Glorious Alpha Two Testers!

Alpha Two Realms are now unlocked for Phase II testing!

For our initial launch, testing will begin on Friday, December 20, 2024, at 10 AM Pacific and continue uninterrupted until Monday, January 6, 2025, at 10 AM Pacific. After January 6th, we’ll transition to a schedule of five-day-per-week access for the remainder of Phase II.

You can download the game launcher here and we encourage you to join us on our for the most up to date testing news.

NO invisible walls!!! (WalkMesh)

I don't mean magical or hidden walls or doors.  I mean game breaking solid air.

I hate trying to jump off a cliff, climb through a window, go over a large rock, walk through a light plant, hop over a fence, etc. but instead I hit solid air and I can not move forward.

If the game does not want me to go somewhere, block it with a solid object like a wall, barred door or mountain.

In the testing this weekend I saw some tents with openings larger than a person.  I tried to walk into one and just hit solid air.   The opening was not real.   Took me right out of the game.  It breaks immersion.   Don't do this please!!!!

Thank you!  :)
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Comments

  • I think it would be cool and clever if they only had "invisible walls" where you could remove it via dispel magic. So what most people would get annoyed at as lazy design would actually be some hidden loot or something :P 

    But yeah I agree. I like my walls visible and my air gaseous.
  • I too am not a fan of invisible walls.
    Being able to enter every object that's big enough to hold a person though, that's a lot. I have never played a game where I could go in every opening, tent, house, building, etc. There's probably a reason for that, most of the time.
  • Never liked them either, it's one of those frustrating, immersion breaking things that should never be present, if I want to jump off a cliff THEN I WILL DO THAT ( ._.)
  • The good news is due to them using UE4, the air walls should be easy to avoid, or get rid of for the most part once the game is out. HOWEVER, it is not a big concern right now and if you think it is, you are a waste of energy and I hope the dev team ignores you completely until the main game is out and functioning.
  • ^ that got aggressive real fast lmao.

    The good news is you will get your wish, the bad news is if you want it right now so help me god you will never see the light of day again, your whole family is done for!
  • I have to say not being able to enter buildings and running into invisible walls in previous games were frustrating.  Why have buildings when a wall is what it is?  Any way I'm thrilled with the openness of structures in Ashes so far.  I hit an invisible wall within a house during this weekend's play test.  It was unusual, and I posted in Discord.  Kudos to the Intrepid team for the good work so far.
  • Honestly, I don't need to be able to enter every single tent to make them aesthetically pleasing.

    If the flap is open and I can't go in, that's fine.

    If the flap is closed, I'll just want to be able to open it.  

    Scenery is just that scenery.  I don't need every single thing to be a nook and cranny to discover.

    Otherwise we'll see the game in 2120

  • You don’t like air walls?

    COME AT ME BRAH!!!

    ...Actually I hate them too, one of my biggest MMO pet peeves.  Because among other things, an MMO is about figuring out how to overcome obstacles.  When you’re trying to figure out how to get somewhere and you can’t because those obstacles are invisible, that’s lazy game design.  It just is.  Put some visible indicator so that we can figure it out.  It discourages players and reduces enthusiasm for the game.
  • rigamorti said:
    I don't mean magical or hidden walls or doors.  I mean game breaking solid air.

    I hate trying to jump off a cliff, climb through a window, go over a large rock, walk through a light plant, hop over a fence, etc. but instead I hit solid air and I can not move forward.

    If the game does not want me to go somewhere, block it with a solid object like a wall, barred door or mountain.

    In the testing this weekend I saw some tents with openings larger than a person.  I tried to walk into one and just hit solid air.   The opening was not real.   Took me right out of the game.  It breaks immersion.   Don't do this please!!!!

    Thank you!  :)
    I'm with you.  I hate invisible walls.  I also hate exhaustion zones. 
  • ArchivedUserArchivedUser Guest
    edited November 2018
    Azathoth said:
    I too am not a fan of invisible walls.
    Being able to enter every object that's big enough to hold a person though, that's a lot. I have never played a game where I could go in every opening, tent, house, building, etc. There's probably a reason for that, most of the time.
    Play Skyrim.  The only place you will ever find an invisible wall is the very edge of the HUGE map we get to play in the game.  Invisible walls are just a symptom of lazy creation.  You can place a solid object in a place where an invisible wall is located.
  • ArchivedUserArchivedUser Guest
    edited November 2018
    The good news is due to them using UE4, the air walls should be easy to avoid, or get rid of for the most part once the game is out. HOWEVER, it is not a big concern right now and if you think it is, you are a waste of energy and I hope the dev team ignores you completely until the main game is out and functioning.
    They are making the game now.  Now is the time to consider this.  

