Creation August Development Update
Map expansion, New World Boss Reveal, Open-Sea PVP, Node Update, Policy System
Aug. 27, 2022
TL;DR
- The company keeps growing (40 people hired this year)
- Alpha 2 will have forest, desert, and riverlands biomes
- Minotaurs introduced
- World Boss introduced
- A couple of races redesigned
- New 1200 square kilometer World Map
- Open seas are open-PVP
- Node count decreased from 103 nodes to 85 nodes
- Policies can be applied in Nodes
- Caravansary building will be used to setup caravans
Even though there was no gameplay showcase, this month’s update hit us with quite a few system updates. The livestream went its usual course:
- Studio Update
- Environment Update
- Character Art Update
- Design Update
- QnA
Intrepid Studio hired 40 people
Studio update was kinnda secretive, but did come accross quite positively, as Steven mentioned that the studio achieved their Milestone 2. Whatever it is, as mentioned in the livestream, it did deserve a celebration.
Some other important takeaways from this segment are:
- The studio hired 40 people this year, while keeping a close eye on its culture and hiring the right people.
- The studio is still looking for new talent. So if you're interested check Intrepid's careers page. However, keep in mind that only 1.4% applicants a month make it through.
Forest And Desert Biomes Discussion
In preparation for the upcoming Alpha 2, the development update showcased some biomes that are going to be available in the said testing phase. The three biomes that are forest, desert, and riverlands. The thing that is going to be closely looked at during the testing is the density of all of the different map sections and how they play together with resource spawners.
Another topic covered was how to make desert biome interesting. The issue with these types of biomes is that they are usually big empty patches of land that have very little content in them. One way this will be addressed in Ashes of Creation is to make the desert biome adhere to season changes as well. These changes are supposedly going to create interesting events, such as giant duststorms, which will result in event-specific creatures spawning.
Minotaurs And New World Boss Reveal
One notable thing from this segment was the introduction of Minotaurs. Even though it was only concept art that was presented, as Steven mentioned, we will be completely introduced to them in the next update at the end of September. These types of enemies are supposed to be a bit more elite, compared to regular monsters. Minotaurs will have different classes, and different behavior/animations depending on their HP levels.
And to top it all off, we got introduced to a world-boss, but more importantly to the scale of these creatures. As it can be seen in the image, world bosses are going to be huge. The image shows the comparison between a regular-sized character vs. the boss. This particular boss has a special mechanic, which will allow it to roam the map (the Riverlands).
New Verra Map Reveal
This one was definitely the centerpiece of the livestream. Straight up we saw the new world map that is much larger than the original one. The new map size is 1200 square kilometers, with ocean/lakes covering ~750 square kilometers, and land covering ~450 square kilometers.
Couple of points can be tracked in the map update:
- Land mass has not increased significantly.
- Land has mostly been separated, with addition of new islands.
- Water mass increased significantly.
- This should all facilitate much better trading and naval experience.
The main theme mentioned throughout the map reveal was density. The world has to feel vast and imersive, but also not empty, so it’s a balacing act between the two (content and ambient). As said in the livestream, “Planning is one thing, but actually placing models into the world is a different thing.” The result of all this is the map increasing in size.
To put the map size further into perspective, we were given travel times around the map:
| - | Run | Mounted |
|---|---|---|
| Across Metropilis | 2m50s | 1m30s |
| From Node to Node | 5m | 3m30s |
| From map top to bottom | 50m | 75m |
Water mass size increase came with quite a big change - open PVP. From this update forward, open seas are considered open PVP zones. The reasoning behind this is open sea being unique content that brings a lot of rewards, therefore as it’s AoC’s theme, all rewards have to be balaned with certain amount of risk. There was also a slight tease of the underworld map that is going to play an important role in caravan system.
This major update section continued with Node system update.
Most notable change was node number decease from 103 nodes to 85 nodes. The reason for this change was to foster this relationship between parent and vassal nodes, and to bring meaning and value to nodes.
The update went in depth about parent-vassal node relationship, stating that being a vassal node does not necessarily mean a bad thing. Vassal node enjoys parent node’s protection, as well as economy and political influence.
The node chart above depicts something called “maximum vassal network.” To put some meaning behind it, Level 6 (Metropolis) node can control at most two Level 5 nodes, which in turn can control one Level 4 AND one Level 3 (as direct vassals), and then Level 3 can control one Level 1, or one Level 2 node.
Following the chart above, if Level 3 node gets removed through the siege, its vassal nodes get removed as well (so Level 1 or Level 2 node). Having that in mind, you can imagine the impact of a Level 6 (Metropolis) node being destroyed.
Related to these node updates, we were also introduced to Politics System. This system will allow Majors to enact certain policies on their node and reap their benefits. Policy can increase player’s gathering speed within that node, increase node’s construction speed, etc. As stated in the update, some policies will be specific to some types of nodes, or to some buildings (e.g. weaponsmithing, religious node, etc.).
The update closed with Caravan system details.
In order to launch a caravan, players will have to interact with caravansary. Caravansary allows players to select type of caravan, the route, but also to setup the caravan with components that will compose the caravan. Components will add stat values, such as movement speed, to the caravan.
Quite a lot of changes for an update without gameplay. That was it for this month. If you want to watch the update you can check out the VOD here.