Release schedule

El calendario de lanzamiento de Ashes of Creation está sujeto a cambios.

Fase	Tipo de lanzamiento	Fecha estimada/Actual
Pre‑alpha	Alpha-0.	December 15, 2017.
APOC	Ashes of Creation Apocalypse battle royale stress test (NDA).	September 7, 2018.
	Ashes of Creation Apocalypse battle royale stress test (NDA lifted).	October 19, 2018.
	Ashes of Creation Apocalypse battle royale open beta.	December 18, 2018.
	Ashes of Creation Apocalypse battle royale early access.	September 24, 2019.
	Ashes of Creation Apocalypse castle siege mode PI closed testing.	December 19, 2019.
	Ashes of Creation Apocalypse battle royale testing ends.	March 10, 2020.
Alpha	Alpha-1 early preview livestream.	March 27, 2020.
	Alpha-1 limited QA testing (NDA).	May 28, 2020.
	Alpha-1 preview pre-test 1 (NDA).	Dec 18 - Dec 21 2020.
	Alpha-1 preview pre-test 2 (NDA).	Feb 19 - Feb 22 2021.
	Alpha-1 preview intermittent spot testing (NDA).	Mar 19 - Jul 9 2021.
	Alpha-1 preview weekend (no NDA).	July 9 - July 11 2021.
	Alpha-1 (no NDA).	July 14 - August 15 2021.
	Alpha-2 spot testing (NDA).	November 2023.
	Alpha-2 (No NDA).	Q3 2024.
Beta	Beta-1.	To be announced.
	Beta-2.	To be announced.
Pre‑release	Head start for crowdfunding backers at the Founder level and above.	1-2 days before launch.
Release	Launch (live) release.	To be announced.
Post‑launch	Major releases (DLC expansions).	Quarterly or six-monthly.
	Minor releases.	Monthly.

Early access

Alpha and beta key concept art.

Ashes of Creation testing phases.

• Alpha-0 was the invite-only "raffle" friends and family alpha test phase.
• Alpha-1, Alpha-2, Beta-1, and Beta-2 were available for purchase during the Kickstarter and El verano de la financiación campaigns.
• Alpha-1 was available in the Intrepid pre-order pack and the Adventurer pre-order pack.
• Alpha-2 and Beta-2 were available during PAX West 2017.
• Alpha-2, Beta-1, and Beta-2 were available in Pre-order packs on the cosmetic store.
• Alpha-2, Beta-1, and Beta-2 packs that were purchased through Mail.ru can gain access to the testing periods they were entitled to by registering an account with Intrepid Studios and submitting a support ticket.

Ashes of Creation's core game systems are expected to be in place at the start of Alpha-2. By the end of Alpha-2, the game is expected to be feature complete, but it will not be content complete until launch.

• Alpha-1 and Alpha-2 testers may be invited to participate in spot testing prior to the Alpha-2 release.

The game will be feature complete before Beta... Beta really is intended to identify last minute bugs to make sure that everything is ready for launch; it's important that all features are complete by Beta-1. Alpha-2 will not be feature complete at the start of Alpha-2. There are going to be updates that are going to be incorporated as part of the Alpha-2 process and there are going to be additional features that come online that get fleshed out between that time and Beta-1. There's going to be regions of the maps that aren't going to be accessible of course during Alpha-2. – Steven Sharif

• Alpha-2 will last until launch and will run in parallel with Beta-1 and Beta-2.

Alpha-2 is intended to exist up until launch. There's going to be different testing periods that we will be releasing either new content locations or zones or systems that we want to have players focus in on. In those situations, if we're having participation drought because of the length of Alpha-2, we can set them up in a more focused setting. We can even incentivize that. We can offer unique testing to potentially new testers as well. – Steven Sharif

• The developers will not necessarily announce NDA testing periods.

• All servers will be wiped prior to launch.

Alpha-1

Alpha-1 Teaser.

This is a true development alpha. This is not a marketing alpha; and what that means is as you know part of the process here in developing Ashes of Creation is being open with that development so you guys can see that progress; and it is a double-edged sword. There are going to be a spectrum of people that exists who are very involved with the game's development and those who are just completely at an arm's length away in understanding the process; and they may look at alpha one- the people who don't really understand the development process or haven't been a part of it- they may look at it and they may think oh you know this is trash, looks like trash, you know whatever it's the end-product. But at the end of the day what's important for us and what yields the best possible product is for us to include as much as possible the community in that development process with no NDA so that you guys give valuable feedback; and as we go through the iterative process in further defining the game and fleshing out that content were doing so with the player in mind and their voice in our ear. That is I think one of the key distinguishing factors between our development and many developments that you guys may have seen in the past. – Steven Sharif

Alpha-1 preview ancients mobs.

