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Kickstarter

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The Ashes of Creation Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign launched with a $750,000 funding goal on May 2, 2017.[1]

  • Campaign concluded on June 3, 2017 with 19,576 backers, raising $3,271,809.[2]

This project is primarily self funded, and we’re dedicated to staying true to our vision and not being compromised. The core product can be delivered with our current capital and the crowdfunding goal. Going forward, we are dedicated to keeping our vision consistent with our philosophies and adding features whenever possible.[3]

Kickstarter packages:

Badge Package
Badge Explorer 01.png Explorer
Badge Settler 01.png Settler
Badge Pioneer 01.png Pioneer
Badge Founder 01.png Founder
Badge WoO 01.png Warrior of old
Badge BoW 01.png Braver of worlds
Badge LoM 01.png Leader of men
royalty icon.png Royalty
hero of the people icon.png Hero of the people
AvatarOfThePhoenix01Large4.png Avatar of the phoenix

Crowdfunding package upgrades

Upgrades to Kickstarter and Summer crowdfunding packs are available in the store for the difference in package price.[4]

Stretch goals

Parlor games

Parlor games (tavern games) are games that are played in player-built taverns or in-node taverns.[5]. Some will be dice games, others will be card games; and some will be less savory.[6]

The idea behind the tavern games is to create another social interface. This is where players that are loving the RP aspect of MMORPGS- they want to walk into a tavern and meet new people and play games.[7]Steven Sharif
  • These games will involve aspects of both chance and skill.[6]
  • They must be played between 2 or more people.[6]
  • Players will be able to wager in-game currency against other players.[6]
    • The developers are considering a secondary currency for tavern games that would enable purchase of cosmetic items through a secondary currency market.[7]
    • There may be a ladder system that contributes to gaining this currency based on placement on the ladder.[7]
    • The alternative is to use the regular currency (gold).[7]
  • A portion of the income from the game goes to the tavern owner or node.[5][6]
  • Parlor games will vary based on the predominant race of a node.[7][6][8]
  • There may be unique games that can be acquired through adventuring in the world.[7]
  • Tavern owners dictate the table cost of parlor games. The node's mayor dictates the tax rate that applies when money exchanges hands.[9][10]
When a player wants to engage in a game, they may sit at a table, and another player may sit down with them. At that point the gameplay layer for the mini game will open in a user interface window. Depending on the type of game.[10]Steven Sharif

Parlor games were a Kickstarter stretch goal.[11]

Cute small pets

Doggit and Peacat pets. Winners of the Kickstarter Cute small pets stretch goal vote.[12][13]

Cute small pets were a Kickstarter stretch goal.[14]

Group mounts

Multi-passenger group mounts were unlocked during the Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign.[16][15]

  • These mounts will be elephant sized or larger.[17]
  • Group mounts will be rarer and more difficult to obtain than regular mounts.[18]
  • There will be a limit on the number of passengers (for each type of group mount).[18]
  • Specific weapons systems may exist on different riding points on group mounts.[18]

The group mount is gonna be a very difficult mount to achieve, but once achieved it's gonna be very fun and and pivotal in gameplay. So the idea there is to have them grand.[17]Steven Sharif

Backer only weapon skins

Kickstarter backers will receive a unique weapon skin.[19]

  • Usable on all types of weapons.
  • Include subtle and tasteful glow/particle effects.

Enhanced naval content

Naval content refers to content above and below the sea.[22][23]

Enhanced naval content was unlocked as part of the $1,500,000 Kickstarter stretch goal.[28]

There will not initially be naval content (such as a Dark Lake) in the Underrealm, but this may be something that gets added in future expansions.[29]

There won't be class abilities that are specific to naval content, but some utility skills (such as underwater breathing) may be of some benefit.[30]

Backer only armor skin

All Kickstarter backers receive a unique armor skin set.[2]

The Underrealm

Underrealm node concept art.[31]

