Ashen Forge Recap

maouw

I missed the live stream :'(
But it's up on youtube now! Lots of topics breached, here's a breakdown:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RS3e0vuj5lA

Back-end development (from ~2:50)

Steven is looking forward to testing live-data collection systems, and hotfix deployment
Live Ops team will be brought in later when the devs are happy with stability
Pacing testing to make sure team doesn't burn out
'quick code' methods from 2 years ago have been revisited - no longer a concern
The plan has 3 levers that can be pulled: feature sets, resources, timeline - if things go off plan, one of these gets adjusted.

Content Creators and public attention(from ~9:00)

Influx of attention - welcome but out of the control of Intrepid Studios - no need to change schedule
Content Creators are independent - transparent connections are helpful

PvP looting (from ~11:20)

Durability loss in Ashes is not just a gold sink, but also a material sink
Semi-loot of other players reinforces the supply-demand machine (even for PvE deaths)
You cannot directly steal from other players' inventories, but there will be quests that have you target certain players for quest objectives.

Expansions (from ~20:10)

will include standard content: new zones, mobs, quests, gear etc.
Unique to Ashes: updates to the Node system (New buildings, new services, emergent gameplay etc.)
Aiming for content that: makes sense, driven by the Node system, utilizing current technology
2 types of expansions:
- monthly/quarterly: smaller updates for those following along
- biannual/annual: major content (level caps increased, zones/bosses/gear/content/etc.)
how big/often will be driven by the subscriber base and response to content releases. Particularly aiming at player driven content.

general Node System (from ~25:30)

Node System will encourage veteran players to return to old nodes so new players don't feel out of the loop
Players who take a break can expect a different experience when they return, or try to create change
Destroying a node will cripple NPC services there, this has implications for wider economy (e.g. supply chain interruption)
Racial influx could trigger a similar change in Nodes.
Racial influence of a Node will affect certain benefits - unspecified

Crafting (from ~35:40)

Crafting is not planned for A1, but full testing expected in A2
Progression in Artisanship is via both Experience and Accomplishment (benchmarks)
Recipes are "consumed" to add to your recipe book. Before then, they are tradeable.
Crafting will not be mix-and-match the way animal husbandry lets you breed hybrids.
There's something to be preserved in the time-based processes of bulk crafting - it's best to uphold these traditions in MMOs
no crafting minigame mechanics - they become cumbersome quickly
Likely to see influence from SWG

Animal Husbandry and Crops (from ~40:30)

Breeding planned to have an RNG element
Hidden properties (recessive genes?)
Crops will not have breeding

Combat (from ~49:40)

Advanced Weapons - QTE no longer related, currently exploring different directions for combat system
Still expecting to have RNG effects to proc in a fight - this breaks up the monotony of pure-skill combat
These effects are intended to synergize with the active skills of your class
These skills are not enchantments, but part of the weapon skill tree
Underwater content does not have to be limited to underwater combat, on-ship combat is more important - underwater discovery is another option for underwater content.

Role Play (from 55:20)

Roleplay tools: chat bubbles, emotes, dances, flowers (etc.)
Roleplay systems: Weddings - related NPC's and quests, other events
RP stuff often gets put in the backseat - but there is intention to sprinkle it in before launch

Game Design (from ~1:00:00)

This is a passion project - it's easy to slip into unhealthy perfectionism - need to balance quality with realistic expectations
Steven really values employees who are passionate to play this game - beyond just their skills and achievements
Articles are on hold, because ideas are still in flux.
Steven would prefer to release the next article on nodes when the node systems are much closer to what is actually realized - these are marketing moves.

Any thoughts from the forum?

I'm curious about Steven's gold/material sink comments regarding equipment durability and repairs. Do we repair our items via other player crafters or via NPCs? Coz if I'm paying a crafter to repair my gear - does that gold go straight into his pocket (remains in the economy) or will the crafter need to sink some of that gold in the repair process?

