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For people who've tried it - is it really that small?

DKLondDKLond Member RarePosts: 2,273

I've been looking forward to this for quite a while - and though I'm trying not to hype myself and staying realistic, I have to say I'm still quite excited about it.

But it worries me that I'm hearing the two (out of three) continents available in beta are quite small? I've heard that the world was supposed to be bigger than WoW with expansions and other such claims. I guess that's completely false?

How big are the individual zones - and how long does it takes to finish them on average?

If you had to compare overall world size (with the third continent presumably about the same size as the other two) to a single game, what game would you say matches it best?

Thank you for your attention.

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Comments

  • MawneeMawnee Member UncommonPosts: 245

    ArcheAge is NOT small..... I spent many HOURS in CB5 just exploring things I saw in the distance. In CB5 the 3rd continent wasnt closed...you simply had to get on a boat and sail there. I rowed my little rowboat there.....it took like an hour.

     

    http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp183/Wizardcomputers/ScreenShot0030.jpg

     

    http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp183/Wizardcomputers/ScreenShot0022.jpg

     

  • DKLondDKLond Member RarePosts: 2,273

    Thanks for your answer :)

    Rowing a small boat to the third continent is not really the kind of feedback I was looking for though. I'd expect that to take a while - and the sea is not a terribly interesting thing to explore.

    How about the zones? Have you spent many hours in each of them? Do they have secrets?

  • ZierrityZierrity Member UncommonPosts: 242
    ArcheAge is by no means small, while zones tend to feel a bit tiny at times (IMO) the world in itself is huge.
  • ToxiaToxia Member UncommonPosts: 1,308
    Not to turn this into a fight between the two, but how does it compare to GW2 size of a zone?

    The Deep Web is sca-ry.

  • ZierrityZierrity Member UncommonPosts: 242
    I'd say Guild Wars 2 zones are larger. but I've only been to zones up to level 25 in ArcheAge, about 3 or 4 zones, if I remember correctly.
  • ToxiaToxia Member UncommonPosts: 1,308
    Originally posted by Zierrity
    I'd say Guild Wars 2 zones are larger. but I've only been to zones up to level 25 in ArcheAge, about 3 or 4 zones, if I remember correctly.

    How many zones did you explore while leveling? any idea on how many zones in total? Mebbe the zones are abit smaller, but they have 20 more or something :D

    The Deep Web is sca-ry.

  • DKLondDKLond Member RarePosts: 2,273
    Originally posted by Zierrity
    ArcheAge is by no means small, while zones tend to feel a bit tiny at times (IMO) the world in itself is huge.

    Ok, thanks ;)

    Tiny zones but huge world? Isn't it divided into zones?

    I don't mean to be deliberately obtuse - it's just that I really want the game to be pretty big. So, when people are saying the zones are kinda tiny/small and it takes 10-15 minutes to cross an entire continent - it worries me.

    I'd say it'd take almost an hour or so to cross a continent in WoW on a land-based mount.

  • MawneeMawnee Member UncommonPosts: 245

    Actually the sea was fun. Ran into a bunch of little islands not on the map. Also random monsters as well as the occasional dolphin pod that swam along with me for a while(yes really). :) I only pointed out the boat thing because I suspect the third continent wasnt "closed" in OB....whoever said that simply didnt know how to get there.

    For size reference.... in those screenshots I posted all that you see in the distance is one 'area' on the map. The map in game is seperated into these areas like zones in older games like EQ. But its all seamless and there arent walls/cliffs/barriers funneling you into small accessways between them like many games. The way the maps and envrionments are laid out you can truely explore and find places that others may never be aware of. It all feels very open and inspiring.

     

  • Ice-QueenIce-Queen Member UncommonPosts: 2,483
    Originally posted by Mawnee

    Actually the sea was fun. Ran into a bunch of little islands not on the map. Also random monsters as well as the occasional dolphin pod that swam along with me for a while(yes really). :) I only pointed out the boat thing because I suspect the third continent wasnt "closed" in OB....whoever said that simply didnt know how to get there.

    For size reference.... in those screenshots I posted all that you see in the distance is one 'area' on the map. The map in game is seperated into these areas like zones in older games like EQ. But its all seamless and there arent walls/cliffs/barriers funneling you into small accessways between them like many games. The way the maps and envrionments are laid out you can truely explore and find places that others may never be aware of. It all feels very open and inspiring.

