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.
Others should have the opportunity to showcase gameplay
Gui10
Member
Steven is a great creative director. Literally. The game looks amazing in so many ways. Also as a project leader, huge hats off to him for what Ashes is becoming.
What he isn't as great as, imho, is his own performance in gameplay.
In the early stages of development, it was sort of funny, funloving and cute to see Steven scramble around, miss spells, look lost, die (thank god for his GM powers), etc. But now, as the game itself is becoming more and more fully fledged, it would be really interesting to see gameplay showcases from someone else's perspective.
I feel like I am watching a noob play when I watch Steven. There is a reason why most of the most watched streamers are in the top tier of their game. The same reason e-sports tournaments with actual pro teams are more interesting than random streamers or college tournaments.
Watching highly skilled content draws my attention and admiration much more than poorly skilled content.
This is in no way drawing me away from the game, but I feel like the streams could be 9/10 instead of 7/10.
I am sure there are some Intrepid staff members who could portray the classes in a better light by playing them how they should be played and taking it seriously.
I would love to see someone else showcase new skills, new classes, etc. Explaining them more clearly and playing them more realistically, in a more challenging setting.
It would also give more time to Steven to continue his great work on the creative and management side.
Cheers
What he isn't as great as, imho, is his own performance in gameplay.
In the early stages of development, it was sort of funny, funloving and cute to see Steven scramble around, miss spells, look lost, die (thank god for his GM powers), etc. But now, as the game itself is becoming more and more fully fledged, it would be really interesting to see gameplay showcases from someone else's perspective.
I feel like I am watching a noob play when I watch Steven. There is a reason why most of the most watched streamers are in the top tier of their game. The same reason e-sports tournaments with actual pro teams are more interesting than random streamers or college tournaments.
Watching highly skilled content draws my attention and admiration much more than poorly skilled content.
This is in no way drawing me away from the game, but I feel like the streams could be 9/10 instead of 7/10.
I am sure there are some Intrepid staff members who could portray the classes in a better light by playing them how they should be played and taking it seriously.
I would love to see someone else showcase new skills, new classes, etc. Explaining them more clearly and playing them more realistically, in a more challenging setting.
It would also give more time to Steven to continue his great work on the creative and management side.
Cheers
3
Comments
I want Stephen showing the game, he is polite, he is a nice person, he is relatable, his voice is nice, he is great in public relations
What could help him?
Running a list of things that has to be showed in the stream, that's all, just to make sure he doesn't forget to show a thing or two
Approaching the game as a complete noob is a great way to show the game's development to super-engaged audiences and non-engaged audiences. The gameplay should also be fun and engaging for all and it shouldn't come across like this is only for people who are high-end players.
That might make people watch, but it won't make them play.
One of the problems I see in many MMOs is that they try and cater far too much to super high-end players and listen too much to streamers and content creators.
Seeing "high-skill" players (and just lots of different playstyles) test out content is what Alpha 2 is for and why it isn't under NDA.
Very valid point. I agree if he had some help with the commentary or a more defined list, it would help.
Those are valid points as well. However I would say that more diversity in the way things are shown wouldnt be bad, and it might encourage more types of players to buy-in to the Alpha!
(i agree with your post)
It was just as important to see Steven accidentally cancelling his cast and also placing it in the wrong place, as it was to see a perfectly timed cast interacting with the fighter's stagger field.
It was just as important to see Steven tab targeting the fighter for heals while melee action combatting the mobs from behind, as it was to see him in the wrong position surrounded by Zombies and unable to move due to body blocking.
Discord
Forum
Also seeing Steven play fortnite, he is actually a good gamer.
Maybe its the game that is hard to play. It still lacks a lot of fundamentals for players to play well imo, like hitfeedback and proper action ability targeting with crosshairs and telegraphs
example:
HE VISIBLY SAW the Respawn Point for players before entering the graveyard.
Later on, he revisited the spawn area and was like "oh what is this *insert name*?"
like bro, u dont know ur own game? and you clearly saw that before and didnt react to it. cut that shit out. Just play, explain/talk without - going... ohhh what is this.. ohhhh spooky... ohhh this... ohh that... hrmmm I wonder what this is..... or do.... when you clearly know.
I saw that too lol, it was quite obvious. XD
Feels like he sometimes tries to recreate a Leeroy moment but like... that ship has sailed long ago!
Now where did I put my popcorn?
That said, Steven has openly acknowledged his gameplay style when doing the development streams. That's good enough for me. Especially when (as another reply said) we'll be able to do our own gameplay testing and streaming in Alpha-2.