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Shroud of the Avatar Release 91 Adds New Daily Quest, Tons of Changes | MMORPG.com

SystemSystem Member UncommonPosts: 12,599

imageShroud of the Avatar Release 91 Adds New Daily Quest, Tons of Changes | MMORPG.com

Shroud of the Avatar has received Release 91 and brings with it new daily quests, plus some glorious patch notes. Here's what you can look forward to.

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Comments

  • LeFantomeLeFantome Member RarePosts: 696
    Oh look! A turd..but I thought I flushed the toilet. Oh well!
    Tokken[Deleted User]

    image
  • mcrippinsmcrippins Member RarePosts: 1,642
    Would it be possible for MMORPG to do another deep dive review? I know there was one in 2018, but it seems like there have been a lot of updates published since then.
    ScotbgzgamerTacticalZombehjason523HerithiusTokkenMcSleazRandomCasualtyIceAgeAgent_Josephand 3 others.
  • TamanousTamanous Member RarePosts: 3,030
    Holy crap. Just when I was wondering what the hell happened to this game, I see this.

    I haven't kept up to date on mmorpg development for over 4 years due to mostly playing Wow private and Classic servers. 

    It's all so familiar ... as nothing has changed! lol

    Star Citizen, Shroud, Pantheon and CU ... all still developing and no word on launch.

    Granted, I do actually like the current updates on Pantheon and CU. Honestly they made a lot of progression since last I looked.

    Innovation and bucking industry trends is a risky biz, but damn, I hope one of those projects sees the light of day.
    mcrippins

    You stay sassy!

  • KnightFalzKnightFalz Member EpicPosts: 4,522

    Tamanous said:

    Holy crap. Just when I was wondering what the hell happened to this game, I see this.

    I haven't kept up to date on mmorpg development for over 4 years due to mostly playing Wow private and Classic servers. 

    It's all so familiar ... as nothing has changed! lol

    Star Citizen, Shroud, Pantheon and CU ... all still developing and no word on launch.

    Granted, I do actually like the current updates on Pantheon and CU. Honestly they made a lot of progression since last I looked.

    Innovation and bucking industry trends is a risky biz, but damn, I hope one of those projects sees the light of day.



    SotA launched years ago, leaving early access March 27, 2018.
    [Deleted User]
  • bgzgamerbgzgamer Member UncommonPosts: 127
    edited June 2021
    Its pretty weird that Player Owned Towns get an entire section for "updates".

    No one wants to visit your POT. There is nothing special whatsoever about them. There are a ridiculous number of them on the map which is actually a huge deterrent for quite a few players. They are not part of anything for the story, nothing to explore except seeing ghost towns and abandoned houses.

    For a game that has a few hundred players, why is there a few hundred POTs? Episode 2 has a small handful of zones you can actually explore and do things in... followed by 40~ POTs that fill the continent with worthless zones that interfere with actual game progress. This is not new player friendly whatsoever.

    On the other hand, SOTA has made some really good imporvmenets to combat and effects. They are trying and I'll keep my account active to see progress as it is made.
    Scot[Deleted User]
  • TokkenTokken Member EpicPosts: 3,644
    I wonder what the game's population looks like now?

    Proud MMORPG.com member since March 2004!  Make PvE GREAT Again!

  • RandomCasualtyRandomCasualty Member UncommonPosts: 330
    I went to check my Steam library and was reminded I own this game!
    Scot
  • KnightFalzKnightFalz Member EpicPosts: 4,522
    tzervo said:
    Tokken said:
    I wonder what the game's population looks like now?
    Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues - Steam Charts

    This isn't entirely representative. The stand alone client preceded the Steam one, making it quite possible their most ardent fans and early adopters stayed with it.
    [Deleted User]
  • IceAgeIceAge Member EpicPosts: 3,200
    Hm! Can't see in the patch notes that Richard Garriott's Hair has been added to the game, along with his Blood.

    Anyone knows when this .. things will be added .......again?

    Thanks!

    Reporter: What's behind Blizzard success, and how do you make your gamers happy?
    Blizzard Boss: Making gamers happy is not my concern, making money.. yes!

