Battle for Azeroth Alpha/Beta General Discussion

[Soulwind]

Yeah obviously if everything was on scale we couldn't even play the game haha! I think I remember reading somedays that to cross the Barrens from top to bottom it took something like ten days according to lore? I can't remember really, but all of these zones are supposed to be massive indeed. Still, I can't be okay with the idea of a continent-size Kul'Tiras, especially because I don't see how the environment could be diverse enough. I had the same fears about the Broken Isles, it ended up being okay but really... it's a theme park as you said.

Tol Barad is one of my favourite zones from the game, and even I wouldn't like a whole continent like that.

Specially not after WoD and Legion, two bleak and gloomy expanions are enough for me.

[Fahrad Wagner]

Tol Barad is one of my favourite zones from the game, and even I wouldn't like a whole continent like that.

Specially not after WoD and Legion, two bleak and gloomy expanions are enough for me.

Exactly, we need something lighter and not a "50 Shades of Baradin Bay" expansion haha! Ugh, the wait is killing me, but at least on tuesday we'll know if we have to wait until Blizzcon or not.

[Hitei]

Wow... I stand corrected.

Those early models look so much better than their live models.

Also, the annoyance is understandable. I would also be annoyed if they turned Kul'Tiras into a continent. At this point though, I'm hoping for the three things I listed and expecting nothing else; that way I face a minimal amount of disappointment.

I am going to be disappointed to heartbroken levels by any expansion that features N'zoth or Azshara and is based on islands or a regular continent. Because I severely doubt either will live up to the potential I envision in cave-continent for such an expansion and the spelunking that would ensue. To the point that I've even started deluding myself into reading the map found on the Kul Tiras armor set as such.

[Lazarel]

As I was desperately looking for more hints towards the next expansion, I started to look at the maps of wow. As I was looking at the Deepholm map I noticed something added in 7.3 but it's probably nothing
http://imgur.com/a/BLWkj

[Mushkins]

Not sure if mentioned, but according to Reddit, the "veilofshadows.com" domain is registered through GoDaddy, which is the same site Blizzard uses to register Hearthstone and World of Warcraft sites.

Anyone could have done it, but if true that's definitely a step beyond just spewing out a random wall of text.

https://www.reddit.com/r/wow/comment...rc&sh=e80c1b3f

According to WHOIS
DOMAIN INFORMATION
Domain:veilofshadows.com
Registrar:GoDaddy.com, LLC
Registration Date:2013-08-20
Expiration Date:2017-08-20
Updated Date:2016-08-21

The domain expires on 2017-08-20 - just a couple days prior to Gamescon. Doesn't it seem strange?

- - - Updated - - -

Domains wowveilofshadows.com and veilofshadowswow.com are still available.

[Fahrad Wagner]

According to WHOIS
DOMAIN INFORMATION
Domain:veilofshadows.com
Registrar:GoDaddy.com, LLC
Registration Date:2013-08-20
Expiration Date:2017-08-20
Updated Date:2016-08-21

The domain expires on 2017-08-20 - just a couple days prior to Gamescon. Doesn't it seem strange?

Hmmm, intriguing indeed. I really have a prior-to-WoD feeling about this VoS leak!

[Hitei]

According to WHOIS
DOMAIN INFORMATION
Domain:veilofshadows.com
Registrar:GoDaddy.com, LLC
Registration Date:2013-08-20
Expiration Date:2017-08-20
Updated Date:2016-08-21

The domain expires on 2017-08-20 - just a couple days prior to Gamescon. Doesn't it seem strange?

Ugh. I really hope it isn't. Cata was nice but I'd rather deal with 1-60 zones a THIRD time, and three 110-120 zones is insane, unless the idea is that in order to prevent content drought, they release 3 zones at launch and then multiple max level zones in a patch a couple months later, and then more, etc.

[Tartys]

I think if they're going to add more customisation for existing race

They must do it. WoW got a ridiculous customization level even for a such old game.

[Soulwind]

I can honestly say that I've felt this sizing thing was an issue unique to Legion. Previous zones have never felt as cluttered to me.

It may be more noticeable because of world quests, as they make you keep visiting the same areas, but it's always been like this.

