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.
Comments
The desert in that game is really big and once you enter it your mini map and your map doesn't show your exact position anymore, you could only see roughly see in which direction you are going. When you enter the desert on a normal mount it is slowed down, you would have to get a desert sturdy mount like a camel to go through it in a normal speed.
In daytime you randomly get a dehydration debuff that damages you overtime unless you drink water and on night time you would get a hypothermia debuff that also damages you overtime unless you drink a hot tea.
There are also some random portals that appear at certain locations sometimes that suck everything in their area in (maybe it should indicate quick sand) and if you enter it you get into a dungeon underneath the desert that has way stronger opponents.
There are also sandstorm in the desert but they are really rare, I've never seen one and don't know what it does, the game only says you should hide in a tent when you get yourself into a sandstorm.
BDO is probably the only MMO that really thought alot about the desert and also got alot of it right. Afterall the desert should be an annoying and inconvenient place.
When it comes to features then I have to say that I would love to see a quicksand in some of the more dangerous areas. Maybe if you let yourself to be swallowed by specific quicksand in the middle of the deesert it could transport you to some sort of catacomb.
Or it could be interesting if there was a huge sand storm slowly moving across the desert and that sandstorm could spawn some high level mobs. Maybe it could block some trade rotues, bcs it would be too dangerous to move inside it without strong protection.
Maybe there could be an event which would spawn multiple of these sandstorms and people would have to find for example world boss and kill it to despawn them?
Also it would be great that if you spend too much time in the desert you could get a heatstroke or some kind of debuff... In the game "ARK survival evolved" I found this to be on one side interesting idea, but on the other side pretty annoying bcs it took too much time to get rid of. If there was some kind of potion with which you could get resistance to this heatstroke it would be actually pretty cool.
About the creatures. I would LOVE to see a monster like "Silurian Scorpion" from the show "Primeval". It can detect footsteps while being burrowed in sand and attack its prey with some kind of thin tentacles. If its prey resist it will come out of sand and fight with those tentacles and claw.
For unique creatures in the desert i'd like to see a gargantuan burrowing predator, which patrols a part of the sandy dunes. Have it act as a terrifying force of nature, where it's area of patrol is marked by warning signs, pleading any who come across to venture no further or forfeit their lives. If the player dare enters the area rumbling can be heard that constantly gets louder on the creature's approach, followed by a loud screech and the predator start to surface, giving the player seconds to retreat until they are devoured whole.
The area it patrols could be home to rare ores or native fauna that can be used in high level gear and potions, giving players an incentive to grab these items, but would need to coordinate in a large group to effectively lure it while other players can reap the rewards. If a nearby node reaches a city or metropolis level, there would be enough resources to figure out a way to keep the predator on the surface, making it a world boss for a large group of players to kill.
Having a threat like this would help with the theme of the desert being a harsh and unforgiving land, making sure you head the warning signs or pay the price. Other games have these types of monsters which have left a cultural imprint, representing a hostile environment that both can and need to be avoided at all costs. Examples include the Fel Reaver in World of Warcraft, the Ghost Leviathan in Subnautica and the Tree Sentinel in Elden Ring. All of the examples include mobs that can be accessed very early, almost as soon as you enter the area, but their sheer presence means that once you enter combat with them, you know you'll need to be stronger to hold your own. Assuming this area is close to a divine gateway (Vaelune starting area) this would also help with level diversity.
Weather systems
I would personally like to see a system where the player needs protection against the cold or the heat depending on the time of day. Monster Hunter has done this where you need to consume a cold or hot drink, or wear armour that provides protection against the harsh climate. It would also be an interesting idea to give the Vaelune a passive racial ability that either reduced or gave immunity to this effect, given their description states that they were forged in the heat of the desert and one of their core tenants is hardship.
Sandstorms would also be a welcome weather effect, reducing player visibility and possibly unearthing resources or treasures that wouldn't have been obtainable if the storm had not unearthed them. If I recall, the team is playing with the idea of environments affecting the potency of spell casting. Imagine if the bards songs were slightly diminished due to the howling winds drowning out the noise. And on the other hand spells that command the power of air gaining a portion of power, combining the already violent gales with powerful magic.
The statues, ambiance and sound design is really good with a sensation of old times.
The desert biome in Black Desert Online is also too good with the lost of compass and map on certain zones.
A world boss like Worm is a good idea for a unique creature and many little worm in other place on desert. Skeletons, vultures, miniautor or other fantastic creatures has there place on desert map.
Finally, I expect to have sand storm, very high temperature on the day and very low temperature at night in the center on desert biome and normal temperature on specific site, oasis or village.
Sorry for my english but is not my maternal language x)
Sounds annoying to me.
