Here is an update from Ben (Lead Producer) & Chad (Head of Live Services) on the Act 1 90 day calendar. ________________
Hey Everyone,
It’s been 10 weeks since the early access release of Anthem. While we have been quiet publicly, we have been hard at work in the background and we wanted to provide an update on the state of the game.
The Past 10 Weeks We have learned a lot since the game went live. We have heard a lot of feedback from all of you, and we have been working diligently to improve as many things as we can in the short term.
We’ve fixed a lot of bugs and made changes which we believe begin to point us in the right direction for the future. That being said, we know there is a long way to go before Anthem becomes the game we all want it to be. So where are we at today…
Game Update 1.1.0 Game Update 1.1.0 went live today and includes some new content and improvements to the game: A new Stronghold called “The Sunken Cell” Access to the Forge anywhere in the world Ability to launch a new expedition from the end of expedition menu without loading into Fort Tarsis Access to contracts without having to run around and pick them up There are a bunch of additional fixes and improvements – the patch notes for Game Update 1.1.0 can be found here. There is also a livestream later today where we will show you the Sunken Cell Stronghold and some of the other improvements in Game Update 1.1.0
Act 1 Calendar While we have delivered many of the Act 1 features on time, we are not going to hit all the goals on our Act 1 Calendar.
We have been prioritizing things like bug fixes, stability and game flow over the new features of Act 1. We set aside time for this work, but the reality is there are more things to fix and improve than we planned for. While this is the best thing to do for the game, it means some items from the calendar will be delayed.
Features delayed: Mastery System Guilds Legendary Missions – Phase II Weekly Stronghold Challenge Leaderboards Some Freeplay Events Cataclysm
We want to make sure everything we add to the game has a purpose and fits with our long term goals. When we have information to share on the items above, we will do so.
Cataclysm The Cataclysm is an important addition to the game and it’s currently a big focus for the team. The Cataclysm will bring new challenges and rewards and pushes the story of Anthem forward. As our work continues, we will share more with you in May.
Loot We have heard your concerns around end game loot. We agree that our loot and progression systems need to be improved and we are working towards this. When we have more information to share, we will.
Communication A lesson we have learned is we have been talking about things too early. There are so many factors that can cause us to pivot on our plans – whether it’s bugs & stability issues, player feedback, or complications with a feature that require us to take more time to deliver it. Our goal is to tell you about new content and features once the work is closer to being done.
At the same time, we want to provide more ways to get your feedback and for you to tell us what you think is fun (or not fun). To facilitate this we plan to introduce a Player Feedback Environment (PFE), an opportunity to get your feedback before we go live with major features (in the short term for PC only).
Closing We know you have been waiting for these updates, and that you might not be pleased with where we are today. We understand and respect these perspectives.
The only thing we can say is this – We Believe in Anthem. We believe the game will be great, but we recognize getting there will take a lot of hard work. We want to do that work and we want you all to join us on the journey to get there.
The following is a list of known issues that the team is working on. We will continue to update this list as needed.
• Invisible assets or enemies after dying too many times in Sunken Cell stronghold - If a squad wipes 10+ times they may run into this issue.
• Elite Ash Brutes in this stronghold are entering idle and still move when frozen - This only affects Ash Brutes in this stronghold.
• DLSS Screen Freeze - For PC players with DLSS enabled, if they play an Arcanist Secrets world quest during freeplay, the screen will freeze upon interacting with the vault. The UI updates, but their exo and the world are stuck in place. During this time, the user is free to move around and play, but nothing will change on screen until the timer is done, at which point everything recovers.
• Bright white screen in Forge after cutscene - After a cutscene has ended, accessing the Forge in the expedition leads to bright white lighting that covers all but the UI elements. The effect persists in the Forge until the end of the expedition.
• Lower stats on components, gear and weapons – The current values on some items are incorrect and show a lower value than before the update. This is a visual issue and does impact stats provided.
• Vault space – After the 1.1.0 update players may have noticed that the space in their vault has increased or gone over the limit. This was due to a bug being fixed where Ranger items were not properly being taken into account for space. Clearing out items from your vault will fix this issue.
