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
There was a lot of info about Mayor (that seems like a big job) but not enough about Nodes, development and sieges etc
What excites you about playing and interacting with the Node system?
Need more info, are there other jobs below Mayor? At this stage yes can help out the node but if its a terrible Mayor/Guild probably just end up moving away. Try find a node that makes you feel a part of hats going on.
Is there anything in particular you’re excited or concerned about regarding what was shown with the Village Node Update?
Too much power on the Mayor and only the Mayor, Large guild running it all and not much for the little guys to do.
What are your thoughts about the visual fidelity of what was shown with the Village Node Update?
Overall it was good, some glitches, felt like the wind was too intense always on ( but that could be due to speeding up building ?)
DO all nodes of the same type have the same spots where the buildings go?
Still looks like meaning full housing is very limited - hopefully A2 testing shows this and allows increases.
Need/want more detail on node development and destruction.
While the visual upgrades were nice to see, I have to be honest in saying I was hoping to see some more mechanical functionality in the demonstration. Not too much for me to give feedback on besides that and the theoretical mechanics that were discussed. Of course, I understand these video updates can only be so long, and from the way this system was discussed during the slide show, it sounds like a lot of the mechanical functionality of nodes is still in the conceptual phase, so I’ll take what I can get
Onto your questions:
How do you feel about the Village Node Update so far?
Overall, I like the direction things are going in. I loved the verticality present in this particular node. Being able to walk across the threshold of the village and see a huge windmill spinning hundreds of feet above you in the distance is really satisfying. I also loved seeing how large this simple stage 3 node was. I can't even begin to imagine how big the metros will be! Of course, imagining that, and realizing that every node will have to have every stage of its cycle handcrafted before launch has also drastically increased the length of time I imagine it will be before A2 and final launch. I don't envy the herculean effort required of you all to make this dream a reality, but I wish you all the best in that endeavor and am grateful for you!
I like the system of requiring citizens to put forward some resources in order to validate the building decisions of the mayor. I liked the system of purchasing bulk resources and choosing what materials you want to buy in order to make up these different recipes. It would've been cool to see a demonstration of one node delivering these goods on a caravan to the other, but it sounds like that update is on its way soon here.
I liked the concept of a live process for building construction, but I'm not sure I like the execution. I’ll break this down in a response to your later question about concerns.
What excites you about playing and interacting with the Node system?
I’m excited to feel a sense of belonging in a home I helped bring into being. I really hope these places are given enough attention to detail to feel worthy of the technological achievement that their engineering masterminds are executing. If the mechanical side of their creation and destruction works perfectly, but they feel just as stale and lifeless as every other MMO village / city / metropolis, I’ll be fairly disappointed. What excites me about the node system isn’t just the ability for them to dynamically rise and fall, but for them to feel dynamic while they’re active. This should come from NPC pathing/animation schedules, opportunities for fun events to take place in the nodes based on their size (node-funded craft fairs that focus on one or more particular crafts allowing players to advertise certain schools of goods with lowered tax rates and bring in traffic from other nodes, node-funded seasonal fairs and events that allow opportunities for dynamic events to occur, special quests and rewards, etc), the allotment of nicely curated areas for players to gather in game while discussing node or guild affairs over discord, those sorts of things.
I understand that this showcase was still very much a work in progress, but in the future, it would be great to see the NPCs have more life breathed into them than most MMOs. I really hope we get to see more complex pathing patterns for them. I think MMOs are just starting to get past the point of NPCs hanging around and doing the same thing all day and night. Even if they do the same pathing and three different things every day, it's better than seeing them perpetually hanging out at the same stall, sitting in the same chair, standing at the same post all day every day. Maybe even have them clear out of the street at night and walk into the apartments to disappear until morning, or go into the inn and grab a seat at the bar? I understand that basic services should always be open (Or should they? That’s a whole other convo) but flavor NPCs are there to give flavor, it would be fun to see the same familiar faces doing different things now and then.
Overall, nodes should allow opportunities for players to feel a sense of belonging so that they’re inspired to defend their node against outside forces and not be constantly prone to node-envy if they find themselves living in a smaller tier node. They should all have their own character and value separate from the service buildings they provide and their proximity to x y z resources.
Is there anything in particular you’re excited or concerned about regarding what was shown with the Village Node Update?
Okay, this is a lot, but as someone who sees a great deal of potential in the building animation concept, I really wanted to speak on this. Let me break down my feedback into multiple points so it’s not a big word salad:
1. Foundations don’t need scaffolding in order to be laid. In the video, we saw multiple units of scaffolding rise and fall at the beginning without anything being built. Groundwork should be done first, as it was done in the video, but scaffolding is not necessary at this point.
