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POLL: All Content Available in Offline Mode?
January 20, 2016
Greetings Fellow Avatars!
Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues
POLL: All Content Available in Offline Mode?
January 20, 2016
Greetings Fellow Avatars!
Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues
InsaneMembrane
Visitor
I would have voted yes if I still could. But it doesn't look like the Devs or the Community need any help in making the correct decision, this time.
I'm happy to see some elasticity from Portalarium on this matter. I might argue that it shouldn't really have been a question to give the single player gamer access to this content in the first place... But I'll stop short there and just say: good choice.
I'm happy to see some elasticity from Portalarium on this matter. I might argue that it shouldn't really have been a question to give the single player gamer access to this content in the first place... But I'll stop short there and just say: good choice.
The poll isn't silly at all. There were specific items that were originally promised as being unique to certain pledge levels........ asking the players regarding changing the rules over unique items only seems fair and reasonable.
Allowing all items to be available offline will create a much richer experience for those players.......that is why I fully support what has been proposed. Offline is like a locked box and completely separate from online so the change still preserves pledge value.
In terms of Player Owned Towns (PoTs), scenes were going to be created anyway, many of which could have ended up being replicas of each other. PoTs really create a rich environment for communities to establish and live in, the layouts are flexible and will be more unique and interesting for players. In addition to that, the sale of Player Owned Towns also helped generate further revenue to fund the game further.
Shroud has developed and progressed to something much better and bigger than the original Kickstarter outline; for that I am grateful to the development team as well as the community as a whole for the funding that has been provided.
Allowing all items to be available offline will create a much richer experience for those players.......that is why I fully support what has been proposed. Offline is like a locked box and completely separate from online so the change still preserves pledge value.
In terms of Player Owned Towns (PoTs), scenes were going to be created anyway, many of which could have ended up being replicas of each other. PoTs really create a rich environment for communities to establish and live in, the layouts are flexible and will be more unique and interesting for players. In addition to that, the sale of Player Owned Towns also helped generate further revenue to fund the game further.
Shroud has developed and progressed to something much better and bigger than the original Kickstarter outline; for that I am grateful to the development team as well as the community as a whole for the funding that has been provided.
It's a silly poll because it never should have been in question. Port made people feel like they did this great generous thing when it really affects very little.
Well, once your done feeling grateful etc why don't you stop and think just what they did with those wonderful PoT's
They increased the amount of division in the game, gave ultimate power to the owners without consulting everyone who would be affected. Wasted time with the development of them to the point some things will be delayed.
You are right though, for those that benefit from all these changes it has become better, unfortunately it is the minority that get these things.
If these were such a great addition to the game why is even discussing the rules/powers of the owners so taboo and why wasn't the community involved with that?
Well, once your done feeling grateful etc why don't you stop and think just what they did with those wonderful PoT's
They increased the amount of division in the game, gave ultimate power to the owners without consulting everyone who would be affected. Wasted time with the development of them to the point some things will be delayed.
You are right though, for those that benefit from all these changes it has become better, unfortunately it is the minority that get these things.
If these were such a great addition to the game why is even discussing the rules/powers of the owners so taboo and why wasn't the community involved with that?
I would say that it affects players who choose to play offline greatly.....and in a very positive way. Portalarium didn't have to offer this as an option, they could have stuck by what was said in the past.
Players are not required to live in someone Player Town.....that has been covered many times on the forum. Ultimate power as in what? I certainly wouldn't say that development times has been wasted on them, from a multiplayer perspective it actually enriches the game, allows more creativity and enhances communities.
There is no question that the schedule has altered over the last couple of years, things will have been pushed further back.......part of the project itself was taking ideas from the community and implementing them.
I disagree on the minority.......I would say that ultimately many people benefit from Player Owned Towns.
