A snark-filled commentary of that video, if you're inclined:
-
new website. well underway. content is not complete. base template shown. pledge button mentioned. all placeholder content.
It will have a news section.
synopsis of the game, screenshot section. a subscribe button, whatever that does.
new and updated FAQ. knowledgebase format. categorized. searchable. (Not sure how this is different than every other/the current web site, but..)
class pages are not done.
race pages are shown. old art, apparently not updated for races?. racial traits shown. (more on this below, full active traits probably won't be available for re-launch)
clean, modern look was the desire. very easy to navigate. all about the branding. website is the equivalent of a movie trailer.
just the first phase of the website. All of the front pages, class, race, lore, pledge packages.
This is just phase 1. phase 2 will come later, new forums and a new store front. (new forums have been promised since 2015, as a reminder)
Pre-Alpha 5. What is it? What to expect..
Begins with pre-alpha shakeout. making sure login works. this will be a weekend. 3 sessions per day. one weekend. VIP pledgers only. two sessions will be permitted per pledger? (7m mark)
specific feedback will be requested. See pre-alpha forums if you're a pledger to determine what feedback they want.
You may be asked to create a particular class or perform a particular task.
Over the next coming weeks, you will be sent an email with session selection? (2/6 on the weekend) It's not clear if you choose or it will be assigned.
Some weeks after the shakeout, it will be opened up and "play a bit more of the world" will be allowed. No duration given.
Alpha timeline: there may still be sessions. Pre-alpha will be sessions only.
No date given for Alpha.
all PA discussion done around 10:30.
PA5 will have greyboxing and bugs.
A lot of the world in PA5 will be / is greyboxed.
New Black Rose Keep zone showed for a few dozen minutes. (Entirely greyboxed, because it's new and of course, given climbing everywhere, a huge amount of vertical use.)
~12m mark joppa talks about world size, apparently zones weren't big enough. (No numbers or comparisons given.)
video loop starts around 12:50 mark.
clearly shows stuttering from fog, and pop in for greybox textures, (which is frightening for all the wrong reasons.)
apparently now BRK is moved from avendyr's pass
difficult traversal will be required to reach the zone, apparently.
video loop repeats around 14:48, so, appears to be a 2 minute loop. repeats several times.
the keep is bigger, topography and geometry is different. climbing system mentioned again.
level range and climbing skill mentioned as content gates ~16m mark.
BRK sits within a larger zone. no details of what zone.
they're not spending a ton of time on lighting and atmospherics and details at this time. (I guess 6.5 years in, you still gotta be doing broad strokes)
greybox is a spectrum. primitives -> presentation greybox. fully representative of shape and contour.
essentially 1:1 geometry (?) not sure what that means, or how it couldn't be.
gameplay can be layered in , in full form and legitimate ways.
(the style and layout of BRK clearly indicates all other zones will need to be redone from scratch. Unless they're not going to re-style all the zones.)
Apparently this zone will be in PA5?
~20m mark, you should be able to run on foot from thronefast to faerthale. (Not sure if that's PA5, but maybe?)
they expect to see bottlenecks in focus testing.
end of joppa describing BRK and PA5 @21m.
same faerthale tree shown. ends BRK greybox looping.
commentary from machail regarding greyboxing. ( more snarky commentary by me at the end of this post.)
~23m joppa emphasizes that the faerthale tree is the finish line quality for all zones (2 years per zone, then, I'm not sure what they're emphasizing this?)
kudos to other internal teams, no specific technology breakthroughs listed.
~25m question regarding climbing used to skip content, they are ok with that. (This appears to be a re-emphasis of climbing skill gating)
climbing exists to be fun and adventurous and a completely new sphere of gameplay to manipulate. (So yeah, climbing)
increase vulnerability when on a climbing surface. endurance is a limit. how difficult it is to knock you off.
release date / any date talked about ~27m. crowdfunding preventing dates for releases.
will BRK be always in night? no.
Overland zones will have a true day/night cycle.
where did BRK end up, new lore to support new location? lore hasn't changed. no breaking of the lore, no need to revise it.
the new location is apparently MORE in line with the lore. Too close to thronefast in the past, so apparently it's farther away now.
29:49 joppa refuses to say where the new BRK is.
No you will not be able to sign up for all the PA5 shake-out sessions. only 2/6. Apparently it's a manpower limitation, (which would indicate they aren't logging everything server-side for analysis later?)
