With many new screenshots, Soulbound Studios already offers us a glimpse of the upcoming demo for Chronicles of Elyria.
The Pax East begins in a few weeks, and Soulbound Studios, the team behind Chronicles of Elyria (sandbox MMO), is already working hard on their first playable demo of the game. The new female character models, some new features, animations, and fighting styles are set to be showcased. Here is a brief overview from the last developer update.
First images of new features
Character customization is an important part of any RPG, but has been minimized in many new MMORPGs. According to the developers, Chronicles of Elyria aims to be different, going beyond adjustments like hairstyle, hair color, and skin color. It ranges from the character’s physique to the equipment they wear.
Soulbound Studios goes even further. The character’s activities are also said to have a significant impact on their appearance. Characters who eat a lot and do little movement will become overweight. In contrast, if they move a lot or pursue a physically demanding profession, they will become lean and muscular.
Similarly, the equipment will wear down over time and depending on activity. This can also be seen quite well in the image above. The character there wears a worn, matte chest plate and new shoulder guards that are shining in the sun.
But other activities also affect appearance. If a character falls into a lake, they will get wet. If they wear heavy armor, they can even drown. And if they do not wash their clothes regularly, they will become and remain dirty.
Prologue: The Awakening
The PAX demo is part of the offline single-player demo called “Prologue: The Awakening”, which will be available later for backers and serves as a gameplay test for some of the most important features.
The story of the prologue takes place about 20 years before the release date. The events you experience in the prologue will have an impact on the world on the day of the game’s launch.
The demo is one of the first opportunities for the team to gather feedback on the server and client before the alpha. Here are the features you can expect in the prologue:
- Become something (Character creation)
- Not naked in the bushes (Inventory and equipment)
- Touch everything (Interaction with the environment)
- Didn’t see that (Movement and load)
- Not dying (Eating, resting, and shelter)
- Dying (Character life cycle and souls)
- Let die (Combat)
- Making things (Crafting)
- Cooperate with people (Laws, crimes, and punishments)
- Cooperate with nature (Agriculture, hunting, and resource management)
- Social skills (Identity, reputation, and NPC interaction)
Next Stop: Alpha Experience
After the developers talked about the 18 biomes of the MMORPG in one of their last Q&As (Tundra, forests, steppes, deserts, savannas, jungles, and more), the next topic in the Q&A will be “Alpha Experiences”.
This includes the so-called prologue games of CoE that you can play ahead of release. These include Prologue: The Awakening (offline demo), ElyriaMUD, and of course Kingdoms of Elyria (KoE).
The Q&A will be streamed on Twitch and will take place on Thursday, February 23, at 12:00 AM our time. The whole thing will also be available as a recording on Twitch and YouTube afterwards.
For those of you who missed the last Q&A on the topic of settlements/player cities, here is a brief summary of the Q&A session:
If you enjoy Chronicles of Elyria, take a look at our overview article about the game: What is Chronicles of Elyria?
