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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.
Comments
In regards to that, it would be cool to have different colors to their horns/skin like green/blueish. Maybe even give the horns something like flowers blooming from them to intensify the nature feeling.
1. Stylization, ears, antlers, a new take on wood elves... Everything. They are beautiful.
4. The skin texture being wooden could be a slider to off as well as a fur option. Blooms, shedding, larger horns on males, nub option, even bigger ears, and bushier eyebrows.
I think I speak for a vast majority of the community when I say I absolutely LOVE the art direction/style of the Pyrai. The same goes for the Vek. But a stark and persisting issue I see happening is that, while the other races don't necessarily look bad, they look like they are from a completely different game. When you look at all the races, whether it be concept or 3D, you can clearly see that the Vek/Pyrai have a similar art style, but different to the rest of the races.
I strongly, passionately believe that a unified art style is ESSENTIAL for a game. Of course, games should have a WIDE variety of aesthetics, but one should be able to see a character and identify its style and say, "yup, that's definitely an Ashes of Creation character." This can be done for many other games (i.e. League, Valorant, BDO, Archeage, etc.).
The Vek/Pyrai are unique, stylized without being too cartoony, and overall just very very polished. The rest of the races on the other hand, as mentioned, aren't bad, but are also quite bland. They lack a unique or interesting art style.
And so my suggestion is this: Please, please unify your art style/direction moving forward. I'm not sure whether this is true but it looks like the Vek and Pyrai concepts were designed by a completely different team, but everyone loves them. So please re-create the rest of the races in the art style of the Vek/Pyrai. It would give your game character, identifiability/uniqueness, and polish.
As others have said, I like that you designed something a bit different. I like that the direction seems to be very discernable features for each race.
Is there anything you dislike about the art direction for this race, and why?
I hope the 'barky' look on the face is customizable. I am sure some would like more and others less
What are your thoughts on what was shown during the livestream for the Py'rai female?
Out of the races when they were announced with the kickstarter, I thought I would play an elf race or Tulnar most likely but Py'rai went from a distant #3 to much more interesting. Really will depend on the horn customization for me.
Are there any specific Character Creator customizations you would like to see for the Py'rai female?
Horn customization and 'barky' facial features able to be adjusted would be nice.
I don't love the barkskin so I'm hoping we have other skin options to choose from - maybe several different "barkskin" types to choose from with various amounts of coverage, patterns, and then one choice with no barkskin at all. Something like this from GW2's Sylvari where you have a base option with nothing, and then the varieties for people who want that.
I am also hoping/expecting that we'll have other horn/ear options or sliders as well so people can customize those to their liking, so I'm not too worried about what those look like. I do like both the ears and horns and that's part of what makes them so interesting, but definitely the ears need to be closer to the head.
Overall unexpectedly excited about this one and as of right now it's definitely my favorite race.
I think the druidic roots, bark features are wholly unique and needed in the time where every MMO have human A B and C as their "different races". See SWTOR as the example in this regard. I particularly like the housing associated with the race. Quite fitting.
"Is there anything you dislike about the art direction for this race, and why?"
The only thing I find might be wrong is them not having a class that will be easy to roleplay in. With their nature based aesthetic, that is. None of the classes seem to tip their hands towards shaman, or druid, unless one of the mixes of classes does so and I'm out of luck on criticism then if that is the case. Could definitely move to a less attractive side than your typical elf seeing as they're not focused in anyway on looks as it would seem, and their looks might be considered totally different that their other elven kind. Less.. superficial, i think is the best way to put it.
"What are your thoughts on what was shown during the livestream for the Py'rai female?"
Horns are great, barkskin is the underrated winner i think. You could use the horns here as horns for other races like the Tulnar as well; I see what you're doing. 😉
"Are there any specific Character Creator customizations you would like to see for the Py'rai female?"
HOW bark can i make my barkskin: slider to adjust roughness toward living skin- nature skin.
HOW long can my hair and horns be: slider can be independent of each other but would be cool if in the lore the hair and horns are connected.
Thanks for reading!
Agree agree agree!!!
I, personally think the way the team is going with the races overall, what we have seen till now has been amazing.
I love how the Py'rai have horns and has evolved away from the mother race, aswell as their unique look.
What I think is espessially cool is how the skins are different from "normal" human and elfs, its like they have done a pact with the nature, and has evolved to be closer to the nature.
