TREES. They move.

I created a wind shader for my modular trees, based on this excellent tutorial:
http://minifloppy.it/tutorials/udk-wind-vertex-shader/

New Textures & Vertex Painting on Islands

I painted some brand-spankin' new grass and rock textures for the vertex painting on the Sky Islands.

Environment Design Progress

Level 2 is coming along nicely. Thank you Jordan!

Brand New Bells!

A brand new set of bells based from Lazarus' wonderful concept art are now complete and UDK ready for level 1!  Awesome sauce!

Ooh!  Shiny!

And as an added bonus, these bells come with exciting new puzzles designed to bring additional gameplay to level 1.  Instead of being an optional tool to extend the player's tether, these bells will be imperative in helping the player advance through the level.  Each bell will produce a different sound, and players must ring them in the correct order to proceed.

That.... doesn't describe much, does it?  But fear not!  Details are currently still being sorted out.  We're hoping the new puzzles will be finalized and implemented within the next sprint.

Tutorial Level Building

On the road to Entelechy, the tutorial level has been receiving a great deal of love lately. Monica Young, Casey [Danger] Bridgham, and Nicole Brunken have been working on modeling and texturing assets to populate the level, while Max Benjamin has been devoting some of his time to creating the opening cinematic for the level in Matinee. Brock Boutwell has also been busy with some very pretty particle work.

Monica Young's In-Progress textures for the walls and floors of the Tutorial Level's Environment

Nicole and Danger's work on the murals, being used to communicate the story at the beginning of the Tutorial.  

Max's cinematic work, combined with a few of Brock's sparkly particles. Also, a finished mural pictured in the background.

Contest Entry! And Level Design

In preparation for both Entelechy submissions [and another contest], both environment teams for Project Chime are now retooling their efforts to polish up Level 1 of the game.

This means that the Tutorial Level we'd planned to create within the quarter has been moved to top priority and we'll be making a push to have everything up and running very soon.

Meanwhile, our Systems guys [and gals] have been on the ball, coming up with some layouts for both the Tutorial level and Level 2. The following is just one of many concepts. 

The player is represented here as a blue dot, while golems are represented in yellow.

After making their way over to the golems up on a ledge, the player must use the double-tether mechanic to grab onto both of the golems.

After contact is achieved, the player then waits for the third golem [pacing back and forth along the red arrow's path]  to get into range, before tethering to it. The third golem will still continue along its path.

With a well-timed release of the third tether, this configuration will create a slingshot effect, allowing the player to travel much farther.

This travel leads the player to another island, which was previously inaccessible. 

Look Development: Colour

Another treat today, Nicole Brunken has been working on colouring Lazarus' architectural line work, in the hopes of securing what colors and values will be making it into the final game. 

As it was before, our inspiration is stemming from the saturated colours of the Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.

Oh! How colourful!

Here is the direction we have so far: 

Architectural Consensus and a Treat

Along with the rest of the Environment Team, Lazarus has been at work trying to come up with the visual mash-up of architecture that the group had discussed before. The following is a few of the sketches she's devised so far.

And here's a treat! This is one of Lazarus' environment pieces, colored by Nicole Brunken, in order to get a feel for the colours that will be used in the new environment.

Concept Art Begins!

On the Environment front, the Concept phase is in full swing as block-outs are being made, puzzles are being created, and sketches are being sketched... The following are a few pieces made by Lazarus, in the hopes of getting the style of our environment nailed down.

A Cage/Home for potential 'flying' golems.

Environment Conception

Team Chime's has been hard at work coming up with ideas for the second environment's [Fu Group's] world. So far, however, things have been narrowed down to either a grouping of floating islands or a canyon-like environment, both residing high enough to reach the clouds.

Into the Canyon

Disclaimer: Not our concept art... yet.

Among the Flying Islands

Disclaimer: Not actually flying... Barely an island...

The group has also set to work coming up with what the architectural aesthetic would encompass. Many different perspectives were thrown around and considered, including Early Native American, Gothic, and Scandinavian/Norse, so we decided on a mash-up, in the interest of extracting something original.

Medieval Influence

This image displays an emphasis on smooth stone, density of houses, and integration of cloth [if possible]. 

This image displays patterns used in the lattice work on buildings. If the team decides to follow through on this style, though, the densely packed cobblestone used will be replaced with a smoother stone, to prevent things from getting too garbled.

Since it's been decided that wind will play a role in this part of the game, an early interest in windmills was taken. These windmills have a very interesting shape to them that may be incorporated into the golems themselves.

Scandinavian/Nordic Influence

Chosen for their inset nature and grassy roofs that extend all the way into the ground,  these guy's have roofs that would integrate pretty nicely into both the sides and on top of either a canyon or flying island environment. 

Turkish/Ottoman Influence

Though probably not the prettiest building, the stilts/buttresses that prop up this little guy is something we'd like to emulate with buildings that may not be set on flat land. 

Stripes! Though the team won't be going in such a noisy way with them, subtle stripes are a feature being considered for structures that need attention or should stand out against the backdrop.  

This building, minus a more Nordic roof, is somewhat of a fusion between the styles the team is after.

With these references in mind, the team will be agreeing to a more nailed-down consensus in the coming days.