I never felt discussions regarding what a town owner can do was ever a taboo subject. The whole point of town ownership was to control who can and cant live there in order that guilds and groups can flourish in an area of their design. Some owners may run the towns with many rules, some won't.......some may even run the town as a democracy..........it's up to them. Ultimately you don't have to be part of any of it if you don't want to.
So what can a PoT owner do?
- Place lots in the town
- Decide who can claim the plots
- Evict players if they feel the need (the players loses nothing....everything goes to their bank)
- Ban a player if they feel it necessary (player is banned from the multi-player scene only)
There is nothing that is that bad or terrible. At the end of it, the players decide where they live whether it's an NPC town or a Player Owned Town......it's their choice.
Anyway, this isn't a thread for PoT discussion. Ultimately the suggestion regarding items for the Offline mode was a great one, and it seems it is well supported by the community in general.
I played all the original Ultima offline games. What we had is what we had back then. SotA is more robust and even in offline mode is a sandbox too. So one can play the offline mode for a much longer time than the earlier Ultima story-based games.
I truly appreciate that all things in the SotA game (except strictly multiplayer items like comm orbs) that include pledge items, add-on store items, etc. are available in the offline mode of SotA. It may take a long time to achieve such things, but they are available.
It is a good decision. I look forward to playing the offline mode of the game!
I truly appreciate that all things in the SotA game (except strictly multiplayer items like comm orbs) that include pledge items, add-on store items, etc. are available in the offline mode of SotA. It may take a long time to achieve such things, but they are available.
It is a good decision. I look forward to playing the offline mode of the game!
InsaneMembrane
Visitor
Brave bold Sir Winfield of the House PAX first of His Name, Governor of PAX Lair, holder of POT meetings, I beseech thee, lend me thine ear!
For I too, played all of the original Ultima series games, which of course were offline, and great, and Virtuous, and good! For I wish not to overstep my place, under your most gracious boot, Sir Winfield, great owner of POTs, but mine experience also encompasses that which we both play, currently, Shroud of the Avatar, blessed be it's name. While I, the InsaneMembrane, shall never enjoy Shroud of the Avatar as thee, upon thine Iron Throne, so high, high above this poor soul, I offer to thee my most meager, humble, opinion from this poor rube.
On the great matters, sandboxing, offline-ness, single playerton, and things of great robust, I beg of thee, hark! To be fair and balanced, I shall only take into account one game, Ultima VII, from days past, to hold up to that which is professed by thee, Shroud of the Avatar, so exclaimed by think person, Great Sir Winfield, for to do otherwise, using more than one game as a total body of work, would be unfair when speaking of such an exulted, established game, such as Shroud of the Avatar, blessings be upon it.
For I remember Ultima VII well! As I am quite sure thee, Ultima Online legend, maybe even pre-UO Ultima hero, this one doest not know, also remember well! This lowly soul remembers, being able to place things, and a great many of them, onto the ground! For the InsaneMembrane was born, silver spoon removed, and thus had to locate, whatever fortune he could, in the world of Britannia itself! And such a rich world it was! There were interesting companions, freedom to explore Britannia without borders, able to collect furniture, and rugs, and things far and wide. I only but had to point at a structure in the world, and thus I could make it mine, including working multiple story staircases! One or more from a selection, between eight to twelve potions, could decorate my Hearth in Britannia. If this soul was starving, he had to but drink water, find game and cook it on an open fire. Magic in Britannia was so robust, and it followed logic, each spell had its corresponding words of power, not to mention reagents. Observation of one's self also, through the eyes of another, was more revealing. Magical Axes, of the slashing variety, could be seen! Not to mention, a nice little tattoo. When one was bored, one could seek out many ways to travel Britannia, land, air, sea, all things were considered and catered for. But unless ye have thy Swamp Boots, thou shall be in danger, when thou doest look for the key, of the farmer, at Lock Lake, for the Hoe of the Cat from Outer Space. Fear not good Winfield, if thy health is low, thy may sleep thy worries away! Unless... Unless thou would be unlucky enough to come across a great lizard, and thy peons cower in fear, then thou must throw a blue potion at the dastardly reptile! Rid thyself of those peons, for they have no depth, certainly not like the illustrious Dupre, who cowers from no being save for an empty bottle. The depth of thy companions shall enrich thee. Whom, by the way, thine experience will be a breeze with, as Dupre would never stand and look at thee funny while you mutter single syllable words to in hopes for a response. And if Sir Dupre spends too much time, of course, at the Blue Boar, ye have the option of ensuring that any leakage does not escape Sir Dupre's trousers, while enjoying the cold, hard, and strong surface of the dirt where he gracefully loses consciousness. Just don't expect him to stick around, when he returns, from the land of dreams and hope.
