The High Inquisitor: On Azeroth's Wild Physics
pixiestixy on Thursday, February 18, 2010 - 11 Comments Tags: fun, gravity, high inquisitor, physics Welcome to The High Inquisitor, where Project Lore pokes fun at all those crazy, unexplained WoW impossibilities. While the answers to these great mysteries of Azeroth often are a matter of game mechanics, here we’re less interested in that aspect, and more interested in exploring our own unique brand of lore that could happily provide explanations. The inquisitor will make her own suggestions, and the best comment(s) with more possibilities will be highlighted with the next edition’s inquisition.
Despite appearances, no zhevras were harmed in the making of this screenshot.
All of us probably have experienced the odd physics of Azeroth at one point or another. Probably on a pretty regular basis, we'll see a monster's corpse die while in mid-air, or our flying mount's wing seemingly travel through a solid wall we pass by. Perhaps we're used to it enough that we don't even think about it all that much. But that is just what the High Inquisitor is all about. So question, I will - Let's find a lore-tastic reason (beyond the actual programming quirk called clipping) to explain this phenomenon!
To the right, we have a classic example that occurred on a Zeppelin while I was running around on my main and finishing up the last of my Love Fool achievements. My zhevra apparently had other motivations.
While on board, his body repositioned in the oddest of ways. Not only did the front half of his body appear to be on the other side of the wooden structure leading to the cabin down below, but his front hooves also appeared to be standing on air as if it was as solid as the wood clearly behind his back legs!
Another example that I know many of us have experienced occurs when we die atop a flying mount. Once, upon a failed attempt at Thrusting Hodir's Spear, instead of falling back down to the icy slopes of Storm Peaks, my toon's corpse instead floated, mid-air, way above the ground. Unfortunately, upon rezzing, my body succumbed to gravity and thus died a second time. Thank goodness we have those mysterious Spirit Healers.
But what's the cause of these wild physics? Once again, I suspect the magic imbued within the creatures and beings of Azeroth is the cause. Plus, we've already established that Azeroth may not abide by the same physical laws to which we are accustomed. So let's look at a couple of possibilities:
The explanation that I like best so far has to deal with the magical nature of the world - and it could be on the end of the humanoids or on the structures they build. Either our toons have the ability to magically meld the structures around them for easy maneuverability, or perhaps something a little more complicated. While animals and people obviously are physically real, there's also the possibility that some of these structures are largely made from magic. The wood making up a zeppelin, for example, is real, as is the goblin technology that makes it fly. But the flying boat also may be imbued with magical properties that make it behave differently that other structures. In other words, it was made with the intention of the rider in mind. If the zhevra wants to go down the cabin, the structure will magically allow for that.
But then what of instances like when a corpse gets stuck mid-air? Not all, but many of these experiences happen at the exact time of death. So I would venture it depends on what kills the toon. If, for example, I died before hitting the ground, then my corpse will become frozen in time in that position until I come to retrieve it. Perhaps once life is drained from a body, it loses the properties that normally would make it fall to the ground. I also see this happen with mobs and monsters, so it's not just for humanoids, but anything alive (or undead).
Well, I've laid out my own theories, now I'd like to hear some of yours. Don't forget, the best comment(s) will be highlighted in the next inquisition! Now for a look at the last question:
Last time, we looked at the reason that Azeroth's seasons don't change. We got a variety opinions, such as a great one from Phanttas describing how the Shamans may be behind the seemingly odd temperatures around the globe. Another that I thought summed up a lot of people's sentiments came from Redauroa, who said the zones are magically frozen in time:
"My opinion about why the weather doesn't change is that the areas do not have seasons. They are like Florida no change from month to month (so boring). The game also plays as if it is frozen in time. At least the old world does this. Even if you solve all the problems in a zone they are still frozen in what ever place they started. The weather just adds to that feeling."
Reader Comments (11)
First? hehe, and yea... game physics are kinda... unimportant!!! xD
As the mages in Dalaran did with their city, they altered the universe or Azeroth (and Outland perhaps) and shattered the invisible barrier between what might be possible, and what is unlikely to happen. As we all know, gnomes can be mages. And since gnomes aren't really good for... anything really... they made up their own purpose. The magical little 'people' were so angry with the other races of Azeroth for making fun of them, that they wanted to punish all whom existed by making them wonder how their mount was able to split itself in 2 (or 3... or maybe 4....).
The other races of Azeroth were so confused when they saw that this was possible, that the human race was nearly extinct because of a near anarchy. But the gnome mages saw this and put a magical curse on all humans, wondering how this mount splitting was possible, and made ever human who became nearly insane, turn into the undead, to be seeking the power behind this strange event until eternity and beyond.
But the little mages thought the inhabitants of Azeroth were not punished enough just yet, and lifted the law called 'gravity' for the mounts. This was of course not possible if there was a person sitting on their backs, and for that reason, the gravitational forces of the earth were only partially lifted, and thus creating very... odd (?) situations for the inhabitants.
