Chronicles of Elyria

Chronicles of Elyria
Developer(s) Soulbound Studios
Director(s) Jeromy Walsh (CEO),
Lindsey Walsh (Outreach),
Eddie Smith (Art),
Adam Maxwell (Design)
Engine Soulborn Engine,
Unreal Engine 4
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows
Release Expected end of 2019/Early 2020
Genre(s) ARPG, Sim, RTS, Survival, Resource management[1]
Mode(s) Multi-player, Single-player

Chronicles of Elyria is an upcoming MMORPG[2][3][4] developed by Jeromy Walsh's company Soulbound Studios (SbS) for Microsoft Windows. Development of the game began in 2000 (see Development section below). Production started in 2016, and is being mostly financed from a large crowdfunding campaign. The game was originally planned for an estimated December 2017 release[5], but delays in production due to slow acquiring of staff as well as over-engagement with the game's community led to postponement until the end of 2019.[6] In 2016, Soulbound Studios partnered with Improbable[7] [8]to use SpatialOS for handling the server technology[9] of Chronicles of Elyria. However, in January 2018 SbS announced[10] they were no longer using SpatialOS due to Improbable announcing [11]that SpatialOS had depecrated support for JavaScript SDK among other issues. As such, SbS has incorporated piecemeal solutions such as Docker Swarm and RabbitMQ for server technology onto their own Soulborn Engine. Prologue: The Awakening, which will be able to be played both as a single-player and multi-player game set in the same universe as Chronicles of Elyria (CoE), is also being developed. It will be free to download and play as a solo experience. For multi-player, only the GM will need to purchase an Adventure Toolkit which is used to build your own adventure.

Gameplay

CoE is a mid-fantasy persistent world in which players not only interact with each other and the environment, but affect them as well. Other than when Spirit Walking (see Death subsection below), CoE is seamless. So a player will not encounter instanced dungeons. There will be dungeons, but once it has been cleared out there will not be re-spawning. Either someone or something will have to move in afterwards to make that dungeon have something in it.[1] CoE is an extremely large world. The starting continent will be approximately 96km x 192km (around 1,152x the size of Skyrim) and is only about 28% of the landmass in the world.[10] There are currently four servers planned: North America - West, North America - East, Europe, and Asia Pacific. There is no monthly subscription fee to play CoE; rather, players purchase a Spark of Life which goes into a soul. A player can have multiple souls (and multiple Sparks of Life), even souls on different servers. The Spark of Life put into a soul is what makes a character have life (see Death subsection below). CoE has the mechanic of What You See Is What You Get. WYSIWYG means that if a player kills a naked monster that wields a sword, the player will not be able to loot armor or an axe... the player will loot a sword. This also means limited inventory/carrying capacity.[12] There are no re-spawning monsters at regular intervals; instead there is a genetics and biological system. The resources are either finite (i.e.: mining; once it is mined, it is gone) or if it is renewable can be wiped out (i.e.: if all the trees are chopped down and no one plants new ones they will be gone). There is no excessively fast travel such as warping, nor is there sending things through the mail or an auction house to instantly get to someone. These things combined makes it pointless for someone to try and use bots to gold farm like in some other MMORPGs. Players will be able to write contracts and there will be an intricate law system in place.[13] This law system provides bounty tokens when someone has committed a crime. Getting caught committing crimes can have serious consequences (see Death subsection below). While designed for mouse and keyboard, CoE will also have controller support.[14]

Characters

A unique feature of CoE is that when the player logs out of the game the character does not disappear. Instead, while logged-out, the player's character becomes an Offline Player Character (OPC).[15] An OPC is similar to Non-player characters in that it is able to have automated actions. The player can program the OPC with scripts to correspond to certain events so that the character can do such mundane things as eating/drinking/sleeping/tending a shop. In order to avoid unfair play, OPCs cannot gain skill nor can players use the OPC scripts while logged-in. Since players can have multiple souls and Sparks of Life, a player can be logged onto one of their characters and interact with their other character's OPC if they so wish. Player Characters can get married to both other Player Characters as well as NPCs, though one must convince them to do so. Since there is a genetics and biological system, Player Characters can even have children, though this is done through the contract system. The children will be NPCs until such time as a Player Character uses a Spark of Life to inhabit that child. Players are able to restrict who can do so in order to protect their dynasty. NPCs in CoE also are not static. They do not repeat the same dialog over and over nor do they give repeatable quests. Instead, NPCs act according to Maslow's hierarchy of needs and will issue quests according to those needs.

