9.X Patches & 10.0 Speculation Thread

[WheresT]

That's wholly possible, but it is a cinematic asset—I honestly maintain that it was probably just a single scene for the cinematic, and I wouldn't take it as absolute proof of anything regarding a Hyjal revamp. However, I would definitely hope it indicates a world revamp—as in the spirit of the Sylvanas cinematic background, which look very much like a world revamp would to me.

The houses in the Sylvanas cinematic are the old house models, which was honestly confusing to me as Nathanos cinematic has a new model entirely for his house. But that one isn’t in the files, while the recolor human ones were in the files before the cinematic.

Either it was done before those models were created or they were left out deliberately so the mass audience wouldn’t notice the new models.

[Le Conceptuel]

That's what I'm thinking. It might not be a new World Tree so much as an updated Nordrassil model, to go with the updated Elwynn models, and the updated Westfall textures.

What I was thinking is that the cinematic model for Nordrassil isn't strictly hinting at anything. However, if there is a "WorldTree2", that has me thinking for sure. I'm not sure if that would be a new one, or if it's simply an updated Nordrassil.

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The houses in the Sylvanas cinematic are the old house models, which was honestly confusing to me as Nathanos cinematic has a new model entirely for his house. But that one isn’t in the files, while the recolor human ones were in the files before the cinematic.

Either it was done before those models were created or they were left out deliberately so the mass audience wouldn’t notice the new models.

So they are. I just rewatched Shattered Legacies and they are indeed the old models. I think the lighting had me fooled.

[WheresT]

What I was thinking is that the cinematic model for Nordrassil isn't strictly hinting at anything. However, if there is a "WorldTree2", that has me thinking for sure. I'm not sure if that would be a new one, or if it's simply an updated Nordrassil.

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So they are. I just rewatched Shattered Legacies and they are indeed the old models. I think the lighting had me fooled.

Now go check out the Nathanos vs Tyrande cinematic and notice how his house has a brand new HD model that I believe isn’t in the files.

[Le Conceptuel]

Now go check out the Nathanos vs Tyrande cinematic and notice how his house has a brand new HD model that I believe isn’t in the files.

I would probably use my same argument for that as I did for Nordrassil, though—it's possible it's only for the sake of the cinematic. Occam's Razor and whathaveyou—however, I wouldn't take it entirely out of the equation that it could be a sign of updates to old zones, or reuse of old assets for something new.

[Marlamin]

It's always tough to tell if an asset was made purely for a cinematic or is based on a "revamped" in-game version of the model. These kind of things have go back a while, the tower used in the cinematic with Anduin/Saurfang is custom as well and hasn't appeared in the game either and you can probably go even further back to find stuff like this.

These could show up at one point, but I don't think that's happened yet for anything of which an updated model first appeared in a cinematic.

[WheresT]

I would probably use my same argument for that as I did for Nordrassil, though—it's possible it's only for the sake of the cinematic. Occam's Razor and whathaveyou—however, I wouldn't take it entirely out of the equation that it could be a sign of updates to old zones, or reuse of old assets for something new.

The only argument I have against the “is for the cinematics” is that the updates to old stuff in cinematics is all over the place. Nordrassil looks different as do the trees and grass of Hyjal, but Orgrimmar is in your face and looks Cata-era shitty. They update Nathanos’s house but they don’t update the buildings in the Sylvanas one (despite updating them in the files, which is very suspicious. they even have updated interiors!)

There’s too much weirdness and they seem too polished for window dressing IMO.

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It's always tough to tell if an asset was made purely for a cinematic or is based on a "revamped" in-game version of the model. These kind of things have go back a while, the tower used in the cinematic with Anduin/Saurfang is custom as well and hasn't appeared in the game either and you can probably go even further back to find stuff like this.

These could show up at one point, but I don't think that's happened yet for anything of which an updated model first appeared in a cinematic.

Isn’t there an updated watchtower in the files though? I remember seeing a picture of it.

[Marlamin]

Isn’t there an updated watchtower in the files though? I remember seeing a picture of it.

Yep, that's not it though.

[WheresT]

Yep, that's not it though.

Glad it exists though.

Can you check something for me? I mentioned that the new Nelf inn has different color roofs but I want to make sure (I am going to Darkshore now to look at the color, I think there’s a green roof one in the files). I also would assume that the human houses would get different color roofs like yellow and red but i don’t think they are in either.

[Foreign Exchange Ztudent]

My money is on being able to actually play Hearthstone or connect to the game within WoW.

Honestly integrating Hearthstone more into the game has always been a nobrainer for me that and continuing the Lootcards with Hearthstone Packs. But, neither happened. But, obviously it would be cool to have such integration in-game with in-game events with tournaments happening. It would be really fun!

