And… go!
For those of you who were with us since the KickStarter campaign, you might remember that one of our early stretch goals was to add the Catacombs. We loosely described the Catacombs as:
“A massive, interconnected underworld with a story and ecology all its own!”
Well, it is time to expand on that story a bit! You’ve probably heard us hinting to some bad thing that happened in the distant past. Well, that distant past was around 400 years ago. During that horrible time the lands were not as safe as they are today so many people retreated underground for safety.
Existing dungeons and caves were cleaned out and expanded. Some started as burial chambers that were then expanded to vast complexes. Many were connected to each other through miles and miles of underground passageways. Those who knew the passages well enough could reach many of the strongholds of the land without ever venturing into the overland areas.
Now, twenty generations have come and gone and this vast system of catacombs has faded from the memory of most. Some sections have collapsed from centuries of neglect. Other areas were claimed by dark creatures to be used as their lairs.
Legend has it that the catacombs still connect many cities and key parts of the continent. However, in the twenty generations since they were created as a safer travel mechanism, the world has turned upside down. Now the darkness that once roamed the overworld often lurks in the passages beneath and the overworld has become the safer option… or has it?
For our second Scene Jam challenge, we want you to help us create sections of the catacombs! What we’re looking for are what you imagine people might have created 400 years ago to both escape the cataclysm above ground but also to travel between key areas of the world.
We are providing you with a our “catacombs lite” set for those who don’t have access to a dungeon set but people should feel free to use whatever assets that work. If you want to build it out by using rock models scaled up and placed to create surfaces for walls, ceiling, and then terrain for floor then go for it. If you want to use one of the Voxel toolsets to “dig” out the map in Unity then go for it, just as long as it looks good. Part of the challenge of this scene jam is going to be how to stand out from the crowd so everyone better get their creative juices working over time.
In addition to the usual requirements, we’re asking that you meet the following requirements:
- There must be at least 3 and no more than 6 ways to enter/exit but these don’t need to connect to any overworld space. In actual use we will connect these up to other sections of the catacombs so you can just make the entrances/exits open to empty space.
- The entire dungeon should be able to fit into a 200 meter cube. (This is HUGE! if it is larger than this then you are likely in need of professional help!)
- No jumping puzzles!
Scoring for this (and future) scene jams will be based on the following 100 point scoring system:
Challenge Goals Met: 20 Points
- Were all the goals of the challenge met?
- How well was each goal met?
Polish: 20 Points
- Could this be put in the game as is?
- Does the map look finished?
- Are there obvious visual anomalies (like stretched terrain, missing textures, etc.)?
- Smaller more polished maps generally win this category
Originality: 15 Points
- How much custom content was created?
- How different is this map from other maps?
Layout / Gameplay: 15 Points
- How playable is the map?
- How well is the player directed through the map to goals and interest areas?
Performance: 10 Points
- 20 fps minimum on a mid range machine
Beauty: 10 Points
- Is it pretty to look at?
- Are there vistas to survey the map from?
Mood / Story: 10 Points
- Does the map set a very clear mood?
- Does the map tell a story?
You should start your scene upload no later than 6PM CST on Sunday. Due to the large size of the scenes, most people ended up just using dropbox, google drive, or their own server during the first challenge. You can find the rules and how to upload your finished product here:
https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/?page_id=28725
You can grab the “Lite Dungeon Kit” and get updates on the kit here:
https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/forum/index.php?threads/public-dungeon-kit-package.3413/
More info about scene creation and available resources can be found here:
https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/forum/index.php?threads/scene-creation-central.3362/
And finally, look for a thread in the “Developer Depot” section of the forums:
https://shroudoftheavatar.com/forum/index.php?threads/challenge-of-the-avatar-10-4-13.3500/