Death

To solve the problem of people being at a disadvantage by joining a game later on than others, Soulbound Studios made so that characters experience Permadeath.[16] The maximum amount of playtime on a character is 52 weeks, where Spirit Walking and Permadeath can reduce the playtime. There are three kinds of death in CoE, the two already mentioned and the other is Incapacitation. Incapacitation is where the character is knocked out for a very short amount of time. The screen will be black but the player can still hear what is going on. Spirit Walking occurs when someone or something does a Coup de Grace against the player's character. CDG is a killing stroke forcing your soul to be ripped from the body. Then the player needs to walk the Astral Plane (Spirit Walking) to get back to their body. This becomes more and more difficult to accomplish the less spirit (playtime) that is left on that Spark of Life. Spirit Walking also has the negative effect of reducing the amount of spirit by a couple days (though there are circumstances where a character can have multipliers that make dying have an even higher penalty). To avoid griefing, there will be a limitation of spirit loss about once an Elyrian day (2.8 hours IRL). Those who commit crimes and get caught, though, have no spirit loss cap when receiving their punishment. An interesting feature related to Permadeath in CoE is that characters will age over time[15] and things such as environment and what the player does has an effect on the appearance of the character. Those worried about losing skill levels and items due to Permadeath need not worry. When the same soul is reincarnated with a new Spark of Life, they have skill ramps that grant a heightened skill learning rate and the player's previous character can will their property to their designated heir.

Families

A player can choose to either be born into a family line or as a ward of the state. [17] Players can start their own dynasty, or they can join another player's if they like by obtaining a child code from the other player. A child code is a code that is generated when a player has a child in order to prevent random people from taking over that child to play. The parent can open up the capability to become their child to the public if they so choose though. Having children does not require marriage and is done by means of a contract which stipulates who has control over the child. Being in a family has certain benefits such as financial and social support systems. If one chooses to become a ward of the state then you give up those benefits for additional character customization and flexibility. Unlike being born into a family, a ward can choose which gender they are and have a point distribution system they can use to set their starting skill values and character attributes. Wards also begin at age 12 (instead of 15 when born into a family) and so have an additional three weeks of adolescence in which they can further customize their character's skills and abilities.

Combat

SbS defines PvP a bit differently than those from other MMOs. PvP in CoE is not just whacking someone with a sword. PvP is the ability for one player to affect another - physically, socially, economically, culturally, legally, religiously. As such, CoE is full of PvP. It should be noted that except in times of war, physically attacking another character is illegal. Buildings and other items are destructible, but a fundamental principal in CoE is that destruction takes as much time and energy as construction. A house is expected to take several people about a week to make putting in a couple hours each day. So someone can't just torch a house and expect it to be destroyed in 30 minutes. The most effective way to tear down a building is with siege equipment and SbS has made it so fire from torches and arrows don't spread. As to the combat system, there is a soft-lock. It is similar to FPS aim assist. If the player moves their mouse cursor around it will soft-lock on a target. Then executing combat techniques will automatically move toward the target unless they dodge away from the player's camera. Then the player can miss them. The player can switch between targets simply by moving the look-at vector over a different target. There is no tab targeting. There is no hard-lock. There is no auto-attack. Characters have an attribute called 'fatigue' that makes it so zig-zagging is a poor strategy. People will only take about 5 hits to incapacitate, though it is possible for a player to one-shot someone in the head if they have no armor on their head. There is no +100 strength armor or anything like that. Combat is vastly dependent on player skill. [18]

Skill

There are no character levels in CoE, instead the focus is on skill. CoE does not limit gameplay by Character class either, as there are none.[19] All skill trees are available just by gathering any necessary items and engaging in the skill. CoE relies heavily on player skill.[18] The player's character will not auto-attack. If a sword is crafted, it is because the player's character pounded the metal with a hammer after putting it in a forge. These concepts come from the Dev Journal about the Proteus Engine (which was later re-named to the Soulborn Engine),[20] that which guides the story, artificial intelligence, and game mechanics of CoE.

