OK guys, I made a mistake. I thought to myself, hey, you put $45 down on this game, go ahead and give it another chance. So I downloaded the client and logged into the tutorial. Now, I can't get past character creation without the game crashing. What a hunk of shit.
Garriott was only a "genius" back when he started because it's easy to be innovative when there's hardly anyone else around. He had nothing more than the benefit of being a big fish in a tiny pond. Now he's algae in a sea of games. He's just a one-pump chump has-been.
Wow...
As someone who was actually around (you may be too.. no idea) when he started making games I think you are about as far off base as possible. No idea if his new game is going to be anything worth playing as I haven't even looked at it in a long time but nothing can take away from his contributions to the genre.
Even Tabula Rasa (unsuccessfully) sought to take the genre in a new direction and was more innovative for its time than most. .
I was in the Tabula Rasa betas, and it was definitely innovative in some areas. It had "dynamic events" before anyone knew what to call them. Warhammer Online also came out with "public quests", which was pretty much the same thing, but they were both released around 2007, so it's hard to say who copied who.
TR suffered from a bad game engine though and had ridiculous PC requirements that were too high still.
The last year or two of Tabula Rasa development, Garriott was a figurehead. NCSoft had put in other managers to try and get the game out. TR ended up suffering from too many cooks. Of course, it was really far behind schedule because Garriott tried to add every new shiny idea that came down the pike, and didn't focus on a core experience. I suspect that NCSoft developed some animosity towards him over this, hence their attempt to try and cheat him later on.
If you are holding out for the perfect game, the only game you play will be the waiting one.
To be fair, there was nothing inherently wrong with Tabula Rasa, thats is not also wrong with any other game out there. It was just the wrong time and the wrong publisher that made it fail. And mabye Garriot lining his own pockets, if thats what he did. If F2P had been established as it is today, it would still be around and raking in money. Another publisher might have been willing to try it, or go simply with box sales or whatever.
I agree. The game did have a very rough time at first, but was really turning into something special when NCSoft pulled the plug. The game was a lot of fun, especially the NPC base sieges. The fact that all the quest givers were at the bases gave people incentive to defend them, although smart players could make very effective use of choke points to hold off quite a few enemies.
Garriott was only a "genius" back when he started because it's easy to be innovative when there's hardly anyone else around. He had nothing more than the benefit of being a big fish in a tiny pond. Now he's algae in a sea of games. He's just a one-pump chump has-been.
I disagree. The narratives, worlds, and other concepts of Ultimas IV through VII are brilliant, and stand out even today. They were way ahead of their time. But yes, as he is now, he's a has-been. His passion for computer games is long gone, as clearly shown by the soulless husk that is SotA. Even when ignoring the pay to win aspects and the shoddy overall presentation, the world is just generic fantasy world #34365. It's a series of small, instanced zones which feel less like a world than any fantasy MMORPG to date. There are MOBAs with worlds that feel more alive than... see?! I can't even be bothered to remember the damn name of the world. That's how unremarkable it is.
Again, the original conception of SotA was very different from the game as it is now. Much more of a steampunk ethos, and different gaming directions. But investors and supporters wanted retread Ultima.
One of the original concept artists (Denis Loubet) has been posting early designs, and they are not generic medieval swordswingers.
OK guys, I made a mistake. I thought to myself, hey, you put $45 down on this game, go ahead and give it another chance. So I downloaded the client and logged into the tutorial. Now, I can't get past character creation without the game crashing. What a hunk of shit.
I don't know why you keep punishing yourself.
The game is garbage, will remain garbage, and will never be anything but garbage.
OK guys, I made a mistake. I thought to myself, hey, you put $45 down on this game, go ahead and give it another chance. So I downloaded the client and logged into the tutorial. Now, I can't get past character creation without the game crashing. What a hunk of shit.
I don't know why you keep punishing yourself.
The game is garbage, will remain garbage, and will never be anything but garbage.
Tabula Rasa would sell like hotcakes on the PS4 just saying.
I disagree,it looked rushed and just not well organized.We know the obvious reasons ,well some of them,example NC taking over and rushing the product out.Then NC slighted every single follower and gamer by shutting it down to save face on promised millions to both Lord British and his brother.
People SHOULD carry some morals and imo it would be just wrong to ever support NCSOFT ,ever again.
