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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.
Hearthstones and Pistols: Discussion
RonDog98
Member, Alpha Two
Hey Gang!
Couple questions if you have the time.
1) and easiest to answer: do you have a hearthstone mechanic planned for Ashes? I know there’s a big emphasis on travel being a mechanic in the game, but the more I think about it, the harder it is to imagine a modern game without some type of travel connivence (Flight paths or a hearthstone)
2) HOW CAN WE GET PISTOLS IN THE GAME??? You guys are building the best pirate simulator since black flag and sea of thieves and yet players don’t have access to pistols??? That’s monstrous (mostly kidding
) but seriously that seems like the perfect inclusion. I know Steven has mentioned there won’t be gun powder in ashes, but has the team considered something like an arcane pistol? I was thinking maybe the pistol COULD be an alternate skin for the wand. That way you wouldn’t need a new skill tree. I feel like that would satisfy so many fantasies. I would start a petition TODAY to get that in the game.
Thanks again for the hard work and looking forward to the live show tomorrow!
Couple questions if you have the time.
1) and easiest to answer: do you have a hearthstone mechanic planned for Ashes? I know there’s a big emphasis on travel being a mechanic in the game, but the more I think about it, the harder it is to imagine a modern game without some type of travel connivence (Flight paths or a hearthstone)
2) HOW CAN WE GET PISTOLS IN THE GAME??? You guys are building the best pirate simulator since black flag and sea of thieves and yet players don’t have access to pistols??? That’s monstrous (mostly kidding
) but seriously that seems like the perfect inclusion. I know Steven has mentioned there won’t be gun powder in ashes, but has the team considered something like an arcane pistol? I was thinking maybe the pistol COULD be an alternate skin for the wand. That way you wouldn’t need a new skill tree. I feel like that would satisfy so many fantasies. I would start a petition TODAY to get that in the game.Thanks again for the hard work and looking forward to the live show tomorrow!
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Comments
To me magical guns would fit right in! From my understanding high fantasy usually just means lots of magic and not set on earth.
Sure if said weapon would fit in. Why would you want a weapon that looks, acts like a gun that you need to load with magic ammo, when you can just use a wand that hurls chunks of ice or molten metal? And never needs to be reloaded? Same with a Cannon on a ship. It real high fantasy, why would you not pick the weapon that is like a large wand? What you are asking for at that point is a style over what the world is built on. Magic. Most fantasy stories that have guns as well. Is because everyone does not have access to magic. In Verra, everyone does.
Lore wise, whats the advantage? Why would a culture make one? When everyone has access to magic?
Tbf you could always make something up.
Let's say, magic doesn't work in water, or has lower effective range that it can be used at. I mean, if they ever do want to add stuff like that in the future, it's possible to "adjust" the lore.
I'm assuming we will have cannons for naval combat, so having pistols isn't too far off.
As a permanently and freely usable tool of convenience, this cannot be implemented, it would cripple the economy, because paying a guild to use their Hearthstones to transport low quantity, high value goods by teleportation rather than caravan would rip apart the economic system at the upper end, devaluing everthing that goes into the production line of these high value goods.
So introduction of ANY type of easy, convenient travelling would be a deathblow to this game and therefore has to be avoided. And if any of those will be introduced this will mark the beginning of the end. (And yes, it is that dramatic)
No guns!
What about simply allowing a hearthstone as long as you don’t have any useable crafting resources in your inventory?
This seems like a pretty easy thing to implement without breaking the core philosophy of the game. Hell, even make it a day long cool down.
Sure, forget just hand guns. Lets make magic machine guns, AR14, Rocket launchers and grenade launchers that all shoot magic ammo. Lore and the asteictics of the world you are trying to make matters. You want that type of game play, there is games that do that. Why make Ashes into a different game?
I would argue that since ships will already have either magic or potion cannons, a magic hand gun is hardly a stretch.
Sure, come up with a design for a handgun that fits the game Aesthetics. Come up with a lore that make sense why someone would make one.
Fantasy isn't just magical components in the world. There are things that are natural like trees, herbs, water physics, etc. They clearly can mix rifles and pistols and implement them well, but they don't want to. I think it would be great to create a future archetype, but let's see how they develop their game.
It might not be impossible for Pistols to come out in a future Expansion of the Game, in Case Ashes of Creation will ever get some Expansions.
But i wouldn't count on it anytime soon in the next Years.
✓ Occasional Roleplayer
✓ Guild is " Balderag's Garde " for now. (German)
UGH BUT THINK OF THE PIRATE FANTASY
I wouldn't mind them added decorative pistols and related animations and attempt to use them and see how they don't work properly on this side of the portal. But maybe they were not using pistols there either.
I expect the ships to have some defense to protect their hull and some anti ship weapons to replace the cannons with something. I've seen long time ago the potion launcher being mentioned. Maybe it will replace cannons successfully.
For me the most important is the gameplay, not having the guns.
I am ok with a universe like in old rpg games.
What I don't like is people carrying in their inventory mounts and ships, pulling them out from their pockets and mounting them. Pulling them out from the inventory of a stable or a dockhouse is ok.
Then you still take away a lot of traffic from all the dynamic world events happening all around.
Why would you even want a mechanic to skip the very thing you are paying for: The game's world?
What you seem to want here is a differently shaped wand.
As to your idea for a "call home" mechanic, that goes against what Ashes is.
Steven wants you to look at going from one part of the world to another as a form of gameplay. The fact that even a game as low quality (in gameplay terms) as WoW understands that traveling isn't gameplay doesn't come in to play here.
There will be a family summon mechanic to help players in a group join together when they start playing.
You will not be able to transport resources this way.
Also scientific nodes will allow fast travel
If there are multiple scientific metropolises, then an airship will provide faster travel between those scientific metropolises for citizens of those nodes and their vassal nodes, so long as the metropolises are not at war.[2]
I think the wiki matches with my expectations. A little of fast travel bit but not much.
People will be bound together by where they play more often. That is a game pillar
https://ashesofcreation.wiki/Player_interaction
https://ashesofcreation.wiki/Design_pillars
and lack of teleportation helps achieving that.
There were pirates before pistols were invented.
Liiiiiike, the Family Summon, for example....?
Bruh. I never suggested that I want to add this, or have gone nearly as far as you went with your example.
I just pointed out, that it's not so impossible to add, if they ever decide to do so, because you can always make up lore.
Also, to be clear, I don't want these added.
People just need to read, and stop assuming things, but it seems impossible on these forums.
I think it was the "cannon" part in your message.
"Ship weapons can damage both players and structures.[4]
Damage done by ship weapons such as potion launchers will generate threat.[5]"
https://ashesofcreation.wiki/Naval_combat
Valid point, that actually is something I will look into. My first impulse would be to say that this is heavily limited by the family status, but you 100% brought something noteworthy up here. I'll see what I can find on that.