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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.
Comments
Has there ever been a large player based game that did anything even as much as IS is planning to do with religion in their game?
Honestly I can't think of any, except maybe some really old school MUDs.
Nor Social progression.
I think that it is intriguing because it isn't something that you see very often. It is a whole new way for stories to unfold. A whole new way for content to spring up. A whole new path for players to advance in if they want.
Besides, religion and all it brings, really isn't just a Medieval European thing. History is FULL of religious stuff ALL OVER the world.
Nothing about that could possibly have anything to do with religion or crusades.
I'm not very into Western Style, of course I respect the people who loves it, fav-colors and hobbies are not on debate. I'm more way into East Asian theme qipaos, samurais, ninjas, dragons etc. And religion is not a big deal in games for me or I want it to be a deal when I play the game as long as I'm not forced to be a part of it, I don't mind, but if my gameplay is forced then is a huge no from me.
Its all good. Everyone likes what they like. These crusades are just speculation. They will likely be player created and player driven if they show up at all. In which case, just like the whole horizontal religion factors that will be in-game, they will probably be optional.
But, Divine nodes and a pantheon of gods inherently equals religion in the game.
In Ashes, religious sects will be trying to spread their influence across the globe.
And we can expect guilds from Divine nodes to siege other towns and cities - sometimes so they can take over those nodes.
That's basically a crusade.
I don't know why the label suddenly changes your view of the actions.
I don't know why you're saying "all" and "the most essential thing". There will be at least one Divine city and probably at least one Divine Metropolis. When they go to war, they might very well roleplay that as a crusade. I doubt that the Economic cities and the Scientific cities will be roleplaying religion as their primary foci. Same for the Military cities. That being said, there is also a Religion progression path in addition to the Artisan, Social, Adventurer and Naval progression paths. We can , again, expect Religion to be roleplayed as the motivation behind conflicts and war from those pursuing the Religion progression path, but... We should also see conflicts and wars motivated by economics and politics and scarce resources. Ashes also has a Thieves Guild. That doesn't mean theft is going to be the most essential thing in raiding nodes.
Ashes of Creation Final Kickstarter Livestream June 1, 2017 Featuring Death's Proxy
It's just adding roleplaying to mechanics and lore that already exist in the game.
Where you have Clerics and Paladins and a Divine Metropolis and guild wars, that means that people can roleplay the guild wars led by Divine cities as crusades.
That's really it.
You are OK with the mechanics of Divine citizens leading sieges against other cities, but not OK with calling that a crusade or a jihad.
I still don't understand why the label is so problematic for you, but I don't think you're going to be able to explain that in a way that I will understand.
Thanks for taking the time to try to explain it, though.
Have fun!
Would be great fun to see the forces of chaos come up against the followers of light, each trying to spread their message and influence in the world.
It would be a good opportunity too to gain experience for divine nodes and working towards your contribution for your religion as a whole.
Now I trust that everyone gets that?
I might choose to role for the thieves social guild, but I really really hope that isn't going to be reflecting upon my cv.
Game religion is much the same.
If our chosen religion in game rewards for killing all trees, then I have a rl choice, do I get involved or exclude myself from content?
If one in game religion chose to start a crusade against another religion, meh, that's ok, but I'd rather if that were to be the case it would be restricted to:
Destroying property, propaganda quests, a short in game timewindow, instanced battlegrounds etc
Rather than to bring it into the general world.
But that's just because I'd sell my boyfriend's leg to avoid pvp....I do agree however it's a GREAT idea.
As people keep pointing out, this is a game for every type of player, and this would give you that extra layer that means your friends, allies, guildmates and neighbours, would be fighting next to you one minute but because they're a follower of another god, there be a chance to mix things up big style!
Also a fan, as it'd be great to see the gods in game having a spat...or just think how great it could be to actually follow a God into battle?
Oooooh! Once a (game) year there is a day of fighting and challenges between the various gods, if you follow your god into battle, and they are victorious, you get to spend until the following year with access to 'valhalla'
Unique shops, tavern/social area... something like that...
I'm more aligned with @AutumnWillow, on this one. I'm all for player initiated crusades, raids, sieges, and the like. Those require more thoughtful planning, and community input, than a pre prescribed event. Steven has even articulated that his wish is to give players the tools to enact their own agency upon the world, as much as possible.
So, if "Other" was a voting choice, that would be my choice.
What I find interesting about a narrative crusade is that I would then have to decide if I'm going to blindly follow the interests of my god or would I chose to become an apostate?
How badly do I want to keep those augments?
But, again, that wouldn't be limited to Religion.
Same is true for Social, if I belong to the Thieves Guild or Trading Company.
Same is true for the Naval progression path.
We should then expect similar "side events" in other progression paths as part of the narrative.
So, a divine node/city, declaring a siege against another node/city, would fill the same role as a crusade. All player initiated, without any need for additional scripting.
Of course, I'm all for triggering "sub-quests", for various organizations to fulfill, as part of a siege, to add more flavor.
The player initiated one will be something I look forward to. Seeing how the players roleplay outrage at another city's sinful practices. Everyone raising their weapons and pitch forks to rid the opposing city of heathens... At least I hope to get to see that on my server.