Shroud of the Avatar の日本語化MODの言い出しっぺです (プレイ時間は非Steam版使用のため少な目に表示されています)。

現在 Shroud of the Avatar には開発元公認の 非公式日本語化MOD[sota-jp.local.io] があり、言語データの更新がある度にMODも更新されております。Release 81からは会話データの有料版DEEPL API翻訳も解禁され、多少の誤訳もあるものの NPCとの会話内容の日本語化もされています。日本人プレイヤー支援環境としては私以外の第三者による運営ですが Wiki と Discord[wikiwiki.jp] があり頻繁に更新されています。

Shroud of the Avatar のゲームプレイはPVP・PVE共にやり込み要素があり、高度な戦闘を目標とする場合は分かり易い必勝パターンはなく、他のプレイヤーを参考にしながら切磋琢磨していくことになります。もちろん、生産やスローライフ的なことをしたいのであればそちらに専念することも可能です。

現在は Episode 2 が始まり、Episode 1では達成されなかったストレッチゴールもプレイヤーの意見を取り込みながらの実装が始まっています。運営体制も旧Kickstarter状態から一皮剥けて、高速な意思決定ができるように組織変更がされ、今後の発展が期待できます。

とにもかくにもウルティマシリーズが好きと言う人は、オススメしたいゲームです
現時点での日本語化は不明ですが、ウルティマみたいに普及すれば日本語の展開もありえるかも
生産や物作りに拘る生き方もしたい、冒険者として色々なところを旅をしたい等と、プレイのやり方は自由です
またログイン画面で、ソロプレイとマルチと別れているので、のんびりオープンワールドゲームとしてソロで楽しむのもありですし、友人とかとワイワイプレイするならマルチでと、その都度切り替えれるのも便利です

ただ、導入部はちょい不親切と感じるかもですが、色々と自分で体験して覚えてくのが楽しいって人には向いているゲームかもしれません最近のＭＭＯみたいに自動移動等の親切機能が無いと嫌だって人には向かないタイトルかも

アバタールの皆様、オールドブリタニアンの皆様、
我々はここに再び、ロード・ブリティッシュを暗殺する徳の道を追求する機会を得ました。

ニュー・ブリタニアには少しばかりの電力があります。
風力発電のプロペラが回り、怪しげな電波塔やラジオが置かれている様を見たとき、
「こんなのブリタニアじゃない」と思うかもしれません。
ですが、これまでも他種族によって新しいテクノロジーがもたらされていたことを思い出して下さい。
少し歩いてみれば、きっと安心すると思います。

街中にはニワトリやシカもいますし、建物は石レンガや木と漆喰の家です。
アバタールは剣と魔法で戦いますし、狩場に出れば秘薬も落ちています。
下水道ダンジョンもあれば山賊狩りもできます。ーもちろんまだプレアルファなので今のところ、ですが

ですがプレアルファ、とは思わないほどの内容が既にあります。
今現在￥4,580を払わねば参加できませんが、テスト期間独特の熱気と、
ゲームがブラッシュアップされて行く段階を楽しめることと思います。
月１でアップデートされていますので、現在の進行具合も是非チェックしてみて下さい。

はじめのうちは慣れるまで少し苦労しますが、それを乗り切ればとっても面白いゲームです。素敵な世界観のゲームですのでお勧めです。日本人ギルドを作っていますので慣れるまでお手伝いできます。一緒にSOTAライフを楽しみましょう！

まだ日本語化はされていませんが程よいバランス

真新しさには欠けるグラフィックですが、スキルポイントの配分を考えながらの個性あるキャラメイキングや、生産やドロップアイテムの品質による数値の疎らさ、世界観などが程よく、Ultima Onlineで育った世代の人たち、ドラクエ世代の人には心地よくゲームに馴染んでいけると思います。


まだ日本語化、中国語化、韓国語化はされてなく、英語でのプレイに抵抗を感じてしまうかもしれません。
その分アジア圏プレーヤー数はまだ少なく、キャラクターネームの重複も少なくキャラ作成が出来て、ゲーム内で家を建設する好立地もまだまだ残ってます。わからない英語を調べながらとなりますが、それでも今から始める価値は十分にあり。