    Also, /hugs.  You seem to need one.  ;)
  • Jahlon said:
    Honestly, I don't need to be able to enter every single tent to make them aesthetically pleasing.

    If the flap is open and I can't go in, that's fine.

    If the flap is closed, I'll just want to be able to open it.  

    Scenery is just that scenery.  I don't need every single thing to be a nook and cranny to discover.

    Otherwise we'll see the game in 2120

    Of course we don't need any of that, however, if you're going to make a game, make it immersive right? 
  • @rigamorti
    I have played Skyrim, but Skyrim is smaller and will likely be far less populated than Ashes. It's also an instance when going inside most places, and Ashes is trying to avoid instances where they can.

    I am more aligned with @Jahlon, just because a tent is there it doesn't mean it is there for anything besides scenery.

    Imo, having access to everything so that it can be looted, otherwise why go in a tent owned by an NPC, seems like a gimmick to me. Then only structures that are developed to be looted will be developed, and that could reduce the over all number of buildings and such.

    I understand not liking invisible walls. I do not understand the necessity to be able to walk inside any structure that looks like it can have people.

    That's great in Elder Scrolls, but this isn't a single player game based on instanced dungeons/housing.
  • Never liked them either, it's one of those frustrating, immersion breaking things that should never be present, if I want to jump off a cliff THEN I WILL DO THAT ( ._.)
    Whoa there... maybe take a step back and think about what you’re about to do first. If you take that jump, you’ll be at the “mercy” of Nagash  :fearful:
  • Azathoth said:
    just because a tent is there it doesn't mean it is there for anything besides scenery.

    Rigamorti Said:
     Fine, then block the entrance with a "real" object.   When you try to walk through a doorway, but you are blocked by nothing, it is very unrealistic and is breaking any immersion.

    .............................
    Azathoth said:
    Imo, having access to everything so that it can be looted, otherwise why go in a tent owned by an NPC, seems like a gimmick to me. Then only structures that are developed to be looted will be developed, and that could reduce the overall number of buildings and such.

    Rigamorti Said:
    This has nothing to do with looting.  This has to do with the feel of the world.  I don't want to walk down a road and then suddenly can't move forward, simply because the programmer was lazy and did not block that area with a physical object.
    ...........................
    Azathoth said:
    I understand not liking invisible walls. I do not understand the necessity to be able to walk inside any structure that looks like it can have people.

    Rigamorti Said:
    You don't have to have the ability to walk into every building.  However, you need to have an "in world" reason why you can not go into that building.  

    1) chained/boarded up
    2) wall, fence, etc....
    3) Mountain side.
    4) magical effect
    5) ANYTHING but solid air for no reason!

  • I agree 100%
  • Okay, fair points.
    However, in real life just because a door is opened or unlocked it doesn't mean you can just enter. :wink:
  • Azathoth said:
    Okay, fair points.
    However, in real life just because a door is opened or unlocked it doesn't mean you can just enter.

  • Azathoth said:
    Okay, fair points.
    However, in real life just because a door is opened or unlocked it doesn't mean you can just enter. :wink:
    What?  Ok......  :p

    Just so you know, if you can't enter an open doorway, you need to lose weight.  :)
  • rigamorti said:
    Azathoth said:
    Okay, fair points.
    However, in real life just because a door is opened or unlocked it doesn't mean you can just enter. :wink:
    What?  Ok......  :p

    Just so you know, if you can't enter an open doorway, you need to lose weight.  :)

  • Azathoth said:
    Okay, fair points.
    However, in real life just because a door is opened or unlocked it doesn't mean you can just enter. :wink:
    Yes because that would make you a trespasser hadn't you been invited. Let there be consequences!
  • Okay, well I was not under the impression that choosing not to randomly enter someone's house was related to my weight...

    I'd be down with consequences, but the chance an NPC at a farmer's house you randomly walk into could stop a player seems low. As for bounties and such for trespassing (if all buildings were open to players), why not.

