I love all biomes so long as they are bright and clear and beautiful. I hate fog and effects that hinder sight and make graphics look awful and annoying. Even the night should still be bright and clear
Dark and gothic graveyards.
Dark gothic catacombs (like in Lineage2).
And different kind of Lairs full of mobs that always makes you feel IN DANGER of pulling to many mobs.
I always liked the winter weather with snow caked on the branches. I just don't enjoy the cold that comes with the season. My favorite time is when spring is just arriving. A combination of melting snow, good weather is great.
Swinging a sword, shooting a bow or throwing a fire ball is just not physically realistic underwear. Plus it's harder to see and you can drown.
Guild Wars 2 addresses this by giving you diving gear and under water weapons. But it was balanced poorly never really updated and treated as an after thought. So even this got annoying.
What a neat question A lot of interesting answers in the thread too. I'm kind of a sucker for the cliche fae forests I guess, and floating islands too among the clouds (sea of clouds/ffxiv, tenebrous tangle/eq2 for ex although they are a bit dated) even though they've been done quite a bit. But honestly I can get into most biomes as long as they are immersive and the music is good/not too subtle (yes, even deserts can be kind of amazing!).
There are definitely a few factors that can really make a zone standout to me:
-For forests, good tree density (or undergrowth) is key, and also it helps to have some sort of fog to help you feel enclosed by the forest. I've been in mmo forests where its just big trees periodically spaced out like orchards and the draw distance for tree objects was short, and it kind of ruined the feeling bc you always feel like you are at the end of a loosely spaced forest rather than deep into the woods.
-Environmental effects like mist, dust storms, and rain/weather can really add something extra to a level when done well (even an otherwise bland one - (like a realistic lightning storm and clouds and the patter of rain on a native-style great plain, with the thundering stomping hooves of beasts).
-Oceans in mmo's are often done pretty flat. If anything coasts will sometimes only add a low-key gif for the shorebreak. But an area that could really capture the movement and waves of say, the high sea, would really be a cool detail.
-Just because an area is a desert/grassland/dungeon doesn't mean it should have a sparse amount of detail. Grass is usually flat in these regions, but it might be cool if it was taller and the wind turns it into a wavy rolly sea. And you often don't get the feeling from caverns that you are really descending down into the earth (you're more often just moving parallel slightly under it) or that feeling of claustrophobia.
I think that this is a pretty dumb question for the develop of the game!!! *maybe ... keep reading xD
Sry about that , but the game have other problems and it's not a simple one ... a question about an unknow aesthetics is pretty useless.
All the biomes can be pretty good fun, but it doesn't depend on the type of biome himself xD it depends on how you will design it and implement in the game, so the biome that you like the most will result in a biome with more ideas and work from you ... and a better one as a result. Deserts are awesome if done right, usually it's a difficult one and is where the bad guys hide.
Anyway i maybe understood your question and it has some reasons ... of course some player will like a biome more that another, so there will be a different amount of pleople with different tastes for each server and biome.
So my idea is to get a system where depending on the tastes of each player the world will change, having more forest or more hills.
How to do that? Simple .. there are 2 ways :
1) Make a grey area between 2 biomes that will change into one of another ... based on some quests of the players (es. plant trees or destroy trees) or/and by the node of the biome with the more influence and strenght . (es. a desert node is a lvl 5 city vs a forest node that is lvl 3, the lvl 5 will make the area between them more of a desert). A node into the grey area can choose how to change the biome.
Pro: This will give to the world more beauty , dynamism , customization and more. It will make more clear to the travelers the range of influence of a node, and it's prettier .
Cons: It's harder to make and balance, maybe heavy for the game... ?
2) Make each different server with different pre sets of the biomes in the world. So a Server called maybe Forest or with an elf name can have a big of forest and less of montains/deserts . So a player can choose his favourite one.
Pro: easier to make, makes every server unique.
Cons: If he end up loving more a rarest biome there is no customization option, less fun and beauty , also some biome resources will be rarest... same in the first solution but you cannot change that.
So dynamic and static solution , you have the choise.
Then if you care about that this is an idea to make the world more fun and customizable by the player ... if you don't then don't ask anymore this question and build the world as you please... it will be the one we will like the most for sure.
Favorite: Mountainous temperate rain forest like you'd find around Vancouver. Ferns, moss, towering trees, rivers / streams with crystal clear water, cliffs with waterfalls, all of it. Fill is with animals, give it that deep forest silence that lets you know you're alone yet surrounded by life, toss in some morning fog, done. Bonus points, this biome is one of the best for capturing all 4 seasons in their glory.
Runner up: Everest'esque mountains. Narrow paths carved into the face of the mountain, snow & ice, wind howling, jagged rock formations, if you're lucky the occasional cave for shelter and reprieve from the storm. What this lacks in life is makes up for in its sense of scale and awe.
Least appealing: plains or flat desert. It feels so empty, so lacking in the vertical dimension. You always feel like you're on display. While I don't have agoraphobia (fear of open spaces), they just don't resonate with me. Maybe it's that they lack a feeling of intimacy with the space.
In the end it always comes down to actual implementation.
