I have decided that I WOULD be willing to recommend this game as of the release of r26, and this date, 2/18/2016. But recommend WITH STRONG WARNINGS!!!

First of all, I want to point out that even my original review, I was confident that the things forcing me to give a negative review would be fixed and I must say, MOST have been.

First and foremost, the dev MOST responsible for the combat system has came through in a MAJOR way just like i said he would. So great work Chris Spears if you read this. The combat system that was messy and very opaque has been cleaned up and fined tuned A LOT. Is it perfect? Of course not. This is EARLY ACCESS. Is fun? Damn right it is. The skill system is broken in to several different trees. With recent changes, these trees now have a lot of VERY fun synergies. Remember the old days of Ultima Online and the skill mixing to create your own brand of monster slayer? Well, Chris has done it again. I cannot begin to list the number of FUN, interesting, UNEXPECTED, and just flat out strange skill tree combinations that work and work well. Are some a little better than others? Of course. Are their going to be "FotM builds (Flavor of the Month for you newbs out there!), absolutely. Will they make your build obsolete? NOPE! And as a bonus, for you folks who like dual spec options so that you can have multiple builds on the same character: SotA has that too! And they have done it WAY more interesting, clever, UNIQUE, and just flat out creative than anyone else has. So yes, Chris, kudos again.

So now that I am done ranting about how fun and open to YOUR creativity it is as of r26, let me ammend something else. The combat system itself, the background numbers and math and insanely ridiculously complex math they have going on in the combat system has recently been polished. MUCH is finally working as intended AND as expected. Is it done? How many times do I have to remind you it is still Early Access? ;) But I feel it is VERY close to a launchable state. There are still a couple things that need to be fixed/tweaked/corrected but all-in-all, combat works in a manner that is both predictable because you get results that you expect, but also unpredictable because there are still a few unknowns in the background to add an element of realistic unpredictablity in combat at the same time. It is done in a FUN and good way 90% of the time. Combat should not be 100% predictable in a game that is hoping to be very immersive. We need some unknowns. And I like it that way.

Now on to the crafting system. The actual CREATION OF FINISHED PRODUCTS is great. Going back to the good ol' days of Ultima Online again, for those of you who were with us then, if you recall the different material types of ore for example (Copper, Iron, Bronze, Verite, Valorite, etc), and the way that crafting a Plate Helm with each of the different metals delivered different results, that is a small example of what to expect here. An item in SotA will require multiple components, which can each be made of different material types, and combined to create an ENOURMOUS amount of Plate Helms, all with different stats. Now multiply that buy the number of gear slots, and you end up with thousand of possible armor combinations. Crafted to your specific needs exactly. And honestly, it is fun and engaging. It is not just mindless clicking. You get to plan it out. Fit it to your own unique character class that you have built using their extensive skill system.


Now for the Bad. HERE ARE MY STRONG WARNINGS!!!

There is still not much actual game content. There are not many real adventures. There are not a lot of quests. Their is not a real dungeon experience. Do they have these things? Absolutely. But they are holding them back as to not spoil the game for us Early Access players before launch. And because of this the game is VERY VERY VERY GRINDY. If you are not one who can have fun simply GRINDING and testing things, please just wait. I want you to have a great first experience with the game. If you need actual finished GAME CONTEN to enjoy yourself, just keep waiting. SotA is NOT ready for you.

However, if you are able to enjoy yourself grinding, experience, harvesting crafting materials (grinding harvest nodes), decorating homes, tending gardens, testing game mechanics, posting feedback for the devs to read (AND YES THEY DO READ IT...People need to stop saying they dont. They honestly do. They cannot do every single thing every single one of us asks for, but they have proven over and over again that they will make RADICAL changes to their design path to appease the testers when there is overwhelming feedback. I am not always happy with them, but i am happy often enough to keep coming back for more!). I have spoken in to devs. I have played with the devs. I have even taken one of their devs on a tour through one of their "dungeons" so that he could understand the bugs I was reporting with the place. They reply to my threads. They even watch my twitch stream. They absolutely are working with their backers and letting us help design a game with them. If THAT sounds fun to you, SotA is ready for you.

TLDR;
Combat system is mostly fixed, very innovative, unique and fun.
Crafting system is finally being implemented. First wave is fun, very well thoughtout, and allows for players to be creative.
Skill system is FINALLY starting to take on its final shape. It allows for a LOT of different playstyles and custom building. It is very fun and your imagination is the limit.
Finished game content(Storylines, dungeons, raids, bosses, etc..) is NOT available because they do not want to spoil the game for the Early Access players
Game is still VERY VERY VERY VERY GRINDY
Devs DO pay attention to players, they DO interact with players, they DO play with players, and they DO make radical shifts in direction when something gains enough momentum with players.


REVIEW POSTED ON AND BEFORE Jan 5 @ 3:38pm is now OBSOLETE due to RADICAL improvements to the game over the last couple releases. Great job Portalarium and special shout out to Chris Spears(@catnipgames). I knew you would pull it together, I just did not expect you to fix so much and radically improve that combat system in just 2 short releases. I wish I had been just a bit more patient before my previous review. Awesome work. Looking forward to next couple releases.

