forums.rs

Forums

‡ The best quest ever? Vote! ‡

Quick find code: 341-342-196-65106546

of 74
Rondstat

Rondstat

Posts: 2,770 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
So it's especially affecting when we finally ascend to the roof, only to find we're not even on Gielinor. He hasn't brought us here to interrogate us, or torture us, or because we have any worth. He's brought us here for the hunt. He's brought us here for sport .

The sudden view of Vampyrium was an amazing moment, and while I had figured that the pylons and all the odd tanks and machinery must be a means of working the portal, I had no inkling that we had already been on the other side the whole time. The moment is set up masterfully.

I was worried about Drakan. Would it feel wasteful or unsatisfying, to introduce and defeat the ultimate villain in the same quest? But I think it was handled impeccably. The way he slowly advances, unstoppable, relishing both our fear - and our hope! I think this was a clever detail, and kept us from being able to even tell whether any of our fortunes were truly ours or the machinations of our enemy, right up until his death. The way it was set up, Drakan and the hero could not both survive.

The final fight was not as hard as it could have been, or as I would have liked it to be. But it wasn't unsatisfying, because we're not fighting to take Drakan down. We are, as we have been for the entire story, merely trying to survive. I think the adventurer's role in Drakan's death was minimal, and his moments of weakness were all feints - right up until Vanescula dealt him the mortal blow.

Drakan's death works because it highlights that L.V. isn't, and never was, our biggest concern. Near the beginning of the quest, we learn that he was not brooding away in his castle, but marooned on another world. Vanescula has been ruling Morytania without oversight - she is one responsible for the suffering that the Myreque fights against. She has always been the greatest vyre, and while we thought we were working for mutual benefit, all our greatest leaps, from the past 3 quests, fall into her hands by tLoV's end.

02-Oct-2015 05:38:07

Rondstat

Rondstat

Posts: 2,770 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Vanescula was always the biggest question mark for this quest. I think Rowl*y captured her fantastically. She embodies that surface dismissiveness, over a far more vulnerable core, which, while not as subtle as in Branches, humanizes her throughout the quest, and makes her a much more grey figure. Even when she betrays us, it's not the cackling reveal of a double agent, but the earnest plea of someone who believes in her cause. She doesn't present herself as a betrayer, but as the only hope for a solution that will save both our races, something she sincerely believes we should support, that Safalaan would support - lesser *******, and benign dictatorship, rather than freedom. We honestly don't know if we'd have been better off with Drakan.

The end of the quest is devastating. Of the eight that entered Castle Drakan, only two have returned. The Myreque has been destroyed, not by subterfuge, not by assault, but by its own actions, willingly letting itself be led into a hopeless stand, its leaders freely giving up their most treasured secrets. All it's succeeded in doing is installing a dictator who finally has the means to transcend the only barrier keeping the horrors of Morytania from the human world. And as Dirge of Drakan (LOVE this track) moans, we see Veliaf, his sickle buried in the wall, the only rage left to muster as his shoulders sag, and he, broken, leaves behind all he's fought for. Vanescula, alone far above Morytania, untouchable, is juxtaposed against the silent corpses of our friends, whose meaningless deaths put her there. We have failed. It is the most utter failure since WGS. And it's beautiful.

02-Oct-2015 05:49:51 - Last edited on 02-Oct-2015 06:45:40 by Rondstat

Rondstat

Rondstat

Posts: 2,770 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
So, let me just preface this by saying that Runescape doesn't need any gratuitous violence. I don't think I made that clear.
(I should really read before posting. Wel*, I prolly won't).


This quest was a joy aesthetically. This is one of the most comprehensive and detailed graphical palettes in the game, and it's even more impressive it was all developed for a single quest. You can tell the graphic team didn't just slap a bunch of stuff together that they thought looked cool. There's a very distinct design philosophy in noble vampyric architecture, from the arabesque metalwork to the surprising, asymmetrical angles of furniture and mouldings, to the grotesque visages, to the everpresent spikes, torture implements, gratings that make the environment itself seem malevolent. The preponderance of tanks, tubes, drainage basins, mechanisms make it abundantly clear that blood is not just the vyres' sustenance, but central to their entire existence. It also makes Vanescula's final turn much more understandable, maybe almost sympathetic.

It feels like efforts have also been made to show the evolution of vyre culture. There are a lot of very deliberate commonalities and departures from existing assets in Meiyerditch, which enrich the older content retrospectively, suggesting how modern mass-vyre culture is both a devolution and a progression of the existing cultural traditions, attempts at the ostentatious intricacy of Vampyrium design, tempered by simpler Gielinorian architecture and their limited means. I also quite liked the efforts to show how different vyres have cultured themselves - the fine silks, the gilted frames - especially when juxtaposed against the stark brutality of an environment like Ranis's room - affecting more from what is left unseen than what is shown.

04-Oct-2015 18:37:45

Rondstat

Rondstat

Posts: 2,770 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
I really love detail in an environment, and this quest certainly delivered. I especially loved how the vampyric script was not just used as an off-detail, flavour on a couple of banners, but was so thoroughly incorporated throughout the castle. I also quite enjoyed the easter eggs, the tributes to Tytn and Ana, trinkets, books, etc.

There were some very clever graphical tricks in tLoV, which I hope to see used in future. I adored the skyboxes from the top of Castle Drakan - it's fantastic to see Morytania from a less-scaled perspective, and the Vampyrium reveal was really made shocking by the sudden alien landscape. There were also some great lighting effects, particularly in the prisons and the main hall. Really makes it seem like you're in the deep bowels of a vast tower, the light high above and out of reach.

