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.
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.
Really liking what i've seen but..
Galux
Member
I feel very sceptical about how much content the game will have, it almost feels like it will be too much? I'd love to be proved wrong but i kind of feel like some things gotta go eventually.
But other than that, i love the visuals! I especially love the lighting effects caused by spells & surroundings and the way they light up dark areas... Eyecandy. I've seen a few messages on streams who find the spell effects to be too much so a spell effect / Lighting option for the release of the game is probably a good idea, but other than that keep going all out on such effects.
Please make crit numbers really POP out, i personally think it's so satisfying to for example DOT up 4 monsters and just see the crits pop up all the time.
And i really wish the game will have a character customization freedom so you can really customize your character to your liking.. Instead of choosing between 14 set colors you can choose between the whole color wheel. Instead of a set number of paints / tattoos, make it so we can have MANY! Heck just make it so people can make their own Tattoos and paints and allow them to be shared between players.
Oh and "sliders" of course!
Will be looking forward to seeing the progression of the game.
But other than that, i love the visuals! I especially love the lighting effects caused by spells & surroundings and the way they light up dark areas... Eyecandy. I've seen a few messages on streams who find the spell effects to be too much so a spell effect / Lighting option for the release of the game is probably a good idea, but other than that keep going all out on such effects.
Please make crit numbers really POP out, i personally think it's so satisfying to for example DOT up 4 monsters and just see the crits pop up all the time.
And i really wish the game will have a character customization freedom so you can really customize your character to your liking.. Instead of choosing between 14 set colors you can choose between the whole color wheel. Instead of a set number of paints / tattoos, make it so we can have MANY! Heck just make it so people can make their own Tattoos and paints and allow them to be shared between players.
Oh and "sliders" of course!
Will be looking forward to seeing the progression of the game.
0
Comments
YEAH need boobs sliders ! ...
Hem...
"too much"
Never consider content at release of a MMORPG could be "too much"
Many mmorpg got a failed release because they didnt have enough : SWTOR is the best example, it was a game on the "max level is begining" and max level had nothing. people got fast there...
Having many content is only 1 risk : can't do all in begining. ok fine. they will be used if they are usefull. don't worry. And in a MMORPG where you can spend a lot of time, it is good to have so much choice that you can't do all before some time
Not sure what you mean by this, @Galux ... can you give a few more details?
If you're worried about achievements, MMOs are probably the worst genre to play for achievement hunters. Set your expectations accordingly.
If you're worried about game performance due to the wealth of content Ashes will offer, we'll have to wait and see (with hopes remaining high the devs are up to the task!).
2 solid years to build on and hone the content, I am certain alot will get done. Yes there will probably be some cuts but I feel that all of the kickstarter goals should go ahead at least in some form. Time will be the true test but the more bugs get reported etc. from our testers, quicker they get fixed = better progression on other issues.
I love games where i logon and have so much things to do
For example, imagine if Retail WoW just came out, as is, with the hundreds of systems that it has. It could be a little overwhelming. But this should never really be a concern for a new MMORPG. I don't think there has ever been an MMORPG with too much to do at launch (with that being an issue)?
Yeah, the Node Mechanic is a big factor here. The game is ever evolving, in theory, no two servers are exactly the same, etc etc.
I'm not sure what the cycle is for expansions, but I couldn't help but think about what could be added to the game over the years. New Continents, playable species, invasions... my mind just went silly with ideas this weekend.
Personally i'm mostly interested in story, world exploration & PvE content. I will try out PvP & Sieges etc but i'm just worried such things would quickly become dead content & will be enforced by devs in forms of dailies / weeklies with irresistible reward bound to it to spark some activity into the content. Similar bad experiences from other games which is stressful & feels like a chore, hence i'm feeling sceptical.
But as i said, i'd love to be proven wrong and find my self really enjoying that content as well!
PvP are one reason people come to AoC, and even more "open world pvp"
And this is to avoid too much harass on players that the "corrupt" system exists.
