Community - Builder Feedback

[Poisonous]

I think I have barely even scratched the surface.

You really haven't.

[Obsidian Sea]

Credit to whomever (Kilaana or Hagra, I think) incorporated the music of Baldur's Gate into some of the server dungeons recently. Greatness achieved.

[Kerstman]

Much credits to those who built the new(er) areas south of Sarshel and Outentown. I am now discovering them and they breathe a great atmosphere. The one or two dungeons I have seen there are also of good quality.

The building team in general deserves kudos for putting all the areas down and together. It has been said on the old forums, but there is nothing wrong with being repetitive about it. Especially the city of Sarshel and some dungeons layouts are absolute masterpieces. A few examples in the spoiler tag.

Spoiler:

Rocky downs warrens, where you actually get the feeling of being terribly lost because of all the crevices.
Vlasta crypt, where you also feel very disoriented and are under constant pressure by the dungeon design. Also fun puzzles.
Sahuagin lair near the Laviguer road. The moon puzzle is amazing, even after having completed it more than once.

[Silver Snow]

Having just had a run through the some of the new areas out west, I've got to give huge props to the people behind them:

Spoiler:

The plains look and feel like wide expanses but are all still interesting and unique. They're well named, and I think great places to explore and xp

.
You guys did an awesome job, makes me want an elf or someone more exploring-oriented!

[Danuvis]

Kudos to all the builders! I love the appearance of the world in general, and finding hidden nooks and other treats along and off the road alike is marvelous. On top of it all, countless places and scenes have detailed and subtle lore/stories attached to them, enhancing the experience all the more. Dungeons, too, have all been incredibly immersive. The creativity is overwhelming. I'm certainly looking forward to exploring more!

[Feronius]

This is the first server where I get the impression the builders must have used some kind of real life reference or walked through similar terrain themselves to get the area design just right and create a world this believable with such limited aesthetics available to them.

Most servers go for the classic fantasy environments and have maybe five or six different types of terrain on their entire server, grassland is just grassland and there are maybe two different ways used to make a shore area.
But on this server the builders have taken it to an entirely different level. Even counting just the areas that border the sea you can already distinguish between sandbanks covered in reeds, sandy beaches, rocky shores, steep cliffs and a few other variations. Likewise for the grassland areas. It is not just a relatively flat map that uses a grass tileset, there are fields of wildflowers, stretched out plains, rolling hills, areas of tundra, completely overgrown parts with tall grass and so on. Each with their own clearly distinguishable aesthetic.


The way monsters integrated into the world also deserves a compliment. Perhaps I have simply been fortunate, but my encounters with the more legendary creatures (trolls, ogres, giants, etc.) have all had a certain wow factor to it that matches their supposed infamy. The locations and frequency at which you stumble upon the truly dangerous creatures has been handled well I think.
It is also cleverly done how you can usually tell a lot about the type of monster or enemy you are about to face off against, just from the subtle clues outside of their lair or the environment and props around the entrance areas.

Bravo.

[Obsidian Sea]

Thank you to Hagra/Aelwyn/PJ! Big praise for your talents with The Royal Plains once again. You did half of the work for myself and the players participating in Jerek's holy mission last night by creating such richly detailed areas, and were instrumental in creating an experience I suspect will not be soon forgotten!

[Poisonous]

Thank you to Hagra/Aelwyn/PJ! Big praise for your talents with The Royal Plains once again. You did half of the work for myself and the players participating in Jerek's holy mission last night by creating such richly detailed areas, and were instrumental in creating an experience I suspect will not be soon forgotten!

Yeah! Yeah Yeah yeah...

[Kilaana]

From one builder to another, many thanks to Hagra/Aelwyn/PJ for scaring the shit out of me with a certain location in the Royal Plains during last night's event with Jerek's conversion! I will not look in a mirror again...

[Kerstman]

Many kudos to the builder of the Earthfast tunnel areas. It is a gorgeous and vast maze-like network with many different areas with much to do, much to avoid and much to disable. It is telling how good it is when a party needs 30-40 minutes to find an exit to the surface without backtracking. I can recommend all players to take several hours to explore them, but do not expect you shall uncover it all