This is an absolutely fantastic overview of the game. I can't imagine how long it took to research, record, and edit this video. Huge kudos for doing this. Should be required watching for all Alpha 2 testers.
This is the second one of these I have watched, and I am super grateful for all the work you and your supporting contributors do to make the game more accessible to newcomers and those of us who only research it sporadically. I have a little bit of constructive criticism regarding enunciation and your presentation voice; I'm sure this is something you're aware of and addressing as much as possible without exploding the scope of the time investment into this project, but maybe I can add some pointers that help focus on the important bits: I think the biggest change could be made by separating meta commentary ("And now we'll be going into the broader / more specific aspects of X") more clearly from the running text that contains actual information about the game, as well as highlighting key words/category names in those as distinctly as possible. That could entail a louder voice when you start a sentence about meta commentary, and perhaps a more explanatory, less subject-involved narrational tone. Most importantly, it should entail adding significantly longer silent pauses surrounding those sections. (Several seconds! - while ideally keeping all other pauses as brief as they have been. This is something that can be very quickly confirmed in post production by checking that all visible long pauses in the audio preceed or succeed a headline/meta comment, and confirming all those locations in the script with a coloured check mark, so you can then check the script against the video to see if any comments still need more space; Shouldn't take more than a quarter of the final video's duration if you structure the work into clear separate steps.) I know I'm asking a lot for someone doing things for free here, and it's all up to you, but as someone who really struggles a lot more to take in information when it isn't structured clearly, I know the extra hours you sacrifice can translate into thousands of hours other people save on backtracking the video or missing information. Other than that, I wouldn't even suggest changing too much. If you change up your natural reading or narration voice too much in one go, you'll probably mix up ideas and cause more problems than you improve, so gradual changes are your best friend here. As much more experienced people before me have said: "Your audience is an expert on *what* it likes and dislikes about your work; but they're complete idiots when it comes to deciding *why*, or how to improve it." So definitely take my suggestions with the necessary grain of salt. Thanks for the work again, hope it's not too tall of an ask or offensive. =)
Sidenote: I already spend half the time watching these on daydreaming about myself playing the game and imagining my plans and strategies. So I am fully aware that no matter how much you optimise the information delivery, you won't be able to eliminate distractions and overly information-dense sections. However, on the other hand that's still precisely why any additional effort you pour into the legibility of the information is so appreciated: Cause due to the daydreaming, it's not just a question of spending 4 hours instead of 8 on listening to the report, but rather 8 instead of 16! ='D
Presentation is still someone I need to improve on and I'm aware of that. Your comment has some helpful information in it, and I will use it to continue to iterate and improve.
You said in the video that over racial bonuses there would be backgrounds. Yet in the dragon raid we just watched, Steven said Dwarf tanks were the most sturdy of races choices for tanks. Or something like that. Maybe toughest. Has that changed? Or was Steven joking around? 29 min into the raid you can hear them talking about dwarf tanks.
26:34 one addendum here is that families own freehold, not necessarily individuals. Edit: you cover it later, though its important when talking about ratio of players with access to a freehold.
The wiki is a bit conflicted on this if you read through the Vassal nodes section of the wiki. ashesofcreation.wiki/Nodes#Vassal_nodes "Neighboring/Adjacent nodes from Expedition (stage 1) upward block the growth of their immediate neighbors."
I this this game has a long ways to go. A lot of the systems I think are in the game, but some of them are still very rudimentary I think. My guess is 10% of the game is done at this point. We have a long ways to go still
Wow! So the first 15 minutes of this video already sold me in this game. I'm 45 min into the video now and I'm seriously blown away at the amount of options this game has to offer and it's mechanics, I'm just blown away! I'm sold. I have to play this game. I haven't heard of another MMORPG that can touch what this game can offer. Truly amazed.
Dayum. It’ll literally take me almost a year and a half to reach max level. I figure on average I’ll play 3-6 hours a week. Counting break weeks and grind weeks. And I’ll most definitely be playing other games as well. That shit is going to take forever to get any kind of freehold or anything that requires max level. Hopefully it isn’t as bad as it sounds
I mean, yeah, if you barely play, you'll make slow progress. If you'd get to max level in a few months at your pace, tryhards would be there within a week. Perhaps not at launch because the world still needs to grow along with the community, but once the first metropolis is firmly established, accounts would be raised far too quickly. That's not to say you should need to play more, I think 5-10 hours a week is a decent amount of time to spend on an MMO if you have work and other interests, but then you really shouldn't expect to get max level quickly. And why would you want to? It's a social experience; the climb is a big part of the fun.
