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
I also want a lot of emotes and interactive things in the world.
As a long standing 15+ year MMO roleplayer I found the games with dedicated roleplay servers were always the most populated because it was quick and easy to find roleplay.
Mega servers or games without dedicated roleplay servers such as games like Elder Scrolls Online (Even though the game had lots of potential) fell flat in large scale roleplay because it was impossible to find organic roleplay in the world. It was often forced to be cliques and one of the many joys of MMO roleplay is meeting new people with ease.
Beyond that you need to solidify your basics. Cosmetics. Emotes. I would entirely avoid instanced housing for roleplay as this quickly devolves and kills roleplay communities, such as with SWTOR. As you are unable to find players as many of them hide in instances and it makes what is meant to be an alive world feel dead.
Really that's all you need. Ways to connect roleplayers easily without needing to join out of game communities to accommodate for it. Ashes has so much potential that I'd love to see explored and I hope it doesn't make the same mistake that many modern MMOs have with roleplay.
I'm always free to give more opinions and discuss on this if you wish! I run a 2500+ player roleplay community in another game and would love to see it thrive in Ashes.
- Proximity chat for playing (saying, emotes, shouting,, etc). Please don't repeat the mistake of new world and leave this out. That would be a nogo for me!
- Chat Bubbles. Has already been confirmed by Steven in a livestream, but still again. RP works without, but it makes it hard to follow the chat and the characters at the same time, especially with a huge group. Makes for this but a toggle, because out there are enough players who do not want something like that.
- Custom Emotes: There can't be a predefined emote for everything of yours, which is logical. So please make it possible to write your own with /em or so.
- The possibility to sit down (also on chairs and benches), lie down, kneel down, etc.
In addition, some special requests:
- Possibility to lean against walls (I found that great in Age of Conan).
- Nice emotes, like drinking, eating, yawning, etc.
- Interactions with the pet and the mount (e.g. stroking), it would be cool if the pet then reacts to something like that.
- Possibility to offer an emote to others (handshake, kiss) and they have to accept or decline (and then a collective emote is executed).
- Different dance styles
As many a person seem to have already commented, fashion/clothing/customization are huge in RP. The more we have to play with, the better - and diverse, detailed and well thought out clothing goes a long way in helping our avatar's realise the expression we as players have for them in our heads.
Second thing I'd add is the inclusion of an RP bio/character sheet within the game systems, so we don't have to rely on third party add-ons. I'm thinking of a 'Total-RP3' style system, like all the RPers used in WoW. There, I can add subtle details that the devs don't have to account for - it could be a little about the way my character smells/talks/moves. The way I view a character who I've read walks with a limp, will be completely different to the way I view the guy who's character moves in a snake-like fashion.
Main thing I'd say, is take a look at the Total RP-3 add-on for WoW, as it really gets a lot of things right, and takes out a lot of hard work for RPers.
I can only speak for myself when I say that the reason I am excited for AoC is precisely because it's a new world to roleplay in, and if I don't feel catered for as a player, I will be disapointed. However, as previously stated, it's really assuring to see devs making this a concern at this stage in the development process.
Thanks, Intrepid!
peace n love
I'm going to "Ditto" this but add the caveat that I don't role play at all, so while not adding to the Dev question, I wanted to balance out the responses and add that RP is not the be-all end-all feature for many players.
On RP Servers: I dont think they should be "soft core" or "PVE" - The game should stay true to itself and we will certainly have dedicated griefers on RP servers BUT if a server or a few are labeled RP - we will flock and be glad that role players will be a majority faction on a realm instead of being forced to scattered to the wind and pray we find a few other people to write / play with. Especially with server caps at 10k, we will need a little help, even just a hint of help from intrepid to ensure we're more likely to end up with more role players than hateful trolls. PVP and the risk/reward is so exciting to me, especially as a role player. People will assassinate eachother mid-RP sometimes BUT this gives rise to bounty hunter clans and lawfully good guilds who will mark these people and do something about it. Variety is the spice of life but it doesn't feel good to be 1 of 20 roleplayers on a server.. Please consider this.
