Best Of
Re: Is no one else disappointed that "Persistent Alpha" AKA 24/7 Alpha 2 access isn't until May 2025?
People upset over there being the probability of resets during alpha or even potentially beta testing are merely concerned with playing the game as opposed to the well being of development through actually testing, and individuals whose main priority is playing instead of testing/development should be given the least amount of consideration during this phase of the game. Simple as.
Alpha isnt about persistent content. Its about testing and improving content, even if it means having to reset things.
Good god were there actually people thinking there wouldn’t be any wipes during Alpha2? That’s just bizarre to me that anyone could miss the mark that badly as to what this phase of the development process is actually about.
Caeryl
1
Re: Next Livestream + Q&A Submission - Friday, August 30, 2024 at 11am Pacific
My question is about the Shrines that can be placed in Freeholds. I would like to know if the information we have so far remains the same, such as how to allocate it in a Freehold, whether it would take up a Freehold slot, and if it will still be an essential building for competing in the Religion Ranking. I would also like to know if the Shrines would serve as a sort of quick access to religion-related options or if it would simply be something to provide advantages in the Ranking competition.
Re: Consternation surrounding the 8x8 Class system and how to move forward.
I don't know how that can be the expectation for Ashes when there has never been any confusion that the labels for Classes are mostly thematic for the combo of Primary and Secondary Archetype.A player who is excited to be a Paladin is not going to be satisfied by a Tank that has Cleric themed abilities. Their expectation is that combining Tank and Cleric yields an entirely unique class. The unique and flavorful names given to each of the class combinations reinforces the idea that they will stand out as unique and flavorful classes that have their OWN unique abilities.
The whole point of a Primary Archetype is that it will be the primary aspect of the character's combat role.
In the sense that, by design, Ashes is balanced for an 8-person Group with one of each Primary Archetype.
Thematic is probably a better term than "flavor".
I don't know what you mean by "OWN unique abilities" when the primary aspect of the Class ability will be the Primary Archetype Active SKill modified significantly with an Augment.
If you put yourself in the shoes of someone who hasn't been following the development of the game its really not hard to see how the archetype names could confuse new people coming into the game. "Paladin" has a certain connotation in gaming and when player see that they can play a Paladin they immediately have some expectations about what that means in game.
What I mean by UNIQUE abilities is that instead of a Paladin (Tank/Cleric) only having Tank abilities which are augmented to be Cleric themed, the Paladin might have a new ability which alters its playstyle. For example;
Paladin (Tank/Cleric): You gain the Divine Power resource and may cast Divine Infusion.
While Grit is active each time you take damage from an enemy attack, gain 1 Divine Power. Whenever you spend Courage you heal yourself for an amount based on the total Courage spent.
Adding simple passives like this for each Archetype combo would really help tie them together thematically as well as give players more synergy paths for their augmented skills and abilities.
What's the difference between this and a complex Augment to Grit? You say people have some expectations about what that means in game, but I don't think you could say that they would expect to get Divine Power or Divine Infusion. Are those even 'standard' to other Paladins?
I would agree that they might 'look at the abilities in Ashes and think that what you suggested should be an option', and they could then tell Intrepid 'this should be an option'. And then Intrepid could work on making that option an Augment.
"Paladins expect to be able to heal and use holy/protective power" I agree with. And I see no problem with some setup where you 'heal yourself based on Courage spent'. But to me, that's still just 'a suggestion for an Augment'. It's a really good suggestion, but it doesn't 'change Grit from being Grit'.
Azherae
2
Re: What are your 'class fantasies' for the 64 classes
My favorite fantasy class is not in this game except for an augment. I would love to have Necromancer as an Archetype and not an afterthought please.
Did you see my Necro concept from the other thread, I'll post it again here.
