Backed five years ago, looking for a TLDR of where we're at now :)

Hello all,

I backed during the kickstarter and I'm just checking in to see where we're at, if anyone has a few minutes and would like to give a quick synopsis of where the project is at, what's is playable, what's due to be playable next, any significant changes in theme or scope from KS etc, that would be amazing.

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Azherae

Nothing's playable now.

Alpha-2 is meant to give at least the base of multiple systems and will be playable next but has no known 'due date'.

If we assume that Alpha-1 was entirely subject to change and is undergoing a full change and revamp, we do not have information on Archetypes, Classes, Abilities, Weapons, or Combat systems.

We have multiple 'confirmations' of continuing with intended systems, theme, and similar.

Scope is not changed significantly. Nodes were working decently in Alpha-1 last year, and are being expanded now. New biomes have been seen.

Game appears to be on track for most core goals of Alpha-2, as of now.

Alpha-1 went well.

Dygz

I'd say scope has changed significantly - upgrade to UE5, significant changes to the model concepts for races, etc. Enough so that the Alpha 2 will start more than a year after Alpha 1 ended.
This for a game that was intended to be released over two years ago.

Character Creator demo was amazing.
Environment demo was amazing.

For a TL;DR, go to the Ashes YouTube Channel and look at some of the recent demos.

Shoelid

+1 to what Azherae said. I would add that they've transitioned to Unreal Engine 5 which has produced some visually impressive results and in the long run will improve development speed. They also updated the designs for the Dunir Dwarves and revealed the designs for Nikua, Renkai, Vek, and Py'Rai.

Like Dygz said, the Dunir redesign and the UE5 change is different than the original plan, but I wouldn't call it a significant change in scope.

Dygz

It's a significant change in scope. Which adds to delays.
And, while Steven said that UE5 will speed development, he also said that UE4 would allow them to release before 2020.

Tyranthraxus

Would say we're looking at probably a 2024 or 2025 launch date.

If you do want a taste before then, it should be mentioned herein that the Alpha 2 will remain persistent until launch. Mind you, the goal will be to fine-tune mechanics and work out bugs, but it should nonetheless be a good taste of what's to come.

Foffer

Maybe 2025 i agree. But there will be a lot of different mounts!

iviy

I was wondering the same thing. I backed during ks but haven't followed development to closely. I wish the developers would be a little more forthcoming with expected release dates, ect.

MissionCreep

Tyranthraxus wrote: »

... it should be mentioned herein that the Alpha 2 will remain persistent until launch. ...

Oh wow, I didn't know that. I don't follow much, I just check in on the game here and there.

SongRune

Even still, it's good to be cautious about one's expectations of persistence. The purpose of Alphas (and even Betas, though the context is different) is to find bugs and work through any unexpected issues that may come up. I have no doubt that the team will try to aim for persistence (they even did this to a limited degree in Alpha 1, when they had made no promise to), it's not unreasonable to expect that there may be some resets from time to time as things develop.

Dygz

Yes. The Alpha is persistent. Characters and Nodes won't be.
We can expect a variety of resets.
In addition, we can expect down time and periods of spot testing as they work on bug fixing and various updates.

YeOldeSmith

Yeah honestly the game LOOKS great, but most of the development we have seen has been very horizontal. Vertical, depth based systems have yet to really be seen, or even captured in concept really. A lot is still in the air. The concept of combat still isn't nailed down 5 years later so I'd say we're a ways out. They said they will convert the combat to tab enhance if they can't get the mixed combat right or if it's not satisfactory but I don't see them nailing it at all.

Murdach

Check out LazyPeon's synopsis as of the end of 2021. Since that video, they have somewhat outlined a dynamic event system similar to GW2's living world, but with more player impact on world events (like what Everquest Next wanted to do with Storyblocks). We also just got gifted with the power of the dynamic weather system. At least 4 distinct seasons, day/night cycles, wind/storm modifiers, environmental hazards/obstructions/platforming, as well as changes to local flora and fauna along with their corresponding mats bases on seasonal conditions. They also showed off their hand-made character creator which looks on par with MetaHuman.

Caww

Rip Van-Winkle says back to sleep for now....

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