Onto the rest..
The reason I stuck around to play FFXIV was for the RP potential that was immediately clear thanks to /cpose "change pose."
BDO did it really well too... Toggling between a variety of poses while sitting, standing, laying etc. feels so much more immersive than your idle poses being determined purely by race and sex or simply being the same as everyone else. BDO allowing people to sit and hang their legs off of walls and ledges AND toggle a variety of poses is amazing to me.
Another MASSIVE advantage for role players = persistent animation emotes... like sweeping, slowly turning the pages of a book, eating/drinking, mixing potions, crushing herbs, taking notes about their surroundings, standing guard or glancing around while they lean against a wall, sharpening a blade, flipping a coin, anything that can be done to blend in with the npc world goes a long way towards immersive RP and creating unique scenery for anyone looking to be a part of it.
Toggleable overhead chat bubbles and a few options for style would be awesome. Sometimes they're overwhelming and nice to disable but in most cases it's very exceptionally nice to be able to see whos speaking at a glance rather than inspect every character in an area to see who entered into the chat box.
PROPS. Prop toys or emote-accessories like being able to draw a parasol, a crate or barrel to carry, using a staff like a walking stick, shopping bags for market, a pillow or stool to sit on, lanterns, pile o' tomes etc. Even if they're single-use items we have to stock up on, we will. It's really nice to be able to spice things up with visuals to write around. (Thank you for attention to detail in the cosmetic / accessory designs you've shared thus far.)
I DONT want (or would at least like to be able to toggle) auto-emote based on what I write in my chat.. I've seen people suggest your character laughing if you type "haha" but it would ruin it if there were buzz words we have to avoid typing just so that we're not emoting at inappropriate times. A practiced roleplayer is ready to hotkey their emotes when they need to liven things up x)
Also, in Ultima Online, pets had said commands that they would follow. "All follow me" " All Stay" and other such commands. I was able to whisper the command to be visible only within a step or two of the character, and have customized 'commands' for everyone else to see such as *Sic 'em!* problem is that because the command was technically whispered, it didn't work all the time. If we are able to change such commands if incorporated to custom wording for the same pet command, that would be awesome. [Animal attacks target with this string of words or this emote, etc]
As promised, I'm the least skilled RPer in our group. This type of "Custom Quest" box helps support RP and immersion in a lot of ways:
If I can't play for a few days, particularly if I'm busy or work is stressful, I can often forget what I was up to, or, more importantly, forget the details of the reason or context context that made it a personal experience rather than just a mechanical goal. This type of "custom quest" box gives me an easy way to remind myself and get back in the flow, rather than losing momentum, or having to waste time and immersion reminding myself.
I also feel that if there is a "current quests" HUD, this should be pinned to the top of it, for several reasons:
Here's why that last one is important:
This type of tool provides a way to quickly gauge both what other players are up to, and what type of player they are/what type of experience interacting with them will be. Azherae got into that a bit, but I want to expand on it. With this feature, when looking at other players, you can:
Neither side needs that encounter and conversation where all you find out is that your playstyles are incompatible and neither of you were interested in interacting with the other, but now you've been jolted out of your flow, immersion, or RP. Knowing what general type of person someone is before engaging with them improves the experience for both sides.
You can get a lot of information from what someone writes about their current 'quest' or activity and the style they write it in. What's more, now you already have a basis for engaging with each other. This creates opportunities for interacting with someone that didn't exist before. Here's an example from another game (bleh, BDO), which honestly almost deserves its own entire post:
In BDO, if I'm crafting. Woodworking, Alchemy, whatever, I'm probably standing at a Storage Manager, staring into space. Nobody can engage with me about crafting, or as a crafter, because the game never allows me to create any context where I am actually doing that. Even in a poor quality environment like this one, having this type of box would let someone who inspects me see that "what I'm up to right now" is Woodworking, Pottery, whatnot, even if I'm running around town gathering supplies. Now they can engage with me about that, because they know it's a thing. I've just gained an entire facet of identity and presence that I didn't have before.
