Alpha-1 availability
Pre-order pack upgrades are possible for current pack holders for the difference in price.[1][2][3] Upgrades to Kickstarter and Summer crowdfunding packs are also available in the store for the difference in package price.[4]
- August 15, 2018 was the last day for purchases of Alpha-1 through Intrepid pre-order packs (History).[5]
- August 13, 2021 was the last day for purchases of Alpha-1 through the Adventurer pre-order pack (History).[6][7][1][8]
Alpha-1 playtest schedule
Testy Alpha-1 zaplanowano na jesień 2020 r. Wszystko, co miało miejsce przed tą datą, jest uważane za testy QA, do których osoby wspierające Alpha-1 są zapraszane etapami.[9]
- Ograniczone testy Alpha-1 rozpoczęły się 28 maja 2020 r. Od sponsorów Royalty i wyższych. Początkowo testy te będą przeprowadzane podczas jednodniowych sesji, które w ciągu kilku miesięcy przekształcą się w weekendowe okresy testowe.[10]
- Umowa NDA dotycząca tekstu i głosu została wycofana z tej fazy testów.[11]
Testy w maju i czerwcu prawdopodobnie pozostaną pod NDA, dopóki nie poczuję się komfortowo ze stabilnością.[12] – Steven Sharif
- Posiadacze pakietu Leader of men zostanią zaproszeni do rozpoczęcia testów w sierpniu.[13]
- Latem testy Alpha-1 zostaną rozszerzone, aby objąć wszystkich posiadaczy pakietu Braver of worlds i wyższych. Zaczną również od weekendowych okresów testowych.[10]
- Bliżej jesieni, celem jest zaproszenie wszystkich graczy Alpha-1 do udziału w tygodniowych sesjach testowych.[10]
Na koniec z radością ogłaszam, że ograniczone testy Alpha One rozpoczną się w maju 2020 roku, zaczynając od naszych sponsorów Alpha One najwyższego poziomu z Kickstarter. Te testy będą początkowo obejmować naszych zwolenników Phoenix Initiative i wyższe. Ponieważ klient gry staje się bardziej stabilny podczas tych ograniczonych testów, zaczniemy wprowadzać naszych odważnych i ponadprzeciętnych zwolenników, a ostatecznie naszych posiadaczy pakietów Interpid w przedsprzedaży. Naszym celem jest, aby klient gry Alpha One był gotowy do pełnego testowania jesienią 2020 roku. Teraz oczywiście ta oś czasu podlega wstępnym testom i jej sukcesowi w ciągu następnych kilku miesięcy, więc upewnij się, że złagodzisz oczekiwania. Głównym celem testowania Ashes jest stworzenie solidnego i przyjemnego doświadczenia podczas iteracji projektowania i wdrażania gry. Ważnym wnioskiem z tego ogłoszenia jest to, że robimy postępy w kierunku grywalnej gry. Przed nami jeszcze długa droga, a wiele systemów w Alpha One to podstawowe systemy, które wymagają jeszcze więcej dopracowania. I nawet teraz nie mogę zagwarantować, że opóźnienia nie wystąpią, ale będziemy starać się być transparentni i komunikować się z Państwem o naszych sukcesach i porażkach.[10] – Steven Sharif
Pierwsze testy w maju z naszą inicjatywą Phoenix i wyższymi zwolennikami będą prowadzone podczas jednodniowych sesji, które w ciągu kilku miesięcy ostatecznie przekształcą się w weekendowe okresy testowe, gdy klient gry Alpha One stanie się bardziej stabilny. W okresie letnim, gdy rozszerzamy uczestniczących testerów Alpha One o Bravers i nowszych, oni również zaczną od weekendowych doświadczeń, które sprawdzą cierpliwość naszych graczy. Zbliżając się do jesieni tego roku, zamierzamy zaprosić wszystkich graczy Alpha One do udziału w tygodniowych sesjach testowych i przesunąć granice naszego doświadczenia z Alpha One. W miarę zbliżania się do tych okresów testowych będziemy aktualizować harmonogramy i instrukcje.[10] – Steven Sharif
Alpha-1 testing goals
- Server deployment and performance testing
- Stress-test our server deployments and player concurrency numbers with high volumes of player activity and interactions.[14]
- Stand up multiple world server deployments across different geographical regions.[14]
- Soak test server grid health over a continuous period of production use.[14]
- Evaluate current networking architecture, and identify non-performant code and areas for additional optimizations or refactoring.[14]
- Test our build strategy and hot-fix deployment procedures, account services, web-based systems, launcher and patcher stability, and cloud-based infrastructure.[14]
- System functionalities and behavior testing (in their core state)
- Node features (In their core state).[14]
- Experience collection – The ability for nodes to collect and store accrued experience from players in their Zone of influence and for this data to persist in a global hierarchy of the node matrix.[14]
