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[WardenWade]

sjpelkessjpeler wrote...

This is what Wiki has to say about the university in Orlais:

[i]'Val Royeaux is home to the University of Orlais, a major center of learning that attracts young nobles from all over Thedas with the best education money can buy. It is a relatively modern institution whose liberal-minded professors have already clashed with religious conservatives over the content of their classes'

This has to be a grand building and quite big .

Some interiour pictures:
(pictures used are from University of Washington)

  
classroom                                                                        study hall



 the whole building with garden......love the trees in bloom .

These are simply beautiful!  I would love to study there, they would be perfect for a mage's study or library as well   I didn't realize there was a description of the university!  These are wonderful!

I was trying to imagine what some of the outsides of the building interiors you suggested could look like and couldn't help but think of Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany.  I suppose it could also be an Orlesian noble's home, or Celene's palace...  The below is from http://beautifulplac...astle-germany/:

[WardenWade]

Begemotka wrote...

WardenWade wrote...

@Begemotka 
Thank you!!   I like to think the first pic sort of looks like a forest growing out of perhaps a strange crater, or at least a valley where Arlathan had been.  Passages to the Deep Roads lie beneath, I imagine   I really like the atmospheric red haze in the second myself, and I think the red lake is an intriguing location.  It's an utterly alien place, like the Sulfur Lakes themselves  

You are most welcome - and please,keep the glorious pics coming.     
Yes,wonder what the place where Arlathan had been looks like now....and who / what inhabits it.......

< insert really creepy,haunting music here> 

Thank you, Begemotka!  Yes,  I wonder about this too...  I understand that many humans live in Halamshiral and have done so for centuries themselves (the Winter Palace is still in use, and I wonder what it looks like as well?)... I imagine the same might be said of the surrounding forest near Arlathan.  Alternatively, with that much possible leftover magic and likely passages to the underground, darkspawn and other creatures could harbor there too...  There are a lot of fascinating possibilities!

Your ideas are wonderful!  Thank you for sharing them, Begemotka!

[LolaLei]

I heard that apparently the reason why we didn't get stuff like rain etc in DA2 was because they were working with an old engine thats out dated or something? I dunno if that's true though... Hell, I barely understand my head from my arse let alone games engines 'n' things like that.

[Brockololly]

LolaLei wrote...

I heard that apparently the reason why we didn't get stuff like rain etc in DA2 was because they were working with an old engine thats out dated or something?

Well, at the beginning of Awakening there was rain in that level.

But I do recall reading somewhere that dynamic weather either isn't possible with the engine as it exists or they'd need to do a lot of work to have it work. It seems sort of like the same problem they have with not being able to have day and night cycles just happen normally. Like they can only set up one area or level with one kind of lighting or weather; thus how in DA2 you had to go to the menu and switch on the day/light button to change day versus night as opposed to just having time naturally progress

[WardenWade]

Begemotka wrote...

WardenWade wrote...

Thank you, Begemotka!  Yes,  I wonder about this too...  I understand that many humans live in Halamshiral and have done so for centuries themselves (the Winter Palace is still in use, and I wonder what it looks like as well?)... I imagine the same might be said of the surrounding forest near Arlathan.  Alternatively, with that much possible leftover magic and likely passages to the underground, darkspawn and other creatures could harbor there too...  There are a lot of fascinating possibilities!

Your ideas are wonderful!  Thank you for sharing them, Begemotka!

As for your last line : *blushes*   Thank you for your compliments. My contributions,for what they are worth,were made possible by the inspiring ideas of the other fine folks participating in this thread - including yourself  

Thanks a million for your Neuschwanstein photos,that is one fairytale castle indeed.

I am completely enamored of the idea of visiting Arlathan and Kal Sharok. Those are the kind of places I prefer in fantasy games,as they give you a real sense of discovery and adventure. Of course,I love my political intrigue,too - meddling in the affairs of real weirdo Tevinter mages and participating in the "Orlais Games " (no,not the Olympics:) is fun,but I do not want to forgo my dose of the fantastic and mysterious.   
Come to think of it- what manner of creatures do you think lurk in the forgotten realms of Arlathan and Kal Sharok?

You've had great contributions!  I'm glad the thread's suggestions have been inspiring...I've found everyone's input and discussion on this topic excellent food for thought myself

I'm glad you like the pictures of Neuschwanstein...I've always found it gorgeous; it truly is a fairytale castle!  It actually inspired some Disney castles, I understand, and no surprise!   It and its owner(s) had an interesting history as well.

