All Work and (Some) Play
POSTED: 04/28/2017
Howdy Rangers,
As we go deeper into pre-production and the Colorado wasteland continues to take shape, we want to keep showing you some of the unique areas our writers and level designers are developing. Below, we have a few (spoiler-free!) details on the Stanley Hotel, a Colorado locale that inspired Stephen King's The Shining as well as our own writer, Colin McComb. He's been working with the rest of the team on the design of the zone, and we're ready to share how it fits into Wasteland 3. Additionally, we have a new concept render from the Bischoff brothers. We continue to use these pieces to flesh out our art direction, so we're excited to share them with you.
Speaking of art, let me briefly touch on some of the progress our team has been making in that department. We've mentioned in the previous updates that a huge focus for us during preproduction is prototyping our systems and engineering needs. Art has similarly been hard at work on figuring out Wasteland 3's aesthetics and pipelines, and our technical artist, Joey Betz, has also been developing tools and algorithms for snow.
For example, Joey has been working on slope based algorithms, which basically tells the engine to take our snow materials and only "paint" them on the top of objects (like cars, roofs, etc.), thin out based on the steepness of the slope they're on, and not appear at all on the bottom. He has also implemented a nice wetness algorithm, which works out melting snow on different surfaces. These subtle tech solutions are huge strides for us, as they allow our artists and level designers do a great deal more with the many snow-heavy areas we are creating.
Here's a rough in-engine animation of the tech, showing the slope based algorithm in action to paint snow only on top of the sphere, as well as the wetness algorithm on the tiling.
Stanley Hotel
Hey, Rangers - Colin here to talk about the Stanley Hotel.
In the mountains northwest of Denver stands a grand but somewhat weathered hotel, a remnant from simpler, more peaceful times.
When the bombs fell in 1998, the hotel guests watched mushroom clouds rise over the mountains and listened to the world end over the radio. They talked long into the night about what the future held. Then, over the next few days, they had final, sumptuous meals before wandering into the surrounding forest to hang themselves. Only the caretakers remained - employees, at first, and then people seduced by the idea that they could bring back a certain elegance to the world.
As the world devolved into savagery, stories of this relatively peaceful end spread through Colorado. The Stanley became a popular destination for suicidal pilgrims who came to the hotel for a joyful final repast before joining the frozen corpses hanging in the forest.
Those corpses instill superstitious fear in the wild, inbred clans in the surrounding mountains, as well as a certain unease in neighboring settlements. Rumor has it that the Stanley is haunted - those who spend too much time here swear that they hear the whispering voices of the unquiet dead. The caretakers of the Stanley don’t mind. They are people of quiet faith and firm belief in doing the right thing by their guests, and they welcome anyone who comes to their doors.
The Suicide Forest beyond their walls is not as peaceful. Predatory cats of unusual size and intelligence roam the hills, as more than one corpse-robber has found to his chagrin. Caves twist into the hard rock of the mountain - a perfect place to den for the long winter, or for a thoughtful, morality-light “entrepreneur” to set up shop far from the prying eyes of what remains of Colorado’s law.
Above it all, the Stanley looms, promising an end to the misery of life in this world. Stop on by! Reservations are appreciated, but even if the hotel is full, hang around.
A room should be vacant soon...
Shout-outs
The creator of the original X-COM games, Julian Gollop,
launched his Fig campaign for Phoenix Point, featuring turn based tactical combat and world based strategic decision making. In this game, you will take on turn-based missions where you deploy a squad of soldiers to defeat mutants and monsters that populate a future earth ravished by the alien Pandoravirus.
Another campaign we want to highlight is
Fort Triumph on Kickstarter. Fort Triumph is a colorful tactical RPG inspired by the likes of XCOM, but adding some of its own twists. Of particular note is a heavy focus on interactive level design, with tons of objects you can kick around or drop on top of enemies, or even chain up spells and hits to take out multiple enemies in a row. Triumph is already a ways into its development life cycle, so they're offering a playable demo to try out.
Be sure to give both crowdfunding campaigns a closer look!
Until next time,
Thomas Beekers
Creative Producer
