Blizzcon Dev Interview, Next Connected Realms, Blue Posts, Blue Tweets, DLC #416

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Blizzcon Dev Interview
PlayersCut had the chance to speak with Chris Metzen at Blizzcon.

The Emerald Dream and Warcraft 4
  • The Emerald Dream is a nice idea and the team has talked about making it into an expansion many times. Building an entire expansion worth of zones around a green lush forest theme would get very boring, so the Emerald Dream would be better used as raid, dungeon, or a subzone, not an entire expansion.
  • For the foreseeable future, the content in World of Warcraft is where the team's primary focus will be. Warcraft 4 isn't planned right now, as Starcraft 2 is where the RTS focus is.

Warcraft Movie
  • The Warcraft movie is still doing casting.
  • The Orc's corruption by the Burning Legion is a root theme of the movie story.

World of Warcraft Heroes and Villains
  • The first few WoW expansions burned through the Warcraft villains pretty fast, which is why the team introduced characters like Garrosh. There are a number of characters they have started to insert into the storyline with the hopes that they will be made into compelling characters or great villains in the future.
  • Wrathion and Anduin are characters to watch going forward. Anduin gets slightly older with every model update and Metzen would like to see him become king one day.
  • Yrel is a new character in Warlords of Draenor, starting as a naive priestess in old Draenor. When the conflict kicks into gear she will need to become a hero over the course of the story, a new major Alliance heroine, and take a leadership role among the Alliance.


Next Connected Realms 11/25
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
​We will be connecting the realms listed below on Monday, November 25 during a scheduled maintenance beginning at 6 a.m. PST through approximately 11:00 a.m. PST. Once maintenance is finished, these realm connections will be complete.

  • Azshara and Azgalor
  • Arygos and Llane
  • Cairne and Perenolde
  • Nathrezim and Anub'arak/Chromaggus/Garithos/Smolderthorn
  • Winterhoof and Kilrogg
  • Zangarmarsh and Hellscream

We will be connecting the realms listed below on Monday, December 2 during a scheduled maintenance beginning at 6 a.m. PST through approximately 11:00 a.m. PST. Once maintenance is finished, these realm connections will be complete.

  • Coilfang and Dark Iron
  • Fenris and Dragonblight
  • Icecrown and Malygos
  • Spirestone and Drak'Tharon/Firetree/Malorne/Rivendare
  • Ysondre and Magtheridon

​Future Connections
We do not have a date for the following realm connections, but will update this blog post when we do.

Next Batch
  • Andorhal and Ursin
  • Crushridge and Anub'arak/Chromaggus/Garithos/Nathrezim/Smolderthorn
  • Darrowmere and Windrunner
  • Quel'dorei and Sen'jin
  • Velen and Eonar

​Plans for these connections may change at any time, but we’ll provide additional updates on specific dates for future connections here as we can. Please note that as a part of the connection process realm times may change to match each other.

Next Connected Realms 11/25
Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
The connections below should be completed shortly:

  • Uldum and Shen’dralar/Zul’jin
  • Boulderfist and Chromaggus/Shattered Halls
  • Rajaxx and Anetheron
  • Agamaggan and Emeriss/Hakkar/Crushridge
  • Terrodar and Dethecus/Mug’thol/Theradras
  • Alexstrasza and Nethersturm

As part of our ongoing Connected Realms implementation, we will be connecting additional realms as listed below. We don’t have a specific date yet on when these connections will occur, but we’ll provide another update once we do.

  • Executus and Burning Steppes/Kor’gall
  • The Venture Co and Sporeggar/Scarshield Legion
  • Arathi and Temple Noir/Naxxramas
  • Daggerspine and Boulderfist/Chromaggus/Shattered Halls
  • Area 52 and Un’Goro
  • Thunderhorn and Wildhammer

Blue Posts
Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
Raid Finder
I am probably in the minority but just wanted to say anyway.
I really don't think you are. We can see by the numbers that it's a popular feature. As is the way with most things, if you're fine with something you're unlikely to make a thread about it—so thank you for going to the trouble.

Having said that, people do have valid issues with game features from time to time, and we make sure to pass on that feedback to the developers so they can decide whether to make any adjustments, and hopefully improve the game experience for everyone. We've made a number of tweaks to LFR since it was introduced based on your feedback, so also a big thanks to those who have highlighted other aspects.

