rgart wrote:

Richard Garriott is working on a new Ultima Game called "Shroud of the Avatar" […]
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Richard Garriott is working on a new Ultima Game called "Shroud of the Avatar"

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Unfortunately they used kickstart to raise funds which I think is a shame and judging from the footage I can find and the forum it looks like the game is not what I was hoping for but I might yet be surprised...
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Why do you believe that using Kickstarter is a bad thing? Is this your opinion in this case or generally? While LB visions could have tested a $20M budget rather than the $2M he obtained from crowd-funding, he could not have funded it himself after becoming a space tourist.

If you follow the news, Portalarium (or what his company is called) isn't doing great. Hints are recent layoffs (not long before they announced sota) and they also pulled their Facebook game "Ultimate Collector".
They needed funds while not selling theor souls to a big company (again) but even more so they needed to create a fan base/community BEFORE bringing out the game. Most kickstarters have that an important goal...
I pledged a good sum to the game

I have high hopes for the game as well, I am almost certain it will be an old-school masterpiece

Great Hierophant: just my opinion. Kickstart is an innovative way to raise funds and develop but Im cheap 😀

Dominus: Yeah! I've put a few $ in too.

keropi: me too! I'm really looking forward to it. I hope they can pull it off.

Have you ever played FTL? The game is pure awesomeness. I don't think kickstarter is a bad thing.

But what is your opinion why you think it's unfortunate and a shame?

Its unfortunate because I would like to see Richard put a substantial amount of his own funds into a project he sincerely believes in.

And Im cheap - Donating to support a products development, buying the game and paying a monthly subscription fee is going a bit far in my opinion.

At least the donating part wasn't necessary 😉

But I can see your point about RGs funds

hehe I felt obligated to support him.

Serpent Isle and the Black gate were masterpieces.

Ultima Online was my favorite of all time though!

Ultima 8 was such a let down for me.

I have high hopes for Shroud of the Avatar.

btw, I read that you don't need to pay monthly fees on this, they state that you buy it once and play without subscriptions ...

Doubfine's Kickstarter, Broken Age looks really promising. Same do the gameplay videos of Wasteland 2. I've pledged to several kickstarters.

rgart wrote:

hehe I felt obligated to support him. […]
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hehe I felt obligated to support him.

Serpent Isle and the Black gate were masterpieces.

Ultima Online was my favorite of all time though!

Ultima 8 was such a let down for me.

I have high hopes for Shroud of the Avatar.

And Tabula Rasa?

not exactly his best work i hear but i never played it.

Matt Barton (of "Matt Chat") recently did an hour-long interview with Garriott about this Kickstarter. Some of you might find it interesting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-h0fUd1ItLk

Has anyone seen the 3 month demo? Starting to look pretty good 😜

They are selling off village land plots for housing at the moment.

The 2.5mil mark has finally been reached and they ditched the VR idea for now - Probably a good thing....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wckfc-0WyPs

I wonder what hardware Richard is using?

looks great... really great!

Housing was an awesome part of Ultima Online.

Currently you can buy a deed for a land plot for $150 US .......

Cant bring myself to do it even though having a house in game is a huge advantage for storage and other things.

Village Plot of Land:

Two houses currently for sale: Viking and Tower home:

Viking:

Tower:

Despite some of RG's more questionable projects I have faith he will make an amazing game.

Please support Shroud of the Avatar!

I have come to the conclusion a substantial portion of the SotA crowd are serious die hard Richard Garriott fans....

Minor Updates for those who are interested:

Here we have the largest home for the aristocrats out there:
It only costs a cool $11,000 US Dollars (yes....eleven thousand)
A lot too rich for me, but there are craz.....err people out there who have pledged this much.

Lord of the Manor Home: (this package means you get to meet Richard too)

Druid Player Home:

Player Basements and Player Dungeons beneath your home:

Cloth Armor:

Leather Armor:

Plate Armor:

Combat sigil:

Finally I can swing a halberd in a game again!

There are four armor schools: Light Armor (Cloth & Leather), Medium Armor (Chain & Scale), Heavy Armor (Plate), and Shields. There are four weapon schools: Blades (Swords & Axes), Polearms (Halberds & Spears), Bludgeons (Hammers & Clubs), and Ranged (Bows & Crossbows).

Crafting Sigil:

Gathering, Refining and Production. Each ring contains five different skills. The innermost ring is the Gathering Ring and includes: Mining, Forestry, Agriculture, Field Dressing, and Foraging. The middle ring is the Refining Ring and includes: Smelting, Milling, Textiles, Tanning, and Butchery. The outermost ring is the Production Ring and includes Blacksmithing, Carpentry, Tailoring, Cooking, and Alchemy.