KickStarter Shroud of the Avatar - Lord British's Not-Ultima Online 2

[ZoddGuts]

Crazy they were able to get another 1.1Millon+ through funding on their site since the Kickstarter had ended. It averages about 5k a day these days.

 

[bledcarrot]

I didn't engage any of the Ultiima's in their day, and I still haven't played them more than a cursory loading of VII to watch the intro and feel an aversion to the graphical look.

You're a long way from home...

But I gotta say, this really isn't grabbing me. I backed in a wave of (possibly drunken) nostalgia and hopeful incline but it really doesn't look like my kind of game at all, now that I have a hangover. Has anyone had a play of the latest release?

 

[Infinitron]

So apparently somebody's mad about something:

Hi,

maybe you could write something about how the new overland travel system in Shroud of the Avatar upsets the fans?
The new travel system shows a crayon cardboard map instead of a 3D-world.
Fans are very upset about this as during the Kickstarter campaign a 3D world was promised and now - after having payed for the game - they change it to this ugly, bland map.

You can read about it here:
https://shroudoftheavatar.com/forum/index.php?threads/overland-map-poll-unofficial.8630/

Regards,

Darkmoon

Sorry Darkmoon, the Codex is not your personal army, but I'll post about it here in case there's any fun drama to be had.

More fun here: https://shroudoftheavatar.com/forum/index.php?forums/release-4-feedback-forum.90/

 

[groke]

Registered and voted for cloth map. You get what you pay for, Darkmoon!


(even if I had any emotional investment in SotA, I'd still prefer a stylised world map over 3D semi-abstracted ugly shit. Are there any screens of the new map around?)

here:

The way those 2d billboards intersect with the ground looks... odd, but it's a thousand times better than this ugly shit:

 

[LESS T_T]

From the thread:

Oh...

Moving image:



....and they're inspired by this?

Spoiler

 

[Infinitron]

Player Housing: The Game https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/forum/index.php?threads/concern-about-town-identities.8605/

I understand that the game is in an early Alpha but atm I feel that the town are ... blands. Ther is imho too much space devoted to player housing vs actual town buildings.

I'm all for controlled player housing rather than rampant but right now are too small for my taste: Owl's Head has 3 "main" building vs 66 player lots and Kingsport is again 3 "main" building vs 28 player lots.

What is your opinion on the town's size ?

I had the exact same thoughts... I'm still new, this being my first test, but I imagine, like UO, we won't have too much reason to be in other people's homes most of the time, so why are town's completely full of player housing? It seems similar to throwing up a bank in the middle if Ice Island (UO) and calling it a town because there is a bunch of player houses around. Seems like a waste when only 5% or so of a town is even usable by a player without a home...

Like I said, I don't know all the details yet, but it was a bit disheartening trying to explore my first town (Owl's head) only to find 1 crafting station, 1 tavern, and a million player plots...

 

[Emily]

So i am guessing any decent housing is paid with real life Money?

 

[Angthoron]

So i am guessing any decent housing is paid with real life Money?

No, no, with BitCoins it seems.

 

[Melan]

It will be paid for with the currency of the future: Linden Dollars.

 

[mindx2]

The lulz is strong in this one.....

One of the features we all wished we had enough time and budget for was the addition of mounts in Episode 1, but it just isn't in the cards. However, we have raised enough funds to give all backers the next best thing: coconuts that sound like horses when banged together! You even get to pantomime trotting around like a horse while you bang them!

Ye Olde Hot Tub

The impromptu pool party that occurred during the Release 4 weekend (shown above) was so popular, that it inspired us to create this medieval hot tub! Now you can have your friends over to your house for a hot tub party! The hot tub is a limited quantity item in the Add-On Store so you better hurry and get yours before they sell out!

 

[you know what time it is]

I have no idea why post-probing Garriot has such an effect on people, especially when it comes to money.

Or maybe i do.

 

[Kitako]

The lulz is strong in this one.....

coconuts that sound like horses when banged together! You even get to pantomime trotting around like a horse while you bang them!

Hell, even NWN managed to do better, 12 years ago, before they could get horses.

 

[MadMaxHellfire]

1) april's fool
2) it's a recall from monty python and the holy grail

 

[mindx2]

1) april's fool
2) it's a recall from monty python and the holy grail

Not a joke (in a manner of speaking) anymore...

The Coconut Horse and Too Hot in the Hot Tub!

​

It all started innocently enough with the question “Should we do anything for April Fool's?” That simple question spun out to an incredibly fun and elaborate “not” prank where we made real stuff then pretended it was real, but fake at the same time. We wanted everyone to wonder for several days if we were pranking them for April Fool’s or if the items were real. It was meant to be the ultimate head fake, where at the end (which is now) we could reveal that it was in fact all real, and not a prank. We went so far as to create a new movement mode in the game that is activated by equipping items. In this case it was coconuts that would trigger a skipping animation. This is a real system that we can expand later. We also built the hot tub. The story was that the coconut horse was to be a thank you for the fundraising and the 1-Year Anniversary gift while the hot tub was to be an Add-On Store item.

We realized if we announced an Add-On Store item, but didn’t actually put it in the Add-On Store, that you would all almost immediately realize it was a prank. So we put it in the Add-On Store as a limited quantity and marked it sold out, before the update even went out! The update also went out very late in the day on April 1st whereas most April Fools pranks occur early in the day. It went out so late that most our European backers didn’t even see it until April 2nd.

