So it’s been a while, in fact it’s been almost 4 months since my last update, however, during this time I have been tirelessly working on the third level of Dear Esther and have finally reached the point where I think it is good enough to show some of what I have been up to during my absence.
The third level of Dear Esther takes place at the heart of the island, through its many sprawling caves and tunnels. I have to admit, this was one of the levels I was most excited about working on as I’d never attempted this kind of environment before, and it allowed me a much greater freedom and creativity that is sometimes restricted when creating large outdoor environments and so I was able to add in much more detail and complex shaders to really help bring the caves to life without sacrificing performance.
I think the caves in the original were the one area that was most lacking and so I made a real effort to make sure they raise the bar both visually and atmospherically. (Note: As always these shots are pre-alpha and lack proper polish):
It’s been a tough journey on this one, both technically and creatively, with so many unique assets being made and pushing the 2007 Source Engine to its limits to meet my high standards, it took me a lot longer than I predicted to finish the level (hence the abnormally long absence), however I’m so close to finishing now I can almost taste it and I can’t wait to get started on the next (and FINAL) level!
Anyway as an added bonus for waiting so long, I’ve compiled a quick montage of the third level, and also showcasing some of the many effects that has been added/hacked in such as realistic flowing water and caustic effects.
Finally some high res screenshots for wallpaper! (right-click>save as):
One final thought I’d like to leave with you and would love to hear your feedback on; What would you think of Dear Esther breaking away from being a mod and becoming a proper indie game? (On the Source Engine of course!)
So I hit a big milestone today, bringing the second level to alpha and subsequently reaching the half-way point in the project! It took me roughly two months to complete this, which is not bad considering the first level was almost 6 months in the making! To celebrate here are some screens:
And as a bonus some 1900×1080 high res wallpapers: (right-click > save picture)
Overall I’m very pleased with the results, although technically it has been quite a struggle, in comparison to the first level this one is utterly huge, I broke the Source engine quite a few times in the process of building ... More »
Just wanted to make a quick update to let you know things are progressing nicely with DE. The lack of updates lately was due to me taking a month off over the Xmas period, but I have since been working hard towards getting you something nice to look at as a reward for hanging around. Anyway so as soon as the alpha build of the first level was completed I set straight to work on the second level. What you see here is pretty much only a few weeks work which is kind of exciting, now I have established a base set of textures ... More »
Well it’s been a while since my last update, but be reassured I have not been idling during my absence! Today I can finally show you what I have been toiling over this past month, starting with Dear Esther. During the past month or so I’ve been hard at work striving to hit my first milestone, to bring the first level up to a high standard that will be ready for polishing later on, and which will also serve as a visual benchmark for the remaining levels. Basically what this means is that now I have established the style of ... More »
Time for another update I think, been a while actually (or at least it feels like that!). So over the past couple of weeks I’ve been working on various bits and pieces for the environment, firstly making rock clusters which are scattered around the bay, such as the path from the lighthouse to the beach and the hermit’s cave. I’m still in two minds about using models for rocks like this however as I’m not a big fan of the vertex lighting, even with all the advances of the OB’s per-vertex lighting and self shadowing. I find that the lighting ... More »
Been another slow week this week; however I have managed to finish sculpting and painting the terrain for the first level and am now looking forward to getting some props made in the coming weeks to continue to flesh out the environment.
Here are some WIP screenshots of the section I have been working on this week, mainly the valley down to the Hermit’s cave and the route back up again:
Upper route down to the hermit’s cave
Hermit’s Cave
To make the walk back up the Valley to the next level a bit more visually interesting, I added a small brook which flows ... More »
Hello again! So the past couple of weeks have been rather chaotic with various things going on taking trips out for reference photos, family visiting and advancing another year closer to old age, hence the lack of an update last week. However this means I now have a lot more progress to show off this time around!
Since my last update I have been focusing on getting three things done; firstly creating and applying basic textures for the terrain e.g. rock, sand grass etc, and lastly, painting and sculpting the terrain. In this pass my goal was to create the most ... More »
After a month of pure chaos I’m happy to say I’m now finally settled and sorted over here back in the UK and over the past week have been getting stuck into Dear Esther’s development once again.
Been a pretty slow week just finding my feet again and most of all finding a good place to start on the huge task ahead. I initially started doing some rough texture work for the terrain but quickly realised that it was more important to have a nicely sculpted landscape on which to base the artwork. The video below is a time-lapse video of ... More »
So my stay in the Land of Swede is nearly over and soon I’ll be departing back to my glorious hometown of Newton Abbot in the UK (-OH GOD!). This means that I may be inactive for a few weeks while I get myself sorted with an apartment, internets, time to chill out etc. I’m hoping for things to start picking up again around mid July so at which time I’ll be able to dedicate my full attention to the mod, and am really looking forward to it!
It’s been a real blast here in Sweden, I’ve made a lot of ... More »
This week I want to show off some of the excellent artwork Ben Andrews has been creating for me. He has been creating inspirational sketches to help me to visualise how I can improve the various environments in Dear Esther. Here are some examples of his work on the mod so far:
(Note – Some of these are work-in-progress )
5,960 views
![__Dear_Esther___Lighthouse_by_Ben_Andrews[1]](http://www.littlelostpoly.co.uk/devblog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/Dear_Esther___Lighthouse_by_Ben_Andrews1-75x75.jpg "__Dear_Esther___Lighthouse_by_Ben_Andrews[1]")
