[2023] Ashes of Creation Community Q&A - 11AM PT Friday, April 7, 2023 | Ashes of Creation Dev Tracker

Transcript (by Youtube)

7s	[Music]
8s	thank you
17s	hello everyone and welcome to a bonus
21s	stream in April we have a really cool
24s	show today you know for those of you
26s	who've been a part of the community for
27s	a while now you know that on a yearly
29s	basis we kind of interact with different
31s	content creators who have been with the
34s	ashes equation Community for a while now
36s	and I am joined by three of our very
40s	amazing
41s	um content creators and and they also
43s	you know manage their own communities
45s	who are very excited for actions of
46s	creation and they've compiled a really
48s	cool list of questions that I'm excited
51s	to to answer with them today I have not
53s	previewed these questions
55s	um so I heard that some of them might be
57s	uh might be fun some of them might be uh
61s	a little spicy we'll see but
63s	um I would love to go around uh with
65s	each of you and have you guys introduce
67s	yourselves and your channels and your
69s	community and just kind of give a little
71s	introduction why don't we start with you
73s	samerg
75s	oh yeah so uh yeah so my name's samorga
77s	and I am uh the host of the ashes
80s	Pathfinders podcast and from the
83s	community site asheshq.com
86s	um so that's pretty much where you can
87s	find us doing our thing pretty regularly
88s	we're pretty stoked about ashes yeah I
90s	jump on and I listen to your guys's um
93s	podcast every now and then that you have
95s	with some of the guests and also when
97s	you do the reviews
99s	um of the live streams and stuff you
100s	have a very active community and I love
102s	to see the questions in the banter and
104s	the kind of go back and forth and
105s	whatnot we also have with us uh Mr
109s	Richie sh how you doing buddy doing good
112s	how are you very good tell us a little
114s	bit about yourself and your channel uh I
116s	my channel is Richie sh over on YouTube
118s	I cover all sorts of Ashes of creation
122s	news I cover
124s	tweets Discord chat all sorts of things
127s	to get you know every bit of information
129s	we possibly can
131s	every little piece of morsel possible
135s	and then we also have a regular uh our
140s	amazing our one and only uh TB how you
142s	doing
143s	I'm doing pretty well thank you so much
145s	I hope you're doing well also you know I
149s	was getting sick last week during the
152s	live stream I was actually I got sick
154s	that Thursday uh and I am almost out the
158s	other side this one was a doozy
161s	um it definitely it was definitely a
164s	rough one but I'm feeling much better
165s	today and I'm excited to be here with
167s	you tell us a little bit about uh your
168s	channel and and
170s	um what you do with ashes
173s	um so I am a co-host of the Golden
176s	Feather which is a community-based uh
179s	kind of interview and Opinion podcast uh
182s	where we usually get to know our guest
184s	and also get to know the community's
186s	opinions on topics that the community is
188s	generally talking about
190s	um so I have some of my questions are
193s	kind of in that style very cool well I
196s	love
197s	um the opportunity to kind of sit down
199s	with members of the community especially
201s	you guys who have been following ashes
203s	for such a long time and obviously there
207s	are different tiers of content creators
208s	who kind of follow ashes on and off kind
211s	of bring updates to their communities
213s	but you guys have been following for a
214s	very long time you're very core Central
216s	members of the community and you
218s	represent I think a cross-section of
220s	followers and and fans who have been
223s	relatively up to date with what the game
226s	is intending to be the philosophy of our
228s	designs and you know been here from the
231s	very beginning
232s	so it's always good because when we do
236s	live streams or you know other types of
240s	um you know quote-unquote marketing
241s	events where I might do interviews with
243s	content creators whatnot sometimes those
245s	are done within the context of the new
247s	audience right who might we be speaking
249s	to
250s	um that has never heard of Ashes before
252s	but today I think we're going to be a
255s	little bit different there we're going
256s	to be speaking to more of our core
258s	audience uh with the types of questions
260s	that you guys want to ask
262s	um and those of you who have been
264s	following the project for a long time
265s	and have been through uh the journey
267s	with us of what it's come to to be to to
270s	make this game so
272s	that's always exciting for me and I
273s	apologize I have a um I have a cough
276s	drop so I don't cough too much
279s	um
280s	well that's what might be why I'm
281s	sounding a little bit strange
283s	um but
285s	that being said how have you guys been
287s	doing how did you guys enjoy the last
288s	update
290s	I loved it I thought it was great seeing
293s	the story are starting to come together
294s	it's pretty cool
295s	um yeah it was something that we haven't
297s	really shown before obviously we've
299s	talked a lot about since the beginning
300s	of um
302s	of time for ashes back in 2017 about a
304s	changing world and whatnot but I don't
306s	think people really had the opportunity
309s	um to have seen what systems are
312s	associated with that they got a little
313s	bit of a touch on it with the weathers
315s	and seasons and now they get to see that
316s	both from a story arc perspective as
319s	well as how we intend to facilitate
321s	those story arcs across the world
324s	um I thought it was cool I I love seeing
327s	the transition to that zone over into uh
330s	over into the blood is due story arc I
333s	thought it was super cool and Carfin is
335s	such a giant Tower one of one of my
337s	favorite things that I enjoyed in
339s	previous MMOs was these tall vertical
342s	dungeons
344s	um in lineage they had a really cool one
346s	called kruma tower that you got when you
348s	were like level 40ish and Tower of
350s	insulence that you got when you were
351s	like a little bit end game
353s	um
354s	and I really always enjoyed you know
356s	going through those Towers in the
357s	different rooms uh of that dungeon
360s	competing and fighting for uh for where
363s	I could hunt or where I might get
365s	picayed or get trained a bunch of mobs
367s	on I don't know if you guys ever had
368s	that experience in your MMO play
372s	yeah definitely watch do you have that a
374s	lot on the live stream yeah
378s	it was super cool well let us get to
381s	some of your questions I am super
385s	excited to just and just for you guys
388s	who are tuning in this is going to be a
389s	q a uh primarily we're gonna just
392s	um shoot the shoot the poop so to speak
395s	um and talk a little bit about ashes and
399s	uh some of the questions that the
400s	communities have have expressed to these
402s	guys so what do you guys got for me
406s	so uh my first question and as I
409s	mentioned these are gonna reflect kind
410s	of our TGF Tavern podcast uh theme so my
415s	first question is a little bit of an
416s	icebreaker what are the most challenging
419s	and most enjoyable things you have found
420s	about running the studio
422s	um with these in mind what is your
423s	biggest lesson learned throughout the
425s	process
426s	what have been the most challenging and
429s	exciting things I've experienced in
431s	running the studio well that is a big
433s	question
435s	um for those of you who don't know my
437s	history
438s	um you know I started Intrepid with my
440s	husband John back in
442s	2016 really it was when we fired our
445s	fire hired our first our first employees
449s	I think was John aralano and Keith Kovac
453s	um it was December of 2016
456s	15 actually sorry December of 2015. and
462s	you know it really came from a point of
466s	me as a player uh I was kind of kind of
469s	upset with the state of MMOs and I've
472s	been a huge MMO fan for a very long time
474s	I've played a lot of MMOs
476s	um and um
478s	we had an opportunity with uh you know
480s	some of the talent here in in San Diego
482s	from you know formerly Sony Online
485s	Entertainment and some great MMO
487s	franchises that were built
489s	um to attract a an audience of of
492s	developers who were going to be
494s	interested in building next best MMO
496s	possible
497s	and I didn't know much about development
501s	at the time I know a lot about designs
504s	and systems because I had I had run my
507s	own campaigns and d d and Pathfinder and
510s	that's what ashes of creation has
511s	predicated on with what it's built off
513s	of is
514s	um of off of that campaign in Pathfinder
517s	and so I had a very kind of uh
520s	understanding design wise of these
522s	systems that I've experienced and were
524s	inspired from in other MMOs that I've
526s	that I have uh have played in and I
528s	thought how cool it would be to
529s	integrate those systems into a
531s	comprehensive and cohesive design theory
533s	around risk versus reward and you know
536s	not everybody's a winner and a little
539s	bit more of a throwback to more old
541s	school design feel and and whatnot so
544s	for me
546s	I started in studio was a fire hose of
549s	information of learning
551s	um you know the first couple of years
553s	just sitting very closely with each of
556s	my lead developers and digesting as much
559s	as possible from their experiences in
561s	previous
563s	companies and previous uh projects and
567s	that was that was a very difficult task
570s	to learn as much as I did in such a
572s	short period of time and still to
574s	continue learning that what I would say
576s	the most fun aspect
579s	of having LED an MMO studio now for the
583s	last over six years
585s	has been to watch the team grow and
588s	change you know it's a very different
591s	feeling when you're a group of uh you
593s	know half dozen to a dozen people
595s	growing to a couple dozen people growing
599s	to dozens of people growing to 150 plus
602s	people like you know that that
604s	experience these do different thresholds
608s	of Studio size
610s	um
612s	while maintaining the culture of what
614s	Intrepid is which is a place for gamers
616s	to build games that they love
619s	um
620s	you know that that has been that has
622s	been a really rewarding experience to
624s	see the connections to see the
626s	friendships form to see the bonds
627s	created to see the camaraderie the uh
631s	Collective desire and motivation to
634s	create something that stands the test of
636s	time that makes your audience proud that
638s	makes you yourself want to play the game
640s	like you know it is that is something
643s	that is a sight to behold
646s	um the second most exciting thing I
647s	think for me has always been the
649s	opportunity to interface and talk to
652s	other Gamers people who are excited
655s	um you know I get a taste of this on a
656s	Reddit I get a taste of this on the
658s	forums or through different YouTube
660s	channels and Twitter and what you know
662s	Discord a large portion of my initial
665s	environment and how I talk to players
667s	was through Discord but
669s	um I think that the the Pinnacle of that
672s	experience was going to pax's and having
674s	an opportunity to sit down and hear
677s	directly from the player what's so
679s	Inspire what's what's in inspirational
680s	about ashes what is the core philosophy
683s	that speaks to you as a gamer and it's
685s	you know each person's different what
687s	speaks to them right because we're all
688s	eclectic and have our own backgrounds
690s	and pasts and experiences that we want
691s	to relive and the Nostalgia that we want
694s	to experience again so
696s	um
697s	okay
698s	just kind of finding what that common
700s	ground is between us as Gamers
703s	um that was fun to experience and see
707s	people
708s	with with a just literal excitement an
711s	opportunity to kind of chat with them