- Propagation – The ability for nodes to advance in stages, reflecting the appropriate advancements in the following: culture, layout, quest hooks, spawners, crafting and processing stations, NPCs, service buildings, merchant tables, prop placement, housing, citizenship, government systems (election, appointment, terms, admin interface) and taxes, |points of interest propagation and advancement, public projects, and parenting/vassal hierarchy.[14]
- Player character systems (in their core state)
- Experience collection and persistence, experience debt, death effects, corruption and flagging, inventory systems, character paper doll and equipable items, property ownership and player storage, stats and waterfall derivatives, combat and ability systems, tab and action states, race and class selection and their customization, movement and character states, looting and party management systems.[14]
- Ancillary systems (in their core state)
- Caravans, drop, spawn, and reward table adaptations, player trading, mount and vehicle systems, raid and party functionality, guild progression and persistence, guild hierarchy, chat systems, customized AI behavior trees, boss functionality, harvesting prerequisites and procedural resource spawners, recipes and craft station systems, interactable containers and objects, global event manager, siege and battleground systems, open world traversal and dungeon design, quest and narrative dialogue setup.[14]
The above is not a comprehensive list of everything being tested in Alpha One, but it hits the primary points. There are many other data metrics being collected for our approach to the content production pipelines, system definitions, and refactoring as well. Not to mention a plethora of technical art implications and optimizations, but you get the gist. This is a very fundamental test that will impact the direction of development post-Alpha One, so you can understand the importance of testing and its need for player participation, attention, and feedback.[14] – Steven Sharif
Alpha-1 participation
Alpha-1 testing was available to the following participants:
- Anyone who won and claimed an Alpha-1 Key through a giveaway.[7]
- Adventurer pre-order pack and Intrepid pre-order pack owners.[7]
- Braver of worlds, Leader of men, Royalty, Hero of the people, and Avatar of the phoenix Kickstarter and summer campaign backers.[7]
- Official content creators.[7]
There were approximately 9,600 participants in Alpha-1 testing as of August, 2018.[15][16]
- As of May 31, 2021, just under 5k additional participants have been added since Alpha-1 sales resumed. Less refunds and unclaimed codes, leaves a total of slightly over 13k testers.[15]
- The weekend test of May 27, 2021 saw 5,300 unique logins over the 3 day period.[15]
There were roughly 9600 if I recall A1 participants prior to my closing the preorder packs in 2018. Since opening them up again there have been just under 5k additional participants added. And prolly around 300 refunds give or take. Of the roughly 14,000 a1 testers, there are still about 1k unredeemed ks codes which leaves a little over 13k testers? The weekend test saw 5300 unique logins over the 3-day period. And I think discord flags stand around 4k roughly?[15] – Steven Sharif
Adventurer pre-order pack FAQ
- How long will the Adventurer pre-order pack be available?
- The Adventurer pre-order pack was available for purchase from May 5, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. Pacific until August 13, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. Pacific.[6][7]
- If I purchase the Adventurer pre-order pack, when can I participate in Alpha-1 testing?
- The Adventurer pre-order pack includes access to both NDA and non-NDA Alpha-1 testing. Testing periods may be delayed or suspended, and do not represent the final game. Do not purchase Alpha-1 access if you are looking to play a finished game - testing will require your feedback and patience. Testers with the Adventurer pre-order pack can join in our NDA spot testing, as well as our non-NDA Alpha-1 preview and testing. As Adventurer pre-order pack owners will have access to Alpha-1, Alpha-2, Beta-1, and Beta-2, stay tuned to our helpful knowledge base article here for more details on future test dates![7]
- Will there be a limited number of Adventurer pre-order packs available?
- We have not announced any plans to limit the quantity of available Adventurer Pre-order Packages. However, keep in mind that the Adventurer Pre-order Package will only be available for purchase until August 13, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. Pacific..[6][7]
- If I already own a pre-order package, how can I get access to Alpha-1?