~30m mark, BRK is not the only change for PA5. Mocking laughter, no specifics given.
fansite kit is something they're working on, won't be there for site re-launch
~32m "do we have any idea when we'll see the racial actives?" to joppa. On the list to reveal, lower on the priority list than other things.
Probably won't be there for the web site re-launch, but that's a goal.
~33m the describe how content updates will be easier. (Not sure how updating static HTML pages in the past was hard, but.. for sure this will mean timely updates to all web site content, right? Riiiight.)
~34m Not the last PA? unwilling to discuss it, so it obviously isn't, or they would just say it is.
patch notes 34:45, not transcribing them, if you care, you can go listen.
done with patch notes around 46:30
thanks for coming around 47m.
emails will be out in the next few weeks for PA5 shake-out session.
-
(around 21:42 machail outlines (indirectly) how project faerthale has not met it's goals, in that the plan to implement all game systems first is not how they're proceeding, but rather, they're apparently going to be greyboxing everything again, and then polish will come later, "as a shipping product". This current methodology directly opposes the entire purpose of project faerthale, which was to create a complete single region, will all game systems, all game loops, everything fully/completely integrated to use as a template so that content creation could be rolled out vastly faster for the remaining zones. It would appear they're abandoning the attempt of the past 2 years of effort and returning to the now "traditional" greybox->tune/test->polish->launch model that most 3D games have used for the past 10+ years.
No mention of crafting or any other game loops implemented as part of project Faerthale. Not quite "All game systems", so far, unless crafting, harvesting, diplomacy(?), and/or any other non-combat loop has been shelved for launch.
I'll quote the important bit ~22m: " for now, greyboxing allows us more opportunity to expand and to tweak and to get things knocked out a lot faster than trying to put polish on it before its complete "
From Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen - Newsletter - June 2018 :
" Technically, that means a lot of things. But to put it simply, it means Faerthale will be the first zone to have all of our gameplay systems completely integrated. Or you could say, the first zone where the 'Pantheon experience' will be able to be fully experienced. This includes the foundational gameplay systems you are used to seeing in streams, but everything else as well: dynamic day and night cycles, time of day governing events and spawn cycles, Atmospheres that will require artifacts to overcome, Extreme Climates that will require players to Acclimate themselves, the Perception system woven throughout and the ability to become a Keeper, NPC Dispositions widely applied and appropriately unpredictable, Crafting and Harvesting elements, climbable surfaces, interactable objects in the environment - I think you get the picture! As our Reference Zone, Faerthale needs to have all of the gameplay systems intact and functioning properly, with all of their various parts, so that we have an accurate picture to reference when we begin implementing all of these systems into the rest of our zones. "
They further emphasized this design direction in December 2018, here: Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen - Newsletter - December 2018
" For the first time since development started we are bringing together the full Pantheon experience, with all of the systems, animations, models, sounds, and effects one would expect to see in a modern game. With the end of Pre-Alpha 4 coming up in a couple of short weeks, we are happy with the state of Pantheon and it’s time to really flesh out the concepts and systems we have in place. We also aim to add in a few new systems we have talked about but haven’t quite worked into a Pre-Alpha build.
This project, dubbed Project Faerthale, will show Pantheon as it is meant to be experienced. Notice I said “experienced” and not “played” because we believe this next iteration will be much, much closer to our goal of creating a full world, a home, not just a game. It will be the culmination of awesome systems complimented by thoughtful visual effects, animations and sounds. It will be representative of the minimum caliber of game we are targeting for launch. It will also include some exciting new NPCs and at least one significant boss encounter, which is where our new character artist comes in.
This will require intense, sustained focus from all departments, from programming, to tools, to art and animation, to lore, to design, to tech and db... and everything in between. Most importantly, this is going to take time. "
Then, again, in January, 2019, here: Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen - Newsletter - January 2019
" As discussed last month, Project Faerthale is underway. Now that we are back from holidays we are finalizing our scope for that release and setting some internal goal dates. Ross, our lead animator, is already working hard on new animations and the rest of the art team is developing the art for Project Faerthale and beyond. Programming is adding more to the existing tools like the ability editor,, planning out some new tools for a more robust and streamlined Perception System and adding more features, systems, stability and bug-squashing to the existing client. Design is fleshing out some systems and encounter designs and tech is looking into more robust back-end features.
Project Faerthale is the biggest release we’ve ever done, so it will take some time and we appreciate your patience and continued support as we approach this milestone! You can also look forward to a new website, lots of new videos, content and a few surprises along the way. So buckle in, grab your Codex and get ready for an incredible year!"