Roles

Even though there are no character classes in CoE, there are logically defined roles in the game. Also, a player is not restricted to only one role. These roles are divided into the following:

  • Champions - are those who make things safer for other people. Whether it be protecting convoys for merchants or killing the monsters in dungeons, these are the people you want looking out for you.[21]
  • Explorers - are those who go out travelling the world finding things, making note (or maps for others) of where to go and not go. They rely on the Survival skill tree to be successful in their role.[21]
  • Producers - make things through the Crafting skill tree. [21]Due to CoE relying more heavily on player skill than character skill, being a Producer will require far more time and effort than in most other MMORPGs. [19]
  • Suppliers - have a close relationship with Producers since Suppliers provide the Producers with what they need to craft. Suppliers fulfill this role by either gathering resources themselves to sell to merchants who in turn sell to Producers, Suppliers could be a merchant, or they are both gatherer and merchant.[21]

Skill Trees

The roles above correspond to different skill trees, but no one is limited to only one:

  • Bardic - skill is one not only of performing music that affects characters, but also that of intellectual pursuits. These range from making maps to observing clues to crimes.[21] A favorite skill of bounty hunters.
  • Combat - skill is having the capability to attack and defend. There are many types of weapons and fighting styles that one can utilize this skill for.[21]
  • Crafting - skill is about making things.[21] Almost everything can be crafted in CoE. Whether it be something as simple as a food dish to something as complex as a house.
  • Deviant - skill is used to sneak around undetected but also perform illegal activities such as stealing and breaking into homes.[21]
  • Survival - skill, a must for everyone that leaves the confines of a town, makes it so the character can find what it needs to keep on living, more readily be aware of one's surroundings, and perform first-aid.[21]

Politics

On each server there will be six kingdoms (Asia Pacific will have four and unlike other servers will be an archipelago), with each kingdom having 12 dukedoms, and each dukedom having 24 counties.[22] These are governed by nobles. While many of these positions will be held by players at launch, they are not guaranteed to hold onto their positions of power forever. It has been stated it is not a matter of if a player will lose their position, but a matter of when. Below nobles are the aristocracy which make up the mayors of towns. Below the aristocracy are the gentry, which are the land-owners. Below the gentry are the adventurers.

Noble Responsibilities

  • King/Queen - responsibilities center on determining the focus of the kingdom. They can also determine the currency to be used as well as define tax rates.[23].
  • Duke/Duchess - responsibilities center on defense, law, and order. They appoint Barons/Baronesses, judges, and sheriffs to the counties within the Duke's/Duchess' domain to carry out these tasks.[23]
  • Count/Countess - responsibilities center on managing the sale of land within the county through the Land Management Table, coordinating for equipment and people for the procurement of resources, and building of infrastructure such as roads.[23]

Aristocracy Responsibilities

Aristocrats are your Mayors and Barons. They determine how towns/cities/outposts are run and where structures are located. Barons have the additional duty of managing defense of domains.[23]

Development

Jeromy "Caspian" Walsh was designing CoE from 2000 to 2015, taking time to write various algorithms and proofs of concept for various mechanics. Most of his inspiration for CoE comes from the Wheel of Time series. In January 2015, Jeromy Walsh filed "Soulbound Studios, LLC" in Washington State in order to have a company that could make CoE. Also in 2015, Eddie "Heat" Smith and Nathan "Tripnull" Hitchcock joined Caspian to start working on more serious proof of concepts and got the game's website online. At the end of 2015 Brandon "Strider" Carpenter joined the team to provide animations. CoE had a kickstarter campaign from May 3 to June 3, 2016 [5] raising $1.36 million, surpassing their goal of $900k. However, developing an MMORPG of the quality SbS is aiming for requires more than that [24]and so the company has continued crowdfunding on their website and have raised over $4 million as of March 2018. [25] Pre-production ended in November 2016 at which time active production began. The "development" timeline[6] (not to be confused with release timeline) is as follows (Q=Quarter, T=Trimester, S=Semester):

1. V3 of the Website (Q3 2017)
2. VoxElyria (Q4 2017)<ref>"CHRONICLES OF ELYRIA DIVES INTO FRIENDS AND FAMILY ALPHA". Retrieved March 23, 2018.
3. Alpha 1 (T1 2018)
4. Server Selection (T1 2018)
5. Settlement / Domain Selection (T2 2018)
6. Kingdoms of Elyria (T2 2018)
7. Design Experiences (T3 2018)
8. Alpha 2 (T3 2018)
9. Beta 1 (S1 2019)
10. Prologue & CoE Adventure Toolkit (S1 2019)
11. Exposition (S1 2019)
12. Beta 2 (S1/S2 2019)
13. Stress Test (Any paid account)(S2 2019)
14. Launch (S2 2019)