Summoner/Cleric Necromancer
Necromancers summon undead themed minions which are unique for their immunity to most mind effecting debuffs, stuns, taunts and other mindeffecting crowdcontrol effects as well as crital hits, but at a cost of being more vulnorable to Holy damage. The Necromaner also brings powerfull targeted and AoE lifedrain effects which sustain himself, his summons and team mates.
This combines what I think are the minamal nessary components to be a credible Necromancer. They function as an off-healer through exclusivly lifedraining and due most damage through their summons which is how I imagine most summoners will work.
Lodrig
1
Re: Is no one else disappointed that "Persistent Alpha" AKA 24/7 Alpha 2 access isn't until May 2025?
patrick68794 wrote: »Undead Canuck wrote: »Did Steven ever say that every second of Alpha 2 was 24/7?
The expectation for an Alpha is that it is not going to be up 24/7 until months or years into it.
This, thing is some people don't care or pay attention like above guy just things is a early access game. There were already statements leading up to stream before them not being up the entire time. They never outlaid the full alpha 2 planning. Common sense kind of dictates to expect it not to be 24/7 at the start (as stated in past streams there would be down time loosely), unless you are someone expecting to be playing a game and not being apart of the alpha development you would have a early access expectation (which is clearly silly).
When did they say that Alpha 2 wouldn't be available 24/7 before the AMA? Being down for short periods to apply updates and fixes doesn't count as "not being 24/7" as that happens in most live games as well. They've explicitly stated that Alpha 2 was originally planned to be up and available at all times (barring short downtimes for updates) from when it started until retail release. It's in the Kickstarter FAQ and Steven explicitly stated this in a livestream. Obviously plans change but that expectation 100% was set by Intrepid.
You would need to pay attention to all detail on streams to figure that out. They have no reason to lay out their development plan to you. If you understanding is that its a downtime for a day again you do not have a scope of Alpha development to understand it.
They didn't state it was 24/7 from all points of alpha 2, you won't find a quote on that. Their goal for alpha is pretty obvious being persistent, a goal doesn't appear out of the blue, it needs to be developed because surprise this is in Alpha.
The only one creating wild expectations is you guys, regardless even when it is active and when it isn't. You jumping into a alpha thinking you are playing 24/7 whenever you want instantly, is so far from the mark of an alpha It is crazy. Effectively it is you complaining you can't play the game 24/7, when the whole point of alpha is to TEST the game. Which is pretty much work at that point (granted u have a large amount that don't understand alpha and just will play it, and not really do any work that helps besides some feedback here and there.)
Ill happily comment on the Kickstarter comment though since your entire complain revolves around it (as much as its a bad take).
Notice how they talk about is planned for it being persistent, and you can see their outline of alpha 2 when it will become fully persistent 24/7-ish based on their stream. There is no detailed explanation of their plane and how they are going to go about that in alpha 2. If you are going to be naïve and think there is 0 work involved and it just happens that is on you to not piece it together, or do some extra research to try to understand things better.
Now that you are seeing the plan you are trying to pick at it and say they aren't going to be doing it. Trying to rely on the little information they talked about it which is rightfully so since it wouldn't be planned that far in advanced.
Even though you were not told their plan, making assumptions no how they meant their plan to work, don't have a grasp of alpha in game and the development. You are trying to be that guy saying "Well actually you said its persistent so it needs to be 24/7 right away so i can play the game all day and week. Be playing is more important that the devs doing work on the game and you should pay all the people to make sure things are working fine while I play even if there isn't a whole lot to do." -pushes glasses up on face-
Ah yes, only in the mind of a delusional moron does "servers up and available continuously from the start of alpha 2 until launch" mean "only up sometimes from the start of the alpha 2 until launch"
The fact is, they explicitly stated that alpha 2 would be up and available continuously, meaning at all times barring short periods of downtime for updates, until launch.
You're making a whole lot of dumb assumptions about me and what I think too lol not that that's surprising based on how dumb some of your comments in general are.
