What is your favorite Biome/environment in a cRPG?

[Murk]

My dream CRPG setting is medieval fantasy but entirely urban. Think a whole game set in a Lankhmar/Ankh-Morpork type city of adventure. Or even a huge Gormenghast type castle.

Out of curiosity, did Witcher 1's Vizima or Witcher 3's Novigrad come close to scratching that itch?

What about something like Tarant from Arcanum or even Atkathla from BG2?

 

[curds]

Out of curiosity, did Witcher 1's Vizima or Witcher 3's Novigrad come close to scratching that itch?

What about something like Tarant from Arcanum or even Atkathla from BG2?

All of the above, haven't played W3 yet, though.

 

[Marat]

My dream CRPG setting is medieval fantasy but entirely urban. Think a whole game set in a Lankhmar/Ankh-Morpork type city of adventure. Or even a huge Gormenghast type castle.

Ah, a man after my own heart!

I love urban environments. It's where the cohesiveness of world's rules is truly tested. It is where one can see whether the world was created for the sole purpose of having player adventure through it or not. It is where quirks of a setting have to be extrapolated from to form something internally consistent. Having magic in a medieval world just so player characters can sling fireballs is stupid, but when creators recognize that such power would shape society, how it functions and develops, what it's political structure would be like and then insert the player into this: that's what makes world immersive and offers a chance to show something clever and fresh. It's what made Arcanum's setting so great. Seeing how orks were now the urban poor, industrial proletariat and street gangs and thinking to yourself that it would make sense for them to evolve into such roles in industrialising fantasy setting. Or maybe take Mass Effect's Citadel. Political entities of different alien species forming a galaxy-wide UN, seeing how diplomacy or business is conducted or hearing about Hamlet being put out with actors from a species that can't display percievable emotion. It's something you won't get to enjoy just blasting your way through ancient ruins or secret bases on your quest to save the universe. I hate when setting has some amazing things that just happen to be there in combat (magic, cyberware, whatever) only to return to a world that pretends it isn't there when the fighting dies down. Urban environments are an opportunity to explore how individuals and societies would function in a world with different rules and it isn't done nearly enough.

 

[Mr. Magniloquent]

I'm also a fan of swamps. Basically nature's dungeon. Lots of perils, obstructions, and challenges both magical and mundane. They are equally suited for being beautiful and mysterious as they are dark and sinister. They're also a perfect backdrop for ruins and other classic dungeons.

 

[damagedbrains]

Would be nice to have some kinda environment set in the older or younger dryas. Or maybe the one that ensued from that explosion of Toba. Not simply fantasy.

 

[Sykar]

Urban Sci/Fi. See Blade Runner game and Deus Ex.

 

[Generic-Giant-Spider]

Snow/icy lands are generally a nice setting to have, needs to be delivered well with howling winds and flurries.

Forests are always great, I especially like when it's in the prime of autumn when the leaves are beginning to change.

I like to mix the two, a snowy forest at night so you get that "cold blue" lighting.

Spoiler

 

[d1r]

My dream CRPG setting is medieval fantasy but entirely urban. Think a whole game set in a Lankhmar/Ankh-Morpork type city of adventure. Or even a huge Gormenghast type castle.

Out of curiosity, did Witcher 1's Vizima or Witcher 3's Novigrad come close to scratching that itch?

What about something like Tarant from Arcanum or even Atkathla from BG2?

Or Kirkwall from Dragon Age 2?

Spoiler

 

[Cyberarmy]

Ancient ruins, especially sucker for highly advanced civs ruins and also "modern earth" ruins in post apocalyptic games.

 

[Ocelot]

Underground worlds

 

[Bad Sector]

I like sci-fi environments and urban sci-fi environments are great but i also like sci-fi ruins which isn't mentioned. Also sci-fi countryside (think some mainly outdoor environments from KOTOR).

But in general i like sci-fi.

Fantasy is also nice but i prefer more... fantastical settings than the standard fantasy.

 

[Citizen]

Nothing beats the Indiana Jones-style peaceful looting exploration of ancient temples, filled with immeasurable treasures, deadly traps, fearsome beasts and fair maidens to rescue

 

[V_K]

The dungeon, obviously.

What would this look like though? You can have dungeons that look like anything, based on setting. You mean the diablo 1 stone walls and dimly lit corridors type?

I honestly don't care all that much what textures are pasted on the dungeon walls as long as it's well-designed. Crypts, temples, prison fortresses, arcane laboratories, abandoned spaceships. Granted, having something more creative like the insides of a dragon (7 Mages) or a giant tree (Anvil of Dawn) is nice, but only as long as this creative premise is reflected in the dungeon mechanics.

Think a whole game set in a Lankhmar/Ankh-Morpork type city of adventure.

That would be Shadows over Riva. Huge city, lots of things to do and an investigation-based plot. Can think of some others (Arcatera, Venetica) but they aren't good.
I also have a soft spot for cities, but it's really hard to have a good one. Most RPG cities just don't work as cities - they're often just backgrounds to have a bunch of quest-giving NPCs hang together. A good city should have a dynamic to it - day/night cycles, businesses and services, criminal activities, politics. But few do unfortunately.

 

[NJClaw]

It's hard for me to pick between ice/snow and ancient ruins, but I had to go with the former out of respect. Bonus points if the game has ancient ruins in an ice/snow setting.

 

[Reinhardt]

I like both snow and deserts. Everything is clear, you can see what exactly happens on the screen.

 

[TemplarGR]

I like forests. Dense, forests.

 

[Ocelot]

I like sci-fi environments and urban sci-fi environments are great but i also like sci-fi ruins which isn't mentioned. Also sci-fi countryside (think some mainly outdoor environments from KOTOR).

But in general i like sci-fi.

Fantasy is also nice but i prefer more... fantastical settings than the standard fantasy.

Have you played Halo? The Halo rings and other such installations are artificial worlds that generate "natural" biospheres. Halo's primary aesthetic is a natural landscape with a few brutalist military installations scattered here and there.

 

[Gargaune]

Ancient Ruins. Naturally, variety's important, but it's always exploring ancient tombs and forgotten temples that feels like the highlight to me.

In any case, I think an important part of a stimulating CRPG environment is that feeling of actual exploration, even if it's the great outdoors, you wanna feel like you're forging on through a remote and unknown place, filled with potential mysteries and excitement, rather than rambling through someone's back yard. It's why even the wilderness in Icewind Dale is so great, that combination of the far-off unknown and the sublime in nature, which drips straight into the player's imagination.

At the other end of the spectrum, I want some urban social hubs, but I'm likely to get restless if you force me to spend too much time in them... "C'mon, c'mon, I'm getting itchy, let's go!"

 

[JarlFrank]

Deserts and oases with a nice comfy Arabian Nights feel to them.

 

[Verylittlefishes]

I like psychedelic/planar/dream sequence terrains, like in Deadfire prologue and in some scenes of BG2 and Numenera.

 

[Harry Easter]

I love cities in fantasy games. I don't know what it is, but wandering through Baldur's Gate and Wyzima just feels like coming home and it's the best way to meet interesting NPC's.

 

[Fishy]

Ony one option allowed? I'm in Ice/Snow ultimately, with Morrowind's Solstheim a big favourite, but Desert wouldn't be far behind. Dark Sun: Shattered Lands was legit with its various desert biomes.

 

[Verylittlefishes]

I also liked the unique mix of urban/quasiArabic city AND ancient ruins which was the city of Maadoran (AoD).

 

[lukaszek]

deterministic system > RNG

 

[Ol' Willy]

Love them deserts