Posted by Yasmin (Official Albion Online website)

Dear Albion Online fans,

We’ve been working ever harder on Albion Online since the last alpha test, and have built in a wealth of new features. The world of Albion is now even larger, better and more exciting than ever before! Read on to find out the cool stuff we’ve been working on, and how you can participate in the test on the 15th of September!

MOUNTS

Mounts are a new addition to Albion Online, which seemed more and more necessary as the game world grew and grew!

Mounts currently come in two forms; horses, which carry players around the world at greater speed, and oxen, which allow players to carry an extra inventory of items around the world with them. This can be useful when trading in the local markets, as players can take the right items to the right markets to make big profit!

ALLIANCES

Think that allying yourself with another powerful guild will further your guild’s own aims for domination? Or are you looking to infiltrate We’ve added an extensive alliance system, so you can partner up with other guilds on your own terms. Check it out in the Guild menu!

 

PLAYER CITIES

Player cities are a new class of region in the world of Albion. They function as cities with crafting stations and a market, as well as plots which players can rent to set up housing for themselves, but are owned by a particular guild. This guild takes a percentage of the upkeep paid on all real estate plots owned by players in their city.

The player city can be claimed and taken over by guilds in the same way as guild territories, and can be quite a lucrative option for guilds looking to make some money. These cities will be empty and barren when players enter the world, and are essentially built up and developed on by the players themselves. Player cities can be fought over in massive sieges of up to 20vs20.

FAST TRAVEL

Now, players will be allowed to fast travel between regions to quickly reach another area of the ever-growing world of Albion. Fast travel is restricted to safe areas, so players will only be able to fast travel between regions with no PvP enabled. The cost of fast travel will increase significantly as the weight of your inventory increases, so it won’t be cheap! Look for the anchor symbol on the mini-map or the ship icon on the world map to find a harbor, and set sail!

 

HOUSING ACCESS RIGHTS

We’ve added an extensive housing system, with access rights which allow you to designate who can access the buildings you place on your real estate lots, and the furniture and storage you choose to place inside your home.

This will alleviate problems with lack of space in the world, as many players can work together on one plot of land which provides safe storage and shelter for them.

NEW CASTLE MECHANICS

Guilds can now capture territories from the castle they have possession of, even if they do not own territories in that region.

Capturing a castle is now a challenging process which includes having to fight a series of powerful NPC guards who will attempt to protect the castle from being taken over. Only once you have defeated the Castle Lord will you hold the castle.

NEW AND IMPROVED MAPS

We’ve both introduced a new map and made improvements to the look and functionality of the old ones.

The new map, the region map, displays information about the NPC faction and resources distribution of a region, as well as labelling all the buildings and crafting stations available there. It can be accessed from the world map or by clicking the scroll to the right of the minimap.

for more info: https://forum.albiononline.com/index.php/Thread/3505-Content-Update-Summer-Alpha/