#General Emerald Coast Feedback

1 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

fallow pulsar
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So I've spent probably around ten hours exploring the new map so far, and so far I'm having a blast with it. I love all of the new species (the only ones I haven't hunted very much yet are the Magpie Geese and Banteng, but from what I've seen they look pretty good).

One thing I want to mention is that I think the devs nailed the overall feeling of vastness on this map. When you're traveling across the map, you get the feeling that you're really exploring a vast and expansive wilderness. This is something that the early maps like Layton and Medved did very well, but some of the newer ones haven't really captured that feeling of a vast wilderness. Emerald Coast does it very well though, the entire map has lots of variety and the individual biomes cover enough of the map that each of them feel big and very well fleshed-out. Not to mention that traveling across the map on foot seems to take me longer because of just how many animals I encounter and have the chance to hunt along the way. This map feels vast, wild, and truly full of life, and I love that aspect of it. The varied topography and the use of constantly changing elevations make it feel rugged and force you to take your time while traveling across the map, which is a breath of fresh air compared to maps like Mississippi that are almost completely flat.

I also like how the different biomes are just different enough from one another that different parts of the map are distinct and memorable. The most prevalent biome seems to be the open subtropical woodlands/grasslands, which cover a large portion of the map. However, there's also tropical rainforests, mangrove swamps, and even a dry outback area, and all of these areas feel connected while also being different from each other.

All of that being said, I have more feedback to give, which I will elaborate on in the thread.

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Something I really love is the Crocodile AI. I know that the Alligators on Mississippi also got a rework, but I'm specifically talking about EC's Saltwater Crocodiles. These guys go aggressive just often enough to be a threat, and are very fun to hunt. My one complaint is that they don't do enough damage when they attack. These are huge predators, they should definitely cause you to lose at least 1/4 of your health each time they attack. That would also increase the element of danger when hunting them.

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I also like the Kangaroos and the way that they also attack, they definitely have some very unique behaviors that set them apart from all other animals in the game.

The variety of deer species (and big game in general) is also a major plus in my opinion. This map doesn't completely eliminate all small game, but the focus here is definitely the medium and large game, which makes it a lot of fun.

fallow pulsar
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Now for my main complaint regarding biomes: I love the diversity of biomes on Emerald Coast, but sometimes the transitions between them seem a little bit abrupt. The transition between the outback area and the tropical rainforest is the main issue here in my opinion. The dry outback grassland vegetation just starts to get thicker before abruptly and arbitrarily being completely replaced by a dense tropical rainforest, which is a bit jarring and doesn't really make much sense. It breaks the immersion a little bit for me. There's also not many natural features (like lakes, rivers or mountains) to separate them from one another, which makes this issue worse. I wish there was a smoother transition between these two biomes, maybe with a section of that subtropical woodland/grassland biome between the two, so that the transition between the two biomes would make more sense. Obviously EW can't really change the layout of the map now, but in the future I'd recommend that EW try to blend the separate biomes on their maps a bit better than what they did here.

That being said, the transition between the subtropical grassland/woodland biome and the tropical rainforest is a lot better, and feels a lot more cohesive. No complaints there. The mangrove swamps do seem to stand out a bit from the surrounding areas, but it's still believable and doesn't break immersion too much for me. It's mostly the transition between the outback and the jungle that feels jarring to me.