     

    Sounds good

    image

    What happens when you log off your characters????.....
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFQhfhnjYMk
    Dark Age of Camelot

  • DKLondDKLond Member RarePosts: 2,273
    Originally posted by Mawnee

    Actually the sea was fun. Ran into a bunch of little islands not on the map. Also random monsters as well as the occasional dolphin pod that swam along with me for a while(yes really). :) I only pointed out the boat thing because I suspect the third continent wasnt "closed" in OB....whoever said that simply didnt know how to get there.

    For size reference.... in those screenshots I posted all that you see in the distance is one 'area' on the map. The map in game is seperated into these areas like zones in older games like EQ. But its all seamless and there arent walls/cliffs/barriers funneling you into small accessways between them like many games. The way the maps and envrionments are laid out you can truely explore and find places that others may never be aware of. It all feels very open and inspiring.

     

    Oh, sounds pretty cool. I've always felt these artificial zone separations to be quite awkward. I especially hated the implementation in Age of Conan.

    I was also disappointed when playing GW2 - to face these weird loading portals. It really takes me out of the immersive experience.

    So, great stuff - thanks! ;)

    How about the combat? How responsive would you say it is? I don't have a problem with tab-targeting - but I don't like when it's too slow paced. I found LOTRO combat to be quite awkward, for instance - but AoC and WoW both have fast and responsive systems.

  • ZierrityZierrity Member UncommonPosts: 242

    All I can say is yes, I find the world to be huge, it is divided by zones, but there is no loading between the zones. 

    And I dont really know how many zones in total, but keep in mind I've only been to the first zone on the Nuian continent, and about 4 on the hariharan continent. Then we got a third continent which was closed in open beta, which is for end game pvp and sand box stuff only.

    So yeah, I'd say the world is huge and I don't think you'll be disappointed :) And exploring the sea is actually quite fun in ArcheAge, When you get bigger boats which takes more people to handle. Quite fun indeed ^^,

  • MawneeMawnee Member UncommonPosts: 245
    Originally posted by DKLond
    Originally posted by Mawnee

    Actually the sea was fun. Ran into a bunch of little islands not on the map. Also random monsters as well as the occasional dolphin pod that swam along with me for a while(yes really). :) I only pointed out the boat thing because I suspect the third continent wasnt "closed" in OB....whoever said that simply didnt know how to get there.

    For size reference.... in those screenshots I posted all that you see in the distance is one 'area' on the map. The map in game is seperated into these areas like zones in older games like EQ. But its all seamless and there arent walls/cliffs/barriers funneling you into small accessways between them like many games. The way the maps and envrionments are laid out you can truely explore and find places that others may never be aware of. It all feels very open and inspiring.

     

    Oh, sounds pretty cool. I've always felt these artificial zone separations to be quite awkward. I especially hated the implementation in Age of Conan.

    I was also disappointed when playing GW2 - to face these weird loading portals. It really takes me out of the immersive experience.

    So, great stuff - thanks! ;)

    How about the combat? How responsive would you say it is? I don't have a problem with tab-targeting - but I don't like when it's too slow paced. I found LOTRO combat to be quite awkward, for instance - but AoC and WoW both have fast and responsive systems.

    I thought the combat worked very well. I would compare it to vanguards combat. While its tab based it is very slick and fluid. And some of the innovations like spells that work differently on friend/foe are neat. For instance I had a spell that if cast on myself or a friend would heal, If I used it on something red it would do damage. It allowed me to adapt that spell to the situation while streamlining the interface, eliminating an extra hotkey.

  • LlexXLlexX Member UncommonPosts: 200
    Originally posted by DKLond

    But it worries me that I'm hearing the two (out of three) continents available in beta are quite small? I've heard that the world was supposed to be bigger than WoW with expansions and other such claims. I guess that's completely false?

    How big are the individual zones - and how long does it takes to finish them on average?

    If you had to compare overall world size (with the third continent presumably about the same size as the other two) to a single game, what game would you say matches it best?

    Again the size depends on individual perception, what is small for some person can be huge to others.

    The world in AA is huge compared to any other MMO, there are about 40 zones released, takes 10-15 minutes to go from edge to edge of a zone on a mount. You don't see where one zone ends and the next starts, they blend to each other nicely and theres no lodaing screen when passing from one to another.

    I would say that the size of the starting contients is ok, but for me the 3rd contient (for territory wars) seems way to small.

    Couldn't compare it to a single player games world, but i would say that its 10+ times bigger than Skyrim.

  • Ice-QueenIce-Queen Member UncommonPosts: 2,483
    Originally posted by Mawnee

    I thought the combat worked very well. I would compare it to vanguards combat. While its tab based it is very slick and fluid. And some of the innovations like spells that work differently on friend/foe are neat. For instance I had a spell that if cast on myself or a friend would heal, If I used it on something red it would do damage. It allowed me to adapt that spell to the situation while streamlining the interface, eliminating an extra hotkey.