As to shroud,Garriot is imo TOO greedy,it is more like he makes games to make money than showing passion for game design.This might not have been so in the past,tough to tell since we all accepted pretty much every game from the past because expectations were much lower back then.All i know is the NOW and what i see in Shroud is greed,something i cannot support.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
How can anyone but the biggest fans get excited about the Early Access launch of any game nowadays ? The thought of playing a buggy, incomplete, unoptimised version of an MMORPG does not fire my enthusiasm in the slightest...
This has lots of truth in it. been playing since UO in 1997 and the genre still thinks it can launch half baked and people will have the patience to stick around.... Its sad tbh.
I am really into RPG's, my first ones being the old ESSEXMUD and SHADES back in the mid 80's. SOTA is the biggest pile of garbage I have played/tested in over 30 years. It is extremely boring, the zones are tiny and the combat is a joke.
Gameplay in general is also very boring. To the OP, this game is rubbish and most people that have tested it have given it a bad review. I appreciate wanting a game with that old school feel, but I do not appreciate tiny zones, dull combat and gameplay that is just plain bad.
I thought about trying it but it doesn't seem to really offer much more, if anything, than there is in other games I already have... and all I've heard people saying is that it's crap. Think I'll pass.
Dude, I backed the game with 500$ The worst thing I ever did.. Yeah, this game is trash, it WILL fail and the devs are just ..unable to do anything good. Oh, and don't forget, they banned a shit ton of people on Steam, just because they dont agree with the posts. They also asked us to write good reviews on steam to help them sale their game, because obviously, they don't know how to make a good game. BUT, they sure know how to be greedy.
Dude, I backed the game with 500$ The worst thing I ever did.. Yeah, this game is trash, it WILL fail and the devs are just ..unable to do anything good. Oh, and don't forget, they banned a shit ton of people on Steam, just because they dont agree with the posts. They also asked us to write good reviews on steam to help them sale their game, because obviously, they don't know how to make a good game. BUT, they sure know how to be greedy.
Stay away from this game.
Hey, I know. I was a Knight-level backer who also purchased a POT. I gave them some rope at the beginning...and then more rope...and more rope...and they hung all of us with it.
In one year my opinion of Garriott went from "gaming legend" to "one-trick pony", once I started looking objectively at his game development history, looking for reasons why this pile of refuse could possibly come out of him and his team.
TL;DR...in the future, any games with Garriott or Starr involved get passed up without a second look from me.
The game looks rather bland to be quite honest. I was interested in it before but the more streams I watch of it, the less interested I become. For starters, everyone I saw solo'd. Where's the more difficult, group oriented content or is there not any? Also, no drops from mobs other than crafting mats? Really? No thanks. Gives less incentive to go out and explore the world. Also, the map system when transitioning from zone to zone where you were in some diablo style camera angle to get to another zone was rather odd and "disconnecting" from the game world itself. Doesn't look like it "feels" like an MMO at all but more so a single player game.
SoTA was designed to be a game that is similar to the old Ultima games. You have the overland map travel like old Ultimas and such. The art and animations have been getting better. But this also is not the games launch. This was simply the last wipe (atleast expected wipe, they can still wipe inventory, skills or what have you if its needed to keep the game going). The games launch is not scheduled tell November or somewhere around there. Graphics have been getting better. Hopefully new animations make it in before release. Would be a nice addition.
As far as population goes. There are ALOT of people ingame. Excactly how many is hard to say but the starter town even with instances and a cap had alot of people (by SOTAs standards) in it 40+ atleast in the instance I was in.
But yes if your looking for next gen graphics then this is NOT the game for you. This is a throw back to the old Ultima days where graphics took a back seat to loads of gameplay.
Sorry man. I hear what you're trying to say here, but I disagree. If a game is done wiping, then in my opinion, it's launched. Really getting tired of all this super-mega-next-to-last-half-wipe-paid-open-beta-prelaunch BS that games are using as gimmicks these days. Hmmm. Wonder if so many games on Steam are doing this to keep from losing their pre-launch status.
I'm enjoying it. Community is one of the best, if not best I've ever experienced. There's a ton of freedom in character development. Crafting is pretty in depth. Questing system is far better than the majority of mmos right now. You actually have to "talk" to npcs. It's an rper's dream.
However, the controls feel awkward, graphics are dated, there are still many bugs and glitches and the constant loading screens are bothersome. But I have gotten my $45 bucks out of it for sure.
I see a lot of people posting, who yet again bought an unfinished pre-alpha game and are now mad and blaming everyone else.
What about the P2W , bans, bad reviews and the Devs asking us to write good reviews!? The price 45$ for an pre-alpha ? And don't say anything bad on their forums or your post will be lock and you might even get ban. So yeah...people are mad.
