Curse

Iuris · Dec 18, 2006, 08:05 AM // 08:05

I've been to the Domain of anguish once, and I left after about an hour. Maybe someday, I'll learn how to do it, but at present, the only thing I can do over there is increase my death count.

So I'm a bit worried that I'll never even see the place.

So my thoughts return to Sorrow's furnace. Another "high risk area" and all. However, there is a quest allowing you to at least see the place for yourself - the slave infiltration quest allows you to see the whole area.

Wouldn't it be nice if a similar feature were included into the other elite areas? Surely scouting missions, during which you can at least see the area, wonder at the architecture and all, wouldn't be so hard to implement?

LicensedLuny · Dec 18, 2006, 08:28 AM // 08:28

Wow, yeah! I'd really like to see this. I'm far from pro or elite, so I doubt I'll ever get the DoA content finished. I'm not losing much sleep over it. Still it would be nice to be able to just go see the art there. I'd jump at the chance for similar tours available of all the elite mission places where if you die, you're sent back to an outpost. I only ever got to see the very entrance of the Urgoz and Deep places.

I don't see why this should upset the players that can/have finished the fights in those areas. Such tour quests wouldn't give you whatever snazzy rewards there are for finishing the fights - just a chance to take in the scenery.

Deleet · Dec 18, 2006, 08:51 AM // 08:51

Make a quest just so you can see the area, nah.

Just look at some screenshots.

bam23 · Dec 18, 2006, 08:57 AM // 08:57

I wouldn't mind something like this.

Velvet Wing · Dec 18, 2006, 08:59 AM // 08:59

I agree, a tour (maybe even guided?

) would be a lovely addition for the ones that are not able to finish the area themselves

Anarkii · Dec 18, 2006, 08:59 AM // 08:59

Unlike SF, there's nothing much to *see* in DoA; It's pretty bland. Not really worth the effort of making a sightseeing quest.

freekedoutfish · Dec 18, 2006, 08:59 AM // 08:59

An easier and better idea I think would be if there was an NPC in the nearest town or outpots to the elite area.

You speak to them and you can activate a cinamatic which shows you through the areas while having a voice over talk about the history of the it and creatures there.

Similar to the cinametic you can start before doing the Abaddos mission in NF.

Imagine the starting sequence to Half-Life where it takes you through the Black Masa complex to introduce you.

Because otherwise it doesnt really make sense to allow you a "tour" to walk around a dangerous location.

How would you explain the lack of monsters or them not attacking you?

Iuris · Dec 18, 2006, 01:01 PM // 13:01

Oh, explanations are always available.

Scouting run (The monsters are usually dormant at this time of night, get in there and find out why, avoid waking anyone up - rather like the riverside mission),

False captive (You know, in Sorrow's furnace, we pulled a really smart one over the Stone summit, maybe we can pull it off here too!),

Distraction (We'll stage an attack due west in fifteen minutes, meanwhile, you take this chrystal and plant it there, there and there to confuse and demoralize the enemy - AI all over the map are aggroed to one spot, leaving you free to plant a beacon in key areas),

Search and Rescue (We'll provide the escort, you go and grab the wounded survivors of the previous group. - AI's automatically attack your escorts, which keep them busy for a long time).

Quote:

Unlike SF, there's nothing much to *see* in DoA; It's pretty bland. Not really worth the effort of making a sightseeing quest.

Maybe, but the screenshots of Mallyx show a place that sure looks nice. And the glimpse of the citadel from the Ravenheart gloom was worth dodging the enemy groups for a while.

«Ripskin · Dec 18, 2006, 01:12 PM // 13:12

/signed

Sure

freekedoutfish · Dec 18, 2006, 01:53 PM // 13:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iuris

Oh, explanations are always available.

Scouting run (The monsters are usually dormant at this time of night, get in there and find out why, avoid waking anyone up - rather like the riverside mission),

False captive (You know, in Sorrow's furnace, we pulled a really smart one over the Stone summit, maybe we can pull it off here too!),

Distraction (We'll stage an attack due west in fifteen minutes, meanwhile, you take this chrystal and plant it there, there and there to confuse and demoralize the enemy - AI all over the map are aggroed to one spot, leaving you free to plant a beacon in key areas),

Search and Rescue (We'll provide the escort, you go and grab the wounded survivors of the previous group. - AI's automatically attack your escorts, which keep them busy for a long time).

Maybe, but the screenshots of Mallyx show a place that sure looks nice. And the glimpse of the citadel from the Ravenheart gloom was worth dodging the enemy groups for a while.

Yeah... that whole idea of just "walking" around places like DoA and SF casually without being attacked doesnt make sense to me still.

Your talking about places like DoA where the most evil of creatures, hell bent of killing everything and everyone live. Like Abaddons minionswho are hell bent of controlling the gods and taking their former masters power.

Its not the kind of place you can just jump on a tour bus and have a casual look around in.

SF tries to do that anyway by making you disguise yourself as a slave and walking around doing quests, so SF is kind of covered.

Youve kind of suggested similar things above. But DoA isnt the same as SF. Its not a slave mine. Its a realm of evil and torment and torture.

I would stick with my idea of using cinermatics to show a video/movie of the locations. With a voice over from one of the gods explaining the ins-and-outs of the place.

LicensedLuny · Dec 18, 2006, 05:19 PM // 17:19

It's just a guess, mind you, but I'd suspect the creation of new cinematics that truly let us get a real feel for all the views and angles down there would require a lot more work on ANet's part than making the quest situations like Iuris describes.

The beauty of the SF tour quest was it really let you get in there and see things from any angle you wanted. I don't like movies for such purposes - no control over my own camera so to speak.

As for it not fitting with the story, I'm sure they could think something up. Really, as much as I like it all, there are a lot of aspects to the stories in GW that require a fair bit of suspension of disbelief on our part. I didn't think being new, human slaves in SF without guards constantly around us to restrict our actions made much sense story-wise ... but I'm very glad we get to do that.