What are you waiting for? Go review on steam.

I want well thought out reviews. My favorite approach is a pros and cons approach. Presumably people browsing the forum are still interested in playing the game but positive or negative I just want quality reviews and hopefully a boost in rating to the reviews that are well done.

Why someone posts a negative review is important. If it's moderation or cost of property or too much RP or not enough PvP or whatever, that matters. I may be seeking a game and none of those things would turn me off (or all of them would)- I would mention also the game is a WIP in a review as well.

 

Yea, I wrote my review back in January 2015. I don't know what release that is anymore. But I presented the dev's vision for the game, which I thought was positive, and I did that to encourage people to check it out and invest in it knowing that it was a pre-release product, like they would with a Kickstarter. I didn't think reviewing by the current state of the game was appropriate, because I knew it wasn't a finished product, and I wasn't reviewing it like a finished product.

I probably won't update my review until the game until the official launch.

There are directions the devs have gone on some things that I'm not entirely on board with, and I make that clear on the forums. That will probably be worth commenting on in my final review, after launch. I still don't believe those misgivings will outweigh the good things about the game. Especially when you compare to MMOs out there on the market; I would feel guilty giving SotA a less than positive review, just because there isn't an MMO out there I like better. I think all of the good things about SotA will be clearer though by the time of the official launch, when they'll have gotten a lot more work done, and a lot more polish done. And that's when I think I'll be able to get more specific in a review.

 

Physical media gets scratched or lost. 13 years later, my entire Steam library is accessible from any computer. Other Steam advantages:

* If your HDD dies or you change computers, your Steam saves are stored in the cloud.
* Buying a Steam game gets you a Linux and Mac version for free as well if they are available
* Auto-patching
* Really quick downloads
* I can pull up the Steam overlay in game to find guides, chat, etc.
* You can share Steam libraries with friends. My daughter is able to "borrow" games from my Steam library without leaving her desk.
* I can copy my Steam library from one computer to the next by copying a folder without having to reinstall games.
* As you raise your Steam level, they send you random coupons.
* Steam allows you to easily share video and screenshots with friends from your games.
* I can use my Steam credentials and not have to type in my password into SotA.
* At the same time, my Steam library is protected by a mobile authenticator
* Steam has anti-cheat software integrated into online competitive games
* Steam achievements and trading cards add a new level of fun to existing games.
* You can refund a Steam game. Most retailers will not accept returns/refunds on PC games and software.
* Steam makes it easy for me to gift games to other people.

 

I used to dislike steam and it's only recently I've come to accept it (mainly because a couple of my games only worked if you had steam :/) and I appreciate that I can lose my physical mediums, browse large sales and get a couple of obscure games, and the automatic updating.

Also the patching is superior when it comes to SotA which is a plus because patch-day can be kinda brutal.

 

If you have a hard time giving your account away... please gift to me... I absolutely adore this game and could use another account.

Thank you in advance.

 

Agreed.
And if the game gets better, people will start to give good reviews and keep in mind ,
you get what you deserve, simple as this.

 

yeah...no.
If it would be that simple that topic wouldn't jump up every few month.

 

With the state of the Linux client, you really don't want my review on Steam.

 

This may not be universal, but I've always thought Linux support lagged behind on most games with even triple A titles like GTA V not running on Linux (easily?natively?)

But I think that at least here Portalarium is committed to getting Linux working, according to what I've been reading it's a Unity issue that they are working with Unity to fix - it must be incredibly frustrating to have your own work held up by someone else's tech.

Hope it's smoother sailing for you soon!

 

I've been holding out reviewing this game on steam. I've been here since R9 and seen quite a bit of improvement. I know it is still a work in progress. I have and will give RG a lot of leeway on his game. I was so bummed out with what happened with Ultima and EA. It was like the having digital spiritual perfection abridged, re-edited, re-packaged, thrown away, and the leftover core turned into a Disney movie download site.

I will review it on steam, and have been waiting for R32 in my own little world. The game has come a long way. I'm not some testosterone filled plated buffoon, I've got a brain and love to RP this game. So much potential. just waiting for people to interact with my crazy fisherman character. I've got the best fish I swear! No mercury or tin foil needed. Pure natural sun grown swimmers for sale.

Everyone show up and rock. Lets make it so. Then lets review!

 

I don't like the concept of reviewing a product that is in an unfinished or in an incomplete state. It's unfair in ways that have probably already been discussed many times over. However, when the game is deemed in a ready/release state, I will gladly post my review to steam.

