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The 2 year plan...

A post declaring what SotA wants to be is necessary!
Because after claiming to become a spiritual successor to U7 and UO, and as of right now to be nowhere near that goal in terms of virtual world, a realignment is necessary for everyone.





Now why is ATOS doing this? He actually does what Berek fails to do.
He talks to ALL PEOPLE in the community.

Atos, as Tech Director, adresses people on Reddit, gaming sites like mmorpg.com and so on. All platforms where Berek isn't present. Those communities are neglected.

So why is he doing Berek's job on those platforms?

Portalarium apparently doesn't find Steam User's so toxic when they include them in their SeedInvest listing of potential customers ;) That's a good start!

Sorry to say that very openly, but Chris you are no PR person. And you should not waste time on it. That's the job of your Community Management, just because THEY fail to address issues GAMERS have with this GAME, should not make you try to cope for them.

What issues am I talking about?

Well, let me ask you a question... Please tell me for example how guild wars are supposed to work in the future?

This is something most games have figured out right from the start. Not so for SotA. "Bragging rights" was Darkstarr's answer when I asked them:

What will be the reward for a guild winning such a war? Why should we even fight a war?

Bragging rights... In a game where using the word CAREBEAR is prohibited and gets you banned?
Pure comedy.

Technically there is a guild war mechanic in game. Ever tried to declare one? It is pointless.

Even more ridiculous is the Virtue system. A keystone to every Ultima game more or less... in Shroud I can kill you right next to a guard and he doesn't even recognize it. How is that going to work in the future?

No information on this exists. Again something we should have known from the beginning.

It is the lack of information and lack of designs presented that has made people lose faith into their development. "Don't lawyer me bro" just doesn't cut it anymore. There is simply no excuse, for having no design and not telling us how things will work in the future. The only thing that seems designed pretty well, is the Add-on store and the housing.... Well no wonder, that came from Ultima Collector ;)

There are only two options I can think of why they are withholding us information on gameplay features:

  1. They have no clue yet.
    Which there a lots of indications for...
    I mean you can find so many things in SotA where the design is just plain awkward.
    Having a mez school, with a DOT dmg spell is just one of the tiny little things, that makes an experienced gamer cringe.
    I feel sometimes there is no design on how schools balance each other out, and how builds are meant to be played.
    It seems not enough thought has been put into the design of these schools.
    CPs are another example of content that is just bad, because there is no real depth behind it.
    And even the sieges, which were a welcome change in R41 - lack any depth, and those poor Obsidians always fail to conquer anything, although hardly anyone even bothers fighting them anymore ;)
  2. They don't want to tell.
    Which sounds kinda conspiratory, but srsly I cannot come up with another reason...
    I mean it would be the worst PR fail of the century, where you have people begging for a straw to save their interest in this project, but you just refuse it to them because of...
    Like I said... it makes no sense.


What is the future of PVP Areas?
Why is there no criminal system?
Why no consequences (Virtue vs Anti-Virtue)?
No conflict?

Not a single sandbox feature in the whole damn game yet? (POTs behind paywall, don't exist for me in this argument.)
When will the Obsidians ever win a siege? ;)


Those are issues that need to be addressed. En detail, and no more "Don't lawyer me, Bro!". Give us a true statement on what you want SotA to be. No more successor of anything BS. Be more specific.

You want to make it like a consensual UO? Or a Dance-Party simulator?
Or something completely different?

Whatever, but please stop begging us for money - without telling us what we will get in the end.

Comments

  1. Just recently Atos (Chris) said he was going to post more "long term" roadmap possibilities...like, what they are planning for the next 2 years, not just the quarterly roadmaps we've been getting. Which sounds interesting.

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