If you've been itching to get your hands on For Honor and try out its unique Art of Battle system for yourself, you may be about to get your chance. Invitations go out today for the next Closed Alpha, which runs September 15 through September 18 on PC, Xbox One, and PS4. (If you haven't already signed up for a chance to play in For Honor's live periods, visit www.forhonorgame.com for details.) To find out more about the goals and motivations behind the Closed Alpha, we caught up with Game Director Roman Campos Oriola and asked him a few questions about what to expect when heading into For Honor's biggest test run yet.
The For Honor Closed Alpha starts in two days. What's the team's mood like right now?
Roman Campos Oriola: We are all very excited to put the game in the hands of many more players, and we look forward hearing their feedback. For Honor is a brand new experience, and from the beginning of the project it's been key for us to use any opportunity we have to put the game in the hands of "real" players. We already did a first live period in October 2015 and another one in August 2016, both of them on PC. The feedback proved very useful and helped us to improve elements such as the core gameplay and balancing. There are still a lot of things we need to improve, many elements that we know are still not in line with the quality we're aiming for, and this Closed Alpha is a great opportunity to hear from the players and see if what we're working on goes in the right direction. This is also our first live period on consoles, so we're very eager to see how console players will react to what they'll play!
This live period doesn't carry a non-disclosure agreement, which is unusual five months before a game's release. Why so early?
RCO: We feel it's the right path for such a novel experience as For Honor. What we bring in terms of core gameplay with the Art of Battle is very new. Of course, we can explain how it works, but that will never be as clear and real as playing the game. And what we tell you does not replace the insight from your friends who've played the game, it does not replace the hands-on impressions you can read media or the comments of your favorite streamer. We don't just want more people to play the game, we want them to talk about it and to debate with other players and non-players. We want to see and hear all what people have to say about our Closed Alpha experience.
Because when you say you're bringing something brand new in terms of controls, the first reaction of most people is excitement mixed with fear and skepticism. You need to play For Honor to get that our new combat system is both really accessible and really deep. The earlier we give that chance to players, the better it is for them and for us. We have plenty of ideas to enrich and improve the experience, but are they the right ones? Should we nerf that Hero or instead boost the other ones? Is the progression loop adequate and enjoyable? Do players like the customization options we offer? Having the chance to check that with real players five months before launch is an amazing opportunity for the whole development team.
What are your main objectives with this Closed Alpha?
RCO: First and foremost, we want to put the game in the hands of many more players, on PC and on consoles. But it's very important that players understand that this Closed Alpha is not a demo. What they'll play is a work-in-progress slice of our multiplayer experience. It's not the full content, and it's not the final quality. The Closed Alpha includes six of our 12 Heroes, three of our five multiplayer game modes and three maps. The story campaign is not part of it, and the progression is limited. There are many features that have not been implemented yet, and many others that we still need to refine and polish. That's why it's so important for us to hear back from players on their Closed Alpha experience, so we can take that feedback into account in our last months of development.
More specifically, this Closed Alpha will allow us to keep on testing and monitoring things such as our balancing and our progression loop. It's also the opportunity to test the reliability of our online infrastructure: it's the first time that we will host that many players on all platforms and the first time we're deploying our game on consoles!
What can players expect in the Closed Alpha? Are there specific issues that they're likely to encounter during their playtime?
RCO: Even if it's the first time we go on consoles, we have some previous knowledge from the live periods we did on PC, so we know some of the issues that players might experience during the Closed Alpha. Things such as longer-than-normal matchmaking times or disconnections are likely to happen. It's also probable that we'll do some maintenance, so the Closed Alpha might not be accessible at certain times – players will be warned in-game and on the Closed Alpha forums before that happens.
In terms of gameplay, while we believe that the content we have in the Closed Alpha is already solid, we know, for example, that our balancing is not perfect. We still have some work to do on that front, so players might feel that one Hero is over- or under-powered versus the others. The Closed Alpha will help us gather stats on that front, and check if what we have in mind is indeed confirmed by facts. We still have work to do on our UI as well, and on our end-of-match celebrations. Many things are still rough around the edges, and there will be bugs for sure!
What about PC? How will the experience be different from consoles?
RCO: The content is exactly the same on all three platforms, and the learnings we've implemented from the previous live periods on PC are present on XB1, PS4 and PC.
I would say there are still two differences: First of all, PC players will be able to play with keyboard and mouse. It's important to understand that we are still iterating on those keyboard and mouse controls. As of now, the best experience in the Closed Alpha is by playing with a pad, but PC players willing to try keyboard and mouse should do so. We need their feedback so we can polish this control scheme and make sure it's fully functional at launch.
The second difference is that we'll have lots of returning players on that platform, since we're re-inviting the ones who took part in our previous live periods. It might be more challenging at the start for newcomers on PC, but it's also a great opportunity, since experienced players will be able to show them some advanced ways to play the game and help them progress.
Any last words to the For Honor fans before the Closed Alpha starts?
RCO: First of all, a big thank you. Thanks to all of you who have been following us, we've been amazed by the response we got on our game every time where we showed it, we feel really privileged to already have such a great community of dedicated and passionate people. Thanks to all players of this Closed Alpha, your help is invaluable for us. And also thank you to all the ones who have not been selected because we can welcome only a limited number of players on each platform. I also want to reaffirm that there will be more live periods in the future, so if you aren't picked for this one, it does not mean you won't be able try the game before it is out. That's also the reason why we decided to run this Closed Alpha without an NDA. Players will be able to capture and stream their games and to talk about their experience online. Even if you're not in, you will have the chance to see plenty of footage and hear the impressions of CA players. For those players, I just want to remind you that your feedback is key for us, so don't forget to share it on our Closed Alpha forums!
