Glorious Alpha Two Testers!
Alpha Two Phase III testing has begun! During this phase, our realms will be open every day, and we'll only have downtime for updates and maintenance. We'll keep everyone up-to-date about downtimes in Discord.
If you have Alpha Two, you can download the game launcher here, and we encourage you to join us on our Official Discord Server for the most up to date testing news.
Alpha Two Phase III testing has begun! During this phase, our realms will be open every day, and we'll only have downtime for updates and maintenance. We'll keep everyone up-to-date about downtimes in Discord.
If you have Alpha Two, you can download the game launcher here, and we encourage you to join us on our Official Discord Server for the most up to date testing news.
Best Of
Re: Dynamic Recipes and Rarities
... Just reducing the 10 (current) possible caravans down to 5(one for each tier?), just reduces the number of caravans you can make. I think this would go against the design, we want people expanding out and gathering in different zones to get materials. If each zone becomes too self suffiecent there's no need tension. Someone from the Tropics can has one wood type they can make for T1 right? But the desert doesn't? I don't see this as an issue, the desert will have other resource that make that zone valuable. I think it's important to not over balance the distribution of resources and to not over simplify the recipes.
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The 'life skills" in the game are half the reason I'm here. If they're too simple they'll be boring, they need to be more than just a means to an end. Getting to that end needs to be fun and engaging.
I see your point as well, but If Ash is roughly equal to Oak, Larch, and Hemlock (riverlands trees) which is roughly equal to Acacia and Date palm (desert trees) which are roughly equal to Plumeria and Coconut (Tropics) which are roughly equal to Coconut and Banyan (Jundark) then it defeats what you are saying. To have that tension the materials need to be different where as right now pretty much all the woods give roughly the same stats for T1 so there is no need to get Plumeria from the tropics and take it to the desert.
I agree with your comment about life skills, they are also my focus in the game and I want them to be robust, engaging and enjoyable, at the moment they are none of these things.
Taiisien
1
Re: Random encounters in the world
I remember that quest by the waterfall. I enjoyed it a decent bit. I'd just like to have some form "random encounters" however they wish to implement it. A sense of uncertainty when passing from place to place is always a good thing in my opinion.
Settite
1
Re: Steven, Please Rethink “Not for Everyone”
MargaretKrohn wrote: »What’s one feature or system you think could help bridge the gap between hardcore and casual players without compromising the game’s vision?
I mentioned an idea elsewhere in these forums that happens to also address the 'gap issue'.
Cap a character's level to the tier of the Node they are a citizen of.
- This helps to reduce level imbalance in PvP as players cannot rush to 50 ahead of the nodes.
- This tends to group higher level players around higher level nodes, creating geographical separation to lower level areas and players.
- This helps profession stations keep up with player levels and align crafting with viable markets.
- This aligns with higher tier nodes providing higher level content.
- This prevents players bypassing main gameplay loops in the rush to 50.
- This makes levelling like climbing a ladder instead of an express elevator to boredom.
Uboon
1
Re: Steal Chrono Odyssey's Horses
Of all the problems I had with CO this weekend, mounts were not one of them.
I think you’re right about mount movement—in Ashes, it doesn’t feel great.
I’d also like to add that not having to click a button to unmount, then press another button to put my mount away and wait, just feels better. (In CO, you had to press "T" by default, which I also think is awful compared to WoW, where I can just use a skill.)
I understand that attacking someone’s mount is a PvP mechanic, but I actually question whether it’s worthwhile to have this in the game. Right now, attacking mounts is just another vector that’s preventing PvP because it’s being abused.
The point is, one of the few things that felt good in CO this weekend was that it was one step closer to the way WoW handles getting on and off mounts—combined with better movement.
The way Ashes currently handles mounts is not worth losing a percentage of the population over, and I think it will ruin the game for some players.
I think you’re right about mount movement—in Ashes, it doesn’t feel great.
I’d also like to add that not having to click a button to unmount, then press another button to put my mount away and wait, just feels better. (In CO, you had to press "T" by default, which I also think is awful compared to WoW, where I can just use a skill.)
I understand that attacking someone’s mount is a PvP mechanic, but I actually question whether it’s worthwhile to have this in the game. Right now, attacking mounts is just another vector that’s preventing PvP because it’s being abused.
The point is, one of the few things that felt good in CO this weekend was that it was one step closer to the way WoW handles getting on and off mounts—combined with better movement.
The way Ashes currently handles mounts is not worth losing a percentage of the population over, and I think it will ruin the game for some players.
Vhaeyne
1
Re: Would you guys be FOR or AGAINST highlighted abilities in action bar for combos?
I'd only be AGAINST 'a combat system so simplistic that you basically didn't need to learn when to not press the highlighted ability'.
However I can also say that the addition of 'autocombo' style concepts to Fighting Games generally has not achieved its primary goal of 'learning and retention', so if the reason for this was 'to help new players get into the game and understand/improve', I don't expect it to work.
If it's just to lower the skill ceiling altogether and make the entire game easier for everyone, I'm pretty neutral about it.
However I can also say that the addition of 'autocombo' style concepts to Fighting Games generally has not achieved its primary goal of 'learning and retention', so if the reason for this was 'to help new players get into the game and understand/improve', I don't expect it to work.
If it's just to lower the skill ceiling altogether and make the entire game easier for everyone, I'm pretty neutral about it.
