Shroud of the Avatar - Update of the Avatar #91

[Couchpotato]

The 91th Update of the Avatar from Portalarium has been posted this week. The most important part of the update to me is about the game on Steam Greenlight.

Help Us Greenlight SotA on Steam



We created a Steam Greenlight page for Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues in an effort to get Shroud into Steam Early Access, hopefully by the end of this year. We believe this is a great way for us to both reach a wider audience while at the same time offering our existing backers who use Steam a way to play Shroud in that ecosystem of friends, achievements, etc.

This will NOT be a replacement for direct download and play of Shroud, but instead it is an option. Players will still be able to directly download and play the game through our website, patcher, etc. if they so wish.

We have yet to work out the details with Steam but our plan would be to give our backers Steam Keys to play the game on Steam if they request it so that they won’t have to repurchase the product on Steam. We have seen several other products do this so we do not anticipate this being an issue.

If SotA passes the Greenlight process and becomes available on Steam, our current thinking is to offer a version of the game priced at the low end of our current pledges, that includes:

• Digital download of the game (Episode 1)
• Alpha + Beta access

SotA’s long-term success depends upon us reaching as wide an audience as possible, and Steam is a great way to do that. So please help us out by going to the Shroud of the Avatar Steam Greenlight page and voting yes to make SotA available on Steam!

More information.

 

[SpoonFULL]

They should start by telling people if it is a single player (offline) or a multiplayer based game.

 

[rune_74]

They should start by telling people if it is a single player (offline) or a multiplayer based game.

It's both apparently...at least it is playable as both....and single player online.

They just haven't told us how detailed the single player part will be yet.

 

[SpoonFULL]

Ah you are back rune - hope everything is well. We have missed you on the Shroud discussions.

 

[rune_74]

heh yeah was on deployment with the military....one game I was able to keep up to date with is shroud.

 

[Capt. Huggy Face]

Welcome back, Rune. Glad you're safely back from deployment. Now the bullets can really start to fly around these Shroud threads.

 

[rune_74]

I'm not sure where I stand with shroud at the moment...it has come a long way in graphics and combat etc....though single player stuff seems an afterthought now...but that doesn't mean they aren't working on it, but it is not fore front in the info..

 

[Capt. Huggy Face]

I hate to say I told you so....

I fell for the same thing with Star Citizen but managed to avoid it with Shroud. Star Citizen also played up single player a bunch during its Kickstarter and later did a complete 180. I think it was the Star Citizen dude, I was reading, who was talking about how you have to emphasize single player on Kickstarter, because that's what the core market there wants. The Star Citizen dude and Garriott were Kickstarter buddies. They kept promoting each other. For some unremembered amount of cash, you could get a Shroud battle axe for boarding actions in Star Citizen, and there was some kind of offer for the reverse. I regret my Star Citizen pledge currently, but who knows? Maybe it'll have decent single player when it is finally released, but I doubt it.

 

[DArtagnan]

I hate to say I told you so….

I fell for the same thing with Star Citizen but managed to avoid it with Shroud. Star Citizen also played up single player a bunch during its Kickstarter and later did a complete 180. I think it was the Star Citizen dude, I was reading, who was talking about how you have to emphasize single player on Kickstarter, because that's what the core market there wants. The Star Citizen dude and Garriott were Kickstarter buddies. They kept promoting each other. For some unremembered amount of cash, you could get a Shroud battle axe for boarding actions in Star Citizen, and there was some kind of offer for the reverse. I regret my Star Citizen pledge currently, but who knows? Maybe it'll have decent single player when it is finally released, but I doubt it.

Ehm, what?

I've followed Star Citizen development from the beginning, and the singleplayer portion has been expanded, not reduced.

What HAS changed, though, is the overall scope of the game - since the funding has exploded.

He has a very big team dedicated EXCLUSIVELY to the massive singleplayer campaign, which will have more ships and more features due to the expanded scope.

Please explain how that's a 180 - because I'm not seeing it.

 

[Capt. Huggy Face]

Then perhaps you follow it more closely than I do and I am wrong. I hope I am.

I just read the headlines in the backer emails they send out. It's always about another ship for sale and something involving multiplayer…and usually a piece of fan fiction. I haven't gotten the impression since the campaign ended, and really before it ended, that single player is much of a priority for them, but it is only an impression. I suppose calling it a 180 is an overstatement.

 

[DArtagnan]

Then perhaps you follow it more closely than I do and I am wrong. I hope I am.

