If you could choose one or two specific types environments or settings that would make it into the world of Terminus, what would they be?
Myself I am hoping for a really spooky zone full of graveyards, undead, moonlight, werewolves, howling, cobwebs, crypts and everything else that denotes a creepy, spooky area. It would even be cool if there were vampire bats that if you got bitten by one you had a chance of being inflicted by a curse in which you too would become a bat, vampire or a werewolf during the moonlight hours. This curse would remain permanent until you were cured, if indeed you even wanted to be cured.
My biggest wish wouldn't be for a specific environment so much as environments which make sense.
That means I want geography which has roads and trails that actually lead to something and make turns because of landmarks, trees, etc... and not random wiggles. I want streams that lead into ponds and lakes. NPCs, buildings and villages should feel like they exist in their location for some reason. The world should feel logical and not random.
The environment should feel that is some history and there should be some mobile NPCs who seem to be carrying out their own activities or even quests. I'm not talking about random wandering mobs pulling a wagon, but NPCs with names like Tundra Jack and Karg Icebear and giant polar bear companions who seem to be on a mission or exist in the world with some purpose.
So far as a favourite ecosystem or mood invoking places to explore, I'm a big fan of really ancient forests. I want forests where I'll find ancient ruins covered in vines, runes etched into fallen archways, dangerous creatures behind any tree, hidden caves which are all but concealed by trees and undergrowth, small camps of friends and foes and deep lore oozing from every pore. I want the possibility of being ambushed by sentient mobs or a jungle cat who is simply defending its lair.
Most of all I want the outdoor zones to feel expansive. I want the opportunity to get completely lost and find myself frightened as the sun goes down.
Real, wandering, gypsies with caravans and everything that set up camps every so often and move on every so often and depending on where they are depends on what they sell and sometimes they sell good things and sometimes bad things, but you don't know what they are, and faction is almost impossible until they throw a carnival, and you have to tell your male friends that they are really better off NOT getting involved with the so-called daughter of the so-called "king" of the gypsies.
Jason said:Myself I am hoping for a really spooky zone full of graveyards, undead, moonlight, werewolves, howling, cobwebs, crypts and everything else that denotes a creepy, spooky area. It would even be cool if there were vampire bats that if you got bitten by one you had a chance of being inflicted by a curse in which you too would become a bat, vampire or a werewolf during the moonlight hours. This curse would remain permanent until you were cured, if indeed you even wanted to be cured.
That's my favorite theme for a zone! +1! :)
I LOVE the idea of permanent curses or effects that can be somewhat difficult to remove. Really any effect that is slightly annoying but not really all too detrimental would work. :) But I am getting off topic...
An environment I would like so see would be a really mountainous zone with a lot of edges, rope bridges and ravines that lead to crags, tunnels and mines inside the mountain to explore. And an underwater zone or dungeon. (assuming the camera and controls are ok underwater)
2 types of zones i want to see
1) Warzone - i want to see a zone where 2 or more factions are at war, and sometimes one faction controls the area but then after a while the initial faction comes to steal it back. and the quests and named monsters change with who holds the power currently. kinda like Hollowshade moor in Eq1
2) would like to see a Vally of the Kings type area. a zone with many tombs and dungeons made to protect the remains of the rulers of old, but vast treasures awaiting the ones who can conquer all the Ancient Pharaohs Tombs (think Stargate zone from VG) {Forgot the actual name of it since we just called it SGZ or Stargate Zone in my guild}
Gawd said:
2 types of zones i want to see
1) Warzone - i want to see a zone where 2 or more factions are at war, and sometimes one faction controls the area but then after a while the initial faction comes to steal it back. and the quests and named monsters change with who holds the power currently. kinda like Hollowshade moor in Eq1
2) would like to see a Vally of the Kings type area. a zone with many tombs and dungeons made to protect the remains of the rulers of old, but vast treasures awaiting the ones who can conquer all the Ancient Pharaohs Tombs (think Stargate zone from VG) {Forgot the actual name of it since we just called it SGZ or Stargate Zone in my guild}
Nusibe Necropolis (NN) was an awesome area and so was the whole temple/pyramid area of Tehatamani Harbour in Qalia. (I think that is what you are referring to?)
I also loved the faction war that I used to be able to create with my Psionicist in the Swamps of Rumug between the Gorgalok lizard men! lol
Jason said:
If you could choose one or two specific types environments or settings that would make it into the world of Terminus, what would they be?
Myself I am hoping for a really spooky zone full of graveyards, undead, moonlight, werewolves, howling, cobwebs, crypts and everything else that denotes a creepy, spooky area. It would even be cool if there were vampire bats that if you got bitten by one you had a chance of being inflicted by a curse in which you too would become a bat, vampire or a werewolf during the moonlight hours. This curse would remain permanent until you were cured, if indeed you even wanted to be cured.
