Shaped Light and Power Sources
I've never formally introduced the inclusion of Hard Light, Glass Light, Terminals and Power Conduits. They've been programmed in the game for a while, but their appearance wasn't complete, so I tried to crop them out of photos whenever I was taking them. While the visuals will still be updated again before release, I feel like now is as good of a time to talk about them as any.
The Terminal at the bottom-right is connected to the Hard Light wall blocking the player
Terminals got a brief mention in last week's article. They are a very simple mechanic; you simply walk up to a Terminal and hit the Interact button to turn it on or off, turning on or off its respective Hard Light or Glass Light barrier. What is Glass Light anyway?
Glass Light: Visible in the bottom-right of this image, pending artwork update
Glass Light is my own twist on Hard Light. It will support your weight or act as a barrier until you break it. It will remain off momentarily until it regenerates. The key to breaking Glass Light is either to hit it hard (using a Melee Attack while Dashing, using a Ground Pound, the detonation of a Grenade or wayward Sentry) or to hit it twice consecutively. The Glass will develop a bright crack the first time it takes damage and if you intend to jump on it again, you'll have to wait a moment until it heals.
Three variants of Hard Light, duel sine-wave pattern inspired by Portal 2
In contrast, Hard Light cannot be broken. You can pass through it in one direction but not the other. As with the case in the image above, this lets me prevent players from backtracking unnecessarily through the branching paths in the level.
Use your Laser to charge Power Conduits
Some Hard Light barriers are always active. Others are tied to Power Conduits. Powered Conduits will transmit their power to a connected Hard Light barrier. The charge doesn't last, so you'll need to make use of the active bridge quickly.
That's all there is to say on shaped Light and Power Sources for the moment, I hope you're looking forward to encountering them in-game!
Until next week!
Keep an eye out for new images shared every Monday / Wednesday and Friday on Indie DB, and follow me on Twitter for Daily updates!
