World of Warcraft
That's right! THE drug, going by what I've read and I must say, it's true to an extent!
I saw a BF deal for a free monthly pass for WoW and decided I'll give it a shot. I got one of those 10-day trial invites so I can decide whether to sell that pass or not and it looks like I *might* subscribe instead. I should have taken a screenshot of the first time I entered Eitrigg. I guess it was a busy time in the realm - there were scores of characters around! That first glimpse sucked me right in though I couldn't log on to that realm after that (almost always full!)
Instead I created a gnome mage in Norgannon and it's been a blast playing that little 'un. I don't know about others but I find the graphics extremely appealing. It's so colourful and lively, compared to DA.
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| The starting area for a gnome character |
The other thing I noticed was that even for unimportant quests - simply to go to another place, for example - you get a detailed reason. Far more detailed than any of those Chanter's Board/Blackstone Irregulars/many other side-quests in DA. I really liked that there is a story behind all these fights against the Troggs, Rockjaws and Frostmanes.
The other important distinction from DA that I immediately noticed were the ambient animations. Here is a screenshot (badly taken) of a guy carrying another. He actually goes and lays the guy down on a makeshift bed and goes back and waits for another survivor!
Anyway, as much as I am enjoying this game, I am making a conscious effort not to play for extended lengths of time. I still have a module to finish; make it two actually. I am in final stages of scripting for Craggy Island and after that, it's just going to be bug-fixing (which we've already done a lot) and polishing. Hopefully, it gets out around Christmas; last I heard, VO is in progress.
Meanwhile, while re-working my Evermist level, I've also been taking breaks on and off (it feels like I've been working in the level editor most of the time!) and re-working dialogues to change references to the locations that have moved. I'm also working on fleshing out the setting with a lot of ambient dialogues during these breaks so it doesn't get boring - which is quite easy when re-working a level as huge as this one. I'm also making sure some of the buildings fit more into a village setting; an example is the marketplace which was very big and spacious under a huge tent-like awning previously. Now, the shops are more closely-packed and cluttered with make-shift roofs.
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| Re-worked market |
December 3, 2010 at 5:56 PM
Lol what did I tell you!! As tempted as I am to play WoW again, I know I'd be consumed by it (Just wait til you hit the dungeon's/raiding..) If you can manage to play it in moderation though, hat's off - it's by no means an easy feat! Just to back up what you said, Craggy Island 'should' see a pre-christmas release, VO is over half done and there are very few bug's present. I'll update my blog on that.
Evermist looks very well, love the looming keep. I'd be happy to help out once CI get's out the door. Would love to work on some other area's for a change! Keep it up!
December 4, 2010 at 2:41 AM
Oh gosh, WoW. I've steered clear of it since I went cold turkey after several months of seriously unhealthy addiction to leveling, questing and raiding. I would love to go back to it for the encounter design aspect within instances and raids. I really feel Blizzard did a great job on creating a variety of encounters to make things interesting, but I dare not go back for the fear of getting hooked once more. I know what's good for me... and my modding productivity.
Glad to hear the level re-working is going well. Throwing away an existing level does hurt, but the improvements that inevitably get made the second time around often make it worth the pain.
December 15, 2010 at 7:50 PM
I think the element was all made in Maya.