[Khaza-R]

I think there's multiple things that don't have a direct explanation that could be seen as a vague leak:
- Survivor class
- Galakrond's Fall map
- World Tree 2 map
- Hearthstone Tavern
- New human buildings
- 9.0 seamless teleporting experiments (between maps, not the Torghast stuff)
- Professions land map
- JasonTest Kalimdor map
- Emerald drake mount

Which of these ends up being nothing/something else/a dev experiment/an actual sign remains to be seen, but there's a lot of this stuff and likely even more we missed/discarded.

Fascinating stuff. Thanks for giving us a summary.

Where did the survivor class thing come from? Just curious.

[Lady Atia]

I've always wanted the Warcraft Team to have some sort of Live World Team that would spice up the World and add small things while keeping Azeroth feeling fresh and alive while the Main Team work on Content Patches.

But, you know that there isn't much Return of Investment in such an endeavour and as always it goes the same way as integrating the Lore into a "Lore" Tab on the Interface and putting the Books into it as purchaseables so you can read in-game or be activated with codes from your physical book purchases while also giving a outlet for the Writers to write more stuff into the game being easily accessable to everyone.

It just doesn't have the RoI in the eyes of the suits. But, yeah. I've always wanted stuff where there could just be less dead periods and Writing Team and the game itself just had even less frequent

Obviously, I am fascinated with this because if they are adding any Day/Night Cycle stuff that will be very pretty if they do that.

Why would anyone want to read a 200-400 page long book inside the game if they have it as hardcover/ebook already? It would make more sense to integrate Hearthstone into WoW than the novels tbh.

[Jokubas]

I guess any of that stuff could be file leaks, too. I say it's too vague, but to be fair I've felt that way in the past. I dismissed the Iron Horde stuff back in the day because, at least from what I saw (I think I later learned people knew more that I didn't know) it was a Horde-themed iron texture, so I didn't see any particular reason to read into the name "ironhorde".

Updating old buildings was definitely something we put in the world revamp camp before. It could still be possible. The thing we have to keep in mind is that not even Cataclysm updated everything. I think I would be fine with a world revamp expansion marketing itself on that idea that only touches a few zones as long as it touches a few key ones. Hyjal as a new night elf capital, Gilneas as an actual Worgen zone and city, Lordaeron rebuilt, etc. would allow me to forgive some severe picking and choosing.

[Le Conceptuel]

The only argument I have against the “is for the cinematics” is that the updates to old stuff in cinematics is all over the place. Nordrassil looks different as do the trees and grass of Hyjal, but Orgrimmar is in your face and looks Cata-era shitty. They update Nathanos’s house but they don’t update the buildings in the Sylvanas one (despite updating them in the files, which is very suspicious. they even have updated interiors!)

There’s too much weirdness and they seem too polished for window dressing IMO.

That's not a very bad argument at all—I can understand that reasoning, and I'm definitely still hyped and holding out hope for a revamp or at least new Azeroth stuff.

[Marlamin]

Fascinating stuff. Thanks for giving us a summary.

Where did the survivor class thing come from? Just curious.

Was found by a friend of mine in a list of classes inside the WoW executable a while back, but it's not been used anywhere publicly. There was also a in-game class selection thing for the NPE that got scrapped so we're assuming that is for the same thing.

Glad it exists though.

Can you check something for me? I mentioned that the new Nelf inn has different color roofs but I want to make sure (I am going to Darkshore now to look at the color, I think there’s a green roof one in the files). I also would assume that the human houses would get different color roofs like yellow and red but i don’t think they are in either.

I don't recall there being one with a green roof and can't seem to find it. The different colors for the human houses indeed aren't in either, with the exception of the ones reworked for the Arathi Basin BG revamp which use many of the same textures as the new elwynn models (and are likely by the same artist as the first version of the barn had the same symbol as the Arathi ones).

[WheresT]

I guess any of that stuff could be file leaks, too. I say it's too vague, but to be fair I've felt that way in the past. I dismissed the Iron Horde stuff back in the day because, at least from what I saw (I think I later learned people knew more that I didn't know) it was a Horde-themed iron texture, so I didn't see any particular reason to read into the name "ironhorde".

Updating old buildings was definitely something we put in the world revamp camp before. It could still be possible. The thing we have to keep in mind is that not even Cataclysm updated everything. I think I would be fine with a world revamp expansion marketing itself on that idea that only touches a few zones as long as it touches a few key ones. Hyjal as a new night elf capital, Gilneas as an actual Worgen zone and city, Lordaeron rebuilt, etc. would allow me to forgive some severe picking and choosing.

