i think its time for an alpha 2 timeline

the monthly updates are great but at the end of the day i think having players test the game would benefit the game and the community immensely, we are post 2 years alpha 1 now with no time frame or any sort of roadmap insite, about 10 months ago it was stated that the community could start spot testing in several months ( by definition is 2-4 ) but we have not heard anything on this latley either, you guys are doing an amazing job with the monthly updates, however with every update we do see it becomes clearer that there is more that we dont know about the game and if every single aspect needs its own monthly update we are going to be years away from A2, we still have three classes, naval content, crafting ( could be 5 months of streams by its self ) augments, skill trees, nodes, pvp/caravans, honestly another combat update is needed at this point, the list goes on and on, steven stated that A2 was not close but also not years away pretty much saying it would release next year, but it would be extremley nice for the community if we could see a roadmap, we are not asking for specific dates but maybe milestones that need to be crossed before the A2 launch, what is left to test, what is left to be seen in future updates,

we know that A2 will persist until launch but i think the earlier that people get in and start testing the better, obviously the game will be done when its done and noone wants you to rush things but the Q&A questions are always catered away from any real questions about the development of the game and it is extremely hard to get a real answer on these things, i hope that the game is not 4-5 years out but i know it will be done when its done, anyway what is everyone's thoughts?

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KingDDD

You don't want to play the game where it's at and bugs balance and content aren't really up to snuff. All alpha 2 will do is convolute the development process slowing down what we all want, release.

Raven016

KingDDD wrote: »

You don't want to play the game where it's at and bugs balance and content aren't really up to snuff. All alpha 2 will do is convolute the development process slowing down what we all want, release.

Will you not play Alpha 2?

Depraved

KingDDD wrote: »

You don't want to play the game where it's at and bugs balance and content aren't really up to snuff. All alpha 2 will do is convolute the development process slowing down what we all want, release.

facepalm

OlympusBurns

If this were a normal company with investors and a board of directors over the lead game designer, then we'd likely be given a timeline. The pressure on social media and need for quick ROI would make its way to the board and they would crack the whip on the developers giving them dates to have things done by. The devs would then start cutting corners because making those dates with the quality they had been creating content at would be an impossibility. So the game code gets sloppy, they start doing more copy and pastes of content, the quest lines get generic, and the ancillary features of the game (like the endgame loop) become more shallow. The beta happens and the players realize how bad the game will be. Some people say "Well they have 3 months until launch so hopefully they'll address some of the issues." But really those three months are spent fixing the bugs from poor coding and nothing is added. The game releases and is dead on arrival, but "had so much potential."

We've grown accustomed to this as MMO players. At this stage in a corporate produced MMO, we would more likely than not have a development roadmap or dates. Things feel off right now because this development path is different.

We're in an MMO hole right now where nothing worthwhile has released in a bit. As Steven said, Ashes has a window of relevancy. It feels like that window is now, but not sure on when it'll close.

Dygz

I think even then, there would not be a public roadmap at this time.
Dev teams have learned over the past 5+ years that it's best not share those publicly during the Alpha stage.

Raven016

Chicago wrote: »

we know that A2 will persist until launch but i think the earlier that people get in and start testing the better, obviously the game will be done when its done and noone wants you to rush things

If they start the Alpha 2 sooner, then it will be longer.
I think they want to have the Alpha 2 not only for testing purpose but also as a good experience.
The purpose of the pinned thread ( Dev Discussion #54 - In-Game Content ) might be to find out what to prioritize for Alpha 2, as not everything might be ready when it starts.

Chicago wrote: »

i hope that the game is not 4-5 years out but i know it will be done when its done, anyway what is everyone's thoughts?

I think Alpha 2 will start in 1-2 years and will be released in 3-4 years.
I am patient because I have games to play and I enjoy them. I am even worried that I might not get enough time for AoC.

People who say they will drop everything to play Alpha 2 constantly, believe the game will be better than anything else. Or they are burned out of whatever games they have and put too much hope into AoC.
Alpha 2 needs a constant population on the servers, to be able to balance things.

Balrog21

Plain and simple, Steven got burned by promising dates before....lesson learned the hard way. Don't expect any dates no matter how much you think we need them. We aren't going to get any until they are 100% sure they can hit those dates.

Veeshan

Balrog21 wrote: »

Plain and simple, Steven got burned by promising dates before....lesson learned the hard way. Don't expect any dates no matter how much you think we need them. We aren't going to get any until they are 100% sure they can hit those dates.

pretty much most u can hope for is a check list when they tick things off as theycomplete them with no time line for things just a tick when there done and when everything ticked off its A2 time but u prob wont get that either

Isth3reno1else

Hey,
I'd love to quit other games and play the alpha 2 tomorrow but I'd rather it presented when ready. There's just too much room for misinformation and negativity if they have to push back a project.

We've already seen what happens with bad releases. It leaves a black eye on the project that is hard to remove.

Sylvanar

- Gamers follow a game because of passion. Unfortunately passion has a timer. Some know this and some will figure this out in time.
- "let him cook", "takes time", are all well and good BUT till when needs to be asked. Why? Because I doubt all the chefs in here would say the same thing if the game ended up cooking for 10 more years.

