Shroud of the Avatar (Ultima 'reboot'?) Release 1 - December 12th-ish

[SunnyD]

It's... here? Almost! Lord British, which a lot of you have a love/hate relationship with now, and his new crowdfunded title Shroud of the Avatar is finally reaching it's release milestone as on next week.

RELEASE 1: December 12 – December 14, 2013

• Install / Patching system: Step one for you guys to play the game is for you to download the game and then patch the game. Since this is the first hands on impression of the product, it is critical.
• Login / Registration: Players should be able to log in using their existing accounts and if they have not yet registered, they should be intuitively led to the steps to register.
• Character Creation: Players should be able to create and customize their character. Creation / Customization options for Release 1 will include: name, gender, head shape, skin tone, hair style, hair color, and eye color.
• Single Player Online: All public releases prior to commercial launch will be online only. For Release 1 and 2, it will be constrained to single player online only.
• First Town: Our first town, Owl’s Head will be open for exploration. This is important for testing purposes so we can better tune our performance metrics on real user machines. For Release 1, exiting the town will just funnel you back into the same town (anyone see Groundhog Day?)
• Conversation: Important that players converse with the townsfolk so we can start expanding the dialog system. As you talk to NPCs, we will be tracking your conversations and using them to add more content based on your input.
• Bag Inventory: This is a hot topic in the forums so we want to get it in your hands for feedback on preferences. Immersion vs. ease of use, let the battle begin!
• Equipment: Players will be provided with several chests full of “ph@t lootz” (armor, clothes, weapons, etc.) for trying on for size.
• House Claiming: Players will be able to select a house from the entire list of player houses (even Lord of the Manor!) for free so that we can test out the various size houses on the lots and allow players to test drive the various houses so they can have a better idea of which they ultimately want to own.
• House Decorating: Chests full of furniture and decorative items will be provided so you can stress test the decoration system and try out various styles of interiors. Help us figure out all the ways you can break things! (Look forward to screenshot contests on this!)
• Metrics: All the while you are playing, we will be stress testing our metrics system. This system is critical to maintaining a balanced economy, tracking exploits, and gathering data to improve the experience.

So now that it is clear what you can expect we should also be as clear about what you should not expect:

• Mac & Linux: We are definitely going to support these Operating Systems but we were unable to get them working satisfactorily for Release 1. For Release 1 we will only support Windows. Our goal is to try again for OSX and Linux support for Release 2.
• Performance: Our goal with Release 1 was to build a machine challenging scene with Owl’s Head. We have only done rudimentary optimizations and we do not yet have a full suite of fallbacks (LODs, etc.). This means for R1 the game will be quite slow on lower end machines and due to memory usage might be unstable in certain conditions (like densely decorated areas). With each release we will be doing further optimizations and adding to our fallbacks to improve performance.
• Game Loop: Even though we have clearly stated that there will not be a complete game loop (adventure, loot, spend, craft, quest, etc.) until Release 4 there is still some expectation of those activities. For R1 there is just character creation / customization, NPC conversation, and home decoration.
• Advanced Player Housing: There are some advanced features for player housing including basements, home exterior decorations, and ceiling decorations that are not yet integrated. Expect to see these appear in future releases with the goal that by Release 4 they should all be present.

I've been waiting a long time for this. Finally a title that hopefully has some decent story telling and a ridiculously interactive game world. If it can capture even half of what Ultima 7 was, I'll be ecstatic.

(Yes, I know this is a beta)

 

[Genx87]

Uh this looks pretty sweet!

 

[Chiropteran]

Downloaded and ready to go. Been waiting for this a long time.

 

[mizzou]

awesome, I hope this goes well for him and all of us, because this would be very refreshing

 

[SMOGZINN]

(Yes, I know this is a beta)

This is not even a beta, this is at best a test alpha. Beta's should be feature complete.
But I'll be watching how this goes. I would love a new Ultima game that lives up to what the Ultima's of old were.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Upload speed is kind of slow but I have successfully seeded almost 3GB so far.

 

[Pheran]

Forgot about this, backed! The first computer game I ever purchased was Ultima III.

 

[Genx87]

Really debating to pledge 45 for alpha access.

 

[Fallen Kell]

Forgot about this, backed! The first computer game I ever purchased was Ultima III.

hahaha... first one I personally bought was Ultima V

 

[smackababy]

Really debating to pledge 45 for alpha access.

I didn't pledge and it let me download and install the game. I didn't try playing it, but it gave me the option to start it.

 

[mizzou]

I just pledged to get some of the access, looks like game is coming along well, but probably will just be a niche' product.

Open play I think comes at the end of the year.

 

[TheSlamma]

I hate MMO's so badly, but this sounds kind of promising

Shroud of the Avatar is a new form of multiplayer online role playing game we are calling a Selective Multiplayer Game. This will allow players to choose how they want to play. Play options will include solo offline, solo online, friends only online, or open multiplayer online. For players who play in the default open multiplayer, Shroud of the Avatar will feel very much like a traditional MMO. However, Shroud of the Avatar also includes a full solo player story crafted by Richard Garriott and Tracy Hickman, best known for his best selling Dragon Lance series of books.