Re: Is no one else disappointed that "Persistent Alpha" AKA 24/7 Alpha 2 access isn't until May 2025?
Undead Canuck wrote: »Did Steven ever say that every second of Alpha 2 was 24/7?
The expectation for an Alpha is that it is not going to be up 24/7 until months or years into it.
This, thing is some people don't care or pay attention like above guy just things is a early access game. There were already statements leading up to stream before them not being up the entire time. They never outlaid the full alpha 2 planning. Common sense kind of dictates to expect it not to be 24/7 at the start (as stated in past streams there would be down time loosely), unless you are someone expecting to be playing a game and not being apart of the alpha development you would have a early access expectation (which is clearly silly).
When did they say that Alpha 2 wouldn't be available 24/7 before the AMA? Being down for short periods to apply updates and fixes doesn't count as "not being 24/7" as that happens in most live games as well. They've explicitly stated that Alpha 2 was originally planned to be up and available at all times (barring short downtimes for updates) from when it started until retail release. It's in the Kickstarter FAQ and Steven explicitly stated this in a livestream. Obviously plans change but that expectation 100% was set by Intrepid.
Re: I am Flanker, welcome to my community
The Ultimate Guide to Ashes of Creation Alpha 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2JwXO5UV9Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2JwXO5UV9Q
Flanker
1
Re: Is no one else disappointed that "Persistent Alpha" AKA 24/7 Alpha 2 access isn't until May 2025?
patrick68794 wrote: »patrick68794 wrote: »patrick68794 wrote: »One thing I simply do not get is people who are upset about this.
You are complaining about an ALPHA. You are not meant to play the game, you are meant to TEST it and provide feedback. Having Alpha be persistent immediately, or next year in May, should make absolutely 0 difference to you, AS A TESTER. It does however make a huge difference to devs, you know, because at this stage of the game, they matter a lot more than you.
If they cannot provide you with something that was promised during this stage, then it's totally normal, for anyone who has a slight clue about development process. Expecting them to meet deadlines, while they're still very much in the middle of developing the game and it's systems, is beyond baffling to me.
If I were Steven, I would never, ever again put a deadline on anything, ever, just because of crybabies online who complain when they cannot meet said deadlines. And for a long time, he didn't want to say when Alpha 2 will happen, because he wanted to avoid situations like these.
Be happy that you get an Alpha 2 this year, because they could've easily pushed it back to May, and maybe then you would've got persistent alpha, except then you would cry about the delay.
I'd be totally supporting the argument if we were talking about a launch, but this is an Alpha. Things change, some deadlines cannot be met due to various reasons.
No, nobody lied to you. Yes, there is a reason they had to push it back.
People that have paid money are absolutely allowed to be upset here. It doesn't matter that we've paid to "test" instead of "play" either. We've invested money into the project and if deadlines are missed then feedback should be provided.
It's beyond idiotic to think that just because they've said "this is an alpha" then that means they're beyond any criticism or negative feedback. If I told my paying clients that and continually missed deadlines you bet your ass I'd hear negative feedback about that, and I would 100% deserve it. If Steven has any sort of professionalism (and I do think he does) then I'd bet money that he'd agree with that.
And yes, missing deadlines in development is expected and normal, to an extent. That isn't some blanket excuse that can be used constantly and eventually it's just an excuse for a deeper problem. I'm not saying Intrepid is at that point but that is eventually the reality of throwing that excuse around constantly. At some point your clients/investors/customers will stop believing it and are going to get angry.
No. If you "paid money" you did it to support the game, not to get to play it before everyone else.
If you view it differently, than that's on you.
There's a huge difference between paying for or rather investing in a product, and paying to support the devs.
There's a huge difference between paying for a finished product, and paying for the development of said product.
I never said they are absolved of any negative feedback, hell, I'll be one of the first people to shit on them if necessary. Don't think I'm any sort of a white-knight for them, because far from it.
