Ashes of Creation’s monthly stream is happening today, with a new alpha two demo showing big environmental changes, Wand progression, and more. There’s also a community Q&A coming in May with Creative Director Steven Sharif.
The most recent showcase is featuring updates on the Skybox for Ashes of Creation, along with lighting and environmental changes. The Skybox is now on a cube map, allowing it to rotate as the planet rotates, adding a dynamic quality and setting up the AoC constellation system, so the environmental makeover is also gameplay and lore important. The moons on Verra also get some visual upgrades and making them respond to the Skybox changes.
These also help set up the environments at night, balancing between total darkness and a dynamic element. In fact, there are also a series of nighttime lighting improvements based on community feedback. The lighting in many cases has been made darker to feel more authentic, but they need to balance visibility and game play against making the atmosphere realistic but being detrimental to being able to get around or play smoothly.
The showcase also dives into the Mage class and wand skill tree. Wands aren’t exclusive to Mages, as you can use them no matter what your class. The wand skill tree has gotten a significant pass, with seven different ways to customize your weapon. This could mean the length of your weapon combo, picking your finishing attacks, and other choices. An example shown was choosing beam attacks as a finisher, then choosing what progression looks like. TIt’s an in-depth look at the work the team has done on the Wand line, and if you’re considering it, the demo is worth a watch.
Ashes of Creation’s Steven Sharif will be answering questions via a new AMA over on Twitch on May 10th. You'll be able to tune in and ask questions, some of which Steven will answer on air. The Q&A is set to start on May 10th at 11:00 a.m. Pacific time over on the Ashes of Creation Twitch channel.
