A Bigger Desert Biome

The region on the bottom right of the western continent, should be larger in area size. It's seems to be merely a dry peninsula. Wouldn't it be cooler to enlarge that area so that it could become the largest and the driest place in the world? If it already isn't. A swath of land covered in sand dunes or dominated by sandy steppes which could expand even more area in the southern reaches of the western continent. Plus "realistically" it'd make more sense for that peninsula to be greener than it actually is because of the river cutting through the middle and because of the mountains/hills would probably provide some form of moisture trapping. But if the mountains/hills were in a more circular shape serving as borders against the ocean and other regions, then a real desert could have a spot in the center.
Or maybe I'm just underestimating the map size and none of this is what the devs would like.
My apologies in advance for creating a stupid post which doesn't acknowledge some aspects of already known information about AOC that I may not have considered.

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CROW3

Hm…. Well, the peninsula containing Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Yemen is all desert.

Also, keep in mind I’m playing a dwarf that reaches Verra through a magical portal and we’re all in danger from a hungry void that wants to swallow existence resulting in absolute oblivion.

At some point we can set some Earth-based weather patterns aside, right? 🤗

That said - I love the desert - so bigger deserts would be neat.

Gizban

I live in a desert - smaller deserts would be greater.

Yorgi

CROW3 wrote: »

Hm…. Well, the peninsula containing Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Yemen is all desert. ---
At some point we can set some Earth-based weather patterns aside, right? 🤗

True the Arabian peninsula is surrounded by water and still remains a very dry place. But that's explained exactly by the earth-based weather patterns isn't it? The peninsula right now in AOC seems to already have enough structures in place that would warrant a greener desert, not only because of 'realism' but also because it's a bit too awkward for it not to be at least somewhat flourishing. I would also say something like "plus in comparison, the Arabian peninsula is a lot larger than the peninsula in AOC. So the Arabian peninsula has more right in being a desert." but I actually don't know if any of this is true, and it may in fact go against whatever I wanted to say.
Nonetheless (also in relation to the comment posted by pyreal), this is coming from someone who doesn't live in a desert environment, much of the other parts of AOC's world map appear to have wetter climates. So, my reasoning in favor of larger rather than a smaller deserts, derives from my notion that if the desert region is not big enough then it would become underwhelming. Deserts provide a unique circumstance for I assume both Players and the mobs to exist in, and for a desert biome to have noticeable effects on the world then it should be bigger so it could sustain itself as an area which demands a change of pace.

Nerror

Apparently the map is undergoing major changes. So you might get a nice big desert! It's not my favorite biome, but it can look pretty cool for sure. I also think it should be big enough that you can get a feeling of getting lost in it. That is, if they turn off the map/minimap/compass like they did in BDO when you travelled into the desert.

Mopy King

Well you might be getting some info soon. They said on Twitter they're showing a new biome on Friday's Livestream. And with all of the desert related cosmetics these past few months it very well could be the biome they'll show.
As long as they take the time to populate the area and not make it boring I agree bigger would be better.

Noaani

I would expect the final world map to har roughly equal sizes for each biome that is present.

This means there is likely to be about as much desert as there is tropical jungle, steppes, marsh, alpine forest or grassland.

The reason for this is because Ashes is a consumer product, and this is the most economical way for said product to be developed.

For every person that asks for larger desert, there will be someone asking for larger mountain areas, or tundra, or boreal forest.

Since each biome should have an equal impact on the game, it only makes design sense for them to be roughly equal in size.

Caww

each biome should have an equal impact.... (did I just plagiarize?)

Yorgi

Noaani wrote: »

The reason for this is because Ashes is a consumer product, and this is the most economical way for said product to be developed. For every person that asks for larger desert, there will be someone asking for larger mountain areas, or tundra, or boreal forest.

Very good point. I did not consider that is the direction the devs are probably going, equal sized biomes. But I still believe that's a bit of a shame. I guess I am simply more drawn towards unbalanced horizontal and vertical sizes of zones. Plus I just assumed different biomes would affect Player settlements both in the amount of player settlements and their capabilities.

Sengarden

Deserts can look very different depending on individual geographic elements.

If there's only one "desert" type region in the game, I hope various areas of it represent these different sub-types equally. As someone who grew up in southern Arizona, I have a particular fondness for Mid-Latitude Deserts (the second photo) and find that they're rarely depicted properly in MMOs.

If the map is undergoing major changes, then I would hope they consider adding in a mix of these sub-types throughout different areas of the world that make the most geographical sense.

CROW3

^ This. Also, I would like to see remnants of bygone biomes present in the current biome, in the same way that I can find seashells in the Grand Canyon.

Dygz

Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow.

Tyranthraxus

Some salt flats would be nice to see represented.

Yours truly was just through the Bonneville Salt Flat this past weekend!

(This isn't me)

Flooding and droughts there are quite dramatic; You get such smooth surfaces it's like standing on a mirror, right after a rain. However, the sand/salt gets SUPER mushy and traps cars that drive on it too soon after it's been wet. Alternatively, there are salt-storms when it's been dry too long and it gets windy.