I have decided that I WOULD be willing to recommend this game as of the release of r26, and this date, 2/18/2016. But recommend WITH STRONG WARNINGS!!! First of all, I want to point out that even my original review, I was confident that the things forcing me to give a negative review would be fixed and I must say, MOST have been. First and foremost, the dev MOST responsible for the combat system has came through in a MAJOR way just like i said he would. So great work Chris Spears if you read this. The combat system that was messy and very opaque has been cleaned up and fined tuned A LOT. Is it perfect? Of course not. This is EARLY ACCESS. Is fun? Damn right it is. The skill system is broken in to several different trees. With recent changes, these trees now have a lot of VERY fun synergies. Remember the old days of Ultima Online and the skill mixing to create your own brand of monster slayer? Well, Chris has done it again. I cannot begin to list the number of FUN, interesting, UNEXPECTED, and just flat out strange skill tree combinations that work and work well. Are some a little better than others? Of course. Are their going to be "FotM builds (Flavor of the Month for you newbs out there!), absolutely. Will they make your build obsolete? NOPE! And as a bonus, for you folks who like dual spec options so that you can have multiple builds on the same character: SotA has that too! And they have done it WAY more interesting, clever, UNIQUE, and just flat out creative than anyone else has. So yes, Chris, kudos again. So now that I am done ranting about how fun and open to YOUR creativity it is as of r26, let me ammend something else. The combat system itself, the background numbers and math and insanely ridiculously complex math they have going on in the combat system has recently been polished. MUCH is finally working as intended AND as expected. Is it done? How many times do I have to remind you it is still Early Access? ;) But I feel it is VERY close to a launchable state. There are still a couple things that need to be fixed/tweaked/corrected but all-in-all, combat works in a manner that is both predictable because you get results that you expect, but also unpredictable because there are still a few unknowns in the background to add an element of realistic unpredictablity in combat at the same time. It is done in a FUN and good way 90% of the time. Combat should not be 100% predictable in a game that is hoping to be very immersive. We need some unknowns. And I like it that way. Now on to the crafting system. The actual CREATION OF FINISHED PRODUCTS is great. Going back to the good ol' days of Ultima Online again, for those of you who were with us then, if you recall the different material types of ore for example (Copper, Iron, Bronze, Verite, Valorite, etc), and the way that crafting a Plate Helm with each of the different metals delivered different results, that is a small example of what to expect here. An item in SotA will require multiple components, which can each be made of different material types, and combined to create an ENOURMOUS amount of Plate Helms, all with different stats. Now multiply that buy the number of gear slots, and you end up with thousand of possible armor combinations. Crafted to your specific needs exactly. And honestly, it is fun and engaging. It is not just mindless clicking. You get to plan it out. Fit it to your own unique character class that you have built using their extensive skill system. Now for the Bad. HERE ARE MY STRONG WARNINGS!!! There is still not much actual game content. There are not many real adventures. There are not a lot of quests. Their is not a real dungeon experience. Do they have these things? Absolutely. But they are holding them back as to not spoil the game for us Early Access players before launch. And because of this the game is VERY VERY VERY GRINDY. If you are not one who can have fun simply GRINDING and testing things, please just wait. I want you to have a great first experience with the game. If you need actual finished GAME CONTEN to enjoy yourself, just keep waiting. SotA is NOT ready for you. However, if you are able to enjoy yourself grinding, experience, harvesting crafting materials (grinding harvest nodes), decorating homes, tending gardens, testing game mechanics, posting feedback for the devs to read (AND YES THEY DO READ IT...People need to stop saying they dont. They honestly do. They cannot do every single thing every single one of us asks for, but they have proven over and over again that they will make RADICAL changes to their design path to appease the testers when there is overwhelming feedback. I am not always happy with them, but i am happy often enough to keep coming back for more!). I have spoken in to devs. I have played with the devs. I have even taken one of their devs on a tour through one of their "dungeons" so that he could understand the bugs I was reporting with the place. They reply to my threads. They even watch my twitch stream. They absolutely are working with their backers and letting us help design a game with them. If THAT sounds fun to you, SotA is ready for you. TLDR; Combat system is mostly fixed, very innovative, unique and fun. Crafting system is finally being implemented. First wave is fun, very well thoughtout, and allows for players to be creative. Skill system is FINALLY starting to take on its final shape. It allows for a LOT of different playstyles and custom building. It is very fun and your imagination is the limit. Finished game content(Storylines, dungeons, raids, bosses, etc..) is NOT available because they do not want to spoil the game for the Early Access players Game is still VERY VERY VERY VERY GRINDY Devs DO pay attention to players, they DO interact with players, they DO play with players, and they DO make radical shifts in direction when something gains enough momentum with players. REVIEW POSTED ON AND BEFORE Jan 5 @ 3:38pm is now OBSOLETE due to RADICAL improvements to the game over the last couple releases. Great job Portalarium and special shout out to Chris Spears(@catnipgames). I knew you would pull it together, I just did not expect you to fix so much and radically improve that combat system in just 2 short releases. I wish I had been just a bit more patient before my previous review. Awesome work. Looking forward to next couple releases.