    That's pretty cool, ty for that bit of info.

    image

    What happens when you log off your characters????.....
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFQhfhnjYMk
    Dark Age of Camelot

  • Ice-QueenIce-Queen Member UncommonPosts: 2,483
    Originally posted by LlexX
    Originally posted by DKLond

    But it worries me that I'm hearing the two (out of three) continents available in beta are quite small? I've heard that the world was supposed to be bigger than WoW with expansions and other such claims. I guess that's completely false?

    How big are the individual zones - and how long does it takes to finish them on average?

    If you had to compare overall world size (with the third continent presumably about the same size as the other two) to a single game, what game would you say matches it best?

    Again the size depends on individual perception, what is small for some person can be huge to others.

    The world in AA is huge compared to any other MMO, there are about 40 zones released, takes 10-15 minutes to go from edge to edge of a zone on a mount. You don't see where one zone ends and the next starts, they blend to each other nicely and theres no lodaing screen when passing from one to another.

    I would say that the size of the starting contients is ok, but for me the 3rd contient (for territory wars) seems way to small.

    Couldn't compare it to a single player games world, but i would say that its 10+ times bigger than Skyrim.

    How about compared to say a starting zone in World of Warcraft. Compared to Elwynn Forest for starting area or Stranglethorn Vale as mid level?

    image

    What happens when you log off your characters????.....
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFQhfhnjYMk
    Dark Age of Camelot

  • DKLondDKLond Member RarePosts: 2,273
    Originally posted by Mawnee
    Originally posted by DKLond
    Originally posted by Mawnee

    Actually the sea was fun. Ran into a bunch of little islands not on the map. Also random monsters as well as the occasional dolphin pod that swam along with me for a while(yes really). :) I only pointed out the boat thing because I suspect the third continent wasnt "closed" in OB....whoever said that simply didnt know how to get there.

    For size reference.... in those screenshots I posted all that you see in the distance is one 'area' on the map. The map in game is seperated into these areas like zones in older games like EQ. But its all seamless and there arent walls/cliffs/barriers funneling you into small accessways between them like many games. The way the maps and envrionments are laid out you can truely explore and find places that others may never be aware of. It all feels very open and inspiring.

     

    Oh, sounds pretty cool. I've always felt these artificial zone separations to be quite awkward. I especially hated the implementation in Age of Conan.

    I was also disappointed when playing GW2 - to face these weird loading portals. It really takes me out of the immersive experience.

    So, great stuff - thanks! ;)

    How about the combat? How responsive would you say it is? I don't have a problem with tab-targeting - but I don't like when it's too slow paced. I found LOTRO combat to be quite awkward, for instance - but AoC and WoW both have fast and responsive systems.

    I thought the combat worked very well. I would compare it to vanguards combat. While its tab based it is very slick and fluid. And some of the innovations like spells that work differently on friend/foe are neat. For instance I had a spell that if cast on myself or a friend would heal, If I used it on something red it would do damage. It allowed me to adapt that spell to the situation while streamlining the interface, eliminating an extra hotkey.

    Like Vanguard combat? Pretty good. I always liked Vanguard combat - even if it was a bit on the slow side. But they managed to make it feel quite fluid and responsive.

    As for the spells doing different things - I believe that's not a first, but it is definitely a positive.

    Almost everything about the game sounds great to me.

    I'm not expecting a revolution - but I've been waiting for a proper sandbox/themepark hybrid ever since sandboxes stopped being profitable.

    ArcheAge looks to be the first game to really pull it off. I can only hope it becomes available in Europe before I die of old age :)

  • DKLondDKLond Member RarePosts: 2,273
    Originally posted by LlexX
    Originally posted by DKLond

    But it worries me that I'm hearing the two (out of three) continents available in beta are quite small? I've heard that the world was supposed to be bigger than WoW with expansions and other such claims. I guess that's completely false?

    How big are the individual zones - and how long does it takes to finish them on average?

    If you had to compare overall world size (with the third continent presumably about the same size as the other two) to a single game, what game would you say matches it best?

    Again the size depends on individual perception, what is small for some person can be huge to others.

    The world in AA is huge compared to any other MMO, there are about 40 zones released, takes 10-15 minutes to go from edge to edge of a zone on a mount. You don't see where one zone ends and the next starts, they blend to each other nicely and theres no lodaing screen when passing from one to another.

