Seasons

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Ashes of Creation Seasons in the Riverlands.[1]

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.[2] – Steven Sharif

Seasonal change teaser.[3]

Seasons affect different zones (environments/biomes) based on their location in the world.[3][4]

  • A majority of environments will experience either two or four seasons, excluding corrupted areas, which is considered a "season" itself.[5]
  • Some biomes will have seasons that are less (or more) temperate. For example: Northern, Southern and Tropical regions.[6] Other biomes will have fixed climates.[7]
    • Biomes that are affected by seasonal cycles may experience drastic visual differences between seasons.[3]
  • Events may radically change the current season a zone is in, or elongate it.[8][9] This includes weather changes.[4]
  • There will also be magical seasons where you might be in a tropical zone and suddenly it's snowing.[6]
  • Items, crop cycles, buildings, and crafting mechanics might gain certain buffs or debuffs in certain seasons.[8][10][4]
  • Ocean and underwater areas will not have seasonal changes.[11]
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.[4] – Steven Sharif
  • Different seasons may affect access to various roads.[8][9][4]
    • Pathways that are open during summer may be closed during winter.[4]
    • Seasonal affects may cause obstacles or blockages to the transit of goods via caravan.[8][9][12]
    • Water turning to ice in winter, enabling players to walk over the water but blocking access to what is underneath.[4]
      • Ice will make roads bumpy and slippery.[13]
    • Seasonal flooding is something the developers are talking about internally, but will not be present in Alpha-2.[14]

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.[15] – Brian Gans

Seasons change on a regular basis, but may also be triggered or elongated by certain events.[16][17][18]

  • Each season will be approximately one or two IRL weeks long.[16][17][18]
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.[17] – Steven Sharif
  • The final duration of seasonal cycles is subject to testing during Alpha-2.[19]
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.[19] – Steven Sharif
  • Environmental seasons are not to be confused with PvP seasons, which last for six months.[20]
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.[12]

Seasonal events

Calendar Events can be seen as holiday-related celebrations or other seasonal content. Imagine these Events as things you may experience annually, based on the cultures within the world. Some of these may derive from the seasons, and how the nodes in those areas are affected by them. These will most often be server-wide and provide unique content for a specific duration of time during the calendar year.[21]

Calendar events (seasonal events/holidays) in Ashes of Creation can be in-game events or they can relate to the real-world in some way.[22][23][24]

  • Events are not a direct parallel with real world events. Instead, there will be in-game lore behind seasonal events that can relate to the real-world in some way.[22][23][24]
  • Certain calendar events will incorporate the cultural identity of the various character races.[25]
Part of the things that they're working on is creating a lot of cultural identity for these character races and how we can bring about these calendar events from the perspective of each individual race. That's something that I think is going to be really helping identify or giving identity to each of the character races.[25] – Steven Sharif
  • Seasonal events in-game may not exactly align with real-world seasons due to the different in-game seasonal cycle.[26]
Will seasonal events in the real-world align with the seasonal rotation in the game world? And I think in that sense probably not. That's going to require a little bit of suspension of disbelief in understanding that. But it's also fair that in-game events do not need to be perfectly cyclical like let's say seasonal events are in the real world. They could have a non-uniform cycle associated with them... There is something to be said for having that represented in the game as long as it's immersive; as long as it's contextualized within the story and the world and the universe that we've created; and isn't a direct homage to Santa Claus in the real-world, just to use a prime example of something.[26] – Steven Sharif
  • Holiday events are not going be "campy" or immersion-breaking.[22]
We have a lot of ideas on how certain real-world holidays can be contextualized within the game world and seem fitting.[22] – Steven Sharif

Events may bring seasonal change.[8][4]

Seasonal cosmetics

Festive Protector's Garments pre-order pack costume cosmetic skin.[27]

There are seasonal cosmetics in Ashes of Creation.[28][29]

  • Seasonal cosmetics can be obtained in-game.[28]

Seasonal variations

Timeless Terrapin seasonal variations.[30]

Mounts being one of those things that you own will interact with the seasons and the time of day.[30] – Steven Sharif

We're just using this example, but we could use this type of tech for a lot of things not just mounts.[31] – Margaret Krohn

Kirin seasonal variations 3D renders.[32]