2. Scaffolding should be built where it makes sense. In the video, we saw scaffolding going up somewhat willy-nilly most of the time. When the forge enclosure pops in, there hasn’t even been any scaffolding built to surround the foundation lines. The only scaffolding that was designated for its construction only begins to rise out of the ground after the building is finished, is nowhere near any of the walls, and clips straight through the center of the roof. The two-story addition next to the forge building goes up a little more realistically, but again, we see scaffolding going up way higher than anything it’s building before coming back down, scaffolding for certain sections only going up after those sections pop in, etc. It just looks like a bit of a mess.
3. As walls are first going up, scaffolding should be built around the perimeter of the foundation lines, not on or through them. Wherever portions of the building are being constructed, there should be scaffolding directly next to wherever new additions are made, before those additions are added, that do not clip into those new additions when the new additions pop in. If the building is multiple stories tall and interior scaffolding is being used, it needs to come down before the second level starts going up so that the floor of the second level can be established. Once the second floor goes up, there can be some bits of new scaffolding installed at the second level interior, but I don’t think it’s necessary if the exterior scaffolding can just be built up higher. This scaffolding may end up being quite elaborate and completely surround the building at some points, but that’s just the way it is, as it makes little sense to have scaffolding on two sides of a four sided building while all four sides go up at the same time.
4. NPCs should play a more direct role in the construction animation. A lot of what we saw in the video were just random bits of buildings (or entire halves of buildings) popping in without anyone actively working on them beforehand. I saw a few NPCs up on the scaffolding, but they didn't appear to be doing much or working where new building sections were popping in. Whenever any addition is added to the building - foundations, scaffolding, walls, roofing, etc - there should be an NPC within a yard or two performing some sort of relevant construction animation. With this in mind, I think it would be great if the animations for the buildings themselves were done in smaller segments. Have one 2x2m segment of wall go up in front of every NPC at a time, have a couple NPCs working on ladders on the top floor before the roof framing goes up, then have them and a couple extras on the scaffolding outside hammering away at the framing before the roof pops in. Have windows, doors, and planter boxes go in after the walls. The two-story addition to the forge building did a better job of this than the forge enclosure itself, which seemed to just pop in all at once.
To me, without these changes, this animation process is just as immersion breaking as having the entire building just magically appear out of nowhere, if not more so. Sure, it’s more gradual, but when it’s all just sort of magically appearing over the course of several hours or days with no rhyme or reason to any of the construction animations or the people working on it, it’s almost breaking the immersion for more people over a longer span of time than it would if it suddenly appeared after (x) number of hours. If this level of accuracy isn’t feasible, I’d actually prefer that the construction phase was changed to something that looks more like this:
The building phase could simply be a modularly constructed cluster of polygons that roughly mimic the shape of the final structure, textured to look like full-coverage scaffolding covered in textiles to obscure the construction process. The construction site could have audio emitters giving off construction sound effects, and even some occasional dust particle emitters that waft out through the textiles for as long as the building process takes, and when the building is finished, the asset for the building could pop in underneath the scaffolding, and the scaffolding could be taken down piece by piece during the final stretch of the wait time, slowly revealing the finished asset.
What are your thoughts about the visual fidelity of what was shown with the Village Node Update?
The visuals are coming along really well. I like the Kaelar style a lot. Seeing these higher fidelity buildings has begun to assuage my fears of inconsistent visual style. These fears are still present when it comes to the concept art we've seen with some of the zanier cosmetic packs and otherworldly creatures, but environmental assets are doing well in my opinion. When you look at the details, the buildings (while fairly realistic in nature0 do have a certain, subtle flair of their own that's consistent throughout all the new assets. Hopefully, as more assets come along and we see them implemented in higher level nodes, POIs, and other locations, the game will begin to come into its own recognizable style.
Thanks so much for all your efforts! I can't wait to see the next node update and anything else you all have the share.
For example I would have liked to see the effects of the race, in terms of visual effects related to the nodes, the different stages of the nodes, impact on/from nodes/environment etc. and not just running through a node doing some rpg and a bit of crafting."
2) "Was looking forward to seeing something more with regards to how these nodes develop from a small encampment, up to higher levels and how it will interact with the environment but I guess that will have to wait for another time, as it would be a lot of work creating those presets."
^Strongly agree with these assessments already shared!