I absolutely hate the overland map idea. With todays technology anything less than a seamless world, except for maybe zoning into the bigger dungeons and cities is just unacceptable. It's an unnecessary immersion break, and its ugly.
I see a lot of people posting, who yet again bought an unfinished pre-alpha game and are now mad and blaming everyone else.
What about the P2W , bans, bad reviews and the Devs asking us to write good reviews!? The price 45$ for an pre-alpha ? And don't say anything bad on their forums or your post will be lock and you might even get ban. So yeah...people are mad.
I can verify they ban like that. I can no longer post on steam or their official forums...I had issues with the current release so I asked support how I can get help and they only way seems to be by email with a person assigned to me.
I read posts on their forums worse then anything I ever posted and wonder what I did that deserved what they did. I know I pissed off their highest backers, which is a bannable offence. Avoid people like Baron Drocis if you do play, guy caused all typed of problems and gets pretty much free reign.
Damn right people are mad, I know I am. I supported the game for the longest time then got disrespected by them and now I'm cut off on improving things or even commenting on what I think. I have asked how I get access back and clarification on why I am cut off, we will see what they do. Game is very limited(even as it is) without a way to ask questions or discuss guilds etc...
Comments
The last year or two of Tabula Rasa development, Garriott was a figurehead. NCSoft had put in other managers to try and get the game out. TR ended up suffering from too many cooks. Of course, it was really far behind schedule because Garriott tried to add every new shiny idea that came down the pike, and didn't focus on a core experience. I suspect that NCSoft developed some animosity towards him over this, hence their attempt to try and cheat him later on.
If you are holding out for the perfect game, the only game you play will be the waiting one.
Again, the original conception of SotA was very different from the game as it is now. Much more of a steampunk ethos, and different gaming directions. But investors and supporters wanted retread Ultima.
One of the original concept artists (Denis Loubet) has been posting early designs, and they are not generic medieval swordswingers.
http://denisloubet.tumblr.com/
If you are holding out for the perfect game, the only game you play will be the waiting one.
I don't know why you keep punishing yourself.
The game is garbage, will remain garbage, and will never be anything but garbage.
~~ postlarval ~~
People SHOULD carry some morals and imo it would be just wrong to ever support NCSOFT ,ever again.
As to shroud,Garriot is imo TOO greedy,it is more like he makes games to make money than showing passion for game design.This might not have been so in the past,tough to tell since we all accepted pretty much every game from the past because expectations were much lower back then.All i know is the NOW and what i see in Shroud is greed,something i cannot support.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
Gameplay in general is also very boring. To the OP, this game is rubbish and most people that have tested it have given it a bad review. I appreciate wanting a game with that old school feel, but I do not appreciate tiny zones, dull combat and gameplay that is just plain bad.
Yeah, this game is trash, it WILL fail and the devs are just ..unable to do anything good.
Oh, and don't forget, they banned a shit ton of people on Steam, just because they dont agree with the posts.
They also asked us to write good reviews on steam to help them sale their game, because obviously, they don't know how to make a good game. BUT, they sure know how to be greedy.
Stay away from this game.
In one year my opinion of Garriott went from "gaming legend" to "one-trick pony", once I started looking objectively at his game development history, looking for reasons why this pile of refuse could possibly come out of him and his team.
TL;DR...in the future, any games with Garriott or Starr involved get passed up without a second look from me.
~~ postlarval ~~
However, the controls feel awkward, graphics are dated, there are still many bugs and glitches and the constant loading screens are bothersome. But I have gotten my $45 bucks out of it for sure.
What about the P2W , bans, bad reviews and the Devs asking us to write good reviews!? The price 45$ for an pre-alpha ? And don't say anything bad on their forums or your post will be lock and you might even get ban. So yeah...people are mad.
I can verify they ban like that. I can no longer post on steam or their official forums...I had issues with the current release so I asked support how I can get help and they only way seems to be by email with a person assigned to me.
I read posts on their forums worse then anything I ever posted and wonder what I did that deserved what they did. I know I pissed off their highest backers, which is a bannable offence. Avoid people like Baron Drocis if you do play, guy caused all typed of problems and gets pretty much free reign.
Damn right people are mad, I know I am. I supported the game for the longest time then got disrespected by them and now I'm cut off on improving things or even commenting on what I think. I have asked how I get access back and clarification on why I am cut off, we will see what they do. Game is very limited(even as it is) without a way to ask questions or discuss guilds etc...