Benjamin Peacock @arrik22 @untdrew nerd question for you. curious how from our character standpoint they are now able to modify their javelins without the forge when it used to require one?
Andrew Johnson @untdrew Hey there, Ben. I'm not totally sure I understand your question here.
Benjamin Peacock @arrik22 haha sorry! i just mean that our characters had to use a forge to change their loadouts before so from an in-world standpoint, how are they able to do so now without one (since from a game standpoint you allow loadout change in mission now)? #Iamanerd
Cameron Dayton @camerondayton New findings from the Arcanists - customized magnetic storage pins and temporary pocket portals give lancers the ability to switch up their gear on the fly. Nothing can replace Zoe's work in long term repair and customization though, so make sure you plan your down time in Tarsis
Jesse Anderson @darokaz I think it’s time that I talked about some things that have been on my mind. This is going to be a long thread of replies, so buckle up 😉
To kick things off, I want to talk about why there hasn’t been as much communication on Anthem from me these past few weeks. I have been wanting to talk about so many things because I don’t like going quiet, but there were reasons for this.
Sometimes when there are bigger discussions going on internally, I have to put communication on hold to avoid saying inaccurate things. A lot of this is explained in that reddit post I shared from the team. If I ever have to go quiet again, I will let the community know.
Moving forward, I should be able to talk more though. It might not always be about future content for Anthem, but I can talk about what just released, what’s about to release and issues the team is aware of and are fixing/investigating.
Anthem Streams – The last stream was rough for me, I won’t hide from that. I wasn’t able to answer questions people wanted the answers to, and it was very difficult to pull questions from the chat that were about what we were showing.
The plan was to have the stream go out the week before, so that we could share the new stronghold and the patch notes, but that freaking cable that was cut made my life hell. New info would have been shared as originally planned…
And when the chest was opened up on stream I did almost say “purple rain” but didn’t because I wasn’t sure how people would react and I froze, I was at a loss for words....
Normal me would just laugh and joke about it, but things are sensitive right now, so I didn’t… I want to get back to a point where we can have fun together as a community on streams.
I’m going to do everything in my power to avoid situations like that again because it’s not a great experience for players either. If we’re going to do a stream on story, combat, level design or something else, we’ll state that ahead of time so you can know what to expect.
I have seen people saying that we don’t look at other streams and questioning why we don’t just do what they do. We do look at streams from other studios; it would be silly not to. We’ll be evolving our streams as we go and are listening to the community feedback for them.
One thing we did was not have people talking and playing at the same time, because doing that is difficult when you aren’t speaking to exactly what you are doing in game. I also understand sometimes people just want information drops, so we’ll see what we can do there as well.
I want to say that I play other games that we're sometimes compared to. I’ve played Destiny for years, have reached world tier V in The Division 2, 55 hours in Warframe and 95 hours logged in Anthem. We can all coexist! Let’s not spread hate.
Loot, I know you want answers but right now the only thing I can share is what was said in the update post from Reddit. I will definitely be one of the first to share news when I can!
I might add more onto this thread later, or I’ll just respond to other questions (where I can) when they come up.
Pat @miracl3work3r I'm frrreeeeeeeeeee for 2 weeks, but then I join the FIFA eSports team in Vancouver. It's been a blast at #BioWare for the past 8.5 years but am excited for the change.
EA Help @eahelp We'll be doing some maintenance on #AnthemGame tomorrow, April 30, from 12 - 5 p.m. UTC (7 a.m. - 12 p.m. CT). We'll let you know here if anything changes.
BioWare @bioware Dive deeper into the beautiful world of Anthem. RT with #BWGiveaway between April 29 to May 3, 2019 for a chance to win a limited edition copy of The Art of Anthem, created in partnership with @darkhorsecomics! Must be 14+ to participate.
Xbox @xbox The stunning level of detail make journeys through the Xbox One X Enhanced world of Anthem even more immersive. Who can guess the location of this shot? #VisitXbox xbx.lv/2Vyv0Mt
Thomas Farmer @darkchocobo9bsc @bio_Warner Confirm or Deny? This account is essentially created for Bioware's purpose of Public Relations and is hosted and moderated by a social media communications team rather than Jonathan Warner himself.
Jonathan Warner @bio_Warner Hi Thomas (and eveyone else). I've actually been dealing with a grave family illness and have been away from the studio and social media. Thanks for your patience and no, I'm not a bot or a PR run account.
NYU Game Center Lecture Series Presents Bioware’s Anthem: Performance & Direction with Caroline Livingstone, Performance Director & Sarah Elmaleh, Lead Actor
Join us for a conversation with two of the luminaries behind Bioware’s Anthem. Anthem employed a unique approach to performance capture & direction, utilizing multi-actor performance capture to arrive at the most nuanced, detailed in-game performances possible. We’ll talk about the unique challenges of this process, as well as direction and performance for video games more broadly with Caroline Livingstone, who has directed actors for Bioware across the Dragon Age & Mass Effect series, and Sarah Elmaleh, who plays the female lead in Anthem and whose previous credits include Gone Home, For Honor, & Pyre.
Jesse Anderson @darokaz There were some changes made on the server side of #AnthemGame in the past 24 hours that should reduce the frequency of disconnects players were seeing. This includes the "The server has shutdown" message that some players were encountering.
One of the things I LOVED about Bethesda and missed when I was at BioWare was the ability to write notes, terminals, whatever into the game as part of the storytelling for a level. I wrote a LOT of this kinda stuff (loved it). Never would have written something like this
I mean, I think I wrote a lot of in jokes about stuff going on in the office, but didn't think to bitch about the work there. Of course, I infinitely enjoyed my time at Bethesda than I did on Anthem... This writer must have been on their way out
The entire first part of the in-game Cortex item seems to be alluding to this specific lack of direction developers were receiving on Anthem: I ASKED THE ARCANISTS WHAT THE MEANING OF THE WORLD WAS, AND THEY COULDN’T TELL ME. THEY HAD A LOT OF THEORIES. A LOT OF IDEAS. A LOT OF HOT AIR. THE TRUTH IS: NOBODY REALLY KNOWS. SHOULDN’T THAT WORRY PEOPLE? WHENEVER I BRING IT UP, THEY JUST SHRUG. HOW CAN THEY NOT CARE? HOW CAN SO MANY PEOPLE BE ASLEEP?
Jos Hendriks @sjosz *deep in thought about solving a thing I'm working on* *accidentally scoops a spoonful of lunch straight onto myself* Oh it's going to be one of those days, is it.
Don't knock the little winds. They're important - for morale.
Games: Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda, SWTOR, Anthem Origin: correctamundo1 Prime Posts: A thousand and then some. Prime Likes: They never liked me! No one likes me! Posts: 2,831 Likes: 5,274
Chad Robertson @crobertson_atx We remain 100% committed to Anthem and look forward to showing players the new content we are working on. We want to make sure we aren’t overpromising, so our updates on what’s coming in the game will be focused when we have things near completion.
Along with @benirvo and I, we've got a big team between Austin and Edmonton focused and motivated for improving the game. We appreciate your support and for being on this journey with us.
Michael Gamble @gamblemike There's been a lot of (incorrect) speculation on this. The studio's support and commitment to anthem HAS. NOT. CHANGED.
Corey Mesh @coreymesh Hey @darokaz, any word on updates or hot fixes from the 1.1 patch? I know the team is working on the cataclysm content, but I'm sure we would all love to see some of these issues resolved before then. Thanks!
Jesse Anderson @darokaz Some of the known issues will be resolved in a smaller update coming next week.
Jesse Anderson @darokaz A quick #AnthemGame note from me: Information – As you saw in Chad’s Tweet, we aren’t going to be sharing as much ahead of time until content is closer to completion.
We will get to a point where there’ll be more frequent community updates, either through more livestreams, forums posts or podcasts. Right now though I can’t just go “hey, I’m gonna share all this info” without first aligning with a larger group.
I love my job and this community, and hopefully in the future I'll be able to share more information and answer your questions more easily.
Jesse Anderson @darokaz #AnthemGame has a small update (bug fixes only) coming next week that fixes some of the known issues that appeared in update 1.1.0, such as incorrect (lower) numbers being displayed on items.