One of the aspects of the Lore behind the Tulnar was that in the pantheon of gods that exist- having foretold the future through the Goddess of Fate to the Goddess of Creation- these areas in the Underrealm were created in to allow for refuge for which the gods knew would be left behind that couldn't make it to Sanctus. So that was a pre-thought there in the creation of the Underrealm to facilitate that realm where refugees could seek.[32]Steven Sharif

Alpha-0 Underrealm Sharptooth cat mob concept art.[33]

We plan to have the Underrealm really pervasive throughout the game itself, a part of the open world. It will introduce some unique elements such as the type of monsters you see, the type of crops you can grow and houses you can have.[34]Steven Sharif

The Underrealm is a rich environment where bio-luminescence abounds in the fauna and flora that exist here. These deep caverns and underground valleys provide new destinations for civilization to develop. Bringing the node system into the depths of the world may awaken darker creatures than the surface.[35]

  • The Underrealm is estimated to be not too much bigger than 100 km2 in area.[36][37] It is not contiguous space across the entire map. There will be areas that are obstructed by chasms or other features.[38][39]
The expansiveness of the Underrealm itself is quite large. It does persist across across a lot of the playable game area that's above ground. So there are alternatives in the Underrealm for passages and traversal throughout the world.[40]Steven Sharif
  • The location of Underrealm entrances throughout the world is focused around natural geographic choke-points that exist above ground. This provides alternate subterranean routes that can be used by caravans, raids, and other player activities.[36][38][39]
The Underrealm is intending to be bespoke segments of Underrealm territory that are available around areas of choke-point in the world map that are above ground, which are provided for caravan transit across the world. So those caravans as they're approaching these choke-points on land, they will have alternate route options to go down into the Underrealm and to try to traverse that space, as opposed to the choke-points.[38]Steven Sharif
  • Not all entrances to the Underrealm will be open at the same time. This can shift dynamically (based on node states) that cause different routes to open up, which may be more or less advantageous than other routes.[41][39]
  • There will be bodies of water such as rivers and lakes in the Underrealm.[42][43][44]
    • These may house unique species of fish.[43][44]
    • Underwater content related to traversal may be included in these areas.[42] Previously it was stated that there won't be boats and other water vehicles in the Underrealm.[43]
Underrealm will have water associated with it and there may be areas where we leverage underwater content as either a means of traversal to reach certain locations, or require use of certain vehicle types in order to traverse.[42]Steven Sharif
  • Certain Tulnar tribes were able to develop Metropolis-scale constructions in the Underrealm. These locations will not be present at the start of Alpha-2.[45]

Backer only aquatic mount

Tidesnapper is an aquatic mount that has the ability to glide through the water.[49]

Social organizations

Social organizations are pseudo factions in Ashes of Creation.[51][52] They provide ways for players to interact with the world around them in a different manner. They are about creating micro communities within the game.[53]

The whole idea of these societies is that they are a mechanism for progression that do not have to rely on your level progression. These are different progression paths that players can participate in. If you don't want to leave a node in your gameplay experience and you want to find as much as you can do within that city, these offer those things. Now, some quests might take you outside of the city to hunt and pursue things, but you could also perfectly be a person that is a merchant and purchases them from other travelers instead of having to go do it yourself. We want to offer players a diverse method of progression; and these systems house those benefits.[55]Steven Sharif
  • Social organizations offer quest lines to assault other organizations, but they are not permanently flagged against other social organizations.[51][56][52]
Sometimes two organization's goals might not align with each other and there'll be conflict there, but it's not going to be like everybody in the Traders Guild is at war with everybody in the Thieves Guild.[52]Jeffrey Bard
  • Social organizations are run by NPCs, however there will be ranks that certain members can attain that will grant some influence over the organization.[57]
Q: Is the team developing social and religious organizations in a modular way so that player created ones could be made to exist later?
A: We are not developing those in a modular way because there is a very specific intent for those those disparate paths; and they are unique paths of progression that's intended both with a religious system as well as the social organization; and there are certain reward structures that live at the end of those paths- at the top of those paths you might say that we might not want to leave in the hands of players to modularize. Not that it's not something we can do, but rather keeping containers for certain types of reward structures helps to guard against more balance breaking issues.[60]Steven Sharif

