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[TurnpikeLad]

Hey folks,

There's this game I used to follow.  I heard about it 10 years ago when it started development.  I was a fan until they closed shop in 2006 due to lack of investment money... but now the developers are back, developing a pitch for their imminent Kickstarter campaign.  Let me tell you why I love...

Trials of Ascension

Trials of Ascension aims to be a dynamic world, driven by the actions of the players, where every character has a unique story with a beginning and an end.  It has sandboxy features like skill-based character advancement, full loot PvP and player-driven economy and politics: a system where all items are player-made, (using an extensive crafting system) and all settlements are player-run.  But I think it stands apart even from other sandbox games like Darkfall, Mortal Online and EVE online, because of a bevy of unique features.  Here are a few:

Permanent Death  [See article here]

In ToA, each character has 100 lives.  Then that's it.  This feature keeps many from even considering investing any time in the game, but I think it's the most important feature of the game, the one that makes everything work.  Permanent Death has been tried only a handful of times in an MMO, and never in a game that wasn't hampered by numerous other gamebreaking issues.  As the developers explain in the linked article, permanent death changes the way you play the game.  Particularly, it changes the decision-making calculus that precedes any risk you take.  Night is approaching.. do you circle your caravan and fortify for bandit attack, or do you press on, torches in hand, hoping to reach your destination before you are waylaid?  So much more rides on every choice.  It makes the game come alive.. defeats hurt more, but you can be so much more proud of your successes!

Also, permanent death kind of removes the focus from an individual character - who will eventually pass on - and shifts emphasis to communal endeavors that will live on, like settlements or player projects.  Community is a necessity in a game with permanent death.

There are many other arguments for and against permanent death.. this is just the perspective that inspires me most.

Dynamic Ecology and spawns.

Creatures and plants won't appear at set spawn points, but will spawn throughout suitable environments based on ideal totals for that biome.  Plants and trees are harvestable..  and creatures will act in accordance with the situation, prey animals running away, pack animals avoiding you if they're not hungry or if they don't have advantage in numbers.  GMs can place special spawns that develop over time... for example, an orc scouting group, which if not checked will soon become a camp, then a small base with a warleader, then start raiding nearby villages.  Dungeons are also placed in the world by GMs, and change over time as they are delved into (for example, you might find an unexplored cave one day and empty it of monsters, taking home a small haul of precious stones... then the next person in the cave might find the ceiling collapsed, opening up a passage down to an old temple filled with inscriptions that they can copy down and get translated.)  The goal is to allow GMs to actively provide a dynamic experience for the players where the world is changing daily.

Innovations  [See article here]

While practicing a skill, characters have a very small chance to discover an innovation to that skill.  Innovations are new techniques or new craftable items that, once discovered, are removed from the available pool: only one character can discover a certain innovation.  Once you've discovered an innovation, you can choose to keep it to yourself, or teach it to whomever you want... but be aware that anybody to whom you teach it can spread the knowledge further!  This is one of my favorite ideas in ToA; innovations will introduce some real differences between settlements and set some fun politics in motion.  (Spies... trade deals... resource wars!)  Innovations are also an organic way to introduce new features to the game... boats, carts, siege weapons, these things can be discovered and disseminated by player characters rather than suddenly being available to everyone via a game expansion.

Magic  [See article here]

Magic is not just another character path in ToA.  Trials of Ascension offers players a bargain: High power comes with high risk.  A skilled and lucky mage can destroy a rank of warriors.. but you must fight for that skill tooth and nail, wresting knowledge of arcane sigils and spells from eldritch beasts.  Also, the more powerful the spell, the more skill it takes to be reasonably certain that it won't backfire, potentially immolating the caster and her friends.  The system is designed so it takes both luck and skill to become a master mage without permanently dying on the way... most will not make it.  The same higher reward= higher risk equation carries through the whole game.  In the same way that it feels better to have a high-level character in Nethack than in WoW, the rewards that accrue to your character are meaningful because you fought for them tooth and nail, against the odds.

Trials of Ascension is just beginning to ramp up for their Kickstarter, which will begin in the coming months once they've got some more interest.  There's not much media yet, but they're using the HeroEngine and have already started limited development once more. I hope you guys will check the game out, even if one or two features strike you as being totally unreasonable.  I think the developers have done a good job of putting together a cohesive design that's more than the sum of its parts.

More articles:

Interrogation
Healing
Navigation
Mining
Structures

Settlements series:

• Staking your Claim
  
• Warfare
  
• Finer Points

[Gassy The Goblin]

Great post  !   Hope people check it out!

[TurnpikeLad]

Great post  !   Hope people check it out!