Great, bold, cherished, Lord, Governor, Sir Winfield of PAX. I draw from me, the very breath of the Ultima spirit. This one, so below thee, humbly requests that thine eyes, from thine great station, focus on this picture he paints, so vivid, so true, so loved, of Ultima. Look upon this picture, and compare, with thy most virtuous honour, to that which is presented by that which calls itself Shroud of the Avatar, blessings, blessings. With great reverence for thee, a Force of POTs, speak not of the future, speak only of the current, the being, this moment in time. One of these great pictures, before you, Lord of Town Meetings, is more evocative than the other. For the future, while bright, and bountiful of great hope, where dreams of all reside, is unwritten. Thy Virtue and Valor may be in question, Justice for Ultima, Honour of thine word. With eminent respect, for thee, great Sir Winfield, thou must Sacrifice not thine Truth, thou cannot forsake the Love of the past, for the Pride of the current. Let Courage guide thee, if thy Spirituality answers you, great, Honest, Sir Winfield, in thine quest, thou shalt surly come to one answer, as does the InsaneMembrane, through Humility.
High Governor Lord Sir Winfield of PAX, think of Ultima VII as a book, if thy will it, through a thought experiment, from this pour pitiful soul. Read that book, again, as you have read it in the past, with open, inquisitive, and new eyes, thou wilt surly see the light.
“Books break the shackles of time, proof that humans can work magic.”
- Carl Sagan
A humble, most respectful slime beneath thy great boots of thine exalt rule,
InsaneMembrane
Oh please, you tend to make a lot off this game....you and Envy as well as a few others. Why not tell them how you guided development to ensure PoT's were predominate? This whole early launch I blame on guys like you.
You honestly think this measures up to older ultimas? Funny, even Dallas doesn't think it does yet.
Not really sure what you mean by this.........I like many others, support the game and the development team because SotA has huge potential and I really want a great game to be made.
So within UO ..... and yes I know you don't like UO etc etc.....but within UO something very special happened, which was the formation of community towns. The running of these towns was never easy as they were constantly getting grief from other players (probably people like me), they would get raided in RP events, if a house fell someone would always go out of their way to place just to cause disruption.
The point is that SotA is labelled as the 'spiritual successor' to the Ultima Series which as much as you may protest includes Ultima Online which (and you can correct me if i'm wrong), was and still is the most successful Ultima game.
For me 'spiritual successor' means taking the best 'bits' and 'concepts' from the other games and implementing them as well a possibly improving them within a brand new game.
Player Owned Towns (PoTs) is just an example of a concept which occurred within UO that has now been implemented and improved.
I get the fact that you are more interested in a single player experience with a rich story....I really do get it. Do I feel that the single player mode has been given much love? No I don't, however in saying that, the development team have always been very clear on the way in which the game is being built.
In many ways you should be pleased that the game is doing away with wipes and moving to 'Early Access'......for you and all the players interested in the single player and story experience, it probably marks the milestone where the focus moves away from multiplayer mechanics and more towards the functions regarding single player and the story itself.
In many respects what's really required is positive constructive feedback......such as this:
Final Wipe and Lot Selection | Shroud of the Avatar Forum
The game will always be evolving even after the official launch once the story elements are complete. I even expect the single player offline mode will end up with and option to download updates and improvements.