- Blackrock Mountain is at catapult-distance from Stormwind, and the Dark Portal isn't too much further, two whole wars were fought between those three.
- The Black Temple, Tempest Keep, Shattrath and the Dark Portal would all be visible from Hellfire Citadel if not for the ingame view distance.
- ICC is pretty much next to Wyrmrest, yet the Aspects have done nothing about it, and, after a decade, necromancers were just starting to raise dragons in Dragonblight.
- You can swim to Vashj'ir from Stormwind.
- Countless mantids have tried to break the Serpent's Spine for thousands of years. There's a couple dozen Shado-Pan archers on it. Also the secret Vale of Eternal Blossoms that has been closed for just as long is accesible by climbing some stairs and jumping on a rock.
- Blackrock Foundry is the terminal of this complex network of trains, none of which go beyond Gorgrond. Not that there are more than a few meters of track on Gorgrond either.

[Hitei]

The zone revamp is actually what I find to be most exciting about that entire leak. The rest is kind of lackluster imo.

Why though? Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Vanilla and I enjoyed seeing everything move forward for Cata. But what are they going to do that Cata didn't? Keep in mind that this is also a similar threat--The void/old Gods, so you're going to see similar cultists and stuff.

Most of the zones don't have that many things going on that they'd change a ton, e.g. It's not like Duskwood is going to undergo some massive alteration, it's pretty stable, as are westfall and Red Ridge with the end of Cata questing. Ditto Un'goro, 1k needles, Teldrassil, either barrens, dustwallow, etc. Most zones were basically settled.

The zones that would get a ton of forward movement are zones that already saw a lot in Cata, like the two plaguelands. Do people really want to quest through WPL again only it's even more green now and there's no fight in Andorhal because the Frosaken have taken it?

The only zone sI can really imagine would super benefit from another revamp are Gilneas (and I guess by extension Kezan) because they were left in such a cliffhanger state--and the Belf/Draenei starting zones because they're very out of date now. You could maybe argue something like Silithus, Felwood, Winterspring, etc. But I think massively changing those zones would ruin some of the charm they have as remote locations set apart from most modern conflict.

[Tartys]

and we're having a full revamp of Azeroth, I swear to god I'm gonna scream like a little girl.

Yesss a revamped Azeroth... ready to be destroyed again with the "Rise of the Black Empire"... I'm in!

[Drekmar]

It may be more noticeable because of world quests, as they make you keep visiting the same areas, but it's always been like this.

In-game distances are really off, lore-wise it takes days to get from Dala crater to Capital City in Lordaeron.

[Deleted]

I don't see the problem for sub-races "there is no model bla bla" probably people don't have enough toys in game to see that we have a lot of "subrace" model working (emote/animation)

I see a huge problem otherwise on the veilshadow.com , they can't go 1 step ahead and 2 back..

[Fahrad Wagner]

Yesss a revamped Azeroth... ready to be destroyed again with the "Rise of the Black Empire"... I'm in!

Yaaaaasss! Give it to me!

I don't see the problem for sub-races "there is no model bla bla" probably people don't have enough toys in game to see that we have a lot of "subrace" model working (emote/animation)

I see a huge problem otherwise on the veilshadow.com , they can't go 1 step ahead and 2 back..

There is a difference between a model working and having just a few emotes, and a model that is up to the level of actual races in terms of customisation. Blizzard is never gonna release subraces using models that are not as detailed as the revamped races from WoD. And again, because a NPC model works doesn't mean it doesn't need to be reworked if it were to be made a character PC model.

[Fahrad Wagner]

It seems like at the very least the Vrykul have the full range of animations and facial structure necessary to be a player model.

- - - Updated - - -

Aside from the obvious like Mag'har and Highmountain Tauren.

Yep, that's basically it, with all orcs-alike and dwarves clans.

[Hitei]

So this is like 10-15% serious:

The map on the KT armor set has really weird "rivers". Specifically, these two cross shaped bodies of water that are right next to each other. It also has a bunch of small lakes with odd placement (really close to the coast) and several distinct areas that are the same color as the aforementioned rivers and lakes (I suppose these could also be mountains, but they're kinda weirdly placed for that, mostly coastal and isolated peaks, and not a range in the center like you'd expect). So out of curiosity if anything could be gleaned by outlining all of it to make it more distinct I did so for the clearer of the lightened areas.



Also note that the southern, more separate landmass with the X is much lighter in color along most of the landmass--like the rivers in the rest of the map, which is also strange.