Don't mind Gassy, he's quite nice if you can stand the.. periodic.. miasma...

[quinnr]

100 deaths? That's an interesting take on Permadeath. I kind of like it..you can sacrifice a life every once in a while, so you don't have to be too careful (especially as a foolish Newbie), but as you play longer and longer you have to be more and more careful. Interesting!

[Hugehead]

What happens if the last person with knowledge of a innovation dies? Or if they never log in again?

[Naturale]

What happens if the last person with knowledge of a innovation dies? Or if they never log in again?

Hi, I'm from the forum.

In that case, the innovation would be lost for some time. Depending on how important it was, it may be added back to the pool of discoverable innovations.

I hope those of you that like survival games will take a look at ToA.

[lordcooper]

I need to go to sleep right this instant, but PTW.

[ScriptWolf]

I'm a little iffy on my magic system, but would it be possible for mages to teach other mages spells ?

You also say that only you can fight the energy but what if there is another Mage near by could he not come to your assistance and help you fight it ?

[Naturale]

I'm a little iffy on my magic system, but would it be possible for mages to teach other mages spells ?

You also say that only you can fight the energy but what if there is another Mage near by could he not come to your assistance and help you fight it ?

Hello.

The only instanced areas that exist in ToA are the mage fights. This is because they are meant to be very difficult and each mage must prove themselves worthy of acquiring the very powerful spells. So they cannot be assisted in those fights. ToA is a low-magic world. Magic is extremely powerful and not something the majority of people will be able to have. Those that do, will be feared, but the counter to that is how difficult it is to become a mage in the first place, and of course you only get 100 lives so you won't see a powerful mage stay like that forever. If they fail to defeat an arcane creature, that creature will haunt them and fuck with them. It's a hard life.

Mages cannot teach other mages spells unless that spell comes from the innovation system. Innovations can range from crafting to combat related.

Please join us on the forum and share any ideas, concerns, or whatever you like. ToA has of the nicest gaming communities around. The devs read every post and regularly respond to their members.

[ScriptWolf]

Wo wo wo so your saying spells also come from this innovative system so we could have a spell which is super powerful and rare ? And then these spells can be taught to your friends as well?

How would a Mage gain spells from the innovative system ?

Also nearly forgot to add can we also write down these innovative spells then sell them instead of giving it away for free ?

[Naturale]

Wo wo wo so your saying spells also come from this innovative system so we could have a spell which is super powerful and rare ? And then these spells can be taught to your friends as well?

How would a Mage gain spells from the innovative system ?

Also nearly forgot to add can we also write down these innovative spells then sell them instead of giving it away for free ?

Not entirely correct. As I understand it, those magic innovations would include things like certain perks to certain spells, not entirely new spells.

You have a chance at receiving an innovation by just playing and doing what you do. Someone that crafts all day and makes lots of high quality items would have a greater chance at receiving one in whatever profession they're in. Not all innovations are limited to a single person, some can be learned by multiple people and of course spread around to others at the discretion of the innovators. All innovations can be spread.

You are free to trade your innovation for material goods if you wish. I don't think you can write them into books or anything, but I'm not sure. However on a related note, you can write in books if you want to catalog components or maybe make a guide or something. So a library in your village is possible. I'm not sure if you can put spells or innovations in a book.

I'm not an expert on the design, there is tons of information on the website if you wish to look further. The game is still in early development. They only recently just put up some screenshots.

[ScriptWolf]

Sold !

Also so the kick starter for this is there any hints when it might come up ?

[i2amroy]

Also so the kick starter for this is there any hints when it might come up ?

From what I've heard they are basing the timing of the kickstarter on the size of their online community. So the more people that go and get active over at the trials of ascension forums and whatnot the sooner they will do the kickstarter. Their whole campaign right now is focused on getting more peoples attention, so they don't want to start the kickstarter until they are certain that they have the best chance at succeeding.

[Azated]

It sounds like a brilliant game, and definitely one I'd sink some time in to. It sounds a hell of alot like Wurm Online, though. If it didn't have a different name and the innovation system (which I think is a great idea to give people a sense of unique power), I'd think you were describing the latest Wurm patch.

My main issue with the game is that 100 deaths is certainly not permadeath. I don't think I've ever died that many times in any one MMO. In Wurm, the penalty for death is losing everything you have in your inventory, along with a few very hard to earn levels. I've died a grand total of no more than 20 times in my three years playtime across half a dozen servers, and I've participated in boss fights.

I'm posting to watch, though. Looks like a good game to play, even with the weird concept of death.

[Yoink]

I was all excited when I saw the permadeath bit, and then BAM it's actually not.