The Ashes of Creation

[Auren]

Hello everyone!

I know, I've been on the quiet side for a long time, but I just saw a video I think you should all see.  Hopefully a forum post hasn't already been made about this game.

https://youtu.be/eOdU6gJ07rQ

The gist of it is this:  As far as I can tell, Ashes of Creation is the spiritual successor to Everquest Next.  The Team working on it also worked on Everquest, Everquest 2, Star Wars Galaxies, both Planetsides, and most importantly, Everquest Next.  A lot of the mechanics that were being hyped in Next are being planned for in Ashes - player-aided NPC towns that grow and unlock questing areas as they do, player-built housing, assisting with resource movement between cities, bounty systems for chaotic players, etc etc.  Player classes are described as "sandbox" so each character will be relatively unique, crafting will come in three tiers (gathering, processing, and crafting), and exp will be gained in great enough amounts to level up from doing a variety of activities, from exploration to crafting to pvp (I assume on the last one).

And speaking of PvP, it seems that this game will be a core aspect of the game.  The amount of towns and outposts in the world are limited, and if another is to be built up after the cap is reached, another town must be demolished.  So players will be the driving force behind that sort of decision.  Some players won't want to give up on the city they've helped built, while others want to build up in new areas for even greater rewards.

By the same token, it also means that no two servers will look exactly the same.  Some servers will have thriving metropolises in places that are barren on other servers.

I'll be checking this game out when it becomes available, for sure.

[PinkRose]

OOOOOOOOOOh.
I'm liking what I'm seeing here.
Thanks for the heads-up.

[Corsair]

You never know...maybe this gets backed and rolling.

Seems to be a potentially very interactive world design. Possibly also PvP centric?

[Zemnari]

Has been a very long time since anything has caught my eye. I will be watching this one though.

[Jasyn]

So lovely to hear from you Auren!  And you bring incredibly intriguing news.  That is some amazing footage from pre-Alpha, and I definitely like what I'm seeing.  This will have to go on my watch list.

[PinkRose]

I like that it appears that PvP needs PvE, so it's a world of both.
I'm really going to pay attention.
Also, who doesn't like a game that directly pokes fun at the failure of Next? Rising from the ashes of a destroyed civilization?

[Auren]

So lovely to hear from you Auren!  And you bring incredibly intriguing news.  That is some amazing footage from pre-Alpha, and I definitely like what I'm seeing.  This will have to go on my watch list.

Thanks!  I knew you guys would really like the look of it.

As for the PvP aspect, I like that the game does not condone violence against other players for no reason.  While you certainly MAY do that, the biggest reason for fighting other people is to further expand your territory, but in ways that ADD MORE to the game for everyone involved, not just the guild(s) that can manage to control a region.

And at the same time, I see great potential from a roleplay perspective.  I don't think I saw any developer-created factions, so what will probably end up happening naturally is this:  Powerful alliances of guilds will work together to keep a city prosperous and expand nearby.  Some guilds might break off and form their own alliances and set up other cities elsewhere.  It's all part of the natural progression of the game.  After a long time, I think cities that have been around for a long time will become like capitals.  The guilds that help protect the capital cities will be like the rulers.

What has been created here?  Separate cities, controlled by different guilds, who are all looking out for their own best interests and trying to expand.  They'll make attacks on supply caravans and outposts of their rivals to further their own growth.  Player-created factions without the need for a contrived backstory.  It'll all be politics, much like real-life countries.

That's what I hope to see anyway.

[PinkRose]

I feel bad for registering myself.
I should have given you a referral.
We should definitely help each other out.
Yes?

I found this interesting: https://www.ashesofcreation.com/a-reactive-world-nodes/
It is also important to note, that after a node has advanced to the next stage, it is no longer possible to develop its neighboring nodes unless the node is sieged and destroyed.  After every advancement to the next stage of that node's development, the ring of disabled neighboring nodes grow, stopping the neighboring nodes from progressing to the next stage.  Each node has its own unique content, that is only accessible after being developed.  So when one node may advance and unlock content, it comes at the cost of the content that a neighboring node may have offered.

[Auren]

I feel bad for registering myself.
I should have given you a referral.
We should definitely help each other out.
Yes?