Thank you for this. This was really informative. The official live streams are great, but even though this was long its a lot shorter then trying to catch up on all the live streams if you are just learning about the game.
I will be honest, I been playing games and MMOs since EQ1. Like 25 years? But thins game looks way to Complicated. As a middle age guy I dont have time for all this. That's disappointing to me... I was really wanting to like what AoC was offering but I think its beyond the scope of most people and they are building a game that is going to implode under its own weight. It looks to be a good game for a market other then myself and my current game group.
Yeah, obviously I am a fan. It's my type of MMO. But my biggest concern has always been the scope. It's scope is absurd. I honestly don't see everything they talked about making into the game at launch. Maybe in updates and expansions after launch
Bro...this game has as much red tape and permits as California building code...when do I actually play the game between all this harvesting, politicking, and tax paying....😅
How will the economy not become saturated? Making every item consumables like in albion is the best way to make the economy and gathering thrive... New world economy is awful and im scared AoC will be like that...hope not
Cant wait to do unspeakable Geneva-convention breaking experiments on animals in my pursuit to be the best breeder on the server. Being a top animal handler, and the first to tame the Rancor, on my server in SWG was one of my best memories in gaming and I'm so excited to relive those days.
That's a truckload of work and good work. Kudos to you. Wouldn't it be easier for you to divide it into chapters, upload a video for each chapter and make a list with them so you only have to update the parts that get changed? A full video like this each year is a LOT of work.
Yeah, that is something I considered. I decided against doing it that way for a few reasons. One, to explain a lot of the PVP and PVE I have to go over the Node stuff again. Because people don't usually watch videos in a series, that just click on whatever videos pop into their feed. Also, making a new thumbnail, title, description and editing 10 different videos takes a lot longer in the long run than 1 giant video.
Great video mate. Wasnt it confirmed Intrepid would self publish on the EU as well, after the separation with Kakau games (dont quote me on the company name)?
Also, it was my understanding that multiboxing was allowed as long as each keystroke = 1 action. That means you can have 2 instances of the game opened on 2 different pcs as long as you .... Play with your feet? Or only play in one character at a time 😂 Either way Steven is agaisnt multiboxing as a requirement to play, hes just aware that IP banning doesnt work very well
@@RyveGenesis I dont want to bump anyone on the head. But if your someone like me, who dosent like all the drama you get with someone like Narc, this is a much more focused and direct approach. Thanks man =)
Im confused. Are housing limited? It says apartments and such are limited in number. Does that mean not everyone who plays the game will have access to homes? I understand freehold is limited, but the private housing and apartment is a little confusing
It will most likely depend on the level of success. If it has a large healthy non-gatekeeping player base it will be fine. If not anything is possible.
@@RyveGenesis oh okay, I see. I initially it will be 15k and slowly be increased to 50k with 8-10k concurrent per server projected. I'm more worried about server merging.
