made a thing 

Awesome!

This is good stuff coming from you man. 

light rays now reveal teleport destination

@Bloughsburgh - thanks! I wasn't happy with my previous portal tests and I've been meaning to tinker with some particular shader stuff, so this was a good way to kill a few birds with one stone. 

This is some purdy stuff.

Is it going somewhere or are you just experimenting at this point? 

immediate goal, get stuff working. long-term goal, a game. 

 

Thanks for showing us how "modern" effects can blend nicely with a "retro" feel.

what you're doing shits all over modern effects on classic maps.

see: https://icculus.org/twilight/darkplaces/screenshots.html


Thanks man, looking forward to whatever you end up releasing with this engine / mod. 

This is where I'd like to see indie games go in the next few years. The kind of tasteful fidelity that is offered by modern effects, blended with the aesthetic of "crunchy pixel art" and low polygon counts.

If I ever made a game, that's how I'd make it look. 

also, that light inscriptions in the walls looks like the gates of moria (LOTR).

cool stuff with those light rays

i want to see something like this too. but that looks really hard to do.
http://www.psychicsuniverse.com/sites/default/files/styles/250x250/public/stained%20glass.jpg 

Well said! I agree completely.

This aesthetic is so appealing. The low-fidelity abstracts things to the point where your brain is forced to read between the lines a bit. When things are crystal clear, it's almost impossible to suspend disbelief... I've spent 20 or more years playing games, and like most of us, i know what particle effects and skyboxes look like, and can spot the polygons in the highest polycount models.

But reduce the resolution and render fancy effects in software, and it's so much harder to figure out how the scene is created. I can't see behind the curtain so easily with this, and that subtle haze, that slight mystery makes the world so much more engaging. So great work so far! Really excited by this project. 

@khreathor - thanks!

@Shamblernaut - I appreciate that. Those shots are a good example of what I'm trying to avoid. Funny, it's the same engine, same code, same tech. It really isn't about the tools, but how you use them.

@Pritchard - I agree, I'd like to see more stuff like this.

@topher - The doors of Durin were certainly an inspiration. That and Wayne Barlowe's work is what I drew from when designing those. I was slightly annoyed when a Doom4 gameplay trailer released and revealed the keyed hell doors that look very similar. Oh, well. Regarding the light rays: it can be done. I did some stained glass tests a year or two ago and it looked pretty good. Rays are easier if they're right angles. In half-life ep.2 they did angled rays like the ones you linked and they looked pretty darn good.

@starbuck - I think you hit the nail on the head. I liken the pixelated look to reading a book: a book gives you key information and a general outline but allows your imagination to do the rest. This makes the world so much more rich and interesting and gives the reader (or player) a certain authorship of the world they're in. It seems that the closer we get to the uncanny valley the less immersive and engaging the world becomes. What you described is a core concept of this project. 

http://imgur.com/a/pd87t 

That looks rather unique with the mash of textures. 

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C2uRhBuWEAIQAP4.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C2uRi_6WIAEJHWB.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C2uRnyAXcAAuHBH.jpg 

that first shot is stunning! 

Holy shit. 

looks great! 

mfx! 

sock made it, i just posted them here 

 

Screenshots of unplayable "maps" should go into Inspiration & Reference. 

little otp 

 

It's like what Quake 3 should have looked like if Quake 3 had art direction. 

http://i.imgur.com/edzGUyy.png