Please post your questions for this month's Live Q&A. Creative Director Chris "Joppa" Perkins will be in the house, answering the most recent crop of community inquiries.
Q&A is due to take place on the Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen official Discord server on January 18th at 5PM PST (-8 GMT).
Questions:
1) We (alpha pledges) appreciated the sneak peak and opportunity to join in the pre-alpha test for alphas. Should we take this to mean that alpha phase is 'coming soon'? When do you think we might hear more news about the start of alpha?
2a) A lot of folks are unhappy with the art direction. I assume it's here to stay. If so, presumably part of the issue lies with the lack of polish particularly with character models. What can we expect to see (and when) for updates to that level of polish that might improve our opinion?
2b) I've seen in various newsletters and other places talk about more 'grit' in the art style and that the VR team felt that the first pass at the new art style was too cartoony. For myself, I would be ok with the 'painted' art style if it was more 'Heavy Metal' and less 'Disney'. Can you elaborate on where we are with that aspect of the art? Has VR reached the level of grit you were expecting or can we expect to see more?
3) During the pre-alpha test for alphas I noticed that the light levels at night were almost pitch black. I am not of the opinion that needs to change, but I do think we need more ways for dealing with the light, such as more spell options (there was no level 1 cleric light spell), torches only existed on the rogue NPC, etc. Also the light options that did exist were very very dark and did not provide enough illumination and so were the street lanterns in town. Should we expect to see these things adjusted and if so how?
4) I am of the opinion that /con serves no real purpose when the information is given away freely with the click of a macro. It would seem like just putting the information in the color of the NPC nameplate or elsewhere would be easier. The clicking of the macro does not seem to add anything of value to the game from my perspective. Is this the final iteration of the con system or should we expect changes and if so what kind?
5) Given the length of time the game has been in development and the general angst around that topic, can you chime in a bit on that. Understanding your reluctance to commit to any specific time lines, etc. can you at least comment on the approximate level of completion? 50%, 80%? I think the question in everyone's mind is, where are we at? How close are we to seeing this game. Is there any format in which you can answer that without being too specific?
6a) I support the current death mechanics, however, I did feel that the recovery of XP debt seemed too slow. Do you expect adjustments here and if so what kind?
6b) While the death mechanic is fine, dealing with death does not seem fine. /Consent obviously needs to be added, but so do options for getting your corpse back such as corpse summon spells, invisibility, stealth, etc. If death recovery options are not available until later levels it would seem to create a balancing issue where the game is more difficult at early levels and easier at later levels which seems to be counter intuitive. Can we expect to see these recovery options added soon and available at very early levels?
Pretty much what Chenzeme said and Mornroc in number 2).
1) I'm wondering if the stress test we did in December was just the first in a series of many more tests to come? If so can we expect them to be at fairly regular intervals?
Also it made me think that this little Alpha invite we just had might be a sign from the gods that Alpha is going to officially be announced soon.
2) Is this false hope on my part? or Is there room for optimism about seeing Alpha in '24?
Thank You VR,
BituminousBlack
My biggest question is how often Alpha's can expect to test from today forward. Agree a % of completion estimate would be good to help folks know where the team thinks the game is. The other questions above are spot on also.
- /consent for corpse retrieval is an absolute must IMO.
- lighting is fine (I like the realism and difficulty associate with it), but need more ways to light things up pls. Spells, additional items, etc...
- When the Alpha's stress tested on Friday, how did things go from VR's perspective? I never saw more the 50 or 60 peeps on my server at one time. Kind of looked like a hard cap was implemented.
- When is AVP scheduled? We do not necessarily need an exact date but, something like 1st or Second semester would put a perspective.
- Lightning in caves or around gloomy zones are kinda weird. When you are the entry of the cave you see farther than when you go in. What are the plans around this?
- When do we expect to see the new races? I know ogrras and 'nomes are next on line. Considering the number of races that are expected at release, one kinda wonders how you plan to accelerate / mutualize on the race model creation or does each one have to be hand modeled with individual animations and such?
1) Is there a plan in play to raise Pantheon awareness? I feel like many people will enjoy this game, but it needs more exposure. In the past, Ben Dean had said VR was saving funds to do targeted marketing campaign once the game is further along. Is this still the plan, and if so at what point will Pantheon be ready to push this marketing campaign?
2) The December producer's letter two things that stood out to me. One, was focusing on better communication "BOWLTH" (lol) internal and external was going to be a goal for 2024. Can you tell us what better external communication means to you and how will it be disseminated for all of us common folk.
Secondly, I am a huge fan of PVP and the producer letter also hinted at a quote "future PvP mode". Can you give us any beans or hint to what this could mean for those of us who are PVP fans?
3) I really liked the idea of Cleric being able to wade into melee is this still the plan? Shaman's have DOT damage, Druids will assumingly have direct (lightning, fire, and nature etc) damage... I think playing up to the fact they're in heavy armor and can take a few hits is an awesome idea personally even if they share some weaker versions of Paladin abilities.
4) Is there a plan for a sprint toggle button / option so you do not have to hold it down the entire time...similar to the auto run button?
5) Could / would you give us a broad summary of what the overall focus and or goals for 2024 development will be?
6) Are there any update on when persistence issue will be fixed?
Will the warrior class have abilities availible above level 10? Thanks!! Love the game so far feels like old school eq with great people