Backer only dye set

Dyes are one-time use items that apply a cosmetic color change across all dyeable items that are equipped on a player's character (paper-doll).[61][62][63]

  • Two dye channels are provided per character that together influence up to 50% of the gear that is equipped by that character.[61]
    • The first dye channel is for lower grade dyes that influence 10 to 20% of armor appearance on that character.[61]
    • The second dye channel is for higher tier dyes that influence up to 30% of armor appearance on that character.[61]
  • The original design allowed individual items to be dyed with different dyes.[62]
One of the things that we want to do- again talking about player agency- is we want to give them the ability to change the appearance of their armor sets that they're wearing; and the way we've approached the dye solution is through a channeled system. We have a two channel dye system where the first channel is a lower grade dye that it has influence over between 10 to 20 percent of your overall armor appearance; and then the second channel dye is a higher tier dye that you have to acquire; and by doing so you can influence the remaining thirty percent- up to thirty percent of that armor appearance: So up to a total of fifty percent influence that can occur across all the pieces that you wear. Now one unique approach to the way we're doing this dye system is we're not allowing individual dyes to be applied on individual items, but instead we keep a cohesion across the set by applying that dye channel to your character; and when you equip a piece with your overall character it will assume that dye channel from your paper doll. So you apply the dyes to your character and when you equip a piece of item it will take that dye and it will influence the channel over that particular piece so that it comes into alignment. And what the reason that we're doing that is there's a lot of options with regards to customization for your character appearance, whether it be through transmog, through costumes, through mixing and matching sets and pieces that you can wear; and what we want to avoid is the rainbow effect where these pieces do not look good together and it creates the clown that's walking down the street.[61]

The Kickstarter dyes are sets of unique colors that are not obtainable by players who did not participate in Crowdfunding. These dyes are not usable as normal dyes are. Instead they are used to override the color of another dye obtained in game.[64]

  • They are assigned to a character from a user's account management page.[64]
  • They do not expire, so they may be used to continually override dye colors.[64]
  • Once a dye has been overridden it becomes a bound dye to that character, so the colors cannot be sold for in-game benefit.[64]
  • When an item is sold or transferred, color changes are reverted.[64]

New Underrealm race

Tulnar female character models.[65]

The Tulnar society has more of a caste like system, where based on what physical features you show, based on where your ancestry and lineage lie between the races that came together to make the Tulnar, determines your order in that caste system to a degree. So when players get to create their characters and determine whether they are going to have heavy influences of reptilian, mammalian, humanoid; that's going to determine their reception from NPCs as well when they interact with those Tulnar PCs.[66]Steven Sharif

Tulnar concept art.[65]

How will the Tulnar perceive their ancestors, the children's, children's, children, of their ancestors returning back to Verra? I think majority of the disposition is going to be, these are the descendants of those responsible for the tragedy that befell our world... And I think that you'll see a disparity between the younger Tulnar and the older Tulnar and their reception to those who are coming new. I think that's normal. I think that's expected. I think that creates an interesting tension; and I think that is a nice contextualization to some of the stories that might be told and interfacing between the Tulnar cultures and those of the returning descendants.[67]Steven Sharif

TulnarWatermark.png Tulnar (pronounced Tull-nar[68][69]) is a playable race in Ashes of Creation.[65][70][71]

