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What is happening to this game???

I am a backer from Kickstarter. My Fiancee and I both did the 150$ (135 early bird) backing.

We invested in this game that was described to be an MMORPG and all these amazing features with the nodes and the map/world that evolves with gameplay, self-published, and many other great features of an MMORPG... 

But now all I am getting is emails for this apocalypse and battle royale, why has the direction changed so much for this game, why is my funding going towards something that was not discussed at all? 

Listen I totally  admit that I have not kept up with the news and what is going on with this game, I do this intentionally because if I follow it to close and be to involved I burn myself out before the game ever releases and I want to play the game and things feel new to me instead of already seeing it 15 times in videos/streams.

I don't want to spend hours searching the forums to gather answers, so I am curious to see what responses my post will get.

I feel betrayed and let down that I and so many others supported this for what the product was initially described as and now it seems to be something very different and going for the cash grab of battle royale.

Can anyone reassure me on this project at this point?
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Comments

  • You should have received an email in the last couple of days which answers your questions. Specifically:

    "The benefit of the Apocalypse testing period with the limited scope of these 3 game modes, is the ability to collect much needed data with regards to;
    • Server Architecture
    • Server Stability
    • Server Deployment
    • Large Scale Battle Optimization
    • Action-Combat Designs
    • Castle Siege Design
    • AI and Boss Designs
    • Character Asset Polish
    • Environment Optimization
    • Account Management Deployment
    • Launcher/Patcher Deployment
    While all of these features are further tested through our Alpha and Beta schedules, the ability to deploy Apocalypse with the Battle Royale, Castle Siege and Horde modes available provided great opportunity for refinement before the Alpha and Beta periods that does not impact our development schedule of the MMORPG"

  • ArchivedUserArchivedUser Guest
    edited December 2018
    Edit: Deleted everything because @Sylint was faster and i wrote basically the same. 
  • Alright, so here's the short version: intrepid rolled out their first alpha testing in the form of a battle royal. It used very little resources and the content in the game is going towards the actual MMORPG. It was used for testing basic combat, animations, abilities, server stress ect. Well people were confused much like you on wtf happen to the MMORPG. And as soon as you explained it to them that it was a test mode people understood and moved on.... but intrepid decided to rebrand the mode and the alpha stage of testing and call it apocalypse to clear up confusion (it didn't). Apocalypse is still the testing alpha for the game but also a prelude to the game story wise where everyone is trying to escape the catastrophe when everyone fled Verra. Now this is where it gets convoluted. Apocalypse is its own independent game that'll exist after the MMORPG launches that'll have the battle royal, siege and horde mode in it... but also funnel all that content to the MMORPG. The beta for that game is what you got in the email. You can play it, help test and earn cosmetic through the mode. The game is still on track and in fact they will be testing the siege mode with classes this month but like you many are confused and unhappy with the very existence of apocalypse but intrepid keeps on reassuring us that the game is still on track and so far they're still hitting dead lines. 

    Tl;dr apocalypse is an independent game mode that has all the resources from the MMORPG that'll eventually be used in the game so it's set up for testing but also to exist by itself and they're still in pace. 
  • Syndrix said:
    I feel betrayed and let down that I and so many others supported this for what the product was initially described as and now it seems to be something very different and going for the cash grab of battle royale.

    Can anyone reassure me on this project at this point?
    There is nothing wrong with feeling this way. The gaming industry is filled with examples of companies abandoning the good faith of the community in pursuit of the easy dollar. Many people's first reaction is the same as yours, and Intrepid hasn't been as clear as they could have been from the start about what's happening. To see what's going on you'd need to have been staying up to date with all the developments as they've come, and that simply isn't realistic to expect for the majority of people.

    So what happened? You were sold a MMO and you're getting a BR?? Well, as others have explained better than I could: It is an ideal testing environment for action combat and server stuff, behind the scenes optimization. Intrepid has veterans, but this is still their first project, they've got homework to do... and this is them doing it. So yeah, we get a shitty BR that is cobbled together with assets designed for the MMO for now. This is temporary, and to encourage participation they're doing cosmetic perks that'll be used in the MMO. Ideal? Eh, arguable.

    But... and this part is key: The MMO is very much still on track and in development.

    We've seen the footage, and all reward systems track back to the game proper. All discussions the dev team has reaffirmed and vowed to build a great MMORPG. Even if the road is windy, our destination is still the same.

