Yes, it has been a quiet few weeks here at the Echo but Soulbound Studios have been far from silent. In fact, we have an awful lot to cover including two videos (which has now become three while I was writing!), two Q&As, loads of social media and there has been chatter on the IRC too. So you better get ready, grab some tea, and settle in because this is going to be a long one!

In chronological order we are going to be covering, deep breath now; priests, barbers, tattooists and who are those people over at Soulbound Studios and what are they doing? Children, self-defense, artifcats, relics and of course snow!

Priests

Religion is, as you will know if you have read any of the previous articles, something I think makes Chronicles of Elyria stand out. Religions that may affect us in different ways, may have different requirements, and certainly will start a conflict. However, we were not really sure how much interaction we could have within a religion. Could we actually take on religious roles:

Yes, you can become a priest of a religion as we’ve talked about [previously] there are at least four religions, and many of them do have priests. As to whether or not you can do ceremonies, you can. Whether or not they’ll have any effect or not, I guess you’ll have to wait and see. [Source – YouTube Q&A]

There we have it, we can participate actively in a religion. We can carry out ceremonies even. However, what good it will do us whether it might even have a bad effect (after all this is Soulbound we are talking about!) we just do not know.

Barbershops and Tattoo Artists

Both are likely to be, so a big yeahy to that. However, it is the distinction between the skills and how they might be implemented that really caught my attention. Here we have an example of how that really works when coming to designing what is a skill, and what is an interesting mechanic but more of a secondary skill.

A Tattoo Artist would concentrate on a part of the scribing skill, it is a skill that requires the player to be good at it as well as progress as a character. Combining it with the other scribing abilities they could make a living, but even alone it might be something people want to specialise in. Being a barber? Not quite the same.

What we’ll probably end up doing is allow people to unlock patterns for that but without having to do it in a specific skill tree. It’s just one of those kind of secondary skill trees, where those patterns exist, but there isn’t really a skill bar. There’s no progress that you could make in this aside from having those patterns. [Source – YouTube Q&A]

It is not something that is going to be a traditional skill. It is something that people are less likely yo specialise in, because unlike scribing there is not really any other knock-on benefits from learning it so it might well not be something you could live off alone. Not saying if you learn a good style you could not make quite a lot using it, but maybe not everyone in the town wants that Victoria Beckham bob?

Meet the Team

Confused about who Jeremy Walsh is? Want to see amazing flybys and screens with developers genuinely developing? Want to see how fancy pants Nathan looks?

Children

I was almost reluctant to share this yet as it is one of those topics we are waiting for a Developer Journal on, and one that we need because this system has a lot of details that simply can not be covered in a Q&A. So take this section with a pinch of salt knowing we are going to get a better understanding of the system later.Children and inheritance are tricky. Trying to balance people wanting to play their heirs with a business model that makes you pay for your life, it is hard to get right without looking like you are trying to rip people off. Yes you have a world of story and you want children to be a part of it, but you also do not want to take over a character with only 30 years left on the clock.

Children and inheritance are tricky. Trying to balance people wanting to play their heirs with a business model that makes you pay for your life, it is hard to get right without looking like you are trying to rip people off. Yes you have a world of story and you want children to be a part of it, but you also do not want to take over a character with only 30 years left on the clock.

The concession that we had to make is that you can’t have your children be in the world and doing things before they are being played by somebody or something. [Source – YouTube Q&A]

This is something we are going to have to get our heads around, and more information will certainly help. However, for now, your heir will float in the nothing of the world until you die and will appear in the world bright, ready, and aged 15. You can also still give child codes to your friends or strangers and as soon as they use them they get their own perky 15-year-old. You can also make 15-year-old NPCs who appear instantly. This means the timelines are little out, the child you had first might well end up being the youngest…However, while that is a bit of a lore kerfuffle it is far better to have lore issues that consumer problems. This option really is great for us as players, as consumers, and there is a lot to say for that.

However, while that is a bit of a lore kerfuffle it is far better to have lore issues that consumer problems. This option really is great for us as players, as consumers, and there is a lot to say for that.

Self Defence

While you are entitled to self-defence in this game, you do have to be defending yourself from an attack that has begun. They have to hit first. That is an interesting development because it seems risky, seems abusable, but is it really?

That’s one of those things you’re gonna have to deal with. You’re gonna have to choose to go out into the wilds if you see that person hovering by the edge of the capital or by the edge of town, watching you leave– do you confront them? Do you hire additional bodyguards as a result of them being there? There are plenty of options you could do as a result of your observations, going up and hitting them first though is generally not gonna be smiled upon. [Source – YouTube Q&A]

We do have options. If someone keeps trying to jump in front of you while you are out on a hunt remember this is not the sort of game where the animals patiently wait at their spawn points for you to hit them. The person following you has put themselves in an awful lot of danger. Even if you do not manage to feed them to a Canis Rabbit then you can still confront them, talk to them about the situation. And then depending on the outcome besmirch their reputation, challenge them to a duel, or simply run away (my preferred option in all situation) there are ways out of it other than to be annoyed.

Artifacts and Relics

These are rare items in the game but they actually seem to have some differences. Both in how they are gained, and also used, or not used…

Artifacts are items that have taken part in some kind of Achievement. As a result, they become known items. They are named. All Artifacts have a passive bonus of some kind. Passive means it doesn’t get any kind of activate-able ability, but something that’s always true, even if you don’t realize you have an Artifact. [Source – Caspian IRC]

So while we do not use an Artifact it certainly can benefit from it. It also means that you might not know you have it, might not know it has a name, but perhaps you notice something slightly different since you got it. Perhaps someone in the city will know more, know it’s name, know what it is doing. Very intriguing!

Relics have active abilities, but require you to know *how* to use the ability. [Source – Caspian IRC]

How you get your hands on a relic was not shared, but I would bet a lot of money that the answer is not ‘easily’! However, if you do have a relic it might be as useless as a rock unless you can unlock it’s secret. Another trip to that weapons expert in the city to see if any of his dusty tomes can unlock its powers?

Snow

Seasons are a big part of the Elyrian world. They are part of the time passing, our character aging, as well as part of the challenge of survival. Well we got our first look at something other than the bright blue skys of Elyria:

Check out the footprints people!

Muster Point

There is so much content, such as screenshots and concept art that it would not fit it. So make sure you are subscribed to the Soulbound Studios Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube where you can find another video I will be talking about more tomorrow!