My critiques of the Crystal Desert region (environment/design)

[Sublimatio.6981]

(some story spoilers)

So for a while I've been searching reddit if people had similar thoughts as mine and I haven't found any, so I decided to start my own thread as I feel it's important to give feedback.

While the maps themselves are well done and beautiful by themselves, I do have things to say.

 

First of all, generally - the desert shouldn't feel like the maguuma jungle - should be more horizontal, less vertical. It doesn't really feel like a desert, it's not flat enough and not expansive enough. And it's way too rocky and grassy. They made kourna instead of the crystal desert we know from gw1. Great example of what I wanted to see is when you hug the northern edge of the new guild hall, you can see the vast, huge dunes that you can't access. Also the Lone Vigil statue is overdone. Why is it everywhere?

 

Individual map feedback:

 

Desert Highlands: The snowy area is exceptionally well done - except the ambient NPC dialogues are very lacking. If you visit any core GW2 map, npcs are having conversation, you can interact and talk with them. I didn't get enough of this in PoF maps. btw make the springer heart merchant stop moving.

 

Crystal Oasis: here's the thing, and that applies to elon riverlands as well. - too many people. This is supposed to be an inhospitable desert. Why is there camp after a camp after a camp after a camp? Dry Top and Silverwastes feel much more like crystal desert in this regard than the pof maps. Again, I'm a GW1 player so I have some expectations about the desert region.

 

Elon Riverlands: The ancient architecture made by Elonians (Turai's pilgrims). Remember those and how they looked like in gw1? Nothing alike! When I first visited this map I was very confused as to what it was supposed to be and who built all this new structures during the 250 years and how could it be so destroyed by now. Only then I realized "oh, it's supposed to be the gw1 crystal desert buildings". Also where are all the stranded ships? Lupicus bones? Forgotten crypts that we couldn't enter in gw1? except the Kesho one. Generally me least liked map. Also Augury Rock was made so insignificant by the open world event. I wanted it to be something really exquisite. Like having to do the real ascension trials in order to meet Kormir or something.

 

The Desolation: This map doesn't make any sense. Desolation is supposed to be desolate and the most unforgiving place for any life form. Why on earth are we seeing there deers, crows, rats and many many other animals? Actually the reason that prompted me to write this thread is skimming above sulfur and noticing crow literally chilling in the fumes. screen: https://imgur.com/a/7g1Nm

 

Vabbi: Very good map. The one thing I don't agree with is how trying to use "Treasure Hunting Kit" outside of PoF maps telling you you can only use it in crystal desert. But Vabbi is not in crystal desert. Getting really tired of these inconsistencies like maguuma mastery in lake doric.

[Thanathos.2063]

While you're having valid points, I think the core problem for you lies in a, well, unfulfilled expectation about how the crystal desert looks like after ~200 years. Well, Joko led the river there, plus humanity had lots of time to expand (in numbers + inhabited areas). Even the Desolation isn't so desolated anymore. It all makes sense lorewise, plus, it would be a questionable idea from a design perspective to build large empty maps without any landscape features.

While it's not perfect, I had the impression that they really did a good job regarding holding up GW1's legacy in the whole region. Many juicy lore bits and flavor (even with stuff like junk items) etc.

[EpicName.4523]

I remember vanilla Tanaris in WoW. Sand, sand, sand, bones with vultures and some silithid hives for diversity - Horrible zone, boring zone, must-get-out quickly zone. Glad GW 2 actually makes the expansion areas fun and worth exploring instead of just adding some sand.

[mercury ranique.2170]

I think your issue is semantics. In gw1, in the desert was a map called thirsty river. While there was no river. The reason was and is that the river is gone, but the name remained. Palawan Joko diverted the Elon river to the desert. So the desert is practically gone, but the name remains. As for the verticality. As indicated the desert was different before as well. The gorges in gw1 prove that. The reintroduction of the water cause it.

[Ayrilana.1396]

Not all deserts have sand (10%?).

 

Not all deserts are flat.

 

Deserts can have vegetation within it depending on various circumstances.

 

Not all deserts are necessarily inhospitable so long as there’s a water source and access to food.

 

Crystal Desert is the region although in GW1 it was the upper part that was part of Prophecies. Although, all of that introduced in Nightfall may technically be a part of that.

 

Fun Fact: Antarctica is a desert.

