Favorite RPG enviroment?

Lemonhead said:
For fantasy I'm a big fan of leafy forests. Though I can't think of a game that's done it really well. I'm talking about something like this: http://larsvandegoor.zenfolio.com/p446081890/h2871b05e#h2871b05e
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At least the lighting reminds me of the forest parts in Zanzarah — The Hidden Portal. Probably not exactly what you are looking for, but I loved the game. Enchanting and positively whimsical, with great landscape diversity and one of the most magical title songs ever.
 
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It may sound weird to you. But my favourite levels in RPGs are crypts, cemeteries and other gothic places that crawling with undead. But I'm not talking crypts that consists of just a bunch of tomb stones. I'm talking about complex gothic architectures with full of grotesque sculptures and other angelic or satanic figures. And the best atmospheric crypt level that i have seen so far is in Arx Fatalis. Arx Fatalis's crypt level is quite scary, I still recall the weeping woman in the room and dancing skulls. I also recall the beginning of Planescape Torment. At the beginning the atmosphere of the mortuary level was pretty awesome. Also the Dead Nations level. Recently I have played Wizards&Warriors again and it's crypt level was pretty well designed (dungeon design is always one of the powerful parts in a Bradley game) First Diablo's atmosphere was awesome in this aspect. As a result, in any RPG slaying all sort of undead creatures is my favourite. :)

Pretty contrast, but i love lush forests and sunny green meadows with rivers and lakes too. I'm now playing Drakensang. Drakensang's Avestrue level is quite fit to this atmosphere. And also I'm playing Sacred 2 from time to time. And running in the game's green pastures and forests, passing the rivers, lakes and other natural beauties while hearing the birds sing and the soft voice of breeze in your ear is quite peaceful (especially after a long and tiring day in the office). Sometimes I stop the endless killing and enjoy this atmosphere. Gothic 3's forest environments also my favourite and I loved the pastel colors they used in the Risen, too. I recall when waiting for the release of Oblivion, I was watching the forest level videos of Oblivion and saying "I must play this game right now". I was quite disappointed with its release by the way.

Wandering in a lush forest and finding a ruined and abandoned temple in the middle of it that haunted by various undead creatures clichee is my favourite RPG level and always will be. :)
 
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Gokyabgu said:
It may sound weird to you. But my favourite levels in RPGs are crypts, cemeteries and other gothic places that crawling with undead. But I'm not talking crypts that consists of just a bunch of tomb stones.
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Heh, I used to swear out load whenever I had to enter some crypt and dungeon complex. Especially in NWN1, I really hated those places but it's nice to see that there are actually people who like those. :p

Though, if it's a dark dungeon, not too complex, some cave perhaps, then it's a nice place to be, but not the bloody mazes. :)

Drakensang definately had very pleasant environments. The environment didn't really felt that authentic, but like a place from some fantasy book (which is good IMO). I agree with you about Gothic 3, Risen and Sacred 2 too. Sacred 2 maybe has the most comforting coasts I've ever seen in a game. As a person who lives next to sea, I've always loved the peace in the coast with only the silent sounds of waves. With Gothic 3, I had to tell me wife to take a look how beautiful the atmosphere was and she agreed fully. One of those places was Silden, the nice little fishing village by the river.

gothic3silden2.jpg

Silden

Oblivion felt awesome for the first few hours, after that when you notice it's all repetition I felt cheated and very dissapointed. With Gothic 2 everything felt like handcrafted and all those little hidden caves and secret places were rewarding to find, but in Oblivion all caves were alike and I bet they are random generated! :(
 
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azraelck said:
I have a fondness for the old Darksun setting. Post-apocalyptic desert wasteland mixed with twisted standard fantasy tropes. I was so happy to learn that Darksun will be getting a 4E version. I WILL buy it, solely to support Darksun.

Beyond that, the basic Fantasy or World War II setting are also long-standing favorites. Out of DnD games, I'd say that Dragonlance is my favored setting, though I really enjoyed the classic Might and Magics with their mesh of fantasy and science fiction. Wizardry 6-8 as well.

I can't honestly recall a WWII-based RPG off hand however. It is a favorite period of history for me to study though, to the point that I even collect the battle rifles that saw service in the war. And yes, they are fully functional.
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There is a game called Another World. It's an isometric RPG with WW2 setting. You can check the screenshots from this site:

http://www.ag.ru/games/another_war

There's also a game called Grom, semi tactical strategy semi RPG game:

http://www.ag.ru/games/grom

And finally not much RPG but Silent Storm series.
 
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I'm more the explorer type who prefers open landscapes and cities to dungeons and crypts, no matter what the game's genre. And while I love the stunning vistas of Gothic/2/Risen, Morrowind's Vvardenfell comes pretty close to what I really like in a cRPG environment. Especially Balmora and surroundings where everything still is pretty regular, but with a touch of strangeness. Oblivion's environment was too generic for my taste.
What I'd love to see (and haven't seen yet in a cRPG): a steampunky city a la Thief II.
 
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Phonix said:
The danger whit that, is:

"FO might be cool and all, but wow does the environment get old quick. "

My personal favorit is Dark Fantasy setting, as in The Witcher :)
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Yep, you need strength in other areas to avoid a sense of monotony. Still I think it is pretty lazy game design if the environment is the only source of variation within the game.

