Hello everyone! Today I want to speak about the Alpha 2 key sales and the problem with trying to predict when Ashes of Creation will actually launch! Thanks again for watching!
me personally dont care if they bring keys back or the price of those but since ppl bought packs for 250$+ it is fair that those keys are atleast 40-60$ .. 100k confirmed testers few months before A2 keys left the shop soo its prob 150k+ now is prob not enough there aree multiple games comming in fall this years already then there is GTA6 next years.. soo more testers is always better how many ppl will realisticly play for maybe 2 full years of A2 but on the others side to much testers might also be a problem since they will have to focus on aditional servers and making sure they run fine thats why i think 60$ avrage price of an new game would be great if its 20$ there just gonna be millions players trying it for 3-4 hours and thats just extra unneeded work
I am standing my my prediction of september 26th for alpha 2 but a network bug will mean many people wont be able to log in until september 30th. 2/9/29 is friday a good day to release a game but I think 27 is the most likely year if they don't do a engine upgrade again.
They definitely haven't left a lot of wiggle room for the server stress tests. I still don't understand why. I still think the next 2-3 years for a potential launch date is something that really depends on the feedback of the testers and the community. 2028 seems like an achievable year, but that also depends on everything I said above and how many more people they can hire in the next year or two!
Sometimes games like to release during a weekday to help limit the amount of people trying to elbow in at the same time. They might go for that and stress test login and queues later in alpha.
@BaxxyNut is definitely a possibility! I also think waiting 3 years for A2 is going to get people so hyped that even if a weekday release is a launch date, they will still find time and then have network issues. Pretty much every game, especially new developers aren't always 100% ready for people flooding into the game at once, despite stress tests beforehand. Hopefully, they prove us wrong though!
In game development (and every development for that matter) there is a fine line between what you want to put in your project and what you should put in it, to make it in time for deadlines. Deadlines are very important and it seems this studio is ignoring them almost completely, leading to previous content becoming outdated, requiring updates if not full reworks, etc, etc. This is widely known as production Hell by most. As a game dev myself, I find their lack of discipline in terms of what should be included pre-release and what should be included post-release very problematic. If you want to be in a perpetual dev, release the game in "Early access" so you can start gathering an actual base of player and some feedback, of you don't feel ready for full release. Their current behaviour only hurts their future prospects, since people will lose interest sooner or later.
@YuriDSC The deadline factor has been interesting. Obviously, they have milestones in place that keep the community up to date on when one is hit. I also brought this up in the video that I think the hiring process or the inability to get employees in the door definitely seems to have hindered deadlines shortly after the UE5 change. Back in 2022, Steven wanted 200-plus employees that year, and they just hit it. It's going to be interesting to see if A2 improves or, at the very least, gets people considering Intrepid as a developer worth working for!
All I can come up with is that they want to increase Alpha numbers for teasting. There will be a decrease in numbers once it starts, and they just want to have enough. Just to quibble, exclusive, monthly only offerings are a form of fomo. There was no open store. It was a monthly exclusive.
See my big thing with this form of Fomo, I think when the game launches and when the cosmetic store is up and running, those pre-order cosmetics will most likely make an appearance at some point and like most cosmetic stores, it'll be on a weekly rotation. The only good thing about this is that the game isn't P2W. So I understand why the term is being used, but the cosmetics are useless as well!
game looks great but so far nothing too new from other games combat looks stale sit and cast a skill or cast a spell and walk slow no solutions for zergs manipulating, bots, cheaters/hackers
@nameundefined4317 Tye biggest to try and remember is this A2, which still needs a hell of a lot of work, and with this A2 being long-term, the play testers and those who aren't buying actually have the opportunity to give feedback. I am curious to know how the zerging in AoC will be. While I'm like the majority in thinking it's a pain in the ass, the prospect of your Node getting destroyed, I think people will use whatever is available to them for W!
Pretty much all the points you said aren't real points. It's in alpha status and they're just getting systems running before they work on everything else. Also, AoC will definitely have ways to deal with griefers, bots, cheaters, etc. I wouldn't be shocked if they take in GMs like old school.
*Stop telling people to curb their expectations, let them be excited about Ashes.* *When they stopped selling A2 keys - it was the last chance to buy cosmetic packs, and BETA access.*
@veil1792 Well, a few facts that you clearly are overlooking. First, telling people to be realistic with their expectations of a long-term Alpha 2, the message that Steven himself has been saying for an extremely long time now, isn't me saying not to be excited. It's wanting people to truly understand what they're getting into and to hopefully not get frustrated! Also, I never said people can't be excited, I myself am excited! But I'm also realistic in what we should be expecting when it comes to an A2. Second, your A2 key comment doesn't make a lot of sense! The $250 and $375 pre-order packs were the only two packs that contained Alpha 2 keys. The $75 pack had some cosmetics and access to Beta 2. The $150 pack had cosmetics and access to Beta 1 and Beta 2 so every pack had access to at least one Beta, don't really understand the point your trying to make, sorry! Third, I think you're being short-sighted. With bringing back A2 keys, and when Beta 1 and Beta 2 approaches, they will most likely do the same for Beta 1 and Beta 2 at whatever they see as a fair price. But like I said in the video their a business, let them do their thing!