Obviously this can be done better with better environmental factors. FFXI is a good example of this. Unlike BDO where 'crafting' is handled either by standing in front of a storage manager, or else 'forced to be in your instanced house, hidden from players' (yes really), FFXI has a clear public animation when you're crafting and local message about what you produce. I know if someone's leveling Alchemy, trying to HQ a particular gear piece, making some food, etc right away. I can go "Hey, can you help me make this item?" and hire them. As a high-level Woodworker, can go "Oh, you're making X? Do you need a bunch of Y?". Hell, I can predict what materials from my craft might be in demand on the marketplace just by walking around.
Just having a context for what others are doing opens up entire full interactions and opportunities to engage and interact with each other as part of a community that didn't exist before. Even if our current action isn't the type that's announced by the game. Even if we're setting up to do something rather than actively doing it that very instant. That's a powerful tool for both RP and community engagement.
Even beyond all of this potential for both more and higher quality interpersonal engagement, this gives you the opportunity to be inspired. Whether you interact with someone or not, even if they're not your style, you can see what they were up to, and think about what impacts it has on the world, or even be reminded of something similar you were interested in at some point but hadn't had time for. Whether you involve them or not, that person has created a richer world and experience for you. And in the exact same manner, it provides you an opportunity to inspire like-minded individuals, yourself.
This codification and display of personal identity and current focus is helpful in another way as well. Many groups have one or more "RP leaders". People who integrate their players experiences, generate storyline for the group as a whole, and help guide and support the experience in general. Whether these people are skilled or not, this type of "Current Personal Quest" box can be a useful tool.
For stronger RP leaders, it can show them what their group is up to or interested in, and give them something to integrate into the current narrative or build it out of/around. It can provide a way for other players in their group to catch up, or get small updates on the status of things without having to pester everyone in chat when they logged in late due to the latest work emergency. They just have to find the people in the first place. By looking at the "Current Quests" of their group members, any given player can figure out what everyone's role is, and piece together the status of the storyline, even if they missed some evolutions.
For weaker RP leaders, it can give them something to work with in a different way. By helping the members of their group develop, sustain, (and show) a cohesive personal identity, this tool makes it easier for them to understand "who they're working with", both over time, and in the current moment. It's always better when your party isn't wishy-washy, particularly if you don't have the skill to create the entire structure yourself. Not to mention it helps to be able to see the difference between "SongRune is out relaxing and gathering wood for future projects." and "SongRune has been hired to build NiKr a new bed." when you see me splitting some logs in town.
Overall, this sort of thing can improve group dynamics, smooth personal interactions, inspire new story or pursuits, and create opportunities for new friendships (or rivalries!) that wouldn't have existed on their own.
Players rave about the star wars mmo rpg story lines but I havent tried that game.
Voice acting, cut scenes, multi-choice quest lines that play out differently based on what you choose.
Runescape has great elements as well.
Some thoughts:
Some people are very traditional roleplaying requires a dungeon master and dice rolling to do. These types would appreciate if there is some system in the game to support that. Its a lot of work, but giving them something where a dungeon master can create a blank character template sheet, that players assign their stats too, and can use to level up and go on quests together with would be great for them. (this is not my type btw lol)
Some people love to hang out in taverns or social locations, and chat together casually in character using public chat /say. For this group it is very important to have speech bubbles, and a very extensive emote system.
The last major group is storytellers. They like to write novel style adventures together, rarely use dice rolls, but more write what makes sense at the time, and these people record and document their adventures, creating very deep and engaging character and story lore that can span years and even multiple games. (my type). This group requires good systems to be able to capture the experience, screen shots or good tools for it.
Based on the category of RPer that I am, I can tell you, that I very, very much want a powerful system to take screenshots. The ability to go into a 'screenshot mode' and create custom poses, control lighting effects and external shaders like ReShade in this mode goes a long way for someone to create a lot of content for their OC. Look at FF14 #GPOSER community as an good example of tools like this.