In regards to length of streams... I prefer quality to quantity. It certainly is more exciting when features or updates are being shared that are new. Or there are major changes. Streams do not need to be long just for the sake of having a long stream and rambling about points already shown or discussed. IDK if the point of that is to buy time for steven or staff to gather their thoughts or be available.
I found the village level node to have the same lived in quality as the upper level graphics of Witcher 3. (Compliment).
While some things were left out, the video covered the basics and answered a lot of questions.
Good job.
well, to me this could be enough to not even want to play it anymore, only truly great-designed combat/pvp or very drastic changes to this concept might change that opinion from now on, cuz if they truly want to bring politics inside a game where I intend to relax and chill, and definitely not worry about secret Cabal guilds behind 'mayor', or taxes, or citizenship fee(wtf) I'd rather jump ship before it turns out to be mandatory (or perhaps another fee)
This is the first feedback discussion for me where I really like to read the reactions, and it amazes and actually, a bit scares me that so many of you consider this as great content and are ready to play politics even in-game where you will be paying monthly fees both IRL and the game for actually be able to do that
The art team is just killing it. The look and feel of the town was spectacular, you guys knocked it out of the park. It was very atmospheric and it didn't even have any background music or nature sounds. I can't wait to see the other races aesthetics in future streams!
Is there anything in particular you’re excited or concerned about regarding what was shown with the Village Node Update?
I know this was just for show for the stream, but I can not stress enough having all the villagers doing something, NOT just standing there. I.e. the building manager when Steven went to build the blacksmith. Have him doing something, even as little as pulling out paper, measuring with a yard stick or something, then writing on a piece of paper, or just walking and doing this as he looks over the blank construction area in the node. The same goes for stall people..have them doing something....even its just as little as walking back and forth in front of their stall..have them DO SOMETHING! I can't stress this enough!!!!!!!!!
What really got me excited was to see the split level elevation within the node...that was soooooo good!!! So immersive and to imagine that with some background city and ambient noise and a soundtrack ambiance....it will be jaw dropping and you will be in full immersion and not even realize it.
What excites you about playing and interacting with the Node system?
To see it grow and find all the hidden gems within. I know you guys couldn't go over everything in one stream, but I can't wait to find out more info about each node type, it's details, in short what makes it special and why I or anyone else would want to be a part of it.
Hats off to the entire crew working on this. You guys rock...HARD! Keep up the great work!
Is this a game with excellent world rendering distance? But the fog and haze obstruct our view into the distance. Let it be present, but not always and not everywhere, and not so dense.
There's also a feeling that the environment is moving while the character remains static. Connect the camera and the character using a 'rubber band' mechanism.
I'm looking forward to engaging in a node with real-time dynamic changes; it's going to feel alive, which I can't wait to experience. I'm happy to hear citizens have an active role in the development of nodes, such as contributing supplies to the building construction to aid in its completion. I was concerned that Mayors were going to have all the fun, but after this livestream, I'm more satisfied that citizens have an important role in the direction and upkeep.
Concerns I had have been covered by other comments, I gave them a like. A little impatience on my side; I'm eager to see the node "level up" and other racial influences. I liked hearing that node expansion will be like district construction, so I can kinda visualize it like the building demonstration we had.
I enjoyed seeing NPCs walking and doing things, even though they need work. My only additional thought is that I would like to see some more seating areas/picnic benches, etc., on the main streets. Sometimes if I go semi-afk, I like to feel part of the community by RP sitting/leaning against walls/idle stances.
My suggestion for this concern of mine {and many others} while keeping the streams nice, clean and newbie-friendly, is to make blog-type posts with news about the progress of the game systems that happened, or are happening, what you are working on and what is *maybe in the future* in testing.
Feedback on the matter of in-game systems by a mass of people while valuable, takes time to put into the game, so as long as it is not one of your *core systems* that you have set in stone. Asking feedback Before implementing the system might be more valuable and efficient than showing a system that will require a major change.
I do like the monthly *what do you thing x class should do* or the rp question, that is a good start.
Game is so pretty, cant wait to play it, keep it up.
PvP fan, out.
For me, this means that people either realize they will have little to nothing to say with regard to the node system and the content of the area or that the concept of this system simply isn't that exciting.
The freehold system showcase seemed a bit like an eye-opener for a lot of players I feel which is why so many people commented. The reality of the semi-hardcore player who just wanted to focus on his crafting and making his place in the game through that came shattering down as this system will be pretty much exclusive to the highest bidder.
The problem with this Livestream is that it was shown from the perspective of the mayor and not the common player and how they will interact with the node system - it showed us everything that the vast majority of the players won't ever experience.
