Ideas for new outdoor areas: Desert, Snow Mountain and Forest

[MirceaKitsune]

I think this would improve the immersion of the world a lot, and expand the space in a nice and diverse way. Currently, PS seems to have about 4 cities (if BD can be counted too) and in between them, empty hills you travel on. I've been thinking about how that could be continued, and what new outdoor areas I'd like to see most (that don't look the same as the current ones).

I think it would be awesome if a desert area, a snow area and a forest area could be added. This would make the environment much more diverse and immerse imo, and players would get to spend time in different themes of landscapes. I'd personally go with making all of them very large... possibly as large as the whole landscape around the BD cave if not even larger than that

The desert area could have a city of pyramids somewhere... possibly with an underground temple of that theme too. The snowy mountains could host a huge ice / crystal palace (or a large palace that gives such a feeling) like an enormous cathedral with many rooms and levels. Forests could be like the current hills, but all covered in huge trees that you navigate between, everything complex and covered in plants (possibly with rays of light shining through the trees). Those places could either host new cities, or large places that you can visit (like the BD fortress is). Now that weather effects are coming too, this would also offer a place to permanently snow in, and a place to have some sandstorm weather.

As to how each of these areas should be linked and located... I have a good idea about that too. The desert area should be accessible from Oja in my opinion. That's the city with the best desert / arabic theme. Possibly through the door in the back (the round door opposite to the entrance to Oja). The snowy area would likely be best put near the BD fortress. A huge cave like that is likely the best place to access a huge snowy mountain from, possibly from one of the cave walls. As for the forest, I'd go with making an entrance from the current forest paths (where Levrus and the magic shop are located, possibly from behind Levrus's shop). If a city in the forest is to be made, that could be a great spawning spot for the elf species (the human females with blue skin... I don't remember some factions by name sadly ).

I'd like to try helping with making some of these zones, since I mapped for different games in other editors. But I don't really know if I can do it, especially since I can't test maps or code on my computer (although I could try to model them in Blender and ask someone else to put them in PlaneShift). If there's any chance for new places happening soon, those are the outdoor areas I'd go for most, and hope at least some of them can happen

[Catlemur]

To create a new area much work must be done from all the departments and it would be kinda hard for the settings team to explain why is there a Snow Mountain in the middle of the map.Looking at other games Fallout is mostly plain hills but is still very fun.

[LigH]

New ideas are welcome ... but before presenting them, please read first about the existing settings. Mainly first in the "Player Guide". You will probably see that PlaneShift is a bit distinct. So copying stereotypes from all other games won't work well.

[MirceaKitsune]

I understand. I didn't necessarily copy this from another game. Just thought it could make the world larger and more diverse to have different forms of environments and landscapes. If it goes against the game's theme then yeah, this idea wouldn't count.

[Vakachehk]

Well this is rather interesting. Although it may not seem to be in the settings its still something PlaneShift needs to carry out an immersion, when are they going to create the deserts for Ojaveda?

And wouldn't it be very dry and hot up on the top level because it is right next to the Azure Sun? Or maybe very cold in some very high areas because of low air pressure making it become cooler, possible more around the Bronze Doors?

[HHH]

I like the hot place

[MirceaKitsune]

Well if these ideas go against the theme, I had some alternatives in mind that should probably be ok. No more snowy mountain... perhaps that's a bit too much. But could it occasionally snow around BD however? A forest still matches the same style of vegetation, so perhaps it can stay on the list. As for a desert... I still think we can make an area outside of Oja that uses the sand textures instead. I already seen sand in PS... there's a small patch in front of BD where Sand Anagramas spawn for instance. Since the storyline also seems to contain info about a desert outside of Oja (if I'm correct), perhaps some new valleys that use sand instead of grass would be alright (no need to call it desert if that's bad).

These new sand areas could also be used to do something I heard other players suggesting as well: Linking BD to Oja, so the main cities and roads form a complete ring, and you won't have to travel through Hyd between Oja and BD. But of course that's a separate idea, though it sounds good to me

[LigH]

Making a few more heightfield-based map grounds would be no problem for me, meaning only the technical part of creating heightfields and texture alpha maps; creating them related to settings and planned geography, filling them with objects and NPCs, and also connecting them to the rest of the world via portals, would be the more difficult parts, and might require mainly Talad to spend even more of his leisure time. He is more or less the only one who has the ability to finish and publish maps.

Making whole mesh-based maps would require even more efforts (you know how far Amdeneir already is and how long it took to get there).

[novacadian]

Or maybe very cold in some very high areas because of low air pressure making it become cooler, possible more around the Bronze Doors?

Can someone winter-ize the Doors please? Feel the draft? 

- Nova

[khoridor]

More than just creating "random" terrains to fill the space with deserts (i.e., unpopulated regions, which doesn't specifically mean sand deserts), we could exchange ideas on how to design such a terrain, and how to use it for (future) game enjoyment.

For example, just putting sand textures on a map doesn't bring that much excitement. A sand desert is only interesting when it is dangerous per se, because of slower movement, heat exhaustion, dehydration, risks of quicksands, getting lost, sand storms, etc.

I also remind people once in a while that fantasy settings liberate us from the obvious Earth imitations (from the basic sand/desert association to the more extreme sand/pyramids one). Obviously, the rules of global climatology need not apply to a magic-charged hollow stalactite. We could have a desert of impenetrable cristal, of toxic dust, of fossilised bones or of stinking goo all the same. The good thing is, deserts don't have to be large to be hazards, and even less so fantasy deserts.

[Catlemur]

Personally I would like to see a big lake near Armendeir.

[thorgrin]

I'd like to add another type of area: Agricultural fields. We've got big cities but no agriculture that feeds them.

According to the settings (If I remember well) the first two levels, specially the dome, are full of agriculture because of the proximity to the crystal and lower levels don't have enoug. I propose to add areas of fields at least on the close area of the cities (Hydlaa perimeter, BD road 1). Aditionally, it would be interesting to add small halmlets or villages that house the peasants, but that's more interesting once the wild is larger. I suppose it can be added with just some retexturing around Hydlaa and the Wilderness.

There's a nice book in the library that explains the different areas, with cities and climate aswell. One of the proposed cities -contest won by Amdeneir- was a Dermorian one, full of forest. The other one was a dwarves town, underground, as you mention.
The huge temple can be Talad's temple. NPC's and books mention it's in the Northwest, BD area, and it's a quite elaborated and impressive building.

Most of what you mention seems correct, so I suppose it can be added.

[LigH]

Great point with the fields, thorgrin. Those few hardly visible carrot fields in rather random corners are just a beginning. There is a basic fallow field in the village ruins near the Eagle Bronze Doors path, what a pity that one was not yet used for e.g. carrots or other herbs.

On top of that: Someone already mentioned that almost all available animal species seem to be rather carnivorous, but what do they hunt? There is a lack of herbivorous animal races. How about e.g. a wild Kormi herd (with own movement rules, trying to avoid player avatars but staying together in the herd)?

[RlyDontKnow]

How about e.g. a wild Kormi herd (with own movement rules, trying to avoid player avatars but staying together in the herd)?

that sort of remembers me of the deers, etc. in oblivion which were pretty hard to hunt as they always ran away if you got near, so you had to be on a horse to get even somewhat near

anyway, I'm not sure the current NPC behaviours allow that kind of reactions, yet

[MirceaKitsune]

+1 about the fields... great idea! They could also be a place to easily collect items on the ground from (nah I know you can't sell food for a lot)