Journal Discussed – Chat System

A skull cave from Chronicles of Elyria
~ victoriarachel ~ 1 Comment

You may have noticed there was no usual journal abridged on Monday, that is because the developers have forsaken us. That, or they took a week off to concentrate on some other community features while MMORPG.com was focusing on PAX Prime. Either way, there was nothing new to abridge. “So what exactly are you going to discuss?” Well, I am glad you asked. Before the Echo started printing there were some Developers Journals that were published only to the official site, today we are going to blow the dust of one of them. Let’s talk about the chat system! Continue reading →

Forum Finds – Soulless

~ victoriarachel ~ 6 Comments

Are you looking for a way to live forever? A way to extend your life over what is normally possible? Well, it looks like Chronicles of Elyria has a range of opportunities for you. Previously I mentioned an ancient relic that may be able to suspend the aging process, at a cost. This Forum Find focuses on some other ways to possibly elongate your life by becoming soulless. But before you start trying to pull your soul out remember, the chance of a long life comes at high costs.

One of the earliest ways we were told about extending your life was actually revealed by Caspian way back at the first Developer Journal Easter egg hunt:

At some point after game launch a dark magic will enter the world. This magic will make it possible for those gifted in such arts to transfer their soul from their body to a receptacle for safe keeping. So long as their soul is secure – they cannot die (though they continue to age). Continue reading →

Forum Finds – Inventory

Thandrus an NPC from Chronicles of Elyria
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There are certain systems in a game that are essential for play but are very really talked about. I think inventory is one of them. Sometimes you will hear people complain there is not enough of it, but really I can not think of anything else I have heard a community discuss. Well, let’s put that right for Chronicles of Elyria and have a good old look at what we know about the system so far.

From the Developer Journal #4 Easter Egg Hunt we found out that Soulbound Studios are (yet again) going away from the norm when it comes to the inventory system. Moving towards realism and a ‘what you see is what you get’ approach. Here is the obligatory Jeromy ‘Caspian’ Walsh quote:

In CoE, everything carried is either in your hands or worn on your body. For example, there may be stuff in your backpack – but that’s only if you HAVE a backpack. If so, it’ll be either in your hands or on your back. Continue reading →

Chronicler Conjecture – Realism

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While not really an under wraps part of the game, how ‘Realism’ affects Chronicles of Elyria are something I have been pondering about. It is a word that developers have used quite a few times, to the point where part of the game’s introduction is about the ‘dramatic realism’ we are going to be able to experience. However, what actually is realism when it comes to a game set in a fantasy world? How real is ‘realistic’?

The reason I started musing on this topic is because of mjwalstead, a member of the community over on the official forums. There was a discussion after the last developers journal about griefers murdering others and how we would try to prevent this. Before we go any further I just want to say that murder is a serious topic, and the discussion of it in relation to game mechanics is not in any way intended to diminish or overlook the seriousness of such a heinous act. However, as it is going to be a part of the game and I do want to talk about how that impacts Chronicles of Elyria. Continue reading →

Journal Discussed – Incapacitation, Spirit Walking, and Permadeath

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If you have not read this week’s Chronicles of Elyria developer journal yet you can catch up with the abridged version here. In a nutshell it is about death, Death and DEATH. Basically, there is a lot of dying in this game but of different levels with different consequences. 

There were quite a few questions raised in the forums mainly by community member Ender who, rightly, wanted a bit more information about how this was all going to pan out. The disadvantage to the Developer Journal is the 2000 word limit, as I am sure we would get reams on each topic if Jeromy ‘Caspian’ Walsh had the chance! However, he was on the forums to answer some of the concerns raised especially with regards to Spirit Walking, griefing and going to the toilet.  Continue reading →

Forum Finds – Intended Audience

~ victoriarachel ~ 3 Comments

Most of the things I bring to your attention with Forum Finds are details about game mechanics. This post is about something different. It is simply something. I read and thought, “That matters.” It is a post about the intended audience of the game. Who they are actually aiming this product at. It is about us:

Chronicles of Elyria is most definitely for a certain type of individual. It’s for people like me and my team. People who want to feel like they have an impact on the world.

This is a part of a post was made by Jeromy ‘Caspian’ Walsh in a thread about Character Creation of all things started by community member Illuminatos. So I think it certainly qualifies as a Forum Find as I would never have thought to look there for this sort of post! Jeromy continued: Continue reading →

Journal Abridged – Incapacitation, Spirit Walking, and Permadeath

The astral plane in Chronicles of Elyria
~ victoriarachel ~ 3 Comments

This series takes the Developers Journals and gives you a run down of the key information covered. It gives you all the facts in easy to digest bullet points, no nonsense, if you want discussion then you are going to have wait for the Journal Discussed which will hit later in the week.

Chronicles of Elyria’s has death, in many different forms, with varying effects. If you are getting a bit confused about how it all works then this is the Developer Journal is for you Incapacitation, Spirit Walking, and Permadeath. Want to read the whole thing it is up on MMORPG.com now or the abridged version is below. Continue reading →

Forum Finds – World Building

~ victoriarachel ~ 3 Comments

It is amazing how frequently large amounts of information are being shared by the developers in the forums. Chronicles of Elyria is so large and detailed, with so many interlocking systems there always seems to be something new to tell us about. This Forum Find focuses on the world itself. How it is built, how it is populated and how it feels to be playing in it.

Community member Zultra started a thread asking how the world would be created. Was this the world going to contain procedurally generated features? Our ever friendly forum Dev Caspian soon picked up the scent and gave a long and detailed answer that began:

Great question, Zultra. Much/most of the world will be procedurally generated. Remember, each of our servers will have completely different continents in order to guarantee that stuff discovered on one server doesn’t ruin it for another server.

Well, that solves that, on to the next forum find…Oh okay, there is more. Continue reading →

Forum Finds – Disguises

~ victoriarachel ~ 2 Comments

Hidden within each Developer Journal is a phrase that hints towards as yet unannounced features. The forums are abuzz after each journal scouring the text and examining each and every word to try to uncover the clue. This week was no exception. I thought the information uncovered really needed highlighting, so it is the focus of this Forum Find.

Did you always think it was odd that in other MMOs you knew every stranger’s name and they somehow knew yours? Well, Chronicles of Elyria that will not be the case. Just like in the real world you will not have the mystic ability to know people’s names before being introduced. As Caspian informed us on the official forums:

In Chronicles of Elyria, all characters- NPC, PC, OPC, etc… start out unnamed. You don’t know who they are until they introduce themselves to you, and vice versa. However, through the use of disguises, you can create alternate identities…

Continue reading →

Journal Discussed – Time, Aging, and Offline Player Characters

An ice cavern in Chronicles of Elyria
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If you have not read this week’s Chronicles of Elyria developer journal yet you can catch up with the abridged version here. It is an interesting journal covering three linking systems with, as always, a lot to tell us about the game. I think I have spoken about aging enough, but I can not help but repeated (in a hopefully not too smug way) the animation of the aging is superb and the images you have got are just a taste! So I am going to concentrate on the final part of this weeks journal.

Offline Player Characters (OPCs), it is a lot to take in so let’s start with a quick overview. When you log-out at the end of your time playing, your character does not. They stay in the world, able to interact with the world and other players. They age while you are offline at the same rate as everyone else, so there is no way to extend your characters life by simply not logging in. Oh and if you are not careful they can die while you are away, that’s right die! Continue reading →