  • mgilbrtsnmgilbrtsn Member EpicPosts: 3,430
    For all the complaints and jokes, at least they seem to be working hard to update and improve the game.  I hope it works for those who play it and who might potentially jump in.  It won't be me, I'm getting ready to jump into Crowfall (more jokes and complaints incoming) but for others, GL.
    [Deleted User][Deleted User]ultimateduck

    I self identify as a monkey.

  • KnightFalzKnightFalz Member EpicPosts: 4,522

    Zegaloth said:







    tzervo said:




    Tokken said:


    I wonder what the game's population looks like now?




    Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues - Steam Charts





    This isn't entirely representative. The stand alone client preceded the Steam one, making it quite possible their most ardent fans and early adopters stayed with it.






    It's not entirely representative, but it is good enough to get a general idea. Path of Exile for example has a 50/50 split of standalone, and steam client users.



    So even if 1/3rd of the population is Steam, that is still about 300 concurrent users, which is pretty decent.



    I think the content, and frequency of updates is the best indicator for the health and longevity of a game. RIFT for example is in maintenance mode with no new patches since February, and even then it was just "Bug fixes", The last content update being a new battlepass.



    I haven't played SotA in a few months, but the last time I did play I saw a couple other people, but I didn't go out of my way looking for other people since I usually play it solo anyways.




    Maybe it's good enough, maybe it isn't. There is simply no way to know. That makes any estimate based on the contrived population breakdown suspect.

    Regardless, it's likely safe enough to assume the total population over both platforms is approximately not much.

    It's difficult to gauge in play too, because of the design of the over world, what with the playable areas of it divided rather than being contiguous, and accessed by travel on a large scale map similar in presentation to that of console RPGs.

    One thing SotA got when I did play was plenty of updates, so they certainly weren't lacking in frequency. It's unfortunate none of them resolved the abundance performance issues I had despite the game being less than thrilling aesthetically.

    To be fair, I have been away from the game longer than you have, so performance improvements may have happened that I am unaware of.

    I should download it and reacquaint, but find it difficult to generate sufficient enthusiasm.
  • KnightFalzKnightFalz Member EpicPosts: 4,522

    IceAge said:

    Hm! Can't see in the patch notes that Richard Garriott's Hair has been added to the game, along with his Blood.



    Anyone knows when this .. things will be added .......again?



    Thanks!



    I expect never as he has largely dissociated himself from the game in any official capacity, so far as I am aware. He still hangs about on occasion for any incidental adulation that comes his way, somewhat like a sports team mascot.
  • KnightFalzKnightFalz Member EpicPosts: 4,522

    Zegaloth said:





    Zegaloth said:











    tzervo said:






    Tokken said:



    I wonder what the game's population looks like now?






    Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues - Steam Charts







    This isn't entirely representative. The stand alone client preceded the Steam one, making it quite possible their most ardent fans and early adopters stayed with it.









    It's not entirely representative, but it is good enough to get a general idea. Path of Exile for example has a 50/50 split of standalone, and steam client users.





    So even if 1/3rd of the population is Steam, that is still about 300 concurrent users, which is pretty decent.





    I think the content, and frequency of updates is the best indicator for the health and longevity of a game. RIFT for example is in maintenance mode with no new patches since February, and even then it was just "Bug fixes", The last content update being a new battlepass.





    I haven't played SotA in a few months, but the last time I did play I saw a couple other people, but I didn't go out of my way looking for other people since I usually play it solo anyways.








    Maybe it's good enough, maybe it isn't. There is simply no way to know. That makes any estimate based on the contrived population breakdown suspect.



    Regardless, it's likely safe enough to assume the total population over both platforms is approximately not much.



    It's difficult to gauge in play too, because of the design of the over world, what with the playable areas of it divided rather than being contiguous, and accessed by travel on a large scale map similar in presentation to that of console RPGs.



    One thing SotA got when I did play was plenty of updates, so they certainly weren't lacking in frequency. It's unfortunate none of them resolved the abundance performance issues I had despite the game being less than thrilling aesthetically.



