Gods And Heroes: Blog for 06.17.06 - The World of G&H

Deodatus wrote:

Salvete my dear citizens and welcome!

Friday is once again upon us and that means it is time for the weekly update! This week is a bit of a short entry since we're working on a few things in the coming weeks. I really just wanted to let you all know that next week's blog entry will really focus a bit on the Priest and the Scout classes and that for all you Rogue fans, be sure to keep an eye out over at MMORPG.com for some extra info we've put together for them.

This week I really just want to take a little bit of time and discuss a little bit more about the actual world of Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising. A lot people are concerned about our use of instancing and they are afraid that it is going to some how detract from the overall experience of the game. I can't even begin to express to you that this is not the case. As many of you already know, the actual non-instanced land mass of the game is roughly 10 square miles in size and the instanced size adds about an extra 2-3 square miles of varying levels of quest-related goodness.

The best part about all of this is the fact that as you go through all of this area you will soon discover that we have taken pains to ensure that the world feels like a living, breathing world. I've seen a lot of questions regarding wildlife and various other NPCs, and I can safely tell you that yes, there are several wildlife NPCs that bring that extra sensation of reality to this game. Add to the fact that when you're wandering through heavily forested areas that have long since been abandoned by all sane people, you will find vacated shrines, ruins, and other such hidden alcoves of surprises, and you have a world that is just begging to be explored and enjoyed!

I firmly believe that we have one of the richest topographical landscapes of any MMO to date and that is all due to the tenacious hard work of our numerous level designers and environmental artists. What we saw at E3 was only the tip of the iceberg. Shipwrecks take up entire shores, rocky outcroppings hide pirates and other nasty villains, forests and deserts team with life, atmosphere, and NPCs. There are hundreds of ruins, shrines, camps, villages, and cities waiting to be discovered. There are thousands of NPCs with quests, treasures, and information, minions to be discovered, and a variety of simple-to-epic battles to be fought.

I for one am so beside myself with excitement as beta approaches! I can't wait to run through this land with you all and just explore, fight, and grow more powerful with you all. I promise you're going to love it!

Until next week,

Deo out!