Update #49: Water, Trees, Day/Night, Lighting... All That Jazz

[Ningaubel]

Im stunned! What a wonderful peace of Art.

The Return of 2D!!!!! YES!!!!

[anek]

 

(Note that unlike Obsidian's waterfall screenshot, these were not created through months of pre-production, they were created more or less spontaneously in only a few days near the end of the kickstarter campaign. So keep that in mind when comparing the quality.)

Note that the animated environments from Torment were created at the same time as the Eternity one, using the same engine, with the same people working together. InXile are cooperating with Obsidian, they didn't have to do any of the pre-production, they're simply leveraging the work that Obsidian has already done.

 

Because of this, both games are going to have pretty much exactly the same graphical quality (it's down to the artists of either team when creating the areas, since they are using the same tools).

 

 

I don't think they're cooperating that closely. At least not yet.

 

If I remember correctly, Brian Fargo said at the end of the kickstarter that his artists/interns experimented on their own over the weekend to find a way to produce those animated scenes in Unity.

Also, I think they said that they were produced without assistance from programmers, and that once programmers will come in (during pre-production) and improve the dynamic lighting it will be more realistic.

[frost_maidrin]

The potential here is pretty huge. When I saw the light ball I thought about how there could be areas with floating crystals and other strange creatures, crystal caverns with streams and waterfalls...

 

That this is an early first version of the engine is encouraging. Imagine it after several iterations in future games? I hope Obsidian can build on P:E, refining the engine over the years.

 

Request: Would there be a possibility to toggle day / night, or to peg the day / night cycle to the users pc time?

 

I know that's a kind of meta-option and assumes the world's days are 24h, but I always found BG etc most immersive when I was in a dark area when I played at night in a dark room, totally absorbed.

 

Great demo, vast potential.

[Jarmo]

Loving the Armor & Weapons overall look. 

Slightly exaggerated weapon sizes, but still on completely other level of realism than we usually see.

Much as already mentioned, but still awesome to see with me own yes.

 

... are those secondary quick-swap weapons on their backs? Visibly visible!

Because that's a brilliant touch!

 

Overall, looking way better than I dared to hope.

[Wirdjos]

I cannot believe how detailed you got the characters. Is there a chance of some kind of limited zoom so I can see them better?

 

Either way, I am very happy with the direction you're going, so add my voice to that column.

[Labadal]

That looks really good and my excitement levels are rising even more.

[centurionofprix]

Looks brilliant. Are there going to be weather effects in the game? I can only imagine how fabulous a howling storm with rain and wind whipping the water and bushes would be in this scene.

[redneckdevil]

**** im gonna be honest even if a majority of the backers aint gonna admit it themselves.

 

I creamed my pants.

[aratuk]

I need a backer store so I can up my pledge and get some physical goodies.

 

I partly agree. I think it would be a great idea to open a backer store, as I would like to increase my pledge, too. I was thinking I didn't want to play beta versions of a single-player RPG, but I've since changed my mind and would like to add beta test access.

 

However, I think it's likely that at least *some* of the physical goods were ordered in quantities based on how many were needed to fulfill Kickstarter pledge rewards. Some of the digital rewards, too, as far as things that go into the game, are probably on a ship that has now sailed.

 

But beta access, t-shirts, and other things might be nice to purchase. Particularly things that happen or are going out before the game is released.

Edited April 10, 2013 by aratuk

[SunBroSolaire]

One suggestion, which you have probably already thought of: the water should be reflecting the sky more. As it is it looks very transparent. The scene would be much more majestic with blue water. Could also stand to be rougher water considering the waterfall - it looks pretty calm only ~10 feet from the falls. 

 

I imagine you already plan to address these things though, I know this is still very early work in progress. Looks fantastic anyway. Can't wait to run around that scenery.

[Ffordesoon]

AHGEEDMC KOKHSLNFNNCCNJNCMOKSKA,,HFIKN

 

IWANNITNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWW

[StrangeCat]

wow that looks fantastic!  But isn't it to faraway verses the scale of your characters.  The Character models are very small,.  Are we going to be zooming in and out in the game? 

