Do you care about a realistic world map?

[Pshaw]

Considering that the area we'll be confined to in PE would realistically be no larger than a large US state I'm ok with them tossing realism in terms of landscape variety out the window. If you don't do this then you just end up seeing the same sort of scenery over and over. While that can be useful in setting an atmosphere I'd rather have variety.

 

Of course if they were really committed to doing multiple games in the series and putting each in it's own section of the world like the elder scrolls has done I'd be ok with that approach then.

[rjshae]

Considering that the area we'll be confined to in PE would realistically be no larger than a large US state I'm ok with them tossing realism in terms of landscape variety out the window. If you don't do this then you just end up seeing the same sort of scenery over and over. While that can be useful in setting an atmosphere I'd rather have variety.

I live in a state (much smaller than Spain) where the biomes range from rain forest to semi-arid, with old growth forests, rolling planes, glacial mountains, islands, wide rivers, rapids, volcanoes, earthquakes, brush fires, floods, landslides, avalanches, beaches, waterfalls, and so forth. Hence, it's entirely possible to have a good mix of conditions yet retain environmental realism.

[Dangermouth]

@ OP: no.

[Tychoxi]

I care up to certain point, I was kinda happy when they said that map wasn't the definitive one (though later I started feeling that's pretty much the one we'll get!) because it feels a bit wrong. It does look like I don't care as much as you do, but if Obsidian can get a world that is both functional to their needs and has realistic geography all the better I say.

Edited October 28, 2012 by Tychoxi

[rjshae]

I care up to certain point, I was kinda happy when they said that map wasn't the definitive one (though later I started feeling that's pretty much the one we'll get!) because it feels a bit wrong. It does look like I don't care as much as you do, but if Obsidian can get a world that is both functional to their needs and has realistic geography all the better I say.

The biggest flaw seems to be the backwards river running through the Free Palatinate of Dyrwood. The forks in the river are all wrong. If they fix that then it wouldn't be so bad. Overall I like the look of the map; it's done in a classic fantasy novel style that feels very nostalgic.

Edited October 28, 2012 by rjshae

[Jarmo]

I'm fine as long as it's not totally out there, with desert and swamp side by side, river flowing uphill or frozen and temperate areas right next to each others.

And even those would be ok, if the uphill flowing river is a known mystery. Magic fantasy and all that.

 

That said, I'd prefer a map that'd follow "the rules".

But if the plot demands a swamp in the mountain, then just put the swamp in the mountain.

[J.E. Sawyer]

The rivers have been fixed for the map, but we haven't been able to update it on the KS site (or elsewhere) yet.

 

Also, the Dyrwood (and surrounding areas) are in the southern hemisphere of this world, so regions tend to be colder to the south and warmer to the north.

[Sylvius the Mad]

The map of Faerun makes no sense. There's deserts in places where you'd expect jungles, rivers with no credible source, badlands where by rights should be forest.

 

I know, it's a fantasy world. so maybe I shouldn't care. But I do notice these things, surely I'm not the only one?

I think a world map where everything makes sense given the physical laws of the world would make writing easier.

 

Having rain shadows downwind of mountains makes sense. Having jungles there doesn't, and it would always make me wonder why that jungle exists.

[Lantander]

The map of Faerun might make no sense to an earth geologist, but if one would ask a sage in the forgotten realms he could tell you why and how it is how it is...

 

There are large deserts created by death magic (underground phaerimm activity that destroyed Netheril), Jungles lived in and expanded by Yuan-Ti praying to Zehir, large marshes caused by powerful spells (the kilmaru swamp in Haluraa), rivers flowing out of portals to the plane of water, giant rifts in the land where parts of the underdark collapsed - and of course all kinds of other things caused by actual gods walking the planet.

 

I'm happy with pretty mixed-up landscapes - as long as the developers think up a reason and nice story why the land looks like that.

[Justinian]

The rivers have been fixed for the map, but we haven't been able to update it on the KS site (or elsewhere) yet.

 

Also, the Dyrwood (and surrounding areas) are in the southern hemisphere of this world, so regions tend to be colder to the south and warmer to the north.

 

It's good to hear there is good potential for tundra and snowy environments - I always love those in games

 

There also appears to be some mountainous formations to the south on the map, so it should give good justification to more drastic changes of environment in a relatively small region.

Edited October 29, 2012 by Justinian

[nikolokolus]

So are we certain that weather is geophysically driven? Perhaps there are "thin" spots in certain parts of the world where the elemental planes bleed through? Use your imagination.

[Streamlock]

I don't know about realistic. Logical (within gameworld/lore context) sure.

[Darkpriest]

Is the planet spherical and does it rotate about an axis? If the answer is no, then throw out the coriolis effect and assumptions about climate.

 

What if it has 2 suns and 3 moons?

[JFSOCC]

The rivers have been fixed for the map, but we haven't been able to update it on the KS site (or elsewhere) yet.

 

Also, the Dyrwood (and surrounding areas) are in the southern hemisphere of this world, so regions tend to be colder to the south and warmer to the north.

 

It's good to hear there is good potential for tundra and snowy environments - I always love those in games

 

There also appears to be some mountainous formations to the south on the map, so it should give good justification to more drastic changes of environment in a relatively small region.

No!! Ugh, cold environments are so depressing. I'll take rich jungle with aztec, Indian or chinese influences, or Hot desert planes and mountains with Persian or Turkish or Egyptian influences any day!

[rjshae]

The map of Faerun might make no sense to an earth geologist, but if one would ask a sage in the forgotten realms he could tell you why and how it is how it is...

