COMMUNITY - FORUMS - GENERAL DISCUSSION
Streaming

When COE is released for alpha/beta, I plan on joining the wonderful people in making this game as great as it can be. Now for some games in alpha/beta they don't allow streaming. I was wondering if streaming was allowed when the alpha/beta is ready. I know we can make YouTube videos, but they are quite different from streaming because editing is a thing.


Check out my Stream on Twitch

11/30/2015 4:29:21 PM #1

I am not sure you can make YouTube videos of game content, that hasn't been confirmed, so do not jump to that conclusion prematurely.

Personally I hope that alpha and beta is used as a testing process. The sooner they get feedback the better. I think they are going to be more willing to put a game into the hands of a player with an NDA in place. I think NDAs protect the game at an early stage and that is important. The first impressions count and that should be an impression of a developed game.

I think if there is then an early access phase that is when to go live with streaming and videos.


Author of the Elyria Echo the first, and least up-to-date, CoE fan site.

11/30/2015 4:37:04 PM #2

It was journalistic content on YouTube. My mistake. I also agree with the first impressions and this is how it should be. I just wanted to be 100% sure what I can and can't do early on. You can be damn sure you'll see this game on twitch the first day they are ready though. Look forward to it.


Check out my Stream on Twitch

11/30/2015 4:46:02 PM #3

Good morning all,

Public access to Chronicles of Elyria will come in a few different steps:

  1. Offline Demo
  2. Closed Alpha
  3. Open Alpha
  4. Beta
  5. Early Access

The offline demo will be available this spring and is intended to give players hands-on experience with the game client. There will be some baked in logic from the Soulborn engine, but in general it'll be there to give players a chance to see what the game looks and feels like. We'll also be releasing the Architecture Tools this spring.

Some time after the offline demo we'll have a closed [pre-]alpha release. This release will be to a fairly limited audience and is designed to give us feedback before the game is feature complete. Because the game won't be complete, and will be in a rough state, we won't be allowing streaming or YouTube videos of the closed alpha. We just don't feel like there would be much benefit to showing the game to world in this state.

However, after we've gotten the feedback we needed and have had a chance to address the major concerns, we'll remove the NDA on the closed alpha so that those participating will have a chance to show the game off to the larger community. This will give us even more feedback, but will come at a time when we feel good about letting people see what pre-alpha/feature complete looks like.

Next, once we're feature complete and are mostly looking for bugs, stress testing, etc... we'll roll out an incremental beta. As with the open alpha, it'll be fine for players to stream the beta. Beta access will be granted based on Influence - using the new Influence format.

Finally, after all is said and done we'll release Early Access. Unlike other MMOs that grant a 3-day Head Start, Early Access for CoE is about populating the world with families, getting the kingdoms set up, establishing early story-line, etc... As a result, there will be a longer-than-normal Early Access, possibly of several months. During Early Access streaming will not only be allowed but encouraged! And, as the goal of Early Access is to populate the world, the servers will not be wiped after Early Access ends.


11/30/2015 5:04:26 PM #4

Thank you very much Caspian. I feel this game is going to reach new heights in the MMO world. This is honestly the game I dreamed of playing. Definitely want to support COE as much as i can.


Check out my Stream on Twitch

11/30/2015 6:22:16 PM #5

New Influence format?


11/30/2015 6:47:18 PM #6

I think Caspian was referring to the system clarified in the note on Influence Points and cheaters thread. So your inclusion into beta will be based on influence gained through a wide variety of methods, but not just making a lot of fake accounts!


Author of the Elyria Echo the first, and least up-to-date, CoE fan site.

11/30/2015 7:02:39 PM #7

Cheaters who used fake accounts will basically have their points wiped because the fake accounts are not buying the game and are not contributing to the game or the community at all. SO really they had no influence on the game hence the name of the points.


Check out my Stream on Twitch

12/1/2015 9:42:11 AM #8

Getting more excited about this game every week, it's like waiting for Christmas but better :)


Feel free to check out my YouTube channel Frithgar

12/2/2015 8:39:39 AM #9

I really want to be part of alpha tester. When do you plan your next crownfounding campaign?


Join Now!

12/2/2015 9:16:52 AM #10

There hasn't been any crowd funding yet, their stated plans so far are that they will start a Kickstarter campaign probably in the first four months of next year. There is also plans for a playable demo at PAX East which is in April so I would be surprised if they were not both around the same time.


Author of the Elyria Echo the first, and least up-to-date, CoE fan site.

1/4/2016 11:17:21 AM #11

"the goal of Early Access is to populate the world, the servers will not be wiped after Early Access"

Haven't seen this before, but I like it alot. Very intriguing and rewarding idea, that people with early access can leave their "footprints"....

Happy new year!

P.S.: sorry for necroposting, hehe


1/11/2016 4:19:50 AM #12

Once upon a time, alpha was the devs, family and friends server and beta was a 24/7 server. The last few couples of years it became common that alpha is the 24/7 server for testers and high tier crowfounders while beta is only during some weekends... What is the plan for CoE?


1/11/2016 5:16:17 PM #13

Places like Steam are a minefield for anything but a finished product. Allowing anyone the ability to review a game is fantastic and provides the community with an outlet for information to educate potential customers. However, receiving a mildly bad review, even if the game gets classified with "mixed" reviews, could hurt the eventual release of the game. People are unforgiving and relentless with early access. How does this affect the reputation of the game? What are the long term effects of receiving a mixed or bad review in early access? How do you recover from that? But I'm not a game developer and can't say how much a game's development is affected by this kind of early access process if it is at all.

Few games achieve resounding success like Ark. But I am a customer and I have to be smart about my purchases and a mixed review gives me pause, even if I really really want to support the publisher and/or play the game. Some people might not even give a game a second glance or dig through the reviews to see which ones are actual, honest reviews. I've seen a significant number of bad reviews that were one sentence bemoaning the fact that they couldn't get the launcher to start. That's not really anything about the game itself. It's a technical issue that is most likely a temporary bug. It's an untrustworthy process and volatile.


1/11/2016 8:24:07 PM #14

KnightsBayane pretty much summarized our thinking on this. Chronicles of Elyria has been designed from the beginning to cater to a specific audience. We know that it won't appeal to the mass-market and we're ok with that. Rather than develop a mediocre game that appeals to "most people", we want to make an outstanding game that appeals to a smaller market.

With that said, when we make announcements about the game, people indiscriminately flame the game for not being designed for them. This creates a lot of negative publicity around what is otherwise an awesome game - for the right people.

So our plan is to have multiple closed and open test periods which are specifically designed to include our target audience. This ensures that whatever press or publicity comes from our testing period, it's by the people the game is designed for. There's a huge difference in our mind between constructive criticism coming from our target audience, and noise coming from those who are not.


1/12/2016 8:28:59 PM #15

I have to agree with everything that has been said and think this will bring a specific kind of player and not appeal to the masses, especially in the regard of "risk / reward" and the social aspect of the game and it is not about the static MOB or for the matter "leveling". It appeals to a difference kind of market. From the aspect of living/dying, growing a dynasty, powerful guild houses, merchant lines and the like I personally can't wait as I am not a "camper".