    To be fair, I have been away from the game longer than you have, so performance improvements may have happened that I am unaware of.



    I should download it and reacquaint, but find it difficult to generate sufficient enthusiasm.




    That is why I don't put much stock into population numbers. The only games it really matters in are PvP games where you need 50+ people participating. I have played on several Private servers that only had 20 people on them, but they were still immensely fun because it was a passion project by the server host.

    It definitely ran better then it ever had before, this was maybe 3 months ago that I played it again. I got other games on my docket or I would go back and check it out.



    I agree with that. Project:Gorgon has a low population and I quite enjoy it regardless. It's good to hear performance is better for you. I will have to check it out then to see if it is better for me as well to be able speak with more current knowledge at least, and perhaps play again.
    [Deleted User]
  • Agent_JosephAgent_Joseph Member UncommonPosts: 1,361

    Taranx said:

    I went to check my Steam library and was reminded I own this game!



    It is hidden in my Steam library . Shame on me what trash I am backed !
  • VrikaVrika Member LegendaryPosts: 7,973
    Zegaloth said:



    tzervo said:


    Tokken said:

    I wonder what the game's population looks like now?


    Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues - Steam Charts



    This isn't entirely representative. The stand alone client preceded the Steam one, making it quite possible their most ardent fans and early adopters stayed with it.



    It's not entirely representative, but it is good enough to get a general idea. Path of Exile for example has a 50/50 split of standalone, and steam client users.

    So even if 1/3rd of the population is Steam, that is still about 300 concurrent users, which is pretty decent.

    I think the content, and frequency of updates is the best indicator for the health and longevity of a game. RIFT for example is in maintenance mode with no new patches since February, and even then it was just "Bug fixes", The last content update being a new battlepass.

    I haven't played SotA in a few months, but the last time I did play I saw a couple other people, but I didn't go out of my way looking for other people since I usually play it solo anyways.
    If 1/3rd population is in Steam, it would be average of about 190 concurrent users.

    Which is still ok for finding people to play with. But on the other hand it's alarming number because it severely limits how many devs the game can keep employed.
    [Deleted User]KnightFalzKyleran
     
  • KnightFalzKnightFalz Member EpicPosts: 4,522

    Zegaloth said:

    I love Project Gorgon. I have been taking a break from it, but when I feel the urge I binge it for 100+ hours



    My performance is still kind of meh in SotA.

    I had lost my Ardoris row house lot due to failure to pay taxes. I decided to upgrade it to a tax-free lot and moved to Eastmarch, with my house happily a short walk away from the dock entrance of the village.

    That should be a lot easier than struggling through a city routinely, and I can play as the whim strikes without having to worry about being evicted.
    Kyleran
  • KnightFalzKnightFalz Member EpicPosts: 4,522

    Vrika said:


    Zegaloth said:







    tzervo said:




    Tokken said:


    I wonder what the game's population looks like now?




    Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues - Steam Charts





    This isn't entirely representative. The stand alone client preceded the Steam one, making it quite possible their most ardent fans and early adopters stayed with it.






    It's not entirely representative, but it is good enough to get a general idea. Path of Exile for example has a 50/50 split of standalone, and steam client users.



    So even if 1/3rd of the population is Steam, that is still about 300 concurrent users, which is pretty decent.



    I think the content, and frequency of updates is the best indicator for the health and longevity of a game. RIFT for example is in maintenance mode with no new patches since February, and even then it was just "Bug fixes", The last content update being a new battlepass.



    I haven't played SotA in a few months, but the last time I did play I saw a couple other people, but I didn't go out of my way looking for other people since I usually play it solo anyways.



    If 1/3rd population is in Steam, it would be average of about 190 concurrent users.

    Which is still ok for finding people to play with. But on the other hand it's alarming number because it severely limits how many devs the game can keep employed.