私はこのゲームの作者リチャードギャリオット氏の過去の作品で現在のオンラインRPGの原型ともなったUltima Onlineを過去にプレイしていました。そのゲームバランスと奥深さが心地よく飽きを感じさせることなく長きに渡りプレイしていたのですがリアル社会での日常が忙しくなり一旦卒業。やっと実生活が落ち着きゲームを始めようと思った時には、世の中は3Dグラフィックが常識になっていて3D化にのり遅れたUltima Onlineには過去の賑わいもなく少し廃れたれたゲームとなっていました。
そんなわけで復帰する事なくゲーム難民となった私は、グラフィックの良いものや自由なスタイルで遊べるオープンワールドのものなど幾度と試しに遊んでみましたが、ストーリー展開とキャラクターの役割や職種への縛りが強すぎたり、対人、団体戦など戦いだけを求めたシナリオだったり、課金への強引な誘導などギスギスした感じに馴染めず転々としていたところ、このゲームの開始の知らせを受けました。

このカキコミをしている時点で一週間ほど遊んでますが、今のところ満足して遊べているのでアドオンにも課金しました。

おすすめのわりにネガティブな内容が多いですが…

ハマるとすごく楽しい
ハマらないと退屈かも
良くも悪くも人を選ぶゲームです

Offline版は完全ソロゲー、キャラクターもOnlineとは別扱いで共有はできません。
クエストの報酬や敵のDropなどOfflineのほうがリターンも多いため、1人で遊ぶならOffline一択だと思います。
（Offline限定で、NPCを召喚して戦闘を手伝わせれます）

Onlineはコミュニティなりに所属すれば楽しめると思いますが、ソロならお勧めしません。
初心者用装備など、時折売ってるPCベンダーがありますが、開始直後くらいではとても買えません。
お金稼ぎも簡単には稼げません、手っ取り早いのは公式StoreのコインをPCベンダーに買い取ってもらうことです。
公式Storeのアイテム類も、他のMMOと比べるとやや高いと感じます。
ハウジング関係が充実していると思うので、それ目的で遊ぶのがおすすめかな？

これらを覚悟したうえでやる分には、とても楽しいです。
楽しい要素が感じられないレビュー内容だけど、わりと楽しいです。

1300時間ほどプレイしました。
まだまだ続けます。

始めた当初は英語Onlyでしたが
有志の方が日本語パッチを開発してくれました。感謝。

さて、このゲームは賛否両論だと思います。
初期ログイン時の「なに始めればよいんだよ」ってところで挫けないでください。
「そういえばUOの最初って不親切だったなーと」とマゾい感じで頑張ってください。

もし始めたならばUOの黎明期の香りを貴方は感じるはずです。

洞窟の奥深く初めてドラゴンと遭遇した時は絶望するでしょう。
やがては一人で倒せる時が来ます。

生産では、最初は弱い剣や机しか作れません。
生産に熟達した暁には自分の住む家を建てることができるでしょう。
冒険者が持ち帰った素材を集め、アーティファクトを復元することもできるでしょう。

英語ができる方もそうでない方も、気になったはLets try。
※日本語Wikiもありますよ。

2018年に蘇ったUO
しかしながらどこかでみたようなMMOになってしまった
日本語もまだない
今後に期待して★4つですｗｗ

Oct 2016 Edit: I'm seeing some negative responses and "did you actually play the game" type of comments. Folks should note that I posted this review in Jan 2015. It's now Oct 2016, and the game has changed. A lot. The crafting system, for example, has been revamped like twice from scratch, and even the spell system was revamped completely once. Both of those systems have improved from their original form. I will say this: as much as this team asks for money or pushes the telethons or the selling of stuff on their store, you can see where your money is going. Updates and improvements are happening all the time... these devs are not sitting on their ass with your money. The game still looks beautiful, and keeps looking better and better with every update. It's also expanding, in terms of the world's size.

