Regions

[burgingham]

You could just add a little tag to indicate the level of difficulty. Maybe for an eperienced player starting out in a harsh region holds bigger rewards, so one should not take the option away .

[niltrias]

You could just add a little tag to indicate the level of difficulty. Maybe for an eperienced player starting out in a harsh region holds bigger rewards, so one should not take the option away .

This is what I was thinking with the game. I guess it depends on how newbie friendly you want to make the game. I was sorta thinking along the lines of DF, TBH, but maybe thats not the best model for a MMO. Dunno.

I stand by my 4-type region suggestion tho, I think it would be a lot more interesting than a 2-type system.

[Jackard]

Your experienced players can either use hearth secrets or find these regions without a lot of effort. Besides, removing the random spawning keeps the wilderness remote - a good thing, you might think.

[niltrias]

Your experienced players can either use hearth secrets or find these regions without a lot of effort. Besides, removing the random spawning keeps the wilderness remote - a good thing, you might think.

That is a good point.

[Jackard]

Back to the subject of four regions, intuitive play is another reason why having only two regions might be better.

The "midlands/highlands" split is easy to understand and guess how things work. A third type for lowlands might work if it was kept much smaller compared to the rest, to encourage new players to move on to the rest, but it really feels sort of redundant. In terms of gameplay and content, lowlands/midlands would probably be very similar, so why not merge them? Terrains aren't the only distinctive thing about regions - you also need animal and plant life. There simply isn't enough variety right now to support four separate regions.

Perhaps you could offer examples of how these four regions are supposed to work? You did have something in mind, they aren't randomly thrown together?

[niltrias]

Yeah, its getting late here, and its something that has sort of been bubbling around in my head for a while. Ill post a more complete idea tomorrow, sorry.

[Potjeh]

I already explained how (Mediterranean) coastal region could be both distinct and purposeful.

I could see lowlands being split into woodland and steppe. Woodland would be the natural choice for raising crops, building farms etc (after land clearance, of course), while steppe could be inferior for crops but great for nomadic cattle herders (if we ever get proper grazing implemented). Both biomes fit the game's setting quite well.

[Jackard]

Mediterranean is getting a little close to the hot climates. Uncertain how they feel about it, but it sounds as though that is not something jorb is going for.

[Potjeh]

Adriatic and Black Sea coasts are well within the setting, IMO.

Anyway, some photos of what I think represents these regions:
Coastal

Highlands

Woodland

Steppe

I think all of these are sufficiently visually distinct, and are a good basis for regions that are distinct in the game's mechanics.

[sabinati]

i have some opinions on this that i'll post when i can get all my thoughts together