Remember when Blizzard used to create huge, flat zones?

[Gaaz]

Sadly, yes. I too prefer large open areas. The added vertical complexity and cramping of the more recent maps really takes away from the "large world" experience, exploring content etc... Add to this the fact that flying makes vertical maps almost pointless and makes them even smaller relatively speaking (due to being able to hop between levels). Old Barrens will be missed, along with local chat.

[Super Kami Dende]

Huge Flatzones with no personality, or more artistically created but smaller Zones? Yeah I'd rather things that look like more than just open fields with a few trees.

[Jaylock]

I do.

I also remember a lot of wasted space. I also remember flat zones being made perfectly as recently as MoP, where several zones had areas that weren't too rocky but still there wasn't a lot of dead space.

There's literally nothing to suggest that they won't create "flat" zones, in BETTER ways, in the future if the theme fits.

And massive cackle at people having troubles navigating zones even beyond going through them many times. Regardless of how cliffy a zone is, you'd be bound to learn routes through simply looking around.

Pretty much this.

If the theme fits, they will continue to create flat zones. I like open zones and we get plenty of that in Legion. The OP was just selective and cherry picked examples where its "cramped". Even in the zone he showed, Stormheim has plenty of wide open spaces and rolling hills. Azshara has tons of wide open space and fields, hell even valshara has wide open spaces near Braidensbrook.

Legion has plenty of open spaces, just not entire zones of the same boring thing. The barrens is the most boring zone in the game. Why? because hey, i get to traverse the whole zone and see nothing but the occasional desert tree and a giraffe. Tanaris is boring as well for similar reasons. You get to see dragon bones once in awhile and some ruins. Whooptie doo.

[donjn]

the issue when you make wide open areas of bullshit, it makes the travel times much longer, and boring... i remember spending hours just running around barrens bored getting from spot A to spot B

I could say your reasons are bullshit too. You can agree to disagree without calling someones opinion bullshit.

[Elim Garak]

The funny thing is, they reduced the size of zones and then complained how flying shrinks the world....

[Scrotch]

A larger, flat zone can be done well. It's not impossible to add vegetation or scenery that doesn't impede travel. It would just be nice to have a little variety. Even just one zone without giant mountains or other impassable terrain would be a nice change of pace from the current cramped and annoying to navigate mess that has been every zone in legion.

[Softbottom]

I kinda miss some of the open zone areas too. Like running from one end of the barrens to the other. Or one end of tanaris (pre cata) to the other. I feel like smaller condensed zones have their place also. MoP zones had a really good middle ground between the two for me.

[Daimy]

Good thing those zones are still there eh?

[Justpassing]

I could say your reasons are bullshit too. You can agree to disagree without calling someones opinion bullshit.

Except he wasn't calling your opinion bullshit, he was calling the kind of wide open areas are. You can agree to disagree without reading someone's opinion.

[Darkeon]

I like moderation. And I like good zones, be these relatively flat and big sized or with a bigger vertical focus to it.

What I don't particularly enjoy are some of the most obnoxious areas where landscape design appears to be made with only a couple of things in mind: How to annoy the player the most and how to make sure the player spends the most time possible on trivial travelling time.

[Queen of Hamsters]

Pretty much this.

If the theme fits, they will continue to create flat zones. I like open zones and we get plenty of that in Legion. The OP was just selective and cherry picked examples where its "cramped". Even in the zone he showed, Stormheim has plenty of wide open spaces and rolling hills. Azshara has tons of wide open space and fields, hell even valshara has wide open spaces near Braidensbrook.

Legion has plenty of open spaces, just not entire zones of the same boring thing. The barrens is the most boring zone in the game. Why? because hey, i get to traverse the whole zone and see nothing but the occasional desert tree and a giraffe. Tanaris is boring as well for similar reasons. You get to see dragon bones once in awhile and some ruins. Whooptie doo.

Amen.

People never miss a chance at going down the "MUH VANILLA!"- route though. I bet that whenever we do get a mostly flat zone in the future, they'll be there bitching and whinging about how "'Member when zones used to have loads of dead space that meant nothing? I remember, and this is the reason why people flock to private servers!".



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Good thing those zones are still there eh?

Apparently they've "been removed".

Not sure how, but perhaps these people are incapable of leaving current zones through the use of portals or something?

[Darktbs]

I like moderation. And I like good zones, be these relatively flat and big sized or with a bigger vertical focus to it.

What I don't particularly enjoy are some of the most obnoxious areas where landscape design appears to be made with only a couple of things in mind: How to annoy the player the most and how to make sure the player spends the most time possible on trivial travelling time.

A.K.A. Every zone ever created by blizzard wow's team.

[Thelxi]

I definitely think they went too far with the legion zones. Before flying it was too inefficient getting from A to B. If they want that much traveling, just make the zones bigger, don't make tiny clusterfuck zones.

[Valech]

So OP, you like something else then some other people do. Who knew.

[FelPlague]

I could say your reasons are bullshit too. You can agree to disagree without calling someones opinion bullshit.

i didnt call the opinion bullshit, i called the "wide open area of bullshit" as in a 'wide open area of literally nothing"

[Jaylock]

i didnt call the opinion bullshit, i called the "wide open area of bullshit" as in a 'wide open area of literally nothing"

Legion got it perfect imo with enough open areas and enough closed or confined areas. Each area of a zone feels like its a whole new zone, which is a really amazing thing to accomplish for the quest and terrain designers. Mt. Hyjal in Cata was also a perfect example of this. You literally felt like the questing flow and objectives were varied even though you were in a different zone.

I think what the whiners about this issue REALLY are saying is: "i don't like mobs attacking me for ANY reason unless I decide I want to attack them. I want to be able to fish, roam entire zones without aggroing anything"

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Also, Shadowmoon valley, Nagrand, and Frostfire ridge from WoD says hello!

[Pratt]

The move to making the zone a maze, making the challenge getting to the quest, is incredibly annoying. Cut that crap out.

[Bigthumbb]

There should always be zone variety. But I completely agree - modern zones are often claustrophobic and are blatantly designed with the facilitation of world quests in mind. Legion's zones are pretty, and technically impressive, but they are neither natural nor immersive. No modern zone has affected me like the original Barrens, Desolace, or Ashenvale.

[Slowpoke is a Gamer]

I've joked most of the expansion that they made Legion rocky to force us all to reroll DH for their double jump and glide.

TBH the longer this terrible design has continued, and the more they refuse to fix Havoc, the more I'm thinking my joke was right.

[donjn]

So OP, you like something else then some other people do. Who knew.

And they do I, very common on the internet or are you new? People with differing opinions.

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i didnt call the opinion bullshit, i called the "wide open area of bullshit" as in a 'wide open area of literally nothing"

Yeah i had to re-read that again, my bad!