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Comments

Songcaller

I loved the interview, thought it was a classic. We have known for some time that repairs will cost gold and materials. I believe you must visit a crafter of appropriate skill to get the item repaired. Not sure if NPCs will also provide the function. I believe the gold will be pocketed but also taxed by the node but its not 100% clear at this point.

I loved the crafting discussion and the Animal Husbandry breakdown. RNG is present in Animal Husbandry which is an extension from Over Enchanting. Not surprised by the RNG Addition for Animal Husbandry. I loved to hear about the Combat Upgrades coming. I appreciated the fact several combat iterations have been in-house tested too.

Edit: Spelling mistakes.

Kionashi

not a fan of seeing people bombard Steven with questions on topics that are still very subject to change.... that said it was an interesting video overall...

Songcaller

Kionashi wrote: »

not a fan of seeing people bombard Steven with questions on topics that are still very subject to change.... that said it was an interesting video overall...

We'd never get any answers in any Q+A if we can't discuss topics that may or may not change in time. We know everything is subject to change.

Tyranthraxus

It should be a bigger deal on the forums when a new interview comes up - we love these!

Aye - some great information confirmed, some good-to-have new information, and some eagerly-awaited words about the to-be Nodes 3 and 4 videos, that will complete the series.

Noaani

maouw wrote: »

Crafting
Recipes are "consumed" to add to your recipe book. Before then, they are tradeable.

Crafting will not be mix-and-match the way animal husbandry lets you breed hybrids.

no crafting minigame mechanics - they become cumbersome quickly

In other words, the only difference between any two crafters of a given profession is their recipe book - which is a difference that will get smaller and smaller as time goes on.

So, rather than wanting to use a specific crafter because they are good, all you will need to do is find any crafter that has the recipe you want. Since there is an escrow system planned, you don't even need to find a crafter that you trust - just literally anyone with the recipe.

maouw

@Noaani
Yeah I understand the concern. But I also think they have greater plans for crafting and whether-or-not the crafter has the recipe is only 1 part of what makes a good craftsman.

Steven felt uncomfortable talking about crafting - and he's flagged that the crafting system isn't implemented at all yet - so crafting deets are for sure premature at the moment.

maouw

Kionashi wrote: »

not a fan of seeing people bombard Steven with questions on topics that are still very subject to change.... that said it was an interesting video overall...

Yeah, one of my questions was digging into crafting too early. It's just difficult to judge what is and isn't appropriate to ask until you ask it.

Sathrago

maouw wrote: »

?
I'm curious about Steven's gold/material sink comments regarding equipment durability and repairs. Do we repair our items via other player crafters or via NPCs? Coz if I'm paying a crafter to repair my gear - does that gold go straight into his pocket (remains in the economy) or will the crafter need to sink some of that gold in the repair process?

This makes me hope for a specialized version of trade that crafters can open up at a crafting station that allow you to pay the gold and materials at the same time as they craft the item. Basically you both put in your respective trade, one side the gold and materials, the other the recipe/recipes and how many of that recipe, then you both hit accept and wait for it to craft. After it is done crafting the trade completes, the crafter gets the gold, and you get the crafted items.

You could have two brackets for the trade window as well, one for the recipe materials and one for other items that can be traded instead of gold to pay for the crafting.

maouw

@Sathrago why not normal trade window?

Sathrago

maouw wrote: »

@Sathrago why not normal trade window?

Well I am used to games like runescape or wow where you basically have to trust the other person to take your materials and wait to see if they steal your stuff or actually craft the item. This method would remove that from the mix entirely.
Maybe intrepid want this sort of "trust" social dynamic in the game, but I would prefer my suggestion if it were an option.

Lycancoffee

maouw wrote: »

Crafting (from ~35:40)
Crops will not have breeding

If you attack my farm, I will breed my corn with you. Let’s call it a “role playing, crafting, pvp” system.