Basically, we really appreciate good or bad feedback about LFR or any other game features, as long as it's constructive! (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Blue Tweets
Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
Warlords of Draenor Flying
small no-fly zones are ok, the whole continent is way to punishing. Especially without lore reason.
I don't feel the need to justify good gameplay with lore. Why can Four Winds virmen defeat Onyxia? Good gameplay. (Source)
Believable lore and setting, must be internally consistent, is very important to a RPG.
We agree, but gameplay is more important, at least at Blizzard. Other studios design with different values. (Source)

So basically not having flying has nothing to do with immersion or exploration or interaction it's just timesink
That's almost exactly the opposite of what we said, but I know you like to argue. (Source)
it is when we are forced us to fight mobs not needed wasting my now-slim play-time ...please reconsider
But that sounds like you're arguing for a dungeon with 3 bosses in the first room.... (Source)
nope cus dungeons have a path and story ...trash has to do with dungeon and since Cata they hint next boss mechanics
Yet players still complain constantly about trash because it delays them from getting to the good stuff. (Source)

I don't want leveling to be easier/quicker. I want repeated content to have less travel/downtime.
We don't think flying makes questing quicker. We think it makes it trivial. There is a difference. (Source)

You guys always talk about player "choice" yet you enforce this issue of no flying. Double standards :|
Actually, we champion interesting decisions. Deciding whether to fly or not is not interesting, b/c flying is always better. (Source)
You will take away whole playstyles. "Fly around and herb + chatting in guild" is not who I want to gamequit.
Those will still exist. Just not at day one on the new continent. (Source)

"This thing I openly admit is not fun or compelling is valuable" is, you understand, a hard sell?
Game design, like much of art, isn't about having an intense experience 100% of the time. (Source)
You need a background upon which the epic stuff can stand against. Travel, easy fights, repairs are all part of the experience. (Source)
In the near term you might not miss them if they were gone, but in the long term, the game might feel like it had less depth. (Source)

Lorewise, what's the reason we can't fly then suddenly, we can... then we can't again?
There isn't a good one. It's not a lore-based decision. (Source)

if thats true then why do you nerf quest xp, RAF, heirlooms etc to make the grind faster?
Because otherwise hitting max level would only take more and more time the longer the game had been out. (Source)
It does NOT mean that we think leveling in a new continent is lame and shouldn't be part of the game. (Source)

why can't you just give mobs a close range dismount ability? So we can still fly high, but not low to skip mobs?
Ultimately, you are still deciding when you want to face danger in the outdoor world. That's not quite the same thing. (Source)

Also, If WoW's an escape from the drudgery of the real world, how are boring commutes until 6.1 making the game more fun?
Is clearing trash a ton of fun? Some things are in the game to provide pacing and cadence. You can't be at 11 all the time. (Source)

That could easily be fixed by adding some "anti-air units" around some quest areas, where it could work anyways.
That either means quest flying is possible but super risky or it's realistically not possible. Either way not much of a difference (Source)

What was wrong with the Wrath model of grounded leveling for main, BoA tome for alts?
If leveling is supposed to be trivial for alts, why not just make them all jump to max level? (Source)

A question: Will the PvP-Zone be a "No-Fly-Zone" even after 6.1 when we get our flying-ability back?
Almost certainly. (Source)

Misc
Are we getting cinematic WOD trailer?
Of course. No ETA. (Source)

Any news on the *clean-up of karazan* stuff being related to pre-expac event ?
Like much of what is data-mined, I would wait for an official announcement before freaking out (pro or con). (Source)

Dark Legacy Comics #416
DLC #416 has been released!

This article was originally published in forum thread: Blizzcon Dev Interview, Next Connected Realms, Blue Posts, Blue Tweets, DLC #416 started by chaud View original post
Published on 2013-11-21 07:56 AM
139 Comments
Comments 139 Comments
  1. moveth's Avatar
    I agree with the Emerald Dream. I've been saying it for years that that 12 Green Forest zones for an ED xpac would be terrible.
  1. Mawnix's Avatar
    That explanation makes sense with the whole big bad guys thing then.

