Recently I have been traveling across the 7 Realms in pursuit of Elder bosses so I can finally appease the constant pestering of Mapelcrest. Throughout my journey, I have frequently felt frustrated at the sheer number of loading required to the point where it felt as if the majority of my time was spent staring at loading screens. I understand that there is a fine balance to be met when designing the dimensions of a zone, however, in my opinion, there are too many cases where this balance falls short. This brings us to the premise of the thread, which is to combine certain zones together in order to create a more interconnected, seamless experience.
I foresee that one of the principal arguments against such a measure would be that we are simply replacing "loading time" with "walking time", which could, in some cases, increase the time spent attempting to reach ones destination. I know, and I agree - but I do not view this as an issue. I would much rather spend time in-game versus waiting to be in-game. Not to mention, loading into a zone seems to cause hangs for others who are already currently in the zone.
Let's take a preview at a few examples of zones I believe are small enough to be combined into another map.
Shadow's Den
Shadow's Den contains 3 bounties and a level 20 Elder Boss. I think it could easily be combined with its neighbor Oak Valley. This also reduces the amount of portaling required, as Shadow's Den does not have a teleport pad of its own.
Memorial Pond
Another zone with 3 bounties and an elder boss. This semi-circle of a zone could easily be a part of Lady's Lake.
Tavern Basement
A very quick jaunt inside of a stranger's basement, this zone could simply be a part of Vinton as many other exterior-based zones have fit interior components within them already.
Old Verda
Old Verda can easily be connected seamlessly to Verda without a portal or loading screen. Both zones are small and Verda has nothing besides a few NPCs
Rackabone's Cave
Rackabone's Cave is a part and parcel of Rackabone's Peak. Combining both zones and simply allowing the cave to exist within the Peak would result in a seamless experience from bottom to top.
Wizard School Lab
An obvious choice to combine with Wizard School dorm. Both zones have the same structure and enemy types.
Forgotten Reservoir
This zone already matches the aesthetic and layout of Sewers of Ardent. Combining the two rather than placing a portal between them would result in superior flow.
Moonglade
Currently off of Lady's Lake, but I personally always felt the theme of the zone fits perfectly with Greenhaven. That being said, I think it should be combined with another existing zone due to its diminutive size.
Addict's Ascent
This Hill could fit within Elk Meadow. A towering mountain in the distance to lure players towards it. Currently it only has a few bounties and an elder.
To conclude, these zones are only represent a fraction of the possibilities, but they serve as a good foundation, as most do not have the size nor purpose to remain as a standalone area. Combining zones such as these would not only reduce loading, but create a more lively world where players would more frequently come across their fellow peers as they trek across the lands. Being able to view key points of interest in the distance and having the ability to reach them without a loading screen also builds immersion and world building.
Imagine seeing the towering mountain that is Addict's Ascent from Elk Meadow or peeking into the festering tavern basement from Vinton itself. It reminds me of when players could see Cronk Island from within Dagmar Strand and had to physically swim towards it in order to reach the shores (there was still a loading screen in between unfortunately).
Some questions I'd expect from such a change include:
How do you combine zones with level differences?
Either average the levels or leave them as is. Zones like Crystal Spire already have built-in partitions where enemies grow in level as players climb towards the center of the zone, without any loading screens or transitions necessary.
Which telepad would stay and which would be deleted if two zones are combined?
Transporter NPCs can always be added in place of a teleport pad. Alternatively, having zones with multiple telepads does not seem like such a large transgression. I honestly don't see why we haven't had multi-pad zones already in the past. When players attempt to teleport to the zone the local map could be brought up for them to choose which pad they want to land on.
I foresee that one of the principal arguments against such a measure would be that we are simply replacing "loading time" with "walking time", which could, in some cases, increase the time spent attempting to reach ones destination. I know, and I agree - but I do not view this as an issue. I would much rather spend time in-game versus waiting to be in-game. Not to mention, loading into a zone seems to cause hangs for others who are already currently in the zone.
Let's take a preview at a few examples of zones I believe are small enough to be combined into another map.