Yes, I would be thrilled to visit either place, and ideally both!  It would be a golden opportunity to get to the heart of some of the most fascinating lore in the game world.  As to what might live in the ruins of Arlathan or Kal Sharok, it's hard to say...  I wouldn't be surprised to see ghouls and a great many darkspawn lurking around the latter.  I'd like to think they might be waiting for the thaig to break so they can invade.  Alternatively, Kal Sharok is so secretive that there may be entirely new enemies there we've never seen...dark-adapted creatures of some sort? 

As for Arlathan, if perhaps there is some sort of lingering magical aura there, and even underground, I'd be interested to see normal but magically mutated creatures and humanoids...a bit like the Torque/Cacotopic Stain in the Bas-Lag novels of China Mieville, perhaps (this might work for Blightlands in general too)?  There's no indication this might be the case, but if so the residue of magic powerful enough to level a civilization might be taint-like in its corruption?

I find Tevinter intriguing as well, particularly as we see discrimination between mages as well.  And as someone who enjoys rolling a Tabris Warden I'd like the chance to free his/her kin from slavery some day.  It would be something to see a country where magic was the byword, at any rate.  And since meeting Leliana I too have been interested in what The Game involves.  If DA3 involves Orlais as much as it appears it will, it will hopefully shine some more light onto bardic intrigue and politicking, and perhaps even let us see Celene at some point?

Modifié par WardenWade, 22 mai 2012 - 11:56 .

[LolaLei]

Brockololly wrote...

LolaLei wrote...

I heard that apparently the reason why we didn't get stuff like rain etc in DA2 was because they were working with an old engine thats out dated or something?

Well, at the beginning of Awakening there was rain in that level.

But I do recall reading somewhere that dynamic weather either isn't possible with the engine as it exists or they'd need to do a lot of work to have it work. It seems sort of like the same problem they have with not being able to have day and night cycles just happen normally. Like they can only set up one area or level with one kind of lighting or weather; thus how in DA2 you had to go to the menu and switch on the day/light button to change day versus night as opposed to just having time naturally progress

Is DA:O and DA2 made with the same engine then?

I don't mind if it's not dynamic weather but it would be cool if it was. To be honest, I'd be quite happy with just different areas that have different set weather conditions so, for example, if DA3 has a prologue where the protagonist had to escape his/her village as a group of rogue Templars ransacked the place for apostates, raping and pillaging as they go, that particular village area could be set at night during a raging storm or something. Then maybe later on in the game we visit the city walls in some big Orlesian city for a companion quest/date/whatever and that specific area (be it a cut scene or interactive environment) is shown at sunset and you only get to visit it once during that particular event (kinda like the Garrus/Shepard date/mission on top of the Citadel.)

Mostly, I just want environments that make me want to stop playing for a moment and take in the ambience lol.

Modifié par LolaLei, 22 mai 2012 - 01:22 .

[Brockololly]

LolaLei wrote...
Is DA:O and DA2 made with the same engine then?

I think DA2's engine was built off of Origins. They're not technically the same, but DA2's engine is basically an evolution of DA:O's engine.

LolaLei wrote...
I don't mind if it's not dynamic weather but it would be cool if it was. To be honest, I'd be quite happy with just different areas that have different set weather conditions so, for example, if DA3 has a prologue where the protagonist had to escape his/her village as a group of rogue Templars ransacked the place for apostates, raping and pillaging as they go, that particular village area could be set at night during a raging storm or something. Then maybe later on in the game we visit the city walls in some big Orlesian city for a companion quest/date/whatever and that specific area (be it a cut scene or interactive environment) is shown at sunset and you only get to visit it once during that particular event (kinda like the Garrus/Shepard date/mission on top of the Citadel.)

Mostly, I just want environments that make me want to stop playing for a moment and take in the ambience lol.

Yeah, I get that. Weren't there some snowflakes in Origins in Haven? Or outside of Orzammar? Can't remember. But there definitely need to be more interesting environments and spots to just stop and soak everything in. Playing something like The Witcher 2 and its so nice to just walk and not run through levels, taking in all the details. Or Skyrim, where I enjoy just riding around on my horse from place to place still finding new areas and cool views even after playing for more than 100 hours.

[LolaLei]

Brockololly wrote...

LolaLei wrote...
Is DA:O and DA2 made with the same engine then?

I think DA2's engine was built off of Origins. They're not technically the same, but DA2's engine is basically an evolution of DA:O's engine.

LolaLei wrote...
I don't mind if it's not dynamic weather but it would be cool if it was. To be honest, I'd be quite happy with just different areas that have different set weather conditions so, for example, if DA3 has a prologue where the protagonist had to escape his/her village as a group of rogue Templars ransacked the place for apostates, raping and pillaging as they go, that particular village area could be set at night during a raging storm or something. Then maybe later on in the game we visit the city walls in some big Orlesian city for a companion quest/date/whatever and that specific area (be it a cut scene or interactive environment) is shown at sunset and you only get to visit it once during that particular event (kinda like the Garrus/Shepard date/mission on top of the Citadel.)