    ...but sure. Somehow your character in the game has divine rights, and the right type of attitude, to walk into any door they see. Because if they can't, the devs are lazy. This logic is unbreakable, I did not know I was up against philosophy professors.
  • ArchivedUserArchivedUser Guest
    edited November 2018
    Can I have a wall around my tomb so no one can come in and raid me. the last person who did was a woman and she was a death trap magnet.  
  • Azathoth said:
     Somehow your character in the game has divine rights, and the right type of attitude, to walk into any door they see. Because if they can't, the devs are lazy. This logic is unbreakable, I did not know I was up against philosophy professors.
    Wow, you really know how to miss a point.

    To be clear, very very clear, this is about physically moving through a space that looks clear of a physical object.   That's it.      

    This is not about rights, laws, trespassing, etc.
  • This thread has gotten so mixed up and confused... It's kinda great lol. New title suggestion: "The Ethics Behind Invisible Walls - Exploring the Barriers that Separate Us".

    xd
  • @Sikuba
    Uhm, that's my thesis title. Plagiarism is not ok.
  • Sikuba said:
    This thread has gotten so mixed up and confused... It's kinda great lol. New title suggestion: "The Ethics Behind Invisible Walls - Exploring the Barriers that Separate Us".

    xd
    you forgot keeping out english tomb raiders
  • I thought your point was, going back to the tent that could not be entered, if there was an opening you could fit into blocked by an invisible wall you would be less happy. I have never met anyone that wanted more invisible boundaries, so I thought your post was more specific with the types of invisible boundaries you did not want to see.

    So, an open door to a home that you can not enter is bad because of the 'invisible' boundary preventing you from actually entering the home?

    But, if the door was closed, you would be fine with never being able to enter that building?

    So, what about open windows?
    I mean, you could fit through and into the house except an invisible wall prevents you from actually crawling in through the window, would this be okay or lazy?
    People that camp like to occasionally have the tent doors open for a variety of reasons, like a window, but that doesn't mean they want other people to just wander in.

    Again, nobody here (or elsewhere to my knowledge) has advocated for more invisible boundaries that block open air environments.

    Sorry, I was originally under the impression you would be less happy if your character couldn't go in every possible opening. I am not going to lie, if our avatars had 100% access to every building I would be a happy thievish scoundrel, but if that wasn't the case I wouldn't consider it a lazy development.
  • NeuroGuy said:
    @Sikuba
    Uhm, that's my thesis title. Plagiarism is not ok.
    Plagiarism is not OK is my thesis title.
  • Azathoth said:
    I thought your point was, going back to the tent that could not be entered, if there was an opening you could fit into blocked by an invisible wall you would be less happy. I have never met anyone that wanted more invisible boundaries, so I thought your post was more specific with the types of invisible boundaries you did not want to see.

    So, an open door to a home that you can not enter is bad because of the 'invisible' boundary preventing you from actually entering the home?

    But, if the door was closed, you would be fine with never being able to enter that building?

    So, what about open windows?
    I mean, you could fit through and into the house except an invisible wall prevents you from actually crawling in through the window, would this be okay or lazy?
    People that camp like to occasionally have the tent doors open for a variety of reasons, like a window, but that doesn't mean they want other people to just wander in.

    Again, nobody here (or elsewhere to my knowledge) has advocated for more invisible boundaries that block open air environments.

    Sorry, I was originally under the impression you would be less happy if your character couldn't go in every possible opening. I am not going to lie, if our avatars had 100% access to every building I would be a happy thievish scoundrel, but if that wasn't the case I wouldn't consider it a lazy development.
    If every open window or closed door was something you couldn’t enter then there is no invisible wall.  It’s a visible wall.  The wall looks like an open window or a closed door.  Completely different situation.

    Now if some open windows could be entered but not others, and there was no way to tell the difference, then yes that would be frustrating.  Or if there was no visual indicator that some doors could be entered but not others, that’s also frustrating (and lazy).  Some sort of marker, or maybe a door being targetable or highlighting on mouse-over, that would be fine.

    The problem with invisible walls is having no way ahead of time to know whether or not you should attempt to pass that way, or having no way to know that attempting a long and painstaking climb up a hill is a waste of time because there’s an invisible wall at the top.  That’s the kind of lazy design that puts off players.  We’re not talking about the logic of why something should be passable.  We’re talking about designers wasting the time of a player because they couldn’t muster the imagination or effort to design a landscape properly.
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