Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues - On Kickstarter

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Richard Garriott's new Ultima'ish game is up on Kickstarter.
Richard Garriott, the award winning designer and creator of the Ultima franchise, makes his triumphant return to the genre that earned him a place in the Hall of Fame and a Lifetime Achievement Award. Shroud of the Avatar is the first installment of Richard’s new vision and represents the reinvention of the classic, fantasy role-playing which he pioneered. A fantasy role-playing game that will focus more on player choices and discovery than on level grinding.
Shroud of the Avatar general features:
From Lord British's Treatise on "What is an Ultimate RPG?":
  • Fully interactive virtual world - If it looks usable, it should do something
  • Deep original fiction - Ethical parables, cultural histories, fully developed alternate language text
  • Physical game components will be available: Cloth map, fictional manuals, trinkets
  • Multiplayer Online Game - which can also be played solo player / offline
More information.
 
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Backed and excited...the ign video they have for this looks cool.
 
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Thank you Mr Rune. That IGN exclusive is here.
 
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I'm a huge Ultima fan, so I'm in at $25… I might bump it up to $150 later on, but I have concerns (as I posted on BluesNews)…

"Our team is built around a core of industry experts" … Ok, then who is on the design team?

"We are using powerful, proven tools" … Like what? What game engine are you using?

Is this game an MMO playable offline, a SP game playable online, or a co-op game?
If this is an MMO, is there a monthly fee?

If those who pledge $500 or more will have persistent tax free housing, and the housing is very limited… Will there be any housing left for the rest of us, or will we be homeless?
Is the tax on persistent housing payable with in-game money or real dollars?

Why is there no boxed version?
Sure, it adds to production costs, but if someone is willing to pay $150 for a map and coin, they will certainly pay $25 extra for a nice CE box and game discs.

Did Richard Garriott ever finish building his 3rd castle, Britannia Manor III?

If Richard is so confident in this project, why doesn’t he offer to match the pledge total? After all, he's not poor.

The comment about “re-playable scenes” worries me… Having a dragon attack every time I cross a mountain pass doesn’t sound like fun… nor does re-clearing the same dungeon over and over.

The problem that I, and most other Ultima fans, have with an MMO is that we all want to be the hero of the game, the Avatar… not a dirt farmer, blacksmith, town jester, or the butler to some baron who coughed up $3000 for his city home!
Unless, of course, we can rise to the level of Avatar and skewer that filthy rich baron who made us clean his damned chamber pots!

Game development remains inherently risky”… Um, excuse me while I flush more cash down the Black Gate.
 
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"I like this area"

The game looks very bland in art design and the MMO'ish combat looked awful.Not a good pitch.
 
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The game looks very bland in art design and the MMO'ish combat looked awful.Not a good pitch.

The screenshots seem very skimpy on grass and shrubs, which makes the areas look unfinished. The shadowing doesn't seem very effective either. The overland maps look decent though.
 
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Past 250k so far, looking good.
 
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The limited persistent housing thing is kinda turning me off. Vindicator asks some good questions, would like to see what they have to say on those. And, in particular - where's the rest of the funding for this MMO (?) coming from?
 
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Am I alone in not fully grasping what type of game he is trying for? Whether a traditional single player game with some multiplayer added in or leaning more the other way towards MMORPG gameplay?

I think he went too far into the minute details of design choices such as scaleable player housing and forgot to clue us in on the broader aspects of the world he wishes to create. Or maybe I'm just being dense.
 
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Not pledging on this even if my life depends on it.
 
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Am I alone in not fully grasping what type of game he is trying for? Whether a traditional single player game with some multiplayer added in or leaning more the other way towards MMORPG gameplay?

I think he went too far into the minute details of design choices such as scaleable player housing and forgot to clue us in on the broader aspects of the world he wishes to create. Or maybe I'm just being dense.

No your not alone with your questions. There isn't enough details and what is already know or given out doesn't make sense.

From what I see he is appealing to the hardcore RPG players familiar with Ultima for support. I have no doubt it will get funded.

As for me MMO-style combat, social integration..I think I'll pass.
 
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I'm confused. Can I play this thing completely single-player?
 
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tax free persistent housing?

so is this a real money rental system for persistent virtual housing?

kickstarter shouldn't be used to fund creative ways to find revenues for games. they typically find the crowdsourcing revenue by doing the opposite. crowdsourcing is a way to get 0 sum costs or at least lower it with little in return.

It doesn't look like its going to be UO, Horizons, or Tabula Rasa or nickle and dime you with microtranslations but rental housing seems like a dud.
 
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I pledged to WL2, Project Eternity and Torment: Tides of Numenera. I am one of the biggest Ultima fans out there but sadly I am not pledging this as it really looks nothing like his "earlier" work but seems to be more like Ultima Online which honestly doesn't need a kickstarter, publishers are more than happy to fund it - infact it looks like the game is well into its development cycle. Player housing sounds like a cash grab and the dialog system (could still be in development) is nothing like the best ultima games. If it had of been single player only I would have pledged in a second and it probably would have been for a substantial amount.

It appears LB has strayed too far from the Virtues of Ultima.
 
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I'm pleasantly surprised. I think he did a fine job in trying to pitch it. I still agree that it is not entirely clear what it will be all about but that seems to be pretty standard for most of the high profile KS projects. At this stage I think much of the in-game shown was quite bland. Graphics reminded me a bit of the first NWN and the dialog seemed very placeholder like.
I never played UO but it seems like housing was a big issue there and I don't like the sound of paying rent.
I'm at this point uncertain whether I'll pledge to this project but if I do it will probably be at one of the lower tiers.
 
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Looks like another WoW clone. I like the insights in the IGN, but I'll wait for reviews. No advance cash for me. I smell BS, at best another Amalur with MMO tacked on.

Well, I'm not sure how you came to that conclusion to be honest.
 
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