Racial sequestered areas

[Nynelyves]

I agree with Galem, as a Ranger I've ranged across quite alot of Istaria but I am still finding new places to visit. Heck I'm actually playing a low level alt now to get a feel for all the changes that have been made since the game initially released. I don't think I've made a new alt since the novo machine/server merge. It should be interesting!

9

[SinOfSuns]

*drops 2 cents in the collection jar*

Now, I may be wrong here, but if I recall, Drakul was made long, long ago, when the developer gods were many and the players were youthful and bright-eyed. I don't know how many non-dragon players have seen it, but Drakul is hands-down the most beautiful place I've seen in Istaria. I mean, I flew by one day just for kicks and I was astounded by both the detail and the beauty of the scenery there. Heck, I even made a little vow to buy that lair right up the top where only Ancient Dragons can reach and then pimp it out :P

Anyway, getting back on track here, the point of this is that the developers may have had a plan to create more racial-based areas after Drakul, but for obvious reasons things fell apart and only Drakul was ever completed. From that point of view, it makes sense for it to be the only one-race-only area in game, regardless of whether or not the other races deserve their own.

I'm not saying things shouldn't change, but naturally I doubt stuff like this will be high up on the priority list even if the devs are willing to change things. They can only do so much, after all!

So moot point aside, I'll get down to my opinion. I think there are some things that should be considered, when it comes to racial segregation. Firstly, specific race-only areas are BORING. Especially Drakul, which exists SO far away from everywhere else that almost no dragons even bother to hang out there, aside from those actually farming stuff in the area and whatnot (and they don't usually like talking or sharing). But really, what makes things fun socially (at least to me), is where different races mingle in a town or other location and can discuss things from different points of view. It certainly enhances the RP aspects of things, where you have Dragon + Gnome banter going on or Saris vs Sslik etc.

For a Role Playing (and thus social) game, segregating the player archetypes seems like a step backwards, not forwards. If anything, I would look into making more specialized racial areas, but not preventing different races from actually getting to them. I mean, it WOULD be interesting to visit a uniquely-designed Saris city, or a Gnomish citadel full of cool inventions. We have a little bit of that now, but not to the extent where each race feels like it's been fleshed-out and has a real history and lifeline behind it. The only race that really feels rich and interesting to me is that of the Dragons, who are so tied in with everything that they can pretty much lay claim to most of Istaria in one way or another.

Still, that's a shortcoming of the previous teams, either through bad management or just bad luck. The point is, having areas tailored to specific races sounds like a great idea, but making them exclusive to that race sounds particularly bad. I think it would enrich gameplay a lot to allow races to mingle with each other and explore different racial cultures, rather than having their own little forts with "No <insert species here> allowed!" banners hanging everywhere.

Taking Drakul as an example, it's a great-honking-island out in the middle of nowhere, and while it does boast some unique resource and lair opportunities, the place is mostly wasted. It's not like players actually hang out there, (why would you, it's empty!) and its distance from everywhere else makes it a hassle to visit often. Drakul could be one of the most exciting tourist spots in Istaria if it was more of a hub like New Trismus or... god, I can't remember the names, but I believe I'm thinking of Bristugo. Players would find it fun to climb the towering mountains and throw rocks off the peak into the sea below!

There's one other thing to consider too. Historically speaking, Dragons in Istaria have been reclusive for a long time. Heck, the Lunus STILL want to be reclusive, and thus one might say that Drakul being Dragon-only fits well into the RP, empty or not. The other races can't really be considered to come from the same reclusive vein as the dragons, so I don't think that suddenly barricading themselves in would make a lot of sense storyline-wise. Really, Dragons are supposed to be the xenophobes of Istaria (not including the Helians!) and so having their own area fits well with the general theme of it all.

Basically, I think that it would be a great idea to have special areas and cities for each race, but open so that other races can wander in and feel out-of-place. Again, there are some racial areas already (particularly the tiny gnome stronghold outside of Tazoon (New Rachival is it?), and Tazoon itself even... also that place with the fiends and the snow that I forget the name of), but mostly the map is littered with human-based cities and towns and essentially races like the Saris and Sslik just sort of live there too. I would say go for expanding on the homes and areas of the various races to enrich the background story behind Istaria itself. I don't think anyone would feel that adding new and exciting racial-based areas would detract from the fun in any way, provided they aren't keeping everyone else out!