Azherae
1
Steal Chrono Odyssey's Horses
Now, I know that AoC's current mounts are a first pass, work in progress, unfinished, barely done, not even close to complete, super basic, far from over - overall shit. So this thread is mostly about the "what have you seen in other games? Give examples" kinda feedback, that Intrepid love to ask us about for other stuff.
I played a bit of Chrono Odyssey this weekend and even the tiiiiniest bit of horse riding that I did felt AMAZING. The sense of speed, sounds, movement of the horse (especially on turns and lateral movement) - all felt incredible to me. The horse truly felt like a wild animal between your legs.
3:55 to 4:45 here is me riding it for the first time. 14:10 to 15:00 is a ride upward an incline and a super cool turning animation at 14:40.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rEpAXZY8xY
But what I loved the most is the mount's ability to go over somewhat difficult terrain. 18:16 to 18:45 shows it best. The horse can not only jump up tight ledges, but also kinda "slides upwards" over obstacles. It's a very forgiving movement design, as compared to Ashes, where my god damn wolf can't jump over a tiny rock.
So, while it might feel somewhat unrealistic for a horse to do that (though I do believe horses can climb steep inclines just fine, rocks included), I do believe that the FEEL of this control/movement is muuuuch better than what we currently have in Ashes.
And, to reiterate, yes, mounts in Ashes are not done, so I'm asking for this to be a goal for the future. And also, this should be THE BASE for all mounts, just as horses in Ashes are the base lvl mount. But, ideally, all the other cool mounts that we've got should have even better/cooler movement, with some dash/flair abilities to spruce up those long treks across Verra.
I played a bit of Chrono Odyssey this weekend and even the tiiiiniest bit of horse riding that I did felt AMAZING. The sense of speed, sounds, movement of the horse (especially on turns and lateral movement) - all felt incredible to me. The horse truly felt like a wild animal between your legs.
3:55 to 4:45 here is me riding it for the first time. 14:10 to 15:00 is a ride upward an incline and a super cool turning animation at 14:40.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rEpAXZY8xYBut what I loved the most is the mount's ability to go over somewhat difficult terrain. 18:16 to 18:45 shows it best. The horse can not only jump up tight ledges, but also kinda "slides upwards" over obstacles. It's a very forgiving movement design, as compared to Ashes, where my god damn wolf can't jump over a tiny rock.
So, while it might feel somewhat unrealistic for a horse to do that (though I do believe horses can climb steep inclines just fine, rocks included), I do believe that the FEEL of this control/movement is muuuuch better than what we currently have in Ashes.
And, to reiterate, yes, mounts in Ashes are not done, so I'm asking for this to be a goal for the future. And also, this should be THE BASE for all mounts, just as horses in Ashes are the base lvl mount. But, ideally, all the other cool mounts that we've got should have even better/cooler movement, with some dash/flair abilities to spruce up those long treks across Verra.
Ludullu
4
Re: The Great Hunt (named mobs drops)
Thanks for laying this all out! A few strong opinions on how named mob hunting is currently functioning.
We’ve seen feedback around fixed timers, tag sniping, and limited PvP contesting, and we understand that can, for some, create frustration depending on how these encounters are approached.
Here is a follow-up question for this thread:
- What feels most important to you during these moments - efficiency, fairness, risk, or something else?
Appreciate everyone sharing their thoughts here.
Assuming that the game is actually enjoyable and fair, not just a snowball, actual risk (from the boss mechanics) is most important to me.
JustVine
3
Re: Ashes Terrain Topography and Cohesion
A beautifully written and well-documented article.
Imanek
1
Re: Ashes Terrain Topography and Cohesion
Wholly agree with this post.
Well written Snekkers.
Well written Snekkers.
Re: Character Models
I played through literally all of the content in the Chrono Odyssey playtest this weekend. I must say, the standout feature was the character creator. It appears to be MetaHuman, and that, to me, is fantastic.
I know the criticism of MetaHuman is that everything looks like every other game. For the most part, this is true—but unless the devs are going for a specific stylized look, then to me, MetaHuman is the way to go for modern character creators.
This is relevant because I believe Ashes is going to outright use MetaHuman or use a custom modded version of it.
My worry is that we will see limits set to human anatomy that make the characters more beautiful, and not limits that allow them to be more deformed. In the case of Chrono Odyssey, there were a lot of people with short legs, long arms, and giga necks running around. To me, this is just a floodgate not worth ever opening.
I don't want to play a game where people are basically playing Spore and making goofy-ass creatures and calling them "humans." It’s just not fun for me to invest in long-term. It’s manageable to deal with for a few weeks in a survival game like Ark, but I’m not going to deal with it long-term.
I know the criticism of MetaHuman is that everything looks like every other game. For the most part, this is true—but unless the devs are going for a specific stylized look, then to me, MetaHuman is the way to go for modern character creators.
This is relevant because I believe Ashes is going to outright use MetaHuman or use a custom modded version of it.
My worry is that we will see limits set to human anatomy that make the characters more beautiful, and not limits that allow them to be more deformed. In the case of Chrono Odyssey, there were a lot of people with short legs, long arms, and giga necks running around. To me, this is just a floodgate not worth ever opening.
I don't want to play a game where people are basically playing Spore and making goofy-ass creatures and calling them "humans." It’s just not fun for me to invest in long-term. It’s manageable to deal with for a few weeks in a survival game like Ark, but I’m not going to deal with it long-term.
Vhaeyne
2