If the goal is to get you to think "Wow, I really want to be the mayor of a town" and get people excited that way then you are digging yourself a massive hole for the time when the reality of how the node system will work comes crashing down on them. If the development of the node dictates the content of the node then there is only one group of people who have a say in that content: the guild that controls it, and they will do whatever suits them.
What am I supposed to be excited about as a player who is realistic enough to know, he will not be a mayor or not have enough time to be in a top top guild that does have the time?
What I would like the majority of these systems live streams to focus on is how most players will be able to interact with it (realistically) and how you will ensure that The Mayor and his guild don't basically play by themselves (no, relying on their character as a person is not a valid argument).
The top-tier possible level of play is great and cool to see but for someone like me, it doesn't show what I can achieve, but rather what I'll have to live with while others have fun with it.
^ This ^
I was about to post the same thing. It's interesting to have a glimpse of what it will be like for the mayors because, frankly, very few people will ever see this side of the interface or the options that will be available. From what we saw, we have to extrapolate what it will be like for the vast majority of players. So, in a way, we were told, but not shown. Information was conveyed, we know we'll have ways to rein in straying mayors, but we also know they can operate with cronyism easily.
I believe historical peasants would revolt whenever the tax rate hit upwards of 25%. That would be a destructive consequence of player actions. Buildings burn down, productivity reduces, resources go “missing” and criminal activity increases. That keeps things within the risk-reward theme. Seems you already have the PVP mechanisms in place based on a consensus model with other players, but you also need a PVE element because the NPC population should be greater than the PC population and PVE would be their “voice” in the matter. I also think you could really build content off of this. Think Robin Hood. And this PVE destructive theme could allow for more PVP opportunities without corruption within a node as players/citizens choose between the loyalty to the regime versus the wellbeing of the NPCs until the next election cycle. You know, “peaceful” protests.
I would also like to see more political models than the four currently planned. Perhaps that could be a long term thing, and could even be related to the racial theme of the node. Such things as councils (by players or families or guilds, etc), representatives based on districts (best suited for cities and above), a monarchy played by a GM or NPC with perhaps control being a power behind the throne arrangement (whether secretive or an overt kingmaker), a matriarchal system, etc.
Overall this showcase was very positive and shows the game is going in the right direction. There was a lot packed into it and the only wish I had was to see more of a transition showcase on a nodes progression all the way to metropolis. And then something similar for each racial node theme, but I suppose we get to experience that in Alpha 2. The other piece would be node wars and sieges on these villages, towns, cities, etc. Maybe we get a peak of that in future showcases and I do understand you want whatever is to be presented on nodes to be ready for such presentation given the time and effort to make it right.
Liked the change to electing Military node mayors, it makes a lot more sense in a game that's intending to balance around group combat. Though I'd rather see it be an 8v8 tournament than just another popularity contest that can be cheesed with huge numbers. Skill should determine the winner with balanced team sizes, zerging smaller groups takes zero skill.
Liked the concept of nodes specializing in certain things through buildings which should limit production to a degree among other things. How limiting will it be is what I'm wondering. In most other games every major city you're able to mass produce every sort of crafted item but it would be nice to see regions and/or cities to be known for their specialty crafts and produce. I think this type of system is what you're going for here and It should achieve that. Only other MMO I've played with a similar system is Albion Online and their economic system was by far the best I've experienced. This will be taking it to the next level.
Everything else I'd need to see in game in detail to know if it's a good system or not such as buy orders, mandates, node currency, etc.
Gameplay portion was lacking significant amounts of examples/mechanics that should be expected for an update on a system of this magnitude. Node stages, difference in node types, node progression, building types, interiors of buildings and how they work, player owned businesses like taverns and stores, examples of instanced housing, node systems, such as voting, electing mayor's, node reputation, the list goes on. This is supposed to be the most intricate and important part of the game yet you guys barely scratched the surface in an hour long video, some of which was filler content. I could have just stopped watching after the slideshow and wouldn't have missed anything important. We've already seen just about everything you showed us in the previous node updates 2 years ago, aside from some new UI and graphics improvements. Has there really not been any more advancements since then? It doesn't seem like you're going anywhere with this concept of a game being slow walked to testing and an eventual release.
The design philosophy and concepts are all great, but without actual working demonstrations of basic core systems like node levels and node types, what's the point? We can sit here all day and give you feedback on your endless concepts and design blueprints, but until we see working renditions of these systems, we have nothing meaningful to give feedback on and development will never progress. The groundwork for nodes was set back in A1 2 years ago, the basic functionality should be there by now yet, we're still stuck on the concept phase when things should be getting implemented and polished. This is a huge concern.