What this experience for Alpha one is going to be- that month-long experience- it is not intended to be a content experience... It is not intended to be a game experience. It is not intended to be a fully-fledged content experience. So keep that in mind. – Steven Sharif

Alpha-1 PvE combat.

Alpha-1 was a testing release of the Ashes of Creation MMORPG.

• World
  • The Alpha-1 map (Alpha island) consists of a mainland area and several islands. This was approximately 70 km² of playable area.
  • Alpha-1 takes place in the north west part of the map.

• Personaje
  • Progresión to level 15.

    The composition of class skills or archetype skills has to tread a fine line between two roads: One we wanted to be representative of skills not just that would traditionally be found 1 through 15 but we're actually introducing some skills that might be found later, because we want to test those particular ideas and how the skill functions. – Steven Sharif

  • Creador de personajes (basic).

• Arquetipos
  • Clérigo, Mago and Tanque archetypes.
  • Ranger may be added later in Alpha-1.
  • Luchador, Bardo, Pícaro, and Invocador archetypes will follow in later in development (after Alpha-1).
  • Secondary archetypes will not be present in Alpha-1. These are planned for Alpha-2.

• Razas
  • 4 playable races Kaelar, Vaelune, Dünir, Empyrean.

    A lot of times people ask well why haven't we seen the other races and stuff? We want to establish the quality bar and process with these races first and then when we move into further content production for the other races we have have those pipelines in place and we have the processes in place and we know how to approach them.

• Combate
  • Hybrid action/tab combat.
  • Revamped combat systems will be rolled out during and post Alpha-1 testing.

The weapon attack is an important component of the combat system, so we want to make sure that as we're doing this combat revamp that we are essentially taking into consideration player feedback and sentiment about how they want a reactive and more mobile weapon attack system. – Steven Sharif

• Nodos
  • Avance del nodo to Aldea (fase 3).
  • There are 9 node locations in Alpha-1.
  • Normally there would be 18-20 nodes in the same area.
  • A basic vassal system is in place.
  • The node ZOI's is larger than the final map.
  • Node locations are subject to change prior to Beta-1.

• Economía
  • The economy present in Alpha-1 is not reflective of the final state of the game.
  • Merchant systems and player to player trading.

    We have an economy but it's not really going to be reflective of the final how the economy is going to work. It'll work for alpha one and there'll be plenty of things to trade and buy and exchange, but it's not going to be really super representative what the final state is. So keep that in mind as well it's a stubbed-in system. It's not a complete or really finalized system at all. – Jeffrey Bard

  • Approximately 10 percent of the artisan system.
    • The core basics of the artisan gameplay loop is facilitated via the merchant (NPC) system.
  • Recolección, Procesado, Elaboración (Crafting) is expected to come online in Alpha-2 and the Betas.
  • Previously this was targeted for Alpha-1.

    What's present in Alpha-1 doesn't even really scratch the surface for crafting. – Steven Sharif

• Equipo
  • Approximately 49 unique gear sets.
  • These are unique sets with different stats, but some may be similar in appearance.
  • Daggers (Dual weapons).

• PvE
  • Approximately 6 or 7 dungeons with one almost raid-level difficulty.
  • Two world bosses requiring party-sized groups.
  • One true 40 person raid boss.
  • Over 200 quests.
  • Questing is placeholder until Alpha-2.

• Gremios.
  • Alpha-1 castle sieges and Castles are in a zone accessible via a NPC teleporter.
  • This zone includes three Elder dragon raid bosses.
  • These bosses also appear in the open world (outside the siege zone) with slightly different mechanics.

• Naval content
• Naves for "island hopping".
  • Temporary teleportation points are present in early tests until ships are introduced later in the alpha testing.

• Other
  • There is no instancing in Alpha-1.
• UI and tutorial systems are placeholders until Alpha-2.

Parte de la siguiente información no ha sido confirmada recientemente por los desarrolladores y es posible que no esté en la hoja de ruta de desarrollo actual.

• Organizaciones sociales.
• Portions of player housing.
• Corruption.
• Name reservations.

Ashes of Creation Apocalypse

Ashes of Creation Apocalypse logo.

Ashes of Creation Apocalypse early access trailer.