There are some animals and plants that are crazy and might be really cool as food sources for harvesting. Things like prickly pear and it's fruit are obvious, but manzanita trees are beautiful and their berries make a good juice, flowers are gorgeous. Sage, prickly pear, manzanita, and a TON of other plants flower after the rainy season. There are honey ants that can be harvested like bee honey, swarms of bats that live in the fallen frond coat of a palm, and some of the coolest inspirational reptiles (thorny devil, armadillo girdled, and how adorable is an elf owl? ... pet?
Can you imagine an open world contested boss in the form of a dire horned viper? He randomly spawns, different location each time, and is hidden under the sand with just his horns showing until an unsuspecting traveler trips on him?
I would encourage you not to shy away from lightening, rain, flash floods, hot springs, or even high desert snow in your seasonal changes--as they are uncommon but not out of place and make it much more interesting. Also, Kelso Dunes, Pismo Dunes... these places are pure fun (and exhaustion).
In any case, I think it's pretty clear that your artists took advantage of the multitude of amazing deserts within driving distance of San Diego (Joshua, Anza, Salton, Mojave, Death, sage scrub of San Diego hills) as it's completely clear you're respecting this biome for its beauty. I felt so nostalgic watching the video!! Bravo.
I would love to see a rain season, where the biom changes a bit: the flora flurishes, flowers bloom, etc. and the monsters change as well and then everything turns back to dry desert
Also, given that based on the current world map it seems biomes are very much singular in location (no multiple deserts across the world), there should be pockets of variety. Some crystal rock area, some black sand area, etc. The size of these things is tough to nail down because you don't want it to be too gimmicky or lose the overall 'you are in a desert' feel but with little fast travel, there should be some variety when you are travelling across a biome.
Would love to see some night only animals that would hunt prey in the dark for example a Desert Fox or a Leopard.
member of Gray Sentinels
So in an area with huge dunes i would like to be capable to slide/surf them down, while scaling them slows your movement down to some extent.
This could make the highground on top of the dunes a good spot to position yourself, while the pits in between the dunes could have rewards or valuable POIs.
This fits the theme of risk vs reward, as your decision to go for the reward would essentially put you in the disadvantage as you would have a harder time to escape gankers.
Overall I think I would just not like to see an open sand dune map, lazy design, with mobs just walking out in the middle of the dunes, in circles for no reason being out there.
I would really like the trope of deserts being full of wandering traders/nomads, which could open up a lot of quests for protection for caravans, to clearing the roads, to trading routes! One of my favorite things about Archeage was that someone could carry cargo to and from trading posts to get money that is part of a fluctuating economy. Like I love being able to interact with people for the economy, and get trading and stuff through player means such as auction houses and all that, but also I think there should be an RP way to not have to "Be and adventurer". Like being able to monetize skills like trade routes, being a merchant not in the sense of selling the stuff you get while adventuring but like buying supplies and selling them at a different location to make a profit. Or being able to be a chef and people want to purchase your meals because it gives them good buffs.
Something that hasn't been done in another mmo like this is the needs system. Where characters need water and food. That would be very fun to navigate on top of everything else, and it gives reasons for people to actively engage in the economy instead of just for loot/gear.
- Sandstorms obscuring your vision and your UI/map.
- Both high and low temperatures which require usage of elixirs, food, or equipment.
- Sand which slows your movement unless specific equipment was acquired.
- Usage of a sunlight/shadow system for quests and puzzles.
- Traversal techniques unique to the biome (sand surfing basically).
What deserts in games stand out for you?
- Breath of the Wild’s usage of negative space to make the desert seem vast coupled with their great use of areas of interest, puzzles, and collectables that made the player feel like there was still a lot to do even if the initial impression was a vast empty desert.
General thoughts:
If there are sandstorm/mirage weather events, I think it would be better to have those be tied more to world events like world bosses, raids, dungeons, etc. I believe it would make for a more memorable experience than constantly being berated by those systems while moving through the zone. Though I do agree that very specific points of interest could potentially have that weather event persistently happening, I feel it should be used strategically and should promote risk vs. reward decisions.
Any gameplay implications for the desert biome weather effects should be softer effects instead of something like losing your entire UI or map information, etc. I would prefer a somewhat reduced visibility from sandstorms instead of nearly complete loss which could be mitigated potentially by player skill, equipment, or abilities. Getting lost from potential mirages also should be minimal or used strategically.
In an MMO, I think it’d be better to make the enemies showcase the biome's unique dangers and avoid most of those survival game elements. Instead of enduring cold or heat damage by entering the zone and thus having to wear resistant armor just to move through the zone, have it so the enemies deal much higher cold or heat damage and have our elemental resistances mitigate that extra damage that is indicative of the environment.
