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The Mysterious Chamber at the Confluence

Discussion in 'Developer Work and Blog posts' started by Scottie, Jun 9, 2016.

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  1. Scottie

    Scottie Master Artisan SOTA Developer

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    In the land of North Paladis, at the strange confluence of the wine-red Fortus River and the bluish river Sanctus, lay the dangerously lush crater of the Paladis Shardfall. Here these two rivers intertwine and then separate in a way that can only be explained by some deep magic brought into play, no doubt, by the fall of the obsidian moon-shards long ago. The waters of both rivers mingle together here to create a flow of delicate purple hues before separating once again, as if by enchantment, to continue their paths miraculously restored to their original, distinct colors!

    And here, as if signifying the place from which such magic must have been harnessed, is a small iron door tucked behind the waterfall leading into the crater itself. Those who have dared the twisted and sometimes lethal foliage growing here may find this door easily. Nothing bars one's way, save the inherent peril of its surroundings, and the doorway opens with little effort...
    [​IMG]
    Beyond it rests a chamber of obvious Obsidian Order creation, though much of it has long since been overgrown by the strange, glowing fungi and other alien flora that thrives here. A roaring sound fills the chamber, echoing from its inward sloping walls and down from the curved ceiling above, pierced by black shards. Looking straight ahead, a carved stone path leads to a platform surrounded by ancient obelisks, set into the glowing waters of a pool shimmering with violet hues.
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    The sound, of course, comes from the crashing waters of an underground offshoot of the two rivers above. Here, at the far end of this strange and mysterious chamber, the two different waterfalls of blue and red cascade down to blend into the lambent, glowing violet pool that surrounds the observer as they walk across the ancient path. At the center of the chamber, at the far end of a dais inscribed with the Obsidian Septagram of Dominion, rests a lone and empty marble podium facing the falling water.
    [​IMG]
    What Obsidian Lords once stood in this dark place? And what dire words did they whisper to the roaring waters before them? Perhaps, instead, it is a place yet to fulfill its unknown purpose...and the podium awaits in this strange, twilight cave for some terrible fragment of long-forgotten lore.
    [​IMG]
    Regardless, no answers are forthcoming from the silent and otherworldly sentinel vegetation, nor do the grim obelisks share their secrets. For the time being, the Chamber of the Confluence must remain a mystery.
    [​IMG]

    I hope you've enjoyed taking a glimpse into this secret place... Perhaps its purpose won't remain forgotten for much longer...

    Scottie ^_^
     
    Last edited: Jun 9, 2016
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  2. Beaumaris

    Beaumaris Avatar

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    Amazing work! Loving the architecture, flora, and color combinations here. Thanks for sharing.
     
  3. Scottie

    Scottie Master Artisan SOTA Developer

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    Thanks! ^_^
     
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  4. Beaumaris

    Beaumaris Avatar

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    Lots of details to appreciate here too. The different stonework around the door in the first pic is great for drawing the eye to that feature and makes one wonder what that's about.
     
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  5. Drocis the Devious

    Drocis the Devious Avatar

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    Could this be blood and focus? My character would believe so. I feel inspired to write about this.

    I'd love it if players could place down different types of books on that podium. Please make it interactive. :)

    Very nice, Scottie. I can hear your strong yet soothing voice narrating the scene in my mind. I hope you make a video narration someday.
     
  6. Acred

    Acred Avatar

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    This place already gives me the shivers. It will be a powerful experience to enter it and hear and see the effects.

    Then will my avatar need to walk the "Obsidian Septagram of Dominion" as one needed to walk a cathedral labyrinth for inspiration?

    Thank you for showing it here, @Scottie !
     
  7. Raven Swiftbow

    Raven Swiftbow Bug Hunter

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    Great work, Scottie!
     
  8. Drocis the Devious

    Drocis the Devious Avatar

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    This brings up an interesting question. Is this area beyond the door also PVP like the Shardfall?

