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Shroud of the Avatar | Release 21 - Victa Ultima! | MMORPG

SBFordSBFord Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
edited August 2015 in News & Features Discussion

imageShroud of the Avatar | Release 21 - Victa Ultima! | MMORPG

Ultima fans, rejoice! If you’ve been only lukewarm on the skills system in Shroud of the Avatar, and you really wished they’d go back to something more use-based, this is your update. You’ll find a skill system overhaul in this month’s release. Plus, I’m going to brag a little on their community again.

Read the full story here



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Comments

  • Dreamo84Dreamo84 Member UncommonPosts: 3,713
    Going to be sooo much better for the game I think.

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  • Stone_FountainStone_Fountain Member UncommonPosts: 233
    There were several reasons the devs made this shift. One was for macro users and botters. Before, they could use a macro and a single combat ability to gain skill for any and all combat skills. Now, they have to use each skill to raise each skill, magic included. Melee: Polearms/Spears, Bashing weapons, Bladed weapons, 2 handed, duel wielding, Bows and crossbows, Magic: sun, lunar, light, chaos, air, fire water and earth. Likewise for crafting which there are alot of skills for gathering, refining and producing. Now, the easiest of adventuring and crafting skills will only yield the player skill in that area of skill. Also, learning by doing is much more realistic. being able to raise Archery while using a sword did not make much sense to many of us. Each month the game gets better and becomes more refined. Sometimes they do take a step back when something doesn't work as they want but it's usually fixed, refined or replaced in short order. We are still in Development and it's been a fun experience to watch this game evolve as it has. Right now people have pledges from $45 all the way up to $12000. Starting September 1st though, several pledge levels will either be removed or changed and as of August 17th, no longer is merging accounts allowed. if you're interested in this game, it is completely playable today with several guilds looking for good people to fill their ranks. Note that many of these guilds are offering free or near free land for you to settle upon also.

    First PC Game: Pool of Radiance July 10th, 1990. First MMO: Everquest April 23, 1999

  • CopperfieldCopperfield Member RarePosts: 654
    has the combat been adjusted?
  • thrixxthrixx Member UncommonPosts: 23
    I just bought the "founders pack" about a month ago, and I'm loving this game so far, I just hope they stay sandbox, and not cater to the "casuals" I mean no disrespect either, but I'm TIRED of mmo's holding my f-ing hand. I came from Asherons Call, and this game kinda reminds me of it, I also have high hopes for Project Gorgon, so can we PLEASE go back to the old way mmos came from, where they don't tell you how to level. I'm getting tired of all the "wow clones" even though I love/hate WoW.
  • Red_ThomasRed_Thomas Member RarePosts: 666
    Copperfield said:
    has the combat been adjusted?
    Several times. That's kind of an open-ended question, but they've had multiple major combat overhauls. They currently have a Scrum Team composed of a couple devs and a dozen or so players that meet at least once a week on combat issues. Look up Chris Spears. He's the lead for the team and has likely posted a bit about it.
  • AmjocoAmjoco Member UncommonPosts: 4,860
    I don't care if this is the worst game ever made I'm going to play it (mostly because I bought it), just to honor Ultima Online. I'm still kinda miffed about it though, it should have been named Shard of the Avatar because that's what I keep wanting to call it! 

    Death is nothing to us, since when we are, Death has not come, and when death has come, we are not.