The standalone prequel to the upcoming epic MMORPG Ashes of Creation - both a testing ground for new systems and content, as well as a unique last-man-standing action game where magic, steel, and chaos reign supreme in a high fantasy, free-to-play experience.

Ashes of Creation Apocalypse (also referred to as APOC) was a free-to-play matchmaking-based arena game with three primary modes.

• Battle royale (battlegrounds).
• Castle sieges.
• City defense horde mode.

Ashes of Creation Apocalypse utilizes action-based combat.

• Ashes of Creation Apocalypse will be implemented side-by-side with the Ashes of Creation MMORPG.
• 6.25 km² map size.
  • The Forest of Erinthia map is roughly 1/5th the size of the original map.
• A Creador de personajes will be available to allow creation and saving of characters for use in the MMORPG.
• Establish Player housing and save Furniture arrangements for use in the full game.

Ashes of Creation Apocalypse battle royale early access testing ended on March 10, 2020.

• It was previously available for download on the official website and on Steam.

Alpha-1 testing

Hail and well met glorious Ashes of Creation testers. My name is Sean Farrens. I am the manager of quality assurance on Ashes of Creation and on behalf of the Ashes QA team I would like to extend a deep and heartfelt thank you to everyone who participated in testing Ashes of Creation during the weekend of May 14 through May 16th for our Alpha 1 build. In spite of instability and uncertainty you have all proven to be invaluable in regards to your feedback and bug reports; and for that I cannot express my gratitude enough. As many of you know, developing an MMORPG is an epic endeavor that is filled with trials and tribulations that no other game will ever encounter; and your illustrated dedication has proven to our team that we are on a high road to the best MMORPG gaming experience to date. During this most recent testing period we received over 2,600 bug reports, which have been an absolute boon to our testing process. We review each report individually and I continue to be impressed with how detailed and helpful each of these reports has been. Like seriously you guys give repro steps and everything. Super duper handy. I greatly look forward to your feedback in the future and hope you enjoy our content so far, so thank you so much everybody. – Sean Farrens

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 – Steven Sharif

Phase	Release	Estimated/Actual date
Alpha-1	Alpha-1 early preview livestream.	March 27, 2020.
	Alpha-1 limited QA testing (NDA).	May 28, 2020.
	Alpha-1 preview pre-test 1 (NDA).	Dec 18 - Dec 21 2020.
	Alpha-1 preview pre-test 2 (NDA).	Feb 19 - Feb 22 2021.
	Alpha-1 preview intermittent spot testing (NDA).	Mar 19 - Jul 9 2021.
	Alpha-1 preview weekend (no NDA).	July 9 - July 11 2021.
	Alpha-1 (no NDA).	July 14 - August 15 2021.

Leer más...

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. – 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. – Steven Sharif

Alpha-1 bonus releases

The Ashes of Creation Apocalypse will be released as a bonus to the community.

• 24/7 hour testing of Ashes of Creation Apocalypse is scheduled to start between mid November and mid to late December 2018.
• This mode will not be in the full Ashes of Creation MMORPG.
• It may be implemented as a side mode dependent on feedback from testers.

It's not going to be in the MMORPG. But it is possible that we could allow it to persist as a side game: A side mode I guess. Depending on if our testers actually enjoy it. – Steven Sharif

You'll be able to share everything you earn there in the MMORPG when it launches; and the arena system will persist post-launch as well. So this will be an all-action based arena that exists side-by-side with Ashes of Creation as a mode that players will get to plan and earn unique cosmetics in. – Steven Sharif

Alpha 1 testers will test each arena mode a full month before that mode is granted to registered users. This phase is a bonus phase of development and we will run the arena during development and post launch as a matchmaking mode of Ashes. – Steven Sharif

Alpha 1 phase 1, the “arena” will continue as a matchmaking side that everyone can play. An all action mode of combat with br, castle sieges and horde. – Steven Sharif

Status

Q: There are a lot of concerns about deadlines and expectations not being met when it comes to times that are continually pushed back. Will this be resolved?

A: We are in active development, and understanding that for the betterment of our game, we may sometimes have to delay previously provided times and dates in order to make sure that you, as the player, have the best experience. That being said, we strive to meet our windows of time that we provide and will be transparent if these times change. – Margaret Krohn

Alpha-2

Esta traducción puede estar desactualizada.

Alpha-2 character creator user interface (first pass).

