The most exciting part of working on Reclamation is finally seeing all of those ideas people have had for Underlight that just weren't possible at the time becoming an entirely new world. We were very limited when it came to architecture, but now the possibilities are virtually endless. As we progress, we come across more and more ideas to throw into the game, and we have multiple teams that all help to make them work.

 

I have been working for the past few months on several different levels, or planes, for Reclamation. The level team has been working very well together and we are turning out some amazing rooms. I don't want to give anything away, but I guarantee that you will definitely appreciate the new look and feel of the game, especially when each house has its very own style and character, as opposed to the cookie-cutter feel of houses and rooms in Underlight.

 

There are a few places we get ideas for rooms in Reclamation. The first, more obvious place is the current Underlight game. Every plane has its own history, and a few landmarks. We feel it's important to let that history and basic feel flow, while adding a lot of new twists and characteristics to help add contrast between the planes even more. Secondly, we pull a lot of ideas from architecture from all over the world. You'd be amazed what you can find in books, on the internet, or even in movies. While we don't replicate anything, we do expand on something we might see. Some are very recognizable styles, like Gothic arches, or Greek columns, but there are also some very abstract styles that we come up with on our own, sometimes a collection of multiple stylings. Most importantly, though, we get most of our ideas from concept art.

 

You have seen a very small portion of the concept art we've been working from to build these rooms. From Emil "Warfist" Wickman's drawings, we can pull together a great theme for each level or guild, then the level team goes to work. The first step is building basic architecture, which defines the basic shapes and structure of a room, then that room is sent to another part of the level team for detailing. I am a detailer.

 

When detailing a room, that's when a lot of extra personal touches come into play. We add all the detailing, trim, texturing, additional lighting, and placing models. We also have another team of artists working on brand new textures and models for Reclamation. From the screenshots you may have already seen, you can tell that these new textures are most certainly a great upgrade from the original game. By the time we finish, the graphics and levels can never again be called the downside of the game.

 

A few of the levels are already done. Now, when I say "done," that really just means we've completed it for now and are probably going to go back to add some things. Our artist team is working very hard on whole new textures which will be added to the current rooms, as well as whole new models and the like. So far, we've finished working on a few Guilds, Threshold, a Rift, and Mt. Illapse, with a few other things still in progress. While many of you may see that list and think, "man, that's nothing! There are like 100 levels in Underlight as it is! This is going to take FOREVER," please don't be discouraged. We are much farther than we were a few months ago, and as we progress, we find ourselves taking less and less time to get the same quality results. Practice makes perfect, as they say, and our learning curve is climbing rapidly. Of course, with the nature of Underlight, our job will never be done. Long after the final release, I'm sure there will always be changes going on, be they monumental changes, or small details you'd never even notice unless someone told you about it. So, keep your fingers crossed, hope for the very best results you can imagine, and I promise we'll far exceed your expectations.

 

I'm really happy to be able to work on such an amazing team of developers and artists. Almost everyone has played Underlight before, so we're very much motivated by the players and ideas they have to share. It's you guys who have kept Underlight running for so long, so I think it's important to give you the chance to help shape the world you've kept alive. Open up your imagination and spill a few ideas onto the forums - you never know what you might find waiting for you when you arrive in Reclamation.

This month has been a really exciting month at Lyra Studios. With the blazing heat and long, sunny days, the only place any sane coder would be is indoors, tanning in the light of his / her monitor. But it's not just enough to tan; every coder needs some exercise, and so the typing begins, and code is born.

 

My job, primarily, is to add gameplay mechanics to Reclamation. This task has proven to be both challenging and rewarding. It's truly incredible to watch ideas that have been discussed for years coming to life. At times the implementation of these ideas is a daunting task, however, because not every concept that lives on paper can be easily or conveniently coded. It's even more challenging when you consider that with Reclamation there are two sides of the equation that have to be considered: server and client. Thankfully, I've been spared the sometimes grueling task of adding new server methods (Brent and Lee get to indulge in that pleasure!).

 

So, what have I added? Or, to rephrase that question: what am I going to tell you that I added? You see, we programmers are a 'tricky' bunch; we keep the shiniest, spiffiest bits of our code to ourselves until someone comes along and pries that code from our cold, lifeless fingers, but little do they know that we're just PLAYING dead, and when they least expect it... BAM! -- ...er...uh...nevermind that last part *coughs*.

 

So what devilish activities have I been up to this June at Lyra?

- The Goal Book that some of you may know and love from Underlight has been revamped extensively, and plays a huge role in Reclamation.

"The what?" inquire some of you UL players.

The Goal Book - the dialog that people rarely ever use to view their house missions. Yes, that dialog. You will have many reasons to be using it in Reclamation. That's all I'll reveal here, but trust me: it's big.

 

- New tasking system implemented.

 

- A good portion of the advancement system has been added, along with a bunch of new windows for it.

 

- Our new levelling system has been added. Stat points are now assigned by players to whichever stat they choose (provided they remain within the orbit+10 / orbit+20 boundary).

 

- Added the system you've all been hearing about these past two weeks: Focus Templates. Let's just say that this system is both incredibly powerful and incredibly unique. Provided you have the available stats, you can acquire a focus whenever you want... well... sort of. =)

 

- Broke the server and client a few times due to my horrible typos and occasional lack of planning. Yeah, I'll admit it: we coders aren't always perfect, but we ARE the closest things to perfection you can find. ;)

 

- Debugging of the above and other 'stuff.'

 

- I really, really tried to stop myself from responding to this post on our forums. This is something I've been working on for the past 10 days or so, and let's just say that the answer is, "Yes. And it's even better than you think it is."

 

Excited yet? =)

Reclaim...

-- Void*