- If you already own a Wayfarer pre-order pack, Expeditionary pre-order pack, Voyager pre-order pack, or Voyager plus pre-order pack, you will see upgrade options in the shop when you are logged in. This will allow you to purchase the Adventurer pre-order pack (which includes Alpha-1 access) for the difference in price.[7]
- If I’m a Kickstarter or Summer crowdfunding campaign backer, how can I get access to Alpha-1?
- If you are a Braver of worlds, Leader of men, Royalty, Hero of the people, or Avatar of the phoenix backer, you already have access to participate in Alpha-1 testing. Please check your email for further information. If you did not receive an email, please reach out to our Support team directly here.[7]
- If you are an Explorer, Settler, Pioneer, Founder, or Warrior of old backer, you will see upgrade options in the shop when you are logged in. This will allow you to purchase the Braver of worlds package (which includes Alpha-1 access) or higher for the difference in price.[7]
- Who is eligible to participate in Alpha-1 testing?
- Anyone who won and claimed an Alpha One Key through a giveaway.[7]
- Adventurer pre-order pack and Intrepid pre-order pack owners.[7]
- Braver of worlds, Leader of men, Royalty, Hero of the people, and Avatar of the phoenix Kickstarter backers and summer campaign backers.[7]
- Official content creators.[7]
- Where can I get more info on Alpha-1 testing if I’m participating?
- Keep an eye out for emails from our team with more details on how to download and play! We'll also email you more info on how to get the latest testing updates on our Discord and forums. If you don’t receive any emails and you believe you should, please reach out to our Support team directly here.[7]
Alpha-1 NDA
Alpha-1 testing prior to the full release of Alpha-1 was covered by NDA.[11][12]
- NDA review and acceptance is done via the game client.[17]
- The text and voice NDA was lifted from the PI QA testing phase on May 28, 2020.[11]
- The verbal NDA was lifted from Alpha-1 preview testing, and future testing, on May 17, 2021.[18]
- The NDA was lifted on July 9, 2021 for the three day Alpha-1 preview weekend test.[19][14]
- The NDA was lifted on July 14, 2021 for Alpha-1.[20]
We are extremely excited to invite folks to this glorious milestone of our development journey with NO NDA as we want everyone to be able to provide feedback unfiltered. During Alpha One testing, we'll be looking for your feedback specifically on the following things: download and installation process, client performance, and server performance.[20]
Alpha testing system requirements
Minimum and recommended computer specifications for Alpha-2.[23]
- Minimum Specs - 1080p
- Processor: Intel i5 8400 | AMD Ryzen 5 2600
- Memory: 12GB
- Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 1070 or equivalent
- DirectX: Version 12
- Network: Broadband Internet connection
- Storage: 100GB SSD Storage
- Windows 10/11
- Recommend Specs - 1440p
- Processor: Intel i7 8700 | AMD Ryzen 5 3600
- Memory: 16GB
- Graphics: NVIDIA RTX 3070 or equivalent
- DirectX: Version 12
- Network: Broadband Internet connection
- Storage: 100GB SSD Storage
- Windows 10/11
- Please note that these requirements will change throughout our testing phases.[23]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Transmisja na żywo, 2021-04-30 (4:02).
- ↑
- ↑
- ↑
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3
- ↑ 7.00 7.01 7.02 7.03 7.04 7.05 7.06 7.07 7.08 7.09 7.10 7.11 7.12 7.13 7.14 7.15 7.16 Ashes of Creation Store: May cosmetics.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Blog: Creative Director's Letter, April 14 2021
- ↑
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 Creative Director's Letter, 2020-04-1.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Transmisja na żywo, 2020-05-29 (31:37).
- ↑ 12.0 12.1
- ↑ Creative Director's Letter, 2020-07-1.
- ↑ 14.00 14.01 14.02 14.03 14.04 14.05 14.06 14.07 14.08 14.09 14.10 14.11 Alpha One Schedule Update, May 10 2021.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3
- ↑ Transmisja na żywo, 2018-08-17 (24:07).
- ↑
- ↑
- ↑ Ashes of Creation Twitter - Alpha-1 Preview Weekend Begins
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 Guide to Alpha One.
- ↑
- ↑ Transmisja na żywo, 2021-03-26 (12:34).
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 What are the minimum and recommend computer specifications for Alpha Two?