When does Ashes of Creation release?
Alpha Zero began 12/2017. We are currently expecting an Alpha 1 launch for Q4 2018.
What kind of game is Ashes of Creation?
Ashes of Creation is an upcoming MMORPG, set in a high fantasy open world. We believe in choice, organic events, player narratives and massive communities. All of these come together in what we call our “Reactive World”. Players will shape the world we create through dynamic quests, castle sieges, our Node system, an economy that goes well beyond the auction house, and player housing (among many other systems). We’ll set up the initial state, you decide where it goes from there.
How many playable races will there be in Ashes of Creation?
Currently we intend to launch with 8 distinct races. As time goes on we will have in depth developer blogs that discuss the culture and identity of these unique races.
Does my race choice influence my class?
Yes, simply put. Races will affect your stats, and stats will affect your skills and abilities. In addition, races will give unique flavors to your class archetype skills. Classes will not be restricted to certain races.
Are there factions?
No, this is a non-faction based game. Players are open to interact with anyone and everyone.
How many classes are there?
We have a unique and detailed class system, which we will discuss further in a developer’s blog. For now, I can say we have 8 archetypes. You will choose an archetype as your primary class that you will level from starting level to max level. Along the way, you will choose a secondary class from the 8 archetypes. That secondary class will augment your primary class’ abilities and skills. In total, our class system will have 64 distinct classes, of which there will be a wide variety of customization in skills and abilities based on the player’s choices.
What is the Node System?
The Node System is one of the core systems that sets our game apart from every other game on the market, it’s a large topic that we can’t wait to explore further in our developer blogs but we’ll go into a little bit of detail here. Nodes are the mechanic by which player driven settlements are developed, and how our world grows. Our map is sectioned off into zones, playable areas with an environmental theme. These zones are then subsectioned off into smaller, invisibly defined areas we call “Nodes.”
These Nodes are listening all the time. Every player action within a Node, and every action associated with that Node (like quests that might require players to leave the Node) is tracked and scored. This includes any player action, like crafting, harvesting, killing a monster, or finding a point of interest. This ‘score’ abstracts and represents player participation within that Node. The more that players participate within a Node, the higher that score gets, and the closer that Node inches toward civilization. Upon reaching a certain participation score, the Node will develop into its first of six stages.
All of the Nodes within our world fit into one of four distinct types (Military, Divine, Economic and Scientific), each of which will define how players interact with them. Regardless of the Node type, these newly developed settlements can be player governed, fought over, and customized. Some Nodes can even unlock hidden aspects of the world. Again, this is a large topic and we look forward to explaining it in more detail with our developer blogs!
Can I own land?
Our land owning system has an integrated personal housing and farming system to allow players to claim land in the open world. This land is the same static size for all players. You may then acquire blueprints for structures to build on that land, such as a home, stables for animal husbandry, crafting stations and more. In addition to open world housing, you will also be able to own homes within a Node itself; these homes will grow as the Node does, from a small cottage to a sprawling mansion! Certain Nodes will also have instanced housing.
How does PvP work in Ashes of Creation?
PvP in Ashes of Creation is intended to be both organized and organic. We want to create an atmosphere where PvP is meaningful by utilizing different systems that create fluid PvP events including: Castle Sieges, City defense/assaults, Caravans, and a scenario-based Arena combat. For our open world, we have designed a flagging system that severely deters people from griefing other players. Much more will be explained in great detail, in our upcoming developer blogs.
How does PvE work in Ashes of Creation?
One of the main philosophical pillars behind our design was that PvE must be impactful and inclusive. We want solo players, small groups and large groups to all have a home within our system. With monsters throughout the world, challenging raid bosses, new dungeons spawning as your world develops, and scalable challenges, we know that each player will have a complete PvE experience. Our Node system allows the constant generation of new PvE content such as questlines, monsters, dungeons and even raid bosses as well!
Will there be pets and mounts?
Yes, and yes.
The graphics look amazing! What engine are you using? How will I ever afford a computer that can play on it?
We are using the Unreal 4 engine for development. Most of the artwork of the game is optimized to play on mid-range hardware made within the last six years. Additionally, we are exposing many optional settings which will improve performance on lower-than-minimum-specification hardware.
Dues Unreal Engine work well with large scales users and MMOs?
Unreal Engine 4 is designed to create small, fully-functional projects right out of the box. Since an MMO is a literal culmination of every extreme in game design, one might, quite understandably, balk at the idea of using UE4 for such a project. Fortunately, UE4 is easily modified at a source code level to allow for custom or extensive divergences from the default, small project functionality. We have identified what we need to change – most notably, the network communication and level loading code – in order to get the gaming experience that is expected of a modern MMO.
Who does your Team consist of?
Our studio was founded by a gamer. Someone who spent many years of his gaming career settling for lesser MMO’s. He pulled together a team of veterans and fresh talent to create the foundation for what we know will be the next big (and finally done right) MMORPG. Our team comes from many different studios and projects like; Star Wars Galaxies, Everquest 1, Everquest 2, Everquest Next, Vanguard, Bioshock, Gears of War, Planetside 1 and Planetside 2, Call of Duty, X-Com.