Seldom, have I been this disappointed with a game developer

I played the Crown campaign for about 40 hours and really enjoyed it. Since then the user content has exploded, that's all I'm playing and I'm loving it. There are loads of campaigns from 1 to max. No tutorial quests etc. just new adventures.

The DM is amazing, right now, and we are getting the first of many big upgrades very soon (next DLC). Have a look at these and see if you get tingly D&D goosebumps :)

https://solasta-dungeons.fandom.com/

Want to play classic D&D modules, without tutorials? Solasta is the hands-down best option with no competitors, right now. With mods we have multi-class, warlocks and other classes, merchants to trade with just like in Crown. You can multiplay with friends through various options. Your passion for the game is obvious and I'd love to see your reaction to how good the latest DM content is.

The rest of your points about the interface are bang on. TA are a small team that can't support multiple multiple branches of code to maintain. Almost all bugs and tweaks do not get applied as little fixes (only game breaking things are dealt with that way). They usually deploy a rollup of a bunch of things with each new game version. New free version upgrade expected very soon (with the 2 class DLCs) 2021 confirmed.

Yes, there is a mod to bypass the tutorial, but it still leaves you with 10 minutes of spacebar smashing to get to where the game itself starts. There is ZERO logical reason for the game not having the option Play tutorial Y/N? and if N, then jump to the morning of day 2 when the party awakens at the inn, newly minted level 2s.

The additional eye candy in the D.M., was a no brainer for it to be added, but it was also a non-issue TO add. All of those assets, were already in the DB. (Had to be, for the devs to place them in game to start with) All they had to do, was give the D.M. access TO the database.

I have on multiple occasions, defended T.A. BECAUSE they are a small team. I am aware of their manpower and budget limitations, compared to a Bethesda for ex. That awareness however, doesnt change the simple fact that 20 years ago, Bethesda showed the gaming world how to add a Dungeon Maker. (They called it a Construction Kit, and it gave the player access to the ENTIRE design asset list, as well as each and every cell of the game world. So yes, you COULD break your game if you got stupid with the CK.) Still, that is the correct way to do it. 

As for looking at the modules...I have. I have written a couple, (1st DM release version), and I have revisited the DM a few times with its upgrades. FLUFF, is not my highest priority. Nor do I feel it should be TAs, or the gaming publics. Eye candy, is easy. Leave that, until you have 100% functionality, THEN add the eye candy. Adding eye candy first, tells me rather loudly that the truly needed changes, are not coming at all;.

EDIT: Forgot to mention too...we still can not add torches in the D.M./ Candles? Yes. Torches? Nope. Not there to add. WHY?

I'll restrict my comments/opinions to the DM, which is my main interest. It is my understanding the DM is 100% not the in-house system they dev with, it is a completely different project. It has been VERY carefully designed to not break easily and is very inviting for first-time creators. I've never used Bethseda's toolkit so I cannot compare, but I see TA's current beta version of the DM as incredibly stable and very hard to break. Creators work on telling their story, decorating nicely and using the interactables. I love how people of different experience are telling very different tales in the DM.

This I assume is why we don't have 'full db access' because everything we do have access to is curated for use in the DM first. Obviously the more they add the better.

I'm unsure as to what you mean by the eye candy. It seemed to me the focus was clearly on mechanically making things work. I didn't notice any particular that favoured looks over substance?

The lighting in the DM varies by tileset/biome. Again, I assume TA want a minimum level of control over the final look of things. If you use the items they have 'approved' for the DM it creates very consistent looks. Some tilesets/biomes have got more options and flexibility than others. I often confuse myself with the lighting options as they are spread across two tabs; Props > Lighting, and Gadgets > Lighting. The former are not interactable and you place them lit or unlit depending on the object. The latter usually let you control their state lit/unlight and manipulate that state with activators.

There is also a grey-area if you are using DM PRO. For example, I use that to place Torch Pikes in Woodland, and it works perfectly for anyone in un-modded vanilla Solasta. If you go all-in on DM PRO (your players need the module) you can mix and match almost every room, prop and gadget. And add vendors. Custom monster names. Additional monsters etc.

Bethesda's kits, were neither easy to use, nor overly simple for beginning modders. Each and every cell of the game world, was available to alter. Every image, could be redesigned, retextured, etc  etc. It took work to become proficient with (a state I never achieved), but what could and has been done by those who pursued it, has been nothing short of utterly remarkable.

