As the weather starts to get a little colder here at Payload Studios, we wanted to share what we’ll be revealing more of this month: the Arctic biome for TerraTech Worlds!
The Arctic biome is a snowy tundra filled with unique plants, blocks and hazards. As you explore the expansive ice sheets of the Arctic, you’ll need to adapt your Techs to this new frozen landscape.
“The Arctic biome started off as a joke,” explains Art Director Jason Howard, “the biome heightmaps on the planet were using cylindrical mapping, and at the planet's poles, the terrain was horribly deformed, so we turned the poles into completely flat, snowy wastelands as a temporary fix. After our Technical Director Si had figured out a fix for this, we'd gotten used to the idea of poles and the challenge of a low-temperature hazard biome fitted in with the progression for the planet.”
Once it was decided that the Arctic was the direction that the teams wanted to go for, it was time to think about game design, and the impact that the Arctic would have on players’ Techs:
“The Design team have been thinking about what makes sense in each specific biome while also making fun and engaging hazards,” explains Junior Designer Lewis Kielthy, “when it became apparent that we wanted to include a biome with extreme temperature we decided that using that temperature itself was an interesting mechanic that could influence the way players interact with the environment.”
We’ll be revealing more about the Arctic biome later this month, including in-game screenshots and video, as well as more explanation on how temperatures will affect your gameplay, so stay tuned for more information on what you’ll be able to do in this new snowy landscape!
November: it’s gonna be a good’un!