Biomes

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Volcano area concept art by Ricky Ho.[1] [2]

We are a high fantasy game... That means that outside of the traditional sorts of environments you're going to start seeing some pretty crazy and wild stuff that will also change based on seasons.[3] – Jeffrey Bard

Verran environments video.[4]
Alpha-1 Oasis environment preview.[5]

This is a second one of two of the large water oasis areas that we incorporated into the tropics biome.[6] – Michael Bacon

There are approximately 18 biomes (environments) planned for Ashes of Creation.[7][6]

  • The Riverlands biome is the test bed used by the developers to build the tools and content pipelines required to create the other biomes in the game.[8][9][10]
Give us time over the course of phase one and phase two especially; and when we get into phase three you're going to see a lot of those different biomes come up in a very quick amount of time; and the reason for that is because we very much so establish our development tools through the process of creating the Riverlands, the Tropics, and the Desert, so that... when we are ready to scale into production of the additional biomes, all of those pipelines, those processes, those tools are ready to go.[8] – Steven Sharif
  • Every biome will be tested before Alpha-2 testing ends.[7]
Q: How do you plan to feasibly deliver the other biomes before launch? We first saw the Riverlands in May 2022 and when Alpha-2 starts in October it will be the only biome properly in the game, as Desert and Tropics do not have any nodes planned for phase 1. You have said in the past that it gets quicker to create biomes as you go on, but even the phase 3 slide only had five of the 20 planned zones.
A: As you prepare the tools and define the needs and what goes into creating a biome, the Riverlands is very much the Alpha-2 test bed of what it took to stand up our node tool, our pop tool, all the services associated with those things that developers become familiar with as they're generating content to put into the game; and as that thing starts to expand and become extensible and we start proving that model out and moving forward with that we've defined what each of these biome needs and takes; and how much time it generally takes to stand up a particular point of interest, or a particular NPC type, to curate the encounter design: all of those things are something that becomes now rooted as a production path for us to follow. We can also then start to refine our outsource potential as a studio as well, because obviously we have the ability to leverage our internal teams, but as we're talking about content creation, whether that be asset production, VFX requirements, animations: all the things that go into expanding the content of the game become now pipelines that we can extense out to outsource studios as well as we move forward in the games production.[9] – Steven Sharif
Q: Is there a ballpark figure of what you think it will take to make a biome from beginning to finish state and how many people will it take to do so?
A: The short story is, we need to find nice ways to build awesome content quickly; and I will talk about our approach to Alpha-2 a little bit in the answer of this question, because we've made conscious decisions and commitments to build the Riverlands to the place that we felt could represent what our core loops look like: Our combat loop, our crafting loop, our node loop, our artisanship loop; and we've been very very focused on continuing to push that; and by doing that we committed to a single place to push. And I know you're probably sick of seeing the Riverlands in these. I get it. Me too. Doesn't mean the other ones aren't being worked on. Doesn't mean the other ones aren't in flight, but our commitment has been to build this vertical slice and that's been a nice experience for me in the past with other games, because if we could put all of our core loops and all of our features into a place to prove that the vision stands on its own, to find the fun, to iterate on that, to work with you guys on that, and to listen to you on that, then when it comes time to build the biomes, I'm less concerned about building biomes and more concerned about building it right the first time. It's been a while since we started making this game and here we are. And trying to make good decisions now about implementing things we can ship now has been a guiding light for us. It's what's led us here. It's the reason we worked our butts off this year so far. We're not done yet, but we've been after it for reasons and it delivered us this day. I feel super good about being here on October 25th and not being here in February or March or December. This feels really good to me and I guess that's a long winded answer to how to build a biome, but I wanted to provide a little context.[11] – Jacob Beucler

List of biomes

Tropics biome concept art.[12]
Node simulation with placeholder biomes and node locations.[13]

Underrealm biomes

Alpha-0 Underrealm environment.[14]

Underrealm environments are vast.[15]

  • Caravans should be able to operate as they do above ground.[15]
  • If there's insufficient room for Dragons, another mount type may be utilized.[15]
  • Burrowing mounts are being considered as an alternative to flying mounts in the Underrealm.[16]

One of the important aspects of color play is going to be the distinguishing factor between different Underrealms and the regions that exist in the world: Their color influences set them apart from different regions.[17] – Steven Sharif

Seasons above ground will affect the Underrealm.[15]

  • This will not be a one-to-one correlation: for example, it won't snow in the Underrealm.
  • Tunnel flooding and other effects will be related to the weather above ground.

