Alpha Two Roadmap and AMA

On Friday, August 16, 2024, we broadcasted our Ashes of Creation Alpha Two Roadmap and AMA live on Twitch with Steven Sharif (Creative Director), and Margaret Krohn (Director of Communications) where we provided an in-depth overview of our Alpha Two plans. Afterwards, we went over a plethora of questions the community provided.

Reminder that Ashes of Creation is an open and transparent development project. As such, you will see work-in-progress art, systems, and mechanics, and our plans may change as we continue to move forward, but we will try to keep our community informed of what and why.

Alpha Two Roadmap and AMA

For ease, we’ve also provided the images below from the broadcast with additional clarifications. Some of the images have adjustments based on feedback and questions that came up during, and after the livestream.

Note: The below information applies to Alpha Two, and things will change as we head into Beta One, Beta Two, and Launch. As we progress into these other development phases, you can expect that we will provide further information regarding the specifics of those.

Intrepid Studios' Goals for Alpha Two

Scalability, Stability, Fun and Always Engaged with our Community

• Scalability over 3k concurrent users per realm with Dynamic Gridding and Server Meshing IntrepidNet Technology
• Ensure that our realms and our clients rarely crash, and if they do, they do it gracefully
• Deliver a next-gen MMORPG to an audience that is hungry for high-quality experiences and service
• Build Ashes of Creation WITH our audience - we show what we do, we talk about why and how, and we care about your feedback to the point of changing our game with you, for you
• Intrepid is NOT under any pressure from publishers, using our own technology and support services, delivering on our vision, and we're hellbent on shaking up the MMORPG genre the best way possible

Alpha Two Roadmap

Anyone with Alpha Two Access will join Verra on October 24, 2024! Alpha Two will be delivered in Phases:

Phase I 

Weekend testing starting Friday and ending Sunday will begin on October 25, 2024, and we plan to continue each following weekend.

• Test Goals:
  • Scalability
  • Stability
  • Performance
  • Progression

Phase II 

5+ Day testing will begin on December 20, 2024, and we plan to continue each week following that week.

• Test Goals:
  • Node Advancement
  • Economy Testing
  • Vassaling
• The holiday testing week may be extended compared to the weeks following with limited community and customer support.
• Testing for the 5+ days may fall on a variety of different days. As we head into this phase, we will provide a more detailed schedule for folks to plan around
   

Phase III 

Starting May 1, 2025, we will be up 24/7, and our aim will be only to have small windows of downtime for game updates.

• Test Goals:
  • Expanded Content and Features
• This phase does not have an ending as we will continue to add content and features until we are ready to move into Beta One.
• Alpha Two will turn into an NDA’d Test Realm when Beta One starts. It will then get access to content prior to the Beta and Launch realms. This Test Realm will continue post launch.

Alpha Two Cadence of Content Updates

These cadences of content updates apply to ALL Phases I, II, and III.

As Necessary

• Hotfixes deployed for critical issues

Every 3 Weeks

• Minor version release
• Balance changes
• Major bug fixes

Every 6 Weeks

• New major version deploy
• New features and content

Alpha Two What You Can Expect, and What We Need

What to Expect

• We are in a Testing Phase - Ashes of Creation is not done
• It's not meant to be viewed as done, it is meant to be tested and have critical feedback delivered
• The community will be able to engage by providing feedback, and voting on features and content
• We expect our DB scheme to change for performance and balance, which means we will require persistence wipes as necessary
• You will be testing core gameplay loops and Intrepid Studios will be reacting to make fixes and updates
• Intrepid Studios will support Western Europe and North America with 3 Realms each to start
  • We will expand the amount of realms in each of the above regions as needed.
  • The NA realms will be located in the central US, but we have the ability to adjust this to eastern and western as needed.
  • As we move into other phases of development after Alpha Two, you will see more realm regions come online. We try to keep our FAQ article up-to-date with our Launch plans for realm locations here.