Diversity - Community - Persistence
The Tulnar are as varied as the beast aspects they possess, but they are united in one crucial belief: corruption must be fought wherever it creeps. They are refugees that not only survived, but have thrived despite its tormenting presence in the world above.[65]
In the caverns below the surface, while the Ancients ravaged the world above, the survivors from all walks above came together below, pooled resources, skills, and knowledge of essence to build a tightly-knit community on trust, and necessity. They carry those traditions with them today in that all things are shared - be it prosperity or austerity.[65]
Mysterious magical wards throughout the massive caverns sealed them all underground, until the Divine Gates reopened unexpectedly. Cautiously, they returned to the surface to greet the other nations as they arrived through the archways.[65]
They're a combination of the leftover races, not just the leftover major race populations, but the leftover minor races as well; and that's what gives them their attributes that are bestial, or reptilian, humanoid; and that players can use sliders to influence the visual representation of. But in a similar fashion, their cultural markers are also going to be a combination of different influences, so they're very differently constructed culture than what is found in the other eight races.[72]Steven Sharif
  • Tulnar stands for "the forgotten".[71]
  • Prior to the portals opening, the Tulnar existed as a decentralized tribal civilization with rivalry between various factions. Certain Tulnar tribes were able to develop Metropolis scale constructions in the Underrealm. These locations will not be present at the start of Alpha-2.[45]
Q: By the time the portals reopen, the Tulnar have been down there for an awfully long time, so are they thriving, or are they just surviving? How much civilization are the Tulnar building underground?
A: One thing I want to talk a little bit about with regards to the Tulnar culture is that they are not a super centralized nation. They're not a super centralized civilization. They are relatively tribal-like, citystate-like. Even at some of the higher points when it comes to their factions and having spent a significant amount of time- an indiscriminate amount of time at this stage, you may learn more about that as you get into Verra, but having spent an amount of time in the Underrealms, those factions sometimes can be at odds with each other and not all Tulnar are going to be friendly to the other Divine races, or even to each other because of that. So, there's still some rivalry between those groups. Now, when we talk about what is the apex of Civilization that some of those tribes have accomplished; some of them have accomplished some pretty significant construction and development in the Underrealm. So much so, where you have a Metropolis-sized location in the Underrealm for the Tulnar. So that's not something that's going to be present obviously at the start of Alpha-2, but it is an intended location where you can see really the Tulnar civilization and their culture.[45]Steven Sharif
  • Tulnar eat many things![80]
Were the Tulnar a result of corruption in their creation, or was it purely a crossbreeding between the multiple minor and major races that existed in the Underrealm during the after the apocalypse? They are not a result of corruption. So there is no corruption that was that was taken into account during their creation.[84]Steven Sharif

The Tulnar race is scheduled for release in Alpha-2 phase 3.[85][86]

Backer only mount barding

Mount barding cosmetic reward for backing at the Leader of Men level.[89]

Mount barding (also referred to as Saddles) is armor for mounts in Ashes of Creation. Mount barding is similar in concept to player armor.[90]

  • The higher the level of barding, the better looking it will be.[90]
  • Barding will have multiple components that can be equipped. Each component will increase the stats of the mount, such as hit points and speed.[91][90]
  • Barding cosmetics can only be applied to mounts with barding cosmetic slots.[92]
  • Cosmetic skins may only be applied to barding/saddle items that are earned in-game.[93]
    • Barding skins can not be applied over a mount skin.[94]
    The mount skins are applied to the mount, and barding (think of it like an accessory appearance) can not be applied over the mount skin.[94]Cody Peterson
    • Barding skins' appearance may differ depending on the type of mount.[92]

Backer only skill FX

All Kickstarter backers will receive a skill effects (FX) set.[95]

  • Includes unique colors and additional effects for certain skills. For example: A mage with her fireball skill may fire off a ball of searing white flames as opposed to the traditional colors of that skill.

Stock exchange

Stock exchanges (also called Stock markets and Share markets) enable players to buy and sell shares in Nodes, Guilds, Social organizations, and Religions.[96][97][98][99] The stock exchange system is still in a 'paper design' phase and is subject to change.[96]

There's a number of different things where you can have success/failure points that then inform the metric that the stock price is predicated on; and players can purchase in at a certain price. That's the intent behind the stock market system.[96]Steven Sharif
Q: Is it possible that as an outside actor you could influence the performance of a particular organization across one of those events?
A: The answer is yes. So, if you wanted to, as an adverse party, engage a particular organization, you could do that. You could engage with, let's say, a guild that you don't like when they're running a trade run, or when they're engaged in a node war, or when they're attempting to complete a raid boss. There is the PvX component of being able to interrupt or engage with them in those events and turn the outcome towards a negative, driving the potential stock value of that organization down.[96]Steven Sharif
info-orange.pngSome of the following information has not been recently confirmed by the developers and may not be on the current development roadmap.
  • There is no regulatory commission to restrict the purchase and sale of stocks.[100]

