Enhancement to the sky/summoning effect

[Sy]

When playing the demo, there is an atmospheric disturbance from which shards fall.

I love this effect a lot. It changes the tempo and mood of the area, and it is a mechanic which changes the landscape to be unexpected and textured.

To me, this mechanic naturally scales.

My idea is that the more difficult the challenge, the higher up (and more visible) the weather should be. The shards should appear much further up and out in the periphery. The shards should cross over at a midpoint in the sky, to land opposite from where they appeared. I feel the visuals of this would be incredible.

Yes the map could have a different marker, but the height and size association with the challenge would also draw much more attention in the real world. It would even justify occasional thunder making it out to distant players, or static could be heard interrupting radio chatter. Wind could buffet banners all the way back at base. Though there would be no mechanics impact, fishes could scatter.

 

[liandri]

static could be heard interrupting radio chatter.

This gave me chills a little. The idea that the encounter could be "heard" over the Fabric is terrifying.

I agree with all of this. There was a thread about music and it was brought up how some games, Dark Souls was an example, played alternative versions depending on the situation you were in (in combat vs out, around bosses, during PvP, etc.). The mood really changes once the portal opens and the crystals start to fall, so I'm looking forward to Bross' music to amplify this feeling of a threatening unknown.

It'd be cool to see this alternative world where the Tsi-hu and crystals are appearing from, but I'd draw the line on going there in this encounter. The landscape and flora changing and corrupting from their influence, maybe seeing a "something" when looking at the portal straight on, only getting more vivid and corrupt the more aggressive the AI commander is.

 

[Omnires]

As one of the people who likes the idea of using things like sound as a weapon. We do have a few sound based weapons in real life, they are just not really known to the public yet. I like the idea of a sound so powerful that it effects the world it travels. After all that is what shockwaves do.

 

[Sy]

The enemy begins warping in something a little bigger than we can handle while disorganized. Our audio is dimmed a little and the bass is tweaked slightly. It's the effect done in movies when the scene goes slow motion.

I want players to feel "Oh shit I'm in the wrong place. I don't want to be here.. alone"