Glorious Alpha Two Testers!
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.
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
I like that they are incorporating a variation of elves that are more connected to the earth visually. Its a fresh and bold take on elves that aren't incorporated in most fantasy games.
Is there anything you dislike about the art direction for this race, and why?
I don't know that I would lean so heavily specifically into the horns. If they're connected to nature, why do they specifically look like elk? Could there be other animalistic variations for the elves? If it's done with with subtlety it won't conflict with Tulnar.
What are your thoughts on what was shown during the livestream for the Py'rai female?
I really like the way Steven reveals these and is open to feedback both positive and negative. Keep that up.
Are there any specific Character Creator customizations you would like to see for the Py'rai female?
Some type of variation of elf outside of elk-like. It would be cool if there were other animalistic sliders for all pyrai characters.
Are those really horns? It looks more like she is sporting wood. That would be better than horns, because then we could have leaves, flowers and vines as accessories..
They are branches. Py'Rai also have bark skin.
Really I think the direction of your races is fantastic (this one is not something id play but, its unique and interesting - therefor good). There is no way to satisfy everyone. The only way is to have a super robust character customization so that everyone can tweak your base to each person's likes when they build their toon.
I dont think the horns are bad per say. Not my style but, it might be for someone else and that's ok. The only solution is not limiting the sliders when it comes to customization. The ability to have a ton of variety is what will keep things good for the long haul. More variety the better.
For far to long and in far to many games the races have been rather boring. I'm really glad and appreciative of the effort to bring something interesting and unique to the table. Keep up the good work. Can't wait to see the Tulnar that's the race for me... I hope.
the character creator to test it out. Was a bit dissapointed that the character creator wasn't ready in time but hey, we will wait as long as we need!
I'd like to see the horns able to be made bigger or smaller, i actually quite like that they are a defining trait, the other elven race will have more traditional elven features right? I'd like to also see perhaps some botanical shapes for their face paints / markings.
I would suggest reconsidering this style direction for all models and offer as many options for each of them as possible. This is SO different from the more realistic looking humans with heavy texturing and blank dead eyes. Please go with something like this!
The features of the concept art are incredibly fragile looking though. If they’re going to be a sort of fae, then I’d hope that’s reflected in their racial stats as well. It’s always weird to have a frilly delicate faced race with tanky passives. Options for more bark colors or species I suppose would always be good, along with ways to dim the horn structures into shorter ones or have them as platelike portions of the brow, jaw, or cheekbones.
A cool thing would be season-specific looks for the branches/horns but even to me that seems way out of scope given everything else that needs working on
So here's my two cents. I love what they're doing with it!
Please, do keep trying to do something different and unique with the races that we don't see in other fantasy games, no matter how vocally some people object.
I'm not following and wanting to play and suggesting what I want to see in Ashes of Creation for the same old generic, unchanged humans-dwarves-elves-orcs nonsense.
Those games exist, they're everywhere, and they're a dime a dozen. If people don't want to play something "new and unique", there are about a million other games they can go to. (That said, this is also why I'm hoping we might see some AVIAN TULNAR in the future, even if they're flightless! NO OTHER MMO is doing bird people as a playable race! Not one!)
My feedback on the Py'Rai itself: I like it. Its probably not going to be my go-to race (because I'm waiting on Tulnar), but I like everything they're doing with it. Matter of fact, I could say that I wouldn't mind seeing it go more extreme away from the traditional "elf" look.
Particularly, the model we got to see gives me a few different vibes. Wood elves, certainly, and I quite like the integration of trees/plants/roots into their design, including the root/barkskin!
Something else I noticed that I liked quite a bit was that the Py'Rai female model has an almost feline quality to it. Not like a furry, mind you, just the bone structure and shapes and subtle details. They're very cat-like, if cats were humans. If the Py'Rai are going to be some version of "Nimble forest elves" who stick to/around trees and the like, I find the slight cat-like (and maybe mischievous?) touch very fitting! Please don't abandon that.
I think it really hits the nail on the head for giving them their own charming identity once you stop trying to look at it from the perspective of "What this completely made-up fantasy race you can technically do anything you want with """"should"""" look like" and poo-poo'ing designers who want to go for a fresh take on an old (and overused) concept.
-Avian Tulnar (topic video)
-Dwarf-to-tallest race heights for Tulnar
-Crows/ravens for Falconers
-AC:O & AC:V type aerial scouting for Falconer
When Steven said they wanted to "push a little more on the unique side" I was like "Uh oh.... what are we in for?"