Crowdfunding guild rewards

Guild themed character cloaks were cosmetic rewards for backing at the Leader of Men level or higher in the Kickstarter and Summer crowdfunding campaigns.[101]

Guild cloaks will work the same way that accessory appearances from the cosmetic packs work, in that they are applied to the item and take over that appearance. They can not be applied over costumes. [94]Cody Peterson

Kickstarter/Summer crowdfunding guild rewards[102] are assigned to a guild by the owner of the reward.[103]

  • Once assigned, the reward becomes an asset of that guild.[103]
  • Guild members that leave the guild no longer have access to the unique items of that guild.[103]

Crowdfunding mounts

Kickstarter/Summer crowdfunding mount rewards are obtained and utilized by applicable backers in the following way:[104]

  1. Basic mounts are obtained through an early quest that is available to all players in starting areas.
  2. Players assign cosmetic skins to a character on their account from the account management page.
  3. The skin can then be applied to change the appearance of the mount that was earned in game.
    • This does not remove the skin itself. It can be applied again to any other applicable mount in the future.
    • Players may remove the skin from a character and assign it to another character on their account.
    • Skins can only ever be active on one character and one mount.

The Dawnbreaker mount skin is used in a similar fashion as described, but is only applicable to a certain class of mounts. Aquatic mount skins, like the Tidesnapper, are also used in a similar fashion, but are only applicable to the aquatic class of mounts.[104]