I still think it's a good successor to Ultima, but I couldn't tell you much about pvp, since I don't really participate in it these days. It's still grindy, it still doesn't hold your hand. I stand by my original assessment in that if you don't want an "easy" game, this one is that and still enjoyable.

By this point in the game's life and with an advanced community that's been with it since the kickstarter, it is a fact that if you don't come into the game now with some money in hand, and purchase house lots and deeds, then you will be pretty far behind. But starting any game two years later means you're going to be pretty far behind. If what you're looking for is player housing, know that you will be very hard pressed to get any without dropping real money into it.


Original Review, Jan 2015:

I love this freaking game so hard.

HOWEVER... I recommend it with a caveat. The reason I love this game is because my first video game AND RPG ever was Ultima 7. I played every Ultima after that, inculding Ultima Online, and went back and played older Ultima as well. Shroud of the Avatar is the spiritual successor to Ultima. It's Ultima in everything but name, and almost in that too.

It's an old school RPG with a bit more of a hardcore, almost grindy, feel to it. This game won't appeal to folks who want a World of Warcraft style RPG. I don't mean that negatively, it's just that I grew up on totally different RPGs then the folks who started their gaming careers with WoW. WoW holds you by the hand and gives you pretty explicit direction on where to go, who to talk to, etc.

Shroud won't do that. You gotta talk to everyone in town to find quests, there's no markings on a map to tell you where to go (figure it out from your journal and talking to folks), your weapons and armor deteriorate fast and also weigh you down depending on your strength stat... and if you are active in PVP, you can and will lose your gear to people who kill you.

There's non-instanced player housing, the crafting system is wonderfully complex, and combat isn't static... it shifts and changes and you have to be an active participant in it.

I love Shroud, but it's a very different type of RPG from the modern stuff out there right now. You've been warned.

Edits at 150 (1/7/2020) hours played are marked with *

I don't post many (if any) reviews but I really felt it was necessary in this case because this is probably the most underrated game I have played in 13 years. I have had this on my wishlist for a long time but avoided it due to all the negative reviews. A couple days ago, I actually read through those reviews and found that very few of them actually had anything bad to say about THE GAME. Most of them complained about how they didn't like the developers, how they felt they were treated unfairly on the forums, how the game wasn't what was initially promised, or one guy who had forgotten he had played before (and his character died) and was upset because it took him an hour to figure out that he was dead. Really?

I completely understand if people who backed early didn't get the game they were promised and feel betrayed. I have totally been there. Chris Roberts said that, if I gave him 60 bucks, he'd give me a game in 2014. He still has my money...

But reviews should serve to reflect the quality of a game for what it is. And Shroud of the Avatar is a truly great game and exactly what I was looking for. I have tried out about a dozen below-the-radar MMORPGs in recent months and this blows them all away.

That said, it is important to note that I have likely only scratched the surface of what SotA has to offer with only about 8 hours played. And perhaps everything goes to hell as you get farther along. But, for the reasonable entry price of $0.00, I recommend you give SotA a shot.

Just a few things that made this game stand out for me:

- Active Players - This game actually has people playing it and I see other players everywhere I go. This may not seem like a big deal, but most of the MMORPGs I have played recently are devoid of other players. So it stood out.

- Optional PVP - You can go to an "Oracle" and turn pvp on or off. Nice for those of us that don't enjoy being "ganked" or griefed.

- Engaging quests - No ! or ? telling you who to talk to. You actually have to read where to go and what to do.

- NPC "conversations" - You start a dialogue with "citizen" (or whatever default name the NPC has) and you can actually type what you want to talk about. For example, you can type "name" and the NPC will tell you his/her name. He will, from now on show up as "Bob" instead of "citizen". It's not much, but it's more immersive than clicking NPC and then "accept". [*This is especially cool with things like riddles where you actually have to guess the answer without multiple choice.]

- No bugs - I'm sure there are some, but I've played 8 hours and everything seems to be working as intended. That's a rarity these days. [*150 hours in and the game has crashed twice. Maps are missing for some zones.]