The seasons above ground will inform what happens underneath. I mean, it's not going to be a direct one-to-one correlation right, not like it's going to be raining in the underworld, but you will see the effects from above happen down below: You might find tunnels being flooded.[15] – Jeffrey Bard

Points of interest

Alpha-1 preview pirate themed dynamic point of interest.[18]

This is actually a dynamic POI. This one will evolve as players evolve the node that it's attached to. So this is its final state.[18] – Jeffrey Bard

New points of interest (such as dungeons, world bosses, and corrupted areas) spawn as nodes develop.[19][20] This content adapts to the node progression of the zone it is in.[18][21]

Certain dungeons and other points of interest across the map will all be affected by the server’s node development. Some dungeons will only be unlocked if nodes are developed to certain stages. The storyline objectives for players inside dungeons will also be dependent on the story arc paths chosen through the node system. The drop tables in area and dungeons will also be tied into the progression of certain areas. For example, let’s say that the humans have developed a node in Region A, and a storyline has opened up that leads players to inspect the ruins (dungeon) of a nearby area. And let’s say that this node was developed in a scientific (crafting) zone… Well before the node developed, this dungeon was accessible… But now the dungeon has propagated new monster assets that include a drop table catering to a crafting emphasis because of the development of that academic node. And perhaps, a new boss appears in different rooms of the dungeon that includes different adventure quest starts, like a mysterious item with a storyline that can only be progressed if a node develops to the metropolis stage in a certain region, across the world. Our system is so vast, when it comes to interconnectivity and how the world reacts to the players.[22]

List of notable points of interest

info-orange.pngThis section contains potentially outdated information from Alpha-1 testing.
POI Thumbnail Type Location
2nd Sword Outpost Icon.2nd Sword Outpost.png Point-of-interest Riverlands
Aela Icon.POI.Major.png Point-of-interest Riverlands
Agricultural Supply Icon.Agricultural Supply.png Point-of-interest Riverlands
Baneswood Cemetery Icon.Baneswood Cemetery.png Point-of-interest Riverlands
Befallen Forge Icon.Befallen Forge.png Point-of-interest Riverlands
Briarmoor Farms Icon.Briarmoor Farms.png Point-of-interest Riverlands
Castle Kallenmere Icon.Korra'Loch.png Point-of-interest Riverlands
Church of the Seven Stars Icon.Church of the Seven Stars.png Point-of-interest Riverlands
Citadel of the Steel Bloom Icon.Citadel of the Steel Bloom.png Point-of-interest Riverlands
Colossus Crater Icon.Colossus Crater.png Point-of-interest Riverlands
Cookhouse Icon.Cookhouse.png Point-of-interest Riverlands
Daragal Estates Icon.Daragal Estates.png Point-of-interest Riverlands
Fallow's Hold Dungeon Torall
Field of Stacked Stones Icon.Field of Stacked Stones.png Point-of-interest Riverlands
Gemspring Icon.Gemspring.png Point-of-interest Riverlands
Gravepeak Icon.Gravepeak.png Point-of-interest Riverlands
Hideworks Icon.Hideworks.png Point-of-interest Riverlands
Highwaymen Hills Icon.Highwaymen Hills.png Point-of-interest Riverlands
Korra'Loch Icon.Korra'Loch.png Point-of-interest Riverlands
Laboratory Icon.Laboratory.png Point-of-interest Riverlands
Lionhold Icon.Lionhold.png Point-of-interest Riverlands
Lonely Oak Creek Icon.POI.Minor.png Landmark Riverlands
Negalith SSLivestream-2022-03-31-1:10:43.89.png Raid Alpha-2
Nika'Brae Ruins Icon.Nika'Brae Ruins.png Point-of-interest Riverlands
Oakenbane Keep Icon.Oakenbane Keep.png Point-of-interest Riverlands
Rabbid's Den Point-of-interest
Remnants of Sephillion Icon.Remnants of Sephillion.png Point-of-interest Riverlands
Samia's Hope Icon.Lionhold.png Point-of-interest Riverlands
Smithy Icon.Smithy.png Point-of-interest Riverlands
Spyglass Tunnel Icon.POI.Micro.png Point-of-interest Riverlands
Stoneworks Icon.Stoneworks.png Point-of-interest Riverlands
Textile Mill Icon.Textile Mill.png Point-of-interest Riverlands
The Hall of Judication Icon.The Hall of Judication.png Point-of-interest Riverlands
The Ruins of Thanalas Point-of-interest
Titan's Ring Icon.Titan's Ring.png Point-of-interest Riverlands
Tower of Carphin Icon.Tower of Carphin.png Point-of-interest Riverlands
Ursine Caves Icon.Ursine Caves.png Point-of-interest Riverlands
War Camp Icon.POI.Objective.png Point-of-interest Highwaymen Hills
Woodshop Icon.Woodshop.png Point-of-interest Riverlands
Wreckage of Carphin Icon.Wreckage of Carphin.png Point-of-interest Riverlands