[Mewcifer.5198]

I haven't hung around the npcs in other places, but I did rather enjoy the dialog from the ones in Amnoon. I really enjoyed the maps and thought they were amazing and beautiful, but I am a total sucker for listening to npcs talk and stuff. And now that I am thinking about it, besides Amnoon I can't really think of any memorable npcs.

 

As for desert-ness, other people have said most of what I would say about it.

[Randulf.7614]

My main concerns were that the River,ands felt a tad under utilised beyond the east side of the map, the crater at glints lair seemed way too small for kralk to have landed in and the vabbi branded area was just messy - it didnt really feel like a playable area and with the brandstorm effect, navigating it felt confusing.

 

I thought the desert areas where well done though. I cant help feel a pure sand dune region would have been rather dull

[Zaklex.6308]

> @"Randulf.7614" said:

> My main concerns were that the River,ands felt a tad under utilised beyond the east side of the map, the crater at glints lair seemed way too small for kralk to have landed in and the vabbi branded area was just messy - it didnt really feel like a playable area and with the brandstorm effect, navigating it felt confusing.

>

> I thought the desert areas where well done though. I cant help feel a pure sand dune region would have been rather dull

 

I don't ever remember it being said anywhere that Kralkatorrik landed...wait, Glint's Lair is hidden inside a sand pebble, so there's no way on Tyria he could have landed in it. As for the Branded region of Vabbi, the Skimmer is your best friend there, it doesn't touch the ground so is therefore never affected by the Brandstorm, and if you do have to land...just find one of the Djinn protected enclaves...do what you need to do and move on.

[Randulf.7614]

> @"Zaklex.6308" said:

> > @"Randulf.7614" said:

> > My main concerns were that the River,ands felt a tad under utilised beyond the east side of the map, the crater at glints lair seemed way too small for kralk to have landed in and the vabbi branded area was just messy - it didnt really feel like a playable area and with the brandstorm effect, navigating it felt confusing.

> >

> > I thought the desert areas where well done though. I cant help feel a pure sand dune region would have been rather dull

>

> I don't ever remember it being said anywhere that Kralkatorrik landed...wait, Glint's Lair is hidden inside a sand pebble, so there's no way on Tyria he could have landed in it. As for the Branded region of Vabbi, the Skimmer is your best friend there, it doesn't touch the ground so is therefore never affected by the Brandstorm, and if you do have to land...just find one of the Djinn protected enclaves...do what you need to do and move on.

 

If I remember the book Edge of Destiny correctly, the crater marks where Destiny's Edge brought down Kralk initially in the battle described in the finale. I didn''t mean inside Glint's Lair, but the crater itself is at the POI in game which marks the entrance used by Destiny's Edge

 

I am aware of the skimmer in the brandstorm zone, but there are a lot of things to find in that area and navigation is peculiar partly because the terrain does not feel or look well designed. I'm les concerned by the brandstorm itself, but that part of the map almost feels rushed compared to the rest of the maps.

[mbhalo.1547]

My only critique for PoF map design is architecture - very small asset pool, everything built from the same objects. Also razor sharp edges of pyramids and the ugliest stairs in the history of game design in the astralarium.

[Noa.7490]

My main problem with the Crystal Desert is that despite being a desert you can't walk ten feet in any direction without stumbling on something that positively, decidedly wants to kill you.

[Sublimatio.6981]

> @"Mewcifer.5198" said:

> I haven't hung around the npcs in other places, but I did rather enjoy the dialog from the ones in Amnoon. I really enjoyed the maps and thought they were amazing and beautiful, but I am a total sucker for listening to npcs talk and stuff. And now that I am thinking about it, besides Amnoon I can't really think of any memorable npcs.

>

> As for desert-ness, other people have said most of what I would say about it.

 

mainly i was talking about the priory camp in desert highlands in snowy area, but also other places that have a lot of generic npcs without interaction (vabbi). amnoon and desolation are detailed in this regard, but there are some lifeless spots with quiet npc fillers.

 

And for the response about desert-ness, I'm not saying all 5 maps should be vast fields of sand, vabbi is a country, desolation is "undead country" (but living things really should be gone from there..). I just think the Elon Riverlands + Crystal Oasis could be more like dry top and silverwastes only bigger. You literally run few seconds and meet another camp, then a temple, then a town, then another town. I don't like it.