard or rush the current development by skipping the polish.

 

There will be a release date they've yet to announce and they've at least finally said what that means, according to the latest MMORPG article:

"Completed, as Starr commented, means that they’ve delivered on all their Kickstarter promises, players have access to their rewards, and the game has the appropriate security hardening and customer service tools needed to maintain it in a production state."

So sure, they'll never be "done" with SotA development, but that doesn't mean they won't ever be "done" with Episode 1.

 

@Distrum Druharad Totally respect your stance on not wanting to re-level, re-deco, and re-learn every few months. This part isn't everyone's bag.

I do hope you would (or have) at least signed in, created your character and started a friends list. Those lists will persist, and its nice still see familiar names in your social list, especially after a wipe (or full release).

 

From everything I have heard about their development cycle and how they plan to maintain monthly releases, what is more important than the official release date (important) and the definition of what is release (important), is the point when wipes stop. Even after it is released/wipes stop (which I'm guessing are related), there will still be ongoing work and balance and tweaking, etc...

So again, I get less hung up on the release date than in when wipes stop and the story-line is implemented.

 

I would be absolutely stunned if this game was released by summer.

Here's hoping I get stunned.

 

From SotA's Steam page: "We estimate reaching a Beta version with all features and content sometime in the first half of 2016."

My quess for full release would be sometime during Q3.

 

Screw polish, release now before we die of reading too much drama.

 

@DarkStarr
@Chris

Foooorrr. Eeehhhh. Vuuuurrrrrrrr..........

 

What I believe is more important now is having a solid foundation to build upon.. Feature can always be added on later as long as the foundation for Skills, Economy , Housing, and Lots etc.. is solid and all going in the same direction..
That was not possible before due to the skill foundation needed to be changed. There may still be a few other things needed to be discussed before laying down the rest of the story and adding in the rest of the content.

One of the Cons of a game having less publisher influence or no publisher influence is that is it will most often miss its target due date and sometimes by alot due to devs wanting to change/expand things or go into greater detail..
The Pros are usually a better and more interesting game with far more game detail..

Which would you rather have? I personally prefer a better game

I have an account at LOTR and yet I find myself here playing a game that I know all my efforts are going to be erased by the next wipe .. ( Even though LOTR is a very good game and was an inspiration for one the devs I remember reading ) I Find games that have more dev freedom often have a special something that usually sets them apart from the rest and I see this in SOTA and its not even finished yet..

As far as I am concerned I can certainly wait for this jewel in the works to come to life .. I hope you all can too

 

But it is summer.

 

Starr said in the chat today he doesn't expect to hit alpha in Q1 (though maybe towards the end of it or shortly after). I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for release in Q2.

I'd be kind of worried about the performance (sale wise) of the game if they released 6 months from now anyway. Both given it's current state and the fact that's a silly time of year to launch a game (and you can only launch once). If they think they can pull everything together by then they'd be best served aiming for the October/November sale period.

 

Looking at the Q1 schedule I would suggest it would be highly unlikely to see launch before Q4 2016 (probably looking more towards the end of Q4). That is pure speculation.