So this is becoming a thing.
https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/I must say, I didn't grow up playing the Ultima games. I never even really knew about them until I watched a Let's Play of Ultima VII. However, since then I have grown quite fond of the series as they give quite deep and interactive role playing experiences.
This one, while not an Ultima game per say (For the obvious reason that EA still owns the rights to Ultima) seems to be set to become something very similar to those RPG games of 1990's.
Spoilered below is a feature list from the Kickstarter page.
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
Classless character system:
Unlike most RPGs, players will not be limited to the class they select at the beginning of the game. We will be discussing this feature in more detail during an upcoming Developer Blog.
Player housing:
Player housing will live in the persistent shared world, so real estate will have location value.
The least expensive housing can be found in Villages, which offer the highest density of low-cost housing. The core of a village will include basic services that will encourage players to both visit and settle in the area. Villages are a great place for an ambitious adventurer to hang their hat. (Only a few thousand Village homes will be available to players in-game.)
Towns on the other hand, offer more protection and amenities than Villages. The larger amount of available services will further increase traffic flow to your home or business. Plots of land will be larger as well, allowing players to build bigger houses. Towns are an excellent place to start a business while affording moderate levels of safety. (Only a few hundred Town homes will be available to players in-game.)
A City provides substantial protection for players, with large, vital services to draw players to visit and spend their coin. Cities can be protected by large defensive structures like Tesla towers, and offer luxuries not found in Towns or Villages. Cities also have the largest and most valuable homesteads. Be aware though, that the most valuable properties are available to very limited number of players and will likely be in high demand! (Only a few dozen City homes will be available to players in-game.)
Once a house is purchased, players will need to pay regular taxes on it of course. But as a special thank you to select Kickstarter supporters, all housing obtained by making a Kickstarter pledge of Citizen, Lord, Baron, Duke or Lord of the Manor will be tax free for life!
Crafting system that avoids busy work:
Craft as a hobby or as a career! The results of all crafting elements have value as consumables and components in the combat system, as well as maintenance and upgrade elements for housing and cities. The crafting system will be a topic of discussion in one of our upcoming Developer Blogs.
Meaningful PVP that also minimizes griefing:
An incentive-driven system will draw players into the challenge and intrigue of the PVP experience, whether they become the hunter or the hunted!
Scene based encounters:
In a nod to Garriott's early RPG works, Shroud of the Avatar is split up into a high-level overland map and adventure scenes. Scenes are generally re-playable and can be experienced solo or with others.
Versions:
Shroud of the Avatar is currently planned for downloadable PC, Mac, and Linux.
I read an interview about this on Rock, Paper, Shotgun (
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/tag/shroud-of-the-avatar/) and to clarify on the multiplayer segment; apparently the world will be one persistant world shared between players, but not inhabited by players. So if one player buys a house somewhere, everyone else sees that house bought and owned by that player. Other things exist like being able to let the game take names from contact lists you give it and name NPC's after friends, co-op play with friends and so forth.
I'm intrigued, and they look set to achieve their rather modest Kickstarter goal before too long.
Author
Topic: Shroud of the Avatar: Richard "Lord British" Garriott returns to RPG gaming. (Read 2937 times)