I was also much impressed with the sound design. Little details - the creaking iron as you walk across the grate, stained with either rust or blood. The constant rattle of chains and unseen machinery in Castle Drakan, giving a feeling of claustrophobia and being watched. The different cries for each member as they give their blood. And the music for this quest! Some of my favourite yet, only exceeded by TWW and Carnillean Rising for quest tracks.

I think the touch-up work really enhanced the experience of the quest, though I know you (Fusswell) probably disagree. I think the Myreque member reworks were well-done, not overly busy like a lot of recent character models, and most, imo, really match and accentuate their characters. Mekritus and Vertida especially. While there were some I might not have personally cared for (does Pol*afi have to be so horse-faced?), I think it's far superior to the generic human models they had before, and individualizes them before their demises. I also loved the Morytania music reworks - mostly subtle, but enough to be sinister and atmospheric; I don't feel like I should be in a biergarten.

04-Oct-2015 18:51:54

Rondstat

Rondstat

Posts: 2,770 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Now, mechanics. That's perhaps where tLoV falls a bit short. There are no environmental features or tasks that require a lot of ingenuity on the part of the player. The puzzles are all pretty simple and straightforward. And the combat is not really where it should be. The most successful sequences, mechanically, are those with a time crunch, not so much for gameplay but more for the pacing and adrenaline in the story.

I will say this for the boss fight, though: I think it's the most successful EOC quest boss we've had so far. Now, we've had EOC optimized bosses, and many that explicitly require particular abilities, in a way that Drakan doesn't. However, with the way Drakan moves, the arena, and how he parcels out his special attacks, I found anticipation, freedom, combust, surge, and debilitate were all indispensable abilities for me, and if only he had some sort of stun mechanic, I'd call it a thoroughly satisfying EOC fight.

What I did really love about it, though, was how the fight was restricted. Only these weapons, only this armour, only this food, safe deaths. Even playing field. I know this is probably a controversial statement, but I think all quest boss fights should be safe. Quests tell the story of Runescape, yes? And in the lore, the 12 times the world guardian died to Hreidmar don't count, only the 13th time when the Red Axe went down. The concern of normal bossing, risk vs reward, doesn't come into play here. And, if players don't have to worry about the expense of death, or, better yet, have everything they are allowed to use provided to them, it frees up the developers to make much more challenging, and satisfying , boss fights. I don't know about something Arraxxor level, but I think a QBD-level quest boss would be perfectly viable if death was not a concern. I'd love to see Jagex do more quest bosses like this, and take advantage of the freedoms they provide.

04-Oct-2015 19:06:31

Rondstat

Rondstat

Posts: 2,770 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
I won't claim this quest is perfect. No quest is (except maybe One Piercing Note). The introduction of Drakan was abrupt, the characterizations of minor characters were occasionally trite, and the Safalaan story really didn't deliver on the mystery or intrigue set up by Legacy or Branches.

But the assets, the themes, the overall arc, were exquisite. The ending is possibly my favourite ending from ANY quest, period, and I adored how cinematic it was, how many moments of shock or terror are set up in the quest - being outed by Drakan, the deaths of Kael and Radigad, the discovery of Vampyrium, the final montage. And, this quest does something little seen elsewhere - it develops the adventurer. We're no longer the bumbling fool who led Vanstrom into the secret base. We've become a leader of the Myreque, a rock for the others, and the player's voice manages to convey the wariness and weariness of a soldier whose livved through the events of the past five quests, while never becoming imposing enough to impede on the blank slate that lets each of us paint our own vision of our character.

In the days since I finished, I've found myself often replaying the final moments of the quest in my head, and deeply wishing we had a replay mechanic in the game. If RS ever introduces quest replays, this one should definitely be near the top of the list.

04-Oct-2015 19:20:51

Autumn Elite

Autumn Elite

Posts: 3,487 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Thinking back over this years quests, I'm finding it hard to know how to judge bottle quests.

Now the majority of my rankings are pretty straight forward

1. The Light Within
2. Hero's Welcome
3. Dimensions of Disaster
4. Dishonour amongst Thieves

That's easy enough (although every time I find it hard to determine 2 and 3 as they are so different so hard to compare and really all four are at an excellent level I am pleased with).

The problem comes when I come to judge the bottom two - The Lord of Vampyrium and Call of the Ancestors. At first, it seemed simple. On release, I gave Call of the Ancestors a 7/10 and The Lord of Vampyrium lower probably 5/10.

However I'm not sure it felt right. For example, I did feel Drakan's characterisation was far above everyone else's in both quests but is it fair to let this one small aspect override the other flaws? Knowing Call of the Ancestors is a bottle quest, is it fair to say its graphics weren't as good as a large update? Or should the value be based on what the quest was aiming to do, in which case Call of the Ancestors is the winner? Should series positioning effect matters; after all if the quest benefits from previous set up surely it should also face criticism from the parts it blunders?

I don't want to separate bottle quests because then that would raise issues between quest tiers or medium & large quests which would just cause a mess. It isn't much of an issue (Oh no! More quests are making things hard) but something to think about.

Another interesting note - it seems that most of the quests earlier in the year (the top three) managed to surprise me and turn out really well as pleasant surprises when I was critical of their premises. Dishonour amongst Thieves also did well but I did have good expectations there which weren't disappointed. The last three (well two out now and one being discussed) seem to be sliding into the bottom pretty much how I guessed they would.

18-Oct-2015 22:54:29

Quick find code: 341-342-196-65106546 Back to Top