Shadow's Den
Shadow's Den contains 3 bounties and a level 20 Elder Boss. I think it could easily be combined with its neighbor Oak Valley. This also reduces the amount of portaling required, as Shadow's Den does not have a teleport pad of its own.
Memorial Pond
Another zone with 3 bounties and an elder boss. This semi-circle of a zone could easily be a part of Lady's Lake.
Tavern Basement
A very quick jaunt inside of a stranger's basement, this zone could simply be a part of Vinton as many other exterior-based zones have fit interior components within them already.
Old Verda
Old Verda can easily be connected seamlessly to Verda without a portal or loading screen. Both zones are small and Verda has nothing besides a few NPCs
Rackabone's Cave
Rackabone's Cave is a part and parcel of Rackabone's Peak. Combining both zones and simply allowing the cave to exist within the Peak would result in a seamless experience from bottom to top.
Wizard School Lab
An obvious choice to combine with Wizard School dorm. Both zones have the same structure and enemy types.
Forgotten Reservoir
This zone already matches the aesthetic and layout of Sewers of Ardent. Combining the two rather than placing a portal between them would result in superior flow.
Moonglade
Currently off of Lady's Lake, but I personally always felt the theme of the zone fits perfectly with Greenhaven. That being said, I think it should be combined with another existing zone due to its diminutive size.
Addict's Ascent
This Hill could fit within Elk Meadow. A towering mountain in the distance to lure players towards it. Currently it only has a few bounties and an elder.
To conclude, these zones are only represent a fraction of the possibilities, but they serve as a good foundation, as most do not have the size nor purpose to remain as a standalone area. Combining zones such as these would not only reduce loading, but create a more lively world where players would more frequently come across their fellow peers as they trek across the lands. Being able to view key points of interest in the distance and having the ability to reach them without a loading screen also builds immersion and world building.
Imagine seeing the towering mountain that is Addict's Ascent from Elk Meadow or peeking into the festering tavern basement from Vinton itself. It reminds me of when players could see Cronk Island from within Dagmar Strand and had to physically swim towards it in order to reach the shores (there was still a loading screen in between unfortunately).
Some questions I'd expect from such a change include:
How do you combine zones with level differences?
Either average the levels or leave them as is. Zones like Crystal Spire already have built-in partitions where enemies grow in level as players climb towards the center of the zone, without any loading screens or transitions necessary.
Which telepad would stay and which would be deleted if two zones are combined?
Transporter NPCs can always be added in place of a teleport pad. Alternatively, having zones with multiple telepads does not seem like such a large transgression. I honestly don't see why we haven't had multi-pad zones already in the past. When players attempt to teleport to the zone the local map could be brought up for them to choose which pad they want to land on.
I kind of disagree with the proposed idea. Mostly just personal issue, but using lower end device zone that is too big cause a pretty significant FPS drop to me, like Crystal Spire, Corkle Wood, Fungal, Shiverspine, Big island in blight, etc. Also even tho it reduce the number of loading screen, it might also increase the loading duration of each load (I can feel the different of load time when going to big/small zone),
Personally my issue with those zone is not that it is too small, but it feels very empty, including on other bigger map, the distance between everything feels so far away, with very few things to be seen in between each objectives.
Personally my issue with those zone is not that it is too small, but it feels very empty, including on other bigger map, the distance between everything feels so far away, with very few things to be seen in between each objectives.
I'm not sure I understand what you mean by using a door. Did you mean set up the Elders like how they work in Dartrey Woods, where the Elders are in the zone but locked until the quest is complete?
Maiden is the ideal zone size to target in my opinion. Fungal is far too large.
Sinjin
Jack Of All Trades
Platform
- iOS
Aord
Wizard
Characters
Aord
Platform
- Android
- Steam
Great idea but should be taken carefully to not overwhelm some older mobile devices. Maybe add some portal thingie between the zones so you can look through and pass freely on PC but it auto-loads the next zone when on mobile? Idk. PC can handle bigger zones so that would be a welcome change