To be honest, I was way younger when AA was a thing, so when playing it, I didn’t understand most game mechanics, and I was also trash at AA, on the otherhand, WoM is something else, I actually understand game mechanics, it’s built better, and in my opinion has a really nice community.
also because i have friends to play wom with which i didnt have when i played aa because i was a loner
You forgot the other details likes the Hidden Tavern and also that one area underneath the volcano. Their smaller details but honestly I thing thats what really made Wom stand out a little
Although I agree that the two areas you mentioned in WoM are pretty cool, the rest of the map feels very bland and not that dynamic. The Bronze Wilderness I have few complaints of, it has plenty of unique locations and the arena which is really well made. The Volcano is a bit empty but with Charon and how well done the effects were made it an interesting place. That doesn’t instantly make the entire map interesting.
WoM’s map has the issue of not being dynamic enough, almost half of the map is basically the same grasslands. Music, ruins, and other spots can help make each area feel unique but it can only do so much when so much of the map itself is just flat land with a few hills every now and then. Even the ruins are mostly the same except for maybe 1 or 2 in each region (the abandoned house, the overturned frigate, and others).
AA was comprised mostly of water but all the main islands were vastly different from each other. They had different npcs, enemies, bosses, weather, and settlements. With how the story and plot was framed the experience of progressing the storyline was fulfilling. From newground island you go to an island of storms, a desert island with sandstorms and undead enemies, then to several floating islands in the clouds, to a massive abandoned ship. Even if the build quality for some of these islands were not as great, simply having them be radically different from each other made them more memorable.
What do you quantify as “special”. Everything you mentioned still looks like fucking plastic but according to you, they’re “special.”
You can’t have everything interesting otherwise nothing will seem interesting and you’ll miss the good things in the map. Although a lot of the map is just the same boring tree environment. That’s the point, to make it look natural when it blended into the other regions like the Savanna. Also even when the areas felt entirely empty they still had details put right into them. Such as the the shores of Summer hold or the church at the end of the west side. You have to dig through the bad to get the good and it would be the same with AA and AO as you’d have to sail over long distances of plain and bland seas just to get to a new island. Which would probably keep you entertained for awhile before you moved onto another one. Wom gives you the gratification of exploration in small details almost everywhere while AA gave that gratification through larger details.
the first paragraph of yours i entirely agree with and same for the second paragraph
but i disagree and or feel its unfair to include many of your points in the third paragraph.
this is indeed a cool feature, but that also makes it weird and unrealistic which is something i dont like in a map.
this is imo the most unfair point to bring up since most of these dont really have much to do with how the region looks. Settlements are also not really part of a region but instead a city in my personal opinion.
this is a good point if i wasnt talking about design but memorability doesnt make the map good looking design wise. It just makes it easier to be biased cuz of nostalgia.
wtf you consider the ruins of charon and the bronze arena ruins plastic? I already agreed with you that the grass in the bronze grasslands doesnt look good individually but as a bigger piece it fits the savannah vibe perfectly. Other then that there is no plastic in the bronze grasslands and none in ashen either. At this point i feel like youre just on the hate train of wom with no brakes to be able to stop.
Lol thats Level for you
i try to be reasonable with him but it just doesnt work sadly
he probs sees it as a sign of weakness to pounce on lmao
AA definitely does have those details you are mentioning. Although I did talk a lot about the storyline islands, there were still tons of islands to be explored. Staircase to Heaven in the 3rd sea was an island that you could see as simply a detail. It doesn’t have any quests, npcs, or enemies, yet it was a place to explore and at the end there was an actual reward. Mooncove had no purpose in the game other than to be an interesting island with a few chests and nothing else. Theres also all the capturable islands that (besides Dawn Island) could be seen as details. They have their own villages built into them that aren’t functional simply because they are meant to add to the world of AA. There were so many wilderness islands in AA to explore which you can consider as “details.” The map was chaotic but it was meant to be chaotic because of AA’s lore, though with wilderness islands there is enough of a balance in my opinion between extremes and ordinary islands.
There’s an area UNDER the volcano?
CONFUSION
How have I not seen that yet?
Probably because it’s ‘secret’
Somewhere on it theirs a plot of rock taht you can destroy, revealing a tunnel underneath. It was shown at the end of one video I saw once
Whoa, is it just a maze with chests?
Ya basically. Maybe a few coffins too
…
Oh
The map is meant to be chaotic, in the lore the world was split into islands by a powerful blast from Durza. The entire world is irradiated with magic energy which is why biomes are spread all about unevenly and extreme temperatures can be found in close proximities.
Game content still has to do with map design, its not all about making areas looking pretty. There are so many things to look into with pacing, progression, and so many other aspects of game design that you can’t simply talk about one thing without briefly mentioning others. A game can have amazing building but can still have a bad map, I’m talking about AA’s map so I have to look into how content is distributed across the game. Poor build quality can be excused if the theming of an area is good, extended biomes can be excused if the build quality is superb and there are places to explore within it.
Having areas that look important should correlate heavily with something in the story. WoM has shipwrecks on land and ruins all over the map, not only do they look interesting but they have meaning to the story which help contribute to a good map. AA has exotic and magical islands which not only has lore significance but also storyline significance, when a player sees floating islands they can assume it is meant for more powerful players compared to a natural looking island. Neat looking cities can signal a safe area while a desert tower might signal some sort of fort for an enemy or government figure.
Although I have nostalgia towards AA there are definitely a lot of issues with the AA map I can bring up. Im not saying AA is a perfect map because in reality a lot of the islands were really poorly built, Borealis is kinda one of these examples. Still, it doesn’t mean that I cant acknowledge the general frame of AA’s map and see how it in my opinion has more benefits than the WoM map.
ye this is where our opinions differ, i like a more realistic map and you like a map which fits the lore better. Both being good reasons why you like or dont like a map.
the 2nd paragraph is where i again disagree, imo gameplay and map are seperate things. While they may merge in some areas they are objectively 2 different things. As said in my first comment gameplay in AA is much better than in WoM ( other then npc AI) but quality map design (or just how visually appealing an area is) has nothing to do with the kind of npcs, enemies or bosses you see. And only very fitting or cool looking weather actually makes an area look better. Like rain in rainforests or blizzards in snowy areas.
This point can be used on both sides. WoM is a continent with many different regions with different climates and landscapes. In that sense its very logical that these areas are seperated. It also fits that a desert is land inwards where theres most of the time less precipitation etc. I wont go rambling on about geography but wom’s map has significance aswell, its just not on the lore side.
this is a gameplay thing tho not a design wise map thing
For the last paragraph i agree with most points you bring up. WoM for sure has its own map issues. Mount Seawatch, Whispering Forest and the Eastern Peninsula are all really bland except for a few smaller areas which are pretty cool ( the “secret” tavern in Mount Seawatch) Tho i do still think that WoM’s map is better than AA’s. Mostly just of Bronze and Ashen. These 2 areas are just near perfect or perfect imo. When im bored in WoM i always go to Bronze just to enjoy not only the amazing theme but also the amazing area and statues. The only thing i could consider bad in the area is the grass which is solid for some reason, other then that it fits the savannah vibe perfectly
shit that was a LOT longer than i thought it would be lol, sorry for that
Its fine, but I probably don’t have all the time to argue about the maps. I’ll edit on a concluding note but honestly its starting to get a bit opinion based which can’t really be argued.
Heh, arguing about maps.
And yes, it’s opinion based…usually.