Guild Wars 2

… but so is each city’s accompanying music and ambiance.

Very well done, Jeremy Soule!

And even the countryside music varies depending on which zone you’re in.

Are there also underwater and/or underground cities in this game? If so, do they each have distinctive music and ambiance as well?

Well, we have quaggan cities underwater andd scritt dungeons underground here and there in game, they are not instanced but still very cute(and when I say cute i mean the real power of quaggan ubercuteness) and good-looking.
And yeah, music is just awesome

Hadson.5024:

Well, we have quaggan cities underwater andd scritt dungeons underground here and there in game, they are not instanced but still very cute(and when I say cute i mean the real power of quaggan ubercuteness) and good-looking.

I haven’t visited either yet, but I absolutely can’t wait to!

Hadson.5024:

And yeah, music is just awesome

Absolutely!

Is the music for both the Quaggan city and the Skritt dungeon distinct (just curious)?

The attention to detail in GW2’s art is unparallel to that of other MMOs, but i doubt most players notice.

For example, notice how Norn homes r much larger than a Human’s home, and look at the difference in terms of the contents.

Also, in Queensdale, go to the higher class areas / districts and notice the elegant furnishings in various dwellings compared with for example houses just outside the city of Queensdale and their more modest estates.

Not only do they put distinct music in each city/zone, they also give us holiday music. Not just one theme either, there are distinct songs of amazing quality for each holiday activity.

https://soundcloud.com/#arenanet/sets/guild-wars-2-wintersday-2012

I agree. In many other MMO’s it looks like they put zero thought into some of the quest outposts. In Guild Wars 2 though, it’s obvious that they put attention to detail in each and every town. That is something I really do appreciate.

There is one or two tracks I keep hearing many times regardless of where I go, so I’m doubting if the music is area specific. I don’t like the music overall, though. They sound cheesy.

The visuals, yes!

Love soules music, but sadly there isnt enough of it, later on you hear too much of the same tracks.

Wish they’d contract him to add some more music in a future update.

It’ll certainly be interesting to see how many more visual details, new music and added ambiance will be added in the new content the next few months.

It’ll be particularly interesting if/when Cantha and Elona are reintroduced to us down the road.

Agreed. The world in itself is very beautiful. Wintersday almost looked like a postcard.

It’s funny. When I first encountered Jeremy Soule’s music, I didn’t care for it. This was due less to the quality of his music than due to a host of design decisions with regard to the game it was in, Morrowind, that I felt made for a poorer music environment than its predecessor, Daggerfall.

Daggerfall had tons and tons and tons of little midi tunes, for different environments, different locations, even different weather. I played it through countless times, even from beginning to end once or twice, and I honestly suspect I never heard it all. Further, there was no “battle music” meaning enemies could actually sneak up on you. Combined with the creepy dungeon music, the creepy artistry (even if it was at an incredibly low resolution), the creepy moans and screams that emanated at random, and the ridiculously labyrinthine nature of pretty much every place in the game, it made for this extraordinary atmosphere of danger, which contrasted well with the atmosphere on the surface. Also, I still, to this day, prefer the crisp, hard sounds of music composed for the Soundblaster series to what we use today… though that’s probably just nostalgia.

The Morrowind developers, on the other hand, contracted Jeremy Soule to do a very limited loop of travel music, and a very limited loop of battle music. Combined with the fact that every place you went was brightly lit and underground areas were small and easily navigated, this made for a much less “creepy” environment. And Soule’s battle music was really nothing to write home about: slow, pondering, muddled attempts at grand and sweeping. His environmental music was quite good, and I continue to enjoy it to this day, but that battle music? Ick.

As an Elder Scrolls fan, I’ve watched Soule develop his craft. The music in Oblivion was acceptable. The music in Skyrim was quite good. And the music in Guild Wars 2 is utterly fantastic.

Jeremy Soule’s music in both the Baldur’s Gate and Icewind Dale series was very good.

Torvic.8256:

Jeremy Soule’s music in both the Baldur’s Gate and Icewind Dale series was very good.

I didn’t realise he did the music in those games as well! Although I probably should have guessed.

Incidentally it’s a bit off-topic but I love the fact that the racial capitals are all unique. I have to admit my first impression was negative – I thought Divinitys Reach was too much like your typical ‘ye olde fantasy towne’ and the others were too weird and confusing. (I still get lost in all except Hoelbrak.)

But when I actually started thinking about it I realised that’s exactly how it should be. Divinitys Reach is like the archetypal fantasy human city and the others are like something created by an alien race – the layout and the architecture is like nothing on Earth (literally, although each has some real-world influences). It really feels like each city suits and reflects the race that built it.

Danikat.8537:

I didn’t realise he did the music in those games as well! Although I probably should have guessed.

It seems that my memory half-failed me. I just double-checked and it turns out that Jeremy Soule didn’t do the music for the Baldur’s Gate series, although he did do the music for the first Icewind Dale game.

Sorry about the confusion.

Danikat.8537:

Incidentally it’s a bit off-topic but I love the fact that the racial capitals are all unique. I have to admit my first impression was negative – I thought Divinitys Reach was too much like your typical ‘ye olde fantasy towne’ and the others were too weird and confusing. (I still get lost in all except Hoelbrak.)

But when I actually started thinking about it I realised that’s exactly how it should be. Divinitys Reach is like the archetypal fantasy human city and the others are like something created by an alien race – the layout and the architecture is like nothing on Earth (literally, although each has some real-world influences). It really feels like each city suits and reflects the race that built it.

Absolutely! That’s much of what I meant about each city being distinct.

Even each race’s outposts seem to attempt to keep as much of the architecture and atmosphere of its mother capital city as possible, albeit with varying degrees of success (considering the more limited resources and support available away from the capital cities).

For all the faults I have pointed out with this game, my musical score is top notch. Cant praise Anet enough on this subject

:)

Phantax.1369:

For all the faults I have pointed out with this game, my musical score is top notch. Cant praise Anet enough on this subject

:)

If Cantha and Elona eventually become playable in this game, or even if the Dwarves somehow return and settle in, it’ll be interesting to see how distinct the graphics, music, atmosphere, etc. will be in those cities as well.

Will the upcoming Flame & Frost Prelude add additional distinct music, visuals and atmosphere?