To be honest I lost the interest in the game at some point, The game play looks bad and outdated i know graphics is not that important but the game looks like everyother MMO that was released in a few years, idk this just feels like a fail to me this game is takeing way too long to develop by the time it releases it going to be outdated.
I think the big thing when it comes to Ashes looking outdated is the fact that the game is nowhere that final polish and because it has been in development so long it's just the mentality because of the length of time. I think another thing that also affects this is Ashes doesn't really have that standout art style where you can immediately recognize it by seeing the gameplay and say oh that's Ashes of Creation. It's going to be interesting to see if this is something that gets addressed throughout the rest of it's development and if it does, what it actually looks like. I'm hopeful for that outcome and seeing what they can do in UE5!
For me its not about graphics but about old school mmo type of crafting and loot system,not right now where you get the same gear to upgrade but actual rare items takes months to farm,crafting/loot system similar to old school L2 or WoW. Those 2 are verry different games but they actual have their own loot systems and crafting which make the game enjoyable. Like in L2 only 1 class could craft and offer their services,the other class could farm certain materials only they could get,tied to a dwarf race,it made the game enjoyable because each class needed other class you couldn't solo. Now mmo's are just 3 in 1,a dps healer and tank. I want to play a healer of a buffer than FULLY relies on other players to farm and is needed in every party to do basic PVE. Thats literally the only reason why mmo's are fun,playing with strangers forming parties with 5-7 ppl with everyone having a completely different specific class,1 tank 1 healer,1-2 buffers the rest are dps be it assasin,2hand destroyer,archer,gladiator,summoner,mage,necromancer ect.ect. thats what makes mmo's fun,not graphics but the gameplay and depth of it. L2 and WoW used to have it till they monetized and modernized their games.
I know Steven said (forget which live stream it was) but the Artisan professions in this game are the shit. So to me, this hints at these professions actually having an impact on endgame content giving players hopefully a better experience but having that system actually matter. This is something I think can bridge that gap of endless grinding/RNG when trying to get stronger but in a different way that is just as meaningful and impactful. Fingers Crossed!
Grounded, concise, informative. Nice video man.
@@chrisandrews9856 Thank you!
Hey man. Great vid. Keep it up!
@@exZact Thank you!
Well, is only keys and people paying for it want help the company test the game. its fair open the sales again in my opinion
me personally dont care if they bring keys back or the price of those but since ppl bought packs for 250$+ it is fair that those keys are atleast 40-60$ .. 100k confirmed testers few months before A2 keys left the shop soo its prob 150k+ now is prob not enough there aree multiple games comming in fall this years already then there is GTA6 next years.. soo more testers is always better how many ppl will realisticly play for maybe 2 full years of A2 but on the others side to much testers might also be a problem since they will have to focus on aditional servers and making sure they run fine thats why i think 60$ avrage price of an new game would be great if its 20$ there just gonna be millions players trying it for 3-4 hours and thats just extra unneeded work
I'm not paying anything until official release.
I am standing my my prediction of september 26th for alpha 2 but a network bug will mean many people wont be able to log in until september 30th. 2/9/29 is friday a good day to release a game but I think 27 is the most likely year if they don't do a engine upgrade again.
They definitely haven't left a lot of wiggle room for the server stress tests. I still don't understand why.
I still think the next 2-3 years for a potential launch date is something that really depends on the feedback of the testers and the community.
2028 seems like an achievable year, but that also depends on everything I said above and how many more people they can hire in the next year or two!
Sometimes games like to release during a weekday to help limit the amount of people trying to elbow in at the same time. They might go for that and stress test login and queues later in alpha.
@BaxxyNut is definitely a possibility! I also think waiting 3 years for A2 is going to get people so hyped that even if a weekday release is a launch date, they will still find time and then have network issues. Pretty much every game, especially new developers aren't always 100% ready for people flooding into the game at once, despite stress tests beforehand.
Hopefully, they prove us wrong though!
People cslling the packs FOMO are just people with no self conttol. These are NPCs that get baited in PVP
I dont need to be a bad actor, it will "die" organically, or at best have a niche audience
In game development (and every development for that matter) there is a fine line between what you want to put in your project and what you should put in it, to make it in time for deadlines. Deadlines are very important and it seems this studio is ignoring them almost completely, leading to previous content becoming outdated, requiring updates if not full reworks, etc, etc. This is widely known as production Hell by most. As a game dev myself, I find their lack of discipline in terms of what should be included pre-release and what should be included post-release very problematic. If you want to be in a perpetual dev, release the game in "Early access" so you can start gathering an actual base of player and some feedback, of you don't feel ready for full release. Their current behaviour only hurts their future prospects, since people will lose interest sooner or later.
@YuriDSC The deadline factor has been interesting. Obviously, they have milestones in place that keep the community up to date on when one is hit.
I also brought this up in the video that I think the hiring process or the inability to get employees in the door definitely seems to have hindered deadlines shortly after the UE5 change.