713s	play Magic with them play board games
715s	and hang out after the events that was a
717s	super fun thing for me what has been the
719s	most challenging
722s	um obviously the most challenging thing
725s	for me was learning everything I needed
726s	to learn in a very short period of time
728s	and then continuing to learn and evolve
730s	from there if I were to give another
731s	answer on the challenging aspect from a
733s	development perspective
735s	it's integrating I feel
738s	this transparent process with the
742s	creative and development side of a
744s	project typically what people's people
748s	don't see what it takes to build these
750s	types of games it's ugly it's hard it's
754s	iterative it is
757s	um it takes so much imagination to look
760s	at what you're seeing in a functional
762s	setting and imagine it in a
765s	testable and then eventually polished
768s	and shippable setting right that that is
770s	a logical leap of creativity that it
773s	takes to get from this has no VFX this
775s	has no sound design this has no polished
777s	animation this has nothing and I'm not
779s	talking about what you guys see because
780s	we take that up to close to a uh a a
785s	shippable
787s	quality but when you see it in a very
791s	bare bone setting
793s	um it it can be uh it can be difficult
796s	it can be challenging to imagine it in
799s	its next step of iteration and work
802s	um and then have to make decisions based
805s	off of that
806s	um you know it's very there's a
808s	challenge it's a challenging thing to do
810s	but very rewarding as well sorry that
813s	was a long-winded answer to your
814s	question
817s	all right my first question is which
820s	zones can we expect to see in Alpha 2
822s	and how many of them are in a comparable
824s	state to the riverlands and how far
826s	along in development they are oh that's
829s	a that's a big question
831s	um we have a lot of zones that are
833s	planned for Alpha 2. not all of them
836s	will be online by the time Alpha 2
839s	launches
840s	um but they will be continuously
843s	integrated and launched as part of Alpha
846s	2 continuing forward
849s	um you know the big areas obviously are
851s	the riverlands the Badlands the the
854s	sansqual desert uh the tropics the
859s	forest areas
860s	some of the tabletop Mountains and the
863s	tundra and Ice areas
866s	um you know and then we want to
868s	obviously have
870s	the loops around our navel
873s	zones partly represented I apologize for
876s	coughing guys
878s	um or some called our last week's
880s	preview the Tower of coffin uh that's
884s	good but um yeah so you know there's a
887s	lot of there's a lot of areas that are
889s	planned when we talk about like level of
890s	completion what goes into really making
893s	a particular Zone
895s	um obviously there's the terrain there's
898s	the foliage they're setting up small
900s	points of interest medium points of
902s	interest large points of interest
903s	there's connecting the quest hubs into
906s	those points of interest they're setting
907s	up the nodes within those localities
909s	there's the Overland population the
911s	spawner work that needs to be kind of
913s	set up
914s	um narrative and story lines and how
915s	they connect outside of that particular
917s	Zone
918s	um there's the resource tables and
921s	materials
923s	um you know there's a lot that really
924s	kind of goes into that so as we kind of
927s	accomplish setting up each of these
929s	zones
930s	um incrementally uh you know different
932s	parts of the team come and touch the
934s	zones at different points in the type in
936s	the in the pipeline so first you
938s	environment kind of gets in there and
940s	they set up the terrain and kind of the
942s	block out for all of the level design
944s	across that particular Zone uh in
946s	conjunction with the design level design
947s	team
949s	um who's Ben and Jason and Jeremy kind
952s	of you know work with them on that front
954s	and then once those kind of areas are
956s	are set up and the pois get blocked out
959s	that's when you know narrative teams
961s	start
962s	assigning quest locations Quest markers
965s	and setting those up while nodes is kind
968s	of setting up the the base node node
970s	areas as well so you know
973s	it depends on the Zone uh where it's at
976s	from a level of completion standpoint
977s	and and who's kind of touched it
980s	um you know it would be a long list kind
982s	of run down and go through each of those
983s	but I would say I would say generally
985s	when we talk about in preparation for
987s	Alpha two
988s	we bring the zones that are intended to
990s	launch with somewhere between like a 60
993s	to 70 percent completion perspective
995s	before it's ready for an alpha two and
998s	then that's where you would expect
999s	players to kind of participate in those
1000s	zones during Alpha 2.
1004s	cool so this one's going to be related
1006s	to lore could you elaborate on how the
1009s	soul as a conduit May tie into other
1012s	Realms or planes again assuming those
1014s	are actually different things or
1016s	possibly even the avatars of the Gods
1017s	which you've previously mentioned oh I
1020s	need to be maybe I need to be careful on
1022s	this one
1024s	um
1025s	and I don't know how much I've gone into
1026s	this in the past and how much is
1029s	revealing maybe too much uh right now
1032s	um but okay so
1036s	so to understand what the
1039s	mortal coil is what we call the Mortal
1042s	coil
1044s	there is some base metaphysical
1047s	understanding that's required of kind of
1049s	the universe of Ashes of creation or you
1052s	know quote unquote universes I suppose
1055s	and at the Crux of of each is this
1059s	concept of the flow of essence the river
1062s	of essence we might call it right in
1064s	essence is is really all that can come
1067s	to be comes from in some way shape or
1070s	form the essence
1073s	um and you know in the original kind of
1076s	Ashes of creation Pathfinder campaign
1078s	that I had built long ago
1080s	I'll just kind of talk a little bit to
1082s	that and let you guys discover what may
1084s	have changed in nationalism creation but
1087s	in that sense there's very much this
1090s	concept of of playing our locations or
1093s	different planes that existed within the
1096s	universe some things existed on the
1098s	material plane some things existed on
1100s	the Ethereal plane on the celestial
1103s	plane you know there are a number of
1104s	planes that kind of exist
1106s	and
1107s	Essence flows like a river through each
1110s	of the planes and the higher up you go
1113s	in these planes the closer to the source
1116s	of the essence you really are and that's
1119s	where you can see stronger
1120s	manifestations of you know the magical
1123s	aspects of the essence
1126s	um
1128s	now
1131s	I'm sorry let me make sure I'm touching
1134s	on the right point in the question can
1135s	you re-ask the question just one more
1136s	time for me sure yes oh I see it
1138s	actually on the screen okay sorry no
1139s	elaborate more of how the salt okay okay
1141s	got it so when the Divine races were
1144s	created uh by uh the pantheon of Gods
1150s	they were created for a particular
1152s	purpose and the purpose they were
1154s	created for was to observe how these
1158s	mortal beings would interface with a
1161s	substance like the essence
1163s	and obviously one of the great
1165s	differentiators between Mortal Divine
1167s	races and the gods is that aspect of
1171s	mortality and one of the ways that the
1174s	Divine races were created in order to
1176s	interact with the essence was through
1178s	the use of a mortal coil and that mortal
1182s	coil was malleable your soul was
1184s	malleable it could change to adopt a
1188s	greater
1189s	um a greater connection with the essence
1193s	around one particular School of magic
1195s	perhaps or one type of magic that you
1197s	might use Essence for and the more you
1199s	experienced that the more Adept you
1202s	became with utilizing that magic and
1204s	that's because your coil would start to
1207s	mold itself to best facilitate that flow
1211s	of essence whatever School of magic you
1214s	were manipulating with it right
1216s	and so
1218s	in that sense when you have the story of
1220s	the original ancients the the
1223s	predecessor raced to the Divine races
1226s	their coil began to warp and change to
1231s	best facilitate Essence through the use
1233s	of corruption and corrupt magic because
1236s	it was in their in their story in their
1238s	history that they learned the most
1239s	powerful user at least what they
1241s	believed was the most powerful use of
1244s	essence was through corrupt magic and
1247s	that's what allured them towards it
1249s	um so to give you you know better
1252s	context about why that conduit is so
1254s	important is as your base character as
1258s	your core archetype continually learns
1261s	and manifests things in the world of era
1263s	through the use of the essence it will
1266s	continue to shape and change its conduit
1268s	towards that purpose now
1273s	how does the soul act as a as a as a
1275s	conduit to the other races to the other
1277s	Realms remember that Essence is like a
1280s	river that flows through the Plains and
1282s	when it touches mortal coils that use it
1285s	in a certain way it has reverberations
1287s	throughout the river that is felt across
1291s	the Plains and that's how important the
1293s	Divine races are when it comes to the
1295s	the war over their soul so to speak
1299s	um is is what impact it has Across the
1301s	Universe so to speak so hopefully that
1303s	answers some of your questions uh and
1305s	then I see it's a possible avatars of
1307s	the Gods which have previously been
1309s	mentioned we've talked a little bit
1311s	about them I don't want to give them
1312s	away
1313s	um too much because they are core
1316s	characters within some of the story
1317s	lines but obviously you know the Phoenix
1319s	is an avatar
1321s	um and so that kind of gives you an
1323s	example of the types of Mythos and
1327s	mythological creatures that we lean into
1329s	to kind of represent
1331s	um uh the avatars of the Gods
1337s	all right my next question is will the
1340s	Alpha 2 map include any portion of the
1343s	Eastern continent
1346s	um that's eventually it will yes
1349s	um at launch it might not uh it depends
1351s	depends on how much progress we make
1352s	towards that end
1354s	um it is not required for us to begin
1356s	testing let's just say that
1359s	um and so if it if it makes it by the
1361s	time we want to launch Alpha two
1363s	um then we will include it otherwise it
1364s	will be released at a later time during
1366s	the Alpha 2 test
1369s	all right
1370s	um did the under realm size increase
1373s	when you expanded the size of the world
1375s	map or is it still expected to be about
1377s	100 square kilometers it didn't increase
1379s	too much
1381s	um you know there is going to be some
1383s	level of of
1384s	additional scope that's necessary on the
1387s	Underground again to reiterate the
1389s	intent of the under realm in areas where
1392s	you have over land Transit and movement
1396s	between zones the under realm is meant
1399s	to provide an alternate path so that
1402s	you're not creating these kind of
1404s	congested environments where it is just
1407s	too easy to gank you know someone who's
1410s	moving material Goods like through a
1413s	caravan in a particular choke point
1416s	um it's kind of all offering alternative
1418s	paths that can exist for players to
1422s	utilize as necessary and so in that
1425s	sense even though the size of the map
1426s	grew those choke points remained
1429s	relatively similar right they're
1430s	designed for a particular player count
1432s	as a conjunction between different zones
1435s	and so the underground in order to
1438s	facilitate take that alternate path
1441s	idea did not have to increase in size
1445s	too much
