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by Mike Schramm 
Jun 26th 2008 at 1:00PM
There's a problem with that, though -- if you have a small planet with the same gravity as a much larger planet, the only answer is that the mass of the planet is much more dense. And when you get a really small, densely packed mass, you start to mess around with the flow of time. So Wallis actually ends up explaining one of the more annoying features of Azeroth with actual science. Very nice.
It's definitely a fun example of looking for more in this MMO than Blizzard probably put there, but Wallis covers it with enough zest and logic that it works, strangely. Now if he could only explain the weather...
[via Massively]
Update: Looks like the video got pulled. It's been stowed after the break, just in case it comes back.
Filed under: Tauren, Analysis / Opinion, Fan stuff, Virtual selves, Odds and ends, Blizzard
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 2)
Blackhorn Jun 26th 2008 2:08PM
Very fun.
One thing to say though -- I'm sure Blizzard intends for you to assume that azeroth in WoW itself is a 1:1000 scale. Every meter in azeroth (of terrain) is a kilometer the 'real' azeroth. That would also make Azeroth roughly the same size as earth.
No planet could sustain this many wars if you could get from any point in azeroth to any other point in azeroth in under 15 minutes.
It also just makes much more sense to assume the distances are much larger from a quest viewpoint. Mankrik lost his wife. In the game, we have to walk down the road and there she is. That's silly. But if the lore-world of azeroth is actually 1000 times larger, it would make more sense that poor mankrik simply can't go searching thousands of miles outside of crossroads for his wife's corpse, thus commissioning us adventurers to do it for him.
Fauche Jun 26th 2008 4:08PM
Not to mention in books and other media about Warcraft claim hours, even days, to travel to certain places.
Obviously the world is smaller than it would be if it were real. I mean, it's a game, any bigger and people would be getting pissed at travel times, not to mention all the extra work it would take to do and the maintenance.
In the end though, the guy's got a good sense of humour and it's always good to make fun of little things, so who really cares.
Radiophonic Jun 26th 2008 2:10PM
Aww "Video no longer available"
Krystalle Voecks Jun 26th 2008 2:37PM
Video seems to be loading here, and I didn't have it cached. I suspect we overloaded their servers. :D
Retron Jun 26th 2008 5:52PM
As for Azeroth being smaller than Earth...isn't that assuming the continents are spread out pretty evenly around the surface, similar to Earth. What if they're bunched up in one small section? The area outside the map could be huge expanses of ocean.
All 'serious science' aside, is it even confirmed whether Azeroth is round or flat? Not according to Nethaera:
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=4822672480&pageNo=1&sid=1
Juneau Jun 26th 2008 6:34PM
You can see Azeroth from Outland in the Black Temple, and it's a sphere.
Gulbrandt Jun 26th 2008 6:31PM
Haha! Awesome video. Amusing, and well done. :)
On a more serious note, I've actually pondered that about this game, and other game "planets". I think they make it smaller because it is assumed that the actual planet would be far, far larger. More importantly, no one wants to travel 14 very long, very boring, very uneventful hours in the Barrens just to do a single quest.
I find it curious because of how the human mind works. Once I've traveled a long way in real life, I'm certain my mind stores it as a "compressed" trip. Much of it was very repetitive, but I do remember what direction I was traveling in at what time, turns I had to make, or major landmarks along the way. It's interesting how the games keeps just the relevant details. Long duration is boring, but if the trip is interesting it's more fun.
I know, it's sort of like, "Well, duh!" but I think it's interesting. :)
Sash Jun 28th 2008 3:02AM
I so want this as a download. Can someone rip this .swf and upload it somewhere?
ANeM Jun 30th 2008 8:08PM
the real answer to most of these questions is that the Azeroth we know is not in fact the 'real' Azeroth. It is a scaled down version, a caricature of the world envisioned in the lore, for gameplay reasons. The barrens for example are described as an endless desert, taking weeks to traverse. Yet, in game, while it does take an excruciatingly long time to traverse, the 20 or so minutes is not anywhere near a week, or numerous weeks
This is why most towns only consist of 3 or 4 buildings. and "Forests" can have less than 100 trees in them. There are very few areas in WoW that actually come close to their actual size. BRD and the interior of Scarlet Monestary are two that come to mind. Now imagine if every City were the size of Blackrock Depths and every town the size of Scarlet Monestary and the whole world was scaled to match.
It would be boring and the game would only really appeal to hardcore Warcraft fans.
Ametrine Jun 30th 2008 8:35PM
World scale is compressed for the sake of more quality gameplay.
prym Jul 3rd 2008 8:03PM
Hi, I thought you might enjoy 'fun with the minimap'
http://homepage.mac.com/prym/
Using an 'extracted' minimap I was able to establish a length scale for azeroth and use it to determine velocity, and, interestingly enough the acceleration due to gravity. Using g and the view of Azeroth from Shadowmoon Valley in Outland I performed some elementary calculations of the size of Azeroth (R = 10.25 km) and its density (4.43x10^6 kg / m^3)
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=4822672480&postId=61356263956&sid=1#212