There were half floating undead horses, Kodos with nothing to suppose their massive weight when standing on a root with only two of their legs supported, growling nightsabers which seem to be floating when jumping from one rock to the next! The inhabitants became very, very confused by this phenomenon and as a result of this confusion, the Tauren race was born.
These half cow half human creatures figured out how to make peace with the little magical citizens of Dalaran and asked them if they could stop freaking out the people from Azeroth with more crazy situations. The gnomes were so intimidated by the size of these creates they encountered, that they picked up their city with their tiny hands, and 'sailed' to Northrend, where they could mess with the laws of physics all they wanted.
But this was only temporarily! Soon (relative to the existence of magical forces of course) the unknowing human race visited this new world. The first thing they noticed was that there was no gravity at all! (this was easier for the gnomes, as they could now reach the top shelves) There was a young gnome mage who saw an unfamiliar creature floating about, and quickly swam(?) to his teacher. He told his teacher what he saw and was told to remain calm.
His teacher went to the leader of the city and the grand-mages were summoned together and discuss what they should do with their new world, now that there were visitors and all. It was decided to make the world of Northrend abide to the same physics as Azeroth has been for years, as the grand-mages thought the inhabitants of Azeroth were punished enough for their cruel deeds against the little mages.
The gravity was restored to the world as soon as every gnome was informed, and all the other 'new' races were sleeping, so nobody would drop to their death and have his/her corpse floating in mid-air, as those would still be affected by the old physical laws.
And this is how it all really happened. There are very few people who actually know this, and you are now one of those lucky persons to know this tale. Go forth and tell thy guild about this, and let the people of Azeroth know what really happened. And please, stop picking on gnomes. They know they are a race which is only good for punting, there is no need to accuse them of every bad thing that ever happened! (or maybe there is.... but that's for another time.)
(There is no connection to the real WoW lore what so ever.)
Remember in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory where that little boy, Mike, got his body molecules taken apart and repositioned in a "bite-sized" manner on the T.V. set? I think it's sorta like that. The magical people and beasts on Azeroth have the ability to take their molecules apart and reposition themselves.
Well, it's pretty simple. Even in the real world on extremely rare occasions molocules allign perfectly and allow objects to pass through eachother. Walk into a wall enough and yes, eventaully, you will pass through it. This principal is just magnified in the World of Warcraft and that's why it happens so often.
And for the floating bodies, maybe in the World of Warcraft the soul is what carries most, if not all, of the weight. Take the soul out of the body and the body is now weightless and is able to float in mid air.
Try mining while standing on the top of the node. You end up hanging in the air...
Before I begin, great post from Tfw, and also it's good to see the High Inquisitor back and as inquisitive as ever.
I quite like the idea that all the mounts we ride on are in fact ghosts, which allows them to have that strange ability many ghosts have (of being able to walk through walls, but still pick up objects and not fall through the floor). This also explains why we can't move through the walls, and also why when we summon our mount's they arrive in almost no time at all - they just follow us around but in a way they can't be seen, and when they get summoned they only have to move a few feet then become their partially physical selves.
Well, maybe it's a bit like the whole ghost idea, but I imagine it might be illusion spells. Especially Paladin and Warlock mounts could be explained that way. The spell levitates you (as you are ON the mount) and creates the illusion of a mount, coming in many pretty shapes and sizes. Since it's an illusion, it doesn't care much about walls and such and is projected right through, but the user will hurt his face when running into said wall.
or you can just stand and /rofl @ the pallytank that's driven and jumped on to the exodar boat to Auberdine and ended up lookling like a dart in the mast...not that it's ever happened to ME
You guys have some great ideas on this one that I had never even considered. Keep 'em rolling.
And Tfw, you are my hero!
Clearly, Zhevras are a part of the Unicorn family. And everyone knows that Unicorns are whimsical and ethereal so to them a wall is just dense air. hense why they can fly and mystically walk through walls.
Just about all characters and toons have some sort of magical finesse. Even warriors can do things that should not be physically possible. So I'd like to suggest that, for easier travel, they adopt some sort of dimensional phase shift that causes them to be minimally bothered by anything that might be in their path. Of course it would make sense that they'd extend this to their mounts.
As to the floating corpses, there is a layer of high-density air closer to the ground that is easy enough to get through while alive, but without the burden of your soul it's possible that you will not be able to puncture it when dead. It's also why characters rest sitting/laying down, because it also provides increased oxygen intake. It's also why Murlocs are so amazingly powerful. Despite their puny size, they pack quite a punch, and its because of the increased air supply at their level. I could go on with the implications of this increased-density layer of air, but I'd prefer not to. Suffice to say its origin is Tauren flatulence, forcing much of the air closer to the ground.