The Halls of Artifice (a work in progress)

My guess is that this the point of the room. I bet it is a trap that you never want to leave.

 

As Jason would advise all Argovarians, beware the golden fleece. Look into your shields. I have got to have that furny and those plants. That bed is al a chic .

 

I can see it now: go to sleep in one of those beds and wake up to all of those beautiful people he mentioned changed into monsters trying to eat you!

 

Maybe the best interior design i have seen in SotA. Great light and shadow effects, very well and diverse placed objects, immersion is great because someone could live here for real and the colors are more firendly and not only gray/brown colored. Tiles of the living room are beautiful. Excited to see this in game.

 

Finally you've pulled yourself away from the pleasures of youthful vigor, and returned to the Entry Hall to explore more of this enchanting place... Upon approach to the next vestibule, you are greeted with enticing aromas and plates of various delicacies. Casks of ale and wine are piled here, with goblets and steins waiting to be filled. The glowing doorway to the next Hall of Artifice beckons.


Beyond the golden portal you are transported to the Hall of the Feast of Plenty! On either side, tall columns of rough-hewn marble support the vaulted ceiling in this marvelous great-hall that even Dionysus would envy. In the chamber's center an elaborate table stretches nearly the length of the room, piled high with masterfully prepared viands of every kind, each one more delicious-looking than the next. In the swirling steam rising from platters of tender roasted meats, lanterns gently sway, bathing the heaping delicacies in warm, welcoming light.



The incredible bounty of food at its center seems overwhelming! Even the edges of the great hall are lined with tables heaping with food, each set of offerings showcased in the rays of mote-specked light that filter in from stained glass windows on all sides. So much exquisite fare,...but worry not! This food will never go to waste, since you won't be the only one enjoying this amazing repast. Elegant guests wander and sit throughout the hall, enjoying delicacies of their own,...encouraging you to do the same. A fire crackles merrily in the great-hearth toward the back of the room, before which sits a single round table. And upon it, apparently, is the same mysterious box seen in the chamber before.


As you turn back to the entrance, the glow of the golden door reminds you that there is at least one more hall to explore before you must consider the comparatively small nuisance of the firmly locked bronze double-doors back in the Entrance Hall leading to who-knows-where... Those thoughts are mere tickling annoyances though, really. With so many like-minded comrades around you, enjoying the finer things in life, why bother worrying about such trivial affairs. The pleasures of the palate await!



Hopefully you've found this enticing...

More to come soon!

Scottie ^_^

 

Nice job, Scottie!

 

Looks awesome, except I'll never be able to visit that hall. If I do, I'll just get hungry and have to go get some food.

 

It really is very awesome work @Scottie . I love the draperies and furniture styles and the stonework is fantastic, most has a really unique look to it, different from other areas. I just love it.

 

Thanks!!! I was really trying for a hint of that feeling of all the best holiday feasts mixed together... Yule and all the harvest festivals combined into one!!!

 

Now it makes me even more sad this got delayed until next release though

 

Reminds me of one of the room in Karazan. Looking forward to explore the place!

 

@Scottie

you forgot a pillow under one of those keg taps for when i come visit... *glug glug glug glug*

 

Awesome! I am speechless! Award for the best interior in SotA!

 

We really need that stuff as decorations for our homes.

 

that would make Aritfice less unique tho!

 

Ah, we need to be able to place all those foods as decorations in our own homes! Currently the game won't let us. And we need those goblets too !

The banquet room looks very lush at any rate.

Its very nice how it is; but I have a couple of ideas for props -- take them or leave them -- and they might not even be appropriate depending on what you're trying to do, but they came to mind because they'd add to the lavishness...

A common type of drink in medieval feasts and celebrations was the cordial, and it might be typically served with a set of a decanter and cordial goblets or glasses. These could be pewter, or enameled, or glass. The nice thing about glass is that it lets the color of the drink shine through, and this was often important because the cordials were associated with their color.

So for instance, this is a picture of Usquebaugh Royal, a cordial that had small specks of gold in it, that was intentionally drank for its medicinal effects, and also helped give the liquor radiance,


Examples of glass cordial sets,



In addition to that, I'd imagine such a great banquet table to not just have a decanter, but a tall glass dispenser at the center, and the dispenser would be filled with the sparkling cordial liqueur. So, for example,



Something also common at medieval banquets were bowls of rosewater, which guests would use to wash their hands after meals; basically basins of water filled with rose petals...

 

Personally,...I LOVE this kinda stuff... Good looking glass, however, has been super hard for me to pull off well within the limitations we're working with in Unity... The shaders are pretty powerful, but the closest thing I've been able to pull off "fairly" well have been those gigantic crystals in the crystal cave, which are really only visible due to their flaws... The closer to "perfect" glass you get, the more it depends on actual refractions and reflections to make it look real,...something we can't actually depend on due to the expense of things like reflection probes in the scene... I already push frame-rate limitations with the crazy scenes I build.... There would probably be a tar and feather session if I tried to get "real" glass effects into the game... Heh!

But you've got me thinking about ways I can fake it, though....

Scottie ^_^

 

Curiosity, it seems, gets the better of you even in paradise... It's soon time to make your way across the Entrance Hall to the last vestibule, to see where its golden door leads. The sight that greets you is most promising. Glittering stacks of gold coins and decorative urns of precious metals are scattered here and there around the portal. There are coffers here that promise riches within, and ornate decanters that surely are filled with a wealth of only the finest perfumes and exotic oils. You crave to see what further wonders await.



Upon entering, you are overwhelmed by a mighty chamber of riches beyond the dreams of avarice! Behold the Hall of Wealth Without Limit!... Here, amidst arabesque arches of gold-leafed alabaster and carved chalcedony, glowing with opalescent light filtered through decorative panels of leaded glass and enormous gemstones, lay piles of seemingly endless treasures and priceless works of art.


Everywhere you set your hungry gaze, mounds of gold coins and sparkling statuary delight the eye with the glow and glimmer of warm light reflected off of a thousand polished surfaces. Gem-studded swords, shields of silver and gold, and precious idols from distant lands all call to you to claim them as your own. Perhaps there will be others here that will join you in collecting the choicest of treasures, or perhaps the contents of this fabulous chamber are yours and yours alone.



Beyond the center displays there is more still to discover, as every shelf before every window offers more and more lucre. Golden platters are stacked high with coins of all kinds, and at every turn chests wait to be opened so that they may divulge their precious secrets.


And of course, like the other halls, as you approach the back wall you find yet another of those intricately carved containers, identical to the rest, and just as mysterious. In this hall of splendor, however, such enigmas are far outshined by the incredible beauty and opulence that surrounds you on every side.


Meandering wistfully through the chamber as a whole, you find that the golden portal is once again a reminder of the last exit you have yet to explore; the triple-locked doors that appeared behind you as if by magic when you first entered the Halls of Artifice. But now, while enjoying visions of what such wealth can surely buy you, and the shining future it will bestow upon you and all your kin, why bother with troubling thoughts of unknown passages beyond this heaven when there is treasure to claim!... Here and now are all that really matter, after all...



Hopefully you have found this delightful!

More to come in the following weeks...

Scottie ^_^

 

wowowow
Awesome crazy work!

Reallly I loooooove it. the arches are just beautiful.
Got a total Art Nouveau feel to it.

 

Also I hope I can really get some of that stuff for deco in my house lol!

And maybe a hint at crafting gold stuff soon????