Before the Searing; and beyond.

By now, i'm pretty sure that most people have seen the newly released screenshots of New Olde Ascalon (if not, we have them here) and while there isn't much I can say about it (except that it's even better looking than the screenshots suggest) I can point out that it does offer up some very different scenery than has been seen in Guild Wars previously, and hence.. the point of this post.

What kind of scenery / areas do you want to see? It doesn't matter if it's ordinary or outrageous, but bonus points to those that supply what they'd expect to find in such an area.
Speaking for myself, I've always found the aesthetics of Scotland to be particularly appealing - the lochs, the moors, the heavy set mist among the rolling hills and mountains of the highlands - and think there's a great deal of potential for something along these lines to be incorporated - not just to give a 'wow' factor to Explorable Areas, but I certainly imagine missions that could take place in such an area being possessed of an 'epic' feeling.
So there's mine - now how about everyone else?

I wouldn't mind a volcanoe type landscape with lava spewing and flowing. They could have an ash cave and everything too.

On the flip side they could add glaciers to explore (the snowy area was cool but I don't remember any actual glaciers iirc) and perhaps find remnants of past civilizations/people frozen in the ice, or artifacts left from their existence...

I would like to see more cave type areas, even if they arn't too large, sort of like that part of the Glacial Trail(I think thats what it was). Something like the cave there, and make sure its real misty and hard to see, so guys can sneak up on you, unless of course you watch the map. It could be an Ice cave like that one, or as Bobangry suggested maybe a volcanic cave area, with cracked glowing floors, and lave, that drains your hp. That would be really fun.

I'd like to see some indoor areas, or at least inside part of a ruined castle or temple or something. Not dungeons like in D2, but castles and indoor settings like in the new screens of Old Ascalon.

Before coming up with anything, I took a look at the map. Here are a few areas which interest me.


First, the borrom-right areas of the shiverpeaks. I see this as an opportunity to have players descend from the top of the mountain, among sheer cliffs that look out for long distances across the desert below.. Frozen rivers and waterfalls would be a nice attraction as well. It seems a good opportunity to show a "different side" of the shiverpeaks.


Obviously, a volcano area would be in order for this part of the map. Charred islands covered with jutting black rock, boiling lava, smoke... a perfect opportunity for some atmospheric adventuring.


The desert: A great area to include some extremely wide-open spaces of the kind we haven't seen often in the game. It's cliched, I know, but venturing towards a mysterious shining object in the distance while fighting through hordes of enemies would be pretty cool. I wonder if they could add a "heat ripple" effect?


One more, that doesn't really fit on the map: A sort of "river area"... Maybe it's just me, but a series of small islands with tall grass (as in, taller than you are) and trees both in and out of the water, enough that you can't see a long distance, with some hills nearby, would be a pretty cool setting for an explorable area. In terms of terrain shape, perhaps similar to the marsh nearby LA, but bright and sunny, blue skies... and not poisonous :P

I want more dungeon or indoor areas. The outdoor ones are beautiful, but a good dungeon or castle crawl is always fun. I don't mind if this comes in an expansion. Maybe we find areas underneath Tyria such as the underdark from DnD or something.

I'd also find some underwater worlds interesting, but that brings up a whole slew of problems if it's implemented right.

Yeah, me too!

I would like some dungeons in the mould of classic AD&D modules, with small rooms and a claustrophobic atmosphere, traps and levers and books and stuff like that. It is definitely doable but it would be pretty time consuming I imagine. Also the ctrl key might take a bit of suspense out of not knowing who is in the next room.

I'm still looking to see some recent ruins. Not these little dinky run-down shacks, but literally masses of ruins. Old Ascalon was nice... but the ruins were... -too- old. The barest scrapes of foundations was all you really had to work with.

A grotto-esque cave with flowing water would be fun as well. Underground rivers, seas and all that.

Agreed - we do need full indoor or underground areas. It's pretty much a universal response that when people come across them (there are a few really good examples) they're impressed with the layout and what the art team has done. Even if it comes later on, in expansions, that's fine so long as it's there. Games of this nature just aren't the same without a dungeon crawl .. it would be a nice idea to see them implemented as the extra challenging PvE areas that are entirely optional .. kind of like dungeons were in UO .. since as it stands now, story based missions can't be too hard as PUGs also need a shot at completing them.
As for CTRL / Radar ruining the suspense .. we already know that the game checks for line of sight when using ranged attacks or some spells, so perhaps it's possible to disable them from showing up in these kind of enviroments unless your character can actually see them.

I think a whole expansion of an underground continent would be great. Maybe we save the world in this release only to use some magic device to do it which opens up a chasm in the world releasing all these nasty underground creatures on us. So we have to delve into the under ground to defeat them.

Besides what has already been said, I'd like to see someplace really high up. Not, necessarily flying per say, but some place where you could look out and just see a landscape straight to the horizon. Let, see little villages and things. ^.^
I'd like to see some 'creepy' areas, not like the 'dead' areas of Kryta, but places that try to put you in a sense of ill-ease, and suspense.

~Firax

I would have to agree on the idea of really high places. I'd like to see some incredibly tall, pointy mountains. There would be these twisting mountain roads and paths that would lead through the mountains with tunnels and caves that lead to ledges with incredible view. Maybe some mountain villages or a fortress on the top of a peak as well.

Also, a very thick forest. Not a jungle but a forest with tall, large trees like a Redwood tree for instance. Thats all i could think of for now.

Related to the desert theme, I would love to see some really barren areas. Completely devoid of life, something to reinforce a the size of the world around you and the small place occupied by your character. Doesn't have to be a classic desert, icy tundra might also serve.

I think having such an area leading into "some 'creepy' areas, ... places that try to put you in a sense of ill-ease" would add a lot of atmosphere and expectation and would be great.

I'm imagining...

...a desolate icy tundra with nothing at all in it. You plod through the land for a while before you start to notice strange marks on the ground, leading in a sort of path. You follow these marks as they gradualy give way to somthing a little sinister (human bones? dead animals?). Finaly you reach the paths end, it has brought youto the enterance of a reasonably intact ruin; a semi-destroyed castle set in the side of huge cliff. You pass into this empty building and find two paths to follow; either down in to the depths and the unknown, or up a large staircase. You pass up the staircase and find it leads you to the top of the cliff. You walk to the edge of the cliff and look around. There is a haunting view of the desolate land below you and you can see the path you took earlier. You look around and notice that the cliff you are standing on is actualy a huge frozen shelf of ice, crossed with gaping holes and ravaged by a harsh wind. There are no paths to take inward from the cliff's edge so you are forced back into the ruin, having to go back the way you came, or pass down into the depths.


(sorry, didn't manage to work the volcano idea in there)
(excuse the terrible writing, your imagination will have to work a little harder)