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Do you feel like Ashes is missing races?

MarzzoMarzzo Member, Leader of Men, Kickstarter, Alpha One
Our 9 races might be enough for most, but I heard of some people feeling like they don't click with any of them. Do you feel like there are not enough races? Are they too similar? What kind of races do you feel are missing?

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Comments

  • NiKrNiKr Member
    A looooot will depend on how they develop Tulnar. If the range of Tulnar character creation is huge, people might be able to create their own "race". Outside of that, I'd say we have more than enough.
  • JustVineJustVine Member, Alpha One, Adventurer
    edited May 2022
    Ashes did a good job at expanding the world space by the mods to those races on top of the traditional eurofantasy races that things feel fairly comfy. I would definitely vote no to more races if it were up to me alone.

    That being said there is one sensible extension I feel would be hard to argue against. The more they develop Nikua, the more I am convinced a halfling x gnome race could be needed. The changes to the Renkai, Vek, PyRai (and Nikua hopefully) have been stark enough that it feels like that niche of 'extra small/evasive and crafty' is the only one left in terms of standard eurofantasy racial design. This is obviously harder to execute though given the no lols rule, since no matter how full figured you make a small woman, people seem to react strongly negatively in many differing directions.

    Past that, the racial skins from cosmetic packs have have a few good candidates but feel far more fantastical and out of place. Still I think it'd be dumb to not use them as clear dlc jumping off points later on if new races must be added past Gnome-lings.

    More specifically the elemental skins. I feel like you could make a version of 4e's Genasi that aren't exactly those fire and ice skins but 'half human versions of them with more expansive options in the cc.'

    Regardless you have to remember new races don't just mean new CC options, but new racial architecture as well. Half elementals and halfling/gnomes have very clear ways you could guide architecture. But it adds to the cost of adding them. That's one of the core reasons I would vote against a new race being added aside from it already feeling very racially complete. Definitely do-able, but I prefer activities/quests over cosmetics for dlc.

    (edited to respect the apparent censoring.)
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  • CawwCaww Member
    No
  • I personaly like the Py'Rai. I think the races are enough. I think we should keep in mind that in MMO´s often there are addional ones joining the party later...
    [Fleo Verum] Carolus Dynamicus - Py'rai - Rogue+Fighter
  • VaknarVaknar Moderator, Member, Staff
    I think once all the races are complete and customizable in the character creator, people may find themselves more intrigued about the ones that are planned to be in AoC at release!

    If you were to add other races to Verra, what would you add?
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  • Some Sea based race living like in the film waterworld maybe...
    or if it would be compatible to the lore some race that survied under water and now comes to the surface again ...
    [Fleo Verum] Carolus Dynamicus - Py'rai - Rogue+Fighter
  • I think they are totally fine and enough for the beginning :smile:
  • DygzDygz Member, Braver of Worlds, Kickstarter, Alpha One
    Nope.
    9 player races are a lot for starting up any RPG, especially an MMORPG.
    More player races - that's what an expansion is for.
  • NerrorNerror Member, Alpha One, Adventurer
    edited May 2022
    Certainly no more races are needed for release.
    Vaknar wrote: »
    I think once all the races are complete and customizable in the character creator, people may find themselves more intrigued about the ones that are planned to be in AoC at release!

    If you were to add other races to Verra, what would you add?

    @Vaknar I think for a new race, you have three options
    1. Go back in history and resurrect the parent races, like the Pyrian and Aelar parent races, or go even further back in time to the Torens (half-elves). Like a hidden enclave frozen in time somehow. This option wouldn't be visually as exciting perhaps, as they would just be variants of the existing races.
    2. Make up a new minor race that somehow thrived after the apocalypse. Wood dryad perhaps, all leafy and shit, surviving in the deep forest. Or a minor race that went to the seas and survived there in underwater cities.
    3. Literal aliens. A race from a different planet than Verra in the material plane, that is currently experiencing their own apocalypse, with the gods opening up a divine gateway to Verra similar to what they did with Sanctus.
  • LithionLithion Member
    JustVine wrote: »
    More specifically the elemental skins. I feel like you could make a version of 4e's Genasi that aren't exactly those fire and ice skins but 'half human versions of them with more expansive options in the cc.'