  • rgarriottrgarriott Lord BritishMember UncommonPosts: 26
    Alright Red, I see what you did there... (after Starr pointed the caption out)... Just because I named a town Soltown, and pronounce it Solton... I never have been particularly good at spelling... Its not too late for me to rename the town... we are still pre-alpha! :)
  • BlackstoneDevLtdBlackstoneDevLtd Member CommonPosts: 4
    edited August 2015
    This change to skill based systems is the linchpin for the success of SotA. Skill based systems turn a game back into a game, rather than a second job of leveling up. Somewhere along the way, some marketing guy told corporations that leveling extends player retention, and voila, almost every game since has had leveling. What they didnt realize is that leveling would eventually shrink the overall MMO player base. Hats off to the devs for having the guts to bring the player base what they wanted. Extra applause to Chris Spears for developing an entirely new deck system, listening to the community, and then integrating the two together. Just like the author, its a mixed emotion of we were trying to tell you and a huge celebration. Dont bother trolling me about being a fanboy because I am a UO(Felucca)/LB fan boy. :) Edit-Added Felucca and voila
  • Red_ThomasRed_Thomas Member RarePosts: 666
    rgarriott said:
    Alright Red, I see what you did there... (after Starr pointed the caption out)... Just because I named a town Soltown, and pronounce it Solton... I never have been particularly good at spelling... Its not too late for me to rename the town... we are still pre-alpha! :)
    lol I wondered if one of you guys would catch that. Though in the the name of full disclosure, I don't know that I've ever passed a spelling test in my life. You are most assuredly not alone in the typo department. =)
  • Dagon13Dagon13 Member UncommonPosts: 566
    I like the sound of this system.  Also, for some reason looking at a list of skill categories makes me feel happy.  
  • Panther2103Panther2103 Member EpicPosts: 5,777
    I've been enjoying it every time I play a release. It's a fun game with a lot of neat ideas. It feels like an oldschool game with modern graphics which is really nice to me. This combat system sounds great.
  • goboygogoboygo Member RarePosts: 2,141
    Red_Thomas said:
    Copperfield said:
    has the combat been adjusted?
    Several times. That's kind of an open-ended question, but they've had multiple major combat overhauls. They currently have a Scrum Team composed of a couple devs and a dozen or so players that meet at least once a week on combat issues. Look up Chris Spears. He's the lead for the team and has likely posted a bit about it.
    I think he means since the last update, Ive played the last update and combat was still sorry.  Slow, clunky, poor feedback.  Seems like combat is an after thought in this game.
  • Red_ThomasRed_Thomas Member RarePosts: 666
    goboygo said:
    I think he means since the last update, Ive played the last update and combat was still sorry.  Slow, clunky, poor feedback.  Seems like combat is an after thought in this game.
    That's not a completely unfair statement. LB games are defined by their depth, immersion, and interesting moral questions. Combat's an important part, but it's not a hugely erroneous statement to say there are other things that take priority. That said, I do know that Chris Spears has taken on combat and is actively looking to make improvements. Though, if you're looking for a game that prioritizes combat, you might want to look at Crowfall. That WILL be the priority for those guys.
  • superconductingsuperconducting Member UncommonPosts: 871
    Nice move. Next step - abandon the deck-based combat system.