Seasonal variations or time of day may affect certain objects in the world, such as mobs and mounts.[33][34][35][31]

  • Different creatures will spawn based on the season.[33]
This alcove might now have a bunch of new types of monsters that are AoE focused and you might want to bring your AoE team there during winter because you can get that spot in this hunting ground; and you can pull really easily all the creatures into that little spot. But in summer maybe that population isn't as close and it's no longer a viable hunting ground.[33] – Steven Sharif
Mounts will have rarities and those rarities will be, I think, respective not only of their skill selection that they were either bred with or acquired with, but also as it scales in rarity you're going to see effects like these come online: The ability for that mount to represent. But as Margaret said, this is not just on the mount front, this is something that I think allows us to integrate both the visual component of an environment that you see but also incorporate effects as part of that environment and that change accordingly to other things that are going on in the world.[35] – Steven Sharif
  • It is unlikely that seasonal variations will affect player armor.[37]

Seasonal resources

Gloomy Pross is a seasonal resource that is only gatherable in the winter.[38]

If a particular region moves into a season and that week you can't grow a particular type of good, but another region halfway across the world can grow that good; and you talk about moving those goods across regions so that they're relevant to either craft workbenches or you can sell them in the local economies: That is a major indicator of movement of goods and movement of goods carries risks; and risks can create political foes and friends... Something as simple as just a climate can have cascading consequences across the entirety of the game.[3] – Steven Sharif

Seasons affect crops and other herbology resources available for gathering or planting, including how crop rotation is managed.[39][40][4][41]

  • Seasonal variations in resource availability will impact the economy and necessitate the transit of goods between different regions.[40]
One of the things that is huge about the season system and how it affects crops and the gatherables in the game is the impact it will have on the economy. When a particular area no longer is capable for a week's period of time, or even potentially longer, of producing a certain type of crop or harvestable; and that has to change across the world regionally, now the transit system of those materials of those gatherables they become more relevant, and they're subject to potential risk; and the prices might go up in certain areas. It is something that is actually very instrumental in the overall design of the economy in the game.[40] – Steven Sharif
  • Seasons may not directly affect certain gatherables, such as veins of ore, but access to those resources may be blocked during certain weather conditions.[39][40]
It won't likely affect too much on certain resource spectrums like veins of ore. Those might not be affected by the seasons or weather systems, but there might be blockages to cave networks that house those types of ore veins. Alternatively it is going to be significant impact on any type of herbology or plant-based types of gatherables. It's going to have significant impacts on crops that players can plant themselves on their properties; and that they'll be able to harvest. They're going to need to time the crop placement and its maturity window so that it's harvestable and available to be harvest before the change of seasons that might adversely affect certain types of crops. And not every biome will experience the same type of effects caused by the seasonality of the world. The desert biome might instead of snow have significant more winds that pick up that could be damaging to more fragile types of crops if you have a freehold in that location.[39] – Steven Sharif

Climate

Alpha-2 dynamic weather change caused by the Beneath the Stone Shadows event.[42]

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.[43] – Skott B

Some environments (Biomes) have fixed climates and others are variable.[1][7][44] Dynamic weather of varying intensity can be triggered by certain events.[43][1][8][45]

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.[46] – 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.[49] – 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.[2] – Steven Sharif
  • Some weather conditions can be hazardous to mobs and players.[42]
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.[42] – Skott B

Roading

Road blocked by an environmental hazard due to a caravan event in Alpha-2.[50]

Our road system in-game is essentially driven by pre-placed routes that lead to this main artery of what was once the ancient highway system of Verra; and from there there are roads that become exposed when nodes advance; and we call those veins. They come off the main artery and then as nodes advance there are points of interest as Jeff was discussing earlier. These POIs that exist around the world and some of them share coverage with multiple nodes, but depending on which node advances to the stage that activates the point of interest it'll create these capillary roads so to speak that then stem off of the node itself. So you go from the main artery ancient road that's large- that runs through different zones and whatnot- and that breaks down into the veins that lead to the specific encampments and villages and towns that then spawn off separate capillaries that lead to the points of interest in these areas that are hunting grounds. Those are not exposed initially and they come online as players advance the world.[51] – Steven Sharif

Roads adjusting to adjacent node progression.[52]