Best:
1. Underwater areas IF, and only IF, underwater combat and movement is good.
2. Underground caves/areas
3. Snowy/winter mountains with some forestation.
4. Exotic jungle/forest with lakes.
Favorites are
1. Alpines
2. Forests
3. Jungles
4. Subterranean
5. Swamps
Anything after that is cool exceptDeserts, I do not like them at all, those type of zones could have fantastic rewards, great quests, fun events and it wouldn't matter there is just something about them that makes them for me very boring to play in.
I'll resurrect this thread a bit as I wanted to contribute. This question brings me back to when I first read The Hobbit, and Bilbo and the Dwarves entered into Mirkwood. I loved the fact that due to the present evil, this once beautiful forest was "corrupted" and now a hostile place to all that entered. It was a host for all manner of vile creatures, such as incredibly large spiders, and due to the overbearing evil any travelers that fell off the path would fall under the forest's power. This would lead to them seeing frightening visions or even losing track of time/consciousness.
All of this to say is that while general biomes are great to have, I really hope there are areas throughout Verra that have very strong connections to world events (i.e. an area so corrupted it changes the natures of both fauna and flora). It'd be great knowing that we may even have to battle through nature itself in order to reach our journey's end/objective.
Glorious Ashes community - it's time for another Dev Discussion! Dev Discussion topics are kind of like a "reverse Q&A" - rather than you asking us questions about Ashes of Creation, we want to ask YOU what your thoughts are.
Our design team has compiled a list of burning questions we'd love to get your feedback on regarding gameplay, your past MMO experiences, and more. Join in on the Dev Discussion and share what makes gaming special to you!
Dev Discussion #11 - Biomes
What are your favorite and least favorite biomes in MMOs?
(What's a biome that just needs to go away? ex. Please, no more deserts!)
Keep an eye out for our next Dev Discussion topic regarding raid & event difficulty!
My favourite biomes are lush jungle-type biomes, with shimmering streams of water or rivers.
I enjoy forest, swamp, and underground biomes desert and artic biomes always seem a little bleak but that's kinda the point it would be neat to see biomes having effects such as desert environment causing a stamina debuff (due to heat exhaustion) but I don't believe the devs plan on creating inclimate weather conditions that effect the players, would be a nice twist for an open world mmo though, I hate plains though.. rolling grassland is boring unless the ecology is closer to the Savannah where most life is drawn to water sources letting the empty fields feel like a breather between (monster) combat but I could foresee groups of players hanging around these zones to pick off players making gather runs
Best
Haunted Forest: Often has the coolest enemy variety, quests which adds a lot to this being my favourite.
Worst
Deserters: Be it sand or snow, the nature of the biome means a lot of emptiness around you, which often leads to a boring zone IMO. If they were to add some survival mechanic to these zones it may be cooler, but would probably be too much trouble.
Dev Discussion #11 - Biomes
What are your favorite and least favorite biomes in MMOs?
(What's a biome that just needs to go away? ex. Please, no more deserts!)
Favorite: Misty mountain peaks. I like em cuz they when done right they look like beautiful eye candy. Also if the areas around them are done right, they tend to involve lots of jumping and obstacle based puzzles.
Least favorite: Plains. Too often they're just featureless and boring to look at.
Fav: Dark enchanted forests. Either fairy tale-style, or witchy woods.
Will play py'rai and stay close to the starting area, probably.
Surprisngly I'm the only one here who loves huge plains. They bring me a lot of peace, and they feel more real to me than massively packed areas.
Hate: Charred regions with lava, and snowy areas. Maybe because coming from a place with very high temperatures, just the idea of that cold sickens me, lol.
Comments
Dislike : Swamps, jungle, volcanoes
( I also love forest but i had to narrow to 3 )
- Frufire
Dark gothic catacombs (like in Lineage2).
And different kind of Lairs full of mobs
My least favorite would have to be grasslands.
Swinging a sword, shooting a bow or throwing a fire ball is just not physically realistic underwear. Plus it's harder to see and you can drown.
Guild Wars 2 addresses this by giving you diving gear and under water weapons. But it was balanced poorly never really updated and treated as an after thought. So even this got annoying.
Ironically enough I really enjoy costal vistas.
There are definitely a few factors that can really make a zone standout to me:
-For forests, good tree density (or undergrowth) is key, and also it helps to have some sort of fog to help you feel enclosed by the forest. I've been in mmo forests where its just big trees periodically spaced out like orchards and the draw distance for tree objects was short, and it kind of ruined the feeling bc you always feel like you are at the end of a loosely spaced forest rather than deep into the woods.
-Environmental effects like mist, dust storms, and rain/weather can really add something extra to a level when done well (even an otherwise bland one - (like a realistic lightning storm and clouds and the patter of rain on a native-style great plain, with the thundering stomping hooves of beasts).
-Oceans in mmo's are often done pretty flat. If anything coasts will sometimes only add a low-key gif for the shorebreak. But an area that could really capture the movement and waves of say, the high sea, would really be a cool detail.