Oh, I haven't registered for it, so no big deal here.  Currently, I am enjoying Final Fantasy 14 and all it has to offer once again, plus preparing for its next expansion.  I don't foresee myself quitting for a while, so I'll be watching for all of your reactions to Ashes, once you can get your hands on a playable version.

[PinkRose]

They said a Kickstarter would be coming.
I'll keep an eye out.

[Rumze]

This is very awesome - ill definitely keep an eye out for the kickstarter

[tanare]

hmm this looks promising. may have to decide between this and pantheon. I did like what they said on the homepage about dual classed characters. my dream of running a rogue/priest hybrid may finally come through.

I always wanted a "relic hunter" type char since D&D and even did a "make your own class " thing for it from the DMG way back when. basically a char to go around recovering holy relics from forgotten ruins and such. I mean every game seems to have a warrior/mage hybrid (shadowknight) and usually a warrior/cleric (ranger,paladin) one too. granted cleric/mage hybrid doesn't come around probably due to brains exploding over which of their 500 different spells they should pick for their 8 spell slots, but a melee dps/priestly class hasn't been around. I suppose beastmaster might have been closest but that was more of a pet class.

[PinkRose]

I've played a few Priest of the magic God in my Tabletop games.
I've enjoyed it.
As for the cleric/rogue, the Waterdeep trilogy has a great example but nothing in a game that I know of.
The closest would be bard, maybe?

[Corsair]

Really I just hope that either this or Pantheon turns out to be great.

Either one.

And maybe just one? So as not to split us...I feel bad thinking only one being good might be better...but selfishly I want us not to split up into two groups in the next generation.

Odds on both being great based on history seems low though. Hopefully having two contenders means one will rise up and be awesome.

[PinkRose]

https://www.ashesofcreation.com/

Kickstarter launches in 7 days!
May 1. Support at your own peril.
I've been burned by EQN, but I don't think it was these guys' fault.
I'll probably (I'm sure I will) be backing this.

I'm totally in agreement with Corsair. Just get the band back together.

[Jasyn]

If anything, they got burned by EQN, too. 

I miss all yoos guys.

[Syllestrae]

I miss all yoos guys.

*boop*

[Rumze]

Kick starter is live.

I'm interested in the team developing it - it seems like their experience isn't that great - but it is a new studio so it would attract people willing to make a name for themselves and show what they can do etc. Ill be watching this closely.

[PinkRose]

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1791529601/ashes-of-creation-new-mmorpg-by-intrepid-studios?ref=hero_thanks

Did you see the games they have worked on? They have a pretty decent history if you ask me. I'm pretty confident in their history.
The PvP to defend the PvE will be my question mark, but I've gone in for 3 free months & beta, so I'll give it a fair chance.

[Rumze]

Their referral program raises a number of red flags for me: https://www.ashesofcreation.com/referral-program/

1.Sign up for an account on https://www.ashesofcreation.com/
2.Go to https://www.ashesofcreation.com/refer/ to get your unique referral code (example: https://www.ashesofcreation.com/ref/YourName).
3.Give that code to friends and when they signup, they will automatically be your referrals.
4.Over the lifetime of the account, whenever your friends who registered under your unique referral code spend money in Ashes of Creation, including on Kickstarter pledges, you will receive 15% of their account purchases back in either in-game credits or cash back, your choice

Its more affiliate marketing : https://www.techmaish.com/affiliate-marketing-vs-pyramid-scheme-a-clear-difference/

I'm interested in the game but this is a bit dodgy especially with some rumors that the head of the company was involved in xango which apparently was/is a pyramid scheme or multi level marketing thing.

Although they did promise to refund everyone if he game didn't launch so I'm cautious but optimistic

He addressed the concerns on discord : https://images.discordapp.net/.eJwFwdsNwyAMAMBdGICHMQayDQGHREoCAvpVdffefcVn3GIT51p9bkqVa-Y2ipyrjVRZ1tbqzalfU-b2qLRWyufD75oKHBlCHZwlisZpD8pqCoGsNWS1dYgIyu_E4EuEhAfvPkUPGR0zHLGUgk72t4rfH6AZKSk.XZRHDzXMY7U7c-hiRbfENDW4jvE
So I feel better about it