1450s	cool so the next question uh for the
1452s	Pathfinders is that you've mentioned
1454s	Milestones a lot is there any chance you
1456s	could elaborate on what these different
1459s	Milestones or goal posts are in order to
1461s	provide some added transparency without
1463s	promising dates
1465s	and elaborate on these different
1467s	Milestones or goal pose
1469s	well
1471s	when
1472s	I mean there's a there is a lot that
1474s	gets done in a particular Milestone to
1476s	give you to give you kind of um
1479s	understanding from from our internal
1481s	kind of production schedule perspective
1484s	um Milestones consist of multiple
1488s	Sprints worth of work right and these
1491s	Sprints are kind of small
1494s	increments of time that a particular
1497s	development team might work towards a
1499s	goal completing a feature
1502s	or content pass that's necessary in a
1505s	particular area and so when we set up
1509s	our milestones and
1511s	um we are kind of identifying what those
1513s	particular Milestone goals are they span
1515s	across the entirety of development from
1518s	platform and Engineering to design and
1522s	concept to combat iteration and counter
1526s	design
1527s	through model creation and VFX and our
1531s	tools adjustments and iteration and
1535s	environment build outs and you know
1536s	everything that goes into making a game
1538s	everyone is kind of involved in this
1542s	concentrated and Cooperative effort to
1545s	achieve a particular Milestone now
1549s	you know we talk about these Milestones
1551s	every month that we do a live stream you
1554s	see the fruit of these Milestones
1557s	whether it be in the assets that get
1559s	created that we talk about
1561s	um or a particular feature that we want
1563s	to show off you know its development as
1565s	it's been kind of fleshed out further so
1568s	each month you guys uh in the community
1571s	get insight into what was a part of this
1574s	particular Milestone and when we talk
1576s	about upcoming presentations and
1578s	upcoming
1580s	um live streams you're getting inside I
1582s	think into you know what's part of our
1584s	of our internal scope now obviously we
1587s	don't share our internal Milestones
1589s	because they're very fluid and subject
1592s	to change we're an Agile development
1595s	team which means that between Sprints it
1599s	becomes necessary for us to make pivots
1601s	for us to make you know priority changes
1604s	as it exists within our backlog
1606s	um and you know a lot of that is driven
1609s	driven by desired testing we need to get
1612s	done internally or you know when we
1616s	discover
1616s	undiscovered work or we develop Tech
1619s	debt like there are reasons why those
1622s	Milestones change excuse me the scope
1625s	and or objectives of a particular
1627s	Milestone might change from Sprint to
1629s	Sprint ever so slightly but the goals
1632s	are always what we are aiming to achieve
1634s	and stay consistent so we don't share
1637s	those because it is a very agile fluid
1640s	environment where particular objectives
1643s	of a milestone might be relatively fluid
1650s	and uh going back to the under realm
1653s	will there be larger bodies of water
1656s	like oceans lakes or rivers in the
1658s	underrealm and if so will we be able to
1660s	use boats or ships to navigate them
1663s	there will absolutely be under under
1665s	realm lakes and rivers
1668s	those will be locations and very
1671s	important ones for Unique material Goods
1674s	like certain types of fish that players
1677s	will be able to go down and fish with
1679s	but there will not be the use of boats
1681s	and vehicles within the water water
1684s	vehicles of the underwhelm at least not
1688s	for lunch
1692s	all right if everything goes relatively
1695s	smoothly how long are you anticipating
1696s	Alpha 2 to run for and if it goes longer
1699s	than anticipated how do you continue to
1701s	keep players and the viewers interested
1703s	for that long without feeling the
1705s	burnout of seeing all the content
1708s	well Alpha 2 will not be content
1710s	complete that's the first thing
1712s	um the other thing is you know when
1715s	talking about kind of a burnout
1717s	um I think that's something that we
1719s	adapt to during the testing period we
1721s	kind of observe how players are buying
1723s	on to
1725s	um this the particular testing that's
1726s	available if we need to consolidate that
1729s	testing we need to wipe that testing
1730s	we'll talk about the length of alpha two
1732s	alpha 2 is intended to exist up until
1734s	launch there's going to be different
1736s	testing periods that we will be
1739s	um releasing either new content
1741s	locations or zones or systems that we
1745s	want to have players kind of focus in on
1747s	in those situations if we're having you
1750s	know participation drought because of
1752s	the length of Alpha 2 we can we can set
1755s	them up in a more focused uh setting we
1758s	can even incentivize that we can offer
1760s	unique testing to potentially
1764s	um
1765s	new testers as well
1768s	um you know it's important to note that
1771s	Alpha 2 and our Alphas are not what
1775s	traditional Alphas have been that many
1776s	players have experienced
1778s	which are usually
1782s	completed games that are being ported
1784s	over or moved over into a new region for
1787s	publishing purposes
1789s	um and they're selling access to Alpha
1791s	as at a higher price point of exclusion
1795s	you know exclusivity in order to to
1799s	start off that product launch with a
1800s	bang in the new territory that's what
1803s	traditionally players in Western
1805s	audiences are accustomed to are these
1807s	Eastern ported over MMOs and their quote
1810s	unquote Alphas which are really just
1812s	stress tests environments for a
1814s	completed game in a server ours are very
1817s	much traditional alphas and what that
1820s	means is the game is not complete
1823s	um the game is in a very uh core
1827s	functionality perspective Alpha 2 will
1830s	be a bit more than that obviously than
1831s	Alpha One was those of you participated
1833s	in Alpha One saw just the basics and
1835s	core functionality of the game you know
1837s	seeing nodes get stood up seeing nodes
1840s	collect experience and threshold and
1841s	having some service buildings you could
1843s	build and character progression and
1845s	skills and abilities and Dungeons and
1847s	you know bosses and monsters and some
1850s	basic crafting and questing like that
1851s	was that was alpha one now that was a
1853s	large environment it was 64 plus square
1855s	kilometers I think of space
1858s	um but Alpha 2 is a much more fleshed
1860s	out version of what ashes of creation is
1864s	and so in that sense it's still
1866s	important to keep in mind it is not a
1868s	finished product
1869s	and there's still a lot of stuff to be
1871s	done but this is an opportunity for us
1873s	again to touch point with the community
1875s	and say okay on these particular systems
1878s	on these particular content passes on
1881s	these particular
1882s	um
1882s	gameplay features and and Loops like
1885s	combat and whatnot how do you want to
1887s	see changes and then we validate what
1889s	those chain desires are against what our
1892s	intended list of deliverables already
1893s	are ensure that there's one-to-one
1895s	parallelism there and then if there are
1897s	things that we didn't see we evaluate
1899s	based off of feedback from players if we
1901s	should incorporate them or iterate upon
1903s	the existing designs
1907s	hopefully it'll answer your question
1911s	all right so this one's about the
1913s	Cosmetics store in freeholds uh when are
1916s	we going to get answers on the point
1918s	regarding what the Cosmetic skins
1920s	correlate to on freeholds as it's been
1923s	it's been quite some time now since
1924s	people have been waiting for an answer
1926s	on that yeah um so the majority of of
1929s	cosmetic Freehold skins the vast
1933s	majority of them are used for the home
1936s	and to give you an example kind of an
1940s	idea of how the Freehold is partitioned
1943s	Freehold serves kind of three main
1946s	purposes the first and foremost is as a
1948s	location for your home and so because of
1951s	that a part a portion of the Freehold is
1953s	dedicated to a home building
1956s	and you cannot fill that space with
1960s	workshops and or processing stations
1962s	other than to place a home there the
1965s	home offers a lot of things and the
1967s	reasons why it's a core element of
1970s	freeholds is because of storage
1973s	capability
1976s	excuse me storage capability Furniture
1979s	allotment and placement Furniture
1981s	interacts very closely with processing
1984s	as well as
1987s	the crop rotations that exist around the
1990s	particular
1991s	um uh housing building
1995s	the other portion of the Freehold is
1998s	dedicated to workshops in these
2000s	processing stations essentially and
2003s	processing stations are of course a
2005s	necessary component of taking
2006s	gatherables into usable crafted Goods
2010s	essentially to fulfill what recipes
2012s	require in order to make
2015s	items and so the majority of Cosmetics
2019s	that um are out there from our pre-order
2022s	packages are dedicated to that Freehold
2025s	housing slot now some are used for the
2029s	workstations and it is the intent that
2032s	our designs uh facilitate multiple
2036s	applicable Cosmetics skins to those
2039s	workstations as well as to the house so
2041s	you'll see freeholds that have the house
2043s	applied cosmetic and some with the with
2045s	the workstations applied
2048s	um why is it taking so long for
2049s	interpreted verification so
2053s	the unique thing about the Freehold
2055s	approach in design is that there's a lot
2059s	of testing that needs to be done around
2061s	that and in Alpha 2 we will have
2064s	we will have our freeholds available to
2067s	test
2068s	and while we have the designs in place
2071s	for how processing interacts for
2073s	Gathering and how processing feeds the
2077s	um the crafting stations
2079s	um some of that stuff might change the
2081s	allotment of buildings that can be
2083s	placed on the Freehold the way that the
2085s	buildings get placed on the Freehold
2086s	whether or not we even scrap the idea of
2088s	dedicating a portion of the Freehold
2089s	towards the house
2090s	and because of that because of the
2093s	design limbo that's still pending our
2096s	testing environment in Alpha 2
2099s	we've not wanted to kind of give
2102s	definitive
2104s	um definition around how those Cosmetics
2106s	will be applied to the Freehold
2108s	buildings in the event that that might
2110s	change based on iteration but to give
2112s	you perspective there
2115s	um
2115s	it's mainly going to be focused around
2117s	the Freehold house and then also having
2120s	the ability to apply the Skins to some
2122s	of the workstations as well there is
2124s	going to be a limited allotment of how
2126s	many workstations you could have stood
2127s	up at any given time there's a limited
2129s	allotment of licenses that can be
2131s	applied to a freehold in order to make
2132s	some of those stations reach level two
2134s	tier tier 2 and tier three
2136s	um what those particularly are we have
2139s	some designs for them now but that most
2141s	likely will not survive testing and will
2143s	need to be changed and adapted and
2145s	iterated upon based off what the testing
2147s	results provide
2149s	um
2150s	one other thing
2151s	is that um you know we don't we don't
2154s	really Market our pre-order packages we
2156s	don't Market our Cosmetics we don't
2158s	spend any marketing dollars towards that
2159s	end
2161s	um and I want to reiterate something
2162s	that I've always said in the past and
2164s	we'll continue to say
2166s	um going forward
2168s	um it is not necessary to pre-order
2170s	ashes of creation
2172s	we do
2173s	non-ndaid uh testing periods this is an