Mostly, I just want environments that make me want to stop playing for a moment and take in the ambience lol.

Yeah, I get that. Weren't there some snowflakes in Origins in Haven? Or outside of Orzammar? Can't remember. But there definitely need to be more interesting environments and spots to just stop and soak everything in. Playing something like The Witcher 2 and its so nice to just walk and not run through levels, taking in all the details. Or Skyrim, where I enjoy just riding around on my horse from place to place still finding new areas and cool views even after playing for more than 100 hours.

Yeah Origins has some very pretty areas like that.

Omg The Witcher 2 was stunning! Did you visit that rustic little shack at night time that was surrounded by candles next to the massive lake? I think I spent about half an hour hanging around there just taking everything in, better still it had a giant moon! I love giant moons!

... Also, all the female Mages were hot!

Modifié par LolaLei, 22 mai 2012 - 01:47 .

[AngryFrozenWater]

DA2 didn't look that good. Everything was dull and clean. Blood on your face was cleaned after a few seconds. Bodies sank into the ground and were cremated automagically. No litter on the streets. Most likely Meredith chased you herself if you dropped anything. Everything was swept clinically clean 24/7.

The cartoony art style was probably chosen to hide the poor and dated graphics capabilities of the engine and to cut production time. If the rumored Frostbite engine will be used then the game sure can use its higher detail capabilities.

Also, BW insisted on the iconic look of the NPCs, because somehow that makes them easier to recognize in combat and it was meant to improve gameplay. If improving gameplay is the true reason then getting rid of the strategic view didn't match that goal. They removed that, because it was too expensive to include and would limit the art design. Removing that view didn't help how horrid Kirkwall looked. Including the strategic view does not limit how great a game can look. This must be a problem that only BW devs have. And if tracking the NPCs was important for the gameplay then it surely doesn't make sense to remove that view and that NPCs jumped all over the place during combat.

What DA3 needs is a world which looks like people are living in it. It needs attention and some loving. I don't like to bring up TW2, but, even if you do not like that game, its detailed world sure looked stunning and believable. CDPR really raised the bar. If they can do it, then so can giant BW.

Modifié par AngryFrozenWater, 22 mai 2012 - 01:46 .

[Das Tentakel]

Brockololly wrote...

LolaLei wrote...

I heard that apparently the reason why we didn't get stuff like rain etc in DA2 was because they were working with an old engine thats out dated or something?

Well, at the beginning of Awakening there was rain in that level.

But I do recall reading somewhere that dynamic weather either isn't possible with the engine as it exists or they'd need to do a lot of work to have it work. It seems sort of like the same problem they have with not being able to have day and night cycles just happen normally. Like they can only set up one area or level with one kind of lighting or weather; thus how in DA2 you had to go to the menu and switch on the day/light button to change day versus night as opposed to just having time naturally progress

The Witcher I is built on the old Neverwinter Nights engine, albeit heavily modded, so presumably it would have been possible to do it for DA, but it would have required some work. Which they evidently declined to do.
Limited resources in terms of money, time and personnel (perhaps both in terms of numbers and required skills) may have been more decisive here.
It is possible that it was already fairly low on the priority list, or even absent on that list (bigger fish to fry), so...

Modifié par Das Tentakel, 22 mai 2012 - 09:43 .

[fchopin]

sjpelkessjpeler wrote...

@Brockololly and @LolaLei

Nothing regarding weather conditions beats 'The Witcher' up untill now in my opinion.........

Edit: and Brockololly thanks for your explanation .

Risen 1 had a few different weather conditions and they were fine i thought.

[LolaLei]

Hehehe Spocktopus!

[WardenWade]

@ Begemotka

Those images are breathtaking! The archipelago pictures are truly inspiring Great finds!

And who can say what the enemies might look like in either location? Or the pets? I'd like to have a nug of my own, or even a friendly deepstalker. There are certainly a lot of forces--magical and otherwise--working in Thedas that could have untold effects on these locales. Part of the fun is wondering what they might be capable of And as for literal Arlathan survivors, IIRC...


SPOILERS (sorry!)



...Arl Foreshadow's codex mentions them in a manner which appears dismissive but IMHO seems more provocative than anything

Also, considering Kal Sharok; I haven't been able to get a picture of it to paste but there are several underground cities in Cappadocia, Turkey (Kaymakli, Derinkuyu, etc.) that are intriguing. They all IIRC had pretty impressive ventilation systems, and some appear to have had winemaking apparati, surprisingly large and intricately carved rooms and so on...