-
new website. well underway. content is not complete. base template shown. pledge button mentioned. all placeholder content.
It will have a news section.
synopsis of the game, screenshot section. a subscribe button, whatever that does.
new and updated FAQ. knowledgebase format. categorized. searchable. (Not sure how this is different than every other/the current web site, but..)
class pages are not done.
race pages are shown. old art, apparently not updated for races?. racial traits shown. (more on this below, full active traits probably won't be available for re-launch)
clean, modern look was the desire. very easy to navigate. all about the branding. website is the equivalent of a movie trailer.
just the first phase of the website. All of the front pages, class, race, lore, pledge packages.
This is just phase 1. phase 2 will come later, new forums and a new store front. (new forums have been promised since 2015, as a reminder)
Pre-Alpha 5. What is it? What to expect..
Begins with pre-alpha shakeout. making sure login works. this will be a weekend. 3 sessions per day. one weekend. VIP pledgers only. two sessions will be permitted per pledger? (7m mark)
specific feedback will be requested. See pre-alpha forums if you're a pledger to determine what feedback they want.
You may be asked to create a particular class or perform a particular task.
Over the next coming weeks, you will be sent an email with session selection? (2/6 on the weekend) It's not clear if you choose or it will be assigned.
Some weeks after the shakeout, it will be opened up and "play a bit more of the world" will be allowed. No duration given.
Alpha timeline: there may still be sessions. Pre-alpha will be sessions only.
No date given for Alpha.
all PA discussion done around 10:30.
PA5 will have greyboxing and bugs.
A lot of the world in PA5 will be / is greyboxed.
New Black Rose Keep zone showed for a few dozen minutes. (Entirely greyboxed, because it's new and of course, given climbing everywhere, a huge amount of vertical use.)
~12m mark joppa talks about world size, apparently zones weren't big enough. (No numbers or comparisons given.)
video loop starts around 12:50 mark.
clearly shows stuttering from fog, and pop in for greybox textures, (which is frightening for all the wrong reasons.)
apparently now BRK is moved from avendyr's pass
difficult traversal will be required to reach the zone, apparently.
video loop repeats around 14:48, so, appears to be a 2 minute loop. repeats several times.
the keep is bigger, topography and geometry is different. climbing system mentioned again.
level range and climbing skill mentioned as content gates ~16m mark.
BRK sits within a larger zone. no details of what zone.
they're not spending a ton of time on lighting and atmospherics and details at this time. (I guess 6.5 years in, you still gotta be doing broad strokes)
greybox is a spectrum. primitives -> presentation greybox. fully representative of shape and contour.
essentially 1:1 geometry (?) not sure what that means, or how it couldn't be.
gameplay can be layered in , in full form and legitimate ways.
(the style and layout of BRK clearly indicates all other zones will need to be redone from scratch. Unless they're not going to re-style all the zones.)
Apparently this zone will be in PA5?
~20m mark, you should be able to run on foot from thronefast to faerthale. (Not sure if that's PA5, but maybe?)
they expect to see bottlenecks in focus testing.
end of joppa describing BRK and PA5 @21m.
same faerthale tree shown. ends BRK greybox looping.
commentary from machail regarding greyboxing. ( more snarky commentary by me at the end of this post.)
~23m joppa emphasizes that the faerthale tree is the finish line quality for all zones (2 years per zone, then, I'm not sure what they're emphasizing this?)
kudos to other internal teams, no specific technology breakthroughs listed.
~25m question regarding climbing used to skip content, they are ok with that. (This appears to be a re-emphasis of climbing skill gating)
climbing exists to be fun and adventurous and a completely new sphere of gameplay to manipulate. (So yeah, climbing)
increase vulnerability when on a climbing surface. endurance is a limit. how difficult it is to knock you off.
release date / any date talked about ~27m. crowdfunding preventing dates for releases.
will BRK be always in night? no.
Overland zones will have a true day/night cycle.
where did BRK end up, new lore to support new location? lore hasn't changed. no breaking of the lore, no need to revise it.
the new location is apparently MORE in line with the lore. Too close to thronefast in the past, so apparently it's farther away now.
29:49 joppa refuses to say where the new BRK is.
No you will not be able to sign up for all the PA5 shake-out sessions. only 2/6. Apparently it's a manpower limitation, (which would indicate they aren't logging everything server-side for analysis later?)