Sengarden

I do hope there's a large enough sub-tropical desert biome (think endless sand dunes) to introduce some sand-worm inspired creatures. I love the rock elementals they showcased last month and hope there are more of these "hidden mobs" in the world, both big and small. Either actually hiding or hiding in plain sight. Can you imagine being out in the desert farming or accompanying a trade run, and all of a sudden you feel/see tremors beneath your feet before a giant beast erupts from beneath the sand and knocks you on your ass if you don't get out of the way in time? Awesome.

Yorgi

Sengarden wrote: »

Can you imagine being out in the desert farming or accompanying a trade run, and all of a sudden you feel/see tremors beneath your feet before a giant beast erupts from beneath the sand and knocks you on your ass if you don't get out of the way in time? Awesome.

That definitely would be exciting. But if those things are implemented I hope that they occur in specific areas of the desert or for a certain reason (like if you leave a unskinned/ungathered dead animal for too long) or else I could imagine that could get annoying. Anyways you're on to something with more mobs hidden in plain sight or actually hiding. A sandy desert might be the perfect place for all sorts of things to rise from sands or appear mysteriously from sandstorms.

Yorgi

Tyranthraxus wrote: »

Some salt flats would be nice to see represented.[/i]

you remind me of the pre-cataclysm Thousand Needles zone in World of Warcraft, a linear but vertically heavy zone. I like a crater like area that was completely flat (more or less). And there are other examples like descolace (maybe?) or other MMOs i'm sure. I guess it would be best if there were multiple small sized blobs of salt flats on the map rather than a single large one or else that could get boring? Like in between hills.

Yorgi

CROW3 wrote: »

^ This. Also, I would like to see remnants of bygone biomes present in the current biome, in the same way that I can find seashells in the Grand Canyon.

How about a semi-underwater cave-like zone, under the desert floor or inside the sides of the canyon's mountains? A hot climate all above, but you step into the 'shade' where it's a lot more prehistoric and humid.

Yorgi

Sengarden wrote: »

If there's only one "desert" type region in the game, I hope various areas of it represent these different sub-types equally. As someone who grew up in southern Arizona, I have a particular fondness for Mid-Latitude Deserts (the second photo) and find that they're rarely depicted properly in MMOs.
If the map is undergoing major changes, then I would hope they consider adding in a mix of these sub-types throughout different areas of the world that make the most geographical sense.

I agree! If there is going to be a single large desert zone or multiple desert zones, there definitely needs to be multiple types of deserts.
I might be wrong but I think the second picture you showed is similar to what has already been revealed in some gameplay footage, but I might be wrong. I remember seeing a hilly terrain and with cactus, but not a very red desert or a sandy one. I personally like to see more sand dunes, but as you said there is a lot more variety with deserts. Hmm, will there be a tundra in the game?

ykk

Tyranthraxus wrote: »

Some salt flats would be nice to see represented.

Yours truly was just through the Bonneville Salt Flat this past weekend!

https://us.v-cdn.net/6030144/uploads/editor/au/le52wm5uzf50.jpg (img snipped)
(This isn't me)

Flooding and droughts there are quite dramatic; You get such smooth surfaces it's like standing on a mirror, right after a rain. However, the sand/salt gets SUPER mushy and traps cars that drive on it too soon after it's been wet. Alternatively, there are salt-storms when it's been dry too long and it gets windy.

Man the Salt mines/flats zone in Lost Ark was incredibly pretty. Seeing ashes' team do something similar would be lovely.

Sengarden

Yorgi wrote: »

I agree! If there is going to be a single large desert zone or multiple desert zones, there definitely needs to be multiple types of deserts.
I might be wrong but I think the second picture you showed is similar to what has already been revealed in some gameplay footage, but I might be wrong. I remember seeing a hilly terrain and with cactus, but not a very red desert or a sandy one. I personally like to see more sand dunes, but as you said there is a lot more variety with deserts. Hmm, will there be a tundra in the game?

Honestly, the red rocks they showed in that combat update looked a small step away from the terrain in the third picture I shared. Just needs some reddish soil, some interesting elevation shifts, the occasional humid cave system, and some deep canyons. But yeah, I hope there's a biome like the Sonoran Desert. Standing up on the foothills and looking out over a huge open desert full of post-monsoon cacti and grasses as a blazing red sunset casts shadows across the horizon and lights up the mountains is really something else. In UE5, I think they could really knock it out of the park.

Sengarden

Yorgi wrote: »

I agree! If there is going to be a single large desert zone or multiple desert zones, there definitely needs to be multiple types of deserts.
I might be wrong but I think the second picture you showed is similar to what has already been revealed in some gameplay footage, but I might be wrong. I remember seeing a hilly terrain and with cactus, but not a very red desert or a sandy one. I personally like to see more sand dunes, but as you said there is a lot more variety with deserts. Hmm, will there be a tundra in the game?

*pov you just watched the environment update*

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