Hello, this thread is about new environments for content design. In other words, not some one-off zone or instance that has some new environment to explore that players rapidly get bored with, but something that once coded can be a part of the developers toolbox for certain areas of the overland part of new zones as well as areas such as delves, group dungeons, and so on.Deep Darkness
Building on
a comment from another thread, we could have a lot of fun with deep darkness. That is, pitch black, where torches and spells that give off light would be needed in order to see.
For those who don't know,
@Gidorick wrote about what he called immersive darkness, which does overlap with what I am talking about here, so, it's worth a look at his idea. He focuses primarily on weather/night time and light levels in the open world environment, whereas here in this post I will focus solely on the other half of content locations, indoor and underground areas and some extra-planar locales.
The type of darkness I am writing about isn't just having the weather or new moons decrease the brightness setting for the sake of immersion, but is instead intended as a mechanic for creating new types of challenging content for players. This kind of darkness was seen in a very limited fashion in places such as the Lightless Oubliette and part of the Endless Stair (no spoilers here) in Coldharbour, and in a bit more developed form near the end of the quest at the Rahni'Za School in Craglorn, and in part of the al-Danobia Tomb in Taneth (part of a quest related to the Thieve's Guild).
For the Rahni'Za School and the al-Danobia Tomb examples, a way of seeing in the deep darkness was provided by NPC mechanics (again, no spoilers offered). What I am talking is taking that kind of darkness and putting in a part or (nearly) all of a delve, a group dungeon, a trial, an arena, etc. Maybe even a group boss (i.e. "world boss") located underground. And rather than an NPC mechanic for seeing through the gloom, it would be player-character based illumination. A relevant and well written excerpt for how that could work is borrowed from Gidorick's thread and placed in this spoiler:
Night Eye Ability
Khajiit, Vampires, and Werewolves should all have an innate Night Eye ability that enables them to see more clearly in the dark. This is not an activated ability and activates when the illumination of an area is under a certain threshold.
- Khajiit: +50% Illumination / +25% Radius
- Vampire: +40% Illumination / +20% Radius
- Werewolf: +30% Illumination / +15% Radius
Night eye should cast a dull gray light into the dark making everything illuminated appear in a sort of gray-scale.
Khajiit’s Racial Passive
Stealthy could be changed to:
- Night Stalker
- 50% visibility at night (as outlined above)
- Increases Damage done while in stealth by 3%
Illuminators
The darkness could also be kept at bay by using any of the following:
- Torches: Consumable item varies in illumination, radius, and duration. Casts natural light to illuminate the night.
- Magelight: Cast-able Mages Guild Skill, casts a piercing white light into the darkness. The greater the skill the greater the effect.
- Almalexia’s Enchanted Lantern: A trophy that creates a blue light that washes into the black abyss.
- NightEye Potion: Consumable, higher quality increases illumination, radius, and duration.
- Ring of the Night-Eye: Special rings which can grant Night Eye when worn. +20% Illumination / +10% Radius.
- Weapon Enchantments: Elemental weapon enchantments should also be able to fight back the darkness, but none as effectively as the lowest quality torch
- Frost: Casts a soft blue glow around the character
- Fire: Casts a warm yellow light across the ground
- Shock: Casts a stark white light into the darkness
The most natural light available should be through the torches. A player using multiple illumination methods wouldn’t have a combined illumination effect but would instead see the effect which takes precedence.
Night Eye Ability
Khajiit, Vampires, and Werewolves should all have an innate Night Eye ability that enables them to see more clearly in the dark. This is not an activated ability and activates when the illumination of an area is under a certain threshold.
- Khajiit: +50% Illumination / +25% Radius
- Vampire: +40% Illumination / +20% Radius
- Werewolf: +30% Illumination / +15% Radius
Night eye should cast a dull gray light into the dark making everything illuminated appear in a sort of gray-scale.
