Zerotino

While I don't mind the idea of splitting up the dungeons, my main concern is what's going to happen to the dark totem pieces. I spend most of my slayer/general training in the catacombs to try and farm pieces. Let's say they remove smoke devils into their own cave, will they still have a chance to drop totem pieces or is it only the few monsters they keep within the "main catacombs" itself?

The intention isn’t to change how current mechanics work, just to move them into their own thematic dungeon. There will be clear references to the dark altar within the scenery in the new caves that will explain as to why these monsters still drop totem pieces & shards.

I also mentioned on stream that if anything, more training spots will be added to ease up on any overcrowding issues.

Zerotino

Awesome stuff, love the idea then. You say they will make reference to the dark altar, so does that mean the altar will still only be in the central catacombs or will there be one in the new ones too?

Thanks! The altar (and entrance to skotizo) will stay inside the main catacombs but within the new areas there’ll be clear signs of dark altar corruption, like giant crystals and (if you’ve seen the entrance to the catacombs from the Forthos dungeon) dark vines growing throughout the area. The dungeons could also be connected so you can still hop between them easily.

I’d like to make some changes to the giants themselves too, just minor things like the other mobs found within the catacombs - just so they feel a little more unique.

ZeahFeGod

Had some concerns about content leaving zeah after seeing the catacomb rework until I saw Mod West's comment. It makes sense splitting it into multiple caves considering the wide variety of monsters.

Rework of shayzien area looks great and I'm excited for the 3rd anvil coming to zeah.

If you’ve ran into any tedious bits of gameplay during your travels around Zeah, I’d love to hear them! Thanks :)

GentleTractor

To tie into that lore & create an interesting subterranean transit system you could somewhat mimic what you’ve done with Forthos by having an actual shortcut/entrance to the catacombs within each of these newly split up dungeons. So they all still technically link up to one another in a round about way while being spread around the map a bit more.

There are a few old dungeons that do that which are quite neat, even if they're not often used (like the KQ hive being accessible from south of Dorgesh-Kaan & an area in Waterbirth dungeon leading to the lighthouse dags).

Edit: Nevermind, just saw your other comment mentioning this kind of thing already, so that's cool. :)

I like that we’re on the same wave length :P

AssassinAragorn

Oh my God I love this so much

Glad you like it :)

emeldavi_dota

Random extra idea: put another copy of the giant bosses in the giant dungeon on Zeah.

Pros: increased value to zeah locked irons

Cons: devalues varrock sewers?

It would seem strange from a lore perspective but if we can find a way around that and it passes a poll, I don’t see why not.

If we are to do another twisted league, having a way to use those key drops would be nice.

High-resolution map for anyone wanting to ENHANCE.

Timid_Adventurer

Will the "prayer restoration for buried bones" trait still apply?

Yep, no mechanical change. It’s all tied to the dark altar :)

Aurarus

I cannot get over how much I fucking love this, holy shit thank you

Literally everything about it from the terrain especially to how instead of one big grid it's like a TON of distinct areas all connected through memorable paths and variances on the theme

This rework is really just going to hold Zeah together so much better

Thanks! I'm glad you like where it's going (:

RNGreed

Well I've been complaining that the dwarves don't have an underground area despite being dwarves for 3 years now, though I guess that would just be a given if lova was ever redesigned. It would be more helpful to have a specific idea for a lova dungeon so let's see...some kind of minigame where you actively delve into the rock face, where you can see what's up ahead. Kinda like that old flash game motherlode. Each tile would have a dense deposit of ore or gems which you could mine multiple times. There would be hazards like explosive gas pockets, skeletons and the like. Though that would be overscoping with a capital O and mining has many viable methods already so you could argue this idea has little merit but it still sounds fun.

Yeah, it's inevitable that things won't make sense when those who are uninformed of the world of Gielinor have control over the lore. That shouldn't be an issue going forward and is hopefully clear from our additions in recent years :P

I'd certainly be up for more mining content, but as you said, it as had a fair amount of updates lately.

Aurarus

It seems to have a very earthy "pine tree" feel to it, almost akin to areas near Rellekka and Burthope

I also love how the new area incorporates more impassable terrain- things like steep slopes or walls have always done a huge role in shaping areas. How a player navigates an area sticks with that place's identity, and old Zeah pretty much never had that. Old Zeah felt kind of like one big fair, with tents/ buildings in a huge grid for you to walk up and play little games at.

I made this god knows how long ago, to try and visually explain what more natural pathing, smaller buildings, and impassible terrain could do to an area to make it feel so much more real. Your reworks take this approach intuitively, and it makes me happy for the future of this game's map design :D

Yeah, that's pretty much what I was thinking. There's a forest near where I grew up called Thetford Forest and I'd love to create something reminiscent of this style (obviously with much smaller trees due to our limitations) with large sections of red-brown ferns amongst the trees. Now, this is quite at odds with the Persian-esuqe aesthetic of current Shayzien but I've always felt that a harsh mixing of styles makes things feel unique and fantastical. Unsure if you've ever read the WoT (I'm halfway through it myself... it's long) but there's a civilization known as the 'Aiel' (Eye-eel, or something like that) and they're a very strange mixture of real world cultures that makes them very unique and grounded as a result. I think if we reduced some of the vibrancy from the Shayzien red to a more maroon/brown it could sensibly be used as camo in a forest with a littering of brown ferns and bright red berry bushes.

Yeah, the original layout of Zeah was very theme-parky. It was clear from the get go that the areas had all been designed without any consideration of what was next door and the rather abrupt transitions were ugly and failed to take into consideration basic geography. There were no bodies of water on release. I still can't quite get over that. Your map does a great job or explaining the issues (: