Looking for more production staff on an Halo ODST machinima going forward, there are more roles than advertised: -Background VA -3D animator -Script checker so feel free to DM, I’ll be happy to discuss any roles.
I’ve returned because of 75 pings which blasted my PC when i opened it up, so i cant wait to post one good meme, six sub par ones and three that make you question why you even followed in the first place
Hi, it's me again. If you've read my rant on PoF and HoT maps, then I've a continuation for you. If you haven't, I'd love for you to read it, but you don't have to. This probably isn't as deep (eh) as my HoT rant, but I still wanted to throw my two cents in, since I did it on PoF and HoT too.
So EoD came out :D It's time for me to poke at the maps and scream at everyone if they're to my liking or not.
Spoilers on maps and potential story elements below
Lets-a-go (this is long)
So I feel like anet went with "half this half that" approach this time, and honestly? I feel like they made it work.
Let's dig into those maps and how they tell their story, shall we?
This time we've been served Seitung Province, New Kaineng, Echovald Forest, and Dragon's End.
All very beautiful maps, I'm not going to lie, it seems anet took some "the maps feel empty" from PoF to heart and added some spice. The maps are BIG, HUGE, HUMONGOUS. Sexy. And not empty, well... mostly, but we'll get to that.
Let's start with Seitung Province.
So as EoD starts, we crashland in Seitung Province, washed up on the beach. We get a criminal record, uh oh. But that's beside the point. The map is beautifully introduced with you walking out of jail, and are met with a pretty title card and a view on the Bell Passage. A very good start in my opinion, it just makes you want to GO.
And you're allowed to! Oh man you're so allowed to. I think the only thing I'd pick at here is the constant chatter over the radio. I'm easily distractible, and people constatly chit-chatting into my ear just makes me go [windows shutting off sound]. But that's a me problem and very much a personal preference, I'd very much rather listen to it when I can fully focus on it.
And I like how the story actually flows into the meta and the general layout of the map. In the meta, you're stopping the Aetherblades from looting the villages, AND the NPCs you fight are actually from the story! What?! Amazing! It's the goons of one of the baddie, and you doing the meta is important in stopping their plans, amazing, 8/10 would go for vacation there.
It does not make the entire map out of commission if you fail it, which I think is a good plus, and you can still explore to your heart's content. But it's a fun easy meta to do so why not do it? Also it makes me feel like I'm actually doing something for the story, too.
Aight, story wants us to move on, so let's go to people's probably most anticipated map.
New Kaineng.
Now...I don't want you to be mad, but Kaineng is...okay? In the way it feels. My friends really like this map so I'm fairly sure it's just my own preference for more foresty/nature themed maps.
You arrive via a boat (after a HILARIOUS customs story bit) and are once again introduced by a vista-like shot of the Jade something thingy monument gently rotating like rottiserie chicken. Very beautiful, you get EXCITED like Woah that's a bigass thing I wanna explore the city like right now.
So after shoving a bowl of noodles down someone's throat, you GO, YEAH, BIG CITY LET'S GO!
And it's...empty? Like I get there's limitations and you don't want to explode people's PCs and you want the loading times be normal but... the city is so empty.
Like...the only merchants you find are fish merchants. I couldn't find any merchants that sell funky stuff, like spicy noodles, or charms that curse you, like that one "Triple-Luck Tonic" that gives you Rotten Luck debuff. You don't see people walking around, here and there is a person with a kid, there and there are thugs and stuff. Now you could say it's meant to be like that BECAUSE of the thugs but? I'd understand if it was at night or something, but fuck man, Canthans have police all around like... gimme some alive streets yo. The holograms are nice at least. At least it's lively around the hearts areas. I think I have the biggest problem with the merchants. I'll have to explore Kaineng more, but so far, it just doesn't feel lived in.
Ah fuck I was supposed to talk about metas, well here we go. I like the meta. It requires coordination on a base level, where you gotta keep a few players defending points you've conquered. Yao and what's-her-name meet up in the power plant, fight big bad. We get a nice reason as to why it's there, too. Failing the meta doesn't really make anything different afaik, but it's a very funny "oops" feeling. I like how they use the entire map for it. It's story tie-in is just making sure Joon's electricity plant works without a hitch, and drive back the corruption. I feel like it'd be super effective if you were spat out into a meta right after finishing a certain part of the story involving an asura with double coloured eyes and a dragon.
Thinking on it more, so far, I feel like this map meta is mostly setting up a future season's story. Yao BETTER BE more part of the story, I want themmmmmmmmmmmmm. I mean why else would they be the centre stage character of half of the meta, right?
Overall, I'm left longing by this map.
It's connection to Echovald is pretty funky though, I like how it's teased before you even go in, sort of like the maps in HoT (seriously, look around the portals to the next map, they tease it, albeit not too obviously). You see big petrified trees piercing the sky and you're like WOAH. OKAY.
So you go in. And you end up in?
Arborstone.
Damn what a beautiful piece of eyecandy bruuhhhh.
But Arborstone is just a player hub so I will skip it.
Onto Echovald we go.
It just... kinda spits you out, doesn't it. You go through portal thingy, and uh oh... Tangled Depths 2.0....
But I digress. Echovald, to me, is a lovechild of Auric Basin and Tangled Depths. You come in, you're in AWE wow this place has a feel to it, doesn't it, and then you realize "Ah shite I'm going to get so lost here aren't I?"
You are. Be prepared for it.
I am fine with Echovald in the terms of it's, uh, twistiness? I wish it was a lot more vertical, sprinkle some of that Verdant Brink into it, but oh well, this is fine.