I will admit, I was not aware that the DM was a stand alone project as such. Still, it should be able to integrate with the original game, and allow for the inclusion of user designed adventures from within the play of Crown of the Magister. Yes, this means you could have potential conflicts if 2 mods for ex, tried to use the same "space", or changed the same in game item(s). These conflicts have been long known by Elder Scrolls fans, and are simply dealt with as they arise. (By excluding one or the other module)

By eye-candy, I am referring to the bookcases for ex, and other placeables for mood setting. Yes, they go a long ways toward creating a more enjoyable playing experience, but they add nothing to the functionality of the DM. I want to see this game, and this DM, reach their potentials. It is my belief that to do so, the DM has to interact with the game world, which would allow for an infinite number of replay experiences, as modules could be swapped in and out, changing the varying additional adventures the party could explore, while solving the primary game mission. That, would set Solasta apart, and let it rival Elder Scrolls, for giving players an expansive experience.

The things people are able to do with the very limited DM right now are amazing. And we know there's a fairly significant upgrade coming. Even just the ability to add merchants is amazing. I'm super stoked about the future of Solasta, no matter what TA does.

1 1/2 years after E.A., you have YET to allow a player to start upon awakening at the inn on day 2, leveled and bypassing 20-40 minutes of "fluff", which once done 3 or 4 times is irritating as hell and the single BIGGEST reason, I have not played the game in 3 months. 

Just started playing and I'm already irritated about skipping tutorials.  Otherwise enjoy it so far.

1 1/2 years after E.A., you have YET to allow a player to start upon awakening at the inn on day 2, leveled and bypassing 20-40 minutes of "fluff", which once done 3 or 4 times is irritating as hell and the single BIGGEST reason, I have not played the game in 3 months. 

Just started playing and I'm already irritated about skipping tutorials.  Otherwise enjoy it so far.

totally agree that the game itself is GREAT! Fix the inability to skip the tutorials and actually start when you awaken on the morning of day 2 at the inn, as newly minted 2nd levels, and that will address the single biggest issue with the game itself.

Now, as for my issues with the D.M.? ...

November 4th, 2021 release: "You can finally skip the tutorial. Dry your tears of joy, serial rerollers, it's time to jump straight into the adventure."

There are also great DM improvements in the upcoming release!

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1096530/view/3039359731138862025

Hope you feel humbled today, OP.

Hope you feel humbled today, OP.

why would I feel humbled? Because after a year, they are finally giving us what should have been there from day 1, the ability to skip the tutorial? If anything, I feel VINDICATED.

I will say, if they are able to deliver on the implied promise of this notice, then yes, I may well change my position re the D.M. 

Following the PARADOX business model.....

poor choice. I'm out.

I’m not sure I follow what is even meant by “following the paradox business model”. I enjoyed Battletech a few years ago, it was a pretty gold revival of a long dormant series. And people who have made some really well crafted custom campaigns that have gotten access to prerelease builds have indicated that the new DM blows the old one out of the water. If you like D&D dungeon crawls at all, I don’t see how you could possibly be unhappy with the amount of value $40 gives you playing Solasta.

Paradox biz model?

Release a title, put it on sale. Sell most copies, at discounted sale price.

Now, release DLC, at $9.99 ea, A LOT, like, 17 of them.

Then, release an upgrade to the game and force feed it on consoles for ex.

Make sure the upgrade fundamentally changes some of the game mechanics.

Now, release all NEW DLC, at $9.99 ea, and release A LOT f it.

When base classes, become paid DLC...this is the path I see being taken. I wont support such a path.

Solasta is $40, full price. It was on sale for $25. BG3 in EA still, is $60 with no sales I am aware of. Both games will give you tons of playtime for that money. Assuming the Solasta DLC is no more than $20, the SRD classes will be rounded out for under $60 by the DLC. And by doing a release plus DLC model, they got out of EA sooner and kept rolling along. And none of the DM content has been charged for as far as I can see. So I don’t see how you can rationally assert that Solasta is following a DLC heavy money-grabbing model. It’s one DLC so far. The game shipped with the promised features, plus the DM as an extra, and priced below the other leading cRPGs in a D&D-like setting. I mean, if you see the writing on the wall and think TA is pursuing a predatory DLC model and you can’t support that, well ok then. But I just don’t see how you could draw that conclusion. Hopefully one of the other games out there will suit you better, then.

they can not drop a 2nd or 3rd charged DLC< until after they drop a 1st one. Can not say for certain one way or the other at this point; but can watch, can caution/advise against their taking that route, and can hope they dont. They drop a 2nd DLC with fees, a 3rd, a 4th??? When would you draw that conclusion? Me? I see the 1st one, as the 1st step. Since you absolutely can not do something ""again", until you first do it the 1st time.

And dont even go toward BG3. That entire thing is a ripoff. There is NOTHING "Baldurs Gate" about BG3, except the title.