Zangarmarsh has rain as well, but I can't think of any other zone in Outland that has weather effects that come and go. Sure, some zones have Infernal rains and such inside and outside of them, but that isn't really the same. It's a constant, it's static. When you go to that zone, it will be there 100% of the time. Azeroth's weather wasn't like that. After it was added, of course. It might be raining in Stranglethorn, it might be sunshine from horizon to horizon. When it was raining, the zone had an entirely different feel. You were doing the same things, but it just felt different.
I brought this up with some friends of mine a few times before, and we tried to think it through with logic at first. You know, the atmosphere is different, so maybe other zones in Outland can't rain. It's an alien world, so who knows? Even if you play the 'alien world = no rain' card, I think there are some awesome weather-related things you can do. Read on for my thoughts on the matter!
Here's some examples of what I think could have been done in Outland.
- Shadowmoon Valley: Obviously it isn't going to rain in this zone. There is a massive volcano in the center of the zone, though. Why doesn't it erupt now and then, or at least become a little more active? Rain fire and brimstone on the zone, dust it with some ash. Maybe toss in some occasional screen shake.
- Netherstorm: Again, not a typical zone. You're not going to see rain and snow here. It's full of unstable mana, though, and it's floating in chunks in the Twisting Nether. What about an 'Arcane Tempest'? Psychedelic streams of neon color flowing through the zone, visible vortexes floating around. Netherstorm is very purple, so wispy trails of other trippy colors would definitely give this zone a feel of 'what the heck is going on here?' The zone has some neat stuff already, but could use more visuals to accompany it.
- Terokkar Forest: Rain would be really good here, maybe accompanied by strong winds. Lots of loose leaves blowing by. Perhaps the calls of frightened birds(and arakkoa) carried on the wind? Could be rather spooky, considering that zone is already a bit dark in the forested regions.
- Anywhere super creepy: Raining blood. You know you dig it.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
4-05-2008 @ 10:37AM
Erika said...
I want to see a foggy Nagrand.
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4-05-2008 @ 10:46AM
Aler said...
"It rains very frequently in Quel'Danas..."
I've never seen it not rain in Quel'Danas, but my hope has been that the weather will improve as the realm progresses. Anyone know if this is true?
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4-05-2008 @ 10:51AM
Alex Ziebart said...
It seems that way. My server is knee-deep in phase 3 and I haven't seen it rain my last few visits. I really hope it doesn't go away entirely though.
4-05-2008 @ 10:55AM
Harmun said...
I've seen it rain in auberdine...
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4-05-2008 @ 10:56AM
Alittan said...
Those ideas of weather in outland are great! But they prolly won't be introduced since Wotlk is coming out soon.. but hey, snow and rain etc. in Nothrend should be awesome too.
I hope the rain stops at the last phase in QD, I'd like to see it have a whole Eversong Forest look to it. Love that place. Ah well!
PS: Isn't it foggy sometimes in Zangarmarsh? Or is that just my videocard messing up :P
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4-05-2008 @ 10:57AM
Tim said...
Why did they never implement snow? I know that they promised it but was it too graphically taxing or something? If Northrend is supposed to have some ice areas, they better hurry up and get snow ready (not that I'm missing snow, living in Canada as I do).
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4-05-2008 @ 11:25AM
Jp said...
Obviously, you don't spend much time in Winterspring or Dun Morogh. I can't vouch for Alterac, but, I've seen it snow plenty in those two zones.
4-05-2008 @ 11:09AM
Elmo said...
It's been raining on Quel'danas since patch 2.4 hit live for my server.
and they still dare call it SUNwell >_
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4-05-2008 @ 1:53PM
madphilb said...
Well, I live in the "Sunshine" state and have seen it rain for weeks on end. Course it's just as likely to rain on one side of the road and not on the other too.
4-05-2008 @ 11:29AM
Verses said...
I don't really think that having weather in outland is a good idea.
1. Well... it's kinda broken up, you shouldn't even have an atmosphere to breathe there!
2. Extra CPU usage, the weather effects add a little more memory usage and not every WoW player has that kind of computer, blizzard tries to have a universal approach for every player with any kind of computer (i know 800 mHz is low but still...)
3. By the time we'll have weather in Outland WoTLK will be out and every human ressource will be shifted to it. TBC, being the child in the middle, will be left forgotten except for the casual leveling players and farmers.
This is just my opinion.
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4-05-2008 @ 11:45AM
Willowspear said...
I think the absence of weather effects in Outland might be a technical issue. All the weather effects in Azeroth require a sky that can be gradually changed from sunshine to complete cloud cover.
The sky effects in Outland are done in a different way. In Azeroth, if you looked at the sky, it was constantly changing i.e. Clouds would gather and disperse etc. In Outland, the sky is a collection of painted layers that move against each other, which means that gathering clouds can not be done as easily.
4-07-2008 @ 7:57AM
Simon said...
1: Real world physics != WoW
2: So turn it off then
3: I like cosmetics while I level thanks.
4-08-2008 @ 2:16PM
vanye111 said...
Verses,
A friend of mine is playing on pentiunm 266 (!). Poorly in cities (so she avoids them whenver she can) but it does play.
4-05-2008 @ 12:04PM
Aristide said...
It would be nice to see some more weather in Outland, and a shame if there is a reason they aren't able to set it up there.
Reply
4-05-2008 @ 12:11PM
Mir said...
@10
TBH Azeroth's skies could do with a remake, those realtime clouds are kinda ugly. The starry nights are very nice though. I hope we will see new skyboxes everywhere on Azeroth in WotLK.
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4-05-2008 @ 12:14PM
Ancalimon said...
i totally agree that some weather changes in outlands would be nice, but what ive just realized is i don't think i've ever seen it snowing in azeroth (winterspring or dun morogh). does it not snow or am i just oblivious??
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4-05-2008 @ 1:00PM
Mir said...
It does indeed, but not very often. There are two kinds of snow I think, a light snowfall with cute visible flakes, and a blizzard which is similar to the sandstorms in tanaris.
4-05-2008 @ 1:04PM
dancinglion said...
I used to play FFXI, and while the actual gameplay was lacking, the weather was amazing. Areas that were soggy would get anything from a light drizzle to a full blown rainstorm, snowy areas could range from a flurry to a blizzard that you couldn't see through, and some areas even had an eclipse happen now and again, making the area seem nighttime for a while. Other areas, such as plateau's and plains would get windy, with leaves tumbling across the ground. It really added to the immersion of the game.
4-05-2008 @ 1:16PM
Vegnagun bwf said...
I support the netherstorm idea.
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4-05-2008 @ 2:07PM
mattarin said...
how could nagarand be so green without rain?
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