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Phase I of Alpha Two testing will occur on weekends. Each weekend is scheduled to start on Fridays at 10 AM PT and end on Sundays at 10 PM PT. Find out more here.
Check out Alpha Two Announcements here to see the latest Alpha Two news and update notes.
Our quickest Alpha Two updates are in Discord. Testers with Alpha Two access can chat in Alpha Two channels by connecting your Discord and Intrepid accounts here.
Concerns about Casual/occasional play
I fell in love with the concept of Ashes of Creation the moment I laid eyes on it, but there was always one thing that kept bugging me and bugging me.
What about the casual players? What about the time spent offline?
When story progresses if, say, I take a week hiatus from the game, I fear that it would make me feel not as involved with the game, with the world.
If my house can be destroyed, if I'm taking that week hiatus, there would be nothing I could do about that. How could I keep up with the storytelling or the world if I don't happen to be online for these events? I assume that there would probably be people dedicated to keeping track of lore, but if I miss out on experiences I feel like it might be alienating.
What about the casual players? What about the time spent offline?
When story progresses if, say, I take a week hiatus from the game, I fear that it would make me feel not as involved with the game, with the world.
If my house can be destroyed, if I'm taking that week hiatus, there would be nothing I could do about that. How could I keep up with the storytelling or the world if I don't happen to be online for these events? I assume that there would probably be people dedicated to keeping track of lore, but if I miss out on experiences I feel like it might be alienating.
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Comments
Lot's of people can't play MMO's more than a few sessions per week or have to skip weeks now and then. No game developer is going to punish these players by making missing a few day of the Over Arching story so important that you miss much in those times.
There is a great deal being said about the "Grand Story" and all that but mostly it is about YOUR story for you. Your story isn't going to get way ahead of you when you can't play.
Your house(if you are one of the lucky house owners): Can't be just burned down in one or two days. The Node has to be taken over first after a preparation phase of some time and then during a 2hr period, or so, freeholds and things like them can be "destroyed". Steven has mentioned that even should this happen, your house and all in it will be in a template that you can put down again in any open spot.
No worries, by the time the "Grand Server Story" gets any good, it will be moving at a nice slow pace, IMO.
The prospect of an elite group of PVP players for hire has always been a fantasy of mine in an MMO. Maybe this will fulfill that.
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I think you're under estimating gamers. Hopefully with the alpha testing phases they will be able to get a better idea of how long it will take to level a node and how long they want it to take. The nodes level with every action a player takes so it's hard for them to foresee the efforts or the lack of effort to level a node. I believe they released a general timeline of how long they want it to take to level a node through each stage but that is going to vary a lot on each server due to number of players, conflict, organization etc.
I don't think the game will punish you for not being able to play all the time but like with everything else if you don't put in the time then you won't get results. You can't expect an mmo to revolve around your life as it revolves around the game world and thousands of people.
also, they need several casual players to keep the game dynamic. so unlikely to damage.
So you can put a date in your calendar with plenty of warning.
Even if you cant attend, you can ask people to keep you informed.
It is apparent Intrepid have thought about this from your perspective.
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+1
That puts nearly everyone that was brought into the genre at that time or earlier in there 30s at the youngest.
Not to say the next big MMORPG can't convert the younger crowd once again, but they're not the core audience for AoC at the outset.
All that to say, most people 25+ have responsibilities both at work and at home, and not just for themselves. Meaning the playerbase is inherently growing more casual everyday, so I'm sure your/our concerns will be balanced with the games player experience.
But who's knows, maybe in 25yrs when the milennials start to retire, hardcore MMORPGs will be all the rage.
But who’s knows, maybe in 25yrs when the milennials start to retire, hardcore MMORPGs will be all the rage.
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Get your grandkids hooked.
I keep sayin' this, and (young) people don't seem to realize it: Do you think that you're just going to magically reach an age and stop gaming? Stop something that is, and has been, your primary hobby? Perhaps your primary way of socializing?
And, sadly, as you're probably aware -- as you age, your reflexes and response times DO slow down. Your competitive level tends to slow down. Your tastes -- in fun, as in many other things -- change. Keeping on building games that only cater to younger people means a huge demographic -- read: people willing to pay money -- is being overlooked.
Hopefully devs will recognize this (as IS seems to have done) and seek to build a good fusion between the twitch mechanics the younger crowds are hooked on and the duller, more boring, slow mechanics that allow an aging population to remain viable.
Just an idea :)
I did watch the Q&A with Dungeon Crawler Network and was pleased to hear there will be content for those with limited game play.