COMMUNITY - FORUMS - GENERAL DISCUSSION
Pledge rewards and the Tribes.

EDIT: It has been brought to my attention that this issue has been dealt with already in a recent Q&A. My apologies for the undue criticism.


While the tribes and their differences create a fascinating diversity in Elyria, it does raise my curiosity, and perhaps some concern, when it comes to the pledge rewards.

Back at the Kickstarter, pretty much all of the imagery and information we had seems to have been based on either the Neran or on a classic medieval world with only a few fantasy elements. We'd get pictures like the ones below, and based on that, we bought titles and EP.

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Now, I know risk and uncertainty are part and parcel for a pre-Alpha indie game, so this is not going to be another complaint about it being unfair or something. But I'd very much like to know more about how these very diverse tribes will affect the rewards that come with our pledges.

For example, I should get two horses and either a trison or an ursaphant. But what if I end up a Kypiq or a Hrothi? Will they be useless or do I get a mount resized for the tribe, like a Shetland pony? Or what if I become a Janoa? I could technically climb my mount, but it might end up being pretty useless in the jungle, just like it would be in the wetlands, swamps or Hrothi tunnels. Or will these mounts have different capabilities, like traveling through the canopy for the Kypiq or navigating through dark tunnels for the Hrothi? It's nice to promise us an armoured trison, but unless the differences between tribes are accounted for it'll be somewhere between impractical and utterly useless to anyone but the Neran. Not to even mention the merchant's wagon and the carriage for two.

And it's not just the mounts. What about the buildings? As a KS baron, I'm supposed to get a solid, fully furnished villa. But how will this be accounted for across the different tribes? It seems obvious that the early backers won't just be allowed to randomly put down the buildings on those early charts in any biome, but what would a Dras villa even look like? A larger clay hut? And with the small settlements of the Brudvir, would you just have one massive building in the middle of a small village?

I still want to support this game, but this gives me the impression that things are being pushed out without much thought or cohesion. It's like half of the KS stuff has been retconned on the fly instead of figuring out beforehand that most people won't live on the Neran plains. Of course, a small studio like SBS is limited in what they can do, but I would really like to know how they plan to deal with this.

Any thoughts? Comments? Important things I missed?

(Probably quite a few of the latter >.<)


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6/21/2017 10:18:03 AM #1

In the latest Q&A Caspian said instead of picking between an Ursaphant and a Trison that those backers would get either a Tier 1 or 2 token. When the time comes the backer may trade the token for a mount that falls under that classification and it can be native to a biome different that your starting one. As for the wagons those are universally useful except for some biomes (swamp, etc.).

The tribe write ups give a fairly good idea what kind of architecture each tribe primarily uses, including differences between social classes. The buildings one will buy with their EP will mostly likely be those of the native tribe as they would use the most correct building materials/structure for the environment. SBS may allow for buildings of different tribal styles to be purchased but will probably need more frequent maintenance without the needed resources to do so possibly.

As for your last point, that is rather far from the truth. The devs have show they have given a great deal of thought to their plans and decisions. They even have even adjusted their plans based community's thoughts/discussions if they thought good points were brought up. I understand not everyone has the time or wants to spend much time doing research on the frequent updates SBS has been releasing. I can understand that but the consistent unconstructive criticism and nay saying is becoming tiresome especially if one hasn't put any research to back their claims.


6/21/2017 10:52:35 AM #2

Lots of thought and planning goes on in CoE I seen it first-hand


6/21/2017 10:59:44 AM #3

Definitely concerns worth noting! I think, however, that it's worth noting that the devs have been very explicit about the fact that while the tribes will differ in their details, the broad strokes will be the same for balance. As you so astutely observed, we're not 100% sure at the moment what the difference will be between rewards for different tribes, but we do know that they will be equivalent - equitable, if not equal. For instance, we know that the houses of more wealthy Dras will be both larger and made from higher quality materials - for example, jet. I've no idea what a Brudvir villa would look like, but I'm imagining something akin to a large hunting lodge.

The last Q&A did specifically discuss the differents in mounts and mount sizes. Rather than directly receiving a horse, trison or ursaphant on beginning, you will instead receive a Tier 1 or Tier 2 token which you can use to choose your mount, including the mounts which are most suitable for your chosen biome.


Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.

6/21/2017 11:46:38 AM #4

Thank you all for your replies. It's good to hear these concerns have been addressed by SBS already, and that it's just me being a bit behind on the information.


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6/21/2017 12:32:39 PM #5

Posted By AlaskanRebel at 8:18 PM - Wed Jun 21 2017

In the latest Q&A Caspian said instead of picking between an Ursaphant and a Trison that those backers would get either a Tier 1 or 2 token. When the time comes the backer may trade the token for a mount that falls under that classification and it can be native to a biome different that your starting one. As for the wagons those are universally useful except for some biomes (swamp, etc.).

Since I have yet to listen to the new Q&A, that's good to know that there is something in place. I had the same concern.

Within all that, I don't know why the OP was downvoted. Not everyone is completely up to date with everything.


6/21/2017 2:17:25 PM #6

Posted By Gunnlang at 2:32 PM - Wed Jun 21 2017

Posted By AlaskanRebel at 8:18 PM - Wed Jun 21 2017

In the latest Q&A Caspian said instead of picking between an Ursaphant and a Trison that those backers would get either a Tier 1 or 2 token. When the time comes the backer may trade the token for a mount that falls under that classification and it can be native to a biome different that your starting one. As for the wagons those are universally useful except for some biomes (swamp, etc.).

Since I have yet to listen to the new Q&A, that's good to know that there is something in place. I had the same concern.

Within all that, I don't know why the OP was downvoted. Not everyone is completely up to date with everything.

Thank you. I'm trying to get a bit up to speed again after finishing my last exam yesterday, but even without that, only the most dedicated members would have the time to read every DJ, watch every Q&A and keep up with every snippet released on IRC or Discord.


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6/21/2017 2:27:43 PM #7

Legitimate questions many people have been asking. The game does seem to have evolved conceptually, but I think you should also look at it this way. If playing within a medieval society (or similar analog) is why you backed the game, then that requirement is not diminished by the introduction of additional tribes that are modeled after different societies. As long as you have the option (presumably, the Neran "tribe" satisfies this if not others), you just need to pick that tribe and you can get as medieval as you want. :)


6/21/2017 2:36:52 PM #8

Posted By Hieronymus at 4:27 PM - Wed Jun 21 2017

Legitimate questions many people have been asking. The game does seem to have evolved conceptually, but I think you should also look at it this way. If playing within a medieval society (or similar analog) is why you backed the game, then that requirement is not diminished by the introduction of additional tribes that are modeled after different societies. As long as you have the option (presumably, the Neran "tribe" satisfies this if not others), you just need to pick that tribe and you can get as medieval as you want. :)

Point taken, but many of us have already committed to a community and will thus be forced to either abandon that or play a tribe that is fundamentally incompatible with how they like to enjoy and play the game. Especially for the kingdoms that will be last to pick their domain.


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6/21/2017 2:46:01 PM #9

Some of us have "floated" and made friends among various Kingdoms for JUST that reason and / or we intend on being merchants and have to be friendly with all in order to have the best gaming experience. So here is to those that would like to be the next "Marco Polo's" of Elyria!