    @RichardGarriott
    As a PVP player that believes meaningful roleplaying requires structure and support, I wouldn't be in favor of this anymore than I'm in favor of scenes where the PVE wildlife ruins the player's ability to enjoy the scene. I'll give you a PERFECT example, Desolis. I love just walking around Desolis, it's beautiful, and it gives a sense of history and depth. However, the rooms where PVE swans occur completely ruin that feeling. They force players to stop soaking in the ambiance and deal with the annoying reality that "this is just a game" and there is a mob requiring your immediate attention before its repetitious attacks do you in. But even as much fun as the troll in Desolis can be to fight, it becomes a very annoying distraction when you don't want to fight.

    The same thing can be said of PVP. If you're unable to go into that little room without the risk of being ganked by other players that could care less about your immerssion, then the meaning of the little room is lost because it's no longer able to be consumed in an enjoyable way. HOWEVER, the same thing can be said of the meaningfulness of PVP. If players are able to avoid the risk of pvp and just walk right through the scene (Paladis Shardfall) in single player online or friends only mode, then what's the point of the PVP there? It's all reward and no risk.

    For these reasons, what I believe is the correct approach is to make PVP zones multiplayer only. But important areas like this little room, those should be single player dungeons. I also believe that it's a mistake to create paths through pvp zones to complete the story. I personally like it, but because others absolutely hate it, I wouldn't do that. Currently the workaround is simply to allow players to use single player mode if they hate it that much, but since that opens up exploits and significantly waters down pvp I recommend just allowing for another path to reach those story areas that does not involve pvp by default. Yet still making all pvp zones multiplayer only.

    Lastly, regarding scenes like Desolis, I hope you rethink these scenes and remove automatic respawning of mobs in single player dungeons. This ensures that players have the option to clear out areas like "the library" or the "chamber of souls" without later being annoyed by the same monsters every 5 minutes.
     
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  9. Browncoat Jayson

    Browncoat Jayson Legend of the Hearth

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    Awesome scene, Scottie!

    Also, "Obsidian Septagram of Dominion" is a very cool name. We even had a pretty good conversation going about the seven-sided star...
     
  10. Scottie

    Scottie Master Artisan SOTA Developer

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    Cool! Thanks for sharing that conversation! Perhaps, at some point I'll reveal more of the lore pertaining to some of the symbology I've been developing to fill out architectural aspects of the Obsidians... I'm so glad you fine folks are enjoying speculating about it... I can say this....the Obsidian Septagram of Dominion represents the seven primary aspects of rule the Obsidians felt were most important to the formation and firm control of their once mighty empire, as conceived by the Obsidian Eye...
     
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  11. redfish

    redfish Avatar

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    I remember going through that door at Paladis once and being teleported to Hilt....

    :D Glad that its fixed. I hope you guys are also working on the waterfall rendering; it kept slowing down things to a halt and causing my graphics card to crash.

    I'm interested in checking this place out. It looks great so far. I'm wondering if you guys have ever thought about sounds in underground chambers like this, in terms of how the environment affects the acoustics? It would be interesting to see things like echoes in the game, but I'm not necessarily talking about that; just enhancements of the sound to reflect the environment. So, for instance, I'm imagining how splashes in the pool would sound.

    Cave acoustics,


    Also, on an obligatory note, I hope players get to place things like podiums and altars and plinths and stuff like that ;)
     
    Last edited: Jun 14, 2016
  12. enderandrew

    enderandrew Legend of the Hearth

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    I always get really excited to see more lore!

    I love how unique this scene looks. It isn't generic fantasy. It reminds me of Morrowind in the best possible way.
     
  13. Browncoat Jayson

    Browncoat Jayson Legend of the Hearth

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    So, I was messing around with items in my house, and found out that Crowns of the Obsidians are now placeable as decorations. Cool!

    Even better, I figured out if I put it on the shelf above me, I can see the back of the coin. I did some rotating and tried to piece it together as best I could. Looks like it has the Obsidian symbol from the cloaks (two upraised hands and three floating shards), and seven runes around it. They seem to be the letters S, P, F, T, E, R, and D. Not sure what to make of this, but thought I'd throw it out there since we were talking about the symbolism.
    [​IMG]
     
  14. Womby

    Womby Avatar

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    A nice bit of sleuthing!
     