Is there anything you dislike about the art direction for this race, and why?
Not a single thing, I hope we get wide cusomization of the horns, and height of the race.
What are your thoughts on what was shown during the livestream for the Py'rai female?
I think, It was a very good livestream, I liked the presentation.
Would like seeing when you showcase the creator, espessially with a reace like Py'rai where you can move race spesific features.
Are there any specific Character Creator customizations you would like to see for the Py'rai female?
lots of bone structure options, lots of eye colors, and skin texture options. maybe optional additional spikes even.
I believe it captures the Wood Elf aesthetic well
Is there anything you dislike about the art direction for this race, and why?
I must admit I am not a huge fan of the antlers and hope they can be toned down or swapped out for something else.
What are your thoughts on what was shown during the livestream for the Py'rai female?
It was very informative and insightful
Are there any specific Character Creator customizations you would like to see for the Py'rai female?
Lots of ear customisation
- I wanted to go with Py’rai in the beginning because I like the idea of forest elves, and after seeing this concept I’m much more excited for it. I really like the dryad concept, and if we could customize the horns/bark skin that would be so cool! I think also being able to control some subtle colors on the more bark/horn features would be fun, maybe in the range of greens, blues and darker purples, or maybe even a deeper red.
2. Is there anything you dislike about the art direction for this race, and why?
- Not really. I would personally make the features a little less dramatic, but I think that could be easily done with different options for eyes, nose and mouth at character creation.
3. Are there any specific Character Creator customizations you would like to see for the Py'rai female?
- Maybe some bark textures for the arms and legs, with sliders for the amount of that texture. Different styles of horns/branches, maybe even an option to add some bark texture to the cheekbones depending on how much more dryad-like you want your character to be.
The given presentation looks top quality, but at the same time it seems as if the extra features were just glued on. I feel there should be a bit more integration.
* I love the bold choice of going for a really fantasy wood elf look. The antlers and bark tone effects really portray they are one with nature. You have blown my expectations away with this, and extremely excited.
Is there anything you dislike about the art direction for this race, and why?
* It's hard to tell without full body model, but It looks like the neck is a bit enlongated. I know this can probably be changed within character customization, however, i dont believe the neck should be too long. Everything else in the art looks perfect!
What are your thoughts on what was shown during the livestream for the Py'rai female?
* Hype... Pure Hype. As of right now before seeing the Tulnar, I'm gonna be going Py'Rai!
Are there any specific Character Creator customizations you would like to see for the Py'rai female?
* I'm not 100% certain if this was mentioned in stream or not, but antler variants would be great (not talking about size or length), actual changes to the antlers.
* leafy/vines adornments in hair.
I hope that the piercings shown are available for other races too, and maybe even as (cosmetic) accessories to switch out. It would certainly make for a cool specialization as smith for example to beable to make cosmetic items for characters.
Same goes for tailors or leatherworker if they can make civilian clothing that you can wear instead of armor inside your freenode or the town.
Thank you for the great feedback!
A) Instead of a fan favorite, proven to be safe elf look, you guys made a elf that has it's own character. A "Verra touch" added atop the the existing elf archetype. I really like that a specific race will be distinct and unique to AoC.
Q) Is there anything you dislike about the art direction for this race, and why?
A) Perhaps the pointed, erect eyebrows. They are very reminiscent of the "Blood Elf" from WoW.
Q) What are your thoughts on what was shown during the livestream for the Py'rai female?
A) I liked it. I was curious how the male version would look like, and if the antlers would be distinctly different from those female ones.
Q) Are there any specific Character Creator customizations you would like to see for the Py'rai female?
A) The amount of branches from the main horn. Ornaments (moss/feathers/flowers/vines/etc). Battleworn horns/broken ones/scarred/healed.
my only desire is that the racial augments and base stats aren't too restrictive creating to much of an advantage when picking a specific race/class combination - i'd like to see something like: Kaelar, Empyrean, Renkai and Dunir have general racial augments and stats to be better paired with Any physical class, and the Vaelune, Pyrai, Vek and Nikua are a good pair with Any Magical class, that would make your race selection meaningful but not completely restrictive with advantages for specific classes
While I expect some will be displeased at mandatory horns, I have no such issue. This necessity could be justified by lore, and there is benefit in the immediate silhouette identification. To minimize horns for those who are averse, perhaps a clipped/ground variant could be available where the root is still visible. For the extremely horn-averse, I just recommend that they choose a race that they actually like rather than homogenizing the Py'rai.