2176s	opportunity where all of the community
2178s	gets to see what some of the testers are
2181s	experiencing in Alpha One and in Alpha
2183s	two and to be perfectly honest our
2185s	testing environments are not catered or
2187s	made for the enjoyment of players it is
2190s	not a game that you are purchasing when
2192s	you make a pre-order into Alpha and beta
2194s	for ashes of creation you are actually
2196s	committing yourself to dedicating a
2199s	portion of your time in testing specific
2202s	Loops that might not be fun in order to
2205s	accurately provide us the team with
2208s	information from a player invested
2210s	perspective and so in that sense
2213s	um you know it is perfectly acceptable
2215s	and desired that players who are
2218s	cautious or questioning whether or not
2220s	this is the game for them some of the
2222s	designs might speak to them or not sit
2224s	back and wait you have an opportunity to
2226s	watch development to continue to opine
2228s	and give your thoughts and feelings on
2230s	something and if the monetizations
2232s	structure of selling Cosmetics is not
2234s	your cup of tea then by all means do not
2236s	participate that there are plenty of
2238s	games that are out there that that do
2239s	things differently we're very upfront
2241s	about how we want to operate with
2243s	regards to no pay to win no pay to
2245s	convenience
2247s	um you know our Cosmetics are are
2249s	available if players want to participate
2251s	they like collecting those things that's
2252s	fine and they do they are part of
2254s	building the world right these Cosmetics
2256s	get used as part of NPCs they get used
2258s	as part of unique buildings around
2260s	different points of interest you know
2262s	they're already in line of production in
2264s	order to build the world of Ashes
2266s	they're just also available as part of
2268s	the Cosmetic
2270s	purchases as well so hopefully that
2273s	answers your question
2275s	yeah
2277s	I'm gonna actually go ahead and
2278s	elaborate on the Freehold
2280s	um what happens if you have a freehold
2281s	and a world event happens in the area we
2284s	know that some events can affect
2286s	buildings can it also affect your
2287s	Freehold
2289s	um no so the way that events
2292s	um work is there's a certain number of
2296s	world
2297s	conditions that can serve as predicates
2300s	for whether or not an event is the event
2303s	manager and the event system which
2304s	Clayton has done a great amount of work
2306s	on on whether or not these predicates
2309s	satisfy the requirements in order to
2311s	initiate an event
2313s	and those events have objectives
2316s	some of those objectives might be
2318s	centralized at points of interest some
2321s	of the objectives might be centralized
2322s	at a particular node some of those
2326s	events might be predicated on a
2328s	particular objective that's just
2329s	randomly spawns out in the world in
2331s	order to kind of create player activity
2333s	and engagement and soft friction between
2336s	players right
2338s	the events do not Target personal
2341s	belongings
2343s	um which means that your Freehold is
2345s	essentially a personal belonging right
2347s	it is a certificate a deed in which you
2350s	own in which you have constructed the
2353s	necessary requirements in order to stand
2355s	up any particular building on that
2357s	Freehold so in that sense we don't want
2360s	to create an event that targets you we
2363s	want we want to create events
2365s	that Target engage and incentivize your
2369s	community and there are a lot of
2371s	different communities in the aspect of
2372s	Ashes of equation remember we're a
2374s	non-faction based game which means we
2376s	have to create a lot of micro
2377s	communities we have to create create a
2379s	lot of quote-unquote pseudo factions and
2382s	the reason we create those pseudo
2384s	factions and they're opt-in like I
2386s	choose which node I'm a part of I choose
2388s	what social organization I'm a part of I
2389s	choose which religion I'm a part of I
2391s	choose which dungeon I choose to go in
2393s	you know to XP at
2395s	the reason why we allow that amount of
2398s	player agency
2400s	is because we create complementary
2403s	systems that incentivize soft friction
2405s	between those communities right and
2407s	events is one of those systems that
2410s	helps to facilitate the soft friction
2411s	between communities
2413s	um so we don't want to focus them on an
2415s	individual player we want to focus them
2416s	on the micro communities or the pseudo
2418s	factions that that player has chosen to
2420s	be a part of
2424s	all right
2426s	um how do you go about designing some of
2428s	the more old-school systems such as XP
2430s	debt minimal fast travel and open world
2432s	rating that have really gone away for
2434s	the most part in modern MMOs and how do
2437s	you design them to be accepted Again by
2439s	a new generation of Gamers and what made
2441s	you bring what made you decide to bring
2443s	these back for Ashes to begin with God
2445s	that is such a a
2450s	that is such a
2453s	question with a deeper root system than
2456s	it appears to have meaning that there's
2458s	a lot that goes into that question
2461s	um how do you design some of the more
2463s	old school systems well
2466s	when looking at the reasoning behind why
2472s	some of those old systems existed
2475s	a lot of it was centralized around the
2478s	idea of risk versus reward I mean let's
2482s	take a look at the three that you name
2484s	XP debt minimal fast travel and open
2487s	world rating
2488s	experience debt is a cost of failure
2492s	experience debt is the bite of not
2495s	achieving success
2497s	if I die to a monster because my
2501s	strategy was bad because my performance
2503s	was bad because my planning was bad all
2506s	of that means that debt is the cost I
2509s	pay for the bad choice
2512s	right and if you and I think
2516s	to skip well let me just go through the
2517s	two minimum fast travel
2519s	my location matters and the time it
2523s	travels there is the cost I pay
2525s	right open world rating I'm not the only
2529s	person interested in completing this
2531s	objective I have competition that
2535s	competition represents pressure that
2538s	pressure represents a desire to succeed
2540s	and perform right all of those are touch
2543s	points on player emotional connectivity
2546s	there is a reason why I want to succeed
2549s	part of that reason can be
2551s	incentivization through reward part of
2554s	that reason can be distance it can be
2555s	incentivization through failure
2558s	um so that's I think at one of the core
2560s	fundamental philosophies as to how you
2563s	design some of the more old school
2565s	systems to answer the second part of the
2566s	question
2568s	we have moved away from that modern MMOs
2571s	modern MMOs have had a difficult time
2576s	modern MMOs have had a difficult time
2578s	because
2579s	of really three main probably issues
2584s	the first and foremost
2587s	is that
2588s	the existing primary franchises of MMOs
2592s	today the big ones out there the Wows
2595s	and the final fantasies and the Guild
2597s	Wars and the pdos
2599s	they've had a lot of time to create
2603s	a social gravity well
2606s	which means that MMOs are very social
2609s	environments That's What MMOs do best
2612s	from a business perspective that's why
2615s	MMOs have long lifetime value for
2617s	customers because of the retention
2619s	ability for that particular MMO
2622s	to keep a customer returning and it's
2624s	because of these social environments The
2627s	Guild structures The Cooperative
2629s	questing environments
2631s	content completion that incentivizes
2633s	people to work with one another to
2634s	create friends online friendships and
2637s	environments
2638s	um that's that is not the typical genre
2641s	that is not the you know FIFA sporting
2644s	genre that's not the
2647s	um the first person shooter genre as
2649s	much it is not the you know you can jump
2651s	into those session based games as a solo
2653s	player real easy and just kind of dip
2655s	out when you're done and see your
2656s	individual performance
2658s	from a from a
2660s	um MMO perspective those existing
2663s	franchises have a strong social gravity
2665s	well and so games when they launched to
2669s	compete with those existing franchises
2673s	they have wanted to remove friction
2677s	they they their approach philosophically
2681s	to game design theory has been
2683s	every time a player experiences friction
2686s	that is an opportunity for us to lose
2689s	the player
2690s	right and that can be a scary thought
2693s	not that we place the emphasis or the
2696s	reasoning behind why should a player
2699s	emphasize the reward of success because
2703s	the taste of defeat can be bitter right
2706s	and so that creates an investment for
2709s	the player that's more long-term but
2710s	some of the perspective of the new
2712s	modern MMOs that have launched is we
2713s	need to make our money back right and we
2716s	need to retain the user for as long as
2717s	possible let's reduce the friction for
2720s	that player and the opportunity for them
2721s	to disassociate with the game at the
2724s	taste of failure and so that's been a
2727s	lot of the reasoning behind why modern
2728s	MMOs go more towards the realm of
2731s	everyone's a winner you get a trophy and
2734s	you get a trophy doesn't this trophy
2735s	feel great big hoopla and rewards and
2739s	nah the screen is shaking and shining
2741s	and you've killed a trash monster now
2744s	the whole world is jumping up in joy for
2746s	you you know like that is how I feel
2748s	every time I jump into a new MMO and to
2751s	be honest it sucks ass excuse me um it
2754s	sucks right it is it is a it is a bad
2757s	experience oh my gosh we have set
2760s	ourselves to uh uh
2762s	Margaret's gonna kill me okay regardless
2765s	it is a trash experience it does not
2768s	feel good to be a winner every time no
2771s	matter what you do that sucks
2774s	um it feels good to lose sometimes it is
2779s	the duality of that experience that
2781s	makes the feel-good moments actually
2783s	feel good
2785s	so some more Grumps those are
2790s	um so anyways that's a little bit of
2792s	your throat back to why that uh I gotta
2796s	sometimes I get a little bit uh a little
2798s	bit
2799s	um animated
2801s	I apologize if there's any uh anybody
2806s	who's not accustomed to that language
2808s	but regardless
2809s	um that is that is one of the reasons
2811s	why I think modern MMOs moved away
2814s	um a couple other reasons of course why
2816s	is there's a lot of content that those
2817s	older MMOs had had the opportunity to
2819s	kind of release over the Cadence of 10
2821s	years of like regular drops for new
2823s	content
2824s	um that is uh
2827s	that is that is another reason
2830s	um I think it's important that a new
2833s	generation of MMO Gamers have not had
2835s	the opportunity to experience it before
2836s	there's look there is a
2840s	a wall of willingness to try a game
2844s	based on the graphics I'm just gonna say
2846s	it out loud Graphics don't make a game
2850s	however Graphics can help attract an
2854s	audience
2855s	and for younger new players who have not
2859s	seen and I think this is standard third
2862s	reason of why older MMOs don't see a lot
2865s	of new player acquisition from younger
2866s	Generations jumping in
2868s	is because their Graphics just aren't up
2871s	to par with some of the other games that
2873s	are now being made in genres that it's
2875s	much easier and faster to make new games
2877s	in
2878s	okay an MMO lifespan to develop a
2881s	product is a long time
2883s	and not a lot of studios are willing to
2886s	commit to that amount of time or that
2888s	money
2889s	but the reward can be oh so sweet for
2891s	those Studios and I'm glad we're seeing
2893s	now in in today's age a little bit more
2895s	of an Embrace for new MMORPG development