    Hell yes, i would love to see elemental type people also. It could tie in well with the lore too because i think i recall there being elemental balls of energy being sent to Verra during the fall. Would be very fun to customize and stuff also but probably very hard to implement so maybe as DLC but would love to see it!

  • JustVineJustVine Member, Alpha One, Adventurer
    Lithion wrote: »
    JustVine wrote: »
    More specifically the elemental skins. I feel like you could make a version of 4e's Genasi that aren't exactly those fire and ice skins but 'half human versions of them with more expansive options in the cc.'

    Hell yes, i would love to see elemental type people also. It could tie in well with the lore too because i think i recall there being elemental balls of energy being sent to Verra during the fall. Would be very fun to customize and stuff also but probably very hard to implement so maybe as DLC but would love to see it!

    Oh yeah for sure. Everything I said was only in reference to 'possible DLC', even the halfling/gnomes. I don't really like dlc races. But you know, it's boring to argue about what 'shouldn't be' all the time.

    I feel like the architecture is the hardest part of the half elemental race to implement. Getting architecture based off fire and ice as the guiding principle requires a lot of creativity and eyeballing to keep it from looking out of place. Gnomes and halflings on the other hand have clear sources of inspiration to draw architecture from.

    Maybe the totally not Gensai half ice elementals could have Russian architecture inspiration and the fire ones have Ottoman Empire inspired architecture? That way there are some similarities, but ultimately they are still rooted in designs that suit their preferred climates? It'd be quite the undertaking.
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  • Nerror wrote: »
    Certainly no more races are needed for release.
    Vaknar wrote: »
    I think once all the races are complete and customizable in the character creator, people may find themselves more intrigued about the ones that are planned to be in AoC at release!

    If you were to add other races to Verra, what would you add?

    @Vaknar I think for a new race, you have three options
    1. Go back in history and resurrect the parent races, like the Pyrian and Aelar parent races, or go even further back in time to the Torens (half-elves). Like a hidden enclave frozen in time somehow. This option wouldn't be visually as exciting perhaps, as they would just be variants of the existing races.
    2. Make up a new minor race that somehow thrived after the apocalypse. Wood dryad perhaps, all leafy and shit, surviving in the deep forest. Or a minor race that went to the seas and survived there in underwater cities.
    3. Literal aliens. A race from a different planet than Verra in the material plane, that is currently experiencing their own apocalypse, with the gods opening up a divine gateway to Verra similar to what they did with Sanctus.

    You could also add to the list something non-living. Some kind of clockwork/golem style of artificial race.
  • NoaaniNoaani Member, Intrepid Pack
    I agree that no more races are needed for launch. The basics are covered, and that is what an MMORPG should be at launch.

    To add two other methods to Nerrors list above of ways that could be used to create a new race in Ashes;

    The gods could literally decide to create a new race. Maybe they see the current races as failing in some way, and so decide introduce a new race to fix things.

    Second, some mad scientist doing genetic research combining existing races, or trying to add intelligence to existing species could have some form of escape.

    Interestingly, all 5 concepts (mine and Nerrors) can be found in EQ2. The game had a parent race (Barbarians), a race that managed to survive an apocalypse unnoticed for many years until being rediscovered (Fae), a race from another planet (moon, technically - Vah Shir), a race that the gods created because the existing races were shit (frogloks), and a race that were a genetic experiment gone wrong (Sarnak).

    Interestingly, the Charater Art lead of Ashes worked on EQ2 for a number of years, so I am sure Chris knows all of this (and much, much more) anyway.
  • 9 races is MORE than enough. I have honestly never played any MMO with these many race/class options.
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  • RingarRingar Member
    Water race.
    Material race like golems (material customization).
    Elemental race like fire spirit/snow cold spirit/water spirit.