So after outlining it, I realized that (and here, I'll again point out this is not some super serious claim) the map can be read as underground, resolving a lot of the weirdness of these bodies of water and splotches and explaining why the southern island is such a light color in comparison.



And then it occurred to me that it's pretty silly for anyone from Kul Tiras to attach a map of Kul Tiras to their armor. Are they getting lost on the island they were born and have always lived on, and thus need a reminder handy? Do they want other people they meet to know exactly what the place they come from looks like on a map? It seems pretty silly to wear a map as a badge, even in our modern society where maps are so readily available and people know geography much more than the average person in fantasy times did... it would be strange to wear a map of your home country as identification of who you're with. Wouldn't it pretty much have to be a map of some more unfamiliar region that they have sewn into their armor to keep a hold of that information, either literally or metaphorically?

The second map appears to be a much smaller island with a spot located in the nearby water that is accessed or has access to someplace off the map, and there are similar markings that connect the southern island to the main landmass--which is odd because you shouldn't need to start someplace else to find the treasure there, just get an indication of the path once there. So you could actually read this like the boat markers we get on ships and zeps currently (i.e. there is a spot on the southern island, and a spot on the second map's island [KT?] that travel you to the main landmass.

Again, mostly nonsense, but just some interesting things.

[Drekmar]

Yesss a revamped Azeroth... ready to be destroyed again with the "Rise of the Black Empire"... I'm in!

If they revamp Azeroth again I want them to add Silvermoon and Exodar in finally.

[CheezeWasabi]

So this is like 10-15% serious:

The map on the KT armor set has really weird "rivers". Specifically, these two cross shaped bodies of water that are right next to each other. It also has a bunch of small lakes with odd placement (really close to the coast) and several distinct areas that are the same color as the aforementioned rivers and lakes (I suppose these could also be mountains, but they're kinda weirdly placed for that, mostly coastal and isolated peaks, and not a range in the center like you'd expect). So out of curiosity if anything could be gleaned by outlining all of it to make it more distinct I did so for the clearer of the lightened areas.



Also note that the southern, more separate landmass with the X is much lighter in color along most of the landmass--like the rivers in the rest of the map, which is also strange.

So after outlining it, I realized that (and here, I'll again point out this is not some super serious claim) the map can be read as underground, resolving a lot of the weirdness of these bodies of water and splotches and explaining why the southern island is such a light color in comparison.



And then it occurred to me that it's pretty silly for anyone from Kul Tiras to attach a map of Kul Tiras to their armor. Are they getting lost on the island they were born and have always lived on, and thus need a reminder handy? Do they want other people they meet to know exactly what the place they come from looks like on a map? It seems pretty silly to wear a map as a badge, even in our modern society where maps are so readily available and people know geography much more than the average person in fantasy times did... it would be strange to wear a map of your home country as identification of who you're with. Wouldn't it pretty much have to be a map of some more unfamiliar region that they have sewn into their armor to keep a hold of that information, either literally or metaphorically?

The second map appears to be a much smaller island with a spot located in the nearby water that is accessed or has access to someplace off the map, and there are similar markings that connect the southern island to the main landmass--which is odd because you shouldn't need to start someplace else to find the treasure there, just get an indication of the path once there. So you could actually read this like the boat markers we get on ships and zeps currently (i.e. there is a spot on the southern island, and a spot on the second map's island [KT?] that travel you to the main landmass.

Again, mostly nonsense, but just some interesting things.

Or it could be like this......

[Drekmar]

I believe they've acknowledged that Silvermoon and Exodar not being updated due to being on a BC mapset turned out being "silly".

Whether or not that means they'd fix it a second time around remains to be seen.

Exodar got atleast some exposure in Legion, but damn, Silvermoon is a god forgotten city.

[CosmicGuitars]

The only "leak" that's genuinely piqued my interest so far is the 2013 registration of the website domain veilofshadows.com, under the typical hosting service for Blizzard, GoDaddy.



What's strange to me is that this was not only filed in 2013 -- but as I noticed when looking at past registrations, so were all of the expansion hype pages. mistsofpandaria.com, warlordsofdraenor.com, and wowlegion.com were all registered in 2013, too. Weird, huh?



And as I've laid out above... the registration is set to expire on August 20th, two or three days before GamesCom. So, I guess we'll find out soon?

If you don't believe me, toss all of these domains through https://www.register.com/whois.rcmx and you can check them personally. It's very curious.