I do hope that helmets generate horn holes rather than hiding horns.
Options I hope for would be an increase or decrease in bark-like striations on the face so that we can have some nearly-overgrown face parts while allowing for others to be more smooth and fleshy. Larger horns, smaller horns, branching horns, and simple horns. Differing colours to match basic wood types would also be appreciated along with options to blend the horn to its anchor location or instead emphasize the clear divide between flesh and wood.
The conspicuous nature-based characteristics should remain, as this is what primarily differentiates the Py'rai from others. I advocate for it being clear and varied. I hope to create a white-haired bark-laden and beared hermit elf to wander the woods and live in the trees.
I'm sure ear size will be changeable and antlers too. I'm guessing the eyebrows will also get variations and different lengths and sizes. I see some suggestions like more barkskin and even removing the ears altogether and leaves for hair but I'd rather see such things as optional if at all.. Personally I don't think I'd want my elf to be a living tree, I'd be happy with more deerlike antlers/features but what you've got going on right now is awesome.
I wouldn't change much or anything about her current design honestly. Overall I am very excited and my worry has gone.
I think the ears to protrude too much from the skull.
The shape of the ears is also very particular and I think the CC tool should have several options or else sliders to be able to change the shape of the ears. (like allow us for smoother or more discreete options)
Antlers should be optionnal. And customizable, if any.
Same for the barkskin effet. A slider would be nice, from "no/almost no barkskin" to "a lot".
A optionnal slider that could add a couple different leaves or small flowers in the hair would also be nice.
10/10 Flowering Head dresses!
Branches/horns from her head, reminiscent of a stag and a tree at the same time. Both are very much in tune with the nature/dryad thing.
The sharp features are distinct from every other race concept so far, which is good.
The ears are definitely elven, but distinct from the ears we've seen from the Vek and Ren'Kai. Assuming you continue to give the Empyrean elves a style of ear similar to what we saw in Alpha 2, that means you have 4 different "pointy ear" races with different styles of ears, which is a great accomplishment in my eyes.
A number of people have commented on the eyebrow negatively. I like the idea of a long and severe eyebrow, as it reminds me of a Vulcan from Star Trek, which isn't a bad thing. I do think it went a bit far, though. I don't like the eyebrow actually extending away from the face like some kind of hair antenna. That's how they handled elves in World of Warcraft, and I always thought it was tacky there too. If the eyebrow stayed on the face I'd really like it more.
ETA: I didn't even notice the wooden skin. Even better.
One more thing... A request; could we have the option for shades of green in the hair?
I like the branches, and happen to like the long ear! Them being thinner really helps the aesthetic and I read another PoV that they might be designed that way for survival purposes so would make sense as well.
I like the wild texture/volume of the hair. To distinguish from the thinner, strand-like hair of the Kaelar, this can stand out as being a little less "refined" but perhaps more showy, a bit more wild.
Love that the bark texture blends into the skin.
Interesting take with the necklace, I wonder how we might offer choices of cultural jewellery. We have earings and a necklace, how much is customary and what's optional as a chunky necklace wouldn't want to clash too much with armour sets. Could we perhaps see bracelets/Anklets?
I would honestly be happy with this on release. The next questions are how do the Males look, where do they share similarities? Do males serve a certain role, perhaps have larger protruding branches (or at least a larger max size) than the female variant? Should they? Perhaps the "bark" skin on the males will be more textured/coloured to RESEMBLE a beard - such that the bark is immitating a beard without them having actual facial hair of the traditional sort. Just a random thought!
I’m not familiar with their lore yet but they come across as a more wild wood elf. Did corruption cause their skin and antlers to grow?
The thing that stands out to me the most is how artistically stylized the Py’rai and the Vek look compared to the other races. There seems to be a more realistic vs cartoony aesthetic. And while I like the look of both styles they don’t look good together. Also a more artistically stylized character will look out of place in a realistic world.
However I don’t know if this has to do with the level of polish on py’rai and Vek. Overall I like the idea of them, I just feel they need to be brought in line with the rendering of the other races and the environment.