What we Need

• Testing across all archetypes
• Testing node progression and systems
• Testing against implemented content (PvP and PvE)

Alpha One to Alpha Two

Alpha One

• Server deployment and performance
• System functionalities and behavior testing
• Player characters and races
• Combat systems
• Character progression
• Player-based economy
• Node features
• Sieges and Raid bosses 

Alpha Two

• New network layer and dynamic server meshing
• Upgrade from UE4 to UE5.3
• Player characters and races
• PvP and PvE combat systems
• Character progression and persistence
• Elaborate economy and profession sysrtems
• Node features
• World bosses, story quests, etc.

Alpha Two Phases

• The features and content listed in each of these phases are not all planned at the START of each phase. You can expect that when these phases end, these features and content will be delivered prior to moving onto the next phase.
• As stated many times, things are subject to change, and we may shift things into different phases, but we’ll keep you all informed as those changes occur.
• Alpha 2 Phase III, is expected to last at least 1 year. This is of course subject to change due to active development.

Opening Alpha Two Access

You've been asking for it, and due to the amazing work of our Network team and their Server Meshing Technology, we will be expanding out Alpha Two capacity on Wednesday, August 21, 2024.

First Wave Bundle - $120

• Alpha Two access on Friday, November 8, 2024, continuing to all subsequent test phases
• Beta One access
• Beta Two access
• 1 Month Subscription Time ($15 Value)
• $15 in Embers (in-game marketplace credits, NO P2W!)

We have extended the purchase deadline for this bundle to close Saturday, November 30, 2024, at 11:00 AM Pacific, or while supplies last.

Second Wave Bundle - $110

• Alpha Two access on Friday, December 20, 2024, continuing to all subsequent test phases
• Beta One access
• Beta Two access
• 1 Month Subscription Time ($15 Value)
• $15 in Embers (in-game marketplace credits, NO P2W!)

Purchase ends Friday, December 13, 2024 at 11:00AM Pacific or until supplies last.

Testers can upgrade Alpha Two Wave Bundles to a higher tier at any time. Upgrade cost is the difference between bundle prices.

Third Wave Bundle - $100

• Alpha Two access on Thursday, May 1, 2025, continuing to all subsequent test phases
• Beta One access
• Beta Two access
• 1 Month Subscription Time ($15 Value)
• $15 in Embers (in-game marketplace credits, NO P2W!)

Purchase ends Tuesday, May 27, 2025 at 11:00AM Pacific or until supplies last.

Testers can upgrade Alpha Two Wave Bundles to a higher tier at any time. Upgrade cost is the difference between bundle prices.

Thanks to your glorious feedback, we have made some adjustments. We appreciate our community beyond words, and we want you to know that we hear you.

• First, Second, and Third Wave have now been changed into Bundles which include Alpha Two, Beta One, and Beta Two access, a 1 Month of Subscription Time ($15 value), and $15 in Embers (in-game marketplace credits, NO P2W!).
• As noted above in this article, Alpha Two will turn into an NDA’d Test Realm when Beta One starts. It will then get access to content prior to the Beta and Launch realms. This Test Realm will continue post launch.
• Purchasing into a phase, grants access to subsequent phases.
• Alpha 2 Phase III, is expected to last at least 1 year. This is of course subject to change due to active development.
• Alpha 2 does not have a subscription cost.
• When the game launches, Ashes of Creation will NOT have a box price.
• The cost behind Alpha Two access accounts for realm and CDN costs associated with a live service product. While this is not a finished game, it will be a live service that we will be updating on a 6 week basis as we build out the rest of the game's content and features.
• We’d like to reiterate, please do NOT consider purchasing testing access to Ashes of Creation, if your intent is to play a completed game. Please wait until Launch. - This is not a typical approach of development and marketing. It will be rough, buggy and require dedicated players who are willing to be testers. - We have our internal QA teams, along with externally contracted QA testers that are testing right now, every day. We understand that this approach is not everyone's cup of tea, but this is the path we are taking because we believe it will yield a better finished product, and we all have experienced enough MMOs that have not hit the mark when it comes to launching when they are TRULY ready.

We appreciate everyone’s feedback, understanding, and support along our development journey. We can't wait for some of you to join us on Verra!

If you haven't already, please follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, so you can keep up with our progress. We're also active daily on our Discord, and Forums!