A pre-test “shakeout” before the next pre-alpha is happening in Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen, which seems redundant, but it’s better than not having things ready to go before the full-scale pre-alpha. At least, that’s the reasoning given by the devs, which explains that show stopper features of pre-alpha 5 need to be tested to ensure they’re bug free.
As for what those features are, this test will focus on the Dire Lord and the Shaman classes, an overhaul to the game’s battle system, climbing, and Perception and quest content. These tests will be available for backers of a certain tier on Saturday, September 5th, and Sunday, September 6th, in three staggered sessions per day, with timing details posted on the game’s pre-alpha forums.
As for when Pantheon enters pre-alpha 5 proper, that’s yet to be determined, but the post promises more classes, features, and content, with longer play sessions for a full progression MMO experience. Pre-alpha 5 will also mark one of the final steps before the game goes into full alpha mode. So it looks like slow and steady progress for one.