This is another one of those updates that tells me we're much further away from Alpha 2 than implied, probably years at this rate, regardless of the extremely vague time-line given by Steven, and even further for release. Underwhelming to say the least. This game is really starting to look a lot like Star Citizen development wise.
Oh I prefer forge rather than smithy as far as name goes. Unless you are using forge for something else.
I like the new visuals, especially how the nodes incorporate the topography of the world instead of just being flat. Great job with that. From the dev comments it sounded like a very non-trivial task to get it right, so I assume that is a major reason A2 is taking a while. I've already pushed my A2 release expectations back to no earlier than summer 2024.
We got a glimpse of the node system from a mayor's point of view, which is good and necessary for the big things like policies and mandates, but since 99% of the player base won't ever get to be mayors, I hope future node streams focus more on the node system from the avg. player point of view. Nodes are a big topic that I am sure can take up many dev streams.
It sounded like node currency is something you can bring with you to other nodes. With the amount of corruption/cronyism already built into the node currency system (the insider trading thing), I worry that the mayor has too much power to feed his or her closest friends and guildies most or all of that currency from the building projects. It's not exactly hard to organise getting all the materials ready and standing at the correct plots and just waiting for the mayor to count to three on discord and clicking the buttons, leaving zero opportunity for others to get a piece of the pie. That's a badly designed system if that becomes possible. Especially if the mayor can do it themself.
If you can't come up with a system that stops insider trading like that, I propose some or all of the following:
I was a bit bummed that the focus of the node livestream was seemingly limited to the village node only. Maybe I misunderstood, but when I heard of a node livestream I was expecting the stream to go more in depth, showcasing different kinds of nodes and aesthetics and maybe flesh out how they influence things around them a little bit.
For me personally, the Mayor information, while cool, was a bit too much and took up too much time, when really I was more interested in just general node things, like aesthetics, unique things, etc.
How do you feel about the Village Node Update so far?
I very much liked the leadup to the village and how you could slowly catch a glimpse around the corner, once it was fully visible I was actually very pleasently surprised, the cozy and quaint atmosphere of a village (or what I understand as one) was captured very well, it reminded me a bit of Lineage 2 village's and smaller towns like Dion, which is a very big plus to me personally. It could maybe use some more contrast with certain buildings, since they all looked relatively the same. Another thing which I hope for - which is not just limited to Village Nodes - is that merchants, like say a weapon or armor merchant will have their own physical stores you can enter, which imo would greatly increase immersion, instead of them just standing around selling things.
What excites you about playing and interacting with the Node system?
I do not much care about the Mayor aspects of the node, which was a big chunk of info in this livestream. I more look forward to contributing to the development of the node, perhaps seeing aesthetics change by race, how it advances, and how the actual node affects the area around itself.
Is there anything in particular you’re excited or concerned about regarding what was shown with the Village Node Update?
Concerns about village node would be that I'm afraid they will look too much alike and you'll end up feeling like if you've seen one, you've kinda seen them all, which I feel would be a real bummer... that's the feeling I kinda get when I walk into hubs and cities in New World a bit, they differentiate themselves a bit here and there but overall... meh. I want a node to be unique, much like I still remember every starting zone, village and town in Lineage 2.
What are your thoughts about the visual fidelity of what was shown with the Village Node Update?
Visual fidelity felt very nice and for an updated showcase I was impressed with the atmosphere and feel of the village node overall.
A little mixed. It's awesome to be able to interact with the world and help develop something, but the entire implementation of the mayoral system is a bit much and a little tiring... It's alot of power to give one player and I'm afraid the whole "democratic" aspect will be disapear and with that your sense of purpose in helping out with developing the nodes. It also seems to be a system that caters alot to the hardcore players - which is fine, that's just not me nor my wife so in that regard we might feel this system does very little to get us exicited
What excites you about playing and interacting with the Node system?
To get real influence on how the world around you will develop and change! I fear a single player might not get as much a say in the Village nodes, but out in the wilds in the story driven nodes I'm hoping to really see and feel the influence my character will have
Is there anything in particular you’re excited or concerned about regarding what was shown with the Village Node Update?
The crafting UI / node section didn't really look that appealing. A little clonky and stale (and yes, I recon it's prob. not done yet, but it still caught my eye
I'm concerned about the creation of "meta" Villages. The bigger Villages will have such a clear advantage over the smaller villages, and as a casual / norm-core player, there is a much bigger incentiment to join a bigger village to get faster and better developments and more participation in the mayoral quests, and this might quickly kill smaller Village-nodes.
