The best description I have ever seen describing what SoT actually is. (video)

@blam320 said in The best description I have ever seen describing what SoT actually is. (video):

@A-Trusty-Mango I can name a significant number of Overwatch players who would love the option to directly purchase skins with cash. LoL and DOTA also have cash-for-skins systems in place. Cosmetic Microtransactions have been around long, long before Sea of Thieves was conceived.

TLDR, I didn't even need to watch that video to know what you're up to. If all you're capable of is bashing the game, get out and don't come back.

Actually, I'm not sure why that was the video posted because that's Jim Sterling reminding people to not let their general standards slip because expectations of publishers have been so low.

He goes on to say in the video that a few bucks for pets to maintain development costs would be fair overall.

It doesn't address the type of game SoT is at all, though, so not sure why that was the video posted...

I agree with the OP's video: in an era where games with close to a billion dollar budget see "fun" as "a checklist of chores a player must do to progress", SoT is a welcome change of pace.

"Here are all the tools you need to get treasure, whether it be from digging it up yourself or murdering other players and taking it. Have fun!"

@personalc0ffee said in The best description I have ever seen describing what SoT actually is. (video):

@therealdestian That is what we refer to as grasping at straws.

Well yeah, but there are a ton of negative SoT videos out there that are targeting the gameplay itself, and considering the OP wasn't addressing microtransactions even one bit, I'm not sure why they posted THIS video.

this vid would have more credibility if it wasn't made before the full release. I agreed with him mostly, until the full release. The truth is the game design failed to create that sense of community and fun Rare was looking for. They need to shift their priorities to PVE and content.

@jaw1love

No. This is I'm sorry, but this is so stupid. The idea that you just have to use your imagination to have fun, is such a cop out.>

But that is a key staple of sandbox-type games, and they've been around long before SoT.

If the whole point of the game is to get 3 of your friends together to have a good laugh why don't I just get my mates and go down to the bar>

false equivalency... because real life and video games are completely different. Video games serve as an escape from reality, which is why people will play hours and hours of racing games, but not actually race cars in real life.

We'd have more fun and more "stories" to tell doing that than playing a bare bones game that doesn't provide the player with anything to do.>

Because games like SoT serve as a method for setting things like the theme, mood, and setting. I'm sure you and your mates don't have tales about finding treasure, sailing the high seas, engaging in naval combat and fighting off a Kraken.

Like he said in the video, it's about the experience. Experiences you aren't going to have in real life, unless you honestly think that one time Todd photocopied his butt at work, is on equal footing with what the game offers in terms of experiences...

What they are relying on here is that the ppl you play with will be interesting and make you laugh. But that's just poor game design.

It's not necessarily about being interesting or making you laugh, it's just about the experience in general, whatever it leads to. And they aren't even necessarily relying on other people to achieve this. You can play solo and search out whatever experience you want.

It's not poor game design, it's just that you have a narrow sense of what a game "should be" - this is even touched on in the video. I take it you never played PnP rpg's before. Games that rely heavily on players imagination and creativity, where an entire session can be nothing but roleplaying where no one gains any character lvls.

@talonwren said in The best description I have ever seen describing what SoT actually is. (video):

If this was the truth the game would have been sold for far less. 60 bux implies actual meat on the bones not just a make your own adventure with barely anything in it aside from good sailing and water.

Who are you to imply what a $60 price tag implies? If you don't see it worth $60, then fine, but there is no arbitrary requirement(s) that need to be met in order to have a $60 (or any denomination) price tag.

"Something is worth what people are willing to pay for it."

@h0rse said in The best description I have ever seen describing what SoT actually is. (video):

@jaw1love
Because games like SoT serve as a method for setting things like the theme, mood, and setting. I'm sure you and your mates don't have tales about finding treasure, sailing the high seas, engaging in naval combat and fighting off a Kraken.

Tales about finding treasure = meeting a beautiful woman
sailing the high seas = wandering the streets of the city
engaging in naval combat = bar fight
fighting off the kraken = bouncer of the bar

@cpt-peach-beard said in The best description I have ever seen describing what SoT actually is. (video):

@h0rse said in The best description I have ever seen describing what SoT actually is. (video):

@jaw1love
Because games like SoT serve as a method for setting things like the theme, mood, and setting. I'm sure you and your mates don't have tales about finding treasure, sailing the high seas, engaging in naval combat and fighting off a Kraken.

Tales about finding treasure = meeting a beautiful woman
sailing the high seas = wandering the streets of the city
engaging in naval combat = bar fight
fighting off the kraken = bouncer of the bar

not quite...but thanks for playing though.