 

[smackababy]

As much as I loved the Ultima series (especially Ultima Online), I am still kind of keeping my hopes and dreams in check for this game. I really want to believe in Garriott, but the latter Ultimas just weren't that good and he hasn't done anything relevant in like a decade and a half. I've been keeping an eye on this though. I want, so badly, for this to be a good game.

 

[SunnyD]

As much as I loved the Ultima series (especially Ultima Online), I am still kind of keeping my hopes and dreams in check for this game. I really want to believe in Garriott, but the latter Ultimas just weren't that good and he hasn't done anything relevant in like a decade and a half. I've been keeping an eye on this though. I want, so badly, for this to be a good game.

This.

And for that reason I had no problems slapping the minimum backing toward the game and calling it a day. I have faith in Garriott making something good when he has the liberty to do it how he wants to do it. But I also don't expect anything on par with a modern day AAA title either. What I'm actually expecting is something across between an old school shareware adventure game and a current day upper end indie title. I don't think I'll be disappointed.

 

[Genx87]

I bought in for alpha access but never logged in. I update the client on a regular basis. Have to try it out when they have an access weekend. Looks like it has progressed a lot since last winter.

 

[MeldarthX]

I've backed this I think for 65; 45 for alpha and got another 20 with a code on top of that. I still haven't dled it; loved all the pod casts; watched the videos.......

When he's got the freedom to do what he wants he can craft some very magical things. I loved all the Ultimas; and loved UO;

He's still trying to get the Ultima name from EA; or license it for Shroud; he took time off gaming to regroup do some other things and it reflects here as he's just as passionate if not more about gaming...

 

[Pheran]

I have alpha access to this as well, but I've only tried it briefly once and that was quite a few releases ago. I need to get back in on one of the upcoming releases.

 

[mizzou]

Release 10 is tomorrow and it lasts a few days.

 

[Pheran]

Release 10 is tomorrow and it lasts a few days.

Strange, don't think I've gotten any email announcement about that yet, and I usually do get those.

 

[StinkyPinky]

Garriott has done nothing but shit for over a decade. I loved Ultima 7 but that's 20 years ago now. I will wait for the reviews.

 

[mizzou]

Garriott has done nothing but shit for over a decade. I loved Ultima 7 but that's 20 years ago now. I will wait for the reviews.

I get the impression he took some time off to explore his personal needs.

you could say the same with chris roberts to be honest

 

[SunnyD]

Garriott has done nothing but shit for over a decade. I loved Ultima 7 but that's 20 years ago now. I will wait for the reviews.

You'd be pretty much accurate with that statement, since he was pushed out of NCsoft in 2008, and the only thing he had any direct involvement in development with during his tenure there was Tabula Rasa (which the final incarnation wasn't even his design). So yeah, Garriott really hasn't done shit for over a decade.

 

[mizzou]

You'd be pretty much accurate with that statement, since he was pushed out of NCsoft in 2008, and the only thing he had any direct involvement in development with during his tenure there was Tabula Rasa (which the final incarnation wasn't even his design). So yeah, Garriott really hasn't done shit for over a decade.

He went to space...lol

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1611990/

On October 12, 2008, Garriott launched aboard Soyuz TMA-13 to the International Space Station as a self-funded private astronaut,[1][2] returning 12 days later aboard Soyuz TMA-12. With his trip, he became the second person, and first American, to be a second-generation space traveler.

I do get the feeling he seems like a self-inflated douche based on his public persona, but he seems genuinely nice in all of his interviews so I don't know what to make of him, and I've never heard anyone say he wasn't a nice guy.

I have full faith he can pull this off, there are too many industry veterans on that team..the only problem I see is that this will be a niche' product

 

[SunnyD]

He went to space...lol

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1611990/

On October 12, 2008, Garriott launched aboard Soyuz TMA-13 to the International Space Station as a self-funded private astronaut,[1][2] returning 12 days later aboard Soyuz TMA-12. With his trip, he became the second person, and first American, to be a second-generation space traveler.

I do get the feeling he seems like a self-inflated douche based on his public persona, but he seems genuinely nice in all of his interviews so I don't know what to make of him, and I've never heard anyone say he wasn't a nice guy.

I have full faith he can pull this off, there are too many industry veterans on that team..the only problem I see is that this will be a niche' product

Well there's that. I sort of got the impression Stinky was alluding to game production though, not personal endeavors.

And yes, Garriott definitely has quite the ego. He's very aloof, which is why he's in the best position he can be in terms of making a title right now: It's HIS title, HIS way. It's like writing a book really. Imagine if authors were told exactly how their chapters should go and what to write towards. Books would be a lot more Activision. I'm sure SotA will be rough around the edges, but it will definitely be Lord British - which honestly is what I'm hoping for.

 

[smackababy]

I wouldn't necessarily say it is ego. Garriott just seems like he is of the opinion games he works on are HIS creations and the rest of the staff are supposed to be doing his work. And, I agree with him. It is his name on the box, not Bob, Dick, and Steve's (or whoever did work on it). He is one of those guys that takes work going out made "by Richard Garriott" very personal and wants it to be a certain way. Similar to like Steve Jobs.

With that though, he seems like a really nice guy, so long as you're not working for him and not doing it exactly as he wants.