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Q&A WITH THE DEVS - ASK A PIRATE DAY #11

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Ahoy Pathfinders!

We're bringing back an old favorite as we wait for the next update to come to shore. Last weekend, in our community Discord, we opened a channel to gather any and all questions from our community for our amazing Dev team. We reviewed all the questions and we've answered a few of them below. Even if yours was not selected to be answered publicly, we are taking all of your responses as feedback to continue to make to Atlas a better game for all. Thank you to all that participated.  

As a reminder, the answers below only reflect the current timeframe and are subject to change. While we can provide current insight on the game and what we hope to do, what is destined we can’t foresee. We appreciate your support and understanding.

:wheel:

Without further ado, here’s our Q&A! Hang out in our Discord for a chance to get your questions answered in the next Q&A!

:anchor: Q&A :anchor:


 

Would it be possible to keep QoL skills between wipes?

  • While this is possible it is not something that should be done without consideration. The most active time is the few weeks after a wipe when players are all at the same progress level, same island claim opportunity, etc. Allowing players to keep their quest progress will give an unfair advantage to those players. We are looking into ways of reducing the repetitiveness of the progression to endgame.

When will Bola's be stackable?

  • April 13th Patch

    
Do you have plans on expanding the lore of Atlas?

  • Yes, there are plans to expand the lore of the game world. We are currently working on systems for this. One of the contributors to this is the addition of the “Timeworn” quality level on blueprints. 

Is there a way to see all the features you plan to add before you move into the fixing and optimization phase?

  • Please keep an eye on the official roadmap listed on the Trello board. (link here) This will be updated constantly to keep features in development public. 

Have devs ventured into unofficial communities to see how gameplay differentiates with mods? How has that impacted the future plans for the game?

  • The unofficial communities have done a wonderful job with creating custom Atlas experiences. We look for mods that are widely adopted by the community in an effort to absorb the feedback. If a mod is universally used, that means there was an issue with the core game that needed to be addressed. We use that information to update our plans and address that issue. 

What can be done to make the game more enjoyable for the solo and/or small group player(s)?

  • We are re-working the live realm maps so that the islands that mega-companies will be drawn to are outside the main travel routes. In addition, there are going to be several smaller islands added that are not enticing to large companies, which should allow for solo/small groups to have a positive Atlas experience. 

Are there any plans to change/add unwanted, repetitive islands to improve the balance between islands?

  • During our polish phase we will be adjusting these islands to make them more enticing. 

Do you guys have plans to adjust endgame PVE?

  • There are seven new bosses being added so each powerstone will have a unique boss encounter. We will be investigating different avenues to enhance maps as well in the future.

When I leave my ship anchored the sailors will only repair the planks & decks of the ship. Are there plans to have the sailors repair the whole ship at some point?

  • This is something we can look into in the future, but is currently not being planned. 

Will you add the ability to use deck swivels for modular ships?

  • We will be adding additional modular railings in the next few patches. A Modular railing with swivels is planned to be included. 

Are there any plans to create a healthier breeding system so people won't burn out from breeding on the official server?

  • We are implementing a new structure called the Tame House. This structure will greatly improve the breeding experience.

What as the Dev Team are your plans to maintain and grow the player community?

  • For the official side of Atlas, there has been discussion around a  few ideas. One of these ideas might be a smaller “specialty” realm or realms. These specialty realms may have a shorter season time, maybe just one month, and revolve around different game modes. For example, there would be one month where tames are removed from the game, or where the only weapons are swords and pistols. 

I know a lot of people want to see a timeline of updates/planned updates/planned wipes/etc. Is there a plan for more transparency of what’s to come for Atlas? 

  • After release, we will have a regular schedule for our wipes, new seasons, and patches. The Trello board will contain this information. 

Any details on the Devkit update?

  • The Devkit gets updated at least once a season, usually around the beginning of the new season. We may update it more frequently, especially if we introduce a large system. 

Any more plans for livestreams like we had around launch? 

  • We have not had any discussions about this, however we would love to have a live Dev steam. 

Will there be temporary alliance bed placement on your alliances ships and or foundations?

  • This feature is something we have been planning on implementing for a little while, it should make its way into the game in the near future.

Any plans to update to a newer version of Unreal Engine?

  • There has been discussion about updating to Unreal Engine 5 at some point in the future. It is a tremendous amount of work that will sidetrack us for months, so we have not made a decision yet on if that’s the best course of action.
     

 :anchor: Final Note :anchor:

Again, we would like to emphasize that ATLAS is still in Early Access, meaning many things can and will likely continue to drastically change - even in the middle of development. Anything discussed is only up to date as of the moment it is posted. Features and changes that ultimately make it to the next patch, as well as timing, may be different from what was previously discussed. 
As always, we appreciate the suggestions and feedback from the community. Please keep them coming! Thank you for all of your support! 

npvnCdsGOU8ky42GSXmrFQRdKb2vKPuB4bZEWoDB

Happy Sailing,

- ATLAS Crew

:skull: For the latest dispatch on #playATLAS keep yer one good eye trained on this here information :skull:

Natter n' chatter on Discord: https://discord.gg/playatlas

Hear ye, hear ye on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sailtheatlas

Watch us scallywags on Twitch: http://twitch.tv/sailtheatlas

Plus ye can band with us Pirates on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/playatlasgame


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It would be nice if tickets were actually answered and not automatically marked as "solved".