🕑TIMESTAMPS🕑
0:00 Intro and Thanks
1:30 Game Overview
2:05 Design Pillars and Previous MMO Inspiration
4:35 Testing Phases
5:00 Studio and Funding
5:42 Publishers, Localization, Platform
5:54 Open Development
6:08 Lore synopsis
7:08 Nodes Overview
8:02 Node Zone of Influence
9:00 Node Types
10:13 Node Stages and Advancement
11:57 Node Layout and Style
12:14 Node Vassal System
14:22 Nodes and Zones
14:42 Node Atrophy
15:08 Node Benefits/Metropolis Nodes
16:20 Node Citizenship and Benefits
19:11 Nodes: Player Housing
28:06 Node Governments, Elections, and Mayoral Powers
35:55 Node Buildings, Building Destruction, and Relics
39:51 Node Reputations
40:29 Node Patron Guilds
41:19 Node Sieges and Destruction
48:11 Underwater Nodes, Coastal Nodes, and Underrealm Nodes
49:26 Combat, Threat, Balance, Meta
54:54 Naval Gameplay
59:44 Races - Benefits
1:00:28 Race Artistic Influences, Divine Gateway Starting Areas
1:00:51 Character Creator
1:01:21 Character Slots, Alts, Factions
1:02:05 64 Classes and 8 Archetypes
1:03:31 Augment Sources and Skill Points
1:04:29 World Map, Fog of War
1:05:40 Zones
1:06:05 Biomes, Castle & Economic Regions
1:06:35 Points of Interest
1:07:16 Fast/Instant Travel
1:07:43 Family System
1:08:33 Faster Travel and Roads
1:10:02 Mounts/Animal Husbandry, Flying Mounts
1:12:53 Servers
1:13:20 Climate, Weather, Seasons
1:14:52 Day-Night Cycles and Constellations
1:15:44 Underrealm
1:16:57 Economy
1:17:38 Economy: Glint/Gold Generation
1:19:55 Gold and Item Sinks
1:20:39 Economy: Player Trading(Shops, Stalls, AH), Player Businesses
1:22:46 Mail
1:22:59 Currencies
1:23:42 Economy: Gear Binding and Gear Acquisition
1:24:05 Economy: Stock Exchanges
1:24:23 Artisan System
1:26:39 Artisan System: Gathering
1:28:37 Artisan System: Processing
1:30:39 Artisan System: Crafting
1:33:12 Artisan Supply Chain and Word Orders
1:33:45 Inventory and Storage, Warehouses, Banking
1:36:02 Gear & Item Durability and Destruction
1:38:14 Gear Enchancements, Transmog, Consumables
1:39:03 PVE
1:39:20 PVE: Quests(Events, Commissions, Story Arcs, Side Quests)
1:45:10 PVE: Difficulty
1:45:59 PVE: Dungeons
1:46:19 PVE: Raids and World Bosses
1:17:14 PVE: Adaptive PVE Content and Leaderboards
1:47:45 PVE: Corrupt Areas
1:48:16 PVE: Group and Raid Sizes
1:48:26 PVE: Looting Rules and Loot Tagging
1:48:51 PVE: Solo and Casual Player Content
1:49:10 Player Death Mechanics
1:51:30 PVP
1:51:42 PVP: Objective vs Open World PVP
1:52:24 PVP: Caravans
1:57:54 Castles and Castle Sieges
2:02:12 Node Sieges
2:02:20 Guild Wars
2:02:51 Guild Halls
2:03:37 Guild Ladder and PVP Seasons
2:03:50 Node Wars
2:04:05 PVP: Affiliation Tree
2:04:25 PVP: Naval PVP
2:04:39 PVP: Arenas
2:05:11 PVP: Open-World Corruption PVP
2:07:54 PVP: Bounty Hunters
2:08:53 Guilds
2:09:36 Alliances
2:09:51 Religions and Social Organizations
2:11:29 Leveling
2:12:32 Progression
2:13:17 Combat Pets
2:13:35 Monetization
2:13:46 DLCs and Expansions
2:13:56 Voice Acting
2:14:10 Music, Game Masters & Security
2:14:21 Performance
2:14:37 System Requirements and Unreal Engine
2:14:48 User Interface
2:14:58 Outro
This is an absolutely fantastic overview of the game. I can't imagine how long it took to research, record, and edit this video. Huge kudos for doing this. Should be required watching for all Alpha 2 testers.
Took...a long time for sure 😄
This man needs a raise!
One of the hardest working creators in the space. Great work, dude.
Much appreciate Q! 😃
He’s also one hell of a guild leader!
@@Genesis.Pauliwrath Truer trues have never been trued
@@RyveGenesis are you agreeing with a compliment about yourself
@@Aphos-yw9wx yes
This is the second one of these I have watched, and I am super grateful for all the work you and your supporting contributors do to make the game more accessible to newcomers and those of us who only research it sporadically.