Back in 2022, Steven wanted 200-plus employees that year, and they just hit it. It's going to be interesting to see if A2 improves or, at the very least, gets people considering Intrepid as a developer worth working for!
Good video buddy, keep it up 👌
Good.
All I can come up with is that they want to increase Alpha numbers for teasting. There will be a decrease in numbers once it starts, and they just want to have enough.
Just to quibble, exclusive, monthly only offerings are a form of fomo. There was no open store. It was a monthly exclusive.
See my big thing with this form of Fomo, I think when the game launches and when the cosmetic store is up and running, those pre-order cosmetics will most likely make an appearance at some point and like most cosmetic stores, it'll be on a weekly rotation.
The only good thing about this is that the game isn't P2W. So I understand why the term is being used, but the cosmetics are useless as well!
Yeah the feature creep is insane with all those classes and biomes not developed yet. Anyone who bought into the vision of AoC is pretty dumb tbh
game looks great but so far nothing too new from other games combat looks stale sit and cast a skill or cast a spell and walk slow no solutions for zergs manipulating, bots, cheaters/hackers
@nameundefined4317 Tye biggest to try and remember is this A2, which still needs a hell of a lot of work, and with this A2 being long-term, the play testers and those who aren't buying actually have the opportunity to give feedback.
I am curious to know how the zerging in AoC will be. While I'm like the majority in thinking it's a pain in the ass, the prospect of your Node getting destroyed, I think people will use whatever is available to them for W!
Pretty much all the points you said aren't real points. It's in alpha status and they're just getting systems running before they work on everything else.
Also, AoC will definitely have ways to deal with griefers, bots, cheaters, etc. I wouldn't be shocked if they take in GMs like old school.
Bro combat is bad , be in one place and start clicking buttons, i like the visuals though
*Stop telling people to curb their expectations, let them be excited about Ashes.*
*When they stopped selling A2 keys - it was the last chance to buy cosmetic packs, and BETA access.*
@veil1792 Well, a few facts that you clearly are overlooking.
First, telling people to be realistic with their expectations of a long-term Alpha 2, the message that Steven himself has been saying for an extremely long time now, isn't me saying not to be excited. It's wanting people to truly understand what they're getting into and to hopefully not get frustrated! Also, I never said people can't be excited, I myself am excited! But I'm also realistic in what we should be expecting when it comes to an A2.
Second, your A2 key comment doesn't make a lot of sense! The $250 and $375 pre-order packs were the only two packs that contained Alpha 2 keys. The $75 pack had some cosmetics and access to Beta 2. The $150 pack had cosmetics and access to Beta 1 and Beta 2 so every pack had access to at least one Beta, don't really understand the point your trying to make, sorry!
Third, I think you're being short-sighted. With bringing back A2 keys, and when Beta 1 and Beta 2 approaches, they will most likely do the same for Beta 1 and Beta 2 at whatever they see as a fair price.
But like I said in the video their a business, let them do their thing!
And you need to stop simping for these half assed games
To be honest I lost the interest in the game at some point, The game play looks bad and outdated i know graphics is not that important but the game looks like everyother MMO that was released in a few years, idk this just feels like a fail to me this game is takeing way too long to develop by the time it releases it going to be outdated.
I think the big thing when it comes to Ashes looking outdated is the fact that the game is nowhere that final polish and because it has been in development so long it's just the mentality because of the length of time.
I think another thing that also affects this is Ashes doesn't really have that standout art style where you can immediately recognize it by seeing the gameplay and say oh that's Ashes of Creation.
It's going to be interesting to see if this is something that gets addressed throughout the rest of it's development and if it does, what it actually looks like.
I'm hopeful for that outcome and seeing what they can do in UE5!
@@danmcgahan yes i agree i wonder if they can make it stand out visualy and game play wise. My hopes are down for now.
For me its not about graphics but about old school mmo type of crafting and loot system,not right now where you get the same gear to upgrade but actual rare items takes months to farm,crafting/loot system similar to old school L2 or WoW. Those 2 are verry different games but they actual have their own loot systems and crafting which make the game enjoyable. Like in L2 only 1 class could craft and offer their services,the other class could farm certain materials only they could get,tied to a dwarf race,it made the game enjoyable because each class needed other class you couldn't solo. Now mmo's are just 3 in 1,a dps healer and tank. I want to play a healer of a buffer than FULLY relies on other players to farm and is needed in every party to do basic PVE. Thats literally the only reason why mmo's are fun,playing with strangers forming parties with 5-7 ppl with everyone having a completely different specific class,1 tank 1 healer,1-2 buffers the rest are dps be it assasin,2hand destroyer,archer,gladiator,summoner,mage,necromancer ect.ect. thats what makes mmo's fun,not graphics but the gameplay and depth of it. L2 and WoW used to have it till they monetized and modernized their games.
I know Steven said (forget which live stream it was) but the Artisan professions in this game are the shit. So to me, this hints at these professions actually having an impact on endgame content giving players hopefully a better experience but having that system actually matter. This is something I think can bridge that gap of endless grinding/RNG when trying to get stronger but in a different way that is just as meaningful and impactful. Fingers Crossed!