Chronicles of Elyria’s most recent Kickstarter update is a bit of a screenshot dump, not that we’re complaining. In addition to images of a pair of highly detailed characters models, Soulbound Studios has provided some pics of its latest playtest, which was marked by a meteor-themed scavenger hunt. The studio also plans to be at PAX East 2017, says it’s working to make its “production development be more cohesive” behind the scenes, and celebrated the achievement of the pet/mount customization stretch goal, which will be followed by a new stretch goal to implement tunneling under the world.
But this biggest revelation is that Soulbound is scrapping most of the influence points system that was confusing the playerbase. Instead, players who help out in testing and participate in the community will be rewarded directly with store credit.
“[W]ith the launch of the new store we’ll be removing the term IP from our vocabulary and instead awarding you Store Credit for all the things which used to result in the awarding of IP. As an example, we used to award 50 IP for recruiting friends who purchased a copy of the game or contributed significantly to the community. 50 IP was the same as $5.00, due to the 10:1 ratio, so now instead of giving you 50 IP and forcing you to keep track of the conversion yourself, we’re just giving you the $5.00 in Store Credit. Easy peasy. Store credit remains the same as it is today, and can be used to purchase Tiers, Merchandise, Add-ons, or even EP to be used in the EP store.”
“Influence, as it was originally intended, remains and is just a measure of your overall contribution to the game’s success. As community efforts are now rewarded with Store Credit, your Influence is equal to the money you spend in the store, plus all store credit you’ve ever received, x10. Simple. So, when the new store opens, look for how much Credit you have and how much EP you have, as those are the only things that contribute to your buying power now. And, if you happen to make your way to the merchandise/add-ons area of the store, also take note of any merchandise credit you have.”