    People need to get over the fact we won't be facing character like Kael'thas or Deathwing every expansion.
  1. lanceb's Avatar
    peps still nerdraging about not beeing able to fly at max lvl untill patch 6.1? spoiled brats is what you are tbh.
  1. Scottyjscizzle's Avatar
    So they can make a "Story" reason to be back on Draenor, but can't make one for different types of zones in the Emerald Dream...How about the nightmare makes the zones change or the loss of the dragon flights link has let the legion enter it.
  1. Immitis's Avatar
    99% sure yrel ends up coming with us, no way they are gonna build up that character the entire expansion just to leave her in a timeline we never visit again.

    would be cool to see her end up stranded here at the end of the expansion, kind of like a reverse us, would be interesting to have her not come to our timeline willingly, would make good character development for her
  1. Xilurm's Avatar
    Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
    Those will still exist. Just not at day one on the new continent.
    So they know that some players won't join at the start because of "no-flying".

    This just proves further that they won't give in to whiners.
  1. Darksora110's Avatar
    Thank you Blizzard for establishing the Emerald Dream and Warcraft 4. I waited patiently for an answer and I agree with everything that implies of what is to come.
  1. Kazlofski's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Xilurm View Post
    Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
    Those will still exist. Just not at day one on the new continent.
    So they know that some players won't join at the start because of "no-flying".

    This just proves further that they won't give in to whiners.
    So happy that they stand on their own tbh and don't give in.

    Giving in always resulted in worse possibilities than what they could have been.
    I see the bigger picture that they are trying to do and I fully support it, sounds way more interesting.
  1. Xilurm's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Satanous View Post
    So they can make a "Story" reason to be back on Draenor, but can't make one for different types of zones in the Emerald Dream...How about the nightmare makes the zones change or the loss of the dragon flights link has let the legion enter it.
    At Blizzcon 2011 they were wondering if people did actually like other worlds away from Azeroth. They said they weren't fans of it either. All the while WoD was already planned.

    They never give any hints at all for their next expansions. They may already have an ED expansion but they won't say and even try to mislead us.
  1. Pacster's Avatar
    The Dark Legacy comic...lol...just...lol.


    I don't get the Emerald Dream thing. I mean...hey...it's up to Blizz what they make out of that forest. Doesn't have to look all the same, does it? And I didn't find the pandaria landscape changing all THAT much from area to area...and I don't need a rock-area in every expansion cause that is usually the area I visually hate the most(and by chance always has teh suckiest quests).
  1. mmoc52fe769775's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Satanous View Post
    So they can make a "Story" reason to be back on Draenor, but can't make one for different types of zones in the Emerald Dream...How about the nightmare makes the zones change or the loss of the dragon flights link has let the legion enter it.
    Sounds like you wouldn't care ''what'' the Emerald Dream was, as long as somewhere on the Box Art it said '"Emerald Dream''.

    Pretty sure they aren't going to compromise the entire concept just for a namesake, when they can make something entirely new instead without remaking (breaking)a popular idea.
  1. cptaylor38's Avatar
    Do any of these developers have a non-childlike, professional, mindset? Every time I read their responses I just picture some ghetto black girl at a McDonald's drive through snapping her fingers and tossing her weave around while cussing out the paying customer for asking for an extra packet of ketchup. Only, they don't even put THAT much effort into it. It's just a one or two line, "f you, you're wrong and stupid" in a few more words. So condescending!
  1. Darksora110's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by moveth View Post
    I agree with the Emerald Dream. I've been saying it for years that that 12 Green Forest zones for an ED xpac would be terrible.
    You and me both. Blizzard can make it a raid or a subzone. Dungeon would be too small. Give it as much as possible but not too much. Get it just right.
  1. Kaleredar's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by lanceb View Post
    peps still nerdraging about not beeing able to fly at max lvl untill patch 6.1? spoiled brats is what you are tbh.
    Don't be fooled; spoiled brats whining about "flying ruining the game" is the entire reason their trying this little timesink experiment in the first place.


    So you just need to fight whining with whining.



    Icecrown Glacier and Storm Peaks REQUIRED flying to get around in, and they're both regarded as exceptional zones.

    You could NEVER achieve what those two zones achieved by having players travel around on foot. The grand vistas of Ulduar, the carpet of zombies that seethed through Icecrown, the towering mountains... all of those things were possible because FLYING was taken into account while making them. Kun'lai would have benefited greatly by designing its northern reaches with flying in mind; having the entire area traversable by foot makes it feel decidedly smaller and less epic in scale because they had to MAKE it that way.


