This time I'll be covering the upcoming visual and map design changes. The Halloween decor and night lighting is gone, the daylight is back. Cloudy as that day is :) The map aesthetics have been polished, lighting and object placement have improved.
The main course however is that I have restored and improved on some battlefields that were left unused in the files. Like the Abyss! Originally the only way to cross was that thin passage in the middle. I gave it a standard width but had the Abyss start exactly at the edge of the battlefield to make it feel narrower. I added some lighting, decorated the background and added some fireflies dancing around the edge to give a starry sky effect.
The Sovereign Citadel makes an appearance on lava terrain. Emphasis on large rock formations, craters and abandoned architecture.
A couple more campaign battlefields: A swamp arena from the showdown with Markal and a haven town square from a Tribes of the East cutscene. I'm pretty sure it was never used as a battlefield. As soon as I saw it in the game resources, I wanted it in the game!
Finally, I spiced up that empty-looking taiga battlefield. Now it feels like a sylvan grove up in the mountains, almost unrecognizable :)
I have grouped together the river and beach battlefields so that both spawn near the sea. Now each terrain type only gets native battlefields. I will probably add a patch of land that can randomise the arena you get.
More to come!