Yeah... it is nice to see a reviewer that actually gets what Sea of Thieves is. :)

@personalc0ffee "You don't give a dang!" Well, that's good then, it's a good mentality to have, but you won't convince anyone else not to give a dang. The easiest solution to avoid any further altercations, is to just avoid forum posts like this because they seem to get to you. Read it, don't comment because not giving a dang is fine, but that's just your opinion, not a mass one.

@h0rse Sorry, but Jaw1love is right on this one. Sandbox games create atmosphere and immersion by giving players a role through the activities they can partake in. They don't just put you in an empty room with painted walls and tell you to make your own fun. They give you toys to play with and activities to do. Gamers are not by nature that imaginative. Escapism in this genre is about escaping into someone else's imagined reality, not your own. You don't go to a movie to watch a bunch of people in front of green screens wearing green suits so you can imagine what the costumes and settings look like. You're supposed to be immersed in a world. Sea of Thieves doesn't pull you in, though, it drops you into this empty world with nothing to latch onto.

Games are supposed to offer incentives for exploration and discovery, Sea of Thieves does not do this. Their primary motivation for playing is to make money to buy cosmetic items and rank up with the three factions. You do this by doing one of two things, repetitive and restrictive fetch quests that tell you exactly where to go and what to do, or by raiding the players who do. You have some small repetitive gather areas, a raid quest and a literally unrewarding monster encounter to break things up. The rest of the world is empty. Sure, it's pretty and there seems to be some thought put into the construction of the world, but the execution of the content is the height of tedium. There's nothing that engages you with the world or encourages you to explore. That's all player motivated and has zero payoff. It goes against the mentality of most gamers to simply sail around an empty world checking out empty caves and islands. Stories are driven by conflict and action. This game doesn't offer much of that outside of what other players bring to the experience.

The sad thing is that the game didn't need to be this way. Even with the meager content they have, they could have made things fun and enriching, but they settled on a more conventional approach, but streamlined to offer no freedom or satisfaction. This isn't an MMO, so it's disappointing that they borrow so heavily from their format on the PvE side rather than sticking to their guns with a more freeform implementation of the PvE content.

@h0rse said in The best description I have ever seen describing what SoT actually is. (video):

'Downward Thrust' nails it in this vid, describing exactly what SoT is about and why many may find it "empty" or "lacking." Simply put, SoT goes against the mold as to what the industry (and thus consumers to a degree) has deemed what a game should be and how it should operate. SoT isn't for everyone, and he explains why in the video. Below are some quotes from the vid:

"...the game makes you create your own fun, but that is the beauty of it. Sea of Thieves is a choose-your-own-adventure game sailing into a market that has been dominated by the refinements of specificity by games telling us how to play them...we have been following that yellow quest arrow for a long time...Sea of Thieves is an evolution of the old style of gaming blended with the benefits of modern game development. It's a $60 create your own adventure game."

"Embarking on a quest or a treasure hunt in this game isn't for the sake of the quest, it's for the sake of telling your own story."

"Sea of Thieves is a big sandbox where you make your own fun...Getting through the game is meant to be the game. It's less about the destination and more about the journey."

Why Sea Of Thieves Is VERY Important For Gaming

yes. YES. I'm so glad people see it this way. I do hope they keep adding things just to expand the possibilities of the stories we can tell, but its a complete game. Barely.

@h0rse said in The best description I have ever seen describing what SoT actually is. (video):

"...the game makes you create your own fun, but that is the beauty of it.

Indeed. It forces to further have our own fun coz the layer of fun there ain't enough. Beauty is that we can at least use our imagination, but that should never be used as an excuse to leave content unpolished.

Sea of Thieves is a choose-your-own-adventure game

That was the intention, but it hasn't yet inherited the title. Sadly the core system made sure of this.

sailing into a market that has been dominated by the refinements of specificity by games telling us how to play them...

Not exactly so. They wouldn't have to hold our hands as much if more of the customer base was refined enough to handle it. Same with the devs. If they too only did their homework properly, most of us wouldn't be missing critical details.

we have been following that yellow quest arrow for a long time...

It hasn't been around 'that' long. Besides. This game is too easy to deduce which end of the cutlass goes where. This is one of the major issues here.

Sea of Thieves is an evolution of the old style of gaming blended with the benefits of modern game development.

A hybrid. The industry indeed needs to produce more of these. However, with enough diversity, properly balanced content and polished features. This type of negligence only tarnishes the outcome we desperately need.

It's a $60 create your own adventure game."