2898s	thank goodness we get some new life
2900s	there I think that there is going to be
2902s	a golden opportunity
2904s	for us as developers to Define what the
2908s	new golden cohort of MMO players are
2912s	and I'm going to tell you we have not
2914s	seen that largest cohort yet
2917s	we have seen the golden cohort continue
2919s	to to age
2922s	um you know now we're in our mid 30s to
2924s	near 40s some of us right I think we're
2927s	the golden cohort of that MMORPG genre
2930s	and I think that there is going to be an
2933s	opportunity for an entirely New
2935s	Generation over the course of these next
2937s	five years or so with some of the new
2939s	projects that are on the horizon ashes
2941s	of creation
2943s	for us to come along and say hey
2946s	you didn't know what a wow launch looked
2948s	like you didn't know what a final
2949s	fantasy launch looked like you didn't
2951s	know what other these giant you know
2954s	franchises that their big launch felt
2956s	like and it was a really cool and
2959s	interesting time to be at the ground
2960s	floor opportunity of a new MMORPG
2964s	um especially one with Next Generation
2966s	graphics and some intense player agency
2967s	driven systems I think that's super cool
2970s	and I think that's going to be something
2972s	that's going to be a sight to behold
2973s	apologize for the language
2980s	to uh whatever mature
2984s	yeah I only laugh because uh it
2986s	resonated Stephen but uh moving on for
2990s	this one I wanted to address some
2992s	concerns around combat becoming more
2994s	action focused or Builder spender
2996s	um you know maybe less of a hybrid
2998s	combat system what's the current scope
3000s	for the combat system that uh and has
3003s	Intrepid deviated away from its original
3005s	goals with it if so how
3009s	I wouldn't say that we've deviated
3013s	I would say that we've iterated
3016s	um I would say that
3020s	okay so to reiterate what the current
3021s	scope for our combat system is is a
3024s	hybrid between Tab and action and what
3027s	that means is at its Essence what is the
3031s	difference between Tab and action
3033s	action contains a lot of player
3037s	driven skill shots right these are me
3042s	reacting to the situation I'm seeing
3046s	um they're Landing a name shot or timing
3051s	and predictive Behavior
3053s	it's a lot of fluidity right and
3057s	Mobility
3058s	that's associated there
3060s	obviously one of the staple you know
3062s	components of action combat is a reticle
3066s	um to differentiate between the camera
3067s	modes of course
3069s	um
3070s	some of us have played tab targeted
3073s	games
3073s	that emphasize those elements as well
3078s	through templated aoes templated
3081s	targeted aoes right uh line attacks
3085s	um
3086s	um you know those those types of of
3090s	abilities
3091s	exist in tab Target games as well
3095s	what we're trying to do with ashes of
3097s	creation is create a system that blends
3100s	the Two Worlds together to a degree
3102s	and offers players the opportunity to
3105s	spec into more heavily skill oriented
3108s	abilities
3110s	or tap Target have that Duality that's
3113s	that's that's represented
3115s	um so we've changed a little bit about
3118s	how we approach that over the course of
3120s	the last several years based off of
3121s	player feedback you know we did some
3123s	apoc testing around like really
3126s	core uh
3130s	um action combat and we did some testing
3134s	around alpha one we did some split body
3138s	iteration we saw
3141s	um kind of player feedback there with
3144s	regards to root motion attacks and
3145s	whatnot
3147s	um so you know right now we have a
3149s	really talented Strike Team on the
3151s	combat side that end on the encounter
3153s	side
3155s	um that are making significant progress
3157s	I think in moving forward the combat
3159s	designs around ashes of creation you've
3162s	seen a little bit of this in the tank
3164s	demonstration and while it's not quite
3166s	there yet it is getting closer to there
3171s	um and this is probably one of the most
3175s	subtle driven components of development
3178s	is combat because it's the most tactile
3180s	because it's the most interfaced with
3182s	because it is something you're
3184s	constantly experiencing
3186s	um and it's also something that a lot of
3189s	different people have a lot of different
3190s	thoughts on because there's a lot of
3191s	different games out there that do combat
3193s	differently and that's okay and that's
3196s	normal and let's take the best parts of
3198s	those and incorporate them into what we
3200s	want to make ashes as combat identified
3203s	around
3204s	the simple truth of the matter is this
3206s	and what people should walk away from
3208s	this question thinking
3211s	we will continue to iterate on combat
3215s	until it is in a place that collectively
3218s	we as a community can say this may not
3221s	be my particular combat but this combat
3225s	is good
3226s	that is the driving force and Factor
3229s	behind the development of combat and
3231s	that is how we are going to continue to
3233s	iterate upon it utilizing of course the
3236s	player feedback from our community but
3238s	also keeping you guys informed and up to
3240s	date as we continually iterate on combat
3248s	all right my next question is on the
3251s	Character Creator when might we expect
3253s	to see a new iteration of the character
3255s	creator has the team been concentrating
3257s	more on polishing the new faces in that
3261s	we have already seen or integrating more
3263s	races with a similar degree of Polish
3267s	the character creator
3269s	is um currently scheduled in milestone
3272s	in this Milestone Milestone five
3275s	um to get brought up to speed with the
3278s	most recent editions of our
3281s	um
3282s	of our races
3284s	um the additional features
3287s	uh that we're talking about with like
3289s	different hairstyles and decals that can
3292s	be used those might not be worked on
3295s	this Milestone they might be might not
3297s	be worked until next Milestone but I
3299s	would say in anticipation for Alpha 2
3301s	you will expect to see that the
3304s	Character Creator is in a usable
3306s	functional and testable playable format
3309s	uh for Alpha two it may not have all the
3312s	bells and whistles of course that we
3313s	want to launch with but it is going to
3316s	be a part of the alpha to client that
3317s	players will get to interface with
3322s	all right how far are you willing to go
3325s	in response to player feedback on core
3327s	systems for example if there's a huge
3329s	outcry at launch to have more instance
3331s	Dungeons and raids is that something you
3333s	would address Are you standing firm on
3335s	the mo more open world aspect of it
3340s	um well let's see here so
3345s	to first answer that question
3348s	player feedback is important however the
3351s	identity and the vision of the game is
3354s	not up for discussion
3357s	and so when we talk about the core
3359s	systems and tenets and philosophies
3361s	behind what the game that we're trying
3364s	to make is
3365s	we believe that the game we are trying
3369s	to make resonates with a large enough
3371s	section of the MMORPG player base that
3374s	it is a sustainable and profitable
3377s	Venture for us to create that core game
3381s	now the ancillary systems that live
3384s	around the core philosophy of Ashes of
3386s	creation or the subtleties and what we
3389s	need to do in order to make a particular
3391s	system or feature better right that is
3394s	why we interface with that is the reason
3397s	that we want to collect player feedback
3399s	um the identity of the game when you
3402s	leave that up to console design so to
3406s	speak right that's when you start
3408s	running into an identity crisis
3411s	and I think that if the objective of a
3414s	particular team is to answer the call of
3416s	every player that 10 times out of 10
3419s	they're going to fail
3420s	and I do not believe that that is the
3422s	way that you go about creating a product
3424s	I think that you identify your golden
3426s	cohort you identify your core audience
3429s	and you say
3431s	hopefully with this sense I am a member
3433s	of that core audience I know what that
3435s	core audience desires from a 10 000 foot
3438s	perspective I am going to build that
3440s	right and you stick with it and the
3444s	moment you have voices that come from a
3446s	board or that come from a you know
3449s	an executive or that come from a
3452s	monetization guy and they say hey this
3455s	made a lot of money over here let's make
3457s	some money over here right that is when
3459s	you start running into the problems that
3462s	is when you start running into the
3465s	identity crisis
3467s	um and that is not up for discussion so
3470s	to speak
3472s	um but
3473s	as I said the subtlety the subtleties of
3476s	implementation the iterative portions of
3479s	a particular feature or system those are
3482s	where player feedback matter and I'm
3484s	going to tell you it's a difficult job
3486s	parsing through
3488s	feedback it is a very difficult one
3491s	Roshan
3492s	[Music]
3494s	um and and vacnar and Margaret and Peter
3498s	you know they do great jobs on the
3501s	community side and not a lot of teams
3503s	invest money into Community teams this
3507s	early on and as early as ashes did
3510s	but it's necessary in order to distill
3514s	the feedback into actionable items
3518s	um otherwise it would be a you know very
3520s	difficult thing
3524s	so with server requests that can only be
3527s	done once and that began certain events
3530s	in the game how will this affect future
3532s	expansions if two servers don't follow
3534s	the same major Quest paths
3537s	that's a good question so
3541s	obviously
3543s	um you know when when our story arcs
3546s	have branches
3548s	and it depends kind of on the story arc
3550s	itself right we have these major story
3553s	arcs we have minor story arcs we have
3555s	personal story arcs stuff like that they
3558s	all tie into a meta-narrative
3562s	and when we are releasing expansions
3567s	we throw back to more
3571s	gross generalized ideas of a particular
3574s	story arc so for example if little Timmy
3578s	dies
3579s	at the end of one particular story arc
3581s	there might be five or six different
3583s	ways he could die depending on which
3586s	story arc maybe gets interfaced with or
3588s	Which chapter how a particular chapter
3590s	might end
3592s	um but when we refer back to little
3595s	Timmy dying versus living in a future
3598s	expansion we don't need to get granular
3601s	in how little Timmy died right out of
3604s	the six possible scenarios we just need
3606s	to say poor little Timmy died
3608s	isn't that sad right
3611s	um so in that sense we keep it as binary
3613s	as as as
3616s	restricted in the number of ways that it
3618s	can occur but in addition the reality is
3621s	we're going to be creating new story
3623s	lines with um the future expansions and
3626s	we're going to do our best to kind of
3627s	call back into what a particular story
3630s	might have been with on a server
3632s	but the core the core aspect of these
3635s	story arcs is to kind of create that
3638s	unique aspect of player driven
3640s	storylines within a particular expansion
3644s	or launch and then do our best to call
3647s	back to them as we release future
3648s	expansions and redefine particularly
3650s	those areas
3655s	my question is in regards to character
3657s	level and Artisan level we know that
3660s	currently there are two separate things
3661s	that being said what prevents a player
3664s	from staying level one and parting up
3666s	with a level 50 player to then gather
3668s	level 50 resources in the high zones
3670s	that way anyone who wants to take those
3673s	resources will have to kill the gatherer
3675s	who's level one and get a large amount
3677s	of corruption for killing a level one as
3679s	a level 50.