-Just because an area is a desert/grassland/dungeon doesn't mean it should have a sparse amount of detail. Grass is usually flat in these regions, but it might be cool if it was taller and the wind turns it into a wavy rolly sea. And you often don't get the feeling from caverns that you are really descending down into the earth (you're more often just moving parallel slightly under it) or that feeling of claustrophobia.
1. Forest
2. Caves with open "air source", underwater caves, massive ancient caves(aka underealm)
3. Mountaigns+Forest
Don't like:
snow desert
Sry about that , but the game have other problems and it's not a simple one ... a question about an unknow aesthetics is pretty useless.
All the biomes can be pretty good fun, but it doesn't depend on the type of biome himself xD it depends on how you will design it and implement in the game, so the biome that you like the most will result in a biome with more ideas and work from you ... and a better one as a result. Deserts are awesome if done right, usually it's a difficult one and is where the bad guys hide.
Anyway i maybe understood your question and it has some reasons ... of course some player will like a biome more that another, so there will be a different amount of pleople with different tastes for each server and biome.
So my idea is to get a system where depending on the tastes of each player the world will change, having more forest or more hills.
How to do that? Simple .. there are 2 ways :
1) Make a grey area between 2 biomes that will change into one of another ... based on some quests of the players (es. plant trees or destroy trees) or/and by the node of the biome with the more influence and strenght . (es. a desert node is a lvl 5 city vs a forest node that is lvl 3, the lvl 5 will make the area between them more of a desert). A node into the grey area can choose how to change the biome.
Pro: This will give to the world more beauty , dynamism , customization and more. It will make more clear to the travelers the range of influence of a node, and it's prettier .
Cons: It's harder to make and balance, maybe heavy for the game... ?
2) Make each different server with different pre sets of the biomes in the world. So a Server called maybe Forest or with an elf name can have a big of forest and less of montains/deserts . So a player can choose his favourite one.
Pro: easier to make, makes every server unique.
Cons: If he end up loving more a rarest biome there is no customization option, less fun and beauty , also some biome resources will be rarest... same in the first solution but you cannot change that.
So dynamic and static solution , you have the choise.
Then if you care about that this is an idea to make the world more fun and customizable by the player ... if you don't then don't ask anymore this question
Runner up: Everest'esque mountains. Narrow paths carved into the face of the mountain, snow & ice, wind howling, jagged rock formations, if you're lucky the occasional cave for shelter and reprieve from the storm. What this lacks in life is makes up for in its sense of scale and awe.
Least appealing: plains or flat desert. It feels so empty, so lacking in the vertical dimension. You always feel like you're on display. While I don't have agoraphobia (fear of open spaces), they just don't resonate with me. Maybe it's that they lack a feeling of intimacy with the space.
Underwater world always felt oppressing to me, so that would be the biome I'd not want to see.
https://knightsofember.com/forums/members/winner909098.54
Forest areas that are thick and dense with large diversity in vegetation and livable tree areas for the elves of the woods
Undersea caverns and hollowed mountains
As much and as large as viable to do
I don't have a least favorite though, I even like deserts!
Best:
1. Underwater areas IF, and only IF, underwater combat and movement is good.
2. Underground caves/areas
3. Snowy/winter mountains with some forestation.
4. Exotic jungle/forest with lakes.
Worst:
1. Plains
2. Deserts
3. Barren volcanic
The only one I'm tired of/dislike is ''floating/levitating islands''.
1. Alpines
2. Forests
3. Jungles
4. Subterranean
5. Swamps
Anything after that is cool except Deserts, I do not like them at all, those type of zones could have fantastic rewards, great quests, fun events and it wouldn't matter there is just something about them that makes them for me very boring to play in.
All of this to say is that while general biomes are great to have, I really hope there are areas throughout Verra that have very strong connections to world events (i.e. an area so corrupted it changes the natures of both fauna and flora). It'd be great knowing that we may even have to battle through nature itself in order to reach our journey's end/objective.
My favourite biomes are lush jungle-type biomes, with shimmering streams of water or rivers.
My least favourite tends to be snow or desert.
Haunted Forest: Often has the coolest enemy variety, quests which adds a lot to this being my favourite.
Worst
Deserters: Be it sand or snow, the nature of the biome means a lot of emptiness around you, which often leads to a boring zone IMO. If they were to add some survival mechanic to these zones it may be cooler, but would probably be too much trouble.
Favorite: Misty mountain peaks. I like em cuz they when done right they look like beautiful eye candy. Also if the areas around them are done right, they tend to involve lots of jumping and obstacle based puzzles.
Least favorite: Plains. Too often they're just featureless and boring to look at.
Jungles.
Cursed or very dark Jungles.
Forests.
Cursed Forest.
Forests with snow.
Snow deserts.
Sand deserts.
underground.
Mountains.
I don't like:
Sabanas.
Or places with to much water.
Will play py'rai and stay close to the starting area, probably.
Surprisngly I'm the only one here who loves huge plains. They bring me a lot of peace, and they feel more real to me than massively packed areas.
Hate: Charred regions with lava, and snowy areas. Maybe because coming from a place with very high temperatures, just the idea of that cold sickens me, lol.