What I have done in the meantime through out many of the releases, is post screen shots with commentary. It's amazing to see how the game has visually progressed

 

Well, do your homeworks, there is games who started with bad reviews and end up with positive reviews.
Plus, with the new system, it's easier for the newcomers to evaluate the game.

 

Crazy fisherman is why I am here. To see people like you roleplay such things.

My rp character I came up with is Brother Bonaventure. The other is a sage whom I named Majellan.

 

Sure. I am aware of that. Doom is a fine example for that.
Still, the dosen't change anything.

 

I don't like the concept of selling a product that is in an unfinished or in an incomplete state. So it is a double edged sword - if you charge full price for an unfinished product then people should be able to review it. And then the devs have to live with bad reviews.

 

Yet you bought into one before development had even begun... Just curious how you reconcile the apparent dichotomy.

 

Sure I bought it to support the developers and "pre-order" the game according to the concept and features that were announced during the Kickstarter. Also I was wearing rose-colored glasses as I thought that SotA would be the game that was promised after Ultima 8 had failed - and I thought that maybe without my money they wouldn't reach the funding goal.
But I also say that it is ok to review the game in this early stage. I don't complain about it being unfair to review the game in this stage. If they charge money for it they have to live with reviews - even the bad ones.
I also think that supporting a game during a Kickstarter campaign is different than buying an Early Access to a game. It is like pre-ordering a car. But you don't sell individual parts of the car for the price of the full car.
Early Access for me seems to be an excuse for some devs to charge full price for something that isn't finished for a long time. Even worse is if developers say that a game is not finished even after release but still charge the full price. I think it would be fair if Early Access would cost just a small portion of the full game and when the game is truly finished the devs get the rest of the money.

 

Thank you for the thorough explanation.

 

It's Got to Be Said By Someone With More Charisma

~Time Lord~

 

People are pre-ordering a full game for a full price with the (dubious, for some people) benefit of early access or alpha/beta-testing whatever you want to call it. For some games people sell their beta and alpha keys (ie. D3) to people for cash, and this actually gets you no part of the game after launch.

Your analogy of kickstarter pre-ordering the car carries over to early access allowing you to pre-order the car. And you can add upgrades to the car. And you get to try it out, as it is built, or you can wait until it is fully built and take it off the lot. Early Access is NOT selling the game by parts, they are still allowing you to pre-order the game, AND you get to take it for a spin as it is built (and offer feedback - which may or may not be taken and sometimes it's good feedback and sometimes we should have just let the experts build the car without slowing them down with questions).

Selling the game in stages seems like complicating it - and also harmful for Portalarium's planning - they must make their decisions on scope and detail and staffing based on funding received. It is difficult to allocate expected future funding.

I know this disclaimer has not always been there, but it's a good one on steam:

WARNING: THIS GAME IS EARLY ACCESS PRE-ALPHA. PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE IT UNLESS YOU WANT TO ACTIVELY SUPPORT DEVELOPMENT OF THE GAME AND ARE PREPARED TO HANDLE PERIODIC WIPES, SERIOUS ISSUES AND INCOMPLETE CONTENT.
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People can feel what they feel of course, you don't like Shroud of the Avatar, regardless of how far along the development is and that's fine. You can absolutely share that opinion as many times as you like.

I see no difference to kickstarter campaign vs website campaign. They were never going to build the game on kickstarter funds alone, most of the "bigger" games continue to raise funds for the life of the building process.
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I don't think it is unfair to review the game at this stage, but I don't think it should be reviewed as if it were complete. It's like taking out the car before it is built, and it has no steering wheel. So you might say "This car sucks, it has no steering wheel - these guys have no idea how to make a car, they keep saying it's not done yet.... but the steering wheel is the most important part, and it's not there - they should have built the steering wheel first!"

But with a car most people would probably say, yeah, they said it will have a steering wheel, and that's the most important part to me, so I won't review the game until it has a steering wheel. Or maybe I'll review the wheels and the doorhandle and say that I (hate/love) them, but I'm really waiting to see the steering wheel and will update my review when I see it.

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*Disclaimer - please note, I don't think it is unfair to give the game a negative review. Negative reviews and positive reviews I think are both useful to purchasers and developers and fellow players. I also don't disagree with the quoted purchasers views that the single-player campaign is not up to snuff, and is not even close to being up to snuff and would be very disappointed if this were the "final product."

@Lord_Darkmoon makes some great points and suggestions that I think has been an aid to Developers, and many of his suggestions I hope and expect to see implemented.