I have a little bit of constructive criticism regarding enunciation and your presentation voice; I'm sure this is something you're aware of and addressing as much as possible without exploding the scope of the time investment into this project, but maybe I can add some pointers that help focus on the important bits:
I think the biggest change could be made by separating meta commentary ("And now we'll be going into the broader / more specific aspects of X") more clearly from the running text that contains actual information about the game, as well as highlighting key words/category names in those as distinctly as possible.
That could entail a louder voice when you start a sentence about meta commentary, and perhaps a more explanatory, less subject-involved narrational tone. Most importantly, it should entail adding significantly longer silent pauses surrounding those sections. (Several seconds! - while ideally keeping all other pauses as brief as they have been. This is something that can be very quickly confirmed in post production by checking that all visible long pauses in the audio preceed or succeed a headline/meta comment, and confirming all those locations in the script with a coloured check mark, so you can then check the script against the video to see if any comments still need more space; Shouldn't take more than a quarter of the final video's duration if you structure the work into clear separate steps.)
I know I'm asking a lot for someone doing things for free here, and it's all up to you, but as someone who really struggles a lot more to take in information when it isn't structured clearly, I know the extra hours you sacrifice can translate into thousands of hours other people save on backtracking the video or missing information.
Other than that, I wouldn't even suggest changing too much. If you change up your natural reading or narration voice too much in one go, you'll probably mix up ideas and cause more problems than you improve, so gradual changes are your best friend here.
As much more experienced people before me have said: "Your audience is an expert on *what* it likes and dislikes about your work; but they're complete idiots when it comes to deciding *why*, or how to improve it."
So definitely take my suggestions with the necessary grain of salt.
Thanks for the work again, hope it's not too tall of an ask or offensive. =)
Sidenote: I already spend half the time watching these on daydreaming about myself playing the game and imagining my plans and strategies.
So I am fully aware that no matter how much you optimise the information delivery, you won't be able to eliminate distractions and overly information-dense sections.
However, on the other hand that's still precisely why any additional effort you pour into the legibility of the information is so appreciated: Cause due to the daydreaming, it's not just a question of spending 4 hours instead of 8 on listening to the report, but rather 8 instead of 16! ='D
Presentation is still someone I need to improve on and I'm aware of that. Your comment has some helpful information in it, and I will use it to continue to iterate and improve.
Wooooooo 🥳 Been waiting for this banger
Thanks for uploading this! Great info and well presented! I look forward to seeing you in game.
Thanks
What an incredible amount of effort that went into this video, thanks for all the hard work Ryve.
Took about 15 minutes total
I want a military node on a coastal city and turn it into a pirate haven 😊
Sea content best content, I want this so much
Great video. Loved being able to jump in the video to get my questions answered effectively.
Yeah, the timestamps added a lot of extra time to the project. But are needed and helpful.
Well done! Earned a sub!
Awesome, thank you!
watched every minute of it, really helpfull. Need a refresher
thanks 4 the very good summary
Perfect timing. Stuck at the computer for the next few hours!
You said in the video that over racial bonuses there would be backgrounds. Yet in the dragon raid we just watched, Steven said Dwarf tanks were the most sturdy of races choices for tanks. Or something like that. Maybe toughest. Has that changed? Or was Steven joking around? 29 min into the raid you can hear them talking about dwarf tanks.
It's possible they changed that.
This was very educational, I wasn't aware it started in 2017
great video man. keep it up!
Appreciate it!
26:34 one addendum here is that families own freehold, not necessarily individuals.
Edit: you cover it later, though its important when talking about ratio of players with access to a freehold.
I mean.. Individuals own Freeholds. Those individuals can share it with their family.
Great Video, thanks Mate!
Appreciate it!
13:02 I think the lockout starts at stage 3 now? So you can have multiple level 1 or level 2 neighbours but locked at 2 once a neighbour hits 3
The wiki is a bit conflicted on this if you read through the Vassal nodes section of the wiki.
ashesofcreation.wiki/Nodes#Vassal_nodes
"Neighboring/Adjacent nodes from Expedition (stage 1) upward block the growth of their immediate neighbors."
@@RyveGenesis Ah cheers you're right. There'll be a lot of empty space then.. I think I kinda like that
Omg good job bro 👍👍👍
Thanks!
Thanks!
Appreciate it!
What happens if you put in hella work on your freehold and then the city downgrades or gets taken over by another group/faction?
