Richard “Lord British” Garriott aims to celebrate his comeback with Shroud of the Avatar and has planned something big: an MMORPG similar to Ultima Online combined with a single-player experience in the style of the Ultima games 1 to 9.
When Richard Garriott announced his latest project Shroud of the Avatar on the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter in early 2012, the excitement was great – but confusion followed closely behind. What is Shroud of the Avatar (SotA), fans wondered.
Is it an MMORPG? A quasi-sequel to the cult game Ultima Online or is it a single-player RPG?
The simple yet surprising answer: It is both. The game is now at Pre-Alpha version 16. On Thursday, April 23, version 17 will launch. We have been part of the game from the beginning and are experiencing adventures in the unusual fantasy world of New Britannia. Based on our player experiences, we want to explain what Shroud of the Avatar is, how it plays, and how the combination of MMORPG and single-player works.
Online, only friends, or even all alone? SotA offers many game modes
At the beginning, you decide whether you want to play in an open online mode, a friends-only mode, or in one of two single-player modes. Open online is comparable to a classic MMORPG. You will encounter players from your friends list as well as strangers with whom you can experience adventures or fight them in PvP.
The friends-only mode will only show you players you have added to your friends list. Stranger players do not appear. In the single-player online mode, you are on your own but still in the online world – and on the same and only server. This means you will see player houses in both the single-player online and the friends-only modes, and you can interact with the NPC vendors of other players, for example. It is also possible to switch between modes at any time.
Finally, a single-player offline mode is available to you. For this, you must create a separate character, and it is not possible to switch to an online mode with this character. The offline mode will offer some additional features, including NPC companions with their own personalities who accompany you on your adventures. Additionally, the respawn rate of monsters is reduced and you will be able to entirely clear areas of enemies.
Thus, the offline mode is intended to focus on the game’s story and feel like a single-player RPG. Currently, however, only the open online and single-player online modes are available.
The Pre-Alpha is continuously evolving
In the currently ongoing pre-alpha, it is possible to explore almost the entire continent of Novia and the island of Hidden Vale. You start in a village that has been attacked by undead and must fight your way through. The game is played in such scenes from a third-person perspective. However, when you switch to the wilderness, the game presents itself from a map-like perspective, in which you can explore the overworld.
SotA does not offer an open world like other MMORPGs. There are multiple reasons for this: on the one hand, the Unity engine used does not handle large, open game worlds well, and on the other hand, the developers can directly add new scenes or exchange existing ones – for example, when a village is attacked and burned down.
With the release of Episode 1 “Forsaken Virtues”, expected to take place early next year, you can experience an exciting story through many quests. These will lead you across the continent. You will learn more about the mysterious “Tesla Technology”, which allows shields over cities, and you will uncover the secret of the Oracle and an undead army that threatens the land. This story will continue in four subsequent episodes. In addition, it is also possible to become a blacksmith or craftsman, create items, inhabit your own house or castle, and simply – similar to Ultima Online – live a second, virtual life in the world of New Britannia.
In the next part of our presentation of the online game Shroud of the Avatar, we will delve into the extraordinary card-based combat system and the PvP system.
Next page: Shroud of the Avatar – More than just an MMORPG Part 2
The Early Access version of Shroud of the Avatar costs regularly €41.99 on Steam and offers immediate access to the pre-alpha. Currently, however, due to a promotion, the game is available for €31.49: Here’s the link to the Steam promotion.