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However, the main thing that every RPer wants, is a powerful system for character customization.
All of that said, there is one thing common to every RP group that will ever explore the depth of lore Interpid is giving us, that this discussion needs to capture.
Transmog system.
This system needs to give a lot of tools to recolor and reskin our gear. Look at GW2 as a decent idea, although they really have limited choices the system is in place for a lot of options. Each piece of gear has multiple dye slots, for dying different parts of the gear skin. Dye works differently on different kinds of material (cloth, leather, metal, etc)
Any gear you have unlocked on your account can be used so long as that character can wear that gear type.
This is something we need. Don't make me spend hundreds up to thousands of my inventory slots storing away gear pieces that I might use for transmog. And then I struggle to find that once piece I am looking for when I want it.
Have a gear unlock system, where once you get a piece once, it is available for transmog whenever wherever as many times as I want.
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An optional thing to keep in mind, well its going to happen one way or another, but in RP communities graphical mods are a very common thing. Yes your character models might already be good. . .
but they arent customized to the tastes of the particular RPer about their OC. People want customized hair, eyes, clothes, everything.
Not everyone does it, but it is common enough it will eventually happen, and happen first in RP communities, so consider making it easy on them to implement.
For those who enjoy roleplay, and chatting about all Ashes of Creation has to offer for storytellers, be sure to check out the Ashes of Creation Roleplay Discord!
Link is here: https://discord.gg/YG8zXAPd4z
It's a great place to hangout, make friends, and get to know other role-players of all different backgrounds!
Come say Hi! Extra points if you say I sent you!
I am a HUGE fan of consequential small encounters. They're the best part of Skyrim.
Perhaps even let everyone start with the generic 'dance' but allow players to spend time/do quests to learn the moves to the other dance styles. Not many would bother, but I would LOVE to find another player who likes to tango!
Discord
Forum
To address this, integrating mini-games into the game, such as chess, mancala, word games, or puzzles, can provide a structure for social engagement. Similar to grouping in a dungeon, these mini-games offer a more casual approach to interacting with others. They can be designed as objects that players can invite each other to use while in a tavern, home, or guild hall, adding to the immersive roleplaying experience.
Moreover, by incorporating regionally stylized game sets players can collect rare or exotic variations, enhancing their sense of ownership and customization within the game world. This not only encourages social interaction but also allows for personal expression and a deeper connection to the virtual environment.
1. You should not make it unreasonably hard, expensive or impractical to apply or alter your cosmetics. My "Lord of Doom and Brimstone" look might not be what i want in villages or while farming. I'd like to see a system like SWTOR or LOTRO where you can save appearances to cosmetic tabs and switch freely between them.
2. Class fantasy. Very important. Small things that are purely cometic, social or just plain practical or fun should absolutely be in-game. If you are a fire mage, being able to light campfires and torches should be within your ability to do. A paladin casting a spell should have a different cast animation than a necromancer casting their flavor variant with the otherwise same effects. A bladedancer should have wildly different melee animations than a dreadnought.
3. Naming. Oh my god, NAMING. If you plan to enforce a reasonable RP policy on any server, point me to it and I will play there exclusively. If I for example get approached by a seemingly seasoned roleplayer, I don't care if he has an epic LOTR-like storyline for me to partake in; if his name is xXxLegolazxXx, DarthVâder, Fourtwenty or something I'm gonna nope the heck out and blacklist the guy.
4. Being able to select your in-game music in your tavern, freehold or home. My earlier mentioned Lord of Doom and Brimstone won't take kindly if his den of evil has a happy rainbow unicorn musical vibe to it.
5. This is rather rare in games: Weapon sheaths. Having a 2h sword on your back, magically hovering slightly over your cloak with its edges free? I'd prefer to wrap it a bit, thanks. And keep the sheath there after i unsheath it to whack goblins. Can we have those? Pretty please?