    So maybe the rug will come flying out from under us? It is possible, of course... but I still maintain faith in this project. Everything I've seen points to a great game in our future.

  • short news nothing to worry about just a test long story what they all said ^^
  • No need to worry my man, pretty much what was stated above is accurate.  We all are just as passionate about the MMO as well, so you're not alone.
  • You are panicking its ok man breathe...... I was like this as well, but next Thursday with the live stream it will be like ASMR for our anxiety have faith
  • Nothing note worthy going on, just a few people getting their panties in a twist over how this game is heading in the 'wrong' direction for the 100th time. (honestly nothing to worry about)
  • "- AI and Boss design"
    O_O I hope they don't spoil too much on potential boss abilities and art design. On a side note, in last weeks stream, they mentioned something about having a stream this week to show off like 20 min of mmo gameplay to showcase their progress on what we've been promised so look out for that as well 

    Cheers  ;)
  • Glorious Ashes Community.  We will be having a LIVE STREAM at 1 pm PST Thursday, December 13th showing off gameplay in the MMORPG.  Save the time and date, we will see you then!

    There you go quoted from discord. 

  • Syndrix said:
    I am a backer from Kickstarter. My Fiancee and I both did the 150$ (135 early bird) backing.

    We invested in this game that was described to be an MMORPG and all these amazing features with the nodes and the map/world that evolves with gameplay, self-published, and many other great features of an MMORPG... 


    Can anyone reassure me on this project at this point?

    Hopefully everyones comments have.

    The game is still going to be an MMORPG, with all of the features and more of such.

    The Apocalypse is just a (temporary) testing zone, and will also later on test the classic areas of mmo's such as questing.

    Don't panic. Yet.


  • Before posting you should have atleast tried to read what Apocalypse is about. People like you feel betrayed and are angry. Ok.

    People like you make me angry.
    You are crying about things that were made very, very clear by the developers and instead of informing yourself (which you obviously didn't even try) you are making Forum/reddit/Twitter or whereever posts crying how bad you feel and how bad the Company is.
  • ArchivedUserArchivedUser Guest
    edited December 2018

  • First I want to say thank to the people (almost all of you) that have posted constructive comments. It is appreciated and part of the reason I decided to make this post was to see reactions from the community as well because the community is what helps make or break a game in development like this.

    While your comments have helped me feel reassured, I'm not sure I personally agree with the statements that have been made by development. I do understand that these are my personal believes regarding this and I personally have never created a game so I don't know how true these statements are.

    I do not believe that them creating this other game mode has had no impact on the production of the MMORPG game portion.  I think this is my biggest issue, I do not see any feasible way that there was absolutely no impact on the development schedule of the mmorpg.

    1. This development team was not together until our funding helped put it together, either some developers that were initially source for the MMORPG are now working on the apocalypse or other developers have been hired to work on it, either way, it has taken personal away from the MMORPG that could have been working on it.

    2.  Every other game that has a battle royal mode and then another mode whether it is pve or something else, each game type is balanced individually. This would be the first game ever that would balance equally across both modes, while I am not saying this isn't possible from my knowledge it isn't plausible, but as I said I am no game producer.

    3. I would have felt better about this process had they said, Hey we are going to put a little extra work into this other battle royal/apocalypse mode and while this is not the standard way to implement server testing and balancing we feel that the benefits created for our company and this game to further support outway the time we are spending to develop it since we are having to create a way to test and balance anyways. Something along this statement I think would have been way more accurate and honest versus a statement that seems they are trying to make something sound better then what it is.


    Please do not think that I am trying to argue or challenge any of your statements, they have all been helpful. I am very passionate about this game since it's inception on kickstarter and have been looking forward to playing it with my Fiancee for quite some time.  I just wanted to put my opinion out there.

    I have no issue with them creating a BR mode, castle siege and horde mode sound awesome and I wasn't expecting these, so that is great. Just don't lie to me, somewhere somehow this had an impact on the MMORPG lol.....

    Thank you everyone.





    And then this person...
    Yunisha said:
    Before posting you should have atleast tried to read what Apocalypse is about. People like you feel betrayed and are angry. Ok.

    People like you make me angry.
    You are crying about things that were made very, very clear by the developers and instead of informing yourself (which you obviously didn't even try) you are making Forum/reddit/Twitter or whereever posts crying how bad you feel and how bad the Company is.