  15. Browncoat Jayson

    Browncoat Jayson Legend of the Hearth

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    So @Scottie during the Telethon, you discussed some of the Obsidian iconography. Any chance you could share the images you showed (the Obsidian Symbol by Stephen Daniele, the septagram for the stone floor, and the meaning of the seven points)? That was awesome!
     
  16. Cordelayne

    Cordelayne Bug Hunter

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    Ohhh yes +1 and even better could you record it so we can listen to your awesome storytelling voice? ;)
     
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  17. Browncoat Jayson

    Browncoat Jayson Legend of the Hearth

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    That I could pull out of the Telethon. The images are just too pixelated to be useful. :) Actually, I might just do that; mp3 here we come!
     
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  18. Cordelayne

    Cordelayne Bug Hunter

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    @Scottie is my hero! When he busted out that song from LoTR it was awesome! :D
     
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  19. Scottie

    Scottie Master Artisan SOTA Developer

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    I actually made a recording of me explaining it for you, but unfortunately I couldn't make it small enough to use here on the forum! :( I'll see if our sound guy, Leo, can help me out with that later... Sorry about that!

    Sure! In lieu if the requested voice recording, here is my design for both sides of the CotO coins, based on the somewhat limited iconography we’d already established for the Obsidians, and which I expanded for the sake of added interest in decoration for areas in the game occupied by them…

    [​IMG]

    The front, of course, showcases the symbol for the former primary ruler of the order, called the Obsidian Eye, designed by Andy Cortez when creating iconography for the Tower of the Shuttered Eye, and was then used beyond that as a decorative element in the Epitaph and other Obsidian areas and objects around our world. This eye symbol, overlaying the inner portion of a larger symbol I developed later, called the Obsidian Septagram of Dominion (aka the “Obsidian Star”), represents the illuminated vigilance of the Obsidian Eye during his years of rule, during which these coins would have been originally minted.

    The back of the coin is derived from further use of the Septagram of Dominion, encircling the already-established symbol of the Obsidians, created by Stephen Daniele, based on the source of their power, the magical obsidian shards which fell from the shattered moon, which you can see here floating above the outstretched hands.

    [​IMG]

    The runes found in the Obsidian Septagram of Dominion, whose seven points correspond with the seven lords of the sorcerous Cabal and their thrones in the Epitaph, also represents the proactive aspects of rulership required to obtain power and command obedience, which are the core tenets of the Obsidian Order (though they were not specifically showcased in the "Sword of Midris" tale, since these were nailed down by me for the sake of game fiction expansion after that was complete). At the center of this symbol, the culminating energies of illumination and vigilance, supposedly manifest within the former ruler of the Order, who was called the Obsidian “Eye”.

    A ruling body must be:
    Strategic - thus having a firm understanding of an overall plan of success.
    Tactical - thus understanding what must be done in a particular moment.
    Desirous - thus yearning for greater glories and grander achievements.
    Fierce - thus inspiring respect and fear among allies and enemies alike.
    Renowned- thus having forged a name and reputation from these traits.
    Persistent - thus reinforcing and maintaining renown with consistent acts.
    Endeavorous - thus striving to perform monumental tasks of worth.

    This symbol with all its implied meaning, was used as the starting point for the Obsidian Sigil I created for general use when creating Obsidian architecture, and looks like this…

    [​IMG]

    You’ve seen this symbol before in places like the Chamber of Souls in the Epitaph, and now here in this mysterious chamber, as well as other areas where this dais has been used by myself and other world builders… Here it is in all its colorful glory, as a mixture of stone inlaid with silver lines…

    [​IMG]

    All of this merely shows the thought put into this most recent iconography, and shows you the progression of design elements that went into the look of both the front and back of the coin… I figured that the rise (and eventual fall) of an entire empire would have symbols associated with them that were rich in this kind of fictional trapping.

    Enjoy!

    Scottie ^_^
     
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  20. Drocis the Devious

    Drocis the Devious Avatar

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    Thank you Scottie.

    @Lum
    There are 13 chairs in the Crypt of the Avatar surrounding a large circular table in one of the rooms. I believe this should be 7 based on the above information.
     
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