​

When it went out, we got lots of complaints about not being able to buy the hot tub. Complaints ranged from “I was at work!” or “My username starts with an "L" so I was too far down the mailing list to get it in time.” Some folks seemed truly angry about the hot tub being sold out before they got to buy one. Darkstarr, being the Lord of Chaos, reveled in this pandemonium. The team heard Starr yelling things like “I feast on their outrage!” or “My chaotic powers grow with each complaint!” We continued to poke at this prank by mentioning the hot tub when we launched the Add-On Store Credit Conversion, as well as during our video hangouts.

With this update, we can reveal that this was an April Fool's prank, but not really, because both the coconut horse and the hot tub are real! There is now an unlimited supply of Ye Olde Hot Tubs available in the Add-On Store, and we've added the Coconut Horse as a basic reward for all SotA backers!

Thank you all for having a sense of humor about the entire thing.

 

[Infinitron]

taxalot Jaesun

 

[taxalot]

Judging from this screen alone, I don't mind this map. But I definitely would like some clarification on how it plays.

 

[taxalot]

lol at Sergorn paying 150 bucks and feeling cheated.

 

[Spectacle]

lol at Sergorn paying 150 bucks and feeling cheated.

This is just a small taste of the immense butthurt that will flow when star citizen is released.

 

[Whiran]

I haven't paid a lot of attention to this.

When is the projected release date? Give or take a year.

I watched the video for that overland map and something about it just seems.. off. I think I'd really like it if it had a different (better) art style. There is just something wonky about how they've done it.

Their forum is a really entertaining place to visit. I can feel the dreams, hopes, and faith pulsating from my monitor. I can only imagine the cries of anguish when this game-thing finally releases.

 

[Infinitron]

When is the projected release date? Give or take a year.

October.

 

[taxalot]

I am actually hoping for Star Citizen to be a good game.
But I am also hoping for SotA too, so make of that what you will.

 

[Infinitron]

Apples and oranges. Star Citizen has what, ten times as much budget? More?

And it's in space, an environment which should be much cheaper to create than a detailed fantasy world. They might be going crazy with the feature creep, but strictly speaking they should be able to afford it. The only question is whether the extra features will be well designed enough.

 

[Infinitron]

So this is kinda cool: http://ultimacodex.com/2014/04/shro...richard-garriotts-first-game-to-unity-or-web/

Shroud of the Avatar Challenge: Port Richard Garriott’s First Game to Unity (or Web)
Kenneth Kully April 17, 2014 Richard Garriott, Shroud of the Avatar



I saw this story first on Polygon yesterday morning, but it has subsequently been given a page on the Shroud of the Avatar website as well.

Most of you are probably aware that Akalabeth, Garriott’s first released game, was actually the 28th dungeon-crawling game he had written, and in fact was an Apple ][-based re-working of the actual 28th game. Until now, the first 27 games have largely been a thing of mystery...but as of yesterday, we have a little more information about the first game he ever wrote. It looked like this:



The game was inspired by a bet between Richard and his father Owen.

Richard had already written many smaller programs and simple games on the teletype he had access to since 1974. His early programs included calculating radio wave propagation in the ionosphere. Variations of this early “ray tracing” code he wrote won him numerous science fair competitions up through international competition. Still games were his obvious early passion.

Richard’s father told Richard, that if he could create a whole working role playing game, that he would split the cost of an Apple ][ computer with him. The result was D&D #1!

D&D #1 was created on a teletype at Clear Creek High School in Houston Texas, connected via an acoustic modem to a PDP 11 type mini-computer. Richard typed the game on a separate terminal onto paper tape spools, then read the tape strips into the terminal connected to the offsite computer, and ran the resulting program. The resulting program would play a simple Dungeons and Dragons like role-playing game. The player had a character that would explore a dungeon in search of treasure while fighting monsters along the way.

So that’s the history of the game. Here’s the challenge Richard Garriott has posed to the Shroud of the Avatar fandom:

D&D #1 represents one of the earliest known computer role playing games. Originally created and refined between the years 1975 – 1977, this game is one of the few true founding efforts of the entire computer gaming genre. Interestingly the ascii based “tile graphics” are a clear forerunner of what followed in Ultima and many other computer role playing games, and thus remains relevant to the genre’s history.

Richard has been eager to see this simple BASIC program, resurrected in a modern usable form, but remaining true to the original in as many ways as possible.

To achieve this end, Richard is offering a bounty of Shroud of the Avatar pledge rewards for the best reincarnations of D&D #1!

Starting April 15th 2014, just past one year into the development of Shroud of the Avatar, and running for 1 month through May 15th, Richard via Portalarium will be accepting submissions of D&D1 Resurrections in each of two versions. Submissions may be a Unity Version, and or a no-plug-in Browser Version. Winners will be announced shortly after the submission deadline. All submissions become property of Richard Garriott.

Best Unity Version & Best no-plug in Browser Versions will receive a Citizen Level Pledge Reward worth approximately $550.

2 runners up in both categories will receive $165 Collector level pledge each.

Download the Source Code (External Link)
​

Additional eligibility requirements can be found on the Shroud of the Avatar website. The deadline for submissions is May 15th, and a scanned print-out of the source code is available, in PDF format, via the link above. Have at, Dragons and Dragonettes!

​

 

[taxalot]

I hope he gets at least one submission. It is going to be soooo embarassing otherwise...

 

[Caim]

I hope he gets at least one submission. It is going to be soooo embarassing otherwise...

Would be even better more embarassing if said submission turns out to be better than Shroud of the Avatar.