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Phase I of Alpha Two testing will occur on weekends. Each weekend is scheduled to start on Fridays at 10 AM PT and end on Sundays at 10 PM PT. Find out more here.
Check out Alpha Two Announcements here to see the latest Alpha Two news and update notes.
Our quickest Alpha Two updates are in Discord. Testers with Alpha Two access can chat in Alpha Two channels by connecting your Discord and Intrepid accounts here.
Comments
I would have to agree with most that desert zones are a bit boring, often mono-colored and tough to keep my interest.
Favorites: Caves & swamps (I really want to see ASAP examples of the Underrealm Nodes and how the cave cities will be and Swamp castles)
Least favorite (but i still like them) Desert, maybe being more specific an Oasis in the desert
What's a biome that just needs to go away?
I really don't like the idea of the tropical jungle
FInally, i dont know if this could be considered a BIOME per se, but the idea of a MEGA CITY biome as always being very appealing to me (in fantasy terms hehe)
This is Kowloon a "walled city" in Hong Kong
And this is the Anata No Warehouse arcade at Kawasaki whos aesthetic was inspired by Kowloon
youtube.com/watch?v=V_2KgQOqzBc
Maybe this last biome is too cyberpunk for a High Fantasy Game but maybe it can be added in something like this
1) Slow transition - does the terrain change over time rather than having distinct areas that cut off arbitrarily or by obvious use of impassible terrain or less-than-believable terrain formations?
2) Strategic importance - does your terrain really matter in the open world? Is one path more dangerous than another for a traveler? Does different land terrain affect your movement speed in different ways?
3) No cliches - do you use lots of giant mushrooms and bio-luminescent objects? Does everything try to hard to look epic rather than having various normal (not read: boring) areas in the world? Is the world believable (e.g. some NPCs have kitchens, are asleep, have lives)? Do monsters simply patrol to and fro or are they in the wild with some purpose?
Good luck with your biomes!
Also mountains and open grassy lands.
Also I like the Stonehenge with blue mushrooms. giant radiating mushroom from apoc. Guess I like mushrooms..
1) Natural - Forest, mountains, trees, rivers, creeks, caverns, deserts, rocky or sandy shores, underwater
2) Fantasy - cities in the clouds, alternative planes or dimensions
I also agree with the commentary that each biome should have a purpose or a reason for existing. I think also think architecture is an important part of the biome - buildings that make sense, that belong - like a desert on it's own can be somewhat boring but.... it can also be exciting with ancient ruins or temples to explore. One of my favorite zones in World of Warcraft was the Uldum zone. I loved the feel of it.
As handcrafted as the races, cultures and systems in this game are meant to be, devote that level of curation to the environments also. The minute a place feels cookie cutter or repetitive, the level of immersion is lost.
Thanks,
Daedelus
Most others fall somewhere inbetween.
Heavily dislike savannah, generic forests, plains, steppes, coast and underwater biomes
I'm less of a fan when it comes to warmer biomes, since deserts, savannahs and steppes mostly look boring to me. Not enough going on, I can generally see too far for my liking, and burning sunlight is, again, boring to me.
I can definitely appreciate and think 'whoa, that looks amazing' when it comes to my less liked biomes, but forests are what I really love.
I tend to like dark and exotic biomes very much, places that are dark and dangerous to the average person but have their own ecosystem and are bustling with life of their own.
From what i have seen so far of the underrealm it is pretty much what i want, it makes me feel as if i am in this dark but yet exotic and beautiful enchanted underground (mushroom) forest.
I think a nice above ground example of what i like would be something like this
Despite liking the visuals of gloomy areas (in other games), i don't like that instead of them being filled with hidden life they are just empty and tend to exist without pourpose which makes them really damn boring to explore.
Deserts in other games also seem to suffer from this problem just lots of nothing, despite all the opportunities to fill them with life and make them interesting.
So there is no paticular biome that i don't like, i just don't like pointless empty areas.
I would like to see a deep, dark and scary ocean filled with life and things you can.. and maybe don't want to see..
Oceans exploration in other games was mostly disappointing, entire oceans with pretty much nothing in them.
I also tend to like snowy- and volcanic biomes, so how about a snowy biome with volcanic activity and hot springs?
I'm not generally fond of that kind of environment, but I just thought it was really well done.
I can think of examples that I like and dislike for almost all biomes, the only exception being plains/savannah types - never seen one that I especially like, but I'm more inclined to put that down to never having seen a good one rather than not liking it in general.
Jungles
Islands
Caves
Mushroom lands
heavy woods
canyons
Boring-
Plains with no assets
flat dessert with no life in them.
High mountains you can climb
My least favorite biome is probably swamp areas with lots of water or vast deserts with no mountains in sight.
although if beautifully done any biome fancies my view.
Favourite:
1. Jungle - Densely packed, possibly a city built in trees, with one Yggdrassil sized tree at the center. The biome would hold mystical springs and a main point of interest under the giant tree.
2. Highlands - Grasslands as far as the eye can see, possibly with snowy peaks amongst them. Civilization in the vallies and a terrible secret at the summit.
3. Riverland - Life centered around a river, with a clear upstream (Nigeria falls?) and downstream (Nile river beds?) and a possibility to build around or on top of water. Monsters may vie for dominance over this river.
4. Canyon - Imagine the Grand canyon as a Labyrinth with roads leading to more secrets or an open junction for civilization.
5. Mountain/Vulcano - A stronghold built on the summit of a mountain or in the crater of a blushed out vulcano.
Least favourite:
1. Permafrost - These could still be turned into interesting places by having your seasonal system impact secrets in this biome.
2. Wasteland - An oasis could certainly be a point of interest, a proper day and night cycle with extreme heat and extreme cold respectively, could improve this biome greatly.
https://www.eaglebrae.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/autumn-highlands.jpg
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/97/c7/6d/97c76d160a617ac6c0cff1837b9aaac3.jpg
Edit: Pictures are links, because add picture seams not to work with my phone.
As for favorites, I like flora and fauna that are in beautiful settings (GW had many). I guess green places with trees. I also liked watching beautiful sunsets in some games, and would love a starry night sky that actually had constellations. I like some bio-luminescence but not overwhelming.
Formerly T-Elf
Dont forget to mention the miriads of deadly, venomous insects.
- Dark forests that are so dense that you can't see the sky and it's almost like walking in a maze. (also just many different type of forests in general)
- Beautiful landscapes with lots of flowers, preferably inspired by asian culture. Something like this someone posted in another thread.
- Maps with a lot of vertical design. I want to go up hills, onto ledges, inside caves etc.
- Deserts, with hidden underground temples! And I mean actual deserts, not fake deserts that are over-designed to the point where it doesn't look like a desert anymore. Having an open empty desert between two cities would really put a feel of distance between them.
- Biomes that look evil in general. Big scary mountains with narrow paths between them. I mean if I'm an undead, where else would I want to live? These would also be difficult to travel, meaning players would have to plan their trip around these biomes if they'd want to trade or whatever. Some others would maybe go here for the rare materials or something. If the mats are rare it'd be more fun if the biome itself was challenging.
Everyone hating on Orr and I was just about to say that I like Orr
And for something I don't like:
- I just don't want every single biome to have those crystal thingys all over. I'd get kind of tired of them if they were everywhere.
...hmm but I can't think of any specific biomes I don't want. Unlike many people here I like the plains so as long as there's a big variety I'm happy!
and jungle raptors
Least favourite is probably snowy zones, not a big fan of those (unless it's a snowy mountain).