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  • catnipgamescatnipgames Member UncommonPosts: 17
    edited August 2015
    @goboygo, we've been focusing on the mechanics more than the delivery. It will be slightly less slow, and clunky for R21. Still more work to be done to give better feedback. We improved targeting and range elements for R21 but most of the time was spent on the switch to a full blown use based system. Hang in there, we'll get to making things feel more fluid soon. @superconducting, if you're still ragging on the deck based system then you clearly haven't played in a few releases. Static skill system is the default and you have to put out extra effort to use the deck system. I should point out that almost half the user base does make the extra effort though. :) Edit: BTW, this is Chris Spears.
  • leilakinleilakin Member UncommonPosts: 6
    I have been streaming Shroud of the Avatar on Twitch every single day since Release 20 came out on July 31st! I pledged in release 6 or 7 and played through release 13, took a break, and was thrilled to come back to a more fully realized, thorougly immersive, and satisfying game. Between the story driven quests, the pve, pvp, rp events, crafting, and endless entertainment from decorating houses, I fear that playing Shroud of the Avatar has become a full time endeavor for me. Lucky I'm on summer vacation and can play it all day every day! For anyone wondering, is a Pre-Alpha worth it, is the game really ready to play, will there be enough immersion and content to entertain me and make the purchase worth it, the answer is a wholehearted "YES!" I've been giving away pledges on my stream (tarteholic on Twitch) and look forward to playing with more, new people. Look me up in game - character name is Leila Kin Good job, Portalarium - this game is a 10/10 and it's just Pre-Alpha! See you in Release 21!
  • FujekFujek Member UncommonPosts: 3
    catnipgames said:
    (...) I should point out that almost half the user base does make the extra effort though(...)
    Shouldn't that be considered a low figure though, given that the static system seriously lacks damage output (high delay, no combos)? If you have two options which aren't equal in 'power' and only half the users chooses the way overpowered one, isn't that result supporting the underpowered option?
  • BeowulfsamBeowulfsam Member UncommonPosts: 145
    In the article: opposite of inflation is deflation, not depression.
  • MitaraMitara Member UncommonPosts: 755
    Is this the worst game ever made? I think so, but I also respect that they continue to try to improve it. Some day, in 2025, it may become interesting....
  • catnipgamescatnipgames Member UncommonPosts: 17
    edited August 2015
    Fujek said:
    catnipgames said:
    (...) I should point out that almost half the user base does make the extra effort though(...)
    Shouldn't that be considered a low figure though, given that the static system seriously lacks damage output (high delay, no combos)? If you have two options which aren't equal in 'power' and only half the users chooses the way overpowered one, isn't that result supporting the underpowered option?
    Actually, considering all players start with locked deck and have to go through extra effort to switch, that is a great number. It sounds like you haven't really played lately as several of the things you mention have been fixed in past releases. Spell weaving can be done with a locked bar as long as one card is dealt and the cool down penalty was removed. There are no limits to how many cards are locked. You've obviously played at some point, Thursday is our monthly release. Why don't you login and give it a spin this weekend and try out some of the updates.
    Post edited by catnipgames on
  • OzmodanOzmodan Member EpicPosts: 9,726
    Still a major pay-to-win game, none of these changes address this major problem.  
  • tel33tel33 Member CommonPosts: 1
    Skill system? What has this got to do with 'Ultima'? It doesn't need any skill system if it wants to be an Ultima.
  • Red_ThomasRed_Thomas Member RarePosts: 666
    catnipgames said:
    Actually, considering all players start with locked deck and have to go through extra effort to switch, that is a great number. It sounds like you haven't really played lately as several of the things you mention have been fixed in past releases. Spell weaving can be done with a locked bar as long as one card is dealt and the cool down penalty was removed. There are no limits to how many cards are locked. You've obviously played at some point, Thursday is our monthly release. Why don't you login and give it a spin this weekend and try out some of the updates.
    Actually, I don't suppose you've run those metrics and distinguished between locked/unlocked have you? It'd be kind of interesting to see what the spread of skill usage looks like when you compare locked and unlocked usage separately. Especially if you could cut out skills used from the default deck out from the locked portion. Like you said, early users using that default deck are going to weight the results. I'm kind of curious to see if certain skills are used more often one way or the other, and if that suggests anything about the skills or how people play. On second thought, maybe you shouldn't answer that. If my inner-dataminer comes out, I'm likely to blast through a couple weeks and accomplish nothing useful. lol
  • ArglebargleArglebargle Member EpicPosts: 3,465
    Mitara said:
    Is this the worst game ever made? I think so, but I also respect that they continue to try to improve it. Some day, in 2025, it may become interesting....
    If you really think this is the worst game ever, I think you haven't played enough games.....

    If you are holding out for the perfect game, the only game you play will be the waiting one.

  • ridiculous1ridiculous1 Member UncommonPosts: 9
    edited August 2015
    This game still lacks soo many features and looks like im still playin LOTRO. Its a wannabe jack of all mmos, that does nothing specifically better then any other game out on the market atm. Still not much content at this point. But the housing is what takes the cake for me just the cost is appalling, Id rather pay a monthly sub... If the game greatly improves from all the releases I've played so far, I can and will change my mind. Until then, this review and game aren't as good as people make it seem to be.
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