Biomes?

[JamesButlin]

Not to the extent of games like minecraft but still, I know it's been mentioned that the game wont have a large enough map for continents (as such) and will be made up of mostly green environments and dungeons but I'd really like to see a couple of different themed locations, mainly Snowy, Volanic & Desert. I'd love the idea of having a battle near a stream of lava or during a snowstorm atop a mountain, taking shelter in an NPC's homely cave etc.

What do you guys think?

 

[fluffydino2000]

I think that this will likely be solved for you by seasons. Well, the snow anyway. I'm not sure about deserts, but lava streams may appear deep in the underworld. I definitely like the idea of having to struggle through a snow storm, limited visibility etc.

 

[JamesButlin]

Ahh yes the mention of seasons did exite me, I'd love to see snow actually collect and be a part of the physics but I think realisticly that'd be way too CPU/GPU intensive within such a heavily physics orientated game.. We'll have to see what the devs think . Yes, lava in dungeons would be great!

I do crave variety as i've been so spoilt with it in other games, currently playing through Borderlands 2 and each area has a complete different feel, really makes the game beautiful to me

 

[fluffydino2000]

Indeed, one of the biggest flaws throughout TES is that there world is spread across games. Tamriel has a lot of varying environments but each individual game is limited to one. That's kinda why it sucks for me, I like exploring worlds with immersion and skyrim doesn't do a bad job, it's just too samey.

 

[JamesButlin]

Agreed, I grew very tired of samey mountainous snowy regions after Skyrim :')

Forgive me but, TES?.. Not sure I know of the reference (could just be me being thick)

 

[fluffydino2000]

The Elder Scrolls

 

[JamesButlin]

Oh, crap, yes I should have known that XD. Well for Sui Generis I think we can all agree immersion is key, personally I'd like to see a variety of regions in the world, some people could have different behavoir in one region to another.

A good example of this (but taking us out of the game world) is Game of Thrones (TV show), the different characters from different regions across the fictional world all have different traits, those north of the wall are wild and feral almost, some places are home to welcoming citizens wheras other may be more hostile. I wonder if this is something the devs could consider implementing in Sui Generis

 

[Scarecrow]

The outside's in Sui Generis isn't supposed to be that huge though. I don't think we will see drasticly different areas on the outside. There will ofcourse be varying enviroment to some extent, but it seemd like they are going for a bit smaller, yet more detailed and packed world so you wont have big areas of nothing.

In the Underworld however (Which was supposed to be larger? May have gotten that one wrong..) there might be better room for a much more varying enviroment, or biomes.

 

[SergeDavid]

I can see an island expansion that is just a boat ride with a loading screen away. Just imagine...

You arrive on the island and are greeted by the locals, they seem odd to you with their customs but you can get along with them the sky is overcast around the mountain in the middle of the island. So the first thing you do after raiding their stores for any good equipment is to go caving. There is the average skeleton and some interesting loot when all of a sudden the whole world shakes knocking you to the ground and sending a few rocks tumbling off the ceiling. It happens again a minute or two later as you're deeper in only this time a wall breaks blocking your path with freaking LAVA! As any sane adventurer you double back to find another route only to discover that more lava has appeared around the cave system. You decide that this is a bad thing so you make your way back to the village near the beach. When you exit the cave mouth your eyes are assaulted by the devastation. Lava flows are all around and the plant life around you is burnt or burning. The volcano erupted and all hell broke loose and the dragon bone idol pops to life and it is boss battle time.

For biomes I can imagine you'll get mountains, swamps, glades, forests, etc.

 

[JamesButlin]

Aha, very nice idea SergeDavid but I'm not 100% sure if random events like this are planned for Sui Generis, though I hope a number of them will be, I love random occurances in games, things like meteors hitting the world and being able to go see what devastation they have caused. I wonder if this is something they could implement, multiple islands? If you leave the island it just joins you to another map, if playing online you can search for a suitable server for the new island or have it selected automatically? That'd tie in well with my idea of having Desert/Snowy/Jungle/Volcanic enviroments as well as your Fiji style idea (small island with volcanoes)

 

[the0thMonkey]

Even though there aren't going to be loading screens, I totally agree with you. That would be awesome.

The size of the world would dictate how much variation makes sense, but I think it would be good to see snowy areas, swamps, tundra, forests, etc. All that good stuff.

