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[Sticky] Pre-Alpha Testing has officially begun!

Hail and well met, Elyrians!

Soulbound Studios has been hard at work on gameplay features and technology that will deliver Chronicles of Elyria to our backers and beyond! Over the last year, extensive work has been laid in the following areas:

  • Basic and advanced traversal mechanics and animations
  • Combat, NPC Combat AI, and animations
  • Combat combo system and combo management
  • Basic Survival mechanics (food, water, shelter)
  • NPC personalities and AI routines (go to work, sleep, hang out with friends, etc)
  • NPC interaction and animations
  • NPCs giving the player contracts
  • Events unfolding by the Story Engine
  • Giving and receiving information using the Knowledge System
  • Procedural dungeon generation
  • Character attributes as they apply to survival, combat, etc
  • Equipment, Inventory, and management of both
  • Environment exploration for the Tropical Wetlands, Semi-Arid Desert, and Lower Montane Forest
  • Creature models, animations, and AI
  • Interacting with objects and stations in the world for contracts, stories, etc
  • Character skills a they relate to all of the above activities

We've plucked out one set of experiences, and the features that make them up, to include in our first playtest, named: Trial of the Tested!

Trial of the Tested

This playable is focused on traversal and procedural dungeon generation. Alpha 1 backers will play through a Waerdic obstacle course as either Neran, To'resk, or The Waerd. Different traversal types that players will encounter include:

  • Climbing across walls and jumping between them
  • Jumping across platforms or gaps
  • Climbing poles and jumping between them
  • Climbing and swinging on ropes
  • Ziplining
  • Balancing on beams and jumping over gaps
  • Sliding through small gaps
  • Dive rolling over small barriers
  • Running along walls and jumping between them

A variety of obstacles are assembled together by our procedural dungeon generator, and testers can select the difficulty of the obstacles in the course they want to play. Some are quite easy and most players should be able to get the hang of them with a little practice. Some are quite challenging and will take timing and precision to succeed! In Chronicles of Elyria, some characters will pursue advanced traversal skills to explore caves, dungeons, ruins, or scale fortifications, so it is important that there exists a wide range of skill levels that characters can learn, in game! The procedurally generated world will allow there to be varied challenges for these skills just about anywhere.

The test client includes ample telemetry to help us gain insights about player experiences. This objective data, along with player ratings and write-in feedback, will help us improve the gameplay for future pre-alpha playables and beyond. We believe strongly in getting feedback early and often. The entire Soulbound Studios team is excited to have our work in the hands of players, and look forward to learning what we can improve to make the game even better as we continue development.

This test period is expected to last for three weeks, with some downtime expected for maintenance.

NDA Is In Effect

As a reminder, the participants in this test are bound by NDA and cannot share screenshots, video, or other materials. They are permitted to let Discord display their Game Activity, so don't be surprised if you see folks playing Chronicles of Elyria!

More playable experiences are planned as we build up speed with our test cohort. Stay tuned for more exciting things throughout 2020!

Pledged to Your Continued Adventures in Life, Both Actual and Fantasy,

Vye


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3/21/2020 12:12:09 AM #16

I can't wait to play Parkour Tycoon.


3/21/2020 12:13:30 AM #17

Since this is in semi-arid Waerd territory, I can only assume NDA means "No Dras Allowed"? :)


3/21/2020 12:14:30 AM #18

How often do the leader boards get updated? When I get home I'm going to spend an ungodly amount of time on this.


3/21/2020 12:16:14 AM #19

Where do I download this trial?


Alt text - can be left blank

3/21/2020 12:17:21 AM #20

Posted By TheeLucy at 5:14 PM - Fri Mar 20 2020

How often do the leader boards get updated? When I get home I'm going to spend an ungodly amount of time on this.

They update in real-time. And there's already some strong performers on the leaderboard.


3/21/2020 12:21:33 AM #21

This looks awfully similar to what was presented at that PAX conference a few years ago right?

The one where you guys showed off the movement mechanics and had the mobile game for. Anyone remember that?


3/21/2020 1:09:33 AM #22

so glad to see some player testing happening. It makes me feel like it might actually happen maybe


3/21/2020 1:15:39 AM #23

We always joked and said it might take until the end of the world for CoE to happen; go figure. This is the best news we humans got in the last seven days. ❤️


3/21/2020 1:16:49 AM #24

Still wary these days


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3/21/2020 1:18:26 AM #25

Posted By Devoun at 3/21/2020 12:21:33 AM

This looks awfully similar to what was presented at that PAX conference a few years ago right?

The one where you guys showed off the movement mechanics and had the mobile game for. Anyone remember that?

Indeed, we did have a PAX East demo that was also traversal focused. We learned a lot from that demo and have been able to make improvements alongside other feature work we've done on the game. We've iterated on it plenty, and, now, it's ready to playtest at home with our Alpha 1 backers!


3/21/2020 1:29:01 AM #26

Well done CoE team,

In the midst of all the global craziness people needed some positive news. And you guys came through for your community.

Now I have to buy a hat so I can say: “my hat’s off to you.”


"I'd rather die standing than live on my knees."

3/21/2020 1:47:12 AM #27

I'm very happy the team has reached this milestone, even though I'm not in alpha 1. This is fantastic!


3/21/2020 1:52:18 AM #28

How does one know if they qualify for Alpha 1? Will there be a message in account inbox or something?


3/21/2020 1:54:24 AM #29

You had to have purchased Alpha 1 from the store when it was available. If you have Alpha 1 you'll see the "Early Access" forum section of the forums.


3/21/2020 1:55:56 AM #30

Posted By Najanhoth at 09:47 AM - Sat Mar 21 2020

I'm very happy the team has reached this milestone, even though I'm not in alpha 1. This is fantastic!

Couldn’t agree with you more. I am not in Alpha I either but this is a Huge step on so many levels...

I always said CoE team made mistakes like any other.. But they are made of good, sincere and dedicated people and that they will come through for their community.

I am very pleased with this perfect timing news :) well done indeed.


"I'd rather die standing than live on my knees."

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