Edited by DiseasedLeopard

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I seriously do not think that players submitted all those questions, As always the Devs simply ignore players!
Everyone knows, that there is NO LEGITIMATE reason for each and every wipe we have had other than what they have admitted here, is that a wipe generates heightened activity.
Sad when they have to do that when we ALL know that the activity declines due to their never fixing old issues of which many have been around since day 1.

 

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The flying ship appeared in the picture again, last time it appeared was May 13, 2021.

I wonder what means ???

 

We want flying ship !!! We want flying ship !!! We want flying ship !!!

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8 hours ago, Pathfinder 1 said:

The flying ship appeared in the picture again, last time it appeared was May 13, 2021.

I wonder what means ???

 

We want flying ship !!! We want flying ship !!! We want flying ship !!!

It's a pirate game,, not a Disney fantasy, perhaps 18th century hot air balloons but flying ships are way way way OTT.

 

 

Edited by Shanti de-la-mar
  • Sad 1

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Atlas is as close to being a legit Pyrate game as Disneys robin hood was, to being a historically accurate documentary!

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Y'all should definitely be taking a long, hard look at what unofficial servers are doing, and that not just being lip-service.

The only reason the steam activity numbers aren't worse is because so many of us migrated to private servers with mod and setting changes to make the game fun again; instead of just quitting entirely.

Also, just hire Klinger already.  His ships put your modular designs to shame just in visual appeal alone.

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+1 on Teron Grey above, you should absolutely be looking at unofficial and mods!! further to this bots should be able to repair all ship parts! Being a pirate is a dream for everyone it only needs to be fun to be successful!

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Will you add the ability to use deck swivels for modular ships?

  • We will be adding additional modular railings in the next few patches. A Modular railing with swivels is planned to be included. 

 

I wonder about the feedback from the "PvP" community on discord about this... railings with swivels faceing to the sea to shoot fire on other ships at close range? Go to PvP server and have a look how Players place their swivels on Deck of a Brigantine to secure it from being borded... on a modular your only protection against this is to hope that the enemy will hook the railing and face an issue that he can't climb over it...

Your road map made me consider you change the modular ships that way you can build wood structures and swivels + cannons on it... but this proofs it wrong...

So tomorrow is patch day... I made sure my PvE base is running the last month by joining the server once a week and unanchor all ships for a moment...

It's also sad that you don't consider to change the islands... it would be appreciuated to have islands with a "harbor" bay with a decent whater depth. Small Islands are great, but who will play on them (PvP) if every peace of it can be shot by a mortar ship for example? Also I suggested to lower most of the high mountains of islands... they are of no use besides having very safe bases up there with lots of effort to get your resources up there. Reduce their height to the current defence structure building restriction... they can still be defended. Yes, the islands may not look that unique anymore but for the game play it will be a lot better.

I hope you will fix the modular ships most hated bug -> the auto destroy once a modul gets to 0 HP and there is most likely more damage hiting this structure or it receives splash damage... somewhere in this points your ship scuttles...

And hopefully the new patch will change the repair system of modulars back to old one with resources... that would make the ships playable... even with their low turning speed.

Edited by Nacona

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Would it be possible to keep QoL skills between wipes?

  • While this is possible it is not something that should be done without consideration. The most active time is the few weeks after a wipe when players are all at the same progress level, same island claim opportunity, etc. Allowing players to keep their quest progress will give an unfair advantage to those players. We are looking into ways of reducing the repetitiveness of the progression to endgame.

Sounds like BS to me! Wipes are nothing but a short population by boost destroying players progress and forcing them to regrind old content.

The early game sucks and its boring. I've seen it too many times. This is not about being fair. People start out fresh and are behind others all the time. It's an MMO, that's how it works. Destroying people's progress over and over is not how it's done in MMOs.

Even those that start fresh at the same time have different play rates and are quickly at different levels and progress. As in all MMOs. 

And it matters less than zero on pve. For pvp how about something more logical if you want a wipe...

Now that we have portals, link pve zones and pvp zones. Then only wipe the structures on pvp zones only, leaving the pve zone untouched and skills untouched. Maybe two factions of pve zones on either side of the pvp zones like pirates and the English. After a pvp zone wipe, the pvpers can race in to claim and do their thing. While the pveer can support their faction. Now you have an economy and more game play. Doing it without buying a population boost by destroying players efforts.

...

The real problem is currently many players run out of content once they reach a point, then play less. So, you make them regrind old content over and over. And in the process, you piss off the long remaining player base. I can't think of any other MMO that does this.

...

One mega server, split in two sides/factions (or more), with a large rich pvp zone in the middle. Rich as in something worth fighting over. Not just fighting just to fight. Rich pve zones that pveer never need to leave if they choose not to and from which they can support the needs of their pvp faction should they choose to.

 

 

 

 

 

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