Publisher Travian Games has officially confirmed the release date of the upcoming MMORPG Shroud of the Avatar for March 27.
After five years of development, the MMORPG Shroud of the Avatar will finally launch on March 27, aiming to be the spiritual successor to the Ultima series, including the single-player series and Ultima Online.
From Selective Multiplayer RPG to MMORPG
Shroud of the Avatar was announced in 2013 during the Kickstarter campaign as a “Selective Multiplayer RPG,” a label that the developers have since moved away from. Now SotA is officially an MMORPG, although the FAQ of the Kickstarter campaign states: “Although Shroud of the Avatar will not be a Massively Multiplayer Online RPG, it is a Multiplayer RPG.”
This was later clarified in a video by designer Richard “Lord British” Garriott: Shroud of the Avatar was intended to be a story-driven single-player RPG like the old Ultima games, but also offers the option to play online.
The (MMO)RPG offers you the following:
- Four game modes: MMO, Friends mode, Single Player Online, and Offline
- A sandbox world should be mixed with a story that offers a single-player narrative structure
- Decisions with consequences
- A player-driven economy
- The ability to own houses, castles, and entire player towns
- Real money trading
Shroud of the Avatar aims to take a retro approach and provide players with a more challenging gaming experience, where they are not given everything on a silver platter. Players are encouraged to discover things for themselves, without being pointed out. That’s why NPCs do not have exclamation marks above their heads that immediately identify them as quest givers, but instead have sparkling hands to wave, and they are marked on the map and compass.
The Criticism Continues
Shroud of the Avatar has been criticized for a long time during its early access phase. Among other things, because the quest system consists only of long conversations with NPCs in text form and there is a lot of grinding. The MMORPG also has a rather outdated visual appearance and long loading times when entering new areas. Furthermore, many criticize that newcomers can hardly compete with those who have been playing since the last wipe in July 2016.
Whether Shroud of the Avatar can establish itself in the market and find the balance between single-player RPG and MMORPG remains to be seen after the release on March 27.
Just recently, real money trading in Shroud of the Avatar has come under strong criticism.