3681s	well there's a lot that goes with it
3683s	first of all
3684s	um Gathering higher level
3687s	resources requires significant
3690s	advancement within a particular
3692s	profession for that gatherable resource
3695s	so if I'm a minor and I want to access
3697s	the highest possible mineral I need to
3701s	be a master Miner and in order to
3704s	achieve the master minor status I am
3706s	going to be one gaining adventuring
3709s	level experience through that process
3711s	because many of those quest lines many
3714s	of those achievements are facilitated
3717s	through quest lines some of those quest
3719s	lines interface with adventuring
3722s	difficulties that are out in the wild at
3725s	certain levels so that's going to
3727s	predicate me that's going to be a
3730s	predicate for me to achieve a certain
3731s	level in order to complete some of these
3734s	quest lines and Achieve that Master
3736s	status so you will you will likely not
3739s	see the ability of a level one alt
3741s	character having the access to high
3746s	level mineral mining or any other type
3748s	of gatherable out there
3750s	um that's one thing to to prevent it
3753s	and then um the other thing is let's see
3757s	here again the higher two so that's
3759s	that's the primary method really in
3761s	which we prevent that anyone who wants
3763s	to take these resources who kills gather
3765s	will get a large amount of corruption
3766s	but the truth of the matter is if you're
3768s	killing a gatherer right it is going to
3771s	be entirely possible that a level 30 or
3774s	35 person might achieve the rank of
3776s	masterminder and be out in the level 50
3779s	areas mining that that uh that
3781s	gatherable
3783s	um and to a degree uh whoever wants to
3786s	kill them is going to suffer the
3788s	consequences of a larger amount of
3789s	corruption gained because of the
3791s	disparity and level between that
3792s	character's adventuring level and the
3793s	character who killed them and that's
3795s	part of the disincentivization of the
3798s	corruption system and that's part of the
3801s	novelty of player agency within a
3803s	particular system like
3805s	um like the artisanship one where maybe
3808s	my first Focus as a player is to level
3811s	up my masterminding profession as
3814s	quickly as possible and that exceeds
3816s	what would naturally have been my
3818s	character level or adventuring level
3819s	advancing alongside it that's I think
3822s	unique that's I think interesting that
3824s	is I think what players want to have the
3827s	choice to be able to do if they want to
3838s	oh and yes it is
3840s	you guys can't hear this but we just
3842s	heard a very lovely Margaret talking to
3844s	us so we were like awkwardly silent
3846s	there for a second Mark was talking to
3848s	us
3848s	um it's it's noon but I I'm fine with
3851s	you know continuing kind of this uh
3853s	questions if you guys want to keep going
3855s	a little bit yeah
3857s	no yeah I'm down I'm enjoying it
3860s	all right will there be any perks to
3863s	leveling and ALT once you have a
3865s	character max level to make the
3866s	experience more convenient such as a
3868s	count-wide rep Mount leveling gear or
3870s	will each character start from absolute
3872s	scratch when you start a new one
3874s	um
3875s	each character will start from scratch
3877s	however
3878s	with that being said there are
3882s	certain account based considerations
3885s	that we're making such as the ability to
3888s	you know
3890s	share Warehouse
3892s	War Horse warehouse space
3896s	um between alternate characters on the
3898s	same account right uh the ability to
3901s	utilize housing and furniture that might
3904s	be in the housing and or workstations
3906s	that might be on a freehold across
3908s	characters on a particular account so in
3911s	that sense there is a bit of a leg up
3913s	for players who have achieved things on
3915s	their primary character
3918s	um however at the same time
3921s	um
3922s	there should not be like experience
3925s	boosters and you know things that kind
3928s	of haste in the development of that
3929s	particular they could share you know we
3931s	are an open economy system so if they
3933s	wanted to give them the best gear set
3935s	for each particular level grade
3938s	um they you know players could do that
3940s	but that's that I think is normal that's
3942s	what most all creating characters want
3944s	to kind of experience but they'll have
3946s	to go through and complete all the same
3947s	quest lines they'll have to complete the
3948s	same leveling process you know they will
3950s	they will have to do what it takes to
3953s	level up that particular Alt
3958s	all right so uh
3961s	the next question that we've got is
3964s	going to be
3966s	um
3967s	regarding the class composition
3972s	and design revolving around the Holy
3975s	Trinity
3976s	okay yeah if that is the case where does
3980s	a non-healing
3982s	uh support fall into that concept of
3985s	design and how will players who choose
3987s	that path remain relevant throughout the
3989s	gameplay loops
3991s	well
3992s	um
3993s	this is a bit of a throwback again
3995s	Design This is a more old school idea of
3998s	the Holy Trinity and where non-healing
4000s	Support classes fall into that mix
4003s	generally you see in my experience most
4008s	non-healing Support classes fall into
4010s	between the hybrid of support to tank or
4013s	support to DPS right so they tend to
4015s	fill a hybrid role
4018s	um
4019s	The Bard has an opportunity uh to fill
4023s	that space and is a very integral
4026s	component to maximizing a particular
4029s	group or archetypes ability to perform
4032s	through the use of their supportive and
4036s	buff oriented abilities
4039s	um as we've talked in the past many of
4040s	these are support based on proximity
4043s	some of them are support based on
4045s	targeted Buffs
4047s	we're going to be following the format
4050s	of abilities that adhere to dances songs
4053s	and stories when it relates to The Bard
4055s	and the scope of their particular
4057s	ability sets each of those provide a
4060s	certain type of benefit to to other
4064s	characters within proximity
4067s	um
4068s	the idea here again pointing back to a
4071s	more old school Trinity design
4073s	is that no party is complete without the
4078s	non-healing support class which is the
4080s	barded ashes of creation
4082s	so you know that is I I think
4087s	a role that a lot of players out there
4090s	enjoy and you'll be able to perform as
4093s	that class in either a DPS or or tank
4096s	oriented and perhaps even depending on
4098s	your archetype selection healing
4100s	oriented as well obviously not to the
4103s	degree that a primary archetype cleric
4104s	would but uh yeah
4110s	my next question goes back into the
4113s	alpha 2. do you plan on introducing it
4116s	all in a steadily compounding way only
4119s	adding new features or content or in a
4122s	cyclical manner so certain systems are
4125s	turned on and off to test While others
4128s	are iterated upon and alternately cycled
4130s	out
4132s	uh probably a little of both
4135s	um
4135s	I would say it's going to depend on the
4138s	particular system
4140s	um
4141s	so you know you'll see
4144s	drops where
4146s	we update Alpha 2 and want a lot of
4148s	focus around one particular system
4151s	and in order to make sure that we are
4155s	seeing that level of interaction we
4157s	might disable certain systems or take
4159s	them down to be iterated upon the
4161s	benefit of being in a in a you know
4163s	production environment is that we make
4166s	uh we make releases and that the Cadence
4170s	of our release candidate
4172s	um is predicated on an amount of work
4175s	done within some number of Sprints gets
4178s	tested internally QA wise
4181s	um and then gets promoted out to a
4183s	production environment those will tend
4186s	to be larger drops for Alpha two and so
4190s	you may see whole systems come online at
4193s	some different points throughout the
4194s	Alpha 2 testing entirely new different
4196s	areas entirely you know new packages of
4199s	of narrative content and pois that is
4203s	going to adhere to kind of
4206s	um you know what our development
4207s	schedule and release Cadence will look
4209s	like
4212s	all right uh will dialogue choices have
4216s	any impact on the quests in regards to
4218s	how NPCs respond to you or is the
4221s	overall outcome of it or sorry will they
4223s	have any impact on the quests or regards
4226s	how they respond to you or the overall
4227s	outcome of that Quest or is it more of
4229s	just a role-playing perspective without
4230s	any Major Impact
4232s	no the dialogue choices are intended to
4235s	provide an impact
4238s	um
4239s	both with the response of the NPC it
4243s	might also serve as predicates for other
4245s	systems if there are certain paths
4248s	chosen within the dialogue tree
4251s	um it might unlock
4253s	um
4254s	you know
4255s	different side arcs and story lines
4259s	that other players may not experience
4263s	um the the dialogue trees are not
4266s	meaningless they're they're meant to
4268s	provide gameplay related context
4274s	so in the last developer live stream you
4278s	had mentioned blood magic is an illegal
4280s	magic which has us curious so we've seen
4283s	Elemental and Arcane forms of magic but
4285s	will players be able to wield blood
4287s	magic what are the different schools of
4289s	magic you are considering for the game
4292s	um there's well
4295s	um so first when we say that blood magic
4297s	is illegal right we're talking about in
4300s	the context of a normal everyday player
4303s	who's a citizen of Vera having come from
4305s	Sanctus you are you are adhering to the
4309s	local laws and uh guidance from Nation
4314s	governments and or node governments
4317s	right to be to be a good upstanding
4319s	citizen of Vera you adhere to these laws
4325s	um
4326s	the
4327s	the ability to wield blood magic might
4331s	be seen in some storylines we'll see
4336s	um that is left to the players to
4338s	experience and discover
4341s	um those types of choices might have
4343s	ramifications on your character and or
4347s	ramifications within story lines
4351s	um there are a lot of different schools
4353s	of magic
4355s	um in fact
4356s	you know if we haven't released our
4358s	style guide for like VFX and whatnot but
