Template:Alpha-2

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 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

Alpha-2 character creator intro (first pass).

You may see whole systems come online at some different points throughout the Alpha-2 testing: Entirely new different areas; entirely new packages of narrative content and POIs. That is going to adhere to what our development schedule and release cadence will look like. – 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.

• 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.
    • Riverlands, Badlands, Sandsquall Desert, Tropics, Forest, Tabletop mountains, Tundra, Ocean.
  • 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.
    • It was stated previously that the character creator would be provided to players before the release of Alpha-2.
  • Character progression up to level 35 (subject to change).
  • Some primary archetypes will be available at the beginning of Alpha-2, along with some secondary classes and augments.
    • 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).
  • Relics and the Reliquary node building.
  • Player housing.
  • Crop rotations.

• Naval content.
  • 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
  • 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.

Alpha-2 core features list.