Khajiit’s Racial Passive
Stealthy could be changed to:
- Night Stalker
- 50% visibility at night (as outlined above)
- Increases Damage done while in stealth by 3%
Illuminators
The darkness could also be kept at bay by using any of the following:
- Torches: Consumable item varies in illumination, radius, and duration. Casts natural light to illuminate the night.
- Magelight: Cast-able Mages Guild Skill, casts a piercing white light into the darkness. The greater the skill the greater the effect.
- Almalexia’s Enchanted Lantern: A trophy that creates a blue light that washes into the black abyss.
- NightEye Potion: Consumable, higher quality increases illumination, radius, and duration.
- Ring of the Night-Eye: Special rings which can grant Night Eye when worn. +20% Illumination / +10% Radius.
- Weapon Enchantments: Elemental weapon enchantments should also be able to fight back the darkness, but none as effectively as the lowest quality torch
- Frost: Casts a soft blue glow around the character
- Fire: Casts a warm yellow light across the ground
- Shock: Casts a stark white light into the darkness
The most natural light available should be through the torches. A player using multiple illumination methods wouldn’t have a combined illumination effect but would instead see the effect which takes precedence.
Now, with this deep darkness and player-based forms of seeing in the dark, think about what the devs could throw at you and your friends:
-areas full of under-dwellers like Falmer where you/your party needs a torch or spell equivalent or you would only be seeing what's attacking you when offensive or defensive spells flash.
-areas where torches/illumination spells fail
-areas with twisting corridors, pathways that wind back on themselves and loop into other passageways that veer off
-area maps that only show what is currently illuminated
-fun with costumes like the new glowy face costumes from the Thieve's Guild update
-use your imagination for more examples
There are soooooo many fun (and creepy/spooky) types of exploration and adventure awaiting us if these kinds of elements and mechanics were added/expanded.
Shifting Terrain
This one needs less description or explanation, but it sound no less cool or fun! Shifting terrain can come in many forms. In some cases, it would be swapping out terrain types, like solid rock becoming mud that snares players. In other cases, it means the terrain itself actually moves. And we have seen the latter in a few places, such as at the end of the Main Quest with the Prophet and his companions or in the Critical Mass quest in Craglorn. There is no way forward, something causes rocks and boulders to move, and a bridge is formed for players to travel across. But what if such movement happened on the ground or floor you were standing on in combat? If you didn't move quickly you would fall to your death. These are only a limited number of examples, but again, consider the potential if these mechanics were added and/or expanded in clever ways to allow for more variety in future content.
Underwater Environments
I've already written
a post about underwater content that covers a lot of common objections and concerns, including combat, so instead of referring right away why you hated some other MMO's underwater content, check it out first
As per the description at the top of this post, the idea isn't to have some one-off "water zone" that no one ever visits. Instead the idea is that any or every zone could have some part that uses this for some portion of its content. It could be a large part, a modest part, or a small part depending on the design preferences for that particular zone.
For example, there could be new flooded passages discovered beneath the Imperial City that lead to additional non-water areas. A group dungeon could similarly have a watery passage players need to traverse to progress further in, filled with things to slow them down. A major group boss (i.e. "world boss") in a new zone could be partly or totally underwater. Existing base game zones could have new areas to explore for additional treasure chests, new types of mats, and so on. So, think of it big picture as a tool for lots of different options rather than just a one-time snoozefest. And, yes, I am aware of the ESO Live segment for the Arm Chair Developer that said that they had no plans at that time to develop underwater content, but that doesn't meant it is off the table for future development.
Extra-Planar/Weird Physics
More open-ended and less well-defined than the others, this type of environment basically says, "Devs, go wild!" The rules of physics in other planes exist at the whim of the being(s) who control it, so altering them so that character appear to be running and fighting on the ceiling or up and down a wall, having players float about, expanding on "drunk" visuals/audio/movement speed to create a sense of being in a very alien place or a living nightmare, etc. If they can code it, and it's odd, it would fit this category.
Other Types
Regardless of whether you like or want the other types of terrain described above, are there other types you would like to see? Let us know.
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