4360s	when we talk about you know how do we
4363s	create a blood corruption setting well
4367s	what is the associated colors what's the
4370s	shape language of blood magic you know
4374s	this flowing river you saw some of them
4377s	in the VFX of the zone and and Carfin
4380s	you saw the Mist in the Deep Red you
4383s	know saturation
4385s	um you know each of the environments and
4388s	the Magics and the you know what we
4390s	create has an Associated style guide
4393s	that includes color wheels and palettes
4396s	across different influences whether it
4398s	be you know
4400s	trans
4402s	transformation summoning magic Arcane
4406s	magic Elemental Magic blood corruption
4408s	regular corruption
4411s	um chaos you know uh electricity there's
4414s	a whole bunch of influences that exist
4416s	across the player abilities but also
4419s	across the environments and the pois
4422s	um and unique to each of the cultures
4424s	that require defined Style file guides
4427s	associated with them
4429s	so that's kind of we have a lot of
4432s	different schools of magic that we have
4434s	in the game
4437s	and you know whether players whether
4440s	players will be able to wield blood
4441s	magic is kind of up to the different
4442s	story lines you all explore
4445s	uh going back to Alpha two uh do you
4449s	plan on introducing all of the primary
4450s	archetypes before adding the secondary
4452s	archetype systems into the test
4455s	additionally once the secondary
4457s	archetype system is added will you want
4459s	to test it with only a few classes at a
4462s	time or release all classes available at
4464s	the point in development
4467s	um so we may release some limited scope
4470s	of the secondary archetype selection in
4472s	the augmentation system without having
4475s	all of the base archetypes released in
4478s	order to test some things in addition
4480s	it's more than likely that we'll be
4483s	releasing secondary selections one at a
4486s	time or a few at a time as opposed to
4488s	waiting until all are kind of ready to
4491s	be released for testing so that we can
4495s	collect appropriate information from
4498s	play testers uh in as fast a
4503s	setting as possible
4507s	do you have any concerns on players
4509s	eventually discovering a meta server
4512s	build with nodes due to players heading
4513s	to specific nodes and regions because
4515s	they find that content more enjoyable
4516s	and if so how would you go about getting
4519s	players to shift around the world to
4520s	break up the meta
4522s	yeah I'm not I'm not too concerned about
4524s	that to be honest because
4527s	um
4528s	the way that we
4530s	facilitate the world kind of
4535s	um taking into account player activity
4537s	to manifest different story arcs and or
4540s	World States
4543s	is based off of population start
4547s	location
4548s	heat mapping of player movement and
4550s	activity
4551s	a lot of that stuff is built in a way
4555s	that almost ensures
4558s	very different outcomes from a world
4561s	State perspective across different
4563s	servers
4565s	now if players had a concerted effort
4570s	in order to elicit similar World
4574s	building achievements
4576s	it might be possible for them to do so
4579s	in very bespoke areas like standing up a
4582s	node in a particular Zone but
4585s	that's the first level of interaction
4587s	when it comes to deciding what content
4591s	trickles out of these pois
4593s	what supporting structures in the world
4597s	change the zones it's not just one level
4601s	deep when that node gets manifest it has
4605s	a relationship based
4607s	with other nodes some of those
4609s	relationships get told through the
4610s	vassal system some get told through
4612s	reputation some get told through you
4615s	know particular
4616s	initiatives that a node might undertake
4619s	and not everything that happens in the
4622s	world is predicated on a node reaching a
4625s	certain level that's one predicate
4627s	system there's a whole bunch of
4629s	predicates that are sprinkled throughout
4632s	different layers of content uh and that
4635s	need to be achieved in order to elicit a
4639s	response from the server or from the
4641s	server World manager so so I'm not too
4644s	concerned with reaching a quote-unquote
4647s	meta across servers I think it's going
4651s	to be possible and expected that players
4653s	in certain areas will yield similar
4656s	outcomes to things and that's okay
4658s	that's cool I think it's interesting if
4660s	players have a concerted effort across
4662s	server to interact with one another
4663s	learn from their actions mistakes
4665s	successes and effectuate that on the
4668s	server they're on that's interesting
4671s	um but I don't believe we'll see a
4672s	metaform
4673s	I think that the intricacies are too
4675s	great when it comes to how predicates
4677s	are formed in order to elicit World
4679s	State changes
4682s	so we haven't talked about the tone
4684s	sorry tolnar recently yeah the toner
4688s	who do you consider to be the true
4691s	natives or traditional people of Vera
4693s	could we be seen as foreigners trying to
4696s	colonize Vera or would the toner view US
4699s	differently than that
4703s	um how do I want to say this so I think
4708s	when we when we talk about the taller
4712s	and we're talking about
4715s	um how will the tonar perceive
4720s	their ancestors the children's
4723s	children's children of their ancestors
4726s	returning
4728s	back to Vera I think majority of the
4733s	disposition is going to be
4735s	these are the descendants of those
4738s	responsible for the tragedy that befell
4741s	our world
4744s	and so that is that is one way to look
4747s	at it
4748s	um and
4750s	I think that that you will see a
4752s	disparity between the younger telnar and
4755s	the older talnar
4757s	and their reception to those who are
4761s	coming new
4763s	um I think that's normal
4765s	I think that's expected I think that
4767s	creates an interesting tension
4770s	um and I think that is a is a is a nice
4773s	contextualization to some of the stories
4775s	that might be told in interfacing
4777s	between the tulnar cultures and those of
4780s	the returning descendants
4786s	how advanced is it going to be uh how
4789s	advanced is going to be the system of
4791s	hiring and customizing laborers on your
4794s	Freehold
4796s	um relatively Advanced um I think
4798s	there's a few paths that you can take
4800s	when it comes to training up those types
4803s	of of NPC AIDS what what things that
4808s	they can do I think there's going to be
4810s	different tiers
4812s	um and costs associated uh with higher
4815s	level uh assistance on the on the
4818s	Freehold
4820s	um
4821s	but the same is true for Mercenaries
4823s	that that nodes can hire or castles can
4825s	place with regards to sieges and or Wars
4829s	and or events
4830s	um
4831s	like you have a very base functioning
4833s	level of mercenaries with set of
4835s	equipment and skill rotations and
4838s	behavior trees that are possible at a
4840s	fundamental level
4841s	and then as you upgrade the nodes
4844s	Barracks as you might upgrade
4848s	excuse me you might achieve
4850s	um uh certain relics that you gain or
4853s	enact certain policies that allow you to
4856s	dial up the stats of those mercenaries
4857s	the same thing is true for the uh NPCs
4861s	that can exist on freeholds except those
4863s	might be more predicated to service
4866s	buildings that relate to artisanship
4868s	and that might be one of the reasons why
4871s	it's beneficial to own a freehold in one
4873s	particular node versus another is based
4877s	off of what amenities are now available
4880s	to your Freehold as a result of that of
4882s	that node selection
4885s	hopefully that answers the question I
4887s	think we have time Let's do let's do one
4889s	more question from each of you
4893s	all right
4895s	nice
4896s	uh you spoke in the last stream about
4899s	how eventually Intrepid would hold off
4901s	on Unreal Engine updates put Intel post
4903s	launch but didn't state if you're
4906s	considering to upgrade to 5.2 is that
4908s	something you're planning on doing and
4910s	if so what features from it are you
4911s	planning on utilizing yeah absolutely
4914s	um you know we're nowhere near close to
4916s	stopping our
4918s	um our continued updates with with epic
4921s	with unreal
4922s	um so
4924s	5.2 is on the radar we might even skip
4927s	we might wait to do you know based off
4930s	of the next iteration 5.21 or 5.3 but
4934s	just kind of depends we have a technical
4936s	team that
4938s	evaluates what's on the horizon with
4940s	updates from epic uh on unreal and we
4944s	kind of make that decision based off of
4946s	the team's needs for particular features
4948s	that might be being released in the
4950s	future but usually we want to give epic
4953s	the opportunity to release the first
4955s	version of a particular major update and
4959s	then go with the 0.1 version of that
4961s	just from a safe keeping perspective
4966s	all right so are there any mechanics or
4969s	systems that you wanted to add to the
4971s	game but haven't because you wanted to
4972s	ensure that your development schedule uh
4975s	stays on track and if so what are they
4977s	oh yeah why what are they there's a lot
4981s	um we you know generally when we're
4983s	doing our uh internal meetings and
4986s	reviews and a great idea comes up you
4989s	know we've throw it in the backlog post
4992s	launch you know that's good that's kind
4995s	of our uh uh generally our our Mo when
4998s	it comes to great ideas I mean because
5000s	you know the reality is as we continue
5002s	to go through features we develop those
5005s	features we test those features and
5007s	iterate on those features a lot of new
5009s	ideas and opportunities come about for
5011s	the team to think about well wouldn't it
5014s	be great if this feature actually did
5015s	this and interacted with another feature
5017s	over here it did this and in some
5020s	situations we'll evaluate and determine
5022s	whether or not you know that type of
5024s	interaction is really necessary to
5026s	demonstrate what the core Loop of a
5028s	particular system might be trying to
5029s	demonstrate and we'll make the changes
5031s	necessary but in the majority of cases
5034s	we State we try to stay cognizant of hey
5038s	here is our MVP necessary list of core
5042s	Integrated Systems in order to achieve
