Hey everyone,
Couldn't handle it after seeing the progress last stream - had to pledge up!! Glad to be part of this community.
There is a question I've had for some time. I didn't find any other posts regarding this so if they are out there, please let me know and apologies in advance.
The question is in regards to "zone size". I'm trying to get an understanding for the scope of these zones shown on the streams. I actually watched every stream up to this point in the last 24 hours and it seems they are quite large. Avendyr's Pass especially when they show off the Perception System in the stream before last, coupled with the first stream where they are also there.
My first thought goes to Antonica or Commonlands in EQ2 - these were large zones with many many POI's and large diversity of monster types/level ranges. Hoping for zones to be even LARGER than Antonica/CL from EQ2. I loved the feeling of finally advancing from these areas after many many days of playing, leveling, questing, and exploring - and also having to revisit these zones at higher levels to see the areas I could not tackle as a lower level player. You feel that you truely explore and gain knowledge about each zone, and remember certain NPC's that you maybe couldn't interact with at lower levels but now talk to you at higher levels. Things like this were great experiences for me in EQ1 and EQ2.
Are the zones in Pantheon on par with zones such as those? Are they larger? Are they smaller? I understand that it may be speculation at this point, but any data/information around this would be appreciated!
Thanks all
-Rividen
I think you can expect a variety of zone sizes in Pantheon - some will be smaller than the ones we have seen. It's too early to give exact numbers. But yes, there will certainly be many zones that are quite big. This encourages exploration and allows them to accomodate large amounts of groups.
From the FAQ:
(20.0) "...our current technology and tools allow us to create truly vast, rich, and detailed zones. Players will not be running frequently into zone borders. Our larger zones also allow us to create long vistas and views, and in almost all cases, if you can see a location you can travel there."
Furthermore, most zones will have a wide range of content for different levels. For example, there could be level 15 content on side of the zone and level 40 content on the other side of the same zone with plenty of room in between. This still allows players of different levels to see and interact with each other.
From the FAQ:
20.3 What is being done to make the world feel alive?
"We love the idea of bringing back a wide level range of content in the same zone. While some areas in a zone may be for low levels, other areas may contain higher level content. We want high and low level players to occupy the same spaces, encounter each other in their travels, and inspire players to reach higher levels."
Dullahan said:They've said most zones will be bigger than even places like West Karana in EQ.
this would be absolutely amazing if accurate. So much potential for exploration!! :)
could you site where this was said/stated please?
RDTTKA121212 said:Dullahan said:They've said most zones will be bigger than even places like West Karana in EQ.
this would be absolutely amazing if accurate. So much potential for exploration!! :)
could you site where this was said/stated, please?
This is a little bit misleading, we will have very large zones but not all of them are the exact same size, we have dungeons that are considered their own zone too but some zones will be smaller and more fitting to the surroundings, so while we plan on having plenty of zones that are a very reasonable size to immerse you and give the sense of being lost/part of the world they won;t all be equal in size.
Kilsin said:RDTTKA121212 said:Dullahan said:They've said most zones will be bigger than even places like West Karana in EQ.
this would be absolutely amazing if accurate. So much potential for exploration!! :)
could you site where this was said/stated, please?
This is a little bit misleading, we will have very large zones but not all of them are the exact same size, we have dungeons that are considered their own zone too but some zones will be smaller and more fitting to the surroundings, so while we plan on having plenty of zones that are a very reasonable size to immerse you and give the sense of being lost/part of the world they won;t all be equal in size.
thanks for the reply Kilsin. The immersion/sense of being lost is something that I haven't felt in a very long time in an MMO. I'll be extremely happy if Pantheon has this effect! And based on the streams it's looking this way.
cant state enough how exciting it is to have varying level range areas in the same zone, for all the reasons discussed in the last Stream.
It is harder now to give the feeling of getting lost, cause no matter how huge the zones are, we often can see very far and get more visual references we can use to triangulate and evaluate our position. That would be a great achievement if VR could give us this feeling again and I'd be thankful for that ! :)
Oh Khendall! Do NOT challenge them like this! They are being NICE to us right now by showing zones where we CAN enjoy the panorama and view because of marketing and so on. I agree with them. All of us are going nuts watching every pixel during a stream seeing everything we can! BUt I bet you that these guys are devious in nature. You're going to have zones that are the size of Texas and darker than a coal mine at midnight. Remeber Toxx Forrest? Remember Bloody Kithicor? THESE guys CAN make it almost impossible to guage the distance to the hand you hold in front of your face let alone across the zone!