There's a reason why a Dungeon Master is the one who designs the adventure for the players. They all play their roles and have their influence over the story, but it's not the responsibility of the players to create the arc. Imagination and deviation is okay and much appreciated, but the story still has to progress. As a Dungeon Master, I cannot promote this product. Story is always told by the DM thorough the players, not by players. In these scenarios, chaos will follow. Thankfully the players still have boundaries in this game, although some serious violations do occur, so the damage ain't something that we cannot overcome. The content has to be there so that we can draw our own content from it. It doesn't have to hold our hand as long as the content just is there. This is why we have streamers to watch too, in case we have issues.

"Embarking on a quest or a treasure hunt in this game isn't for the sake of the quest, it's for the sake of telling your own story."

Except the core progression really demands us going on voyages. We can still tell a story, no doubt, but our imagination only goes as far as the bottom of the ocean with the ship. I wish all the content was optional only and that only we would indeed be able to create our own legend based on the activities we devour.

"Sea of Thieves is a big sandbox where you make your own fun...

It wants to be a sandbox, but isn't that quite yet. When the game has as much quality content as Minecraft has, then we can talk.

Getting through the game is meant to be the game.

I like Downward Thrust, but this sounds silly. What else could a game be if not an experience the player goes thorough? Of course the game is about getting thorough the thing itself.

It's less about the destination and more about the journey."

Only if the core system wasn't actually pulling our leg here. Otherwise it really would be.

@jaw1love said in The best description I have ever seen describing what SoT actually is. (video):

No. This is I'm sorry, but this is so stupid. The idea that you just have to use your imagination to have fun

Erm, no one is using their "imagination" to have fun in this game, except possibly pirate role-players, but even in those cases, the limit of "imagining" you'll do is imagine that a ship you've spotted on the horizon has loot and you want to go take it.

"Make your own fun" has never meant "invent content in your head". It means that the game gives you a very abstract goal and leaves it entirely up to you to decide how to do it.

In the video he mentions there being 99 other people in the map, seems he thinks its like a battle royale, which it isn't.

I completely disagree with this video. I believe SNES is pronounced snez and not ess-en-ee-ess and have never met anyone who said otherwise.

Down with this sort of thing!!!

Didn't watch the video, since I don't have the time atm, but if it's what the posts are saying, can assume the idea... And while I agree with SoT being a choose your own adventure deal, the issue as stated by others is the game doesn't know what it wants to be. To explain, there are two aspects, pve and pvp. To progress, you mostly have to do just pve... Since good luck half the time getting loot from pvp. Of pve, you have 3 set quest types. Add into that the kraken, which grants nothing, and the cosmetics, and I don't really see how it's much of a choose your own adventure game. Seems more grindfest.

Saw someone else say it, but if they wanted to go the cyoa route, they should have alliwed players to get crates for animals at any time, buy maps for chests, and allowed people to find the skeleton bosses outside of the voyages. In fact, basically removed voyages and make all the voyage stuff optional. Add in some more incentives to go explore, and a guaranteed loot from pvping ships (always thought that ships should have a "ship chest" that players can steal and is based on a percentage of money the crew of said ship has themselves, and grants a fair amount of rep based on that money. This would even give incentive to take pirate legends down especially, since they would have more money on their pirate, and thus have a ship chest worth more. Whether the money in this chest subtracts from the crew or just creates outta thin air is whatever) , and then I could see the cyoa ideal. Since we wouldn't be stuck with a set means of doing things...

@h0rse said in The best description I have ever seen describing what SoT actually is. (video):

@jaw1love

No. This is I'm sorry, but this is so stupid. The idea that you just have to use your imagination to have fun, is such a cop out.>

But that is a key staple of sandbox-type games, and they've been around long before SoT.

from wiki - sandbox game: A game in which the player has been freed from traditional video game structure and direction, and instead chooses what, when, and how they want to approach the available content.

You'll notice that "the available content" is a major part of this definition. Just making an open world isn't enough. The game needs to have the tools that allow you to "make your own fun." It isn't any feat to simply create and open world that people can move around in and kill each other. There are plenty of those and they are typically sell for a couple of bucks on Steam. I'm not disparaging SoT.. I really like the game and still, even with the lack of content, feel I had enough fun to justify the price. That doesn't mean that a game that's meant to have longevity, like this one, should get off Scott free by claiming "you make your own fun." I have no argument with games that require you to make your own fun, there are a lot of game out there like that: Minecraft, Space Engineers, Ylands, etc, but these games give you tools to engage in fun. The tools that SoT currently has available don't really lend themselves to extended periods of making your own fun. It's like being handed a lego set of 5 pieces. Sure, you can build a few things for a few minutes and have some fun, but a set of 100 pieces is going to allow you to have even more fun.

The OP video is kind of irrelevant in light of the follow up video from the same site:

@augunslingin sadly, I know