5044s	the identity of the game that we're
5045s	looking for in the core gameplay Loops
5047s	that we want players to experience
5050s	um and we we work towards that end from
5052s	a launch perspective and anything that's
5054s	that's added that sounds good or we want
5056s	to incorporate we throw it into the
5058s	expansion bucket right
5060s	um there's an opportunity for us to to
5061s	you know we need stuff obviously for us
5063s	to expand upon and for us to continue
5065s	development post launch
5067s	um so that's generally our Mo with
5069s	regards to new ideas and stuff
5079s	given that you you said that these story
5082s	arcs are kind of like a module that get
5086s	placed into the world uh do you plan to
5088s	sell or release your ashes of creation
5090s	theme ttrpg module for other DMS to use
5095s	you know
5097s	there's a lot of things I want to do
5099s	when we launch ashes
5102s	um
5103s	one is of course a module that's set in
5106s	the world of Ashes of creation yes I
5108s	would love to release uh throwback to
5111s	the original campaign
5113s	it's very different from where ashes of
5116s	creation is today
5118s	um but I think it's a it's there's a lot
5121s	of overlap between Gamers who enjoy
5124s	tabletop RPGs and MMOs and
5128s	um you know
5130s	one of the benefits of telling a story
5132s	through different venues mediums and
5135s	and systems is that you reach a broader
5138s	audience because not all of us like the
5140s	same things
5142s	um
5142s	and I think the story of Ashes is a rich
5145s	one
5146s	and because of that telling it through
5149s	through multiple mediums is definitely a
5151s	desire from a board game perspective I'm
5154s	a huge Board Game Nerd I love playing
5157s	board games a lot of us at the office do
5160s	I would love to tell the story of Ashes
5163s	through a board game as well I would
5164s	love to tell the story of Ashes through
5166s	a RTS I would love to tell it through
5169s	film and television there's a lot of
5172s	ways I think that the story can be told
5174s	it doesn't all have to be focused around
5176s	the return to Vera there's a lot of
5178s	different opportunities across the many
5180s	thousands of years of timeline that
5182s	Vera's existed that we can tell the
5185s	story and even other other aspects of
5187s	that so
5189s	um
5191s	yeah yeah to answer your question the
5193s	desire is a yes post our Flagship
5196s	product launch which is the MMO
5201s	all right
5202s	uh how exactly does the constellation
5205s	system work you've stated that it'll be
5207s	very relevant to the system such as
5208s	narrative empowering abilities and items
5210s	and Gathering relics but how do they tie
5212s	into these systems exactly
5216s	so the the constellation system is
5219s	another predicate system
5222s	and when I say it's a predicate system
5224s	it means that um
5227s	certain conditions
5230s	will yield certain constellations being
5233s	available to pursue discover and achieve
5238s	um and they span the realm of
5240s	interfacing across adventuring level
5244s	artisanship
5245s	node relics
5248s	um policies like there's there's a lot
5251s	of different things
5252s	that constellations can touch because at
5255s	its Essence it is a predicate system
5258s	um now once players have achieved
5262s	uh identifying a certain location that
5265s	yields a constellation
5267s	and they've checked off that box okay I
5270s	have achieved this thing
5272s	it can serve its purpose for kicking off
5274s	a new storyline for that individual
5276s	kicking off a new storyline for that
5278s	individual's micro communities or
5280s	pseudo-factions if necessary right it
5283s	can serve as a broader kickoff one
5285s	person discovers it
5287s	three four five hundred people get to
5289s	participate now in it that's an
5291s	opportunity it can yield the location of
5295s	an achievable World Relic that can be
5297s	brought back home to a particular node
5301s	um
5301s	you know there's there's a lot of
5303s	different things that are possible in
5306s	order to see the constellation and to to
5309s	actually achieve that
5311s	it could be just as simple as looking at
5314s	your character's viewport into the night
5316s	sky at a certain location at a certain
5318s	time it could be far more in depth which
5321s	is killing a certain raid boss for a
5324s	particular number of times until it
5326s	drops a particular item that yields a
5328s	map that sends you to a location that
5330s	Sands is like there's a lot of
5332s	different layers that can get added on
5335s	how do we manifest a particular
5337s	constellation
5339s	the intent here is to provide an
5341s	immersive system that keeps the player
5344s	in the world and allows their in-world
5348s	movement and interactions and
5351s	immersiveness to yield a result that's
5354s	unique
5355s	and that I think is a fun and compelling
5359s	interaction
5361s	especially as it relates to adventuring
5366s	I was that our last question
5370s	oh we have one more we have one final
5372s	question
5377s	what do we got
5383s	I apologize uh I'm a technical issue
5385s	there
5386s	um so as it stands final question what
5388s	is the biggest obstacle preventing
5390s	intrepo Studios for being ready to begin
5392s	Alpha 2 testing
5394s	the biggest obstacle
5397s	um
5399s	I think right now it's content
5401s	production
5402s	I think I think our obstacle is
5405s	um the sheer size and complexity of our
5408s	systems of course the necessary time for
5411s	our teams to complete the content to
5415s	fill those systems so that the data that
5418s	we collect uh from play testing those
5421s	particular Loops is compelling and
5424s	indicative of accurate player responses
5427s	and player activity
5430s	um so there is a certain level to which
5433s	the Alpha 2 client and world and
5435s	experience must be brought in order for
5438s	us to facilitate the accurate collection
5441s	of data that we can then inform
5442s	decisions based off of
5445s	um and and you know that is a that is a
5448s	moving point we're going right now we
5451s	have we have on paper and our production
5453s	schedule of what that needs to be but as
5456s	we approach the end of milestones and or
5458s	Sprints and we do our inspect review
5461s	reflect process
5464s	um we get to
5466s	re-articulate where that point lives uh
5469s	because each of those is a touch point
5470s	so
5472s	um
5472s	look we're building a massive MMO
5476s	massive
5478s	um
5479s	to the likes of which I'm not sure have
5482s	been done in a fantasy setting before at
5484s	launch
5486s	um now we've we have we have we have
5489s	brought a board a phenomenal team
5492s	incredibly talented
5495s	we are doing it in a way that I think is
5498s	right with the transparency and
5500s	connectivity to the community and the
5502s	opportunity for people to watch the
5504s	development of it
5506s	and the truth of the matter is is that
5509s	all of us want to play the game
5511s	I almost want to play ashes
5513s	even if it's even if it's just Alpha two
5518s	um
5519s	so
5521s	you know our focus is to continue down
5524s	the path of production and completing
5527s	what's necessary for us to have a
5530s	successful altitude test
5532s	and nothing
5534s	can be said or done
5537s	to hasten that process in a manner that
5540s	is not already conducive to how we are
5543s	approaching production towards Alpha 2
5545s	already
5547s	um
5548s	so with that in mind you know patience
5550s	is key
5552s	um spending the time necessary is always
5555s	going to be a good yield on investment
5559s	um
5559s	and I think that being a part of the
5562s	journey is beneficial both to the
5564s	project and to you guys as players but
5567s	ultimately our Focus will remain on the
5570s	Obstacle of producing the necessary
5573s	content for us to achieve a meaningful
5575s	test period with Alpha 2.
5581s	yay we did it
5584s	thank you and content plug
5587s	I like the typing
5591s	um guys that is that Margaret in the
5593s	back I like that that's cool
5596s	guys I want to thank each of you
5598s	um for
5599s	joining me today obviously uh you guys
5603s	represent a very core audience section
5605s	of the ashes of creation Community
5607s	people have been following the project
5609s	for a long time hopefully
5612s	excuse me I apologize for the coughing
5614s	hopefully uh the questions that you
5616s	asked today I think
5618s	um uh successfully scratched some of the
5621s	outstanding itches that the community
5623s	has with regards to systems design and
5626s	the project and development as a whole
5629s	um I always enjoy chatting with fellow
5631s	or MMO lovers and and members of our
5634s	community of course about sometimes I
5636s	can get a little overly passionate
5637s	apologize about that as well but
5639s	um you know I always enjoyed having
5641s	these conversations
5643s	um but I love each of you guys to just
5645s	kind of give a quick uh reminder to to
5648s	our audience of where they can find you
5650s	guys and and your communities and uh
5652s	yeah
5656s	I'm chibi Bree I'm from the Golden
5659s	Feather Tavern and you can find us
5661s	anywhere slash TGF Tavern
5663s	so twitch YouTube Etc
5667s	and you can find me over on YouTube at
5670s	youtube.com richesh
5674s	yeah and uh to catch up with uh with
5677s	myself or any of the Pathfinders just uh
5679s	go to asheshq.com or uh the
5682s	corresponding YouTube or the Pathfinder
5684s	podcast is that or you can catch me on
5685s	my my own channel on YouTube uh on
5687s	YouTube but twitch uh just some work so
5691s	awesome well from everybody here that
5695s	joined me today and all of you out in
5697s	the audience thank you very much for
5699s	coming and being a part of this we love
5701s	and appreciate our community at ashes of
5703s	creation and your guys's participation
5704s	makes this game a better game so with
5708s	that being said we will see you again at
5711s	the end of this month when we showcase
5713s	the new Mage update and until then I
5716s	wish you guys the most amazing April and
5718s	we will chat with you all soon
5721s	bye everyone bye
5723s	y'all
5726s	[Music]
5735s	foreign
5738s	[Music]
5815s	foreign
5826s	[Music]
5853s	[Applause]
5855s	[Music]
5895s	foreign foreign

[2023] Ashes of Creation Community Q&A - 11AM PT Friday, April 7, 2023

Transcript (by Youtube)

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