spelunking
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Landmark video goes spelunking in caves
Caves are boring, right? WRONG! Well, wrong if you're in Landmark, at least. Caves are a relatively new and unfinished feature to the game, and in a new video, the developers attempt to explain what makes them an exciting part of the exploration process. Landmark's caves are layered on top of each other, with each cave system corresponding to the surface biome. Right now, players can delve into only the first tier of caves, but in the future they'll be able to go as far as three tiers down in the search for treasure and crafting mats. You can watch the full developer video after the jump!
Embers of Caerus dares you to go dungeon diving in the deep dark
While the indie Embers of Caerus might not even be in alpha yet, the developers wanted to give fans and followers a Christmas present in the form of a special preview of one of the Forsaken World's dungeons. If you're expecting a brightly-lit funhouse full of dizzying sights, you may want to prepare for a shift in perspective. Once we enter the cave mouth, we're plunged into darkness with the occasional flickering torchlight -- and creepy cackle -- as our only points of reference. The video takes its time poking through the bowels of the earth, discovering more creepy sights and sounds the deeper it goes. And while it might not be packed wall-to-wall with mobs -- this is a very early glimpse into the game, after all -- there is a terrifying surprise laying in wait at the end. You may need to go get your security blanket in preparation, especially if you watch it with the lights off and headphones on. You can watch the full video after the jump! [Thanks to Ron for the tip!]
On Blizzard and caving
Players complain that dual specs are available only at the highest level, and Blizzard drops them down to level 40 (and removes the reagent, to boot). Engineers complain they don't have a self-buff, and they get one. Hunters are finally getting that last bag back. Even after the Love is in the Air holiday ends, Blizzard decided to nerf the achievement so everyone can get it anyway. And when ghetto hearthing, a much-loved exploit, is removed from the game, Blizzard decides to nerf, of all things, the hearthstone cooldown. Is it just us, or is Blizzard doing a lot of spelunking lately?Not that it bothers us -- most of those changes are welcome. The good thing about Blizzard caving is that at least it'll make somebody happy. But on the other hand (just to play devil's advocate here), this game is great because the devs made it, not because the players did. If Blizzard caves in every time players throw a fit on the forums, won't that hurt the game?It's not happening, says Zarhym. He says the Hearthstone change, as well as presumably all of the other changes above, came about not because of constant pestering of the devs, but because they sat down and made the decision that it was right for the game. He doesn't say they never cave (we can probably all agree that the dual spec at 40 change likely came about from player feedback, even if it was very insightful feedback), but Zarhym says the devs won't move on stands they believe in. Given that patch 3.1 is like an early tax return with all of the bonuses we're getting back, we wonder what exactly those are. Patch 3.1 brings us Ulduar, dual specs, significant changes to all the classes, and more! We've got you covered from top to bottom with our Guide to Patch 3.1.
