Analysis of the Pieced-together Picture
This complicated picture is our first good look at the city of Lut Gholein and its environs. The city of Lut Gholein is a desert settlement, and will be the base of operations for characters in Act II. Despite the size of this picture, it is truly only a small part of the desert city and many places shown in other screenshots aren't present here. Among these are the city proper, the market place, and the tavern.
Act II seems to be a mix of architectural styles from history, and can be reflected in almost every facet of the picture. To make the analysis easier, I will describe the things I see in four parts, the upper and lower left and the upper and lower right of the picture. As it is composed of many different screenshots you will notice little synchronicity between the four parts of the analysis.
Upper Left
This part of the pieced-together shot is dominated by the beautifully tiled onion-dome of the temple. The temple is done in classical Muslim style, with hints of Byzantine flavor thrown in. It appears to be some sort of mosque or perhaps a cathedral of sorts. Given the heavy apocalyptic tones of Diablo II, the cathedral is probably corrupted and therefore an obstacle on your journeys.
There is also a winding wall around the town, apparently to keep out the creatures raging outside. Near the top of the screen there is a small fortified building, and not far from it an unidentified NPC in white clothes. This NPC's function is unknown, and she may be just part of the local color of the city. Not far from the building, this time heading down the path, is another NPC dressed in red robes. Although his function is also unknown, I would surmise that he is also a salesman.
Outside the wall the battle rages on, mostly centered around the Necromancer. Already his has killed four Dried Corpses with his cruel-looking scythe, but there are several reinforcements on the way in the form of a Reaper, two skeletons (probably Burning Dead), and one of the cat-like Hunters/Huntresses. Things look bleak for the Necromancer, but he will most likely pull through.
Lower Left
Three inset pictures disturb this part of the pieced-together picture by marring out a few of the details. These insets are, from left to right, the Screenshot of the Week #1, Screenshot of the Week #13, and the Screenshot of the Week #7. Despite being in the way of some things, they give the shot a feeling of variety that would be lacking if they were absent.
The shot is still dominated by the mosque, but this time by the steps of it. Looking at them I noticed that it is indeed the Palace of Lord Jerhyn, the same place you can see in many Act II screenshots. Seeing the top of the palace threw me off a great deal, but it is still a glorious piece of rendered architecture, blending many styles into one beautiful, ornate building. One the steps of the Palace is Lord Jerhyn himself and the NPC known only as "The Giant."
Besides the Paladin there are two other NPC's here, one in black robes who is yet unidentified, but may be a back shot of the NPC known as Asthih. The other is none other than the bar maiden of the Lut Gholein tavern, who is also nameless at present. Unlike Diablo, we can easily see that the NPC's are no longer static and stationary, they are walking around and carrying on like any true city-dweller would.
Upper Right
Here the battles rage, and from this vantage point all five of Diablo II's characters. All around them are creatures of varying size and deadliness, from Blunderbores to Claw Vipers. The Barbarian looks to be closing in on a Claw Viper and a Blunderbore as the Paladin is preparing to sneak attack the same Claw Viper. Those creatures will have a tough time between these two stalwart warriors.
The Amazon appears to be casting of her true spells, most likely the Eye of Zeus spell that she seems so fond of. The Sorceress has already cast what looks to be either a Fireball or Firebolt at an approaching Blunderbore. From what is known of these beasts they possess great strength and endurance, and I severely doubt one spell will fell this hulking monster.
This part is odd in that it shows the Sorceress, Amazon, and Paladin quite close to each other. This configuration has not been seen in any screenshot, so either a good deal of work with transparent layering was done or part of this is comprised on an as yet unreleased screenshot featuring these three together. Given the pieced-together nature of the shot it is hard to tell what character is the central one for the shot.
Lower Right
Removed from the battle above, this part of the picture shows a peaceful area of the town of Lut Gholein. The area containing Asthih and the Amazon is the topmost part of the area I have tentatively called the Marketplace. You can see a better shot of this marketplace here. It is my guess that Asthih is also some kind of salesman, possibly dealing in magical items by his wizardly look.
However, Asthih isn't the only NPC in this part, there are two other unknown NPC's making their way towards a gate leading outside. Both look garbed in the dress of what I would assume to nobles, but they might just be local color (like Farnham in Diablo), or perhaps they supply you with certain quests of their own. Ahead of these two is the same NPC show in Upper Right section, what is probably another spliced shot of Asthih.
At the gate leading to the war outside is a lone spliced shot of a sword-wielding Sorceress, apparently unarmored but with a sword and shield. I would also assume that this gate leading out of Lut Gholein isn't the main gate, but probably a side gate that leads into the desert wilderness. All in all, Lut Gholein looks to be much, much larger than Tristram ever was.
Conclusion
And that concludes our analysis of the pieced-together picture. Very interesting to see all those new NPC's roaming about and how the city all came together into a wonderful resonance. I can only hope that some of the unreleased screenshots used to make this picture will be released soon, as many of the details I have not quite seen before. If you have any suggestions, additions, or criticisms please let us know.
See the 800 KB Pieced-together Picture here.
- Darkk (WebMaster)
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Iron Maiden|
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