Tag Archives: Gameplay

DevBlog 14 / Replacing placeholder mechanisms

Hi there!

This week, André and Tomé worked on replacing some old interaction and mechanisms placeholders with quality, animated and fancy shaded 3D models. Small logic additions and adaptations needed to be made to fit the new art.

Old view on the left, current view on the right

Some new props, girl model for scale.

André is also doing some logic changes in order to streamline the localization process, the entire user interface and game text will have support to various languages.
Iuri is also replacing placeholder animations and doing some new ones for the mechanisms mentioned above.

A Journey checkpoint is always important.

Pichel is working hard on finishing the 3d model of the player companion. The next step is rigging it.

DevBlog 11 / Illumination Test, AI and new Companion concept iterations

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Hi everyone!

This week we did some more illumination tests, still not as we would like it to be but it’s getting close! Next week we will update the Amplify Color LUT textures used, our idea is to create an immersive and smooth transition between interiors and exteriors. The use of Volume based blending per-area really helps us quickly test and improve the game look without adding to the work load.

We adopted a tetrahedral light probe placement instead of a simple evenly spaced grid and so far we are getting good results on dynamic objects.

Some issues still to fix but getting closer to the final version.

This week André made a few tweaks to the enemies AI and improved their adaptation to specific situations, in a game as ours AI is a constantly evolving area. For example, an enemy may adopt a defensive AI state depending on its weapon state; if its shield is about to break he will likely try to use it less and evade the player attacks, depending on the enemy it might even strike more. Enemies will also become gradually more offensive the longer they have to defend themselves from player attacks. On the animation side we also apply specific variations that required tuning.

Pichel is working on the new companion 3D model. We had several concept iterations until we arrived at the current result, while he’s doing the body High Poly some small changes might be made to the improvised settle and additional props.

More fantasy iterations.

The last concept made.

We are still not 100% sure about the item bags or props attached to the legs.

Next week we will show you the high poly!

DevBlog 10 / Interior Testing

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Hi there!

Our exterior and interior 3D modules are finally ready and we are assembling the buildings that were simple place holders a few weeks ago. We are still experimenting with the overall distribution and lighting of the area.

Modular props are very useful since they can be reused in other buildings, even on later chapters. They can be used as ruins too (with simple painting or decal variations). In the next couple of weeks, Level building will become much faster and fun.

You can use stairs to reach higher places, they will also offer you clues to possible passages.

Some cracks, rubble and wood planks will be added later for added effect.

Temporary lightning, this shot uses a very simple preview light setup.

We plan to have smooth and immersive interior/exterior transitions, visually and auditory. Duck volumes (exterior sounds like birds will be clamped when you are inside), eye adaptation and reverb zones combined will create an unforgettable experience.

Next week André will tackle dynamic spine IKs for biped and quadruped, and Pichel will be working in a new NPC.

DevBlog 09 / The Journey Companion

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Hi everyone!

A very important character in this game is the player’s companion, previously mentioned in the game description. Your companion can help in some puzzles, serve as a fast travel option and can store additional weapons, armor and potions that you can’t carry with you. But it can’t follow you everywhere! Some places can only be accessed with the player alone, for example: when you need to climb something, your companion will wait for you below; in this type of situation you need to manage what you bring with you and what stays with your companion, since your inventory is limited and your companion can carry many more items.

Early concept by Jeffrey Ferreira.

This was the very first model of the game (Modeled, rigged and animated by our programmer André), and it is still the model used for AI logic tests and behavior like in the gif below. All the mechanics and logic mentioned above are already implemented.

Here we can see some automatic object avoidance, the Elk automaticly avoids major falls and objects like trees even if the player forces it.

We are trying to make the Elk’s movements the most organic possible, like previously mentioned, in situations like avoiding falls and trees, and by reacting to enemies close by. If the player is adventuring around and exploring, your companion won’t stay in the same place waiting. Our idea is to have a character with personality that you can mount and interact with, not a soulless prop.

Some details like foot IK and body position relative to ground or slope will be implemented to enhance the organic feel. This behavior is highly influenced by Shadow Of The Colossus Agro’s behavior (the companion horse).

WIP, for tests only, not the final model.

We are still exploring the Elk’s design, and that is currently one of our top priorities. Next week Tomé will make the final concept of the Elk for Pichel to model. Next step is new animations.

In this week of work André did some bug fixing and gameplay polish while Tomé and Pichel finished the ruins asset modules.

DevBlog 08 / Interior Illumination and deferred decals

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Hi there!

Pichel and Tomé are doing some progress in the texturing department, painting maps for all the modular props. You can see below most of the wooden assets, all game-ready.

Various finished wooden props.

This week André implemented deferred decals, they will be used for blood splats on surfaces and for details in walls/floors, like cracks for example, or other numerous applications in static objects.
Some improvements have been made in the way enemies respond to hits, like if the player swings the sword in one direction and hits the enemy, he will stagger in the opposite way he was hit. The direction of the blood particle and blood splat in floor respect the hit direction too.

Here you can see some blood on the ground with the new deferred decal system.

We did some tests with interior lighting too, still very WIP (no final textures nor materials), but now we know that we can achieve cool ambient interiors.

You can see some light coming from the cracked ceiling in the far end.

DevBlog 05 / Bow behavior, Ancient Ruins and Sound

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Hi everyone!

In this week of work, Andre changed some things in the bow behavior. A trail prediction was added and the view when shooting was flipped. We’re also considering removing the Crosshair. In Decay of Logos the range of your bow depends on your Strength Stat.

Old view on the left, current view on the right.

Now the camera goes to the right side instead of left . When locked onto a target the behavior is different (no camera change) and the arrow always hits (if in range and providing the enemy is not defending).

In this screenshot the player has a strength of 11 for example.

Andre started improving the sound in the game and changing some things in how it is handled overall. Audio mixer, duck audio, snapshots and reverb zones were added for a more immersive experience.

On the other side of the trenches, Pichel and Tomé have been developing our own modular set for the ancient ruins. They’ve been pretty much playing with Lego.

In this screenshot the player have a strength of 11 for example

The modular set for the ancient ruins.