The siege will be a part of the living of the game, if people don't do those content, it will be simply a fail of the game. "force people" by anyway would not solve this fact.
Sieges are here to change which guild control a castle (so can put and collect tax in a whole region) or for node siege, attack a node and try to destroy, that could totally sap the strength of local guild, allow other node to grow bigger (due to vassal system) and so allowing the world to change after the first growing of the nodes.
So, don't worry, PvP will live, or the game will die.
But i for one don't really care for the whole controlling of castles & nodes, i think it sounds interesting and cool on paper but in reality it just sounds like a few guilds will compete against each other and the rest of the players won't care. Like i just wanna slay bosses, obtain loot, craft gear and maybe sometimes PvP with my friends in this huge cool world.
Also if the node where you are situated (freehold/ingame housing etc.) will get sieged you will be encouraged to defend it via the potential risk of losing your stuff even if you are not really interested in PVP systems. Control of nodes is not connected to the guild mechanics. It is a different type of community of ppl who decide to live there and by that decision are encouraged to defend it if it gets attacked.
Basically only the Castle sieges and guild wars are PVP systems which can be avoided by ppl who simply don't care about them, however the guild owning a castle may (if they decide to) buy your support either by gold (lower taxes in the nodes under its influence) or by more personal reward (some gear or materials) for people/guilds who decide to support them in their defense.
Therefore the systems will create an environment where the PVP will be not only be encouraged (even for ppl who won't care about the PVP systems) but unavoidable in some cases.
People will care about defending Nodes that they have built. And attacking Nodes they don't want.
In previous MMORPGs, towns and cities are static. Winning or losing a siege as little effect on the world.
In Ashes, you have to build and progress Nodes to be able to obtain and craft the stuff you desire.
Any you have to maintain the racial population of the Node in order to have access to racial recipes for gear, etc. And you have to be sure that the Node type is at the level you desire to have access to the types of quests you want, the types of mobs you want to fight and, again, the gear and crafting that you want.
If what you want is not available, you will have incentive to destroy an existing town/city/metro and try to build up the Node you want to gain access to the type of content you want.
I am a PvP-sometimes player, but I typically am pushed off of PvP-Optional serves and mostly play one PvE-Only servers.
Ashes Sieges are already fun even in the rudimentary and buggy state they are currently in. Fits right in with my playstyle - I like to defend a location for about an hour...and then I'm ready go do other stuff for a bunch more hours. The Ashes Sieges currently last for 1 hour. Which is perfect for me. (Sometimes I don't mind going for 2 hours.
Yesterday, Fantmx (co-host for The Ashen Forge) finished his first Siege and said:
"I usually hate pvp. That was not so bad. Even with the pains there currently are."
Constructing, progressing and defending our villages/towns/cities/metros is what will keep us engaged for many years - rather than just racing to max in a few weeks and then farming repetitive, static content for years while waiting for the next expansion.
it does not sound like you are worried about too much content, you are worried about content not living up to expectations. The examples you gave were not chosen carefully enough as sieges alone will be almost required for players to help do if they dont want to deal with moving everytime someone comes attacking their node. Open world pvp does not even need to be alive in the first place and is more of a minor option that you can use to let loose some pent up aggression or defend your farming spots. Caravans are an open world event that players never need to go engage with, its never something they would force players to pvp over since its a good thing for players to make it to other towns with their materials. Arena is the only one that might find itself never being used, but it doesn't matter since it is instanced anyway. If players decide not to engage with it the game will still be perfectly fine. Battlegrounds are massive areas with resources and farming spots so there's the continuous incentive to go there and contend with each other.
All in all, the devs have already laid the groundwork for content that people want to play and if you aren't one of those people, that's ok. You can go engage in the other parts of the game because the game has "too much content".
In fact i am more so intrigued to test them out.
Powerful finish but also an unnecessary one, kind of devalued your well written information for me a bit.