    I would say that the size of the starting contients is ok, but for me the 3rd contient (for territory wars) seems way to small.

    Couldn't compare it to a single player games world, but i would say that its 10+ times bigger than Skyrim.

    10-15 minutes to cross a single zone? Wow, that's very different.

    I thought people were saying it was 10-15 minutes to cross a continent.

    I guess I don't have to worry, then :)

  • DKLondDKLond Member RarePosts: 2,273
    Originally posted by Zierrity

    All I can say is yes, I find the world to be huge, it is divided by zones, but there is no loading between the zones. 

    And I dont really know how many zones in total, but keep in mind I've only been to the first zone on the Nuian continent, and about 4 on the hariharan continent. Then we got a third continent which was closed in open beta, which is for end game pvp and sand box stuff only.

    So yeah, I'd say the world is huge and I don't think you'll be disappointed :) And exploring the sea is actually quite fun in ArcheAge, When you get bigger boats which takes more people to handle. Quite fun indeed ^^,

    Hehe, I just found out it's 10-15 minutes pr. zone which is completely different. That's a very decent amount of time, actually.

    My mistake, sorry.

    How about exploration? Would you say there are worthwhile secrets to be found - or something that stands out and isn't just terrain?

  • LlexXLlexX Member UncommonPosts: 200
    Originally posted by DKLond

    How about exploration? Would you say there are worthwhile secrets to be found - or something that stands out and isn't just terrain?

    There are secret locations, hidden quest NPCs. When discovering a sescret spot, you will be rewarded with 1x tears (currency).

    Video showing some hidden spots:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKWSpjM4X10

  • DKLondDKLond Member RarePosts: 2,273
    Originally posted by LlexX
    Originally posted by DKLond

    How about exploration? Would you say there are worthwhile secrets to be found - or something that stands out and isn't just terrain?

    There are secret locations, hidden quest NPCs. When discovering a sescret spot, you will be rewarded with 1x tears (currency).

    Video showing some hidden spots:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKWSpjM4X10

    Yai, sounds good :)

    It was one area that I really liked about Guild Wars 2 - despite not being a fan of the overall design.

    I just love that there's a reason to go exploring, beyond seeing the sights. It makes the journey that much more meaningful.

    How would you compare the exploration to a game like Guild Wars 2?

  • LlexXLlexX Member UncommonPosts: 200
    Originally posted by DKLond

    It was one area that I really liked about Guild Wars 2 - despite not being a fan of the overall design.

    I just love that there's a reason to go exploring, beyond seeing the sights. It makes the journey that much more meaningful.

    How would you compare the exploration to a game like Guild Wars 2?

     

    First about the map size i woud say that one continent in AA is about the size of the whole world of GW2.

    The environment in GW2 is well designed (particulary thinking about the art style), but it seemed that everything is crowded and concentrated in GW2, while in AA its more spead, in AA there are no invisible barriers to prevent you from passing through, later on, to be more accurate after level 30+ you are to enter to the PvP zones, and that gives more adrenaline when exploring, since you have to keep an eye on the PKers too.

    All in all, for me the exploring is much more enjoyable in AA than it was in GW2. In GW2 it was really boring and linear without no risk of dying. And there is one more thing to add, the environment in AA is constantly changing, its a dynamic world where people can build houses and plant trees, and thus change areas completely, so going back to a location where you have been before will give the impression that you never visited that place before.

  • botrytisbotrytis Member RarePosts: 3,363
    Originally posted by LlexX
    Originally posted by DKLond

    It was one area that I really liked about Guild Wars 2 - despite not being a fan of the overall design.

    I just love that there's a reason to go exploring, beyond seeing the sights. It makes the journey that much more meaningful.

    How would you compare the exploration to a game like Guild Wars 2?

     

    First about the map size i woud say that one continent in AA is about the size of the whole world of GW2.

    The environment in GW2 is well designed (particulary thinking about the art style), but it seemed that everything is crowded and concentrated in GW2, while in AA its more spead, in AA there are no invisible barriers to prevent you from passing through, later on, to be more accurate after level 30+ you are to enter to the PvP zones, and that gives more adrenaline when exploring, since you have to keep an eye on the PKers too.

    All in all, for me the exploring is much more enjoyable in AA than it was in GW2. In GW2 it was really boring and linear without no risk of dying. And there is one more thing to add, the environment in AA is constantly changing, its a dynamic world where people can build houses and plant trees, and thus change areas completely, so going back to a location where you have been before will give the impression that you never visited that place before.