Another element that I would like to see is that the environment affects certain attributes of the character, in the same way that the seasons do, not so much to make exploring the area unfeasible, but enough to feel an impact of it and set new objectives, not simply exploring a new zone (increased effectiveness of skills involving fire or heat during the day, and ice or cold at night; lower speed of mounts from other zones; additional resistances for using equipment with materials from the zone; and the alternative to counter penalties with potions).
I really do hope the enviroment will be more... lively tho.
Sand storms, dust devils, quicksands, dune-style worms and all sorts of other natural hazards.
Would also be cool if the game had a disease system sort of like how vanilla wow did, where you would organically get diseases by simply adventuring in the world and then needed other players (classes/professions) to help you get rid of said debuffs.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP31ixSBO7GHKLBefWVcJaA
- Footprints in the sand
- Creatures that only come out at night(they are avoiding the extreme heat)
- I’d like it if certain mounts are unable to withstand the heat of the desert.(it would be annoying to see someone hopping around on a frog mount in the middle of the desert) (maybe they get a major debuff that makes it so they are unable to carry you, have a speed debuff, and can’t carry as much.
loot drop from some desert-based dungeon or boss maybe?
however far deserts often seem enpty due to missing hide points
i would like to see it partly sandy desert, partly savanah (small grasses), rocky desert, coloration in the orange reddish (sahara, Monument Valley, Gran canyon, Desert Valley, (lion king))
Are there certain aspects of deserts that you like from other games?
since i priotise tropical areas its had to tell for me
What deserts in games stand out for you?
hmm didnt play many games with desert or i mostly stayed away in the more tropical regions, so i would say Scorched earth of Ark survival evolved.
Are there certain points of interest you would like to see in deserts?
Ruins in canyons, tunnel town in the rocky desert, a arabic city on a rock close to a river, a spring in a cave, a waterwell, dry waterwell enters a dungeon, small settlement with small farms, crater or canyon with a lake in it
Are there desert tropes you would like us to include or avoid?
haveing the desert more in zones in the center a sand part, edge of the mountains more savanah, and mounts very rocky but with small bushes. the savanah with gras and some of the iconic trees, the desert part maybe with 1 2 oases with some pals and vegetation besides that dry trees rarely a palmtree, some tiny bushes now an then. maybe some rocks at some points or a rocky valey sourounded by sand. a dryed out lake that gets refilled after rain, may hold some rare animals that only be hunteble once the lake is there.
Which unique creatures do you think should be found in deserts?
scorpions, snakes, lizards, bugs, camel, dromedar, hawks and other birds (dont know english names), gnus, antilopes, lions, gepard, leopard, hyenas, coyotes, crocs (rivers),
What kind of desert weather and seasonal effects do you wish were found in more games?
hot, sunny, air waveing, once its rains all nature goes green and blossoms be seen for a short time, dust flying around, frost seen during the night, tau droplets in the morning,
Dessert Fauna:
Could we hope to see some Giant Worms (Could even morph a shark-worm-like-creature that roams around the dunes), Titan Boa, a type of Sand Leech, Camel Spider-like-creatures, Boney Birds of Prey or Triassic period flying creatures, Poisonous Hares, Centipede-like-creatures like the one in the movie Love and Monsters (Could be added to any Biome adapting to its environment).
At night:
Encounter Mosquitos-like-creatures that if attached longer than 3 secs they could poison you and make you hallucinate and see dead/putrefactive monsters that you then need to fight with). Also some Ghosts or Undead-like-creatures that morph into chests and/or other valuables to prey on greedy adventurers (Could be added to any Biome adapting to its environment). lol
Dessert Flora:
Would be cool to see Carnivorous Vine-like-roots (thorny, others huge), Dessert Rose flower (some carnivorous, others normal. They could provide a specific type of reagent or mat for crafting professions).
Dessert Weather:
Would be cool to see Sand storms, Insect swarms, Volcano eruptions that could cast fiery debris, stone-like-debris storms.
Dessert Environment:
Random Sand pits where the sand below you shakes/sinks or roots you like quicksand. Howling sounds, screeching sounds at night. Volcanic patches, magma areas, etc. Sand burrows, etc.
Dessert NPCs:
Cannibal tribes, Hateful Mirages that can gain the appearance of players or NPCs (these could have a decay-overtime-effect Maybe combative or non-combative .. just for the scare) lol
Hope my crazy ideas help spark something lol
Continue the great work!
Having varying points of elevation such as canyons or hills are really important to break the monotonous flat areas of desserts. A place where I feel like a lot of games fall short is they fail to add enough color variations in the sand and points of interest for contrast. Having stuff like abandoned equipment in the sand are also great story telling devices that can be used to add landmarks and visual breaks in the sand.