Albedos: Q&A

Haern

Macian said:

Any chance you'd consider working this sort of thing in reverse, too? Where there's some kind of mechanic where lower level players are necessary to create some kind of change in the world? Some of the things that really stuck with me over the years are the events I participated in really early on, without the big guys coming in and running the show.

While this isn't 'event' based, this is something I'm hoping to do for regions as a whole: there are some creatures called skrell that infest the shorelines of Albedos and are an off-shoot of a rather brutish race that the higher level players will be encountering often. The skrell are one of the major enemies for the lower level players to encounter and they're a very virulent species; spreading and breeding like rabbits, causing havoc if their population booms. If they infest one area and their population isn't quelled, you might see them appear in nearby areas. The Underbelly of Delve, as an example, has a rather nasty skrell infestation that could be compounded by their presence in the Maestral Shoals.

Axai

I don't know if this has been asked already, but will the Sapience gods be killed off in favor of the Albedi gods?

Yusri

That is literally the first question asked in the thread.

Orisae

I honestly hope that they never answer that question. I don't want to know what's happening with the current gods because I want to be surprised. I love reading the Q&A and I'd be disappointed as hell to find an honest response to that.

As we like to call it in LARPland.. FOIG: Find Out In Game. Not everything should be explained out before it happens. Leave a little mystery, people.

Tsvanni

@Haern Shin Megami Tensei's Jack Frost, Heeho! I have so much respect for you right now, Hee Ho. 

Ezrax

Black Frost is more OP. Null to ice and fire, nerf.

Vharen

Disclaimer: I'm an Imp convert, so I'm still catching up on news and information.

What's the point of the Albedos thing? As in, the overall goal, both from a gameplay standpoint and game design standpoint. I gather it's either intended as a secondary continent or a replacement for the first one, but I'm not sure.

Yusri

A lot of the content on Sapience is out of date, recycled from Achaea, badly written/progged by modern standards, or otherwise flawed either in conception or execution. So far as I'm aware, Albedos is meant to be a sweeping update to most of the game's major systems and the basis for the setting.

Eleanor

Which is probably why it's been in development for over half of Aetolia's current lifetime.

(Which is not at all the fault of the current round of admins who had it dumped in their laps! If you eyeball the progression with it over time, it's sped up a lot with the recent crop.)

Haern

Giving this a less than subtle bump: if you have any questions concerning our latest Albedos region preview posts, please ask here! I am very excited for everything on the horizon (long time coming as it has been) and hope you all are too!

Phoenecia

I honestly don't remember if this has been asked yet, but I wanted to ask how weather/seasons will affect players in Albedos, and if they'll have any significant impact beyond cosmetics.

For instance, would there be places that would experience massive flooding or have a monsoon season that'd leave certain places completely inaccessible or make them more dangerous?

In terms of culture in Albedos, what kinds of things can we expect to see? The reason I ask is because the Celebration of Stars had a very Eastern feel to it in terms of a lot of the food and other items. Does that mean we'll be seeing some Asian-influenced places?

Also, this has been kinda bugging me considering how big Albedos is slated to be. How the heck are we going to get around? Will we be forced to use the roads since arti wings and amulets don't work there or will there be shortcuts like portals? It'd suck if we'd have to go all the way back to Delve after exploring halfway into the continent in order to go back to Sapience (provided Sapience doesn't get nuked like everyone's expecting it to be).

Haern

Phoenecia said:

lots 'o questions

Weather and seasons will have an effect on Albedos. In our current design, weather will change how one traverses and accesses areas (in addition to some other things). A good example might be the Aerie, although not all areas will be closed off (the far north is going to be very difficult to travel to and from in the winter months) but rather changed. As an example, there is a region called the Seglair Lowlands which is very prone to flooding in the early spring. Players there will be wading through some deep waters, finding places not normally accessible during the rest of the year. Likewise, seasons may change mobiles that you find within a region-- I will use the Seglair Lowlands as an example once again; breeding season for wyrms is in the late summer to early fall and will show a significant increase in population, aggressiveness, and the finding of egg clutches.

As for culture, the best example might be the Utari or the Praexi. We've drawn influences from the Pacific Islanders for the coastline Utari tribes and the Praexi are a mixture of Tibetan and Chinese themes.

There's going to be a variety of ways to get around on Albedos, but that's not something I can talk too much about at this time. No worries about Sapience either!

Moirean

Sorry if any of this has been answered before, but:

•  is Albedos intended to supplant the current Sapience we have? Like, even if Sapience doesn't get destroyed, is there design intent for us to shift our core gameplay over to there?
  
• How are travel skills going to work with that? For example, will my 3000 credit custom wings become outdated and useless? Will universe tarot get new additions? Will we be expected to buy new travel artifacts? 
  
• Will there be major conflict (like lessers or some reiteration of the war system or something new?) to engage people and encourage us to spend time there? 
  