    Yunisha,
    Why are you here? Why make this comment?
    I clearly stated in my original post that I had not caught up on news or information on this game for specific reasons.
    I also wanted to come to the forms to have a good constructive conversation with other people excited for this game which could create people to play the game with and see how the community reacted.
    So I did have other reasons for making the form post besides just what was stated.
     It is not good that you are angry,  I am not crying, I am having a constructive conversation.
    I have made no other post about this on any other social media, I have promoted the game on social media during the Kickstarter phase and have even purchased additional cosmetic items after the Kickstarter phase. So don't make assumptions, we all know what they do. 
    This form thread can potentially make others in my same situation feel better about this situation and you felt the need to come in and just post negativity.


  • ArchivedUserArchivedUser Guest
    edited December 2018
    You may want to ask a question for tomorrow's stream....

    https://forums.ashesofcreation.com/discussion/comment/181716#Comment_181716

    Whilst there's only a small possibility yours will be the question they answer, I'm sure you're not alone in seeking reassurance / more info on how they are funding or organising things.
  • ArchivedUserArchivedUser Guest
    edited December 2018
    The time taken away from the MMORPG was basically used to create the shrinking storm - that's about it.
    Everything else about the BR are all fundamental mechanics, art assets and systems for the MMORPG.
    People can believe whatever they want, though.
    Who needs facts??

    The devs have made statement #3 many times.
    The BR isn't really balanced. The tiny bit of balancing they do is just tweaking damage percentages.
  • We have already evolved from "We took 5 people and a week of development time to create the storm mechanic, so it didn't really impact mmo development!" to "We are tasking 10 people full time to work on Apocalypse!" When you only have 100 people working in the studio (as of last livestream quotes), 10% sent to work on the product that "won't impact the mmo development" seems to have an impact.
  • Didn't they just hire more people, though?
  • They said they were going to get to 200, but last livestream they said they are at 100 now. Will be more visible once they do the promised introductions and update their IS website. It is what it is, they need to make money to keep the lights on, if they fuck up the BR implementation to the detriment of the mmo, will only hurt them. We of course won't get the game they promised, but I tempered my expectations long ago.
  • I don't think they need to make more money to keep the lights on.
    They want to make more money to stay on schedule to deliver the MMORPG they want.
    If they need more money now to keep the lights on, IS is already doomed to fold.
  • ArchivedUserArchivedUser Guest
    edited December 2018
    As Jahlon loves to quote "development is fluid" Steven had the money for the original plan, but the plan changed once they got to this point. We will never know the details of the My.com/Mail.ru deal and how much scratch they got or are going to get from that, just that it was significant. But we also know, salaries in Southern California, health care and benefits, and all the other bells and whistles aren't cheap. The longer you are just sitting on a product without monetizing it, those reserves keep shrinking. I have the feeling that Apocalypse may just pay for itself and really not affect the bottom line. Too many people out of the original base are already pissed off about the whole thing, and the dollar a week from the others just isn't going to add up. I understand why they did it, but like someone above typed, it is like finding out your favorite athlete was doping, shouldn't have any impact on how you view them, but it does.

    https://www.paradoxgaming.net/the-steven-answer


  • ArchivedUserArchivedUser Guest
    edited December 2018
    Its Alpha You cant expect much atm. Wait for Beta then we can see more stuffs from actual MMO not just BR like Fortnite - dont like that game.

    Thats the reason why im waiting beta - then i will see if this game will be worth my money... Atm im hyped and i hope... i really hope they will do well. :)
  • all I have to say is


    Meh
  • ArchivedUserArchivedUser Guest
    edited December 2018
    I don't see how Apocalypse can be compared to an athlete doping.
    The only thing in Apocalypse that doesn't need testing for the MMORPG is the shrinking storm.
    And the shrinking storm just makes the testing of the assets and systems a bit more entertaining.
  • nagash said:
    all I have to say is


    Meh
    What a strong opinion you have.
  • Atama said:
    nagash said:
    all I have to say is


    Meh
    What a strong opinion you have.
    do you think its too strong?
  • nagash said:
    Atama said:
    nagash said:
    all I have to say is


    Meh
    What a strong opinion you have.
    do you think its too strong?

    Meh, maybe.
  • nagash said:
    Atama said:
    nagash said:
    all I have to say is


    Meh
    What a strong opinion you have.
    do you think its too strong?
    Yes, it should been in all lower-case.  Capitalizing the first letter was going too far sir.
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