Landmarks

200 foot tall Pyrian statues in Alpha-1.[28]

Landmarks are scattered throughout the world, allowing players to judge their position on the map.[28]

From a lore perspective these statues have been around for a long time; and they are representative of the civilizations that existed once on this world before.[28] – Steven Sharif

Major visual landmarks. You can look all the way across the horizon have an idea where you're going or where to meet friends or where to meet just based on these huge landmarks in the world.[28] – Mat Broome

Seasons

Ashes of Creation Seasons in the Riverlands.[29]

Part of the triggers that can create seasonal change is not just time related for each of our biomes, but they are also indicated by events that occur on the server. Whether that be certain raid bosses forming, or a relic being acquired by a particular node and being activated to change potentially the weather out of a winter state into a spring state: and the reason why a node might have interest in doing that of course is because weather and the seasons also affect skills and abilities.[30] – Steven Sharif

Seasonal change teaser.[31]

Seasons affect different zones (environments/biomes) based on their location in the world.[31][32]

  • A majority of environments will experience either two or four seasons, excluding corrupted areas, which is considered a "season" itself.[33]
  • Some biomes will have seasons that are less (or more) temperate. For example: Northern, Southern and Tropical regions.[34] Other biomes will have fixed climates.[35]
    • Biomes that are affected by seasonal cycles may experience drastic visual differences between seasons.[31]
  • Events may radically change the current season a zone is in, or elongate it.[36][37] This includes weather changes.[32]
  • There will also be magical seasons where you might be in a tropical zone and suddenly it's snowing.[34]
  • Items, crop cycles, buildings, and crafting mechanics might gain certain buffs or debuffs in certain seasons.[36][38][32]
  • Ocean and underwater areas will not have seasonal changes.[39]
Winter might have a spawner that activates on a road that spawns at large fallen tree and players who see that will have an opportunity to go up and exert some type of one-time action that helps in removing that tree and it might require X number of people to do that before the tree gets removed; and that as an example is not beneficial for the transit of goods because as caravans require- well they don't require but they move better on roads and if that tree were present let's say blocking a road that led to a bridge per-se that they would have to off-road.[32] – Steven Sharif
  • Different seasons may affect access to various roads.[36][37][32]
    • Pathways that are open during summer may be closed during winter.[32]
    • Seasonal affects may cause obstacles or blockages to the transit of goods via caravan.[36][37][40]
    • Water turning to ice in winter, enabling players to walk over the water but blocking access to what is underneath.[32]
      • Ice will make roads bumpy and slippery.[41]
    • Seasonal flooding is something the developers are talking about internally, but will not be present in Alpha-2.[42]

Seasonal changes

Right now we're getting some rain which will usher in springtime and so you'll see all the flora that's growing up right now out of the ground.[43] – Brian Gans

Seasons change on a regular basis, but may also be triggered or elongated by certain events.[44][45][46]