Also, on a slightly different note, I think there should be variation in settlement size. Bustling cities, small outposts, and everything in between!

 

[JamesButlin]

Definitely agree with you on the variation in settlement size. It all really depends on the size of the map . I'd like to see Chernarus (from DayZ) sized maps in Sui Generis - 225 km2

This would leave plenty of room for a dozen small towns/settlements with a few larger bustling cities, I guess at the end of the day it's up to Madoc and the guys as the biomes and variety suggestions are all on the basis of the game world being a rather large one. Maybe something for the modders if the game world isn't big enough to realisticly implement these ideas.

 

[SergeDavid]

Even though there aren't going to be loading screens, I totally agree with you. That would be awesome.

The size of the world would dictate how much variation makes sense, but I think it would be good to see snowy areas, swamps, tundra, forests, etc. All that good stuff.

Also, on a slightly different note, I think there should be variation in settlement size. Bustling cities, small outposts, and everything in between!

The only reason I mention a loading screen is because the island would probably be on a completely different map and / or you don't want to spend an hour on a boat traveling to a distant island off the coast. I can see that being the only reason for a loading screen, down the fast travel for anything else!

 

[the0thMonkey]

The only reason I mention a loading screen is because the island would probably be on a completely different map and / or you don't want to spend an hour on a boat traveling to a distant island off the coast. I can see that being the only reason for a loading screen, down the fast travel for anything else!

Yeah, I know. I was just teasing.

I think there is also a good thread somewhere here about fast travel if you're interested.

 

[Stephen]

Considering this is based around medieval mainland europe(?), you can get rid of desserts and tundras. Forests and grassy plains and rocky mountainous areas most defiantly. The date and time system in SG just screams out snow during winter. As far as islands go, I would definitely like to see them but theres not alot of room for islands and oceans on a small, non-continent map.

 

[the0thMonkey]

Considering this is based around medieval mainland europe(?), you can get rid of desserts and tundras. Forests and grassy plains and rocky mountainous areas most defiantly. The date and time system in SG just screams out snow during winter. As far as islands go, I would definitely like to see them but theres not alot of room for islands and oceans on a small, non-continent map.

I think tundras could be included. If there are regions that are snowy most of the time, it stands to reason that there might be tundra in the surrounding areas.

Also, I just realized that biomes could be influenced be magic as well. Because the world will be low fantasy this might not have much of an impact, but if this wasn't deemed too fantastical it could be really good (adding to the lore and immersion of the game).

 

[JamesButlin]

Also, I just realized that biomes could be influenced be magic as well. Because the world will be low fantasy this might not have much of an impact, but if this wasn't deemed too fantastical it could be really good (adding to the lore and immersion of the game).

Agreed . It's all relative to how big Madoc and crew want the map to be in the end!

 

[Zodeak]

Oh, crap, yes I should have known that XD. Well for Sui Generis I think we can all agree immersion is key, personally I'd like to see a variety of regions in the world, some people could have different behavoir in one region to another.

Yeah, I think immersion and "realism" is definately the word(s). As they've already stated, they will have seasons so I think there's a pretty big thumbs up from the developers for dynamic environments. I'd love to see a big variety of biomes in the truest sense of the word i.e. different types of plants, animals and soil/rock composition (think highlands of Scotland compared to Greece) I think for massive expansion and variety of biomes, DLC after release would be wise, then the developers can quiz us on what we want after we've played it.

 

[kthula666]

If I think back Ultima 7 part II expansion Serpents Isle had weather related health issues. Before going into the colder areas you had to kit members of your team with fur boots, a fur hat, and a cloak of some sort. Gwani did not like you using there skins if i remember too. Don't think they put in protection from heat though characters complained about it. A long time back now 20 years or so.

 

[Stupidity]

You can get away with only a few biomes if done well enough, especially if seasons are confirmed.
With seasons should come weather and weather can make a huge difference. A mountain road during a blizzard or fog in a forest can be made very different from a sunny day, especially if weather affects what creatures you fight.
As for Islands, it would all depend on how the coasts end up looking. If the coast is where the land drops into water than theres no point in making islands. If we get sea cliffs, winding beaches and unique coastal creatures(attack from water) than islands might be fun.