Template:Alpha-2

Alpha-2 launcher teaser video.

Alpha-2 is really the testing grounds for a lot of the more minute details of how a particular system works; and you can change a lot of those details without actually needing to change the feature that's been developed. These are variables that exist within the code that we have control over so that when we want to iterate upon it it's easy to do iterations: and some of those iterations can feel very impactful to the system overall. So Alpha-2 really is meant to gauge this initial approach and then we're afforded the ability to change that drastically by tuning and changing some of the aspects of the specifics of the system. – Steven Sharif

Alpha-2 character creator user interface (first pass).

When we talk about Alpha-2's perspective, it's really focused around core systems and their ancillary counterparts. When we talk about what those core systems are, it's the siege systems; it's the guild war systems; it's the node advancements; it's the story arcs; it's the character class progression; it's the augments; it's our artisanship loops and the gathering, processing and crafting cycles; it's homeownership; it's vehicles and mounts; and any number of professions that exist there; and then also a big chunk of Alpha-2 is obviously content: The ability to ensure that the hooks for these quest hubs within the nodes; the points-of-interest are stood up and reflective of the content necessary to facilitate that those story arcs; and commissions and buy orders. That's really the CORE of what we need to achieve in order to demonstrate the loops, collect feedback from those loops and the players who are play testing them; and then make iteration as necessary based off of the feedback we've received. – Steven Sharif

Ashes of Creation's core game systems are expected to be in place at the start of Alpha-2. By the end of Alpha-2, the game is expected to be feature complete, but it will not be content complete until launch. Alpha-2 will last until launch and will run in parallel with Beta-1 and Beta-2.

Alpha-2 is intended to be a true functional representation of all the core systems and features. – Steven Sharif

• World
  • Seasons and climates.
  • Events.
  • Story arcs.
  • Quests.
  • Points of interest.
  • Zones are expected to be around 60-70% complete before they are ready for Alpha-2. The developers will publish a list of starting biomes closer to the start of Alpha-2.

    The starting biomes will be announced when we are confident which ones will be ready. Environmentally and asset wise, there are 7ish biomes created. Content wise (PoIs, narrative/quest, creatures etc) is a decision that will be evaluated for A2 entrance as testing continues. When we are ready to share this info we will. – Steven Sharif

  • The eastern continent may not be included until later in Alpha-2.

• Character
  • Character creator.
    • Some aspects of the character creator will not be present at the start of Alpha-2.
  • Character progression up to level 30 (subject to change). Previously this was stated to be level 35.
  • Bard, Cleric, Fighter, Mage, Ranger, Rogue, and Tank primary archetypes are expected to be present at the beginning of Alpha-2, along with some secondary classes and augments. Summoner may also be released at the beginning of Alpha-2.
    • Secondary selections will be released individually, rather than all at once.
  • Tulnar race.
  • Family summon mechanic.
  • Religions.
  • Mounts.

• Combat
  • Combat revamp.
    • Active and passive skills will be re-architected.
    • Primary skills are expected to be very different to those in Alpha-1.
    • Weapon skill trees will be present to augment the combo system.
  • Sieges.
  • Guild wars.

• Nodes
  • Node progression to City (stage 5) and potentially Metropolis (stage 6).
    • At the beginning Town (stage 4) assets may be utilized for city nodes.
  • Relics and the Reliquary node building.
  • Player housing.
  • Crop rotations.

• Naval content will be introduced as an Alpha-2 update.
  • Naval warfare.
  • Three ship classes.
  • Ships will have functioning cannons but the ship building UI may not be complete.

• Economy
  • Artisan classes (Gathering, Processing, Crafting).
    • Artisan gear sets.
    • Potential gameplay layers such as surveying and land management are being considered for gathering.
  • Auction houses.
  • Crates used to transport supplies between storage points and caravans.

• Other
  • Guild management tools.
  • Unreal Engine 5.
  • Some of Bear McCreary's music will be in Alpha-2.
  • User interface and tutorial systems.
  • Emblem, logo and symbol editor (tentatively).

Alpha-1 and Alpha-2 testers may be invited to participate in spot testing prior to the Alpha-2 release.

Alpha-2 is known as the persistent alpha.

Q: What systems are still needed to be rolled out before Alpha two?

A: I don't think it's at a core level that there's a particular system that has yet to be feature developed. Right now, it's more along the lines of expanding on those features, getting UI support for those features... UI, VFX, audio effects: Those are all big bottlenecks because they tend to occur at the end of the pipeline of content development; and then also ensuring that the interactions are polished and working. So from a large feature perspective- let me think about that, what large feature endeavor is still outstanding on the Alpha-2 front? A lot of it is content. I'm not sure that it's a feature one. I can't think of any large system features that haven't been stood up from a core functional perspective that don't just need expanding on, slash content development on. – Steven Sharif

Q: And when you say content, that's like art and implementation and so on?

A: Narrative quests, the assets, the modelling, the particular types of buildings, the armor sets, the creatures, the visual effects, audibility systems. Those are all content that accompany what the code is creating from a mechanical perspective. – Steven Sharif

Alpha-2 core features list.