• How will the role of cities and guilds shift with this new continent? 
  
• If Sapience isn't destroyed, are there plans for artifacts or skills or something that facilitate us crossing back and forth between the continents, because it's kinda a long trek atm. It'll be a real weird contrast if Sapience is still get anywhere in 30 seconds, but Albedos requires extensive slogs to travel places.
  
• What plans are there to integrate new players to this continent? Right now, Albedos is kinda a confusing concept, especially as it isn't just an area physically adjacent to existing ones, but if it's meant to be a core part of the game world, how will the game guide newbies from the Sapience-based intros into the new continent (you mentioned earlier that there is a newbie area there)
• Will Delve (and any other cities in Albedos) remain NPC-run, or will it turn into a player-run city at some point?

Haern

Too many of those are things I do have answers for, but can't really address at this time due to the fact it'd have to involve some very descriptive spoilers to really convey concepts and whatnot to the playerbase at large. I do want there to be surprises and excitement, so sit tight! 

Also, I wouldn't worry at all about your credit purchases and whatnot. It's something we've gone over before and rest assured, they won't be useless.

Veovis

Dearest Uncle Haern,

Can you please tell us more cool things about Albedos?

Best.

Probably Most of Us

Alexina

Albedos is a lie.

Aishia

I can't wait to see all the new fruits.

Angwe

Alexina said:

Albedos is a lie.

Areka

Albedos is an entirely new continent that is larger than Sapience and being built by a rotating volume of a dozen or more people, on top of pushing out new content for immediate gratification for Sapience and shifting of duties as events and class changes and factions and things come up. 

Aet's volunteers can only be stretched so thin and remain so productive/muscle through on such varied and large tasks. 

Maghak

Veovis said:

Dearest Uncle Haern,

Can you please tell us more cool things about Albedos?

Best.

Probably Most of Us

Did you know that:
- Over Albedos, there is an airship that thinks it is a dragon?

- The Delve Dockland Authority dumps lethal black ylem into the ocean?

- The dregs of the Underbelly sometimes collect that lethal black ylem?

- There is a ruined city settlement of Dreikathi half-bloods somewhere on the coast?

- It's left ruined voluntarily?

- There's a necklace of bombed-out ruined cities all across the northern expanse of the continent?

- Vakmut eyeballs are delicious AND nutritious?

Neoma

In the past I had only spent fleeting time in Albedos, in the last few days I decided to spend most of my time there. I can shop, do my crafting all while I explore every inch of it and speak to all NPCs, mainly in the pious wards. My biggest need in Albedos is finding appropriate stuff to kill to feed from. I would hate as hell to get enemied to Delve.

I am unsure how all of it will come together... in a big boom or gradual but I do know that if we had hunting areas on that continent and if all cities of sapience would be allowed to form a satellite branch of their city there, it would go a long way to get people interested in spending more time there.

Just my 2 cents worth

Xavin

Another big roadblock to the use of Albedos is the fact that we cannot communicate between the two continents to any effect. I feel like that ability would get more people over there learning more about delve and the pious wards.

Sessizlik

Neoma said:

In the past I had only spent fleeting time in Albedos, in the last few days I decided to spend most of my time there. I can shop, do my crafting all while I explore every inch of it and speak to all NPCs, mainly in the pious wards. My biggest need in Albedos is finding appropriate stuff to kill to feed from. I would hate as hell to get enemied to Delve.

I am unsure how all of it will come together... in a big boom or gradual but I do know that if we had hunting areas on that continent and if all cities of sapience would be allowed to form a satellite branch of their city there, it would go a long way to get people interested in spending more time there.

Just my 2 cents worth

You can hunt in the crags to the South of the military grounds.There are at least a few things to kill in te settlement there, as well as a few quests.

Irruel

Xavin said:

Another big roadblock to the use of Albedos is the fact that we cannot communicate between the two continents to any effect. I feel like that ability would get more people over there learning more about delve and the pious wards.

Agreed. At the moment someone going to Albedos may as well be playing a different game.

Gwenith

Just out of interest, is there still more in the works for Albedos in the near future?

Toz

I hope we all get crammed into one city in Delve. It'll be the best sitcom ever.

Aarbrok

We all have to start getting along in Delve...oh man...YES, DO IT!

Moirean

This is the true story... of seven hundred strangers... forced by overwhelming catastrophe to live in a single city...work together and have their lives spooled by the admin... to find out what happens... when people stop being polite... and start getting PKd...

THE (not really) REAL WORLD: ALBEDOS
Coming soon(tm) to a computer near you.

Gwenith

It was a serious question.

Omei

Gwenith said:

Just out of interest, is there still more in the works for Albedos in the near future?

That's like asking if Blizzard plans to continue working on World of Warcraft! Albedos is the current Thing We Are Always Doing and it's going to be glorious when finished.