Time for a larger update.
I have built 2 somewhat decent testmaps to illustrate this update. These levels aren’t completely done yet as designing the new higher quality visuals takes some time and implementing the more complex gameplay takes some nerves However! I do believe that they show some progress and I haven’t shown any direct screenshots in quite some time.

* More interactive environments with more dynamic effects. (Water, fog, wildlife, NPCs etc.)

* Higher quality in both design and textures.

* Improved visuals using an extensive shader library. (its not UDK’s material editor but its still pretty potent for FPSC resources )

* Player-body and real time reflective surfaces

* Improved collision and optimisation

* Improved introduction plot…with less textscrolls.

Furhter improvments …or perhaps drawbacks will manifest along the way
To be honest, working on this game doesn’t feel like making an FPSC game for quite some time now and I hope you are as fond of the results as I am so far.

Activating these arcane glyphs allows the player to spawn hidden objects. From items to passages. The architecture of this room is still a little incomplete but this is close to what it will look like in the full version. Some of this specularity will also blend in better in the full version.
I have added female necromancers to the lore. She does not have a proper shader yet which is why her stomach and hands look a little choppy. I can assure you that the final version will look a lot more lively.

Dungeons will often vary in architecture and design. I want there to be caves bordering in architecture aswell as in – to outdoor segments.

This hall should look like its “carved in” the rock. I’m still working on that but its an explanation as why there are stalactites hanging down from this ceiling.

I find that the caves have a neat “wet” feeling to them.

As you can see I have given objects varying effects to boost immersion and trying to tame that overly glossy FPSC shader effect. I think that I have made decent improvments. That book for instance uses bond1’s static “tangentbasis” normalmapshader. The metal parts have a specular effect yet it lacks all of its “signature” gloss.

In-Game Screenshots

Thanks to this shader, it will have light reacting on it and it casts a simple shadow

I’m just sending a lifebeep out there and let you guys in on the latest changes in Spyra.

This is just a small update that will however introduce a feature that will improve the immersion a lot. Thanks to S4Reals latest modding efforts Spyra will not only have fully functional mirrors but also full body awareness. Just like in Dark Messiah, Thief: Deadly Shadows, Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter and Mirrors Edge (and more) you’ll be able to see your body ingame.

I’d like to show you the first prototype I made so far because I’m likely to keep it, altough you are likely to start the adventure less equipped and almost entirely naked. I see how I can manage “swapping” the players body.

I did a bit of research for this game and played some fantasy games, I liked when I was younger, now with the “developers eye”. I noticed, for example, that Dark Messiah of Might and Magic has very crude and simple architecture. However, clever use of highres textures, shaders and the occasional detailed mesh hid this perfectly well. I’ve always been a bit of a fan of Arkane Studios but the more I analyse their work, the more I admire their artistic finesse.

Just so much: Spyra: Prologue will be developed in FPSC-Classic (or FPSC-Loaded as Bugsy and I like to call it).
It will be the best playing and looking FPSC Game I ever worked on.

Thanks for checking this out!

-Adrien