Kingdoms of Elyria

Introduction
Kingdoms of Elyria is a planned 3D game resembling a traditional kingdom management game, run in the same Unreal Engine 4 client used for Prelyria (formerly known as VoxElyria, see Trivia below). KoE is about testing the mechanics which will be introduced as part of Alpha 2 testing. It will include the features necessary to do kingdom / land / domain management, which includes settlement building, architecture / construction, and the ability to zone land. The minigame's creation is predicated on a need for Soulbound Studios to gather data on how kingdoms interact within the game world, so they can informatively design the mechanics governing those interactions.

KoE is about helping to shape the political landscape by giving players an additional opportunity for conflict and drama - allowing players to form and change alliances, declare wars, fight for shared resources, and even invest in research. In the event that someone was to obtain a Casus belli, the 2D perspective allows someone to direct markers to indicate where the armies should mobilize. It even allows the players to send couriers to mobilized military to change their orders.

Features
Kingdoms of Elyria gameplay focuses on the following CoE mechanics:
 * Government
 * Law (Implicit Contracts)
 * Reputation & Fame
 * Research & Technology
 * Settlement Building
 * Economy
 * Sieging and Battlefield Combat

Conditions
Kingdoms of Elyria is intended for the nobility and aristocracy, but other players eager to test the game out in their own low-resolution engine have their chance through Prelyria.

Kingdoms of Elyria will begin approximately 50-60 Elyrian years before the events of the Prologue. The actions that take place during Kingdoms of Elyria will quite literally be writing the recent history of the servers. As you can imagine, Kingdoms of Elyria will come after selection of Kingdoms, Duchies, Counties, and settlements, as well as selection of custom family names. The aristocracy and nobility that participate in the Kingdoms of Elyria game will be playing as their noble houses, 2-3 generations before the birth of their first character in Chronicles of Elyria. To protect the identity of the players, the KoE game will be entirely "in-character", with no visible indication of which player corresponds to which noble houses.

Kingdoms of Elyria as a Meta Game
In early January it was decided that Kingdoms of Elyria would function as a meta game allowing players to gain experience and wealth/resources for exposition without the dangers or permanently losing anything associated with their pledge packages. If one player takes control of another players land during KoE they will be able to develop that land and gain ep (or another currency) from said action which will roll over into exposition. However, upon the transition from KoE to exposition the original land holder will regain control of their land with all of its improvements and developments implemented by the invader. Although the conqueror loses possession of the land they had taken over, they will retain the economic benefits (in the form of ep or some other similar currency) for having managed and run the territory. Additionally, changes made to the landscape will be semi-permanent, with some things persisting into exposition. In this way, everyone is encouraged to build rather than destroy.

Release Schedule
KoE is planned to release after Prelyria is released to all players. Prelyria development will be the primary focus in Q4 2017, with release some time after that, and KoE-related features development will start around T2 of 2018.

Frequently Asked Questions
Will aristocracy be able to lose their backer positions by participating in Kingdoms of Elyria?

No.

Can we play more than one character?

Probably.

Can we join multiple families while we play Kingdoms of Elyria?

Yes. Join a different family each time. Experiment with the different tribes.

'''How will reincarnation work, etc.? Does Kingdoms of Elyria require Sparks of Life?'''

Kingdoms of Elyria won't require Sparks of Life. However, we also want to be able to pseudo-accurately determine how people will behave with our normal risk/reward system. So we will provide a new type of "Spark of Life" which we've tentatively been calling "Remnants". These Remnants allow you to create a character from a "past life", until they die. Alpha/Beta testers will accumulate a certain number of remnants over time. If you do something dumb and get yourself dead, you'll have to wait until your remnants reset before you'll be able to create another character.

Trivia
Prelyria is formely known as VoxElyria.