There is a chance to lose it. You have a 1 week grace period where it can be overtaken by another Nodes ZOI
Any idea on who’s gonna be doing some key giveaways?! 😭😭
So sad they stopped their sales
Anyone accepted into the official Content Creator program should get keys to giveaway
Cool!
Approximately what percent of these ideas are actually in the game at this point?
I this this game has a long ways to go. A lot of the systems I think are in the game, but some of them are still very rudimentary I think. My guess is 10% of the game is done at this point. We have a long ways to go still
Nyce
Nyce does approve! Right Nyce?
Oooh a big one!
Yuuuuuuge
I know this must have taken a long time to make. As someone who doesn’t follow the news, I appreciate the video!!
Thanks! 😊
I'm actually looking forward to play this game. I've already planned my race/class, which might change, but for now I really can't wait.
The Military Node Mayor being elected from Trial by Combat sounds so freaking cool
Wow! So the first 15 minutes of this video already sold me in this game. I'm 45 min into the video now and I'm seriously blown away at the amount of options this game has to offer and it's mechanics, I'm just blown away! I'm sold. I have to play this game. I haven't heard of another MMORPG that can touch what this game can offer. Truly amazed.
Agreed! And hey... If you need a Guild, Genesis Guild is recruiting. 😀
Dayum. It’ll literally take me almost a year and a half to reach max level.
I figure on average I’ll play 3-6 hours a week. Counting break weeks and grind weeks. And I’ll most definitely be playing other games as well.
That shit is going to take forever to get any kind of freehold or anything that requires max level. Hopefully it isn’t as bad as it sounds
I mean, yeah, if you barely play, you'll make slow progress. If you'd get to max level in a few months at your pace, tryhards would be there within a week. Perhaps not at launch because the world still needs to grow along with the community, but once the first metropolis is firmly established, accounts would be raised far too quickly.
That's not to say you should need to play more, I think 5-10 hours a week is a decent amount of time to spend on an MMO if you have work and other interests, but then you really shouldn't expect to get max level quickly. And why would you want to? It's a social experience; the climb is a big part of the fun.
Thank you for this. This was really informative. The official live streams are great, but even though this was long its a lot shorter then trying to catch up on all the live streams if you are just learning about the game.
Thanks! Spread the word! Join my guild!
Thanks!
Thanks again Rhynedahll! You the man
awesome video Man, thanks for the Effort!
Farming and cooking, open little buisnies selling food, and get rich, and live in peace
Thankyou for making this video. Tons and tons of information. I’m really excited to dive into AoC! See you on the field!
Woof. 2 hours good job. I can dig this even though i probably know most of this content.
Thanks!
Never seen such an encompassing video. Great stuff :) 👍
Thanks! 👍 Spread the word! Join the guild!
I'll be real, it took me 3 days to finish this video lol
Haha, understandable
Wow amazing thank You for your time to put this
Thanks!
I will be honest, I been playing games and MMOs since EQ1. Like 25 years? But thins game looks way to Complicated. As a middle age guy I dont have time for all this. That's disappointing to me... I was really wanting to like what AoC was offering but I think its beyond the scope of most people and they are building a game that is going to implode under its own weight. It looks to be a good game for a market other then myself and my current game group.
Yeah, obviously I am a fan. It's my type of MMO. But my biggest concern has always been the scope. It's scope is absurd. I honestly don't see everything they talked about making into the game at launch. Maybe in updates and expansions after launch
Bro...this game has as much red tape and permits as California building code...when do I actually play the game between all this harvesting, politicking, and tax paying....😅
K
How will the economy not become saturated? Making every item consumables like in albion is the best way to make the economy and gathering thrive...
New world economy is awful and im scared AoC will be like that...hope not
They gotta properly balance gold sinks and how quickly gold is "minted"
I will be happy if I can just be an artisan breeding animals/mounts/pets in peace. my major goal is trying to get a freehold. 😭
Cant wait to do unspeakable Geneva-convention breaking experiments on animals in my pursuit to be the best breeder on the server.
Being a top animal handler, and the first to tame the Rancor, on my server in SWG was one of my best memories in gaming and I'm so excited to relive those days.
Absolutely!
