Jalex's Environment Preview #1

Grim Dawn Development Updates
1

Hey Grim Dawn fans!

Considering Zantai posted up some screens of what he was working on last week I figured I had to follow suit :smiley: It’s actually very liberating that I can do this without having to go through a marketing department and a focus group before I show off what I’m working on to the public - very different from larger studios.

I’m showing off four screens of a farm/homestead area I’ve been working on, with a bit of a Grim Dawn twist, going for a Sleepy Hollow vibe at night, and in the daytime, the colors show, but there is still a light haze and tension in the air…

I generally start by “Whiteboxing” an area first, setting up the playspaces, pathes, major obstacles like walls and buildings and such. It doesn’t look pretty but lets me change things quickly before polishing it up. Once I’m satisfied I do a detail pass and the result is what you see here. Keep in mind that these are shots in Editor, so in game it will look a bit more crisp, and camera angles may be off from what you can see in the game - but hopefully you get the idea :slight_smile:

I forgot to take some “Whitebox” screenshots before I did my polishing, so I’ll do that for my preview #2, to give you a sense of the difference.

Disclaimer - The following screens were taken in editor and do not reflect the final game visual quality or in-game camera angles

This is a shot of the road on the southern edge of the farm. The fence is a boundary for the player, but the walls are broken in areas which allow for easy access to the fields.

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This is a shot of the outside farmhouse, a bit north from the first screenshot. The farmhouse is elevated and a good defensible position, and players will need to fight their way in to get l00tz from the inhabitants.

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A shot of the farmhouse from another angle, not at night this time :slight_smile:

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This is a field west of the farmhouse, took it at about noon in game time so I got some nice bright colors for a change :slight_smile: As you can see, the TimeOfDay and the weather really effect the look and feel of the game.

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That’s all for now, my next update will feature a cellar/cave environment I’m working on next!

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yihaa, me like!

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These screen are great! Great work you’ve done so far. Can’t wait for the next update.

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i can’t wait to see this game enviroment complete ^^

5

You ever had that thing where you feel as if you’re awake and asleep at the same time… that’s me right now. mesmerizing (especially the top one).

6

Well, as I said in the previous thread you deleted, this is just fantastic! I am so glad you guys joined Crate!!! =)

Thanks for the update!

7

wow environment is looking fantastic, better than I imagined. Keep it up!

8

nice
(/)
(oO)
(><)

9

Awesome work!!!

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Maybe this is just me, but I would love for nights to be even darker. Dark nights make things scarier/more foreboding. Although from a gameplay perspective I understand why nights are generally bright.

Looking amazing so far! :smiley: Do you have any idea how often these updates will go out?

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Dibs on the farmhouse. After evicting the previous tenants of that farmhouse and taking their l00tz, I’m going to squat there until I acquire ownership. Like you wrote, it’s definitely defensible, and although it’s definitely a bit of a fixer upper it looks like a nice comfy place to live. The rest of you folks are welcome to drop in for a spot of tea sometime once I fix the place up. :smiley:

Great work, Jalex. The environments look great and it’s nice seeing the difference in the times of day.

12

I don’t think you can make it much darker without it detracting from the visual beauty of the environment, not to mention how much more annoying it would be.

Don’t get me wrong, I’d love super dark environments with enemies appearing from just out of your light range similar to D2 and it’s dark caverns, but as a 3D game with VERY impressive graphics, I think its better to keep the darkness as is for GD.

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looks really epic, nice work, can’t wait for the next update, what more can I say?

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Love the screenshots. Especially the 3rd.

This game can’t come out soon enough!

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Keep 'em coming!

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man, there sure has been created some great art for grim dawn and it’s being put to good use. sooner or later we gotta find something to offset all the praise you and zantai will earn throughout development to keep you grounded (assuming screenshots/updates continue to be posted at the current rate). :wink: :stuck_out_tongue:

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I really like your work just like Zantai’s. Medierra found himself some good people. :smiley:

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Ah - behold those strange vehicles, which seem to be responsible for these mysterious trails in every other screenshot. :slight_smile:

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Thanks very much, Jalex. Between the environments and the music, the mood is clear.

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Who says they’re vehicles? They could be some kind of behemoth monster whoes rear-half is fused to a wagon or something with wheels and it rolls throughout the world leaving said mysterious tracks. :stuck_out_tongue:

I want a farm house like that one. It gives a ‘end of days’/deralict feel. All it needs is some mutations and horrors lurking around and I feel i could go hunting. :smiley: