World
Scale
"Huge" needs a number to become a plan. References (approximate playable area):
| Game | Area |
|---|---|
| Skyrim | ~37 km² |
| Classic WoW (one continent) | ~40–80 km² |
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | ~75 km² |
Proposed goal: the alpha (Phase 3) is the 4×4 km block (~16 km²) around Lumen, with two complete regions and the settlements named in 20 §5 (Lumen, Espelho (Mirror), Galho-Velho (Old Branch) and Ramalta (High Branch)). The official launch is Chapter 1 (25): 4 blocks (64 km²) with Vale de Lumen (Lumen Valley), Bosque Alto (High Grove), Costa das Marés (Tide Coast, with Porto Sal (Salt Port)) and Mina Velha (Old Mine). The architecture grows in 4×4 km blocks up to the complete world of 1,120 km² (20 §3). In first person, 16 km² well filled feel bigger than 60 km² empty: the density of the reference is what sells the scale.
Starting regions (alpha and Chapter 1)
- Vale de Lumen (human): the market village from video A. Walled city with towers visible from afar, fields, mills, roads with carts, mixed forests.
- Bosque Alto (sylvan): the tree village from video B. Colossal trees, villages on three or four bridge levels, floor of roots and ferns, bioluminescence.
The alpha settlements are those in 20 §5: the city Lumen, the village Espelho and the hanging cities Galho-Velho and Ramalta. Chapter 1 adds the Costa das Marés (Porto Sal) and the contested zone Mina Velha (25, 29). Between the regions, a transition strip (swamp or ruins) with the first dungeon.
Biome, by region
- Altitude and moisture define vegetation; each region has 3–5 sub-biomes.
- Landmarks visible from at least 1–2 km (towers, giant trees, a mountain) for navigation without a minimap.
Day cycle
The world has all times of day, with the same clock for the whole server (owner's decision; the world is shared).
- Proposed length: one game day of 2 h 50 min real time. The number does not divide 24 h evenly (2 h 40 min, for example, would: exactly 9 game days per real day), so someone who always plays at the same hour sees day, dusk and night across the week. It is the same lesson as Throne and Liberty (see
20). - Proposed split: late night ~15%, dawn ~10%, day ~35%, dusk ~10%, night ~30%.
| Time | What changes in the game |
|---|---|
| Late night | Quiet villages, rare enemies and wandering bosses, fog; good for hunting alone |
| Dawn | Hunters and gatherers go out, herbs and resources renew, first quests of the day |
| Day | Market and auction full, caravans on the roads, crafts, safer travel |
| Dusk | Villages light their windows, the guard changes shift, night quests appear |
| Night | Night creatures and undead, better loot, lantern mandatory outside villages, taverns full |
Weather
- States per region: clear sky, cloudy, rain, storm, fog; snow in the high parts.
- Weather changes vision, sound and enemies: fog reduces lantern range, storms bring their own creatures, rain puts out torches.
Events
- By time of day: morning market, guard patrols, tavern party at night, dawn hunt.
- Dynamic world events: caravan attacked, village invasion, fire, fallen bridge in Bosque Alto, world boss. They start on their own according to the time, the weather and the region's population, and any nearby player takes part.
- Astronomical: moon phases (full moon: bigger events; new moon: rare enemies), rare eclipse, meteor shower.
- Calendar: four seasons with visual change (leaves, snow, flowers), festivals (harvest, solstice, lantern festival, which turns the amber moment of the references into an event) and seasons with ladder and rewards.
- Server-wide: large-scale scheduled events, announced in advance.
Villages and life
- NPCs with a simple routine (work by day, tavern at night, lights turning on at nightfall).
- Each village lights its windows at dusk: the "amber" moment of the reference happens in the game, every day.
Lore (sketch)
A world where nights are dangerous and light is valuable: the villages protect themselves around ancient lanterns, and blue magic is a remnant of a civilization that fell. Details are left for after Phase 1.