Echovald breathes history. Either the trees are SO TALL you cannot see their tips, or they're dead and petrified, dried out, a husk of a gigantic forest left to rot by time. (I am not versed in this map's history at all, I played guild wars 1 but didn't finish it, this is simply what I observed)
And all the cathedral-like buildings left behind? Like bRO what happened here? Amazing, this map has history, as do all the other maps don't think I don't see it, but it feels specifically pointed out in this one. All the ruins and ghosts and stuff.
Okay, meta?
Meta is enjoyable, albeit I am quite saddened by the reuse of a raid boss as the final boss. I really like the inner turmoil of the Speakers and Jade Brotherhood. They are an obstacle you kinda have to deal with within the story, and you even get them to help you later on! Very neat, as it feels like Echovald's meta ties into the next map, where both the Speakers and Brotherhood are these reluctant allies, who will for sure start bickering over the forest the MOMENT the current danger subsides. Echovald is like half setting up the fact these two factions will still be fighting and it's also setting up the next map's meta.
The use of the entire map (with defending the villages and towns) makes it easy to get into and finish it. This whole map is a vibe. Bless the Kestrels.
And oh boy finally, the big baddest boy of all
Dragon's End.
Oh boy what controversy this map spawned, oh brother...
I'm not going to speak on the spaghetti RNG that happens, honestly, I couldn't care less as long as anet adjusts it to be doable without some dudebros forcing me to listen to them yelling in discord.
Onto the storytelling of the map.
Yoooohoho Jade sea YO. We are once back in the three lines territory, although much more... uh... less. It's essentially two and a half, as the mid gets done in like 5 minutes. I like the pre-meta of making the escorts easier if you prep the regions. The escorts are great, it reminds me of Dragon's Stand in a good way, it's a simple but an effective way to make an engaging meta. Pre+main event are 2 hours long, which is also very DS-y. Overall I don't mind it, as long as it pays off in the end (haha).
A big hint for everyone to enjoy this more: turn on the music, I beg you. The end fight is SO much better with the music on, blast that thing on full volume you won't regret it.
The Commander trying to help and keep [Redacted] from succumbing? Ah, beautiful, I really love the story told in this meta. And it continues after you finish it too, giving you tidbits from each successful run. It's rewarding if you're looking for story. (Also if you're looking for Laranthir, he's on the ship circling around you as you fight [Redacted])
My conclusion?
EoD is what I wish PoF did with its maps. It's not AS focused as HoT, but I feel like here it did it well enough. It did it in bits. This land wasn't hit by an elder dragon (recently) like Maguuma or Elona was, so it wouldn't make sense to see it in ruins and stuff. Instead, it spat you out there, and was like "Why are you so jumpy all is okay no?" but no, nothing is okay, and you're left to watch as everything is crumbling and falling between your fingers as you're trying to fix what you can with what you have, wondering if maybe you didn't interfere it wouldn't go to the dumpster this fast.
Each map has its own story and history tied into its meta events, in a way I feel was lacking in PoF. Seitung is the gentle introduction, where you deal with just the pirates, and yourself coming to terms that "Woah Cantha is so different". Kaineng is where you get the hints of something going wrong. Echovald is the big spike up you get right before the climax. Dragon's End is the peak of the story.
Cantha is a land that has been recovering from Zhaitan's surfing accident, thriving, only to be hit by the hurricane Commander. You come in, crash the party, and then go raid the city hall with the entire pub. You have a distinct feel you don't belong here. It's very intense in the beginning maps, and then as you progress and get accustomed to the land and the land gets accustomed to you, you thrive, bring everyone together, and actually DO something. Stuff does not happen to you, you happen to stuff.
At first, when I saw Seitung and it's small northern tidbit be the centre stage of the meta, I was afraid that it was going to be like that everywhere, but I was proven wrong. It started small in Seitung, and grew and grew, until the entire map was the meta, just as I said I loved.
EoD is the loved third child, while PoF is the liked, but often overlooked middle child people stopped having hopes for. HoT is in college and doing well.
If you wish to add anything, your observations, your criticisms, your praises, feel free.
actually, sir, explosives are my special interest. you're being ableist by taking them away from me. yes i know i just blew up a bank, don't you know what "stimming" is?
As everyone knows, yady yady ya, everyone prefers HoT, whatever
I’m one of those people and I’m about to rant about this too.
THIS IS NOT A SPOILER FREE RANT
I will be talking about story elements and stuff that happens in both DLCs.
I like Path of Fire, I really do, it gave me Elona, it gave me agent Kito whom I wholeheartedly pity cuz he has to deal with the Commander, it gave me more of Aurene (and it gave me Joko on whom I can shit on when I feel bad)
But, it didn’t give me maps I like (and I will tell you why) (please note I am no game designer, or designer in general. In fact, maps designed by me would be probably shit, but I still believe my opinion is valid, because I am a person with eyes that can see)
This is going to be a small rant when it comes to maps, now mark, english isn’t my first language so there may be nonsensical sentences, and I am no professional critic so all of this is coming from my heart, not my brain.
Its almost our second birthday (damn i feel old), to celebrate @thethedasarchives will celebrate this with five stories based in the guild wars 2 world. The first story, ‘The Duel’ is up tomorrow with the following stories coming out in the next few days.
The Duel (16/10/21)
Mrs and Mrs Tieran (17/10/21)
How time flies (18/10/21)
Tomomi and Canach (19/10/21)
Foundation (20/10/21)
andulkaphoto
dededos
jacobvanloon
prguitarman
blakekathryn
kaledo-art