What are your thoughts about the visual fidelity of what was shown with the Village Node Update?
Your house and NPC design is off the charts. Unreal Engine 5 really shines bright in Verra so fare! Looked absolutely fantastic!
Lack of guidance
Now this is obviously a test and fare from finished, but in the long run, it would be awesome to have some sort of guide, tutorial, markers or w/e to help you navigate the node systems. They are quite complex, and it seems like you could easily miss out on some of the aspects. I realise that a big charm of adventure games is the whole exploration part - but I'd much rather spend my time exploring the beauty of Verra and it's monsters and dungeons and secret layers than trying to figure out which guy to speak to with a specific node task in a village
Lots of good choices so far, looks promising.
What excites you about playing and interacting with the Node system?
Since i plan to try to find a alliance and main guild to join as either main node or vassal node i am excited to hop into the game the first time, feel out the areas and guilds and try to fall into a node to make my permanent home. I plan to grind node quests and not worry too much about a secondary node but only for a backup if a siege happens and i need to relocate. It will be fun to watch the node grow from my work.
Really excited to see level 4 and 5 nodes as well.
I am glad you clarified that inside the node the guards are like elite mobs and will help prevent single players acting badly while allowing large groups to raid the node. PvP is great and all... but lets be honest most people don't want to watch their back 24/7 while trying to buy or sell to a vendor in a city.
Gaining node currency that stays with you and can be used at other nodes is a wonderful thing. However the choice may lessen some friction since Steven really seems to like friction…
Is there anything in particular you’re excited or concerned about regarding what was shown with the Village Node Update?
I am excited about the hangmans noose and pillory to possibly be used, hopefully for bad people who do harm to a node and have been killed or captured like a small minigame. I could see myself partaking in such a event to scowl said player. Maybe we can even throw some rotten vegetables too for a debuff or two after all is said and done? Maybe as well the rotten food affects what you look like for the duration to let others know after punishment of you punishment. You could tie someone to the windmill as punishment just the same for a period of time.. that’d be funny. Different debuffs for different punishments.
I am concerned about the balance of the tax and buy orders. So if you wanted to run a mafia, you can.. kinda problematic. I can see this taking away from the node when abused, i get that there is game play to supersede these destructive options, but this is all to be seen/tested till i make a final opinion.
I am disappointed you chose a point based control structure/conquest style instead of a arena with ladder matches/leaderboards where people can come to spectate without being victimized in the buildup to a new mayor of a Military node. I feel like so much can just be awesome to spectate and or witness, sometimes i just want to watch.. perhaps even pay to watch where people can come from far away lands to watch with options for vip kind of booths for the wealthy. Kind of like a ingame esports audience.
My main concern will be joining first time and trying to find a node worthy of participating in to call home. Most people will probably want to find a good guild first and then partake in a/the node. Without a group of players supporting each other Vera can be a very dangerous place afterall..... I just hope it doesn't take longer then a month to find the right node for me to invest in. It might take longer especially if there is no outside data on the/a website showing each servers overall statistics especially pertaining to nodes. I will most likely be or near max level before i can get a proper feel for where to call home. Just was not what i expected. Played alpha 1, got to node that was developing started farming for the node. Things are always simpler when the game is nor so developed yet. Not to mention whoever pushed that insta city develop cheat button.
I am concerned how repetitive the node quests will be and cross my fingers and pray they are intertwined in part with the surrounding world events. If i have to do only repetitive gather quests for the node/mayor for node currency i will burn out quickly. The thing i would love to do and be a part of from a more civilian position would totally change how i will play. And no the change would not be my first choice.
I am SERIOUSLY concerned that a mayor who plays with a large group of friends or friends of friends will take away from anyone who wants to participate in a node for a personal node money press. If the mayor just tells his friends what to gather so they can farm all the node currency for themselves like a personal mint like a form of currency powergaming i might quit. If the games broke why play it? There should be some inbetween from placing mayoral order and being filled if your going to keep the system so others who are not part of a mafia have chance too. Otherwise mayor gives heads up to pals node is getting close to expansion and to grab resources for a certain pay a week or even months just stacking resources, mayor then places order once everyone has gathered agreed amount of resources each at assigned/planned plot, mayor clicks the button and before a blink of an eye the order is completed and payed out to only those who are part of said mafia.
What are your thoughts about the visual fidelity of what was shown with the Village Node Update?
It looks good, to those who say it does not have it's own art direction the game revolves around nodes, and i think you are doing great work. I suspect after you finalize and finish/start dialing them in it will look even more amazing.