Noaani

Sathrago wrote: »

maouw wrote: »

?
I'm curious about Steven's gold/material sink comments regarding equipment durability and repairs. Do we repair our items via other player crafters or via NPCs? Coz if I'm paying a crafter to repair my gear - does that gold go straight into his pocket (remains in the economy) or will the crafter need to sink some of that gold in the repair process?

This makes me hope for a specialized version of trade that crafters can open up at a crafting station that allow you to pay the gold and materials at the same time as they craft the item.

That would be the escrow system

We're going to have a UI... you're gonna put the resources in or they're gonna put the resources in. It'll be like an escrow system and then once [the job] is complete you'll get the item they'll get the money

maouw wrote: »

Noaani
Yeah I understand the concern. But I also think they have greater plans for crafting and whether-or-not the crafter has the recipe is only 1 part of what makes a good craftsman.

Steven felt uncomfortable talking about crafting - and he's flagged that the crafting system isn't implemented at all yet - so crafting deets are for sure premature at the moment.

While I have no doubt that they are not done with the crafting system in terms of design, if they are specifically ruling out mini-games, then there is nothing to separate crafters.

You can't have a good crafter and a not so good crafter without a system built in to crafting that both crafters have to spend time to navigate - which is what a mini-game is. Without that system being built in to crafting (and any such system would come across to players as a mini-game) then the only thing you need in order to find a suitable crafter is one with the recipe you want made.

Sathrago

Noaani wrote: »

That would be the escrow system

We're going to have a UI... you're gonna put the resources in or they're gonna put the resources in. It'll be like an escrow system and then once [the job] is complete you'll get the item they'll get the money

Ah thanks. Didn't see that until now. Neat.

maouw

@Noaani
My feeling is that they're leaning towards the way you spec/augment means you specialize in a way that's different to someone else. Also, specialization of crafters is more important in late-game than early/mid game - and I don't think end-game recipes will be dropping like rain.

There's also the option of high-tier items requiring a new recipe each time you craft it.

Jeff really loves SWG crafting, so I'm keen to see what magic he'll cook up.

Noaani

maouw wrote: »

@Noaani
My feeling is that they're leaning towards the way you spec/augment means you specialize in a way that's different to someone else. Also, specialization of crafters is more important in late-game than early/mid game - and I don't think end-game recipes will be dropping like rain.

Recipes, especially top end ones, will no doubt be rare. But they will continue to drop, and so will become less and less rare as time goes on.

Limiting individual crafter value to their list of recipes is a zero sum kind of thing - eventually everyone will have every recipe of worth.

As to specialization, all that means is that rather than looking for a weaponsmith with the sword recipe I want, I look for a swordsmith with the recipe that I want. It is very unlikely that Intrepid would make it so one player can't fully spec in to a weapon type.

Basically, crafters will all have set builds.

Sathrago

Noaani wrote: »

maouw wrote: »

@Noaani
My feeling is that they're leaning towards the way you spec/augment means you specialize in a way that's different to someone else. Also, specialization of crafters is more important in late-game than early/mid game - and I don't think end-game recipes will be dropping like rain.

Recipes, especially top end ones, will no doubt be rare. But they will continue to drop, and so will become less and less rare as time goes on.

Limiting individual crafter value to their list of recipes is a zero sum kind of thing - eventually everyone will have every recipe of worth.

As to specialization, all that means is that rather than looking for a weaponsmith with the sword recipe I want, I look for a swordsmith with the recipe that I want. It is very unlikely that Intrepid would make it so one player can't fully spec in to a weapon type.

Basically, crafters will all have set builds.

What do you think of limiting the amount of "master-craft" recipes a character can learn? The idea would be that you could never collect all recipes, allowing for people to specialize in and keep certain recipes rare.

Could be a terrible idea but yeah what do you think?

Noaani

Sathrago wrote: »

Noaani wrote: »

maouw wrote: »

Noaani
My feeling is that they're leaning towards the way you spec/augment means you specialize in a way that's different to someone else. Also, specialization of crafters is more important in late-game than early/mid game - and I don't think end-game recipes will be dropping like rain.