 

There are large deserts created by death magic (underground phaerimm activity that destroyed Netheril), Jungles lived in and expanded by Yuan-Ti praying to Zehir, large marshes caused by powerful spells (the kilmaru swamp in Haluraa), rivers flowing out of portals to the plane of water, giant rifts in the land where parts of the underdark collapsed - and of course all kinds of other things caused by actual gods walking the planet.

 

I'm happy with pretty mixed-up landscapes - as long as the developers think up a reason and nice story why the land looks like that.

Sigh. One might suspect that these 'explanations' were invented after the map was drawn.

[Amentep]

Faerun was always a mishmash of places, AFAIK because it was created from...a bunch of different places.

 

But frankly I can say I've never cared much about practical geography. So there's a rain forest on both sides of the mountain...can't say it ever bothered me much.

[Solviulnir the Soulbinder]

Geography in fantasy (!) games/books/movies can be all sorts of weird, what's important is to have a plausible story to back it up. It would be cool for example to have a river which flow is reversed by some kind of magical mishap. Variety is another issue... Looking at PE map, majority of the continent is covered by forests, but I'm still hoping to see a little bit of desert with one or two oases.

 

In general though, I don't really care about realistic geography.

[Osvir]

Could the "world map" (certain/specific areas) change appearance in the case of an event?

 

Example 1

1, you go to this field where a powerful mage is

2, you defeat him, but first he manages to cast a self-destruct spell that changes the geography around the area (you manage to escape first of course)

3, back on the world map you'll now see a crater instead of a lush flowery field or w/e was there before

 

Example 2

1, you go to this ruined village

2, spend a s- ton of money to get it back in shape

3, back on the world map you'll now see a village/town instead

Edited October 29, 2012 by Osvir

[GhoulishVisage]

I like realistic fantasy maps. They make it feel like the creators give a damn.

Also it needs more than one continent.

It's really annoying when a fantasy setting only has one landmass and a few islands.

[PsychoBlonde]

The map of Faerun makes no sense. There's deserts in places where you'd expect jungles, rivers with no credible source, badlands where by rights should be forest.

 

 

How do you know this? The map doesn't include wind and rainfall patterns. Heck, you don't even know which way the planet rotates, whether it has a similar axial tilt to the Earth, or what kind of sunspot cycle their Sun has, all of which radically change growth and rainfall patterns.

 

There's nothing wrong with the map, only with your arrogant assumptions.

[JFSOCC]

The map of Faerun makes no sense. There's deserts in places where you'd expect jungles, rivers with no credible source, badlands where by rights should be forest.

 

 

How do you know this? The map doesn't include wind and rainfall patterns. Heck, you don't even know which way the planet rotates, whether it has a similar axial tilt to the Earth, or what kind of sunspot cycle their Sun has, all of which radically change growth and rainfall patterns.

 

There's nothing wrong with the map, only with your arrogant assumptions.

The accusation of arrogance is one I've heard before so I guess there is merit to it, but it was never my intention to be pedantic. Maybe I poorly worded my argument. I'm hoping to see some consistency in the world map. I picked the map of Faerun as an example because to me it looks unrealistic, admittedly with my limited knowledge of geography, climatology and meteorology. While it's a field that I'm interested in, I won't claim to have superior knowledge of any kind.

 

That said I believe there is enough on that map that doesn't make sense to me that it broke my suspension of disbelief. I disagree with you on that there is nothing wrong with the map, respectfully.

[temporalTemptation]

I dislike the underlying implication that just because a setting is magical or fantastic, one can do whatever they want with it. Now, if one is saying that the fictional world has different laws and that, therefore, one can't expect it to be just like Earth, I can get behind that. In fact, I actively encourage that way of thinking. If I'm honest, I prefer fictional worlds with seven moons, nine seasons, eighty different kinds of fictional geological features and weather patterns. However, it still has to make sense. Even within the fictional world, it has to follow some kind of logic, you can't just "a wizard did it" your way out of any accusation of inconsistancy.

 

So if you have snowy plains, a desert and tropical swamplands all in one square mile, I expect there to be a very good explanation. I also expect people to acknowledge that it's odd, and... in settings that don't have "magic is capable of fixing everything" excuse, there to be some kind of consequences for having these contradicting places so close together. Maybe a bit of geological seepage from one location to another, or creatures migratting from one zone to another, and messing with the habitats. Of course, this is a more extreme example but, even if it's something relatively minor, there should still be a consistent logic about the causes and consequences of this muddled geography.

 

That said, after a certain amount of careful construction, it becomes more a matter of what's fun. A perfectly sensible and very well thought out jungle filled with appropriate flora and fauna is not as much fun to go through as a fire swamp populated by rodents of unusual size.

[Tamerlane]

So long as it's better than a damn Civilization 4 map, I'm cool.

Would be refreshing to see Ice and Snow in the south and deserts in the north.

Doesn't Dragon Age take place in the southern hemisphere of its world?

[Archmage Silver]

I'd prefer something realistic, but at the same time I'd be fine with magical phenomena affecting some areas, possibly creating a lush oasis in the middle of some barren wastes where it shouldn't realistically exist due to the lack of water sources.

[Solviulnir the Soulbinder]

@temporalTemptation - while I can see your point and agree with you to some extent, imho there's really no need to get all scientific about skewed geography. Fantasy setting is not *only* about magic but about magic *as well*. When you look at PE map you can see a pretty vast scrap of land, a continent almost. There are many regions on Earth where (within the same country actually) you can have permanent snow cover in the mountains and sand dunes on the deserts near the sea or ocean. I agree though that such variety in geophysical conditions within an area of a couple of square miles/kilometres would be rather unnatural even in a fantasy world.

Edited October 29, 2012 by Solviulnir the Soulbinder