Alpha-1 availability
Pre-order pack upgrades are possible for current pack holders for the difference in price.[1][2][3] Upgrades to Kickstarter and 夏季众筹 packs are also available in the store for the difference in package price.[4]
- August 15, 2018 was the last day for purchases of Alpha-1 through Intrepid pre-order packs (History).[5]
- August 13, 2021 was the last day for purchases of Alpha-1 through the Adventurer 預購禮包 (History).[6][7][1][8]
Alpha-1 playtest schedule
While we will have specific spot tests for certain systems as we develop them post the Alpha one month, it should be expected and understood that after this Alpha one month there will be probably a significant amount of downtime where there won't be spot testing as we break apart a lot of systems, take what we learned from alpha one month and implement and iterate upon those learnings. So there's gonna be several months probably worth of significant downtime where there will not be access to spot testing, where we are going to go in and really rejigger a lot of systems[10] – Steven Sharif
Phase | Release | Estimated/Actual date |
---|---|---|
Alpha-1 | Alpha-1 測試早期預覽直播[11] | 2020年3月27日[12] |
Alpha-1 小型 QA 測試 (保密)[13][14] | 2020年5月28日[15][16] | |
Alpha-1 預覽初次測試 (保密)[17] | 2020年12月18-21日[17] | |
Alpha-1 預覽二次測試 (保密)[17] | 2021年2月19-22日[18][19] | |
Alpha-1 預覽不定期抽樣測試 (保密)[20][21] | 2021年3月19-7月9日[20][21] | |
Alpha-1 預覽週末 (非保密)[20] | 2021年7月9-11日[22][23][20] | |
Alpha-1 測試 (非保密)[20] | 2021年7月14-8月15日[6] | |
Alpha-1 不定期抽樣測試[10][24] | 2021年8月15日後[10][6] |
The term "alpha" is a tricky one, and it typically has 2 meanings in gaming. The development meaning for alpha is a point in the process where we are ready to test the fundamental systems in their core form, without polish and without much of the content. Then, there is the external or "marketing" term for alpha. This is typically applied to Eastern-ported MMORPGs, when in fact that is a completed game being localized for a region, and not really indicative of a true development alpha. As you may know by now, game development has many stages - from the initial tech demos to the pre-production and pre-alpha states, then on to the alphas and betas and eventually launch.[17] – Steven Sharif
I want to make emphatically clear, our alphas and betas are true development alphas and betas, and some have said I am crazy to allow these phases to be seen without an NDA…maybe I am crazy? lol… But I am trusting the community of gamers out there to get a glimpse into the process, and understand the long road ahead for what will eventually be worth the wait. Given time and talent, amazing things can happen, so make sure you help us in communicating that we are in open development which means people get to see the bare bones before the meat. And look, I know people see our 4K footage and say, "This looks better than most released games!", but trust me when I say, you ain't seen nothin’ yet.[17] – Steven Sharif
Alpha-1 testing goals
- Server deployment and performance testing
- Stress-test our server deployments and player concurrency numbers with high volumes of player activity and interactions.[20]
- Stand up multiple world server deployments across different geographical regions.[20]
- Soak test server grid health over a continuous period of production use.[20]
- Evaluate current networking architecture, and identify non-performant code and areas for additional optimizations or refactoring.[20]
- Test our build strategy and hot-fix deployment procedures, account services, web-based systems, launcher and patcher stability, and cloud-based infrastructure.[20]
- System functionalities and behavior testing (in their core state)
- Node features (In their core state).[20]
- Experience collection – The ability for nodes to collect and store accrued experience from players in their 影響區域 and for this data to persist in a global hierarchy of the node matrix.[20]
- Propagation – The ability for nodes to advance in stages, reflecting the appropriate advancements in the following: culture, layout, quest hooks, spawners, crafting and processing stations, NPCs, service buildings, merchant tables, prop placement, housing, citizenship, government systems (election, appointment, terms, admin interface) and taxes, |points of interest propagation and advancement, public projects, and parenting/vassal hierarchy.[20]
- Player character systems (in their core state)
- Experience collection and persistence, experience debt, death effects, corruption and flagging, inventory systems, character paper doll and equipable items, property ownership and player storage, stats and waterfall derivatives, combat and ability systems, tab and action states, race and class selection and their customization, movement and character states, looting and party management systems.[20]