As nodes advance, these pre-laid road spots that exist connecting every possible route between certain node structures is going to adjust and adapt, both its material presentation, the type of roadwork that's present: It'll move from dirt road type, to perhaps a brick road, to perhaps some super ornate beautiful metropolis style road that will adjust around the world according to how these node structures begin to populate and advance.[52] – Steven Sharif

Roads in Verra are both pre-generated and player influenced.[51]

  • The largest roads are referred to as arteries. These are remnants of what was once the ancient highway system of Verra.[51]
  • As nodes advance smaller roads, referred to as veins, connect the arteries to the nodes.[51]
  • Depending on the stages of node advancement, capillary roads will stem off the node to connect to points of interest.[51]
  • Roads or pathways are not worn into the landscape by repeated traffic over the same area.[51]
  • The quality, safety, and maximum transportation speed of roads is influenced by node building upgrades, policies, relics, and the level of nearby nodes.[53][54][55]
Q: Could you upgrade roads in the node to upgrade the roads and speeds of caravans?
A: Absolutely. So that buff that you saw is a buff that can be changed in the world based on the world state. Some of those world state interactions include certain types of relics that the nodes which govern your area might have access to and might be actively employing. Some of it might have to do with policies: You might be able to extend the guard influences across the road radius further out for certain nodes if you have certain policies. You might be able to enhance and empower those guards through itemization choices that are granted by building upgrades that the node selects to build.[53] – Steven Sharif

Different seasons and events may affect access to various roads.[40][8][9][4]

  • Pathways that are open during summer may be closed during winter.[40][4]
  • Seasonal affects may cause obstacles or blockages to the transit of goods via caravan.[40][8][9][12]
  • Caravan events can cause roadways to be blocked off or hostile mobs to spawn to attack the caravan.[50][8]
    • Obstacles may present barriers on roads that players must remove or bypass to allow transit of goods.[50][40][4]
  • Water turning to ice in winter, enabling players to walk over the water but blocking access to what is underneath.[4]
    • Ice will make roads bumpy and slippery.[13]

Underrealm routes will open or close dynamically (based on node states).[56]

  • The location of Underrealm entrances throughout the world is focused around natural geographic choke-points that exist above ground. This provides alternate subterranean routes that can be used by caravans, raids, and other player activities.[57][56]
  • Not all entrances to the Underrealm will be open at the same time. This can shift dynamically (based on node states) that cause different routes to open up, which may be more or less advantageous than other routes.[56]

Caravan components can be utilized to improve on-road or off-road speeds of caravans.[58]

You will travel faster over roads, but that obviously comes with the increased risk of running into other players or monsters that are blocking the road.[58] – Chris Justo

Freeholds may not be placed in close proximity to roads.[59]

Elements

There are elements (such as Air, Earth, Fire, Water, Electrical) in Ashes of Creation each with their own resistances.[60][61][61][62][63][64]

  • There may be ley lines and strong magical places in the world that change or alter the way spells work.[67]
We've discussed a little bit about how the seasons and biomes will react with different types of skills. Like if you have a fireball and it's summer it might be a little bit different. If it's winter and you have a frost ability it might be different.[66] – Steven Sharif

Underrealm environment

Alpha-0 Underrealm environment.[68]

Underrealm environments are vast.[69]

  • Caravans should be able to operate as they do above ground.[69]
  • If there's insufficient room for Dragons, another mount type may be utilized.[69]
  • Burrowing mounts are being considered as an alternative to flying mounts in the Underrealm.[70]

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.[71] – Steven Sharif

Seasons above ground will affect the Underrealm.[69]