  • VoxElyria (originally called ElyriaMUD) is a role-playing game with a subset of the features relating to Chronicles of Elyria, developed in a thin WebGL-based client. In part, VoxElyria will allow Soulbound Studios to test and design the massively multiplayer features of Chronicles of Elyria without having to wait for the content team to create 3D models, animations, textures, materials, etc.[6]
  • Alpha 1 is meant to give backers/players a chance to provide SbS feedback and play an active role in the game while it's in development. When Alpha 1 begins there will be very few actual game mechanics. But SbS will be rapidly releasing new features as they move through Release 4-7. Alpha 1 will grow to encompass about 65% of the overall features. With each one there will be a wipe, put the player in a place to test the desired mechanics, and then SbS will watch what the players do. SbS will be tracking telemetry, as well as asking for feedback in the Early Access forum on their website. From the feedback and the telemetry they get, SbS will make any necessary changes before moving on to Alpha 2.
  • Server Selection is an event where Kingdom owners will select the server for their kingdom.
  • Settlement/Domain Selection is when those who backed as kings/dukes/counts choose the areas of land (domain) that will be their kingdoms/dukedoms/counties; also, all those who backed as aristocracy and above will choose the villages/towns/cities/capitals (settlement) that will be under their control.
  • Kingdoms of Elyria is something like a Civilization Sim. Gentry will be focused on researching and building their trade, Mayors / Barons on building out their settlements, Counts on setting up trade routes and tapping their resources, Dukes on military engagements, and Kings on driving the technology, culture, etc.[22]
  • Design Experiences are player designs that once approved by SbS will be added to CoE. These range in complexity according to backing tiers. Initial DEs are a tattoo or hairstyle. From there it goes to a food, drink, or potion. Then to a weapon or shield. Followed by a ring, necklace, or other accessory. Higher still is a one-of-a-kind relic. Next level is a full suit of armor. After that is creating a unique creature. Finally at king/queen level is the ability to create a unique story-driven world event, boss, or castle.[5]
  • Alpha 2 is for people who want the earliest "complete" experience, rife with all the bugs, etc. Alpha 2 is "Feature Complete" and is mostly focused on architecture, structural stuff, settlements, and kingdom & land management features.
  • Beta 1 is for people who want to wait a bit longer for most of the big bugs to be worked out, and want to help root out the latter bugs while getting a chance to play a bit more.
  • Prologue and CoE Adventure Toolkit has a focus on fundamental player actions. [22]
  • Exposition is an early access period of 3 months before the launch, such access is guaranteed for anyone who has purchased a pledge package at the Bloodline tier package or higher. The goal of Exposition, while partly to build conflict, story, and unfolding events, is also about giving early players an opportunity to build out a flourishing world.
  • Beta 2 is for stress tests.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Frequently Asked Questions About Chronicles of Elyria". Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  2. ↑ "Chronicles of Elyria is Dropping Virtual World Platform SpatialOS". Retrieved June 4, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Soulbound Studios Wants to Bring Meaning Back to MMO Life". Retrieved March 23, 2018.
  4. ↑ "Chronicles of Elyria". Retrieved March 23, 2018.
  5. 1 2 3 "Chronicles of Elyria - Epic Story MMORPG with Aging & Death". kickstarter.com. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  6. 1 2 3 "State of Elyria - July 2017". Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Automaton Raises $10m and Announces Groundbreaking Game Project Built on Improbable's SpatialOS". Retrieved March 23, 2018.
  8. ↑ "Soulbound Studios Using Improbable's SpatialOS for new MMO". Retrieved March 23, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Improbable Join Google to Empower Developers to Build New Online Gaming Experiences With Strategic Partnership & Open Game Developer Alpha". Retrieved March 23, 2018.
  10. 1 2 "A Year of Foundation". Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Using the JavaScript worker SDK". Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  12. ↑ "DJ#11: Equipment & Inventory". Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  13. ↑ "DJ#7: Contracts and Player-Created Professions". Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  14. ↑ "Think we can use a controller to play this game?". Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  15. 1 2 "Design Journal #3 - Time, aging, and Offline Player Characters". Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  16. ↑ "Design Journal #4 - Incapacitation, Spirit Walking, and Permadeath". Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  17. ↑ "Design Journal #5 - Families & Family Selection". Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  18. 1 2 "Dev Journal #2: Introducing the Proteus Engine". Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  19. 1 2 "DJ #9: Crafting Professions". Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  20. ↑ "Dev Journal #3: Out of the Frying Pan..." Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  21. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "DJ #8: Character Roles and Skill Advancement". Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  22. 1 2 3 "DJ #19: Pre-Alpha Experiences". Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  23. 1 2 3 4 "DJ #18: Kingdom & Land Management". Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  24. ↑ "SOULBOUND STUDIOS NEEDS AROUND $3 MILLION MORE TO FINISH CHRONICLES OF ELYRIA". Retrieved March 23, 2018.
  25. ↑ "[Sticky] Thank you for another fundraising milestone!". Retrieved March 18, 2018.
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