- 4k compatible - Most of the other MMOs I've tried recently start up a tiny little launcher with words I have to put my face to my monitor to be able to read. Then I'd have to make my character on a tiny screen. Only after that could I even get into the settings to change the resolution only to find that setting them to 4k left my icons and game text tiny and unreadable. When I loaded SotA, it just worked!

- Decent combat - Nothing groundbreaking here but feels similar to other tab target games like World of Warcraft. I expect it to get much deeper as my character learns more skills. Sometimes it seems as though mobs don't aggro from as far away as they should. But maybe that's just because I have only been in Tier 1 areas.
[Edit - That was most certainly the case. Aggro range in Tier 2 and up is just what I'd expect]
[Edit 2 - I just discovered "free attack" toggle. Turning this on made combat much more fun and immersive upgrading from 'decent' to 'Great'!]

- Great skill system - Lots of meaningful skills. Learn them at a trainer and level them by doing them.

- Deep crafting system - This is more of an assumption based on the very little crafting I have done so far. But it seems better than most. *[After 150 hours, I can say that the crafting is very well done. However, for new players, there is not much incentive to try to make your own gear because it will take tons of gold and many, many hours to get to the point where you can make things comparable to gear being sold (or given away) by veteran players. But it's still worthwhile to make your own food, potions, scrolls, etc.]

- Player housing - I just got my first house (using in-game gold) and played around with decorating. You buy a lot and then there are many houses to choose from. You can add things to them (like a basement or 2 level basement). Decorating seems to allow free placement and is intuitive.

- F2P model - Best F2P model I have seen since Path of Exile. I have researched this a bit and haven't found a single thing that I will need to pay real money for. Most (if not all - idk) of the items you can pay real money for are just reskins of items you can make yourself or buy with gold. Granted, a F2P player probably can't get the best lot location - I have to walk a block to get from the gate to my little 2 story house. And I don't think a F2P can ever have a Player Owned Town (POT) - I don't even know if you can still buy them with real money. But I'm ok with that. I'm renting a lot in a POT and I have enough gold already to pay for about 3 months rent. [*I purchased 100 bank slots for $5 - I didn't NEED to but, after 150 hours, I thought I should throw the developers some money]

- Graphics - Not breathtaking but not blocky, boring or "retro" either. 8/10ish. The trailer and pictures on the store page are accurate.

The only cons I can think of are:

1. There's a bit of a learning curve and not much of an in game tutorial. I'm using the youtube tutorial here which has been a great help. It can also be a good source for learning what SotA is about and whether or not it is a game for you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MrBi6WqKpA&list=PLrC2xR7pGPVxXvQKVmgq8XJFrH1XUSrDv&index=1

2. It's not truly open world. Zones are big enough that I though it was open world for the first 4-5 hours of playing but, once you leave the zone, you are taken to a 3D world map that your character walks around on with relative safety (you can find encounters here). You then walk to whatever zone or town you're going to and hit "e" to enter. It's not ideal but it's well done for what it is.

3. Difficulty - Too easy in early game. I don't think I have dropped below 3/4 health so far. I have not had any fear of death yet. But, again, I have only played in Tier 1 areas. I have died once but that was from jumping off of a cliff which, in WoW, might have only taken 1/4 health. Lesson learned. [Edit - It does get more difficult. I just got destroyed] [*Edit 2 - There is a skill to reduce fall damage. Difficulty is still scaling well. This should no longer be a "con"]

*[4. Missing Maps - Many zones are missing maps. That is, when you try to open your map for the area, it says that there is no map for the area. After 150 hours played, this is the only significant problem I have found with the game. I don't understand why this isn't a priority to get fixed.]

Summary:
Reviews of this game are skewed negatively by people who feel they have been wronged by the developer (perhaps rightfully so). If you are looking for a new MMO that actually feels like a complete, finished game, you have nothing to lose by trying Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues. It's free to play and free to win.

April 15, 2020 update: I stopped playing this a few months ago as the developer seemed to be changing things to accommodate the very few pvp players and making solo pve less fun and rewarding. Development now seems focused on overpriced cosmetics rather than content. I'm leaving the positive review because I do still recommend it. 450 hours and $0. I may go back some day...