The Drunken Lizard Pub

We've been working a lot with the world map of Eschalon the past couple of weeks. While the trilogy storyline has always existed in complete form since the start of development, the world map has evolved as locations are turned from napkin drawings into real places. Thaermore, Mistfell and Barrea were all finished in detail before Book I shipped, and now the rest of the world is being filled in from our archive of notes and pencil sketches.

I bring this up because as Book II's development notes are turned into an actual, playable game, the World of Eschalon has changed just a bit. Some may know of a book in Book I that talks about Eschalon's five Provinces, but actually the map shows about seven now. And the Rift Zone, which is called a Province in Book I, is really more of a region between Provinces. Yes, it's been demoted. Nothing about the storyline has actually changed but rather the physical world is now catching with the design documents. It's really been a cool process to see the remaining regions of Eschalon take form and watch how the map takes on a life of it's own, with borders expanding, mountain ranges rising and seas filling.

Anyways, we do plan on posting Eschalon's world map sometime in the next few months. What we post online will be fairly low-resolution, but will allow you to finally examine the layout of the whole world and wonder where Book II will take you. There will be a higher-resolution version of this map inside the game as a purchasable item, and a very high-res version that will most likely appear on the CD.

As for the few tiny geographical discrepancies between Book I and II...well, we may patch Book I or just leave it as-is. Depends on what people want.

No problem you can just say the original cartographer's map had a few mistakes that were corrected in later printings! How close is the world of Eschalon to the original development notes?

Those old reference books always need to be updated. You don't think they get the latest editions out on the fringes of civilization.

The really cool thing would be if someone from the new game referenced how faulty the old maps were.

VPeric wrote:The really cool thing would be if someone from the new game referenced how faulty the old maps were.

Well, perhaps I have misspoke. It's not an issue with "how faulty the old maps were". There really are just a few insignificant differences. Thaermore and the surrounding provinces have not changed at all...well, except for the fact that Thaermore has fallen as noted on the Book II promo page.

realmzmaster wrote:How close is the world of Eschalon to the original development notes?

Almost 100%. We've really just added a few additional regions for the purpose of providing more game area. As for the Great Rift Zone- it was never a fully realized Province in the developer notes, although we erroneously called it that in Book I. Once the southern continent took shape and we reviewed the regional data for the Rift Zone, it became clear that it should never have been called a province due to it's size, location and population structure.

A date for the map's release?

I don't want any Enhanced Editions. I like the idea of 'faulty maps' better.

Some may know of a book in Book I that talks about Eschalon's five Provinces, but actually the map shows about seven now. And the Rift Zone, which is called a Province in Book I, is really more of a region between Provinces.

Does that mean there will be seven Books, not five? Good news.

Good news, I love world maps and stuff...

Question: You mentioned there would be a high res version of the map available for purchase inside the game. So does this mean it won't be on the CD but an actual printed map? Will it be a collector edition type of thing? If so, I am in.

I also vote for the "faulty" maps explanation. In fact I'd also like it if there's an updated book explaining the "World of Eschalon" geographically perhaps with a minor editorial commenting on previous versions, or the shortcomings of the author of the book that shows up in Book I.

I like small additions to the game's environment such as a minor dispute between scholars in a related field.

Well, considering the fact that Book I just takes place in Thaermore and we don't get to see the rest of the world, I'm assuming BW means that there are no maps to be called faulty... because they hadn't been made yet.

Hey, BW! - How's that world map coming?!

(I can't wait to get a look at it... )

Ironically, I was just working on it today. There will be a lot of new stuff coming soon (screenshots, map, trailer, etc.). The map still has a few details I'd like to get in place before we show it.

Thanks for your continued interest and patience, everyone!

We are trying soooooo hard to be really patient. But, way deep down we can hardly stand the wait for Book 2. We also really love these updates from you because we know you are building another wonderful game for us to play.

Painted Lady wrote:We are trying soooooo hard to be really patient. But, way deep down we can hardly stand the wait for Book 2. We also really love these updates from you because we know you are building another wonderful game for us to play.

I agree, but it's hard to be patient. It's like crawling through a burning desert, finding a few pieces of watermelon and continuing on to find the next piece knowing when we find the last there will be a yummy BBQ waiting for us to enjoy.

Unfortunately, when designers or publishers try to put an exact date on a release and announce it to the public, one of two things will happen the product will be rushed to meet the deadline or the product will miss the release date. I like BW's approach in giving a ball park time. The best estimate is always when it is done, and most of the game stopping bugs have been crushed. Basically when the designer is satisfied and the alpha/beta testers have tried to break the game in as many ways as possible. I have played far to many games where the game got rushed to market. The design was great, lots of good ideas, but it was killed in execution. I have faith in BW and his team. Book I was great. I will be patient for a even better Book II.