Legends of Equestria Alpha Tour

[TanktheTortoise 262]

So this weekend was the open alpha for Legends of Equestria.

 

You may be wondering one of two things:

1) What is an alpha?

2) What is Legends of Equestria?

 

To answer the first, an alpha is a barebones test during software (in this case game) development.  This is generally used to work out bugs in the baseline software before adding more complicated layers such as main gameplay and progression.  While this alpha did have some skills available and did have a couple of quests and items it was still threadbare.  This is to be expected of an alpha.

 

To answer the second, Legends of Equestria is an open source pony MMO in the works.  The team has done a decent job replicating the feel of the areas that are currently available.

 

But if you are this far you likely already had a bit of interest in the topic.

 

So without further adieu I shall now descend into my pictures that I took.

 

 

 

http://imgur.com/a/aN5f7/embed

 

 

 

 

 

http://imgur.com/a/tWynB/embed

 

 

 

They currently are not organized as I have another batch still uploading to imgur.  I will update this post once they are complete.

 

As for my opinion, while there was little to actually do in the game besides exploring it was extremely well done.  There was a rudimentary combat and skill system as well as a couple of quests, but they clearly were there to give the alpha more to do rather than just fly around (which admittedly was fun).  Ponies were more or less fully animated and flowed smoothly.  One thing that I felt was an interesting touch is that inside sugarcube corner played various brony music.  Another note is that while there was a profanity filter there was not a character name filter so you saw some Woona's, Twilight Sparkle's and Pinkie Pies (all of various spelling). 

 

Another thing that you may be wondering about was the complete lack of known ponies and all the names of the areas being wrong.  Apparently this was done as a safety measure against copyright infringement.

 

It is worth noting that while there wasn't much to actually do due to the state of the game, the shear size of the area's are mind blowing.  To give an example Ponydale is the smallest town (if you ignore Sweet Apple Orchards), but even flying at full speed it takes about a minute or so to get from one side to the other.

 

I tried to vary my shots to give differing perspectives so that you can get a stronger feel for the game.

 

Just in case anypony asks no I am not affiliated with the creators of the game.  I just felt that a nice comprehensive album of images would be nice for those who didn't get in due to the login troubles.

Edited January 26, 2014 by TanktheTortoise

[Apple Bloom 2,900]

After hours of trying to log into game, I finally managed to get in. It was late in the evening on the last day. I guess traffic was lightening up because I had no trouble logging in from that point on.

 

I didn't have enough time to do much in the game, but I managed to visit all the areas. (I think) Here is some gameplay footage I recorded.

 

 

I was going to stay until they closed the servers, but they extended it until 4am EST on the 27th, so I had to leave. Nevertheless, I got some pictures of what we thought were the last moments.

 

http://imgur.com/a/QgRTt/embed

 

Now, for my impressions of the game. I thought it was very well made for an alpha version. Though when I think about it, they've been working on it for a few years, so it should be looking good by now. Everyone has their own original character and you can walk around and talk to other ponies, which you can identify by their name displayed above their head. It also has an area (Sugarcane Corner) where you can just chill and listen to music. These two specific aspects remind me of Playstation Home, the virtual social networking environment for PS3. That's all I really expected of the game, so I was pleasantly surprised to see that it actually has some gameplay elements such as quests and battles. One quest in particular requires you to talk to an NPC who asks you to go around and gather supplies from other ponies. There is also a monetary system and a store where you can buy things such as equipment, clothing, and accessories. I only managed to buy a saddlebag but you can buy weapons as well, which I think you can use in battle.

 

The game is still very buggy and you can tell it's unfinished, but it's fun to play as is and I'm sure it'll be even better when it's done.

['Fluttershy' 50]

Will they have any more test runs? Or can you still play it after they did that test or is it concluded?

[TanktheTortoise 262]

The open server weekend has concluded and you can no longer play.  As for when the game will have its next open weekend, beta, or release I cannot say.  As stated before I am not affiliated with them in any way, however, you can keep up to date on the status of the game and potential playtimes  here http://legendsofequestria.com/.  Also it appears they are recruiting so if you have some of the skills they need that is another avenue.

 

Hope that answers your questions to the best of my ability!

[Scootalove 10,672]

I heard that the game is enjoyable, sure it's a bit buggy but still fun to play.

[Book Horse 12]

What do you do in the game?  I watched the video to 3 minutes in, but dont entirely understand what the point of the game is other than meet up with other real-life bronies of pegasisters.  Maybe I should finish the video.

[TanktheTortoise 262]

What do you do in the game?  I watched the video to 3 minutes in, but dont entirely understand what the point of the game is other than meet up with other real-life bronies of pegasisters.  Maybe I should finish the video.

The game is an MMO but currently due to it being in alpha its just a framework.  The world has been created and there is some rudimentary fighting but until the game gets further into development you cannot play how it was meant to be played.

 

The reason why the video and the screenshots depict little to no fighting is because that part of the game hasn't been implemented beyond basic attacks.  Once it reaches beta it will likely have far more to do than to just explore as most have already explored all there is right now .

[RollingPony 100]

I really liked it 

After a few hours I thought it would be fun to come as one of the mane six, so I made myself an Apple Jack and went to sugarcube corner.

There I found someone who was playing as Pinkie, well we  started to chat and it all ended up in a RP with all the mane six 

It was awesome, and even if it's really early alpha it's still  a real good game just for exploring equestria or for Pony-RP-ing!

I'm looking forward to the next open weekend 

I hope I can find some of you guys there