6. Emotes, stances and looping animations. LOTRO did this quite well in some areas, e.g. letting a pipe smoke animation loop till you canceled it. Don't let animations last 10 seconds or less. If I want to wait for someone with my arms crossed, resting my hand on the sword hilt or while playing a guitar non-stop - let me.
7. Being able to alter your character after creating it. A lot of games restrict that in a LOT of ways, just allowing hair changes. If I want a permanent scar after RPing injury after a fight, I should have that option. If I want to remove my tattoo because reasons, it should be possible.
8. Different voice options. Not just pitch, but "presets" like ruffian, noble, sadistic, mad and so on.
9. Being able to wear multiple items in the same "slot" without one being exclusive. For example, I might want a quiver AND a cloak, a plate chest armor AND a cloth layer (tabard for example) over it. Chainmail under regular clothing. Being able to dress for cold weather and NOT remove the armor beneath.
10. Make enemy and NPC looks obtainable within reason. There might be cool looking dreadknights or awesome monk outfits I would like to obtain or emulate. If they also dropped a cosmetic unlock for their respective weapons too I'd be happy
11. Low-fantasy options. Not everyone appreciate a neon fairy look or a fuming, burning visage. Simple, medieval-inspired stuff would be appreciated. And don't be afraid to go grimdark either. My teoretical dark lord craves it. He needs it to brood properly.
12. Blood. Dismemberment. Things that give the game a pretty mature rating. There are horrors in the world, and it just isn't plausible that it should be just fairytales and simple, one-dimensional hollywood evil.
13. Class fantasy. Yes, #2 was class fantasy also, but that's how important it is to me - like how bacon is important to Ron Swanson.
I'll list a few things that really make the world feel good, and alive.
Conditional emotes. Emotes that change and adapt to conditions. If I type /sit for example if I am in the middle of a square, a regular sitting, or crouch (possibly race specific) But if I type it at the edge of a wall, sitting on the edge with legs dangling down is SO immersive.
Make any bench and chair interactable (allow me to sit in them) SWTOR for example doesn't do this, and it disappoints me to no end.
Things like character notes. Something optional to fill in. Seeing as there are no add-ons, an in-game variant of what could pass for a character sheet. Where I can add little details on my character that perhaps the character creation doesn't account for. With possible image reference links for character art.
RP-tagged servers. Now, I know you've already said you don't want to do that. But I really want this feature. Failing that, of course, there are alternatives.
RP tags on players. Like how Final Fantasy 14 does it.
A single free server transfer When the game will first launch, there will inevitably be a large number of players, everyone will want to get on and experience the game, there won't be a whole lot of RP the first few weeks. Later on when the dust gets settled people will start to migrate. I for example won't continue playing on my server if nobody else RP's. Whenever RP'ers are presented with something like a lack of server tag, an unofficial ones gets designated, and being unwilling to provide those tags for the community (which I'll be honest doesn't bode too well for the consideration of the RP community as a whole) can off-set some of that.
Clear and concise rules Make a list of easy to digest rules, that aren't hidden in a lengthy terms of service (almost)nobody will read. Especially on what is considered griefing. Because for some reason people love to try and dislodge and disturb RP. Be it by spamming the chat, or stripping naked and dancing in ones face, excessive use of spellcasting, all to try and ruin someone's RP experience.
Minimise the amount of items that can mess with people. Think Piccolo of the Flaming Fire that makes people dance. Or items that create a myriad of effects.
Empty spots Things that serve no real in-game purpose. No quests, just pretty sights. Think of a meandering river on the outskirts of town. Gardens, parks, things like this.
Items And I mean items that you can place, temporarily, perhaps even as part of an emote. That allow you to bring a stool when you go fishing. Or a picnic blanket. Items that make the world feel just a little more real, without any specific gameplay functionality, other then immersion.
Lore Explain things in-game. If I am a magic user, within the quests I get, teach me about the nature of magic, how it works. Why I can use it and someone else might not be able to. Make the lore consistent. Don't retroactively change lore to fit a narrative, plant the seeds of future content, so that those with an inquiring mind can hypothesise year(s) in advance.