Recipes, especially top end ones, will no doubt be rare. But they will continue to drop, and so will become less and less rare as time goes on.

Limiting individual crafter value to their list of recipes is a zero sum kind of thing - eventually everyone will have every recipe of worth.

As to specialization, all that means is that rather than looking for a weaponsmith with the sword recipe I want, I look for a swordsmith with the recipe that I want. It is very unlikely that Intrepid would make it so one player can't fully spec in to a weapon type.

Basically, crafters will all have set builds.

What do you think of limiting the amount of "master-craft" recipes a character can learn? The idea would be that you could never collect all recipes, allowing for people to specialize in and keep certain recipes rare.

Could be a terrible idea but yeah what do you think?

Even if they did this, they would still set that number higher than any one players specialization.

That means that the swordsmith you are looking for to make your sword is going to have the right spec for it, and t he appropriate recipe.

But even if that weren't the case, it is still meaning crafters are literally nothing more than the sum of their recipes and spec.

I'd like to see more than that, as I am sure would most others.

Sathrago

Noaani wrote: »

Sathrago wrote: »

Noaani wrote: »

maouw wrote: »

Noaani
My feeling is that they're leaning towards the way you spec/augment means you specialize in a way that's different to someone else. Also, specialization of crafters is more important in late-game than early/mid game - and I don't think end-game recipes will be dropping like rain.

Recipes, especially top end ones, will no doubt be rare. But they will continue to drop, and so will become less and less rare as time goes on.

Limiting individual crafter value to their list of recipes is a zero sum kind of thing - eventually everyone will have every recipe of worth.

As to specialization, all that means is that rather than looking for a weaponsmith with the sword recipe I want, I look for a swordsmith with the recipe that I want. It is very unlikely that Intrepid would make it so one player can't fully spec in to a weapon type.

Basically, crafters will all have set builds.

What do you think of limiting the amount of "master-craft" recipes a character can learn? The idea would be that you could never collect all recipes, allowing for people to specialize in and keep certain recipes rare.

Could be a terrible idea but yeah what do you think?

Even if they did this, they would still set that number higher than any one players specialization.

That means that the swordsmith you are looking for to make your sword is going to have the right spec for it, and t he appropriate recipe.

But even if that weren't the case, it is still meaning crafters are literally nothing more than the sum of their recipes and spec.

I'd like to see more than that, as I am sure would most others.

What sort of direction would you go at that point aside from skill-based mini-games that improve the quality?
Since steven wants the crafting to be a simple click and complete.

Noaani

Sathrago wrote: »

Noaani wrote: »

Sathrago wrote: »

Noaani wrote: »

maouw wrote: »

Noaani
My feeling is that they're leaning towards the way you spec/augment means you specialize in a way that's different to someone else. Also, specialization of crafters is more important in late-game than early/mid game - and I don't think end-game recipes will be dropping like rain.

Recipes, especially top end ones, will no doubt be rare. But they will continue to drop, and so will become less and less rare as time goes on.

Limiting individual crafter value to their list of recipes is a zero sum kind of thing - eventually everyone will have every recipe of worth.

As to specialization, all that means is that rather than looking for a weaponsmith with the sword recipe I want, I look for a swordsmith with the recipe that I want. It is very unlikely that Intrepid would make it so one player can't fully spec in to a weapon type.

Basically, crafters will all have set builds.

What do you think of limiting the amount of "master-craft" recipes a character can learn? The idea would be that you could never collect all recipes, allowing for people to specialize in and keep certain recipes rare.

Could be a terrible idea but yeah what do you think?

Even if they did this, they would still set that number higher than any one players specialization.

That means that the swordsmith you are looking for to make your sword is going to have the right spec for it, and t he appropriate recipe.

But even if that weren't the case, it is still meaning crafters are literally nothing more than the sum of their recipes and spec.

I'd like to see more than that, as I am sure would most others.

What sort of direction would you go at that point aside from skill-based mini-games that improve the quality?
Since steven wants the crafting to be a simple click and complete.