I just read the headlines in the backer emails they send out. It's always about another ship for sale and something involving multiplayer…and usually a piece of fan fiction. I haven't gotten the impression since the campaign ended, and really before it ended, that single player is much of a priority for them, but it is only an impression. I suppose calling it a 180 is an overstatement.

It's a major priority - and he's put his own brother in charge of development. It's also a major undertaking, so it takes time before they have something to show.

That said, they're getting closer to showing something from the campaign, though they've also said it's among the things they're keeping close to avoid spoilers.

Also, one of the MANY added features due to increased funding, is their own motion capture studio - which is SPECIFICALLY created for the singleplayer portion of the game. That means higher quality cutscenes.

I know some people think it's all a big hoax that's about fleecing the audience, but if you follow development - you can't help but see where the money is going. They're being extremely upfront about every single development step - and they have frequent progress reports from all the teams.

As for how they're funding the game, that's partially based on a poll they did near the beginning of development. They asked the backers directly about how to handle funding, and I believe it was ~70% in favor of adding goals like they're doing now.

The general attitude from ignorant people who're against it because it's so successful would probably make me sick, if I expected any different from the mob.

Thankfully, I expect the worst, usually - so it's no biggie.

But I think you can rest assured that the singleplayer component will be a MAJOR feature - and I'll eat my hat if it's not both engaging and impressive.

 

[Morrandir]

I don't follow Star Citizen, but it could be possible that SP increased in absolute terms and decreased in relative terms (in relation to the scope of the overall game).

But I think you can rest assured that the singleplayer component will be a MAJOR feature - and I'll eat my hat if it's not both engaging and impressive.

Wow - either we get an engaging and impressive SP component or Dart will eat a hat.
Fine deal for me.

And OT again: SotA has already been greenlit.

 

[DArtagnan]

I don't follow Star Citizen, but it could be possible that SP increased in absolute terms and decreased in relative terms (in relation to the scope of the overall game).

Which means you'll get a better SP game than was originally promised.

Could someone please explain to me how that's a downside when you don't have to pay anything for that privilige?

I mean, I'm all for bitching for no reason at all - but this is entering a whole new area of irrational negativity

 

[Morrandir]

Which means you'll get a better SP game than was originally promised.

Absolutely. In some other thread (about SotA) I mentioned that it seems like the MP gamers (not me) pay for a better SP (me) experience.

 

[DArtagnan]

Absolutely. In some other thread (about SotA) I mentioned that it seems like the MP gamers (not me) pay for a better SP (me) experience.

The same is probably the case with Star Citizen.

Of course, I can't imagine why anyone would limit themselves to the SP portion of a game like Star Citizen, but to each his own.

As for SotA - I know next to nothing about it.

Anyone here played it yet?

 

[Morrandir]

Of course, I can't imagine why anyone would limit themselves to the SP portion of a game like Star Citizen, but to each his own.

I just like to play games on my own.
My own style, my own pace, my own playing times.
And for me the "fun density" (which is something like "fun per time") in SP is higher. And as I've very little free time, I need to maximize it.

I've played a online on an NWN2 persistent world for several years and enjoyed it very much, but (I think) these times are gone for me.

 

[DArtagnan]

I just like to play games on my own.
My own style, my own pace, my own playing times.
And for me the "fun density" (which is something like "fun per time") in SP is higher. And as I've very little free time, I need to maximize it.

I've played a online on an NWN2 persistent world for several years and enjoyed it very much, but (I think) these times are gone for me.

You can play your own style, your own pace and your own time in the Star Citizen PU.

But, I know that a lot of people around here are scared of other gamers. That's ok.

I think you're missing out, but it's not like it's a big problem for me. Just unfortunate, as I think the social experience could enhance your horizons quite a bit.

 

[zahratustra]

Great to see that you are back rune! You have been missed!

No offense guys, but could we get back to the topic? And that's bitching about SotA ok?

 

[rune_74]

I will give a detail report of the next beta(this weekend) since I haven't played it in awhile because of being away.

Thanks for the welcome back Zahratustra.

 

[TomRon]

But I think you can rest assured that the singleplayer component will be a MAJOR feature - and I'll eat my hat if it's not both engaging and impressive.

Win-Win! Thanks fot this info Dart, I felt the same way Huggy did until I read your post. And I would also love to see you eat a hat.

I'm not afraid of other gamers. My experience is simply that I don't like them in my games because they break immersion...or just behave badly. I know there are loads of gamers who are tons of fun to play with, but it only takes a few rotten eggs to spoil my experience.