- Ancillary systems (in their core state)
- 商隊, drop, spawn, and reward table adaptations, player trading, mount and vehicle systems, raid and party functionality, guild progression and persistence, guild hierarchy, chat systems, customized AI behavior trees, boss functionality, harvesting prerequisites and procedural resource spawners, recipes and craft station systems, interactable containers and objects, global event manager, siege and battleground systems, open world traversal and dungeon design, quest and narrative dialogue setup.[20]
The above is not a comprehensive list of everything being tested in Alpha One, but it hits the primary points. There are many other data metrics being collected for our approach to the content production pipelines, system definitions, and refactoring as well. Not to mention a plethora of technical art implications and optimizations, but you get the gist. This is a very fundamental test that will impact the direction of development post-Alpha One, so you can understand the importance of testing and its need for player participation, attention, and feedback.[20] – Steven Sharif
Alpha-1 participation
Alpha-1 testing was available to the following participants:
- Anyone who won and claimed an Alpha-1 Key through a giveaway.[7]
- Adventurer 預購禮包 and Intrepid pre-order pack owners.[7]
- Braver of worlds, Leader of men, Royalty, Hero of the people, and Avatar of the phoenix Kickstarter and summer campaign backers.[7]
- Official content creators.[7]
There were approximately 9,600 participants in Alpha-1 testing as of August, 2018.[25][26]
- As of May 31, 2021, just under 5k additional participants have been added since Alpha-1 sales resumed. Less refunds and unclaimed codes, leaves a total of slightly over 13k testers.[25]
- The weekend test of May 27, 2021 saw 5,300 unique logins over the 3 day period.[25]
There were roughly 9600 if I recall A1 participants prior to my closing the preorder packs in 2018. Since opening them up again there have been just under 5k additional participants added. And prolly around 300 refunds give or take. Of the roughly 14,000 a1 testers, there are still about 1k unredeemed ks codes which leaves a little over 13k testers? The weekend test saw 5300 unique logins over the 3-day period. And I think discord flags stand around 4k roughly?[25] – Steven Sharif
Adventurer 預購禮包常見問題
- How long will the Adventurer 預購禮包 be available?
- If I purchase the Adventurer 預購禮包, when can I participate in Alpha-1 testing?
- The Adventurer 預購禮包 includes access to both 保密協議 and non-NDA Alpha-1 testing. Testing periods may be delayed or suspended, and do not represent the final game. Do not purchase Alpha-1 access if you are looking to play a finished game - testing will require your feedback and patience. Testers with the Adventurer pre-order pack can join in our NDA spot testing, as well as our non-NDA Alpha-1 preview and testing. As Adventurer pre-order pack owners will have access to Alpha-1, Alpha-2, Beta-1, and Beta-2, stay tuned to our helpful knowledge base article here for more details on future test dates![7]
- Will there be a limited number of Adventurer pre-order packs available?
- We have not announced any plans to limit the quantity of available Adventurer Pre-order Packages. However, keep in mind that the Adventurer Pre-order Package will only be available for purchase until August 13, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. Pacific..[6][7]
- If I already own a pre-order package, how can I get access to Alpha-1?
- If you already own a Wayfarer 預購禮包, Expeditionary 預購禮包, Voyager 預購禮包, or Voyager plus 預購禮包, you will see upgrade options in the shop when you are logged in. This will allow you to purchase the Adventurer 預購禮包 (which includes Alpha-1 access) for the difference in price.[7]
- If I’m a Kickstarter or 夏季众筹 campaign backer, how can I get access to Alpha-1?
- If you are a Braver of worlds, Leader of men, Royalty, Hero of the people, or Avatar of the phoenix backer, you already have access to participate in Alpha-1 testing. Please check your email for further information. If you did not receive an email, please reach out to our Support team directly here.[7]
- If you are an Explorer, Settler, Pioneer, Founder, or Warrior of old backer, you will see upgrade options in the shop when you are logged in. This will allow you to purchase the Braver of worlds package (which includes Alpha-1 access) or higher for the difference in price.[7]
- Who is eligible to participate in Alpha-1 testing?