If you're asking what I would have done - I would never have said crafting was click and complete - as that one statement means all crafters are literally the sum of their recipe book and spec.

If it were me, I would set a mini-game to higher tier crafting - the kind of crafting you only do a few times a week. This prevents it from ever becoming monotonous and/or tedious (which is literally the only argument against mini-games).

I would make it so this mini-game offers bonus stats the better you do at it. These stats would be the only way to customize crafted items, but it you do well at the mini-game, you may have 10-15% of the initial, pre-bonus stats to place 9n the item where ever you like.

I would also make this mini-game harder the higher tier the item you are making is, so that only the best crafters are able to get that 10-15% bonus stats on the highest tier items, making them highly sought out for top end crafting.

The last thing I would do is make that mini-game optional on lower tier crafts - but with no change to the final product. This gives players a means to practice it, should they want to.

But hey, I'm not the one making the game.

Sathrago

Noaani wrote: »

Sathrago wrote: »

Noaani wrote: »

Sathrago wrote: »

Noaani wrote: »

maouw wrote: »

Noaani
My feeling is that they're leaning towards the way you spec/augment means you specialize in a way that's different to someone else. Also, specialization of crafters is more important in late-game than early/mid game - and I don't think end-game recipes will be dropping like rain.

Recipes, especially top end ones, will no doubt be rare. But they will continue to drop, and so will become less and less rare as time goes on.

Limiting individual crafter value to their list of recipes is a zero sum kind of thing - eventually everyone will have every recipe of worth.

As to specialization, all that means is that rather than looking for a weaponsmith with the sword recipe I want, I look for a swordsmith with the recipe that I want. It is very unlikely that Intrepid would make it so one player can't fully spec in to a weapon type.

Basically, crafters will all have set builds.

What do you think of limiting the amount of "master-craft" recipes a character can learn? The idea would be that you could never collect all recipes, allowing for people to specialize in and keep certain recipes rare.

Could be a terrible idea but yeah what do you think?

Even if they did this, they would still set that number higher than any one players specialization.

That means that the swordsmith you are looking for to make your sword is going to have the right spec for it, and t he appropriate recipe.

But even if that weren't the case, it is still meaning crafters are literally nothing more than the sum of their recipes and spec.

I'd like to see more than that, as I am sure would most others.

What sort of direction would you go at that point aside from skill-based mini-games that improve the quality?
Since steven wants the crafting to be a simple click and complete.

If you're asking what I would have done - I would never have said crafting was click and complete - as that one statement means all crafters are literally the sum of their recipe book and spec.

If it were me, I would set a mini-game to higher tier crafting - the kind of crafting you only do a few times a week. This prevents it from ever becoming monotonous and/or tedious (which is literally the only argument against mini-games).

I would make it so this mini-game offers bonus stats the better you do at it. These stats would be the only way to customize crafted items, but it you do well at the mini-game, you may have 10-15% of the initial, pre-bonus stats to place 9n the item where ever you like.

I would also make this mini-game harder the higher tier the item you are making is, so that only the best crafters are able to get that 10-15% bonus stats on the highest tier items, making them highly sought out for top end crafting.

The last thing I would do is make that mini-game optional on lower tier crafts - but with no change to the final product. This gives players a means to practice it, should they want to.

But hey, I'm not the one making the game.

Fair enough, I like that idea. I played quite a bit of Final fantasy 14 doing the crafting/gathering and honestly its very tedious and I ended up making an autohotkey script to do all of it instead of doing it manually. It quite literally burned me out of the game it was so tedious.

Having it so that you can only do a few tries every week or so to make a higher quality item would be a nice alternative. I would say give players a practice bench so that they can prepare beforehand when they attempt to craft the real thing.

Have a limited amount of "charges" that you can spend per week to attempt to craft the item, and like you said have it scale in difficulty with the tier of the item you wish to craft. Sure its a bit of time-gating but in this case a welcomed one.

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