    True, but they do chip away at the task slowly with regularity. That's something at least, considering a lot of companies would have abandoned a game as poorly received as this.
    [Deleted User]
  • KyleranKyleran Member LegendaryPosts: 43,975

    Vrika said:


    Zegaloth said:







    tzervo said:




    Tokken said:


    I wonder what the game's population looks like now?




    Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues - Steam Charts





    This isn't entirely representative. The stand alone client preceded the Steam one, making it quite possible their most ardent fans and early adopters stayed with it.






    It's not entirely representative, but it is good enough to get a general idea. Path of Exile for example has a 50/50 split of standalone, and steam client users.



    So even if 1/3rd of the population is Steam, that is still about 300 concurrent users, which is pretty decent.



    I think the content, and frequency of updates is the best indicator for the health and longevity of a game. RIFT for example is in maintenance mode with no new patches since February, and even then it was just "Bug fixes", The last content update being a new battlepass.



    I haven't played SotA in a few months, but the last time I did play I saw a couple other people, but I didn't go out of my way looking for other people since I usually play it solo anyways.



    If 1/3rd population is in Steam, it would be average of about 190 concurrent users.

    Which is still ok for finding people to play with. But on the other hand it's alarming number because it severely limits how many devs the game can keep employed.



    True, but they do chip away at the task slowly with regularity. That's something at least, considering a lot of companies would have abandoned a game as poorly received as this.
    Well, with a game like this on their resumes I imagine the staff's opportunities to find gainful employment elsewhere within the industry is somewhat limited, despite living in Austin.

    Better than loading packages on a delivery truck for Amazon I imagine.

    ;)




    "True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde 

    "I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant

    Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm

    Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV

    Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™

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  • MightyUncleanMightyUnclean Member EpicPosts: 3,531
    edited June 2021
    Zegaloth said:

    Zegaloth said:







    tzervo said:




    Tokken said:


    I wonder what the game's population looks like now?




    Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues - Steam Charts





    This isn't entirely representative. The stand alone client preceded the Steam one, making it quite possible their most ardent fans and early adopters stayed with it.






    It's not entirely representative, but it is good enough to get a general idea. Path of Exile for example has a 50/50 split of standalone, and steam client users.



    So even if 1/3rd of the population is Steam, that is still about 300 concurrent users, which is pretty decent.



    I think the content, and frequency of updates is the best indicator for the health and longevity of a game. RIFT for example is in maintenance mode with no new patches since February, and even then it was just "Bug fixes", The last content update being a new battlepass.



    I haven't played SotA in a few months, but the last time I did play I saw a couple other people, but I didn't go out of my way looking for other people since I usually play it solo anyways.




    Maybe it's good enough, maybe it isn't. There is simply no way to know. That makes any estimate based on the contrived population breakdown suspect.

    Regardless, it's likely safe enough to assume the total population over both platforms is approximately not much.

    It's difficult to gauge in play too, because of the design of the over world, what with the playable areas of it divided rather than being contiguous, and accessed by travel on a large scale map similar in presentation to that of console RPGs.

    One thing SotA got when I did play was plenty of updates, so they certainly weren't lacking in frequency. It's unfortunate none of them resolved the abundance performance issues I had despite the game being less than thrilling aesthetically.

    To be fair, I have been away from the game longer than you have, so performance improvements may have happened that I am unaware of.

    I should download it and reacquaint, but find it difficult to generate sufficient enthusiasm.

    That is why I don't put much stock into population numbers. The only games it really matters in are PvP games where you need 50+ people participating. I have played on several Private servers that only had 20 people on them, but they were still immensely fun because it was a passion project by the server host.

    It definitely ran better then it ever had before, this was maybe 3 months ago that I played it again. I got other games on my docket or I would go back and check it out.
    Private server owners aren't usually running a business and trying to make a decent return on investment.  Try that with 20 concurrent players.  The point is, most of these MMO developers won't bother running a game with a few hundred players, unless they've harpooned enough whales.  That's the case with SotA, and it ends up with exactly we've seen:  a game that caters heavily to those whales.
    Kyleran
  • KnightFalzKnightFalz Member EpicPosts: 4,522

    Kyleran said:





    Vrika said:




    Zegaloth said:











    tzervo said:






    Tokken said:



    I wonder what the game's population looks like now?






    Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues - Steam Charts







    This isn't entirely representative. The stand alone client preceded the Steam one, making it quite possible their most ardent fans and early adopters stayed with it.









    It's not entirely representative, but it is good enough to get a general idea. Path of Exile for example has a 50/50 split of standalone, and steam client users.





    So even if 1/3rd of the population is Steam, that is still about 300 concurrent users, which is pretty decent.





    I think the content, and frequency of updates is the best indicator for the health and longevity of a game. RIFT for example is in maintenance mode with no new patches since February, and even then it was just "Bug fixes", The last content update being a new battlepass.





    I haven't played SotA in a few months, but the last time I did play I saw a couple other people, but I didn't go out of my way looking for other people since I usually play it solo anyways.






    If 1/3rd population is in Steam, it would be average of about 190 concurrent users.

    Which is still ok for finding people to play with. But on the other hand it's alarming number because it severely limits how many devs the game can keep employed.






    True, but they do chip away at the task slowly with regularity. That's something at least, considering a lot of companies would have abandoned a game as poorly received as this.


    Well, with a game like this on their resumes I imagine the staff's opportunities to find gainful employment elsewhere within the industry is somewhat limited, despite living in Austin.

    Better than loading packages on a delivery truck for Amazon I imagine.

    ;)







    Heh, maybe so, unless they can package that part of their work history as personal tenacity and accomplishment despite the end result of the project they were working on.

    It has to be a passion project for any that remain as it makes little sense otherwise.
    KyleranGdemami
  • KnightFalzKnightFalz Member EpicPosts: 4,522



    Zegaloth said:





    Zegaloth said:











    tzervo said:






    Tokken said:



    I wonder what the game's population looks like now?






    Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues - Steam Charts







    This isn't entirely representative. The stand alone client preceded the Steam one, making it quite possible their most ardent fans and early adopters stayed with it.









    It's not entirely representative, but it is good enough to get a general idea. Path of Exile for example has a 50/50 split of standalone, and steam client users.





    So even if 1/3rd of the population is Steam, that is still about 300 concurrent users, which is pretty decent.





    I think the content, and frequency of updates is the best indicator for the health and longevity of a game. RIFT for example is in maintenance mode with no new patches since February, and even then it was just "Bug fixes", The last content update being a new battlepass.





    I haven't played SotA in a few months, but the last time I did play I saw a couple other people, but I didn't go out of my way looking for other people since I usually play it solo anyways.








    Maybe it's good enough, maybe it isn't. There is simply no way to know. That makes any estimate based on the contrived population breakdown suspect.



    Regardless, it's likely safe enough to assume the total population over both platforms is approximately not much.



    It's difficult to gauge in play too, because of the design of the over world, what with the playable areas of it divided rather than being contiguous, and accessed by travel on a large scale map similar in presentation to that of console RPGs.



    One thing SotA got when I did play was plenty of updates, so they certainly weren't lacking in frequency. It's unfortunate none of them resolved the abundance performance issues I had despite the game being less than thrilling aesthetically.



    To be fair, I have been away from the game longer than you have, so performance improvements may have happened that I am unaware of.



    I should download it and reacquaint, but find it difficult to generate sufficient enthusiasm.




    That is why I don't put much stock into population numbers. The only games it really matters in are PvP games where you need 50+ people participating. I have played on several Private servers that only had 20 people on them, but they were still immensely fun because it was a passion project by the server host.

    It definitely ran better then it ever had before, this was maybe 3 months ago that I played it again. I got other games on my docket or I would go back and check it out.


    Private server owners aren't usually running a business and trying to make a decent return on investment.  Try that with 20 concurrent players.  The point is, most of these MMO developers won't bother running a game with a few hundred players, unless they've harpooned enough whales.  That's the case with SotA, and it ends up with exactly we've seen:  a game that caters heavily to those whales.



    One can certainly say that at the beginning, with the initial money coming their way from some of their early adopters purchasing extremely expensive crowdfunding packages, and spending even more beyond for a time.