However, in this case people are completely missing the point on what the alpha is supposed to be, on what they spent they money, etc. I'll absolutely point out the bs outrage about things that do not matter.
My point is, people are completely missing the point on what Alpha 2 is supposed to be. They're completely missing the point on what they spent their money on. They view it as an early access, when it's just not that, or rather that is only a small part of it.
What does it matter if the alpha is persistent or not immediately? How does that impact you?
Btw, persistent as in there will be no wipes, you get to keep characters, etc. - it doesn't have to mean it's 24/7 online.
I never said people were paying money to "play the game early" lol I don't know where you got that from. Don't reply again until you understand what's being said to you.
I'm addressing the complaints, the whining and crying, and the overreaction in general. Not just your post, or any specific post in this thread for that matter. I've clearly stated "people are", not "you are". I'm simply explaining my point of view to you, and yeah, Don't reply again until you understand what's being said to you.
Then don't reply directly to someone with something that's a generalized statement while also saying "you" and then get upset when you get called out for your posts being stupid or you not understanding what you're reading. If you want to communicate learn to do it properly. See, I'm using "you" to reply directly to you, I'm not making some idiotic generalized statement about other people.
You've ignored 80% aka the rest of my reply anyways, and are focusing on my wording or the fact I directly quoted you while trying to further explain my point, after your replied to my post.
Are you here to provide good arguments to support your point, or to just argue about bs, and semantics?
I already provided good arguments. The people that paid have every right to be upset at the constant missed deadlines and changing plans and Intrepid is not above hearing negative feedback from those people. Saying "that's software development" and just dismissing the actual problem shows complete ignorance about how professional software development works just as much as people complaining the first time a deadline was missed. All you did was try and dismiss that with irrelevant drivel that had nothing to do with what I said. I never said anything about how they should have the alpha up 24/7. I never said anything about being upset that it won't be up 24/7 at the start either. I don't care what you think the reason other people bought the alpha/beta access for either because that's nothing but baseless conjecture on your part.
Re: Is no one else disappointed that "Persistent Alpha" AKA 24/7 Alpha 2 access isn't until May 2025?
patrick68794 wrote: »patrick68794 wrote: »One thing I simply do not get is people who are upset about this.
You are complaining about an ALPHA. You are not meant to play the game, you are meant to TEST it and provide feedback. Having Alpha be persistent immediately, or next year in May, should make absolutely 0 difference to you, AS A TESTER. It does however make a huge difference to devs, you know, because at this stage of the game, they matter a lot more than you.
If they cannot provide you with something that was promised during this stage, then it's totally normal, for anyone who has a slight clue about development process. Expecting them to meet deadlines, while they're still very much in the middle of developing the game and it's systems, is beyond baffling to me.
If I were Steven, I would never, ever again put a deadline on anything, ever, just because of crybabies online who complain when they cannot meet said deadlines. And for a long time, he didn't want to say when Alpha 2 will happen, because he wanted to avoid situations like these.
Be happy that you get an Alpha 2 this year, because they could've easily pushed it back to May, and maybe then you would've got persistent alpha, except then you would cry about the delay.
I'd be totally supporting the argument if we were talking about a launch, but this is an Alpha. Things change, some deadlines cannot be met due to various reasons.
No, nobody lied to you. Yes, there is a reason they had to push it back.
People that have paid money are absolutely allowed to be upset here. It doesn't matter that we've paid to "test" instead of "play" either. We've invested money into the project and if deadlines are missed then feedback should be provided.
It's beyond idiotic to think that just because they've said "this is an alpha" then that means they're beyond any criticism or negative feedback. If I told my paying clients that and continually missed deadlines you bet your ass I'd hear negative feedback about that, and I would 100% deserve it. If Steven has any sort of professionalism (and I do think he does) then I'd bet money that he'd agree with that.
