Glorious Alpha Two Testers!
Alpha Two Realms are now unlocked for Phase II testing!
For our initial launch, testing will begin on Friday, December 20, 2024, at 10 AM Pacific and continue uninterrupted until Monday, January 6, 2025, at 10 AM Pacific. After January 6th, we’ll transition to a schedule of five-day-per-week access for the remainder of Phase II.
You can download the game launcher here and we encourage you to join us on our for the most up to date testing news.
Alpha Two Realms are now unlocked for Phase II testing!
For our initial launch, testing will begin on Friday, December 20, 2024, at 10 AM Pacific and continue uninterrupted until Monday, January 6, 2025, at 10 AM Pacific. After January 6th, we’ll transition to a schedule of five-day-per-week access for the remainder of Phase II.
You can download the game launcher here and we encourage you to join us on our for the most up to date testing news.
Comments
It was a pain (most things in that game were) but it gave a great sense of accomplishment when you succeeded.
I miss areas like that from EQ.
Just a short blip of true darkness would be great for the possibility of an ambush. For tension. Adding an element of danger. But if you wanna wait in a city for a couple minutes it will pass and you're safe to go back out and trek with visibility again.
As to how to explain the desired lighting cycle, it could easily be achieved with lunar lighting, especially if there are more than one moon. or the passive illumination of starlight could be high enough to maintain twilight except when cloud-cover periodically moves through and blocks it out. Etc.
Alternatively you could have road areas be more well lit relative to off-road areas and depending on the node level there may even be lamps etc lighting the way. I actually kind of like having to be considerate of the time of day when traveling and an optimal dark vs safe well-lit route.
As previously mentioned, some change in view distance or resolution/color as a function of distance during night would also be great for the danger/tension of mobs or PC ambushes etc. It would also go a long way to diversify and add depth to strategies surrounding caravans, when you may want to send them out and how easy they are to find/how easily attackers can be seen.
I think @nagash would just have a picnic there.
Personally, I love immersion, but not to the point where it gets annoying. It's a game after all, and while some ideas may sound awesome on paper, they are sometimes - not so fun after playing for two weeks.
So what's my stance in this? I too agree they should make use of the dynamic weather. Cloudy skies means darker, full moon with clear skies you can see pretty well. It's dark? Well if you didn't bring that torch you're screwed. However, as I can also see the other side of the coin here, I think some areas shouldn't be so dark that you constantly have to walk around with a Zippo. I say, open areas should be dark, but not to the point where you can't see what you are doing. Forests and caves however, make them really dark and scary! Then of course, winter nights are winter nights, better get that LED fidget spinner ready regardless where you are.
This seems after reading and discussion to be the most palatable form of implementing darkness!
Have you ever been in a forest at night during a new moon? You can barely see your hand in front of your face. Forget about moving.
I remember Everquest and just about falling out of my chair when I came around a tree and a bear was right there. That was why I switched to Ranger. I could use the 'Track' skill to know what was around...
Hmmmmmm.
A bit darker than this one I would say xD.
Dark enough to hide if you want to hide, but illuminated by a full moon.
The Skyrim nightsky is a pretty good compromise or the WoW early Duskwood (where you had to actually carry a torch)
Just look at him.
😨
Night vision is of course a potential answer to the problem of dark nights.
Highly problematic to require carrying a torch in one hand at night.
If you are in a room with no light source at night it should be pitch black.
An open field under a starry sky would let you only see shadows.
A full moon in the same field would give be comforting by comparison; but you would lose the benefits under a canopy of a heavy forest.
I want torches to limit your vision to the radius of their light and make you "nightblind" if you rely on them. Torch burns out you should have difficulty seeing until you readapt. I also would let players adapt to darkness over time where their night vision improves during the course of an evening if they don't rely on light sources.
This would make racial abilities and spells bring magic into the world.
There's a reason man shelters at night, stokes a campfire and fears the dark. If you can see without a light source; again it takes a bit of the realism away.
I loved the feeling of the Greater Feydark and Butcherblock Mtns back in the day. Your infravision meant something. Did you stress over having a light source was it something to manage? Sure. Usually only up to a certain level.
Real night away from the lights of civilization is dark. The game can balance it with borealis effects; magical fungai; bright moons as necessary. However some areas should invoke fear of the dark. It's primal.