Persistently being 'anti' towards the game, developers and other players will only ever alienate yourself and you will get little support.
Lets look at player owned towns in UO and correct me if I'm wrong....they were a collection of houses that players built together in an area and called a town. They didn't give ultimate power to one person(who purchased the rights to all the lots). This is not the way it is done in shroud. In shroud this doesn't work like this, you will have an owner who will own all these plots. He can let you settle in a plot and then setup a house etc, which sounds great. Then his friend Joe wants a lot but the PoT owners town is full...so he just evicts anyone he feels like to give his buddy a lot, no issues. But you may ask what about the guy evicted? Oh no rights. Also, they have the ability to ban anyone they want from their PoT.
Now, the bigger issue with them is the extreme amount of time they took to make. People say look at the standup notes not much time was spent on them, which is a bit of red herring. When you look at the time spent on them you have to take into consideration the amount of time spend on all the infrastructure, placement, and all other pieces of art created to decorate them.
NPC towns for instance feel as if they have suffered due to lack of focus on them.
Now for Final wipe info...
You can look at the list of things they have to complete and you can clearly see that there are many MP functions that will not make release(wipe). This is another one of those times we get told to wait the info is coming. Problem is you can only say wait so many times. I asked if there was an idea when all those extra things (like story, overland encounters etc) were coming and Starr was clear there would be no timetable for the items after what they call final wipe.
I used to be a very strong supporter, now I'm just a very disappointed person. I guess I was foolish to believe they were developing what they said kickstarter was.
Now, the bigger issue with them is the extreme amount of time they took to make. People say look at the standup notes not much time was spent on them, which is a bit of red herring. When you look at the time spent on them you have to take into consideration the amount of time spend on all the infrastructure, placement, and all other pieces of art created to decorate them.
NPC towns for instance feel as if they have suffered due to lack of focus on them.
Now for Final wipe info...
You can look at the list of things they have to complete and you can clearly see that there are many MP functions that will not make release(wipe). This is another one of those times we get told to wait the info is coming. Problem is you can only say wait so many times. I asked if there was an idea when all those extra things (like story, overland encounters etc) were coming and Starr was clear there would be no timetable for the items after what they call final wipe.
I used to be a very strong supporter, now I'm just a very disappointed person. I guess I was foolish to believe they were developing what they said kickstarter was.
Themo Lock
Adventurer
voted yes.
Captn Norrington
Stratics Forum Moderator
Moderator
Professional
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
UNLEASHED
Campaign Supporter
The person getting evicted doesn't lose anything other than no longer being able to live in that specific location. They still have their deed and all of their items that were inside the house, so if that happens they just need to find a new spot to place their house. The person was not forced to place their house in the PoT, they chose to do that voluntarily. By choosing to live in a PoT the person is also accepting the risk that the town owner might one day evict them for whatever reason. If they are not willing to accept that risk, then they should not have placed their house in the PoT in the first place.
This is literally the first thing RG has posted in awhile on the forums...days after someone on twitter told him about the problems on the forums.
Other then the time it took to setup his house, you are right. He can move, why anyone in their right mind would pick a pot over a NPC town when doing the land rush is beyond me. And they won't, because even those benevolent backers who will place in PoT's will ensure they pick a place to "sell" for maximum profit.
Why did it even get to the point where someone had to be concerned about placing in a PoT? You would have to ask those backers who helped make the rules on PoT's.
Themo Lock
Adventurer
Actually the magic movers will let you set up exactly as you had it in a new location with a single click. Not sure if it will be active on launch but it is one of the features they want in early.
Themo Lock
Adventurer
Basically if you actually get evicted from a player owned town (which is unlikely for most, but a very real possibility for a few of the people concerned about it) then you suffer the mild inconvenience of selecting a new location in a different player owned town. There is allot of these scenes and many of the owners have no way to fill them and will be actively trying to attract residents. This is all getting a bit off topic though.