The Night Sky

ArchivedUser

I think the night sky is fascinating and holds large fantastical and functional purpose in an MMORPG, yet is often all but ignored for a bland sky box... I'm hoping @Steven and company will do something about all of that.

There are some other games in (or near) development where the night sky will be important. Not just from an astrological standpoint, but astronomically as well. It can be used for navigation and exploration with the proper skills and instruments, but it's also potentially ripe with mythology that could seed tomes of stories and quests!

We see in the racial description of the Vek orcs:

Celestial. Purpose. Fate. When one stargazes, they find what beauty lies beyond our world. When the Vek stargaze, they find what lies beyond our time. Star maps, numerology and prophecy are integral parts of each Vek's life. Great leaders read the heavens for how wars will go, which empires will rise and fall, and the Vek often ask themselves "are we too late?"

That really intrigues me. 

Is that there to simply define the racial backstory, or is than an indication of functionality in the game? If so, to what level... will stargazing and numerology be skills for all to learn, but where the Vek have an advantage?

Can we use the night sky to navigate? Will there be named stars and constellations? With the celestial alignments have an affect on gameplay, abilities, or potential story unlocks? "Only under full moonlight when Lyra is in alignment, can the door be seen!" That kind of thing... 

I had a hard time deciding if this should be a post in the Lore or Systems forums, and I'm still not sure I got it right

Eager to hear everyone's thoughts on this!

ArchivedUser

Confirmed constellation "The Great Lost Pair of Sandals" 

ArchivedUser

That would be a nice "insider" throw in and new players would have to learn about the history of Ashes before there was an Ashes. It also brings a connection to players who do actually stargaze in real life (I'm working on getting doctorates in Astronomy and Heliophysics). A stargazing skill/profession would be amazing. It shouldn't be limited to only the Vek, however they could have a boost as it is such a huge part of their culture.

ArchivedUser

That bit tickled my mind a bit, too.  Definitely not as much as it did yours, @Lethality.  Soooooo many things they have yet to share, and I'm now really hoping that this is a thing they do implement.  

To theorycraft a bit on that, Steven and Jeff have said that certain skills will be locked to certain classes.  What if astronomy/astrology actually ends up in the game, but it is race bound...  You would need to befriend a Vek to help you, if you find some lore bit about that hidden doorway that only opens during specific astrological and astronomical conditions.  
It would be yet another slight push towards the multi-player focus of the game

ArchivedUser

I'd love to see this incorporated into each of the religions, really good idea. And as a future star... I mean navy captain I'd love to see charting a course based off stars. However they already said it will be a simplified version to navigate.. Still cool tho  

ArchivedUser

Maybe "light pollution" from a Metropolis could make the stars harder to see, angering gods and orcs alike...

ArchivedUser

Stargazing profession to gain luck-based buffs for you and others? Like fortune telling that can only be done at night?