The Making of Celestis

Hey Folks, Sea Wolf here with an update on my current project, the uncloning of Celestis. Celestis is receiving the Perrenial Coast makeover. The terrain is heavily influenced by Zhangjiajie National Forest Park in China, while the cultural decor is influenced by feudal Japan. It will feature a new town center and harbor, several gardens including a rock garden, several koi fish ponds, and a Noh/Kabuki stage which can also double as a dance floor. There are also a few Easter-eggs throughout the scene which pay tribute to some of my favorite chambara (classic samurai films).

Please keep in mind that this is still a work in progress, but feel free to leave some feedback. I would especially love to hear from the folks who live here. I will continue to post updates as the scene progresses

Harbor


Town Center


Stage


Lord of the Manor Entrance


Mountains


Zen Rock Garden


Koi Pond


Chris Wolf
Level Designer

 

Looks amazing! I love Celestis and the work done here is incredible! Keep up the great work!

 

The town center and stage images are not showing for me.

 

Very nice work! Can't wait to revisit Celestis once completed!

 

Thank you for sharing. This scene is coming along nicely. I like the layout a lot. I know you said it is early but just to mention that to change out the look of this to not look like all other scenes due to continuous re-use of the same assets to save time, if there is anything you can do to change color of housing, change out plant life and change out coloring and look of the stonework to make this area look a bit unique from so many other scenes. That is one thing I've heard from some new people and I agree sometimes scenes are very similar due to this.

It seems to be changing a scene by changing placement of the assets is not enough. We can change them all we want but the thing is they are still the same old same old over-used assets and make scenes look too much alike. I know this cannot be helped right now probably with resources and I know we are on a small budget with time constraints but just a little change up is needed as can be done. Thanks Sea Wolf for all you are doing and just suggestions. I appreciate what you do.

edited: ok edited to make more sense, well if I do Just thoughts for the game.

 

Super cool, nice work Sea-Wolf!

Glad to see the regional theme continue here.

 

Even more reason for footprint decals in the sand!

Will we be able to fish koi there? And carp?

 

Can't wait to see it in person

 

The central castle lot stick out like a sore thumb with the western inspired castle wall.

 

When I hear the name Celestis, I think of a place for observing the stars (so maybe an observatory somewhere if that is in the budget). It also -like Xenos- seems to be some sort of mystical place that people would make a long pilgrimage across the swamp & lake to visit. It should be interesting to see how it connects into the final lore, if at all.

Yeah, I live there sometimes but in the past year it has mostly been used as a perennial storage shed. Looking forward to any/all changes.

 

I know. The problem is we can't change plot walls right now without making it unfair to other plot owners. Hopefully in the future we can offer alternative wall sets to plot owners.

 

Agreed, and probably. Ill run it by the designer doing the spawning for this map.

 

Strange. Maybe try http://i.imgur.com/AI1SCzF.png
and http://i.imgur.com/0axiwNv.png

 

This is a serene-looking town and a beautiful scene to wake up to. Too bad I do not live there.

I think the cherry trees soften the castle lot walls nicely. Let's just consider that other cultures wouldl have affected the population of Celestis to copy them. The boat in the harbour could have arrived from afar, but a junk- or sampan-like vessel would not look amiss there.

Thanks for the peek, Sea-Wolf!

 

I see em now.

 

This looks great Sea Wolf! I love the circular entrance way into the rock garden and that stage area is very picturesque! Looks like a perfect place to host a wedding or some other formal gathering.

I like all the bamboo surrounding the Koi pond too... but the pond itself looks a bit off to me. It sort of looks like the cattails (punks) are submerged too deep in the water and should be a bit taller? The waterline seems to be just beneath the punks and a lot of the green foliage is completely under water (from the center to the right side).

Reference images: https://www.google.com/search?q=pun...1265&bih=843#tbm=isch&q=cattail+plant&imgrc=_

Just some constructive criticism that to help make it look more realistic. Can't wait to see the Koi in there too!

 

Beautiful work!

 

These are headed strait to my FB page @Sea-Wolf ! !
~Time Lord~

 

Awesome work, @Sea-Wolf . Makes me want to move there! I'm hoping Northwood will unclone to become just as cool one day.

 

I have 3 lots in Celestis and have lived there for a long time. I love the new image and look forward to R43. At one time I heard there would be a moon gate there. Not sure if this is still a thing. At the very least you will find me sitting in the Zen Garden when I am not out exploring. Please don't make it hard to get around though. It looks like many of the areas have walls now.