Watched the whole thing! I hate being reminded of how much content is in this game because it reminds me how far away launch is.
Same 😂
Great work 👍
Thanks for making this Video, great information but what day does Alpha 2 start? 😜
Wish I knew! Q3 sometime 😂
It requires a lot of work to make this video, Ashes is super dense, there's so much to talk about. Thanks for this Ryve!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Good video l learned a lot of stuff. Go Genesis
Wow, incredible overview!
Thanks!
Excellent presentation! Feel fully caught up. Keep it up!
Much appreciated! 🙏
This was fantastic! Thank you for all the hard work and information. I can not wait until A2! Im ready to explore the unknowns
Dope video brother 🤘
Phenomenal, excellent work. Subbed.
Thanks! Share it with your friends!
Wow another great video,learned a lot about the game. Please keep up the good work.
Thanks, will do!
Thanks for making this !
Welcome!
:D good job on video
Appreciate it!
Amazing summary.
Oh hell yess!! I'll be watching this for the next few days lol Genesis!
That's a truckload of work and good work. Kudos to you.
Wouldn't it be easier for you to divide it into chapters, upload a video for each chapter and make a list with them so you only have to update the parts that get changed? A full video like this each year is a LOT of work.
Yeah, that is something I considered. I decided against doing it that way for a few reasons. One, to explain a lot of the PVP and PVE I have to go over the Node stuff again. Because people don't usually watch videos in a series, that just click on whatever videos pop into their feed.
Also, making a new thumbnail, title, description and editing 10 different videos takes a lot longer in the long run than 1 giant video.
Can't believe I just saw this pop up. Awesome video man can't wait to play with yall
Appreciate it!
Great video! Hearing again node changes still stings bit haha hope down the road they add smaller plots with one or two buildings slots.
Agreed
good vid.
Great video mate. Wasnt it confirmed Intrepid would self publish on the EU as well, after the separation with Kakau games (dont quote me on the company name)?
Yes
Also, it was my understanding that multiboxing was allowed as long as each keystroke = 1 action.
That means you can have 2 instances of the game opened on 2 different pcs as long as you .... Play with your feet? Or only play in one character at a time 😂
Either way Steven is agaisnt multiboxing as a requirement to play, hes just aware that IP banning doesnt work very well
Awesome job dude. Best recap I have seen on this game.
Thanks!
@@RyveGenesis I dont want to bump anyone on the head. But if your someone like me, who dosent like all the drama you get with someone like Narc, this is a much more focused and direct approach. Thanks man =)
Long. But definitely want to check it out
Love when you do these videos. Great resource, cheers for your time and effort man
Much appreciated!
cheers
thats all?
I definitely cut it a lot shorter than I should have
Probably used a chainsaw for an editing tool.
bro didnt miss any details
I did say Everything
Im confused. Are housing limited? It says apartments and such are limited in number. Does that mean not everyone who plays the game will have access to homes? I understand freehold is limited, but the private housing and apartment is a little confusing
Everyone can get a home, but some will be hard to get. Freeholds will be the hardest, In-Node houses also hard to get.
I'm gonna need some friends it seems
Join us
@@RyveGenesis I'm based in Europe sadly :(
Maybe by the time I turn 50 this game just might actually release.
True
information bombard with monotonous voice and no screenshots or video
Cool
I was under the impression that all servers would have different node types in different locations
Not according to what Steven has been quoted saying and is recorded on the wiki
@@RyveGenesis Ah yes, you're right. I should've read the wiki better.
Finished! 🔥🔥
Legend! Thanks!
1:26:50 whatalism?
Pronounced a bit weird haha
I have a strange feeling that all these interconnected systems only leed to aggresive monetization. Ill hope not but we will see in 2027 i guess.
I'm highly confident P2W will never make it into Ashes.
I highly doubt PW2 will be a thing while Steven is alive XD
im not talking about p2w =)
It will most likely depend on the level of success. If it has a large healthy non-gatekeeping player base it will be fine. If not anything is possible.
Yessssssssssssss
50k registered players on a server?
Yeah
@@RyveGenesis oh okay, I see. I initially it will be 15k and slowly be increased to 50k with 8-10k concurrent per server projected.
I'm more worried about server merging.