Alpha-2 is intending to be obviously a very large chunk of the game's mechanics: a very very big percentage of it. – Steven Sharif

Alpha-2 character creator intro (first pass).

Se espera que para la Alpha-2 de Ashes of Creation haya un porcentaje elevado del sistema de juego.

• Mundo
  • Estaciones y climatología.
  • Eventos.
  • Misiones.

• Personaje
  • Creador de personajes.
    • El objetivo es facilitar a los jugadores el creador de personajes antes del lanzamiento del Alpha-2.
  • Progresión del personaje hasta nivel 35 (sujeto a cambios).
  • Todos los arquetipos estarán disponibles.
    • Algunas clases secundarias y aumentos.
  • La raza de los Tulnar.
  • La mecánica de invocación familiar.
  • Religiones.

• Combate
  • Combate renovado.
    • Las skills activas y pasivas serán rediseñadas.
    • Se espera que las habilidades primarias sean muy diferentes a las del Alpha-1.
    • Estarán presentes los árboles de habilidades de armas para potenciar el sistema de combos.
  • Asedios reales.

• Nodos
  • Progresión del nodo hasta la fase Ciudad (fase 5) y potencialmente hasta la fase Metropolis (fase 6).
  • Reliquias y su edificio de nodo, el relicario .
  • Parcelas.
  • Rotación de cultivos.

• Contenido naval.
  • Guerra naval.
  • Tres tipos de barcos.
  • Los barcos tendrán cañones funcionales, pero la interfaz de usuario del astillero puede no estar completa.

• Economía
  • Clases de artesanía (Recolección, Procesado, Elaboración (Crafting)).
    • Sets de artesano.
    • Se están considerando posibles "capas" de juego como la topografía y la gestión del terreno para la recolección.
  • Casas de subastas.
  • Cajas empleadas para el transporte de suministros entre los puntos de almacenamiento y las caravanas.

• Otros
  • Unreal Engine 5.
  • Algo de la música de Bear McCreary estará ya en el Alpha-2.
  • La interfaz de usuario y el sistema de tutoriales.
  • Editor de emblemas, logos y símbolos (tentativo).

Los testers del Alpha-1 y el Alpha-2 puede que sean invitados a testeos puntuales anteriores al lanzamiento del Alpha-2.

El Alpha-2 será persistente.

Head start

Head start icon.

Head start grants early access one or two days prior to the live launch of Ashes of Creation for crowdfunding backers at the Founder level and above.

• Head start is a means to gradually ramp up the population to avoid player concurrency issues at launch.
• Head start will also be a way to address any last-minute launch or deployment issues.

The point of head start is twofold: One for testing, making sure that the live launch servers pre-wipe are good; and then Two, it's a way to stagger the population move into the game. Because if you have servers with 10,000 concurrent player capability and you have everyone logging in at the exact same time, that is a problem I've never seen an MMO tackle successfully, ever. – Steven Sharif

Headstart servers

The number of head start servers is estimated to be three. This is subject to change.

• There will be an OCE headstart server.

Headstart limitations

The game functionality is limited during the head start period so that players cannot decide the world-scape earlier than others.

• During the head start, the node system will be deactivated.
• Head start specific servers are also planned.
• It will not be possible to secure player housing during the headstart period due to the deactivation of the node system.

Head start was not a mistake, I tend to listen to my development team with regards to their vast past experiences in mmo launches and development. Advice from engineering on head starts was they are extremely desired in order to test any last minute launch/deployment issues that “always” happen. So I did as much as possible to mitigate the potential p2w elements/issues while still adhering to sound development principles. Including designating which servers are head start servers. So wanna make sure we don’t “chop” this one as a mistake or misstep. Everything done is done to ensure a quality launch/product. – Steven Sharif

NDA

• El NDA o Acuerdo de confidencialidad de la Alpha-0 restringe el intercambio de elementos visuales de las pruebas de la Alpha-0.
• Los lanzamientos de las Alpha-1, Alpha-2, Beta-1, Beta-2 no tenían NDA (non-disclosure agreement).
• El Alpha-1 testing anterior al lanzamiento completo de la Alpha-1si que tuvo NDA.

Participación

Esta traducción puede estar desactualizada.

• La Alpha-0 tuvo unos 2.500 participantes.
• La Alpha-1 tuvo aproximadamente 9,600 participantes en Agosto de 2018. Hubo algo más de 13k participantes en Mayo de 2021. Hubo 5300 inicios de sesión únicos durante las pruebas del fin de semana de 3 días del 27 de Mayo de 2021.
• Se espera que la participación tanto en las Alpha como en las Beta aumente con la venta de los packs de pre-venta.
• Se espera que la Alpha-2 supere los 100.000 participantes.
  • Anteriormente se esperaban unos 10.000 participantes en la Alpha-1 y la Alpha-2.