Skills Lean into class fantasies. Give me skills/spells that are entirely useless for combat. The ability to look through my familiar's eyes as a Mage. Pickpocketing as a Rogue. Things like Comprehend languages. Create Light, a spell like prestidigitation.
This last one is not something I expect, not anymore.
GameMasters When I first started in MMO's like really started. The Game Master was pretty much the first line of customer service. They took the time, didn't come with standard responses, and treated you human. The last couple of years, the standard has declined, tremendously. Because they are met with arbitrary goals that can not always be quantified ahead of time. Get through x amount of tickets. Thus gamifying the system. It's one of the easiest things to cut corners in profit wise. On that same note. Give them the ability to enter and effect the game, spontaneous events. It's absurd that private servers are able to do this even if they don't make any money. Some of the more memorable moments have been cool GM interactions, even just through stories passed on. Like on my WoW server, a horde guild (I was horde) they got the Alliance loot table, but a GM was watching, because at the time, getting that far was rare. And he sorted them out quick. They, can also "patrol" high traffic areas unseen and nip in the bud any potential griefers. Not by banning, but a simple whisper giving them a friendly heads up.
Areas that are just good terrain are something I take for granted, and very much wanted
I roleplay the guy that needs to buy a certain rare material to craft my sword. Or the guy who's selling that rare ingredient. I roleplay a bandit and a thief, or a defender of those who can't defend themselves. Or a warrior in a guild battling the top warriors of other guilds. Or a guy in a guild who needs help from another guild to kill a powerful boss.
If the game allows all of that that is, which Ashes I think does. So just keep doing what you're doing. Give me a strong economic system where players have to rely on trade with other players. Give me challenging pve where I have to cooperate or compete with other players. Open world pvp with a criminal system where actions and choices matter. Guild and node wars, sieges, where I can be the victor or the defeated, with consequences to the world.
Your game already is an RP paradise just by playing it. Keep doing what you're doing. RP in other games will be a child's play toy compared to the stories that will come from Ashes.
Sure throw in some emotes too. And sitting in chair animations. That's the cherry on top I reckon.
A major hurdle to the RP community is griefing. People looking to ruin the immersion of others.
A few fixes for this are possible of course. For chat griefing, simply an ignore feature is great, or the ability to create separate chat boxes that exclude area-wide chats.
For a world with open world PvP, an in-lore reason for people to be able to revive is huge.
But on the flip side, giving players an in-lore reason to have stakes would be huge too. You already have experience loss as a mechanic, but what happens to an ashes of creation NPC when they’ve died and revived too much and too quickly? How does that affect a person?
"Where is the rp at?"
When it comes to roleplay, I've always found that the first thing a system/game needs to offer is a known hub or method where role-players can find each other. While we will roleplay just about everywhere, some games will load players into different instances or channels of the same map. Provided everyone is in the same instance, the location, tends to usually be the same The Tavern.
"Can I sit there?"
Being able to interact with our surroundings is a great way to ensure immersion. This is usually limited to some chairs all facing the same direction, and it works. If allowed to move or place down chairs/tools temporarily to sit, maybe set up a picnic, then it would be even better.
Systems
What to avoid
Leaving roleplay systems in the back burner. I would not expected this portion of the content to receive all the time and effort, but, it would be really nice to see feedback and tweaks be done to any implemented roleplay systems. I would settle at this point for a game that gives quarterly maintenance to the roleplay content.
- Frufire
You can't cover everything, but in general if an activity is going to be very common, it should have a robust content set around it:
To answer the question more directly, accessibility and relevance to common gameplay activities make roleplaying fun. It reduces the barrier to entry and lets everyone do a bit of casual roleplaying.
Man, walking and writing at the same time is so normal for me I didn't even think to include it in my list.
Maybe even being able to set default ones for my character.
Different ways of sitting, waving, laughing ect.
Having your character look at something when you click on it.