On a side-note i also watched asmongolds review as i like to get a feel for what large streamers/content makers say. I was disappointed he skipped the intro to what was seen explaining the actual ingame node showcase. He gave out so much bad info. And he seemed to be looking forward to it from past videos. These people (big time streamers/content makers) do have sway in where people go. It was horrible. I guess 2 hours is a hour too long. Even to watch first on his own time then review for correct info.
Even the windmill moved with the wind.
Flowing cape in the wind, in full armor, on armored horseback is the classic heroic fantasy pose.
I was watching a video on the nodes and someone pointed out how the vassal system is.
Even in Alpha 1, Ashes of Creations has an incredible view distance.
There are going to be situations where one player on one server will be at the top of a mountain looking down at an empty valley. While on other server, another player looking down, from the same mountain, at the same valley will see an entire kingdom of cities, villages, guild halls, of one nation.
Or the reverse. Looking up from a valley and seeing a nation of cities going up the hillside of a couple of mountains, with the metropolis at the top of one of the mountains.
That is a sobering, though awesome thought.
I don't mind a little bit of self dealing that the buy order system seems like it will allow for mayors and their friends. That kind of "corruption" adds some character to the game, and a potential point of friction between players. But don't allow mayors and their guilds to farm months worth of node currency that way. You gotta balance it in some kind of way. It serves no one to allow players to skip the grind for entire systems through in game political corruption. A little is fine, but everyone still needs to grind the system. No one should be able to just skip it because they or their guild got mayorship.
I know you probably already know, but I have to say it because it's that bad. The shadows are out of control lol. I'm sure there are many passes left on that though. Just mentioning it. Something off with the sun rays too.
Other than that the graphics look great. The new node art/assets are great. The town npcs, just everything, while definitely all a work in progress, look great.
I like that there is a lot of player involvement in the "building up" of a node. It also looks like a good sink for common mats. While a mafia is going to be a worry, that's better than all node proceeds just going straight into the guild coffers like happens in many other games.
I honestly think that node currency isn't going to be that hard to get, especially since you can see who needs what stuff, anywhere on the map. Nodes will want to grow, and that means getting mats from commissions. I'm not worried about node currency being generic to all nodes. Mayors are going to see pretty quickly the going rate for common mats in specific areas, so node currency is going to be a gear progression mechanic for gatherers I think, as well as a way for non-gatherers to fill in the gaps in their itemization.
As for feedback, I'm going to let you see what I think is going on with a node, after watching the video. So it looks like a node's lifecycle on the way up will be:
Then it could be attacked and stuff is damaged (slowing growth and costing gold), or destroyed completely.
After seeing how interconnected all the nodes are, I think there needs to be a way for a "partially successful" node siege to de-levels a node, but not destroy it completely. IE, if a level 5 node has a 30 building cap, and a siege destroys enough building to take it below the requirements for a level 5 node then that node de-levels to 4. A completely successful siege would destroy everything.
I agree with the sentiment others have shared that the 'nodes update' was primarily a Mayoral function update that was conveyed.
I was hoping to see some demonstration of other racial architecture and art assets in game rather than just Kaelar Human. The takeaway is that the game still remains 3-5 years away realistically based on current pace of development shared and how much is absent.
Regarding node architecture I get the feeling that Ashes of Creation will face one of the same critiques that New World received from the community in that the settlements/cities of that game looked similar (I actually disagree to a degree with that) but New World ended up doing reskins of two of its cities in response to the community feedback to help differentiate them and add variety in appearance (Monarchs Bluff and Everfall), soon to be First Light.
If each racial node shares the same appearance other than some geographic landscape alterations AoC may face the same concern issue.
Our guild leader also made a good point that racial popularity determining node aesthetic will likely lead to a predominance of Human and Elf node visuals in the world.
One fix to this could be to pre-lock the node aesthetics and craft and customize each node location to create variety, look and feel of the world and racial presences desired by the dev team. Make each feel unique and distinct. Otherwise it could be Kaelar after Kaelar city that all look the same.
Much of the mayoral functions seem like a drain on game resource development that would be better spent in other capacities that all will interact with. A tiny minority of the playerbase will interact with all of the UI and myriad of mayoral functions. It feels like there's too much complexity that is needless and doesnt add value to the average players likely experience.
I recently picked up Civilization VI. Some of these mayoral features feel more appropriate to that game then a mmo.
