Environments

Volcano area concept art by Ricky Ho.^[1] ^[2]

We are a high fantasy game... That means that outside of the traditional sorts of environments you're going to start seeing some pretty crazy and wild stuff that will also change based on seasons.^[3] – Jeffrey Bard

Verran environments video.^[4]

Alpha-1 Oasis environment preview.^[5]

This is a second one of two of the large water oasis areas that we incorporated into the tropics biome.^[6] – Michael Bacon

There are approximately 18 biomes (environments) in Ashes of Creation.^[6]

We just wanted to represent just about every biome type under the sun really and just have enough diversity over the world that like when you went from area to area , you really just got a contrast of different biome types.^[7] – Michael Bacon

List of biomes

Tropics biome concept art.^[8]

Node simulation with placeholder biomes and node locations.^[9]

Underrealm biomes

Alpha-0 Underrealm environment.^[10]

Underrealm environments are vast.^[11]

Caravans should be able to operate as they do above ground.^[11]
If there's insufficient room for Dragons, another mount type may be utilized.^[11]
Burrowing mounts are being considered as an alternative to flying mounts in the Underrealm.^[12]

One of the important aspects of color play is going to be the distinguishing factor between different Underrealms and the regions that exist in the world: Their color influences set them apart from different regions.^[13] – Steven Sharif

Seasons above ground will affect the Underrealm.^[11]

This will not be a one-to-one correlation: for example, it won't snow in the Underrealm.
Tunnel flooding and other effects will be related to the weather above ground.

The seasons above ground will inform what happens underneath. I mean, it's not going to be a direct one-to-one correlation right, not like it's going to be raining in the underworld, but you will see the effects from above happen down below: You might find tunnels being flooded.^[11] – Jeffrey Bard

Points of interest

Alpha-1 preview pirate themed dynamic point of interest.^[14]

This is actually a dynamic POI. This one will evolve as players evolve the node that it's attached to. So this is its final state.^[14] – Jeffrey Bard

New points of interest (such as dungeons, world bosses, and corrupted areas) spawn as nodes develop.^[15]^[16] This content adapts to the node progression of the zone it is in.^[14]^[17]

Additional buildings will spawn.^[14]
Additional mobs will spawn.^[14]
- Different antagonists/leaders with different story lines.^[14]^[17]
- Populations will change.^[17]
Content difficulty will change.^[17]
- The content may be different altogether.^[17]
- Additional quest hooks.^[14]
Dungeons will be unlocked when certain nodes advance to certain stages.^[18]
- Multiple nearby nodes may collectively influence larger POIs.^[19]
- Larger dungeons will gain higher level content as nearby nodes advance.^[20]^[21]
- Storyline objectives for players inside dungeons will depend on the story arc paths chosen through the node system.^[18]
Drop tables in areas and dungeons will be tied into the progression of certain areas.^[18]
POI events are events that relate to specific points-of-interest (POI).^[22]
The location of points of interest will be the same on each server realm, but some servers may have limited or no access to them.^[23]

Certain dungeons and other points of interest across the map will all be affected by the server’s node development. Some dungeons will only be unlocked if nodes are developed to certain stages. The storyline objectives for players inside dungeons will also be dependent on the story arc paths chosen through the node system. The drop tables in area and dungeons will also be tied into the progression of certain areas. For example, let’s say that the humans have developed a node in Region A, and a storyline has opened up that leads players to inspect the ruins (dungeon) of a nearby area. And let’s say that this node was developed in a scientific (crafting) zone… Well before the node developed, this dungeon was accessible… But now the dungeon has propagated new monster assets that include a drop table catering to a crafting emphasis because of the development of that academic node. And perhaps, a new boss appears in different rooms of the dungeon that includes different adventure quest starts, like a mysterious item with a storyline that can only be progressed if a node develops to the metropolis stage in a certain region, across the world. Our system is so vast, when it comes to interconnectivity and how the world reacts to the players.^[18]

List of notable points of interest

This section contains potentially outdated information from Alpha-1 testing.

