What's happening right now?
Our work on the Soviet campaigns is currently in full swing, but apart from it each studio team member has a lot of things to do. This Development Blog episode will tell you about the work of one of our programmers, who decided to spend some time improving the visual component of Blitzkrieg 3.
Update 0.9.2 brought us a new interface, and some changes in the colour palette of the game with it. Judging from the survey results, many of you liked it. We are going to move forward and polish up the models and animations we have to make the game look better and more spectacular, and at the same time realistic and adequately conveying the atmosphere of the World War II.
1. Models and tree shadows
Let's consider all the models from left to right (pay attention to both the front and rear views):
- The first version correctly depicts the leaves, but doesn’t do a very good job with lighting.
- The second one is good with lighting, but the leaves are darker than they should be in some places. That’s because in real life leaves let some light pass through.
- The third version is the final one. It works correctly with illumination, and the leaves do not absorb all the light hitting them thanks to the semi-transparency effect.
You'll see the new trees on the Rzhev map!
2. Explosion and fire effects
We are now updating the old effects: they are becoming more detailed and realistic. Animation is getting vibrant new details. Hot air trembling makes the game look more dynamic and realistic. Finally, it just looks spectacular! :)
We'd like to present you some static screenshots and gif files, showing what explosions will look like in the very next version of the game:
3. Landscape matters
We softened the seams between landscape and different environment objects by working with shaders. What a trifle, on the face of it, but this feature lets our artists create more colourful and lively landscapes.
Ivan, our programmer, was so happy that he started applying this filter to everything that moves or stands. The effect looked fine with almost everything, but, course we couldn't quite get by without a hitch. The moment the programmer tried the new technology on horses, they started looking like horror movie characters. Having buried themselves up to their necks, the horses were looking absently at the one who created them. Ivan saw this nightmare and decided that it's too much. He saved the poor animals, and kept the filter active only for the things that actually needed it.
Apart from the seams, we also have a completely re-worked toolbox for creating... grass!
Map decoration now takes less time, and the result is better.
The screenshots show the effects "before" and "after", both in the editor and on game maps: in Luga and at one of the multiplayer bases.
We also added a softness effect to particles: let's have a look at a clear illustration to see what it changes.
On the first picture, the border between landscape and smoke is clearly visible. The second picture shows the smoke creeping softly along the ground.
Officers, this is just a tiny part of what is going to change in the game. You'll see the results of all this work in battle soon!
See you on the battlefield!