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The spooky stuff reminds me of Oblivion (rpg) but I did like the Estate of Unrest with their massive trains of zombies etc. hehe
Would also like to see floor puzzles that gain you entrance to a small dungeon (non epic) Just stuff to do for fun. In Oblivion you could get bitten by a werewolf and become one, having to avoid daylight and do all the steps for survival.
I love the idea of the underwater section with the Dark Myr ..been a long time wish of mine...and I wouldn't object if they had a Plane of Sky, perhaps with the ability to shapeshift into a Harpy. :)
Cana
TWO environments I do NOT want to see in Pantheon;
1) Under water! Deep water scares the crap out of me. I don't know what it is but whenever I'm playing a game and you have to go under water I get sketched out. lol I literally get uncomfortable being under water. Or even when I'M watching a movie/tv show and they go deep into the ocean or sea I get VERY uneasy. It's dark and you don't know what is lurking down there. Also, you don't have good control of your own body down there so if something poses a threat you're not getting out of there fast.
2)Deep space! Outer space (which I'm sure we won't have much to worry about in Pantheon but HEY! you never know) makes me uncomfortable as well. Watching people in outer space gives me the willies! I don't know but just the thought of infinite space and the lack of knowledge of what's really out there freaks me out. The thought of entering a black hole petrifies me!
NoobieDoo said:
TWO environments I do NOT want to see in Pantheon;
1) Under water! Deep water scares the crap out of me. I don't know what it is but whenever I'm playing a game and you have to go under water I get sketched out. lol I literally get uncomfortable being under water. Or even when I'M watching a movie/tv show and they go deep into the ocean or sea I get VERY uneasy. It's dark and you don't know what is lurking down there. Also, you don't have good control of your own body down there so if something poses a threat you're not getting out of there fast.
2)Deep space! Outer space (which I'm sure we won't have much to worry about in Pantheon but HEY! you never know) makes me uncomfortable as well. Watching people in outer space gives me the willies! I don't know but just the thought of infinite space and the lack of knowledge of what's really out there freaks me out. The thought of entering a black hole petrifies me!
Watch The Abyss and Gravity. You'll love em. =)
Sorry for this NoobieDoo, but...
Underwater - already have Dark Myr, already have a reason for it to be there, and there's already a blueprint in EQ1 called Siren's Grotto. Call it one fanboi's insane ramblings, but I think the MMORPG world is long overdue for a completely underwater starting area for new players. Think Kedge Keep but as a hometown, not dungeon. That would be straight awesome IMHO.
Massive dungeons - Like ToV, Skyshrine, several of the VG dungeon complexes, Guk, Sol A/B, etc. As in huge, mega, super giant, epic dungeons. Using Guk as a reference, you could go into Upper Guk at like level 10 and not come back out until level 50. That's proper dungeon design to me. even though it became something of a circus, Velk's Lab was really big too.
Honorable mention - something like Hate/Fear in vanilla EQ1, where zoning in could and most often did kill you. Not for the faint of heart, instant lethal action, no time to set up, hardcore.
Give me secrets, lots and lots of secrets. I want those trap floors making a return, the wells that lead to the bottom of the dungeon, the fake wall that leads to the huge portal.
Give me zones that have opposing factions, live and dead frogs, and at least one quest or vendor that is related to the faction you can improve.
I think plane of hate did it, a kind of haze or fog that made it so you couldn't see too far, it made it so as a puller you crept forward carefully. Either in the form of darkness for an evil zone, or a blizzard in a snow zone, mist etc.
Adding to the Massive dungeons post from above - massive group/casual-friendly dungeons that end in epic raid bosses - Sol, Sebilis, etc. I think these really help tie the different segments of the player community together. With so many things instanced in recent games, the hardcore raiders and casual players might almost never see each other. Some of my fondest memories in EQ were when I was still a casual player and would be grouping somewhere like Sebilis when the big uber raiding guild clears through on their way to Trakanon and invites you to tag along because they are a little short that day on dps/healing/etc. It encourages interaction between players and provides opportunities to see parts of the game that they otherwise may never see.
Venjenz said:
Sorry for this NoobieDoo, but...
Underwater - already have Dark Myr, already have a reason for it to be there, and there's already a blueprint in EQ1 called Siren's Grotto. Call it one fanboi's insane ramblings, but I think the MMORPG world is long overdue for a completely underwater starting area for new players. Think Kedge Keep but as a hometown, not dungeon. That would be straight awesome IMHO.
HAHA! Yeah, I'm expecting some form of under water zones due to the Myr. I will just make sure I have a flashlight and my security blanket with me.
