Author: victoriarachel

Akashic Records – Anara Starsong

~ victoriarachel ~ 6 Comments

Often all we get of lore is a snippet, a few lines to tempt us in and then nothing more. I am over the stars, to tell you that is not the case today! Today I have a story to share with you. The story of Anara Starsong. The Seer we have heard about on the forums before. A woman who has had some interesting times over her young life. This background story was shared by the Lore Master himself Jeromy ‘Caspian’ Walsh.

Anara is a noblewoman, the youngest daughter of a warm and caring Duke. At the tender age of six she started having strange nightmares that eventually turned into waking dreams. Initially, her family just thought she had an active imagination, but before long they realized she was having memories and flashbacks. Memories… that were not her own. Continue reading →

Chat Log – Trolling

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Unfortunately this is not a chat log about the under bridge dwelling variety of trolls, I like them. Instead it is about those people who find pleasure in causing nothing but misery for others, not such a fan of them. In a game where murder can affect the amount of playtime your money buys you we, quite rightly, want reassurance that trolls or griefers are not going to put us out of pocket.

Let’s start at what makes a troll in this game? If someone one incapacitates you, performs a coup de grace causing you to lose spirit, and when you return to your body half the contents of your backpack has gone, does that make them a troll? Perhaps. But, perhaps not. Perhaps, they have spent time and effort to learn that you are transporting a very valuable item in your backpack. That the safe house you are taking it is down a road that goes through several remote locations. That you are not taking guards to try to look inconspicuous. Being attacked then is just a part of the story. I think Miguel ‘Souzou’ Sierra, Community Manager for Chronicles of Elyria, has summed it up best:

Murder is as much a part of the game as many other things. Murderers are not by default “griefers”, because murder is an intentional mechanic in the game. … If your purpose of playing the game is simply to abuse other players and detract from their experience, you’re probably a griefer.

Continue reading →

Journal Abridged – Maps, Cartography, and Navigation

A character holding a map in Chronicles of Elyria.
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This series takes the Developers Journals and gives you all the information broken down in to simple sentences. No waffle, or chicken for that matter. If you want discussion then you are going to have to wait for the Journal Discussed which will hit later week.

With the world of Elyria being on the larger side you are going to want to find your way around. However, this being the game that it is you are not going to be able to hit your ‘M’ key and have a perfect map of the world at your fingertips. No you are going to have to make that map, and then you are going to have to know how to use it (or of course pay someone to do those bits!). You can read the full version over at MMORPG.com, then read it all again with the abridged version below. Continue reading →

Journal Discussed – Character Roles, Skill Advancement, Crafting and Professions

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It has been a packed week for Developer Journal with a double bill landing this week. Luckily with the topics being so linked it is easy enough to talk about them together, so that is what we are going to do. If you haven’t caught up yet then the Journal Abridged for Character Roles and Skill Advancement covers how we might decide to build our characters from the wealth of skills available. Whereas Crafting and Professions focuses on how we are going to perform some of those skills if we choose to take on a Producer role, and some of the information Suppliers might want too.

With a lot to get through I think this is one of those times were we are just going to have to jump straight in, so lets get started! Continue reading →

Journal Abridged – Crafting and Professions

A forge used fro crafting shown at night in Chronicles of Elyria.
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This series takes the Developers Journals and gives you all the information in easy to manage parts… sound familiar well that is because while the last DJ hit the shelves on Monday they are already back with new news! If you want discussion then you are going to have to wait for the Journal Discussed which will hit this weekend and covering both of this weeks journals.

We know there are a wide range of skills, but it is time to take a dive into the Crafting skills. How you get started, how player skill as well as character skill is involved and all sorts of other bits thrown in. Spoiler, crafting recipes is my favourite part of this one! We also learn more about the resources in the game. If you want to read it all head over to the MMORPG.com article or get all the key facts below. Continue reading →

Chat Log – Explorers

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Did you know if you miss the weekly Live Chat with the developers you can catch up with all the questions and answers on the forum? You can even pose your questions ahead of time and get the answers delivered after the chat if you miss it! Two weeks in and the new format is working well. I recommend checking out this week’s thread here, and keeping an eye out next Monday for another thread to get your three questions in. Sometimes it is not the question itself that gives the most interesting answers but when the team expand on the concept enquired about, which was the case this week!

