Mysterious events are afoot on planet Raava and it will take all of us working together to face what's coming. Polish your skills, hone your craft and prepare yourself for the journey into the echoes of the past to uncover the mysteries of planet Raava. Whether you choose to master a craft, become a legendary code-breaker or actually fight - your contribution is vital to moving the world forward.

A million years ago, during the nascent stages of its evolution, Raava was faced with a seemingly insignificant cosmic event that has given its inhabitants a unique ability called Qen. Revered by some and feared by others, Qen has been a part of life for the Raavai. Battles were fought, and kingdoms were destroyed for the mastery over Qen until the formation of The Order of the Silver Birch. But the centuries-long peace seems to be once again threatened. There are no legends, no hope of mighty heroes that will rise to save Raava - only us mere mortals, and our only hope is to set aside our differences and work together to weather the oncoming storm.

Developer ETLOK Studios has released more details for Into the Echo, including more information on the multiple crafting systems that will make up a huge portion of the studios unique “social MMO” model of gameplay.

The Art of the Craft

Three new systems have been announced for Into the Echo, each already having some definition through their exploration in Journey Across Raava, ETLOK’s adventure game tie-in which is currently its latest “Kikitora” update.

Developers divide crafting in the upcoming MMORPG into three categories, each underscoring the rich lore and history that has been invested into the world of Raava.

• Wizden Crafting: Wizden Crafting takes a natural and holistic approach to crafting. Wizden Crafting recipes have been handed down across generations and use naturally occurring items, including plant and animal material, minerals and even gemstones as ingredients. Almost all advanced Wizden Crafting recipes require Incantations - spells that aid in crafting.
• Ulkami: Ulkami or Alchemy is a more scientific crafting system that is based on formulas and processes. Players must discover processes and gather ingredients, reagents and catalysts to craft powders and potions. Most processes in Ulkami are based on Qennic spells.
• Qen Smithing: Qen Smithing is a craft that uses Qen to work metal into various forms. Qen Smithing will be the primary crafting system for metal-based armour and weapons. Qen Smithing requires players to possess Blueprints of the items they want to craft. Furthermore, players must use a combination of spells in the right sequence to achieve the desired output. As players discover new spells, they can optimize their crafting setup and make their crafting process more efficient.

In Into The Echo MMO, players must upgrade their craft to use increasingly powerful spells. However, the requirements for each level may vary. Some upgrades may simply be based on XP, while others may require certain specific materials.

Whether players are looking for ingredients, spells/incantations, recipes/blueprints or upgrade materials, they must travel around the world and across time to find them. From jumping over rooftops and exploring cavernous mazes to travelling back and forth between past and present to unlock areas, Gathering in Into The Echo MMO is inextricably linked to exploration.

As players explore the world, they are bound to encounter threats. Whether they are time-keepers, monstrous creatures or bandits, players need to discover ways to get past them.

Player Interdependence

A large amount of evidence suggests that players find it hard to socially interact with strangers for fear of being judged. Players prefer independence, wanting to play solo rather than depending on other players for their progress.

This has led game developers towards MMO experiences that feel like they are “single-player games played by multiple players together” rather than building truly social experiences where players need to work together towards a common goal.

One of the challenges we tackled early on in our development process was creating systems where players could still work with each other without having to feel socially anxious about directly interacting with strangers.

A Hubs-and-Spokes Philosophy

Into the Echo has drawn attention from fans due to its unique approach of rebuilding the social experience back into MMOs. The crafting and gathering system, as with all of Into the Echo’s gameplay, is fundamentally tied to Into the Echo’s Hub & Spoke progression system, which allows players to explore and advance in any craft or discipline in the game world, while not being limited by linear progression or system.

Our primary vision at Into The Echo is to pave the way for new types of social interactions and gameplay mechanics that usher us into the next generation of MMOs. We plan to do this by giving players a sense of individuality and allowing them to find their unique purpose in the game. In other words, we don't want all players chasing after the same things. We want the motivations and aspirations of each player to be different - so that even if world events in the game are shared, each player's experience could be unique.

While many systems are needed to achieve this, the core component at the heart of this vision is our unique progression system. We heavily researched games and found that no matter how interesting the gameplay mechanics are, if a game has a linear progression system, then every player's aspiration ends up being the same - maximize XP and level up. We are doing away with this numerical and linear XP model and replacing it with what we call a hub-and-spoke style progression system.

At this point, I would like to add a caveat. Although this system results from months of research and observations made by our team, it is essential to note that we are not the first to come up with this concept. You may find similar approaches that other game designers have taken. Our innovation lies in taking the concept further and elevating its application towards achieving character individuality.

The premise behind this approach is quite simple - we break apart anything that can be levelled into individual spokes and measure the progress within each spoke using categorical tokens as opposed to a numerical scale. This ensures that we are not taking away progression in itself but simply changing the method of measurement. In fact, we are giving players the freedom to choose the paths that they prefer.

There are many nuances and details to this system, but let us touch on some higher-level concepts. First, players can be working on multiple spokes at the same time. While some spokes may have inter-dependencies, on the whole, players have complete freedom to choose which spokes they are interested in pursuing. In other words, you might choose to focus on mastering a few things, while someone else might decide to be a jack of all trades - the choice is entirely yours. The end result we expect is that each player shall no longer be defined by a single number (i.e. their level) but instead can have a unique signature that encompasses both who they are and what they aspire to become.

Moreover, there are some cool bonuses to using this system. Since we are not using a single linear scale, we can reduce the player level gap. Now, players who spend different amounts of time in the game can still have content to play with each other. Players can therefore focus on having fun in the game rather than trying to optimize the algorithm to maximize their XP so that they can play with their friends.

Another critical bonus is that we can reduce toxicity in the game by lowering frustration among players. Firstly, you can no longer compare players by simply comparing an arbitrary number. At the same time, content can be gated based on specific skills rather than a level number. All in all, we hope that this approach can make for wholesome gameplay at all levels of the game.

However, the ultimate bonus is that there is no limit to the number of spokes that can be added, which means we can continue to produce amazing and innovative new content without worrying about breaking previously released systems.

We have put a lot of thought into building this system, and we cannot wait to get it into your hands for your feedback. So, if you have not already done so, create an account to apply for your pre-alpha key today!

A Year in Approach

As development continues, ETLOK Studios Co-Founder Askshay Kolte hopes to share more information on the social climate of Into the Echo as 2023 closes and 2024 begins. “We’re very excited about what 2024 will bring to this project,” he explains. “And we hope to share more updates on our process of making the game experience feel more social and cooperative without infringing on the player's sense of individuality and independence.”

Players ready to explore the world of Raava ahead of the MMO’s release can participate in the Journey Across Raava adventure game, receiving regular content updates. Players can also get an early look at all three crafting systems and craft items within the game themself. Inside game looks and updates are also shared regularly on the game’s community Discord server.

Key Features:

• Unique Progression System: Into the Echo uses a revolutionary new hub and spoke style progression system that allows players to build their own reputations within the world.
• Time Travel: Into the Echo features a unique time-travel mechanic whereby players can travel back to various eras into the past to uncover secrets that can aid them.
• Community Challenges: Players with different skills must band together to complete challenges. Some accomplishments can end up rewarding the entire community.
• Crafting, Puzzles, Combat & more: Into the Echo provides a wide array of gameplay including a unique crafting system, intricate puzzles as well as combat in both PvP and PvE formats.

Into the Echo is in development for PC and console.