Gemdiver said:
Adding to the Massive dungeons post from above - massive group/casual-friendly dungeons that end in epic raid bosses - Sol, Sebilis, etc. I think these really help tie the different segments of the player community together. With so many things instanced in recent games, the hardcore raiders and casual players might almost never see each other. Some of my fondest memories in EQ were when I was still a casual player and would be grouping somewhere like Sebilis when the big uber raiding guild clears through on their way to Trakanon and invites you to tag along because they are a little short that day on dps/healing/etc. It encourages interaction between players and provides opportunities to see parts of the game that they otherwise may never see.
I REALLY like this idea. (always have!) It creates a good sense of population and makes the world feel more alive. Environments so large the initial areas cater to lower level players and the final sections house the higher level content. It also gives the lowbs a feel for what's to come as well as something to look forward to.
I'd also like to see gigantic areas (castles, dungeons, caves, cities, elemental planes, kingdoms, etc) so big that one group can start their crawl and another group can start their own crawl minutes later. (whatever it be 15-20 minutes)
Back in the days these same gigantic areas allowed players to set up camps where the group stayed put at an area while a puller continuously pulled mobs to the group. I wouldn't mind seeing a little bit of this come back but I really like the idea of a group crawling through a dungeon or an undead castle clearing their way to the king's chamber or whatever final area.
I don't know, EQ's group philosophy seemed to rely a lot on setting up camp and staying put in an area with a puller pulling to the group and VG's group philosophy seemed to rely heavily on crawling through areas with a puller continuously moving the group. Maybe with Pantheon we will see another evolution to the group combat philosophy or just a reiteration of the previous titles or even a combination of the two.
I definitely prefer non-instanced content but one issue with a non-instanced good old dungeon crawl is that after a group grinds their way through a dungeon to the boss at the end is that you get situations where a group will camp there to farm for hours on end, which is always a bummer for any group that may be crawling through 40 minutes behind them. Clever zone scripting is one solution to that problem.
For example, in order to spawn the boss of the dungeon, you have to use a consumable item in his room. That consumable item comes from a room way over on the other side of the zone, thereby forcing any group wanting to farm the boss to crawl over to that other section and get another consumable trigger, opening up the boss's room for some other group to come in and have their turn at the content.
I'd like to see lots of urban/settled areas that were inhabited by KOS residents. Whether they are big cities that are ripe for raid content or smaller settlements where you need to quest for faction, use guile (invis or disguise) or simply get a group of friends to help you get to quest mobs, etc...
I always liked zones like City of Mist and Karnors. It was nice to take a break from dungeon content and spend some time above ground in areas that felt rich with lore and mystery. I'd like to see small areas like the Kerran encampment on Odus expanded out a bit, perhaps not in size so much as in the lore, more reasons to go there, etc...
Gemdiver said:
I definitely prefer non-instanced content but one issue with a non-instanced good old dungeon crawl is that after a group grinds their way through a dungeon to the boss at the end is that you get situations where a group will camp there to farm for hours on end, which is always a bummer for any group that may be crawling through 40 minutes behind them. Clever zone scripting is one solution to that problem.
For example, in order to spawn the boss of the dungeon, you have to use a consumable item in his room. That consumable item comes from a room way over on the other side of the zone, thereby forcing any group wanting to farm the boss to crawl over to that other section and get another consumable trigger, opening up the boss's room for some other group to come in and have their turn at the content.
Another simple trick would be to spawn x amount of bosses in the dungeon. That way there are more than one boss to 'camp' and either more groups can camp a boss or the initial group can get to the final boss, kill him, then go back to a different boss opening up the final boss for another group to encounter.
Celandor said:
I'd like to see lots of urban/settled areas that were inhabited by KOS residents. Whether they are big cities that are ripe for raid content or smaller settlements where you need to quest for faction, use guile (invis or disguise) or simply get a group of friends to help you get to quest mobs, etc...
A BIG ol' gigantic mansion or estate with secret passageways and a large basement that leads into some other dungeon through a secret trap door or something does sound fun!
This is kindof a difficult subject to approach for me as I find it hard to describe the environments that I would like to see. All that I would pick would come from ffxi as that really has some of my favorite zone design/environmental design of any game I have played. In addition to that I feel like some of the others (non-ffxi) that I like are generic enough that they would likely be present anyway or are too outlandish to fit into pantheon.
The top three I would like to see would be something like promyvion, al'taieu (SEA), and anything similar to the zilartan ruins zones like the palace of hu xzoi or pso'xja.
I was thinking of posting a bunch of pictures of these areas to an album or something here and link it for ease/speed/space conservation (since many here aren't familiar with ffxi) but then I remembered that someone removed that function recently.
I was always a fan of the ice / snowy zones from Scars of Velius. That doesn't necessarily have to mean mountains. A series of frozen islands would be really cool, especially if you guys made use of that atmospheric feature you were talking about to make a player take cold damage if they end up in the water or something like that. I'd love to see a player vs the harsh winter environment.