But then once they showed it, I was like "Dude, I could totally see my main character being this race. Show me MOAR!!"
Is there anything you dislike about the art direction for this race, and why?: I like the antlers made of wood but I feel like this race is a little too close to GW2's Sylvari.
What are your thoughts on what was shown during the livestream for the Py'rai female concept?: I think some of the races are a bit too inconsistent so far on fantasy style. Ashes needs to establish an art style that matches everything else. Some creatures look cartoony, but then we have the playable races looking uncanny valley.
Are there any specific Character Creator customizations you would like to see for the Py'rai female concept?: Skin colors/textures/patterns, Antler options/removable, Flowers that grow from the antlers based on seasons.... Also Either make the elves eyebrows long as hell or normal like humans, even if that's the middle of the slider size, it just looks too thick at the bottom compared to the points. Maybe go with a more WoW-like night elf eyebrow.
I'm seeing lots of calls for optional horns, but I don't really think that should be a choice, seeing as how they are a defining characteristic of the race. Doesn't make much sense to be able to turn them off to me.
One other thing I can think of that would be pretty cool would be to have a tree bark type texture on the skin (I can already see a bit of this on the existing model). It'd be pretty cool if the age of the Py'Rai contributed to the progression of "Bark-ification" and all the trees in their home were the elders of their race. Dunno seems like a cool tie in to me.
Overall really loving the direction for the Py'Rai!! Definitely going to be a hard choice between them and the Tulnar!
What do you like about the current art direction of this race?
I love all of it. I love having antlers of sort for wood elves as decor, so seeing that the choice was to make them a part of nature with branchlers (someone used the word and I loved it) that bloom in certain seasons is fantastic. The war paint look is also a huge plus for me.
Is there anything you dislike about the art direction for this race, and why?
Not at all. I actually love it
What are your thoughts on what was shown during the livestream for the Py'rai female concept?
I think as it gets refined and out of the initial stages its going to get even better. I love the direction its going, I love the lore implications attached to it.
Are there any specific Character Creator customizations you would like to see for the Py'rai female concept?
Wide range of hair colors to match or compliment some of the flowers on their branches since they have a plant like emphasis. Blondes, Reds, Strawberry blondes, black, browns. Also I'd love to see different kinds of tree bark for the Branchlers in their customization!
I for one hope you double down on this design. Looks amazing
Personally, I don't care for this Py'rai female model. I was hoping to play Py'rai but this made me a bit doubtful. I would prefer to see drastically toned down features: the antlers, eyebrows, ears, skin designs, and facial skin texture is way too much going on. If there was a half-elf looking option in the customization then I'd be interested in seeing that. IMO the current model is way too 'busy.' The distinctiveness is cool, though.
Why not introduce a system of changing the appearance depending on the class being studied?
For example:
- If you start the game for the race of Pirai, there will be no horns.
- If you choose an Archetype (class), there will be no horns.
- If you select the archetype (class) magician, the horns will appear and will have a magical look and some animation.
- If you choose the Pathfinder archetype (class), the horns will have a curved shape from the face to the back of the head and a small size, so the horns will not cling to branches when moving through the forest (this is the rationale for curved horns). I hope you understand my train of thought.
This will allow players to know in advance the appearance of their character, whether he will have horns or not, and what kind of horns he will have.Let me know if you don't understand or want to know more Discord ZiZi#2011
Again though, I personally think its great. I don't plan to play this race as a main but I think
love the Horn idea, for horns pls a loot of vairetys like from small barely visible to rly obvious big ones ^^ maybe also with a broken horn option, and with adjustable colors? and some horn designs that take this wooden/ leafe asthetic but on the basic shape of different animal-horns?
Ears .... maybe customisable to the point that if ppl dont like these big ones to make them smaller/shorter or to angle it closer to the head
Skin wise maybe give optoin to make it more or less wood like at areas or be able to choose where these wood like elemtents can be at (example not only on the sides of face but also only towards horns or around the forehead entirely going towards the eyes in a pattern) and some different color adjustments as well with ligher and darker options
the accecories are interesting would be interesting if that could be implemented but dunno if that not too much?
Hairstiles would love some open loong hairstiles, but also fitting would be some braided / half braided looks.
I've also taken to calling them 'branchlers' now, too! Intrepid: Please make this canon lore!
I have 2 issues though:
- eyelashes,
- jewelry, especially in right ear; It's ok if it's just for player customization but I don't think that suits race concept, aside from looking awful(at least for me).