And I'd say the first two fallouts managed to produce pretty varied, yet coherent environments (mountains, deserts, ruined cities, etc). You dont need to include "the lava pits of hell" or different climate zones to build a varied world. FO3 has a harder time achieving that, but that is due to the difficulties of cramming variation into one continues map that is traversed in first person perspective.
 
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Read an article about a game called "Rune Factory" today. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rune_Factory

It includes a farming simulation.

Why didn't someone make this for offline play ? I'd like to play this. No more god-slaying-or-becoming epic, high fantasy hero adventure where one eithar has to (more or less) literally safe the world OR become it (kind of) ... - but instead a glimpse at the hardiwork of a normal farmer. Something what the hero of Dungeon Siege was BEFORE he or he had become hero ...

I'd like to show people how hard it really is to actually GROW and MINE what passing-by heroes feed upon and onsume in every way - be it armor, weapons or simple food.

As a farmer, there is nothing more heroic than slaying an orc with nothing but the most simple tools. This is the kind of heroism people just don't see.

It reminds me of Akira Kurosawa's movie with the seven Samurai.
 
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Alrik Fassbauer said:
Read an article about a game called "Rune Factory" today. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rune_Factory

It includes a farming simulation.

Why didn't someone make this for offline play ? I'd like to play this. No more god-slaying-or-becoming epic, high fantasy hero adventure where one eithar has to (more or less) literally safe the world OR become it (kind of) … - but instead a glimpse at the hardiwork of a normal farmer. Something what the hero of Dungeon Siege was BEFORE he or he had become hero …

I'd like to show people how hard it really is to actually GROW and MINE what passing-by heroes feed upon and onsume in every way - be it armor, weapons or simple food.

As a farmer, there is nothing more heroic than slaying an orc with nothing but the most simple tools. This is the kind of heroism people just don't see.

It reminds me of Akira Kurosawa's movie with the seven Samurai.
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Had to say that I agree with you. I loved Gothic 2 because of that. At first you need to WORK on farm to get proper cloths. And as soon as you manage to get in the city, you'll have to get a PROFESSION and earn some money with decent work.

Ultima Online was fun because of that, but in the end with all the macros and cheaters, it got boring. But the idea was there and in some small private servers, the true roleplaying worked and you could be a fisherman for example. :)
 
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Totally agree with the posts above, absolutely love RPG's with a hard beginning, in most RPG's you get a decent weapon and armor way too quick. I'd really like a RPG where you feel much more vulnerable..
 
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Vulnerability is nice. I liked it in Baldurs Gate 1 where every fight in the beginning of the game was potentially fatal. Good equipment should be hard to come by. Enemies should be hard.

On the issue of openness/exploration and Bioware, doesn't it kind of suck that all their games since BA1 have had basically no exploration? I was hoping that DA:O be more like BA1 and less like BA2 and KotOR.
 
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In both Drakensang games, the early time is indeed relatively hard: You are so short on money that you need to accept almost every job and sell what you find (plants, mostly, and remains of dead animals).
 
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Well, in the 2-monthly magazine, the "Aventurischer Bote", which contains Aventurian news (in-game, of course !), there has been a small but indignant remark of an Aventurian noble who complained that "passing-through travellers are constantly smashing chets and barrels within the Kosch area" (Kosch/Kosh is his Barony).
 
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I'm one of those people, who love the environments of Morrowind. They look a bit empty because of the engine and computer restrictions of the time, but in their variety and exotic appearance, they were really one element that carried the game for me.
 
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I love a well done castle, ruined or otherwise. G1 Old Camp was perfect (and fun to see it return in an even more ruinous state in G2). Honorable mentions to Trelis and Faring in G3, De'Arnise Keep in BG2, Crossroads Keep in NWN2, Kaer Morhen in the Witcher (man, the views from the battlements were sublime).

Oblivion's ruins didn't work for me because of the indoor/outdoor transitions, the inside wasn't integrated with the structure which was just a "doorway" to a dungeon.
 
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Add one to the minority of posters who like dungeons. I simply enjoy the idea of something horrible/wonderful being deep below the earth. There are unfortunately not many good dungeons in games. Too many feel like copy and pasted corridors. I think that they are a setting with a lot of still untapped potential.

Ultima Underworld had fantastic dungeons. Same goes for Arx Fatalis. Ultima 6 was also great. It had vast dungeons with a lot to explore (e.g., spiders' cave, cyclops hideout, giant ant mound, huge lakes which you could travel by boat, interconnecting dungeons, and of course coming out on the other side of Britannia!). Dark Messiah of Might & Magic, while just being RPG-ish, also had some very atmospheric dungeons.

I would appreciate it if games kept exploring the natural aspect of dungeons - underground rivers, huge caverns, cold and heat, dangerous gases, weird animals, etc.
 
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Caves, and some dungeons, are nice if they are done very well, but not llike in Oblivion!

Gothic 3 has some nice caves, at least the one big cave system at beach near to Ardea and Kap Dun with a dragon(?) at the bottom.
 
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