Journal Abridged – Technology & Research

A telescope in Chronicles of Elyria.
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This series takes the Developers Journals and gives you all the information simplified and listed out. It means you can just get the recipe and not have to put in the research yourself. If you want discussion then you are going to have to wait for the Journal Discussed which will hit later this week. I’m guessing Thursday this week, let’s see how far out I am.

Soulbound Studios have said from the outset that they intend to make a living world. What makes it living? Living characters, that age and die. Living environments with seasons and weather. Living communities with political change. The other part that changes over time is the technology of the world, Elyria advances through time. It is us as players that cause that advancement with the research we undertake. We are the ones that decide what we want to know next, where we want to push the world. If that sounds as exciting to you as it does to me then you might want the full version over on MMORPG.com, but if you just want to get straight in and find out all the highlights read below.

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Journal Discussed – Identity, Disguises, and Reputation

A character wearing a hooded cloak in Chronicles of Elyria.
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In most MMOs we play the hero, coming into town to solve everyone’s problems. From the rats in the basement to the fact most of the town folk have been slaughtered by some great evil. What if we do not want to play the good guy? What if we want to be the great evil that is slaughtering the town folk? Hey, maybe we were the ones that let the rats in! Living that sort of evil life is not great for your reputations. So what if we could live a double life? Hide our true identity, commit crimes in another’s name, even frame our nemesis. In Chronicles of Elyria that is possible and if you haven’t read all about identity, disguises, and reputation then go to the Journal Abridged. If you want a bit more head below!

Jeromy ‘Caspian’ Walsh was in the hot seat again answering questions that our lovely host BicycleWalrus of DM21 Gaming had gathered from the forums. You can watch the video in full here, or if you are a more text based kinda person then Maygus and Xilana have got you covered with their transcript over here. Remember to join the community and keep an eye on the forums for new Q&A threads so you can get your questions answered. All sorts of topics were covered but there were a lot of great information shared about identity, disguises, and reputation that you certainly need to know so lets jump in. Oh and lets go in reverse order to mix it up! Continue reading →

Chat Log – Concerns, Part 2

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We all have concerns about the game. We are all human after all. At the beginning of last week the developers took the opportunity to take the time to address as many of the concerns that were being posted on the forums as they could. This lead to two and a half hours worth of Live Chat between Jeromy ‘Caspian’ Walsh and community member BicycleWalrus on his channel DM21 Gaming.

Carrying on from Part 1 posted yesterday this chat log is all about bringing you my Top 3 Topics from the second part of the live chat as before the video can be found here, and the transcript made by community members Xilana and Maygus can be found here. Lets get started! Continue reading →

Chat Log – Concerns, Part 1

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Do you know what I like when a game is in development? It is is developers that actively address the concerns of the prospective player base. No, I do not mean bow to their demands. Just listen, given feedback, talk about the possible problems. Even if that talking is just, “Actually we think it is better this way, and we hope you agree when you get to play.” That is great, it means they heard. At the beginning of this week we had two live stream conversations addressing posts players had made on the forums in a thread of their biggest worries about the game. It was glorious!

The live chats comprised a total of two and a half hours of conversation between the  Jeromy ‘Caspian’ Walsh and our lovely community member BicycleWalrus on his youtube channel DM21 Gaming (he also does a lot of other CoE videos so well worth hitting subscribe). Part 1 of the Live Chat can be found here and Part 2 can be found here. There is also transcripts made by community members Xilana and Maygus, with help from Rhaegys and Howl, so if you prefer to read rather than watch check those out here.

There is so much information to cover in those two videos that it has taken me most of the week to realise I can’t do it! If you want it all head to the links above. What I can do is bring you my Top 3 Topics covered in each part to bring some attention to the parts I think everyone should know! So lets get on with my Top 3 from Part 1. Continue reading →

Journal Abridged – Identity, Disguises, and Reputation

NPC Naomi Jade wearing a disguise in Chronicles of Elyria.
~ victoriarachel ~ Leave a comment

This series takes the Developers Journals and gives you all the information in a nice bullet point list. I like bullet points, but I still do not get why they are named after bullets. If you want discussion then you are going to have to wait for the Journal Discussed which will hit later this week, I’m guessing Sunday!