- Anyone who won and claimed an Alpha One Key through a giveaway.[7]
- Adventurer 預購禮包 and Intrepid pre-order pack owners.[7]
- Braver of worlds, Leader of men, Royalty, Hero of the people, and Avatar of the phoenix Kickstarter backers and summer campaign backers.[7]
- Official content creators.[7]
- Where can I get more info on Alpha-1 testing if I’m participating?
- Keep an eye out for emails from our team with more details on how to download and play! We'll also email you more info on how to get the latest testing updates on our Discord and forums. If you don’t receive any emails and you believe you should, please reach out to our Support team directly here.[7]
Alpha-1 NDA
Alpha-1 testing prior to the full release of Alpha-1 was covered by 保密協議.[27][14]
- NDA review and acceptance is done via the game client.[28]
- The text and voice NDA was lifted from the PI QA testing phase on May 28, 2020.[27]
- The verbal NDA was lifted from Alpha-1 preview testing, and future testing, on May 17, 2021.[29]
- The NDA was lifted on July 9, 2021 for the three day Alpha-1 preview weekend test.[23][20]
- The NDA was lifted on July 14, 2021 for Alpha-1.[30]
We are extremely excited to invite folks to this glorious milestone of our development journey with NO NDA as we want everyone to be able to provide feedback unfiltered. During Alpha One testing, we'll be looking for your feedback specifically on the following things: download and installation process, client performance, and server performance.[30]
Alpha testing system requirements
Minimum and recommended computer specifications for Alpha-2.[33]
- Minimum Specs - 1080p
- Processor: Intel i5 8400 | AMD Ryzen 5 2600
- Memory: 12GB
- Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 1070 or equivalent
- DirectX: Version 12
- Network: Broadband Internet connection
- Storage: 100GB SSD Storage
- Windows 10/11
- Recommend Specs - 1440p
- Processor: Intel i7 8700 | AMD Ryzen 5 3600
- Memory: 16GB
- Graphics: NVIDIA RTX 3070 or equivalent
- DirectX: Version 12
- Network: Broadband Internet connection
- Storage: 100GB SSD Storage
- Windows 10/11
- Please note that these requirements will change throughout our testing phases.[33]
其他
引用
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 直播, 2021-04-30 (4:02).
- ↑
- ↑
- ↑
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5
- ↑ 7.00 7.01 7.02 7.03 7.04 7.05 7.06 7.07 7.08 7.09 7.10 7.11 7.12 7.13 7.14 7.15 7.16 Ashes of Creation Store: May cosmetics.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Blog: Creative Director's Letter, April 14 2021
- ↑ 直播, 2021-05-28 (1:36:43).
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 直播, 2021-07-30 (20:30).
- ↑ March 2020 newsletter.
- ↑ 影片, 2020-03-23 (0:01).
- ↑
- ↑ 14.0 14.1
- ↑
- ↑ Creative Director's Letter, 2020-04-1.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 Blog: Creative Director's Letter, October 16 2020
- ↑ 直播, 2021-02-26 (14:58).
- ↑ Blog: Creative Director's Letter, January 2021.
- ↑ 20.00 20.01 20.02 20.03 20.04 20.05 20.06 20.07 20.08 20.09 20.10 20.11 20.12 20.13 20.14 20.15 20.16 Alpha One Schedule Update, May 10 2021.
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 An Update on Alpha One Schedule, March 12 2021
- ↑
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 Ashes of Creation Twitter - Alpha-1 Preview Weekend Begins
- ↑
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 25.3
- ↑ 直播, 2018-08-17 (24:07).
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 直播, 2020-05-29 (31:37).
- ↑
- ↑
- ↑ 30.0 30.1 Guide to Alpha One.
- ↑
- ↑ 直播, 2021-03-26 (12:34).
- ↑ 33.0 33.1 What are the minimum and recommend computer specifications for Alpha Two?