    But this is too complicated to implement.

    So 9 races is fine.
  • VmanGmanVmanGman Member, Braver of Worlds, Kickstarter, Alpha One
    I think the races they have planned are more than enough. This is obviously a very subjective question and answer.
  • ShadowVenShadowVen Member, Braver of Worlds, Kickstarter, Alpha One
    No. I think for the initial launch these races are fine. Now if in the future they want to add a race to an Expansion or something, that would be cool.
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  • CROW3CROW3 Member
    No pandas.
    AoC+Dwarf+750v3.png
  • JustVineJustVine Member, Alpha One, Adventurer
    CROW3 wrote: »
    No pandas.

    Couldn't bear it huh?
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  • AtamaAtama Member, Braver of Worlds, Kickstarter, Alpha One
    edited May 2022
    I like what we have, because I feel like we have a lot of diversity. The races hit on the primary fantasy tropes (humans. elves, dwarves, orcs). They also were designed to resemble real life historical cultures from around the world, rather than just being exclusively European like many games.

    I can't really comment on the Tulnar since we've seen practically nothing about them, and what info we have is sparse and sometimes conflicting. But given the variety from the races we've already seen, I expect yet another distinct type of character to add even more diversity.

    As said by others, nine races is a pretty good amount, especially at launch. World of Wacraft only had 8 at first. Other games have had more; EQ had 12. Lord of the Rings Online only had 4 (they have expanded to 7 since then). So the amount we have to me seems fine, it's about average for an MMORPG.
     
    Hhak63P.png
  • CawwCaww Member
    It seems to me that more races would only work if there were more character slots available, otherwise, all the extra choices are just wasted from a personal perspective once real leveling starts. The wiki guidance is "There will be a "comfortable" number of character slots on launch." I'm "comfortable" with the number of slots equaling the number of races (ESO had upto 18 slots with most free and the remainder paid).
  • CROW3CROW3 Member
    JustVine wrote: »
    CROW3 wrote: »
    No pandas.

    Couldn't bear it huh?

    Nah, I just thought that the Vulpera out foxed them.

    AoC+Dwarf+750v3.png
  • AeskillAeskill Member
    edited May 2022
    I am absolutely convinced of the planned races. Rather really pay attention to culture, nodes, architecture and other individualities, than the 100th race with minimal visual difference (compare WoW subraces). Just the idea of discovering a settlement in unexplored areas and you know directly: nice that must be the Vek. I can't imagine how awesome that will be combined with the node levels, organic terrain options (as steven mentioned in the last stream) and cultural influences.

    1 or 2 new races in the future would be fine, but always put quality over substance!
  • Yours truly feels that 9 is an ample amount of races, for launch. I guess I just took it for granted that more would eventually be added, down the line.

    NO FEATURE CREEP!



  • CROW3CROW3 Member
    NO FEATURE CREEP!

    Tulnar.

    Done >:)

    AoC+Dwarf+750v3.png
  • AtamaAtama Member, Braver of Worlds, Kickstarter, Alpha One
    CROW3 wrote: »
    NO FEATURE CREEP!

    Tulnar.

    Done >:)

    Hey now, the request was not to have feature creep. We can still have creepy features.

    I say, bring on the Tulnar in all their glory!

    _106189684_66d302ff-fdc7-48bc-8b1d-91a2318766e6.jpg
     
    Hhak63P.png
  • CROW3 wrote: »
    No pandas.

    I hope husbandry can let us breed pandas though.
  • DygzDygz Member, Braver of Worlds, Kickstarter, Alpha One
    More likely to be a Pandaconda.
  • VoidwalkersVoidwalkers Member
    edited May 2022
    Dygz wrote: »
    More likely to be a Pandaconda.

    I heard the secret command for doing exact that is "conda install pandas"
    wait, I think I've seen that command somewhere before .....


    (steers back onto topic)

    Anyway, 9 races feels enough for now IMO.
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