  • 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.[69] – Jeffrey Bard

Videos

Visuals

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Video, May 27, 2022 (2:21).
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Video, May 27, 2022 (9:34).
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Livestream, April 29, 2022 (56:24).
  4. ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 Livestream, May 8, 2017 (20:27).
  5. ↑ Livestream, March 31, 2023 (58:27).
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Livestream, September 27, 2018 (41:33).
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Livestream, July 18, 2017 (36:47).
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 8.8 8.9 Podcast, April 11, 2021 (23:36).
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 Livestream, June 26, 2020 (1:29:06).
  10. ↑ Livestream, July 26, 2019 (1:32:40).
  11. ↑ Livestream, September 30, 2022 (1:25:56).
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Our immersive world - Environments.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 frosty-roads.png
  14. ↑ Livestream, June 30, 2022 (1:10:19).
  15. ↑ Video, May 27, 2022 (6:33).
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Livestream, May 27, 2022 (1:13:39).
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 Video, May 27, 2022 (12:50).
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 seasons.png
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Livestream, June 30, 2022 (2:57).
  20. ↑ Interview, July 18, 2020 (16:34).
  21. ↑ Types of Events on Verra.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 Livestream, April 29, 2022 (36:51).
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Interview, October 20, 2018 (7:31).
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Livestream, May 10, 2017 (40:36).
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Livestream, April 29, 2022 (38:05).
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 Livestream, April 29, 2022 (50:49).
  27. ↑ Ashes of Creation Store: Festive Protector's Garments
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 cosmetics obtaining.png
  29. ↑ Seasonal cosmetics.png
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 Livestream, October 29, 2021 (48:36).
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 31.2 Livestream, October 29, 2021 (51:22).
  32. ↑ Livestream, May 27, 2022 (1:05:08).
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 33.2 Livestream, May 27, 2022 (58:04).
  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 Video, May 27, 2022 (10:17).
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 35.2 Livestream, October 29, 2021 (51:48:).
  36. ↑ Livestream, May 27, 2022 (54:49).
  37. ↑ Livestream, May 27, 2022 (1:02:41).
  38. ↑ Video, October 28, 2022 (19:10).
  39. ↑ 39.0 39.1 39.2 Livestream, May 27, 2022 (55:47).
  40. ↑ 40.0 40.1 40.2 40.3 40.4 40.5 40.6 40.7 Video, May 27, 2022 (15:50).
  41. ↑ Steven Crops.PNG
  42. ↑ 42.0 42.1 42.2 Video, February 29, 2024 (16:34).
  43. ↑ 43.0 43.1 43.2 Video, February 29, 2024 (16:09).
  44. ↑ Livestream, June 1, 2017 (29:33).
  45. ↑ Livestream, July 28, 2017 (41:25).
  46. ↑ 46.0 46.1 Livestream, February 25, 2022 (1:05:37).
  47. ↑ 47.0 47.1 47.2 Livestream, February 29, 2024 (55:34).
  48. ↑ 48.0 48.1 48.2 48.3 Livestream, May 27, 2022 (1:14:46).
  49. ↑ 49.0 49.1 49.2 Livestream, September 30, 2020 (1:04:56).
  50. ↑ 50.0 50.1 50.2 Video, October 31, 2023 (34:12).
  51. ↑ 51.0 51.1 51.2 51.3 51.4 51.5 Livestream, January 29, 2021 (1:13:04).
  52. ↑ 52.0 52.1 Livestream, January 28, 2022 (33:25).
  53. ↑ 53.0 53.1 Livestream, October 31, 2023 (1:16:34).
  54. ↑ Video, October 31, 2023 (28:06).
  55. ↑ Livestream, February 9, 2018 (45:48).
  56. ↑ 56.0 56.1 56.2 Livestream, October 30, 2020 (1:19:13).
  57. ↑ Livestream, August 26, 2022 (53:26).
  58. ↑ 58.0 58.1 Video, October 31, 2023 (20:17).
  59. ↑ Livestream, May 19, 2017 (32:23).
  60. ↑ Fissure Description.png
  61. ↑ 61.0 61.1 Livestream, April 7, 2023 (1:11:14).
  62. ↑ 62.0 62.1 Interview, July 18, 2020 (1:05:04).
  63. ↑ Livestream, May 24, 2017 (27:47).
  64. ↑ 64.0 64.1 Livestream, 2018-04-8 (PM) (26:19).
  65. ↑ Video, September 30, 2022 (15:28).
  66. ↑ 66.0 66.1 Livestream, June 1, 2017 (20:23).
  67. ↑ Livestream, June 26, 2020 (1:32:16).
  68. ↑ Ashes of Creation - The visuals.
  69. ↑ 69.0 69.1 69.2 69.3 69.4 Livestream, June 1, 2017 (24:30).
  70. ↑ Interview, August 17, 2018 (8:57).
  71. ↑ Livestream, January 18, 2018 (14:00).
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