Kickstarter media

Visuals

External links

See also

References

  1. Ashes of Creation Kickstarter campaign
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Ashes of Creation Kickstarter.
  3. kickstarter funding.png
  4. crowdfunding-packs.png
  5. 5.0 5.1 parlor games tavern.png
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 parlor announcement.png
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 Interview, June 13, 2021 (18:40).
  8. Livestream, May 24, 2017 (11:04).
  9. steven-tavern-games-1.png
  10. 10.0 10.1 steven-tavern-games-2.png
  11. parlor games.png
  12. Blog: Creative Director's Letter.
  13. Ashes of Creation Twitter - Kickstarter cute small pet winners.
  14. cute small pets.png
  15. 15.0 15.1 Group mounts.png
  16. group mounts goal.png
  17. 17.0 17.1 Livestream, April 30, 2020 (1:22:26).
  18. 18.0 18.1 18.2 Livestream, January 28, 2022 (1:11:40).
  19. May The 4th, Be With You... And also some skins.
  20. Livestream, September 30, 2020 (40:52).
  21. Video, November 9, 2017 (0:01).
  22. 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 22.4 22.5 22.6 22.7 22.8 Podcast, April 11, 2021 (36:43).
  23. 23.0 23.1 23.2 23.3 23.4 23.5 Livestream, May 17, 2017 (30:53).
  24. Livestream, 2018-04-8 (PM) (1:01:28).
  25. Livestream, July 25, 2020 (1:59:09).
  26. Livestream, July 9, 2018 (30:35).
  27. 27.0 27.1 27.2 27.3 Livestream, August 23, 2017 (28:22).
  28. Kickstarter - We Just Broke $1,500,000!
  29. Livestream, January 28, 2022 (1:09:00).
  30. Livestream, February 25, 2022 (1:04:29).
  31. Forums: Dev Discussion - Dream Nodes.
  32. Interview, October 31, 2018 (6:00).
  33. Ashes of Creation - The visuals.
  34. A chat with Ashes of Creation's Steven Sharif, 2017-06-7.
  35. Kickstarter $1,750,000 Stretch Goal Unlocked, 13 May 2017.
  36. 36.0 36.1 Livestream, April 7, 2023 (22:48).
  37. Interview, August 17, 2018 (10:43).
  38. 38.0 38.1 38.2 Livestream, August 26, 2022 (53:26).
  39. 39.0 39.1 39.2 Livestream, October 30, 2020 (1:19:13).
  40. Interview, October 31, 2018 (5:43).
  41. Interview, November 10, 2024 (1:55:53).
  42. 42.0 42.1 42.2 Livestream, July 3, 2024 (2:04:38).
  43. 43.0 43.1 43.2 Livestream, April 7, 2023 (27:30).
  44. 44.0 44.1 Transcript, November 5, 2022 (10:46:47).
  45. 45.0 45.1 45.2 Podcast, May 10, 2024 (13:54).
  46. Interview, October 20, 2024 (51:15).
  47. Twitter - Will this picture of a turtle tide you over for a while?
  48. Livestream, January 29, 2021 (1:00:57).
  49. 49.0 49.1 Ashes of Creation Kickstarter - Over 9,500 Backers and Counting!!
  50. Types of Events on Verra.
  51. 51.0 51.1 Interview, November 10, 2024 (23:18).
  52. 52.0 52.1 52.2 Livestream, May 26, 2017 (49:05).
  53. Livestream, May 17, 2017 (7:27).
  54. Know Your Nodes: 2 developer post
  55. Podcast, April 23, 2018 (24:47).
  56. Interview, July 18, 2020 (22:26).
  57. Livestream, July 9, 2018 (38:28).
  58. Livestream, September 30, 2022 (2:40).
  59. Livestream, May 8, 2017 (28:48).
  60. Livestream, January 31, 2024 (1:27:48).
  61. 61.0 61.1 61.2 61.3 61.4 Livestream, June 30, 2022 (1:06:02).
  62. 62.0 62.1 Livestream, October 30, 2020 (1:14:34).
  63. Livestream, May 26, 2017 (3:04).
  64. 64.0 64.1 64.2 64.3 64.4 dyes.png
  65. 65.0 65.1 65.2 65.3 65.4 65.5 Ashes Of Creation - Races.
  66. Interview, October 31, 2018 (5:03).
  67. Livestream, April 7, 2023 (1:17:59).
  68. RacePronunciation.png
  69. Livestream, March 31, 2022 (1:06:54).
  70. Livestream, May 30, 2017 (16:51).
  71. 71.0 71.1 71.2 Kickstarter $2,500,000 New Player Race Achieved.
  72. 72.0 72.1 Podcast, September 29, 2021 (16:51).
  73. Interview, July 20, 2020 (15:18).
  74. Livestream, April 8, 2018 (23:04).
  75. Livestream, May 17, 2017 (5:49).
  76. Livestream, May 26, 2017 (39:34).
  77. tulnar-gateway.png
  78. Livestream, October 16, 2017 (53:58).
  79. underrealm-gateway.png
  80. tulnar-eats.png
  81. Podcast, November 15, 2020 (31:13).
  82. Livestream, April 28, 2023 (1:23:33).
  83. Podcast, November 15, 2020 (40:24).
  84. 84.0 84.1 Livestream, November 22, 2019 (24:33).
  85. Livestream, August 16, 2024 (1:09:02).
  86. Livestream, 2018-04-8 (AM) (2:17).
  87. Livestream, July 29, 2022 (59:00).
  88. Interview, July 9, 2023 (1:06:53).
  89. Leader of Men
  90. 90.0 90.1 90.2 Livestream, May 29, 2020 (58:31).
  91. Livestream, September 30, 2020 (45:37).
  92. 92.0 92.1 margaret-barding-slots.png
  93. Livestream, September 30, 2020 (45:26).
  94. 94.0 94.1 94.2 94.3 cody-skins.png
  95. New Backer Goal!! + Monster Coins (>'.')>
  96. 96.0 96.1 96.2 96.3 96.4 Interview, October 16, 2024 (51:24).
  97. 97.0 97.1 steven-stock-markets.png
  98. 98.0 98.1 Livestream, May 17, 2017 (11:27).
  99. 99.0 99.1 99.2 Stock Exchange.jpg
  100. 100.0 100.1 Interview, October 20, 2018 (5:51).
  101. Crowdfunding.
  102. kickstarter guild halls.png
  103. 103.0 103.1 103.2 guild kickstarter.png
  104. 104.0 104.1 kickstarter mounts.png