    I don't know how apt that is now. The big names that drew many in now have a token presence at best. They can try to continue to market what the game can be, but that's a lot tougher sell when one can contrast that with what it actually ended up so far.

    It is quite possible ongoing support is more like a drip feed than the opening of the flood gates they initially enjoyed. After all, how much bang for their buck did those whales really get in the long run? They were promised a fireworks show and in many ways it feels as though each actually only got a solitary sparkler.

    I certainly would have felt that way if I put in the kind of money some did given the result of that investment to date. Fortunately the totality of my contribution has been far more modest, so the current state of things isn't all that irksome to me.
    Kyleran
  • YupmanYupman Newbie CommonPosts: 18
    edited June 2021

    If 1/3rd population is in Steam, it would be average of about 190 concurrent users.

    Which is still ok for finding people to play with. But on the other hand it's alarming number because it severely limits how many devs the game can keep employed.


    Considering that 2/3 of the "devs" are players that were unemployed they can probably keep going for a while. I doubt Chris pays them anything of value other then something to put on their resume and perhaps in-fame junk. Either way, having crates/boxes as quest NPCs seems a little lacking in imagination.
    Gdemami
  • Xee2018Xee2018 Member UncommonPosts: 169

    Private server owners aren't usually running a business and trying to make a decent return on investment.  Try that with 20 concurrent players.  The point is, most of these MMO developers won't bother running a game with a few hundred players, unless they've harpooned enough whales.  That's the case with SotA, and it ends up with exactly we've seen:  a game that caters heavily to those whales.


    There are not many of the big whales any more from what I see. In fact since NW coming, it seems the top two markets and their crafting characters are up in the the private SOTA trades server. That said there is still new people coming to the game and my Market which is the 3rd top is still healthy :) now there is even a friend counter for online so people know how many people they know are on at a glance now to take some of the guess work away. As of today they shared a snippet on twitter on a paper doll for pets coming along with gear slots. sounds like its still a work in progress. end of this month is a content release so we will see what comes. now that they stream less frequently we get more surprises.

    I do like that they still work hard on improving the game. on QA there is new code for handling many NPC's on larger scenes now boosting dev frames up 35fps higher than they had before. so reaching a cap now of 75fps, hope this is for all scenes not just the one they were testing the optimization on.

    optimizations have been happening for a long time now, the game fps is not bad on current hardware now, older hardware struggles still. they updated to a 2020 unity build this last release too which improved some stuff. we still need to get to 2021 to get the DLSS which is according to unity would add another 30fps over all for cards that support it. one day :)

    its for sure still worth checking in on if you have not in a long time. ep2 I think has about 2-3 years to go before its release. they have some of the new zones in as well some clones. main story stuff and lore for the zones still not in for ep2 they said that will be near the ends of ep2 development. there are lots of daily quests now though, some easy some alot more involved.

    Balance was the last big changes over the last 3 months. things are pretty much almost perfect, down side some of the top PVPers are leaving because they are no longer way OP compared to other classes and seem to not like that they can be killed now. PVP is still very much lacking for reasons to PVP. still waiting on the stuff they teased on that many many moons ago.. I think it was put off until balance was done otherwise it would have been terrible with all archers.

    time will tell where things progress, but they do push big patches every month so based on current population and health its still moving like it has a good budget, 3 new people added to staff in the last year which is great. just my views as a long time backer player to still playing weekly. I do have vested interest in seeing this continue to grow and will continue to support SOTA as long as the direction continues down the path to what the big picture is. I also wanted to note that there has been a really large increase in German players form UO coming over which has expanded population a lot lately.
  • ElleequipElleequip Newbie CommonPosts: 3
  • AkulasAkulas Member RarePosts: 3,028
    I did a poo in the toilet and it didn't flush and I didn't want to leave it there so I put it in a bag and tried to throw it over the window and it was a double window and got stuck between the two pieces of glass with no way of retrieving it. Is what I thought when I noticed this game in my steam library. 

    This isn't a signature, you just think it is.

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