Landmarks

200 foot tall Pyrian statues in Alpha-1.^[24]

Landmarks are scattered throughout the world, allowing players to judge their position on the map.^[24]

From a lore perspective these statues have been around for a long time; and they are representative of the civilizations that existed once on this world before.^[24] – Steven Sharif

Major visual landmarks. You can look all the way across the horizon have an idea where you're going or where to meet friends or where to meet just based on these huge landmarks in the world.^[24] – Mat Broome

Seasons

Ashes of Creation Seasons in the Riverlands.^[25]

Part of the triggers that can create seasonal change is not just time related for each of our biomes, but they are also indicated by events that occur on the server. Whether that be certain raid bosses forming, or a relic being acquired by a particular node and being activated to change potentially the weather out of a winter state into a spring state: and the reason why a node might have interest in doing that of course is because weather and the seasons also affect skills and abilities.^[26] – Steven Sharif

Seasonal change teaser.^[27]

Seasons affect different zones (environments/biomes) based on their location in the world.^[27]^[28]

A majority of environments will experience either two or four seasons, excluding corrupted areas, which is considered a "season" itself.^[29]
Some biomes will have seasons that are less (or more) temperate. For example: Northern, Southern and Tropical regions.^[30] Other biomes will have fixed climates.^[31]
- Biomes that are affected by seasonal cycles may experience drastic visual differences between seasons.^[27]
Events may radically change the current season a zone is in, or elongate it.^[32]^[33] This includes weather changes.^[28]
There will also be magical seasons where you might be in a tropical zone and suddenly it's snowing.^[30]
Items, crop cycles, buildings, and crafting mechanics might gain certain buffs or debuffs in certain seasons.^[32]^[34]^[28]
Ocean and underwater areas will not have seasonal changes.^[35]

Winter might have a spawner that activates on a road that spawns at large fallen tree and players who see that will have an opportunity to go up and exert some type of one-time action that helps in removing that tree and it might require X number of people to do that before the tree gets removed; and that as an example is not beneficial for the transit of goods because as caravans require- well they don't require but they move better on roads and if that tree were present let's say blocking a road that led to a bridge per-se that they would have to off-road.^[28] – Steven Sharif

Different seasons may affect access to various roads.^[32]^[33]^[28]
- Pathways that are open during summer may be closed during winter.^[28]
- Seasonal affects may cause obstacles or blockages to the transit of goods via caravan.^[32]^[33]^[36]
- Water turning to ice in winter, enabling players to walk over the water but blocking access to what is underneath.^[28]
  - Ice will make roads bumpy and slippery.^[37]
- Seasonal flooding is something the developers are talking about internally, but will not be present in Alpha-2.^[38]

Seasonal changes

Right now we're getting some rain which will usher in springtime and so you'll see all the flora that's growing up right now out of the ground.^[39] – Brian Gans

Seasons change on a regular basis, but may also be triggered or elongated by certain events.^[40]^[41]^[42]

Each season will be approximately one or two IRL weeks long.^[40]^[41]^[42]

They might last longer if you don't deal with the dragon, or if you keep that relic active, but these on a cycle on a cyclical perspective as a normal season transition might be exist within a one week timeframe right and then it transitions over a period of hours.^[41] – Steven Sharif

The final duration of seasonal cycles is subject to testing during Alpha-2.^[43]

The weather systems, the season systems, that's going to be a obvious point of testing for Alpha 2 of course. We're going to play around with the different cycles and and times and how they impact the economy, the rotation of resources, the movement of goods: all of those things play into the purpose- one of the purposes of having seasonal systems. So that is something that we are going to play with during our Alpha 2 testing and will land on what feels both most comfortable- is visually appealing, but also has the impact on the economy that we desire to see on the design side.^[43] – Steven Sharif

Environmental seasons are not to be confused with PvP seasons, which last for six months.^[44]