Who we are in the game is incredibly important to those of us who role-play. However, in Chronicles of Elyria it is going to be something that everyone starts to focus on much more. Not only who we are, but who other people think we are, and what they think about us. The constant risk of someone not being quite who they say they are. Identity, disguises, and reputation are actually all intricate systems and a lot to cover in one journal. So if you want to get all the detail the full version is up on MMORPG.com, but if all those facts are a little overwhelming the abridged version is below. Continue reading →

Glossary – A handy list of words

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You might have noticed a new button on the menu up there. *Points up above the gorgeous concept art.* Yes that’s right we now have a Glossary.

The idea is simple this is a new game. New games have a habit of bringing with them a lot of new terms. Or even more confusing taking terms we thought we knew and giving them a different spin. The Glossary takes all these words and puts them in a alphabetised list with some handy definitions.

Think I have missed something? Is there a word you think should be in the list? Well you are probably right! So why not let me know either in the comments below or over on twitter @ElyriaEcho.

Journal Discussed – Equipment and Inventory

A blacksmith stall at a market in Chronicles of Elyria.
~ victoriarachel ~ 1 Comment

First impressions count. The way you present yourself can really impact how people view you and interact with you. In Chronicles of Elyria this is just as true. Walk down the street wearing a mask and people will get nervous. Turn up carrying a rapier and people are going to think you might just want to use it! In Elyria those first impressions are going to make a difference to how you are treated by other players. So I think you better go and read the Journal Abridged and then we better talk about the equipment and inventory system, as how you use it might save your life.

What you see is what you get, and what you get is a rather different equipment and inventory system to what you may be used to. Equipment that offers a lot of choice and a lot of customisation. That means there are a lot of indications to onlookers about how much of a threat you might, or how valuable a target you are. With the ability to loot players in this game, if you are dressed in the richly coloured robes of noble you might want to be travelling with some guys who covered in studded leather carrying large maces. Continue reading →

Chat Log – Shops and Auction Houses

~ victoriarachel ~ 1 Comment

One of the professions a player may choose to design their character around in that of a merchant. The role has been mentioned in numerous discussion and developers journals. The focus is always on the transport their wares from they were obtained back to town. Normally travelling along dangerous roads, their wagons loaded with goods and guards at their sides. There certainly seems to be the chance for adventure as a merchant. However, what do the merchant do once they get to the end of the road, when they find themselves in town? Well that is when they come into their own when they sell their wares.

This chat log focuses on the selling of goods, both through shops and auction houses in the game. Strangely quite a few questions came up this week possibly inspired by the great screenshot of a blacksmith stall in the latest Developer Journal. In fact it was clearly that image that inspired long time community member Lenek as they actually referred to in their question for Monday’s live chat. They wanted to know if we could set up our own stalls just anywhere on the streets like the screenshot showed:

Like in our world, there’s zoning rules. A space has to be zoned for a market for it to be possible. That’ll prevent people from setting up carts in the middle of the street.

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Journal Abridged – Equipment and Inventory

A character wearing leather armour in Chronicles of Elyria.
~ victoriarachel ~ Leave a comment

This series takes the Developers Journals and gives you all the information but none of the literary styling of Jeromy Walsh. No background, no thought process, no amusing details. If you want discussion then you are going to have to wait for the Journal Discussed which will hit later week, or possible next if this week was anything to go by!

We all carry things with us every day. Perhaps like me you have a handbag that you carry an array of possibly useful items in. Or perhaps you are like my partner and get someone else to carry your items it their handbag… Either way, you are catered for in this game. And with so many different outfit combinations you can find the perfect armour, clothing, or undergarment to match your backpack! To read all the good stuff go to the full version over at MMORPG.com, but if you just want the facts the abridged version is below. Continue reading →

Journal Discussed – Maps, Cartography, and Navigation

A character holding a sundial in Chronicles of Elyria.
~ victoriarachel ~ Leave a comment

Explorers often get a raw deal in many MMOs. There is this whole wide world, but nothing new, nothing unknown, nothing that actually requires exploring. That is what makes me excited about the cartography skill, it is what made me excited enough to make it the topic of my first ever blog post three months ago. I am really pleased to see that now we know more about the topic all those things that I was excited about, expansive skills, exploration, community interaction, are all there. If you haven’t caught up yet head over to the Journal Abridged to get all the details.

Of course with all my excitement I still had questions about the new system, as did many other members of the community. Luckily with an active developer team no question goes unanswered for too long… well as long as you do not ask about magic or combat. How they are still keeping those systems a secret I do not know. Let us find ourselves on the map and travel our way through tedious clichés and see what else we learnt about maps, cartography and navigation this week. Continue reading →