Why so empty, Crystalsong?
by Elizabeth Harper 
Jan 15th 2010 at 10:07PM
Part of the problem is that it sits beneath Dalaran, which ended up being more of a resource hog than we had anticipated. We didn't want to draw too many more players to that zone. Initially the Crusaders' Coliseum was going to be there, which is why some of the quests send you there. We just worried too much about the performance hit.
So what does this mean to the average WoW-player? That you can enjoy the peace and quiet of Crystalsong Forest for a long time to come, because additions to the zone just aren't on Blizzard's agenda. And it's probably for our own good -- we all know what a lagfest Dalaran can be, don't we? Now close your eyes and just imagine combining that with all of the players that come and go from the Crusader's Coliseum. If your thoughts on this imaginary scenario are anything other than "do not want," well, we'll just have to agree to disagree.
Filed under: News items
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Mognet T Jan 15th 2010 10:13PM
Well, that clears up some questions I had about that zone.
brian Jan 16th 2010 2:45AM
And it explains why a few tournament quests send you there, as well.
Narshe Jan 16th 2010 5:03AM
I really havent enjoyed the zones in Northrend like i did in Burning Crusade, mostly because areas like Crystalsong, Zul Drak, and Sholazar werent used beyond questing in (accept for a few dailies that not everyone did anyways). Being stuck in Icecrown and Storm Peaks the majority of the xpac is not only boring, but borderline depressing. Im so very tired of snow all over.
Lupius Jan 16th 2010 6:48AM
So that's why Arthas allowed us to build stuff in his backyard. Less lag!
Griezz Jan 19th 2010 1:43PM
Perhaps the way to get rid of bleed-over lag would be to, once and for all, land Dalaran. After all, when there was all the population in Shattrath City, was there a similar lag sharing with Terrokkar Forest?
Al Jan 15th 2010 10:21PM
So it would have carry-over lag from Dalaran? At risk of a simplistic question, aren't they two different zones?
Mognet T Jan 15th 2010 10:31PM
Question for your question: Did lag from Wintergrasp ever carry over into other zones?
Al Jan 15th 2010 10:37PM
Can't say I noticed, but I don't have the Wintergrasp Timer add-on.
Plus I'm an Oceanic player so lag is either 300-450 or a redline spike up to 1200. One server meltdown, it hit 3000 or so. In Stratholme. Unable to move or even open bags, while a swarm of angry level 60 skeletons slooooooooooowly beat my 80 to death. Fittingly, Baron's mount dropped when I logged back in the next day.
RogueJedi86 Jan 15th 2010 10:38PM
Dalaran is above Crystalsong, it's a zone within a zone. Like I said in my post below, Crystalsong mobs show combat log actions even when you're in Dalaran, so the mobs are obviously loaded and doing things even when you're in Dalaran and haven't been to Crystalsong in hours.
DarkWalker Jan 16th 2010 8:06AM
If you lag in Dalaran, you probably will lag in the piece of forest under Dalaran; WoW servers seem to operate mostly in 2D when it comes to deciding what information to send to the client, which means for places with multiple levels people can stand on, you get the simultaneous performance hit of all the levels. Next time you are collecting Crystalsong Carrots, pay attention to your frame rate; it should fall to a little above Dalaran levels whenever you get exactly under Dalaran.
shoopywoopy Jan 16th 2010 11:07AM
Yo dawg we heard you like zones, so we put a zone in your zone so you can lag while you lag!
Al Jan 16th 2010 3:33PM
I lagged when I should have ligged.
Ves Jan 15th 2010 10:22PM
The answer to this issue was simple: Blow up Dalaran.
Not only would it have improved gamplay by letting them rebuild a new central location that wasn't horrendously laggy, but it would have made Arthas seem like something of a threat, rather than just pathetic.
Rold Jan 16th 2010 1:23AM
Wouldn't that cause a great disturbance in the force?
Marolas Jan 16th 2010 1:27AM
It would be as though a million voices cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced.
Followed by the single sound of chuckling coming from Archimonde from somewhere in the Twisting Nether.
placebo Jan 16th 2010 8:56AM
Arthas just needs to find himself a goddess, build a Grindery, drive it across the Storm Peaks, down Zul' Drak and up through Dragonblight to Crystalsong. Va.. Dalaran won't stand a chance.
dspickes Jan 16th 2010 1:42PM
"Not only would it have improved gamplay by letting them rebuild a new central location that wasn't horrendously laggy..."
That wouldn't fix a thing. The reason Dalaran is laggy is BECAUSE it's a central location. It's the burden of your computer loading all the players there that cause lag, nothing to do with the city itself. I think that's one of the reasons there won't be a new neutral city in Cataclysm; one space just can't handle the entire endgame population of a server.
RogueJedi86 Jan 15th 2010 10:24PM
For some reason all of Crystalsong below Dalaran is loaded when you're in Dalaran. I've been in the Commerce District near Eng and LW houses and saw Wolves killing Deer in combat log, their actions being transmitted all the hundreds of feet up to Dalaran. Couldn't they have just made the NPCs in Dalaran and Crystalsong not load until you actually go into them? I don't see Dalaran NPCs loaded when I'm hundreds of feet below Dalaran and unable to see them anyways. Ditto for the reverse. They could've added content to Crystalsong that way.
Oh and I still say the Darkmoon Faire needs a venue in Crystalsong, since it's a perfectly peaceable place to bring it. There's only like a half-dozen NPCs at the Faire, so no worries on lag for Dalaran. I'd love a cannon that shoots you from Dalaran to a lake in Crystalsong(like the Shattrath cannon at Terrokar Darkmoon Faire). Just add it to the cycle, making it a 4 month cycle for the Darkmoon Faire. With no new major neutral peaceful locations added in Cataclysm, we'll have it at just 4, fine with me.
Sleutel Jan 16th 2010 10:58AM
"I don't see Dalaran NPCs loaded when I'm hundreds of feet below Dalaran and unable to see them anyways."
Really? I can see quest exclamation points from Dalaran NPCs when I'm on the ground in Crystalsong.
RogueJedi86 Jan 16th 2010 11:05AM
I mean I don't physically see them from the ground. If I can't see them from the ground, why load them at all? To get back up to Dalaran you either need to go through a loading screen, or fly up. In either case, simply load the NPCs in only when I hit the loading screen or start flying up to Dalaran from the ground. Use the Y axis as a threshold for loading things, if it's possible.