In Ashes of Creation the world will change on a regular basis. Zones will progress in a seasonal cycle, which will alter the very nature of the environment around you. Snow may block pathways that are accessible in warmer months, spring may encourage creatures otherwise unseen to come to the surface, and fall might be the only time that certain crops thrive. This cycle can then take in the state of the world’s Nodes and shift depending on their progression.^[36]

Climate

Alpha-2 dynamic weather change caused by the Beneath the Stone Shadows event.^[45]

Since you instigated this event, which changed the weather, that will also now influence spawns nearby. You could potentially be spawning- well you are spawning side quests that relate to the rain, changes in enemies that relate to the rain, and that's driven on player action. So it is like a feedback loop.^[46] – Skott B

Some environments (Biomes) have fixed climates and others are variable.^[25]^[31]^[3] Dynamic weather of varying intensity can be triggered by certain events.^[46]^[25]^[32]^[47]

During those weather events, the area of effect that the event is occurring in will likely have its climate descriptor overridden by whatever the event is specifically. So tornadoes might be windy, blizzards might be cold. And if an arctic dragon comes into a temperate climate it brings the cold weather with it; and that can be interacting with skills and abilities or other functions like farms.^[48] – Steven Sharif

Certain abilities and also professions (such as Farming) may be enhanced or hindered during certain climates and seasonal weather events.^[49]^[50]^[25]^[48]^[51] For example: lightning might be stronger in the rain.^[49]

There are climate effects that occur from a buff standpoint. They can also affect skills like, let's say you're using a frost bolt in a winter climate. There's the ability for those effects to be enhanced and/or stronger in those climates.^[51] – Steven Sharif

Weather conditions affect mob spawning, side quests, gatherables, vehicles, mounts, ships, resistances, targeting, and boss mechanics.^[46]^[50]^[25]
- Access to dungeons and raids may also be hindered or blocked by changes in climate.^[50]
- It was later stated that loot tables will likely not be affected by weather conditions.^[50]

They affect crops and gatherables, vehicles, and mounts, ships, creatures; and loot tables change: their behaviors might change. Resistances and weaknesses or synergies might be relevant in certain seasons or weather systems. Targeting might change the AoE radius might grow for a fire effect if you're in the middle of summer, or it might shrink if you're in the middle of a storm.^[26] – Steven Sharif

Some weather conditions can be hazardous to mobs and players.^[45]

Weather events and encounters themselves can include hazards that can appear and shake things up. They can also help too, if you can kite enemies into the lightning strikes or whatever.^[45] – Skott B

Artistic style

Ren'Kai architecture concept art.^[52]

Part of the biome that the Ren'Kai are accustomed to is a more swamp or marsh oriented, so they have these almost stilt-like foundations on some of the assets because they're intended to sit above that marsh.^[52] – Steven Sharif

Ashes of Creation will have a higher graphical fidelity than most western games. It will not be too stylized or "cartoony".^[53]

We can push the limits a little bit on the graphical fidelity, especially using Unreal Engine 4... My desire was not to see very cartoony games. I'm not a big fan of highly stylized art.^[53] – Steven Sharif

The game will not have steampunk elements.^[54]

It's not to say that people can't do steampunk well. I've enjoyed some steampunk stuff. I'm a very high fantasy oriented type of storyteller; and the inspiration for Ashes obviously comes from my pathfinder campaigns that I ran long ago; and those are always set in a high fantasy world. So it just compromises what I believe is the perspective of the storytelling in the environment.^[54] – Steven Sharif

Intrepid Studios does not use AI for art production.^[55]

We do not use AI for production, except in unique internal cases when communicating fast reference material.^[55] – Steven Sharif

Destructible environments

Alpha-2 Destructible props at the Remains of Oakenbane Keep.^[56]

Destructible environments is a core element of how players interact with the world, in Ashes of Creation.^[57]^[58]

Buildings, siege weapons and other structures (such as walls and gates) during events, such as sieges that have been damaged or destroyed will be able to be repaired or re-crafted.^[59]^[60]
Destructible props in the open-world will typically respawn after 10 minutes.^[61]
The terrain itself is not destructible.^[59]