Esta sección se actualizará tan pronto como los desarrolladores pongan a disposición la información.

• Para la Beta-1 y la Beta-2 se esperan tener unos 27.000 participantes.

Server wipes

Los servidores de las Alpha y Beta serán reseteados antes del lanzamiento.

• Los servidores podrán ser reseteados antes de testeos individuales.

As a general rule, if the testing phase contains the word Alpha, it is safe to assume there will likely be wipes. – Steven Sharif

Hitos

December 2015	First team members were hired.
February 2016	Ashes of Creation design documentation and prototyping.
December 10, 2016	Official website was launched and project announced.
January 18, 2017	Official discord was launched.
May 2, 2017	Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign launched with $750,000 funding goal.
June 3, 2017	Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign completed with 19,576 backers raising $3,271,809.
June 2017	Game production began with a team size of 15-20.
June 21, 2017	El verano de la financiación campaign launched.
July 22, 2017	Summer crowdfunding campaign completed with 2,485 backers.
September 1, 2017	PAX West 2017.
November 4, 2017	Raised $16,500 for Extra Life children's hospitals.
December 15, 2017	Alpha-0 released on schedule.
March 19-23, 2018	Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2018.
April 5, 2018	PAX East 2018.
August 15, 2018	Last day for purchases of Alpha-1 through Intrepid pre-order packs.
August 20, 2018	At Gamescom with My.com.
August 27, 2018	100 developers working on Ashes of Creation.
September 1, 2018	PAX West 2018 panel.
October 19, 2018	Ashes of Creation Apocalypse battle royale (previously called Alpha-1 phase 1 battlegrounds).
November 4, 2018	Raised $20,518 for Rady Children's hospital with Extra Life.
April 15, 2019	60 developers working on Ashes of Creation at San Diego offices (following disengagement with Malaysian art team).
November 3, 2019	Raised $20,901 for Rady Children's hospital with Extra Life.
August 21, 2020	Announced a mutual parting of ways with publisher My.games.
October 17, 2020	Almost 3,000,000 registered accounts for Ashes of Creation.
October 17, 2020	~87 developers working on Ashes of Creation.
November 8, 2020	Raised $88,546 for Rady Children's hospital with Extra Life.
February 26, 2021	Official ashesofcreation.com website redesign.
May 5, 2021	Alpha-1 sales resumed with the announcement of the Adventurer pre-order pack.
May 17, 2021	Verbal NDA was lifted from Alpha-1 testing.
July 9, 2021	Alpha-1 no-NDA preview weekend began on schedule.
July 11, 2021	Alpha-1 no-NDA preview weekend completed on schedule.
July 14, 2021	Alpha-1 no-NDA month long test began on schedule.
August 15, 2021	Alpha-1 no-NDA month long test completed on schedule.
November 7, 2021	Raised $34,485 for Rady Children's hospital with Extra Life.
December 23, 2021	Announced that Ashes of Creation is moving to Unreal Engine 5.
January 14, 2022	Over 120 people working on Ashes of Creation.
November 5, 2022	Raised $77,939 for Rady Children's hospital with Extra Life.
August 31, 2023	Over 150 people working on Ashes of Creation.
November 5, 2023	Raised $76,964 for Rady Children's hospital with Extra Life.
December 19, 2023	Over 170 people working full-time on Ashes of Creation.
March 1, 2024	188 employees working on Ashes of Creation.

Accomplishments

• MMORPG con más financiación de Kickstarter.
• Séptimo videojuego más financiado de Kickstarter.
• MMO más esperado – Premios a lo mejor de 2017 de MMORPG.com.
• MMORPG práctico de acceso anticipado más esperado – MMOs World.
• Gamescom 2018: Mejor juego independiente.
• Gamescom 2018: Mejor juego online.
• Mejor MMO independiente de 2020 – encuesta de los lectores de massivelyop.com.
• MMO más esperado de 2021 en adelante – encuesta de los lectores de massivelyop.com.
• TTop 10 de los mejores nuevos MMORPG para 2021 en adelante – Forbes.
• Mejor estudio de MMO de 2022 – MMOGames.

Ver además

• Alpha-1
• Hitos
• Ashes of Creation