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Developing Pompeii: The Legacy in the WhaleX Engine
In today's game development world, it's not common to see a developer creating their own game engine, especially with so many commercial engines readily available. However, WhaleX Engine has been a passion project of mine for quite some time, designed to fit my specific needs as a solo developer. Built on DirectX 11 technology, WhaleX Engine allows me to have full control over the development process of my upcoming city-building game, Pompeii: The Legacy.
In the following sections, I will explain several key features that are crucial to the development of the game. But first, I would like to list some of the notable features my engine possesses:
- Terrain size is 4 square kilometers (about 1.54 square miles)
- Up to 12 different materials on the terrain
- 6 materials support terrain displacement, with 3 of them providing detailed textures like small stones
- Sea and rivers are animated with Gerstner wave systems
- An optimized foliage system for adding grass, leaves, and small plants
- A weather system that enhances the atmosphere with rain, storms, and volcanic ash
Terrain
One of the engine’s key strengths is its optimization for games with a top-down view, like city builders. I’ve developed several custom tools for terrain editing, texture painting, shoreline creation, and more. Currently, the engine supports up to 12 different textures for terrain, three of which allow displacement mapping. An additional three textures can have both displacement and detail mapping, allowing for small elements like pebbles to be painted onto the landscape, creating more intricate ground detail.
The above image demonstrates how the detailed texture system adds small stones to the terrain. Along with this, WhaleX Engine features an optimized system for adding grass and foliage without causing performance issues. The engine's editor allows for quick placement of larger plants like shrubs, trees, and environmental details such as fallen logs, mushrooms, and even Mediterranean plants like cacti and yucca.
Splines and regions
Another powerful feature of WhaleX Engine is the ability to add various splines and definition regions, essential for designing interactive areas within the game world. These regions dictate where animals roam, where fish swim, and where players can mine resources. Additionally, the engine handles complex elements like water pumps for aqueducts and fertile zones for agriculture, offering a highly customizable game world.
Water system
The next big feature in WhaleX Engine is its water system. I’ve built an advanced system that simulates the dynamics of seas and rivers within the game. At its core is a Gerstner wave system, which realistically governs the ocean’s surface. The engine allows for the tweaking of various parameters: amplitude, frequency of waves, and color of rivers, shallow, and deep waters. You can also test how the sea behaves under different weather conditions, such as when rain hits the ocean’s surface.
Weather manipulation
In Pompeii: The Legacy, players will experience a dynamic weather system that enhances immersion and gameplay challenges. Beyond sunny skies, the game features cloudy conditions, rainstorms, and even full-blown thunderstorms. The weather system also plays a critical role in volcanic activities, with ash filling the air during eruptions, small stones falling from the sky, and, in extreme cases, larger rocks descending as part of the catastrophic events. These atmospheric elements not only impact the visual ambiance but also bring new gameplay layers as players must adapt to the changing environment.
This level of flexibility within WhaleX Engine allows me to create a game environment that feels authentic and immersive, pushing the boundaries of what's possible in a city-building game like Pompeii: The Legacy. As development continues, I’m excited to keep refining these systems and expand the possibilities even further.
Stay tuned for more updates as I continue to push the limits of what WhaleX Engine can do!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2632240/Pompeii_The_Legacy/