 

Amazing eviroments with 2D just WOW!

[Karkarov]

Very nice, I like what I see especially when I factor in youtube quality loss and the video is only 720p.  I would love to see how the floating light/wisp looks when moved onto or near a player though and what sort of effects there are when a player tries to move through a large bush or similar shrubbery.  My only real complaint (other than the shadows thing which is how it is for obvious reasons) is that the scale is a bit odd.  The characters just feel like they should look a bit bigger on screen is all.

[JFSOCC]

Looks good, I'm not going to nitpick, very nice!

[LordCrash]

+1 for a backer store!

 

And a small note about the video: please add dynamic shadows. They would even increase the awesomeness of the engine.

[OldRPG'sAreGood]

Daaaaaaaaamn! Look at them graphics!

[Monte Carlo]

To all the folks making suggestions regarding shadows / texture / opacity...

 

Remember that Sawyer mentioned that this was running on an entirely average desktop PC. Although the specs of that PC would be interesting to see, I am taking Sawyer's word for it. For that reason alone think that what was presented (PRE-ALPHA) is exceptional.

 

Of course, my computer could run the death star but in my munificence I care about the people with lesser rigs.

[Karkarov]

To all the folks making suggestions regarding shadows / texture / opacity...

 

Remember that Sawyer mentioned that this was running on an entirely average desktop PC. Although the specs of that PC would be interesting to see, I am taking Sawyer's word for it. For that reason alone think that what was presented (PRE-ALPHA) is exceptional.

 

Of course, my computer could run the death star but in my munificence I care about the people with lesser rigs.

It is also pretty hard to get dynamic shadows on an object that is flat.  I am sure they will figure something out to make it work, but even if they don't I would still be fine with it.  Like you said this needs to run really well on a normal pc, like one you could buy from dell for say 500 or less.  You shouldn't need a gamer pc to play this, and this is alpha footage who knows how much more awesome they will pack in for release or even beta.

 

Personally I am very impressed, graphically it already looks better than Wasteland 2 or Shadowrun if you ask me.

[Agremont]

Looking great! I love the colour and lighting, and the atmosphere is definitely there. The characters look pretty sweet too. I realize this is still early in development but there were a few things that could be improved, like the way the characters stop when they run for example. Also the way the bushes swayed looked a bit off.

 

All in all though, great job guys! I'm really excited about this!

Edited April 10, 2013 by Agremont

[Ristora]

Request: Would there be a possibility to toggle day / night, or to peg the day / night cycle to the users pc time?

Frost: It is little things like this that set already fantastic games apart and makes them memorable. Fantastic idea!!!

[WDeranged]

The new video looks very much like I imagined it would, excellent work Obsidian

[Archmage Silver]

@Team Obsidian

There are no words to describe how great the game looks already... the video is just stunning. A modern isometric cRPG with actual depth and characters, by RPG gamers for RPG gamers. You've proven that my 300 bucks weren't invested in the wrong game - kudos, and keep up the good work.

 

@Josh @Darren

Could we get a 1080p version of the video on YouTube?

[Shiroco]

Already said it on Kickstarter but have to say it again: outstanding job! It is true that some things look a little strange but even with that I'm absolutly satisfied. Any enhancements are just a bonus for me ;D

[Nithy]

Josh, Hector, Michael, et al -- fantastic work. The thought of this engine combined with elements from Darklands and the Infinity Engine games....too much for my cynical, jaded mind to handle. I think my cranium is cracking...

Edited April 10, 2013 by Nithy

[Shevek]

I don't know how anyone can even nitpick this. Folks shouldn't be even asking for shadows changing across the day or different speed/anims in water. There are full on 3D games that spend millions just on advertising that do not do those things.

 

This is phenomenal. Frankly, if the game was released with gfx exactly like this, my expectations would be totally exceeded. The high water mark for 2D isometric is ToEE. This far exceeds that.

 

Edit:Also, the Torment folks have their work cut for them. Matching this kind of quality will be no easy task.

Edited April 10, 2013 by Shevek