The latest Developer Journal highlights the different roles characters might want to take on. No we are not talking about tank, damage or healer we still do not know about the combat system (though if it has the trinity in it I will eat my pantaloons). We are talking about play styles, what sort of thing you enjoy doing most in the world and how you can use skills to build a character that will fit you. Continue reading →

Journal Abridged – Character Roles and Skill Advancement

An anvil being used for crafting in Chronicles of Elyria.
~ victoriarachel ~ 1 Comment

This series takes the Developers Journals and gives you all the information in easy to manage parts. No turbos, no superchargers or any whooping v8s. If you want discussion then you are going to have to wait for the Journal Discussed which will hit sometime this week.

Skills to pay the bills, is how the saying goes. But which skills are you going to pick? There are so many different options in Chronicles of Elyria. This Developer Journal focuses on how you can customise and build the character you want to play. You get to decide your role in society and how you are going to go about earning your crust. You can read the full version over at MMORPG.com, then get a recap with the abridged version below. Continue reading →

Forum Finds – World Size

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Today’s topic is one that I find fascinating because it contains numbers, and I like those! However, there is something very important for you to understand about these numbers and that is that they are subject to change. We are still in relatively early days of development for many aspects of the game. It is clear the developers have a good handle on what they want and how they want to get it, but some of the detail will only come through testing and iteration. That is the case when we discuss the size of the world, or more accurately the time it takes to travel across it.

When the news came to the forums this week that we are looking at 48 hours to cross from one side of the map to the other, I was, well… rather confused! I have mostly played theme park games up until now and try to get from one side of the map to the other just isn’t a useful metric. Let’s take the behemoth World of Warcraft. How long does it take to get from one end of Kalimdor (a continent) to the other? Who cares! It is never something you are going to do as part of normal game play. When quests lead you between areas with much back and forth the overall time to travel a continent is irrelevant, even if it is less than an hour as the crown flies (according to this source).

In an open world sandbox game where people are encouraged to travel and explore, like Chronicles of Elyria, it can really make a difference. But is that a good travel time? It is across the whole map, but how are we travelling? What does that actually mean for a player? How will that impact my game? Continue reading →

Chat Log – Land Ownership

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Home. It is quite an emotive word just all by itself. However, when you think of all that goes with it, your house, your belongs, those precious mementos that might seem like nothing to someone else but to you mean the world. The idea of having somewhere like that, but in a game, is quite fascinating. We know player housing will be a crucial part of Chronicles of Elyria, but where will you put that house? Land ownership is one of the features of the game we are still awaiting information on, but we now have some insights after the last live chat.

Before jumping in with the new information, lets make sure we are all on the same page. Previously the developers have explained that all land is owned in some way. Now that may not be by an individual, it could be by the ‘state’. The world is broken down into Kingdoms, which contain Duchies, that are made up of Counties. It is one of these ‘states’ that owns any land that doesn’t yet have a title deed.

If all that land is owned by someone how do you make it your own? How much do you get? What can you do with it? Well that is what this Chat Log is hoping to answer. Continue reading →

Journal Discussed – Contracts and Player-Created Professions

Contract being viewed in Chronicles of Elyria.
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Engaging with other players is what makes multi-player games. We are all social creatures, but strangely MMOs can be a very anti-social environment. We end up playing our own single-player games just in a shared world. That is not something they want to see in Chronicles of Elyria, so they are bring that trust back… sort of! Contracts are a way of making an agreement between players. It could be a simple trade contract between individuals. Or you could request for help for harvest from as many people are willing to provide it. Perhaps you are a King passing laws that all your citizens must obey. They are all contracts, and all open up a world of possibility if you want more information about them check out the Journal Abridged.

Some of the most discussed areas of contracts have been writing them, breaking them, enforcing them, and laws. Over the last couple of Live Chats we have learn some interesting things about all these areas. I put out bounties on them all and luckily every quote has been brought back alive to share with you here. Continue reading →