CryoFall Dev.Blog #8 - The World

Let's continue with our preview of the CryoFall! This time we'll to talk about the world map. And as it so happens it's exactly what we are currently working on in preparation for our public alpha launch.

First, let's take a look at this concept image:

I think it looks quite interesting in terms of possible gameplay variations, especially with all the different biomes and climate. You can establish your settlement somewhere south and not worry about the food and other simple resources, or you can go north and find more valuable minerals, but procuring food may be a challenge.

This design is one of possible options we are considering for the game world. We are still undecided and will most likely adjust our requirements based on the first tests and user feedback, but it's good to have a few concrete options against which to judge any changes.

Anyway, let's get into more details about the game world.

Handcrafted map
The game world is partially handcrafted. Meaning that the world was randomly generated first and then sculpted by hands to make sure it is more interesting to play and properly balanced. This provides a much higher quality experience for the players (compared to "procedurally generated junk world" which we see all too often in other open world games) as well as ensuring that the world is sufficiently large. The main point here - we want high quality hand crafted map to spark interest in exploration, control of territory, trade and many other interesting activities simply impossible in randomly generated worlds.

Climate, biomes, flora, fauna
As in example picture above there are many different regions to the world, each with different climate zones. Each of the climate zones has different characteristics such as flora, fauna and landscape, as well as temperature, humidity and other characteristics that play a role in certain world simulations. As a consequence - each of these define gameplay in that region.

Player settlements
Players can travel the world and create their permanent base in some location that they find most suitable to them. Some zones may be a bit too difficult for new players, like for example the northern regions because of harsh weather and wild animals. But as the players progress in the game they can conquer even more land.

POI
As we mentioned quite a few times on the forums - it is not a prehistoric/medieval/modern times survival, the game is set in a sci-fi future which significantly changes all available content of the game. Same applies to POI (points of interest) which you can find in the world. Expect to see abandoned laboratories, military installations, city ruins and other locations. All carefully handcrafted by a designer.

And there you have it. That's the world of CryoFall in a nutshell. We hope you found this interesting. And as always, if you haven't already - leave a comment below, visit our forums and join the discussion below!

Originally posted in our blog: http://atomictorch.com/Post/Id1161/CryoFall-DevBlog-8-The-World