And yes, missing deadlines in development is expected and normal, to an extent. That isn't some blanket excuse that can be used constantly and eventually it's just an excuse for a deeper problem. I'm not saying Intrepid is at that point but that is eventually the reality of throwing that excuse around constantly. At some point your clients/investors/customers will stop believing it and are going to get angry.
No. If you "paid money" you did it to support the game, not to get to play it before everyone else.
If you view it differently, than that's on you.
There's a huge difference between paying for or rather investing in a product, and paying to support the devs.
There's a huge difference between paying for a finished product, and paying for the development of said product.
I never said they are absolved of any negative feedback, hell, I'll be one of the first people to shit on them if necessary. Don't think I'm any sort of a white-knight for them, because far from it.
However, in this case people are completely missing the point on what the alpha is supposed to be, on what they spent they money, etc. I'll absolutely point out the bs outrage about things that do not matter.
My point is, people are completely missing the point on what Alpha 2 is supposed to be. They're completely missing the point on what they spent their money on. They view it as an early access, when it's just not that, or rather that is only a small part of it.
What does it matter if the alpha is persistent or not immediately? How does that impact you?
Btw, persistent as in there will be no wipes, you get to keep characters, etc. - it doesn't have to mean it's 24/7 online.
I never said people were paying money to "play the game early" lol I don't know where you got that from. Don't reply again until you understand what's being said to you.
I'm addressing the complaints, the whining and crying, and the overreaction in general. Not just your post, or any specific post in this thread for that matter. I've clearly stated "people are", not "you are". I'm simply explaining my point of view to you, and yeah, Don't reply again until you understand what's being said to you.
Then don't reply directly to someone with something that's a generalized statement while also saying "you" and then get upset when you get called out for your posts being stupid or you not understanding what you're reading. If you want to communicate learn to do it properly. See, I'm using "you" to reply directly to you, I'm not making some idiotic generalized statement about other people.
Re: Is no one else disappointed that "Persistent Alpha" AKA 24/7 Alpha 2 access isn't until May 2025?
One thing I simply do not get is people who are upset about this.
You are complaining about an ALPHA. You are not meant to play the game, you are meant to TEST it and provide feedback. Having Alpha be persistent immediately, or next year in May, should make absolutely 0 difference to you, AS A TESTER. It does however make a huge difference to devs, you know, because at this stage of the game, they matter a lot more than you.
If they cannot provide you with something that was promised during this stage, then it's totally normal, for anyone who has a slight clue about development process. Expecting them to meet deadlines, while they're still very much in the middle of developing the game and it's systems, is beyond baffling to me.
If I were Steven, I would never, ever again put a deadline on anything, ever, just because of crybabies online who complain when they cannot meet said deadlines. And for a long time, he didn't want to say when Alpha 2 will happen, because he wanted to avoid situations like these.
Be happy that you get an Alpha 2 this year, because they could've easily pushed it back to May, and maybe then you would've got persistent alpha, except then you would cry about the delay.
I'd be totally supporting the argument if we were talking about a launch, but this is an Alpha. Things change, some deadlines cannot be met due to various reasons.
No, nobody lied to you. Yes, there is a reason they had to push it back.
People that have paid money are absolutely allowed to be upset here. It doesn't matter that we've paid to "test" instead of "play" either. We've invested money into the project and if deadlines are missed then feedback should be provided.
It's beyond idiotic to think that just because they've said "this is an alpha" then that means they're beyond any criticism or negative feedback. If I told my paying clients that and continually missed deadlines you bet your ass I'd hear negative feedback about that, and I would 100% deserve it. If Steven has any sort of professionalism (and I do think he does) then I'd bet money that he'd agree with that.
And yes, missing deadlines in development is expected and normal, to an extent. That isn't some blanket excuse that can be used constantly and eventually it's just an excuse for a deeper problem. I'm not saying Intrepid is at that point but that is eventually the reality of throwing that excuse around constantly. At some point your clients/investors/customers will stop believing it and are going to get angry.