How big will Vessar get

I spent the last few days working out how large the world should be. The answer is shorter than the sums: Vessar grows over years, in steps I can still read myself.

The plan in numbers

At full release it is between 37 and 42 maps. That covers the zones from the world book, the starting areas, the cities, the dungeons and two raid tiers. After that the core grows to about 62 maps, spread over the first chapters after launch. From there on, each chapter adds two to four zones, continent by continent. I decided against a world that is huge on day one and feels empty. Every zone without players thins out all the others.

Every people starts at home

Each people gets its own starting area. Someone who plays a dwarf or a Returned does not start in another people's country but in a place that fits their history. Each faction's lands connect. You walk from your own capital through a country you recognise as one, not through a patchwork.

Travel stays visible

Long distances use the sky barge, the river boat, the salt sled and the flying cab. They travel in real time across the world map. You see the ship move, you see others aboard, and the trip takes a few minutes in which you can do something else. There is no loading screen that throws you from A to B. I want distance to mean something without costing an evening.

Tools write along, Harald reads

New zones are prepared with tools and language models: a rough map, drafts for quests and text, automatic checks against the style guide and the naming rules. That saves me the legwork. What it does not replace is reading. I read every zone myself, and only then does it go into the game. Whatever was made with tools, we label openly, on the "How we write" page and in the game where it fits.

What comes next

First the starting areas, then long-distance travel as data, so that new routes can be added later without a rebuild. The numbers above are a plan, not a promise. If a zone is not good enough, it arrives later. I would rather have that than one I cannot stand behind.

Saltwarden Online is inspired by classic MMORPGs and is not affiliated with or endorsed by any other game or its publisher.