  • Each season will be approximately one or two IRL weeks long.[44][45][46]
They might last longer if you don't deal with the dragon, or if you keep that relic active, but these on a cycle on a cyclical perspective as a normal season transition might be exist within a one week timeframe right and then it transitions over a period of hours.[45] – Steven Sharif
  • The final duration of seasonal cycles is subject to testing during Alpha-2.[47]
The weather systems, the season systems, that's going to be a obvious point of testing for Alpha 2 of course. We're going to play around with the different cycles and and times and how they impact the economy, the rotation of resources, the movement of goods: all of those things play into the purpose- one of the purposes of having seasonal systems. So that is something that we are going to play with during our Alpha 2 testing and will land on what feels both most comfortable- is visually appealing, but also has the impact on the economy that we desire to see on the design side.[47] – Steven Sharif
  • Environmental seasons are not to be confused with PvP seasons, which last for six months.[48]
In Ashes of Creation the world will change on a regular basis. Zones will progress in a seasonal cycle, which will alter the very nature of the environment around you. Snow may block pathways that are accessible in warmer months, spring may encourage creatures otherwise unseen to come to the surface, and fall might be the only time that certain crops thrive. This cycle can then take in the state of the world’s Nodes and shift depending on their progression.[40]

Climate

Alpha-2 dynamic weather change caused by the Beneath the Stone Shadows event.[49]

Since you instigated this event, which changed the weather, that will also now influence spawns nearby. You could potentially be spawning- well you are spawning side quests that relate to the rain, changes in enemies that relate to the rain, and that's driven on player action. So it is like a feedback loop.[50] – Skott B

Some environments (Biomes) have fixed climates and others are variable.[29][35][3] Dynamic weather of varying intensity can be triggered by certain events.[50][29][36][51]

During those weather events, the area of effect that the event is occurring in will likely have its climate descriptor overridden by whatever the event is specifically. So tornadoes might be windy, blizzards might be cold. And if an arctic dragon comes into a temperate climate it brings the cold weather with it; and that can be interacting with skills and abilities or other functions like farms.[52] – Steven Sharif
There are climate effects that occur from a buff standpoint. They can also affect skills like, let's say you're using a frost bolt in a winter climate. There's the ability for those effects to be enhanced and/or stronger in those climates.[55] – Steven Sharif
They affect crops and gatherables, vehicles, and mounts, ships, creatures; and loot tables change: their behaviors might change. Resistances and weaknesses or synergies might be relevant in certain seasons or weather systems. Targeting might change the AoE radius might grow for a fire effect if you're in the middle of summer, or it might shrink if you're in the middle of a storm.[30] – Steven Sharif
  • Some weather conditions can be hazardous to mobs and players.[49]
Weather events and encounters themselves can include hazards that can appear and shake things up. They can also help too, if you can kite enemies into the lightning strikes or whatever.[49] – Skott B

Artistic style

Ren'Kai architecture concept art.[56]

Part of the biome that the Ren'Kai are accustomed to is a more swamp or marsh oriented, so they have these almost stilt-like foundations on some of the assets because they're intended to sit above that marsh.[56] – Steven Sharif

Ashes of Creation will have a higher graphical fidelity than most western games. It will not be too stylized or "cartoony".[57]

We can push the limits a little bit on the graphical fidelity, especially using Unreal Engine 4... My desire was not to see very cartoony games. I'm not a big fan of highly stylized art.[57] – Steven Sharif
It's not to say that people can't do steampunk well. I've enjoyed some steampunk stuff. I'm a very high fantasy oriented type of storyteller; and the inspiration for Ashes obviously comes from my pathfinder campaigns that I ran long ago; and those are always set in a high fantasy world. So it just compromises what I believe is the perspective of the storytelling in the environment.[58] – Steven Sharif
We do not use AI for production, except in unique internal cases when communicating fast reference material.[59] – Steven Sharif

Destructible environments

Alpha-2 Destructible props at the Remains of Oakenbane Keep.[60]

Destructible environments is a core element of how players interact with the world, in Ashes of Creation.[61][62]

  • Buildings, siege weapons and other structures (such as walls and gates) during events, such as sieges that have been damaged or destroyed will be able to be repaired or re-crafted.[63][64]
  • Destructible props in the open-world will typically respawn after 10 minutes.[65]
  • The terrain itself is not destructible.[63]