The insider trading 'mayor chooses a resource among many options that will satisfy an order for the node growth' is particularly distasteful. These types of guessing games and internal favor will rub players the wrong way. Just give favored guild members a cut of the node profit instead if youre going to allow this. If you want to have a corruption system then create a better one thats interesting for all in some way not just market traders who have favor in a monopoly of intel. I'd rather see a direct buy order campaign like Mayor sets a construction proposal for a Forge or Apartment housing and if approved by the citizenry then it automatically begins a buy order contract for pre-determined material types and quantities required to construct the building for use and once the mayoral buy order contract is satisfied by the citizenry then the building automatically completes and becomes available for use.
The direction looks pretty good but very little was shown for nodes themselves. We didnt go into buildings, didnt interact with stations, housing, inns, taverns, carvansary (future stream hinted), didnt talk about crafting or show structures of them inside nodes in detail, guild houses, unique structures, visual differences that may be due to type of node (racial, or econ/military/scientific tyoe etc.).
I agree again with others that the stream title was misleading. It should have been named something closer to what was presented to us which wasnt a node demo at its heart.
This was one of the first streams I came away thinking the scope of the game is too broad that too much time is being spent in the weeds slowing down the production of the game most want to see released. I dont question the quality but I do question the speed to which this game will see market. The game currently feels like its five years out still.
For military nodes I'd like to see an arena battleground where all mayoral contestants enter at once to fight in a free for all. Last player standing is the victor and mayor. The system described has too much pve/activity participation requirements that feel like it will be gamed rather than be interesting or fun.
very specific User Experience feedback regarding partial completion of tasks, like turning in materials to complete a building construction, etc.:
One experience I had playing Guild Wars 2, that I thought was done really well to make contributions (full or partial) feel rewarding- was ALWAYS reward the user with some sort of experience points (and visual feedback) EVERY TIME they turn in materials.
Current observation:
-The user turns in materials.
-meter fills up accordingly
-(didn't know if xp meter moved at all)
Suggested experience:
-The user turns in materials
-Meter fills up (meter is highlighted to draw attention i.e. GW2 glowing meters)
-Audio cue to signify contribution (i.e GW2)
- "Xp Received:..."/"Success!"/"Completed!" visual indication (dopamine)
- XP meter goes up
It seems like a very small detail. But it's a detail that compounds over the course of the entire game's transactional instances (which is throughout the entire game). These little UX (user experience) improvements would incentivize users to interact more often, which feels great no matter how large or small the contribution.
Currently, contributing to a building's development doesn't feel rewarding. I trust the team is working to make this feel better in the polishing/iterative stages.
My feedback point is really on the presentation of the stream which I’m sure has been talked about in this thread already.
Since it has been 3 years since the last glimpse of nodes, I did expect the changes to be more significant. However, I fully understand that the tech behind making the node generation possible is the biggest challenge that ashes has from an implementation standpoint. I’m assuming that this implementation has had a lot of work done and is what warranted the showing of the nodes this month. If that is the case, I wish that were talked about more in the stream. Since it was glossed over, it feels like the main reveal was about systems we already have seen and interacted with just with new UI and art.
I do get that you don’t want the streams being overly technical since they exist as a general population update of the game, but in situations like this one I do wish the technical side would get a focus.
I loved seeing how much thought and time you put in to making sure these systems are done right. All the interplay plus seeing the Menu's made it very real.
Death Animation was awesome
Sneak Peak on Crafting, seeing the menu and items was awesome
Seeing the city feel much more alive and The Caravan station was great, cant wait to see that.
You absolutely nailed the Art and feel, amped even more to see the other races now.
I loved that the city felt more alive, I think having interactions between NPCs would go along way. Guard chasing a theif, kids being goofy and throwing rocks at the cow and being chased off etc
Curious how much time it will take to run a town? Will being a major completely envelop their play time? Is there plans to automate Commissions to be on repeat with out daily interaction? I think if its too time invasive it will push the players to spend less time managing and more time playing.
Really want to see a Node upgrade from 2-3 or 3-4. Also I would like to see it impact the world, not criticism just wishing.
A minor suggestion. Instead of this being automatic, make this a manual system option for mayors. That after the citizenship population shifts in demographics to a large enough percentage that a mayor can change the aesthetics of their node to reflect the population shift.
Such as for a town node, changing the type of road, or changing the bridge, or a few buildings.
In real life, small towns make such minor changes to their town all the time.
Also, this will add another option for Ashes of Creation. That after the game is released, update options for nodes can use the same system to add a new road look, or bridge look, or building looks that is recently released in a patch.
On a side note, metropolis should offer the option of being sub divided into districts to all each district its own aesthetics.
I sure hope I am understanding this wrong because a 1v1 ladder system to determine the mayor would be absolutely epic.