~30m mark, BRK is not the only change for PA5. Mocking laughter, no specifics given.
fansite kit is something they're working on, won't be there for site re-launch
~32m "do we have any idea when we'll see the racial actives?" to joppa. On the list to reveal, lower on the priority list than other things.
Probably won't be there for the web site re-launch, but that's a goal.
~33m the describe how content updates will be easier. (Not sure how updating static HTML pages in the past was hard, but.. for sure this will mean timely updates to all web site content, right? Riiiight.)
~34m Not the last PA? unwilling to discuss it, so it obviously isn't, or they would just say it is.
patch notes 34:45, not transcribing them, if you care, you can go listen.
done with patch notes around 46:30
thanks for coming around 47m.
emails will be out in the next few weeks for PA5 shake-out session.
-
(around 21:42 machail outlines (indirectly) how project faerthale has not met it's goals, in that the plan to implement all game systems first is not how they're proceeding, but rather, they're apparently going to be greyboxing everything again, and then polish will come later, "as a shipping product". This current methodology directly opposes the entire purpose of project faerthale, which was to create a complete single region, will all game systems, all game loops, everything fully/completely integrated to use as a template so that content creation could be rolled out vastly faster for the remaining zones. It would appear they're abandoning the attempt of the past 2 years of effort and returning to the now "traditional" greybox->tune/test->polish->launch model that most 3D games have used for the past 10+ years.
No mention of crafting or any other game loops implemented as part of project Faerthale. Not quite "All game systems", so far, unless crafting, harvesting, diplomacy(?), and/or any other non-combat loop has been shelved for launch.
I'll quote the important bit ~22m: " for now, greyboxing allows us more opportunity to expand and to tweak and to get things knocked out a lot faster than trying to put polish on it before its complete "
From Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen - Newsletter - June 2018 :
" Technically, that means a lot of things. But to put it simply, it means Faerthale will be the first zone to have all of our gameplay systems completely integrated. Or you could say, the first zone where the 'Pantheon experience' will be able to be fully experienced. This includes the foundational gameplay systems you are used to seeing in streams, but everything else as well: dynamic day and night cycles, time of day governing events and spawn cycles, Atmospheres that will require artifacts to overcome, Extreme Climates that will require players to Acclimate themselves, the Perception system woven throughout and the ability to become a Keeper, NPC Dispositions widely applied and appropriately unpredictable, Crafting and Harvesting elements, climbable surfaces, interactable objects in the environment - I think you get the picture! As our Reference Zone, Faerthale needs to have all of the gameplay systems intact and functioning properly, with all of their various parts, so that we have an accurate picture to reference when we begin implementing all of these systems into the rest of our zones. "
They further emphasized this design direction in December 2018, here: Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen - Newsletter - December 2018
" For the first time since development started we are bringing together the full Pantheon experience, with all of the systems, animations, models, sounds, and effects one would expect to see in a modern game. With the end of Pre-Alpha 4 coming up in a couple of short weeks, we are happy with the state of Pantheon and it’s time to really flesh out the concepts and systems we have in place. We also aim to add in a few new systems we have talked about but haven’t quite worked into a Pre-Alpha build.
This project, dubbed Project Faerthale, will show Pantheon as it is meant to be experienced. Notice I said “experienced” and not “played” because we believe this next iteration will be much, much closer to our goal of creating a full world, a home, not just a game. It will be the culmination of awesome systems complimented by thoughtful visual effects, animations and sounds. It will be representative of the minimum caliber of game we are targeting for launch. It will also include some exciting new NPCs and at least one significant boss encounter, which is where our new character artist comes in.
This will require intense, sustained focus from all departments, from programming, to tools, to art and animation, to lore, to design, to tech and db... and everything in between. Most importantly, this is going to take time. "
Then, again, in January, 2019, here: Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen - Newsletter - January 2019
" As discussed last month, Project Faerthale is underway. Now that we are back from holidays we are finalizing our scope for that release and setting some internal goal dates. Ross, our lead animator, is already working hard on new animations and the rest of the art team is developing the art for Project Faerthale and beyond. Programming is adding more to the existing tools like the ability editor,, planning out some new tools for a more robust and streamlined Perception System and adding more features, systems, stability and bug-squashing to the existing client. Design is fleshing out some systems and encounter designs and tech is looking into more robust back-end features.
Project Faerthale is the biggest release we’ve ever done, so it will take some time and we appreciate your patience and continued support as we approach this milestone! You can also look forward to a new website, lots of new videos, content and a few surprises along the way. So buckle in, grab your Codex and get ready for an incredible year!"
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