Visuals

Videos

See also

References

  1. ↑ Livestream, September 24, 2021 (1:08:43).
  2. ↑ steven-volcano-guy-quote.png
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Livestream, June 1, 2017 (29:33).
  4. ↑ verran-environments.png
  5. ↑ Livestream, June 25, 2021 (55:39).
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Livestream, January 29, 2021 (21:55).
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Podcast, October 12, 2024 (12:23).
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Livestream, October 25, 2024 (31:39).
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Livestream, September 27, 2024 (2:12:44).
  10. ↑ Livestream, April 7, 2023 (13:35).
  11. ↑ Livestream, October 25, 2024 (1:00:27).
  12. ↑ Livestream, May 28, 2021 (1:40:47).
  13. ↑ Livestream, September 24, 2021 (29:33).
  14. ↑ Ashes of Creation - The visuals.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 Livestream, June 1, 2017 (24:30).
  16. ↑ Interview, August 17, 2018 (8:57).
  17. ↑ Livestream, January 18, 2018 (14:00).
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 18.4 18.5 18.6 Livestream, March 26, 2021 (50:33).
  19. ↑ Livestream, March 26, 2021 (22:53).
  20. ↑ Livestream, November 17, 2017 (36:22).
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 21.4 Livestream, November 17, 2017 (18:29).
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 MMOGames interview, January 2017
  23. ↑ steven-pois.png
  24. ↑ steven-dungeons.png
  25. ↑ Livestream, July 25, 2020 (46:08).
  26. ↑ Livestream, April 29, 2022 (40:21).
  27. ↑ jindrack-pois.png
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 28.2 28.3 Livestream, August 17, 2018 (10:01).
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 29.2 29.3 29.4 Video, May 27, 2022 (2:21).
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 Video, May 27, 2022 (9:34).
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 31.2 Livestream, April 29, 2022 (56:24).
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 32.2 32.3 32.4 32.5 32.6 Livestream, May 8, 2017 (20:27).
  33. ↑ Livestream, March 31, 2023 (58:27).
  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 Livestream, September 27, 2018 (41:33).
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 Livestream, July 18, 2017 (36:47).
  36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 36.2 36.3 36.4 Podcast, April 11, 2021 (23:36).
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 37.2 Livestream, June 26, 2020 (1:29:06).
  38. ↑ Livestream, July 26, 2019 (1:32:40).
  39. ↑ Livestream, September 30, 2022 (1:25:56).
  40. ↑ 40.0 40.1 Our immersive world - Environments.
  41. ↑ frosty-roads.png
  42. ↑ Livestream, June 30, 2022 (1:10:19).
  43. ↑ Video, May 27, 2022 (6:33).
  44. ↑ 44.0 44.1 Livestream, May 27, 2022 (1:13:39).
  45. ↑ 45.0 45.1 45.2 Video, May 27, 2022 (12:50).
  46. ↑ 46.0 46.1 seasons.png
  47. ↑ 47.0 47.1 Livestream, June 30, 2022 (2:57).
  48. ↑ Interview, July 18, 2020 (16:34).
  49. ↑ 49.0 49.1 49.2 Video, February 29, 2024 (16:34).
  50. ↑ 50.0 50.1 50.2 Video, February 29, 2024 (16:09).
  51. ↑ Livestream, July 28, 2017 (41:25).
  52. ↑ 52.0 52.1 Livestream, February 25, 2022 (1:05:37).
  53. ↑ 53.0 53.1 Livestream, February 29, 2024 (55:34).
  54. ↑ 54.0 54.1 54.2 54.3 Livestream, May 27, 2022 (1:14:46).
  55. ↑ 55.0 55.1 Livestream, September 30, 2020 (1:04:56).
  56. ↑ 56.0 56.1 Livestream, February 25, 2022 (46:17).
  57. ↑ 57.0 57.1 Interview, October 20, 2018 (2:17:43).
  58. ↑ 58.0 58.1 Livestream, March 31, 2023 (1:17:42).
  59. ↑ 59.0 59.1 steven-AI-artwork.png
  60. ↑ Video, March 29, 2024 (1:09:52).
  61. ↑ Livestream, March 31, 2022 (1:13:00).
  62. ↑ Livestream, June 28, 2019 (31:15).
  63. ↑ 63.0 63.1 Livestream, March 31, 2023 (1:33:05).
  64. ↑ Livestream, May 28, 2021 (1:04:29).
  65. ↑ Livestream, March 29, 2024 (2:04:00).
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