    And if blizzard is designing zones that "don't ever require flying," then you really aren't going to see zones like Storm Peaks or Icecrown anymore.
  1. Darksora110's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Destil View Post
    That explanation makes sense with the whole big bad guys thing then.

    People need to get over the fact we won't be facing character like Kael'thas or Deathwing every expansion.
    100% correct. The Lich King (Arthas Menethil) was a big impact and we had our moments when we took him down. We kill and move on, got a lot more to see such as Kil'jaeden, Azshara, Sargeras, and the Dreadlords.
  1. cptaylor38's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Kaleredar View Post
    Don't be fooled; spoiled brats whining about "flying ruining the game" is the entire reason their trying this little timesink experiment in the first place.


    So you just need to fight whining with whining.



    Icecrown Glacier and Storm Peaks REQUIRED flying to get around in, and they're both regarded as exceptional zones.

    You could NEVER achieve what those two zones achieved by having players travel around on foot. The grand vistas of Ulduar, the carpet of zombies that seethed through Icecrown, the towering mountains... all of those things were possible because FLYING was taken into account while making them. Kun'lai would have benefited greatly by designing its northern reaches with flying in mind; having the entire area traversable by foot makes it feel decidedly smaller and less epic in scale because they had to MAKE it that way.


    And if blizzard is designing zones that "don't ever require flying," then you really aren't going to see zones like Storm Peaks or Icecrown anymore.
    Don't bother. People like this are the ones that will be the first ones whining when they hit 100 and can't fly around to seek out low levels to gank. They won't want to fly to actually enjoy the scenery and get a whole new feel for the world. They'll just want to fly to make other people miserable because they live to be argumentative little keyboard bullies.

    (This is about the person you're quoting, not you.)
  1. Mandibleclaw's Avatar
    I completely agree with no flying till 6.1 . When xpacs come out I take 5-6 days to level up to maximum level, doing all the quests available in a zone to enjoy and appreciate the leveling experience and zones that blizz took time into creating. I would really hate blazing through that because, i rly know, if flying was available since day 1, even though I like the slow leveling up, I will use flying. Kudos for blizz for coming up with this hard decision - given all nerd rage going on - and still not succumbing to playas
  1. Sarevokcz's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Kazlofski View Post
    So happy that they stand on their own tbh and don't give in.

    Giving in always resulted in worse possibilities than what they could have been.
    I see the bigger picture that they are trying to do and I fully support it, sounds way more interesting.
    are you serious right now? the latest examples are Daily grinds and MoP Reputations, where they didnt give in at first, because they thought it was the best thing since sliced bread... and then their resolve crumbled by 5.2, because people couldnt give two hoots about massive timesinks and forced grinds. The big picture here is, they want us to spend more time playing the game for the same or less rewards than before and people arent gonna take it lightly, just like the MoP fiasco, the end.
  1. Kaleredar's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Mandibleclaw View Post
    I completely agree with no flying till 6.1 . When xpacs come out I take 5-6 days to level up to maximum level, doing all the quests available in a zone to enjoy and appreciate the leveling experience and zones that blizz took time into creating. I would really hate blazing through that because, i rly know, if flying was available since day 1, even though I like the slow leveling up, I will use flying. Kudos for blizz for coming up with this hard decision - given all nerd rage going on - and still not succumbing to playas
    Appreciate it on your own time. That you force yourself to do something you hate isn't just cause to inflict a completely different play style onto people who might not care or have time for such things because you "want them to go just as slow as you want to go yourself"
  1. Sarevokcz's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Mandibleclaw View Post
    I completely agree with no flying till 6.1 . When xpacs come out I take 5-6 days to level up to maximum level, doing all the quests available in a zone to enjoy and appreciate the leveling experience and zones that blizz took time into creating. I would really hate blazing through that because, i rly know, if flying was available since day 1, even though I like the slow leveling up, I will use flying. Kudos for blizz for coming up with this hard decision - given all nerd rage going on - and still not succumbing to playas
    did you read their answers? they didnt actually give a good reason beyond "quiesting is trivial," which is mostly nonissue, if there are no heirlooom books and flying is restricted to max level. they just used slippery slopes with 3 bosses in one room and no trash ever BS answers. They arent creative enough to make people want to stay on the ground, so they just prohibit flying.
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