I bought a PC specifically in late 2021 because AoC was estimated to be released by late 2022 or early 2023. That didn't happen. I was disappointed but didn't really mind cuz - let him cook, takes time - but I had hoped that it would be released by 2025 latest. I mean 2 years is a long time to catch up, even including the time delay due to moving the game to UE5.

I doubt we would having A2 anytime this year. Consequently, the game release feels further away than it did when I came across this game 2 years back.

At the end of the day, I feel many of AoCs early followers and well wishers would not get to or be able to enjoy the experience regardless of their patience.

So basically what @Dygz said but in more words. I think.

Dygz

Yes.. and...
Since Landmark?EQNext, I've been waiting to play an MMOPRG where I can work together with other players to build a village and possibly defend it from threats. (And to be able to have Dwarves/Elves/Halflings who have a Polynesian/African/Native American/Asian/Indian ethnic facial features and skin-tones.)
A release date of "Before 2020" made it seem as though Ashes would be the first MMORPG to provide that experience - so I might have to accept the compromise of Corruption if I wanted to be able to play an MMORPG with those features....

But... now there are other MMORPGs in development with those features... and some of them will have less of a focuson PvP and competition... where I would not have to deal with the compromise of Corruption.
(Also, P2W is not a dealbreaker for me...)
And some of them may release before Ashes of Creation...

But, at this point... yeah...
Take the necessary time to make Ashes a game that its target audience will love and play for more than a decade.

Spif

KingDDD wrote: »

You don't want to play the game where it's at and bugs balance and content aren't really up to snuff. All alpha 2 will do is convolute the development process slowing down what we all want, release.

This is not a reason not to have a roadmap. This is a reason to not have A2 at all. Since that's a breach of what they've promised, this still comes in as a reason to delay A2 for as long as possible.

Right now we have some vague guidelines as to what needs to happen before A2. IE, we have some A2 goalposts that can be moved around as much as they like, and also the ball is somewhere between midfield and the A2 goalposts, but we don't really know where it is.

I don't want A2 to be delayed so far that closed beta is just a few months after A2. Because that's what A2 next year...sometime....looks like. This is why I have not yet bought the $250 pack.

Dygz

Pretty sure the plan has always been for Closed Beta to just be a few months after Alpha 2.

Diamaht

Here's a guess, A2 summer next year, release summer 2025.

To be honest, you will only stress yourself out needlessly worrying about time tables at this stage. Too early.

Watching the clock makes it go slower. Just enjoy other games, and check back as the months go by, would be my advise.

Raven016

Dygz wrote: »

Pretty sure the plan has always been for Closed Beta to just be a few months after Alpha 2.

After Alpha 2 start or after Alpha 2 end?
There might be no much difference between them. Just a stage to bring even more players to test.

Myosotys

Chicago wrote: »

the monthly updates are great but at the end of the day i think having players test the game would benefit the game and the community immensely, we are post 2 years alpha 1 now with no time frame or any sort of roadmap insite, about 10 months ago it was stated that the community could start spot testing in several months ( by definition is 2-4 ) but we have not heard anything on this latley either, you guys are doing an amazing job with the monthly updates, however with every update we do see it becomes clearer that there is more that we dont know about the game and if every single aspect needs its own monthly update we are going to be years away from A2, we still have three classes, naval content, crafting ( could be 5 months of streams by its self ) augments, skill trees, nodes, pvp/caravans, honestly another combat update is needed at this point, the list goes on and on, steven stated that A2 was not close but also not years away pretty much saying it would release next year, but it would be extremley nice for the community if we could see a roadmap, we are not asking for specific dates but maybe milestones that need to be crossed before the A2 launch, what is left to test, what is left to be seen in future updates,

we know that A2 will persist until launch but i think the earlier that people get in and start testing the better, obviously the game will be done when its done and noone wants you to rush things but the Q&A questions are always catered away from any real questions about the development of the game and it is extremely hard to get a real answer on these things, i hope that the game is not 4-5 years out but i know it will be done when its done, anyway what is everyone's thoughts?

I agree with the OP. The small dozen of noisy active members totalling more than 10,000 posts on this forum will tell you to take your time, don't rush things and stay in the dark as Steven is cooking now.

But a Road Map doesn't preclude meticulous work. Asking for a road map doesn't mean you have to go faster, and it certainly doesn't mean you have to come up with a job that's a mess.

Let's not forget the silent majority who follow the game without giving their opinion every 5 minutes. A road map isn't just for those super fans who read the Wiki every night before going to sleep and keep a notebook of Steven's quotes.

A road map would attract the attention of those who waiting the game but don't have the time to read and analyze all the content already available on the game's development.

So for my part, yes, I'm in favor of a road map as soon as possible.

Doinks

I would love to see a roadmap, not only to know how far there is to go, but what is planned and what the dev team wants to showcase. Like everyone else, I'm very excited about what could be and it would be a wonderful addition to to the information we already have on the game to get hyped about.

Neox365

Alpha 2 End of the Year or Early next Year i guess

Depraved

alpha 2 will start the first quarter of 2024, or last quarter of 2023. most likely 2024

Caww

once the A2 starts it would be good to see a timeline/schedule of the upcoming additions but until they package and release the A2 they may not know what they can jam in and what really needs to shift for later inclusion

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