    AHH 1 GW1:Prophecies and GW2 is a PART of one continent not a WHOLE continent. LOL you have not played GW2 - I can tell you that. If you over-aggro, which can happen in any zone lvl 40 or higher you can die quite easily.

    AA , based on what I a have been reading, is a scripted world (meaning areas are planned for change and others you can't change at all - it won't be dynamic as you point out - it might have the look and feel but it won't be).  Who cares about building houses, etc - what is the point? So what you can put our trophies in it. People complain they don't want grind, but for a house they would? A grind is a grind - please.

     

    Allods online had PvP from lvl 30+ on - it was just a gank fest - I expect the same here. In Allods you had a flag you could turn on and off  but people could turn on your flag for you, it wasn't hard and then gank city.

     

    I am not saying I am not looking foward to try the game, I am. I think there is too much hype out and not enough real information. What you get in beta testing may not be what you actually get in the real game, depending on who they use for the publisher.


  • L0C0ManL0C0Man Member UncommonPosts: 1,065
    Originally posted by DKLond
    Originally posted by Zierrity
    ArcheAge is by no means small, while zones tend to feel a bit tiny at times (IMO) the world in itself is huge.

    Ok, thanks ;)

    Tiny zones but huge world? Isn't it divided into zones?

    I don't mean to be deliberately obtuse - it's just that I really want the game to be pretty big. So, when people are saying the zones are kinda tiny/small and it takes 10-15 minutes to cross an entire continent - it worries me.

    I'd say it'd take almost an hour or so to cross a continent in WoW on a land-based mount.

    Actually I did that in WoW (this was shortly after TBC release), took me 16 minutes to go from booty bay on stranglethorn vale to stratholme in the eastern plaguelands using a fastest normal land mount at the time. Of course, this was running all the time, not stopping for any fight or anything, and taking the most direct route.

    What can men do against such reckless hate?

  • LlexXLlexX Member UncommonPosts: 200
    Originally posted by botrytis
    Originally posted by LlexX 

    First about the map size i woud say that one continent in AA is about the size of the whole world of GW2.

    1. AHH 1 GW1:Prophecies and GW2 is a PART of one continent not a WHOLE continent. LOL you have not played GW2 - I can tell you that. If you over-aggro, which can happen in any zone lvl 40 or higher you can die quite easily.

    2. AA , based on what I a have been reading, is a scripted world (meaning areas are planned for change and others you can't change at all - it won't be dynamic as you point out - it might have the look and feel but it won't be).  Who cares about building houses, etc - what is the point? So what you can put our trophies in it. People complain they don't want grind, but for a house they would? A grind is a grind - please.

     

    1. Maybe next time read what others posting, before jumping on conculsion like this! I never mentioned GW2 as a continent, i said "world". Yes you can die in GW2 from mobs as well as in AA, but thats all up to your mistakes, AA has a supprise element too with open world PvP, and its forcing grouping later on, unlike GW2 which is solo orientated game.

    2. Now thats a bunch of nonsense what you just said, im sure that you haven't spend 1h from you life reading about features of AA! You don't even know how basic mechanics work in the game.

    3. If you can't stand ganking, then just don't play games like this!

  • botrytisbotrytis Member RarePosts: 3,363
    Originally posted by coretex666
    Originally posted by LlexX
    Originally posted by botrytis
    Originally posted by LlexX 

    First about the map size i woud say that one continent in AA is about the size of the whole world of GW2.

    1. AHH 1 GW1:Prophecies and GW2 is a PART of one continent not a WHOLE continent. LOL you have not played GW2 - I can tell you that. If you over-aggro, which can happen in any zone lvl 40 or higher you can die quite easily.

    2. AA , based on what I a have been reading, is a scripted world (meaning areas are planned for change and others you can't change at all - it won't be dynamic as you point out - it might have the look and feel but it won't be).  Who cares about building houses, etc - what is the point? So what you can put our trophies in it. People complain they don't want grind, but for a house they would? A grind is a grind - please.

     

    1. Maybe next time read what others posting, before jumping on conculsion like this! I never mentioned GW2 as a continent, i said "world". Yes you can die in GW2 from mobs as well as in AA, but thats all up to your mistakes, AA has a supprise element too with open world PvP, and its forcing grouping later on, unlike GW2 which is solo orientated game.

    2. Now thats a bunch of nonsense what you just said, im sure that you haven't spend 1h from you life reading about features of AA! You don't even know how basic mechanics work in the game.

    3. If you can't stand ganking, then just don't play games like this!

     How can you even compare ArcheAge to that shallow arcade console-like instant action themepark...

     

    Easy - a game is a game is a game is a game. I play for fun - it is not a job to me.


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