People were expecting a revamp for 9.0 because BFA sets it up.. it just ALSO sets upa Sylvanas expansion with death themes.

I think that we now know that Shadowlands was APPARENTLY designed to be 2 patches, they needed more time to get the “Cata 2” stuff ready for 10.0. I hate to use the word filler because I like Shadowlands, but I think they designed it to be more condensed and smaller so the rest of the team could use the next two years to polish a bigger 10.0.

[Foreign Exchange Ztudent]

Why would anyone want to read a 200-400 page long book inside the game if they have it as hardcover/ebook already? It would make more sense to integrate Hearthstone into WoW than the novels tbh.

I mean I agree it's niche, I just think the idea of being able to see all the Warcraft books you own in-game and being able to read them in-game is just a fun little addition. Obviously, it wouldn't be for everyone and the UI would be able to be movable. But, it's just pretty chill. It would be an additional Collectionist thing with in-game books and so forth. It would also mean people won't forget about a canon web story as easily while also giving the writing team chances to add more writing to the game.

I am in full agreement that Hearthstone integration would make more sense though. I don't know the Lore Tab on the Interface with Warcraft book integration and more is just a pipe dream that I know will never happen due to its niche nature.

[WheresT]

Was found by a friend of mine in a list of classes inside the WoW executable a while back, but it's not been used anywhere publicly. There was also a in-game class selection thing for the NPE that got scrapped so we're assuming that is for the same thing.


I don't recall there being one with a green roof and can't seem to find it. The different colors for the human houses indeed aren't in either, with the exception of the ones reworked for the Arathi Basin BG revamp which use many of the same textures as the new elwynn models (and are likely by the same artist as the first version of the barn had the same symbol as the Arathi ones).

Thanks for checking. I could’ve sworn that it was in, and that had me excited for a revamp because the different colors would be used in different places.

The warfront building props are gorgeous though and includes a giant night elf bridge that I don’t think is even complete in the warfront, just broken. I’m sure we’ll see this used in the future.

[Jokubas]

People were expecting a revamp for 9.0 because BFA sets it up.. it just ALSO sets upa Sylvanas expansion with death themes.

We've been expecting it for too long with too little payoff for me to put money on the world revamp still, but I think it's possible. It's also a pretty make or break moment for me. I mentioned zones I'd like to see them prioritize, but the status quo also matters a lot.

The biggest mistake Cataclysm made, in my opinion, was that it didn't seem to consider the fact that it would become the new status quo for Azeroth from then on. A lot of changes made sense from a "hey, let's be self aware about this thing everyone jokes about now" or "let's tell this story worthy of this war going on" perspective, but made a lot less sense from a "this is what new players will experience going forward" perspective (the new non-linear leveling bandages this, but obviously it's still there).

The worst part of Cataclysm's humor wasn't that Blanchy died for a CSI joke or that Uldum was a giant Indiana Jones reference, it's that the ones in the old zones especially were what new players would see instead of actual world-building. It may have sounded fun to the developers who were bored of the old questlines to spice them up, but for anyone who hadn't seen them it removed the world-building in exchange for a gag. On the actual world-building side, the fact that this happened during Garrosh's warmongering tenure means that all new players (on either faction) also would see a warmongering, sacred land-defiling Horde for the majority of their leveling. That isn't really a plot point you want immortalized in such a way.

So if we do get another world revamp, I hope we'll get a good status quo this time. I think I could forgive some of the mass forgiveness this expansion if the intent is to give us a cleaner slate for a new world status quo. For instance, revamping the world only for all the night elf quests to revolve around vengeance against Sylvanas defining the race's portrayal for the next decade would be extremely frustrating.

[Marlamin]

Thanks for checking. I could’ve sworn that it was in, and that had me excited for a revamp because the different colors would be used in different places.

It very well could still be in, just means it wasn't obviously named so I didn't find it.

[WheresT]

So if we do get another world revamp, I hope we'll get a good status quo this time. I think I could forgive some of the mass forgiveness this expansion if the intent is to give us a cleaner slate for a new world status quo. For instance, revamping the world only for all the night elf quests to revolve around vengeance against Sylvanas defining the race's portrayal for the next decade would be extremely frustrating.

Sylvanas is going to get “let off” by Tyrande (maw exile or something similar) for this very reason. i really doubt that we are getting a faction conflict again (Alliance civil war is another story) and they are going to want to give Ashenvale a new story that isn’t just Nelves and Orcs running at each other.

Are there going to be pissed Nelf traitors? Totally. But I expect zero horde v nelf wars moving forward and the whole “renewal” thing is just about setting up a new status quo that actually has to do with life magic in Ashenvale instead of le war.

I know some people want Genn and Tyrande to be the “new Sylvanas” but I don’t see it happening.