Hi everyone, and welcome to another Dandelion Void devlog. In a previous post we discussed the different categories of environment art aboard the Pergola as distinct "palettes". Today we’re showing off two new areas within the "civilian and domestic" palette!
But before we get started, we’d like to highlight a new video from Splattercatgaming, where he played our closed pre-alpha demo.
Thanks for checking it out, Splattercat!
Spoiler label: This post shows environment art for two new areas
Domestic Production
As we mentioned last week, our current focus for new environment art is to showcase the lifestyle of the Pergola’s original inhabitants.
When people think of science fiction spaceship environments, their mind tends to go to the styles pioneered in the Nostromo from the first Alien movie. Metal, concrete, and plastic materials, industrial greebling on every surface, and an almost entirely grayscale (black / gray / beige / white) color palette. Similar to the interiors of oil rigs, commercial cargo ships, or real-life space stations, there are few creature comforts because the space is entirely designed around the completion of a single job.
The Nostromo in Alien pretty much wrote set the standard for what sci-fi horror environments should look like – dark, industrial, and gloomy
By contrast, a generation ship is the only home its crew will ever know, so it needs to have domestic, civilian, and commercial spaces. And from a player experience perspective, part of the fantasy of Dandelion Void is creating a cozy nook for yourself amidst the coldness of space. So having pleasant spaces to inhabit is a must!
In order to push towards more human-centered environments, we've created two new spaces: the library and the bar!
The Library
Looking for a place to relax, find your next favorite novel, or learn more about the planet your ancestors left behind? Pay a visit to the library!
With warm green carpeting, wall-to-wall bookshelves, and elegant wooden furniture, the library is a cozy refuge aboard the vast Pergola.
Note: screenshots that have a perspective camera (above) are taken in our level editor, before grime and vegetation are procedurally placed. Isometric screenshots (below) are from live gameplay!
Of course, depending on your seed, your version of the library might be in a bit of a rougher state…
But it’s nothing that can’t be fixed with a bit of time using Dandelion Void's cleaning mechanic! With a sponge in your left hand and a knife in your right, you can restore this space to its former glory.
Elsewhere in the Library you might find this multi-purpose classroom, where lectures, book clubs, and other community events were once held:
… again, it might need a bit of spiffing up in its current state. But the bones are good!
The Bar
If you need somewhere to de-stress after work, meet new people, or just drink your worries away, look no further than your local Pergolan bar!
With a well-stocked liquor cabinet, ample seating, and mellow checker-boarded walls, the upstairs area of the bar is the perfect place to take a load off.
Certain rooms will generate without grime and overgrowth -- this is intentional! We like the idea of our players wading through a series of overgrown ruins, only to stumble upon an oasis of normalcy. Some rooms we'll manually mark with a "no_grime" tag, while others will "naturally" end up clean due to variations in the procedural vegetation placement.
In the downstairs lounge, a central fireplace keeps you warm while you sit and chat on a variety of comfortable couches. Or you can order your next round at a secondary bar counter in the back!
In addition to grime and vegetation, another way the age of the environment shows is with disabled lighting. In the case of the bar lounge, you can actually restore the lights using a power cell!
Returned Books & Closed Tabs
We hope you enjoyed today's romp through these new sections of the Pergola! we'll leave you with a final peek into one last new asset, which was actually finished during the writing of this devlog!
This 70's era wood-paneled vending machine might be found in hallways around both the library and the bar. Just pray that some other scavenger didn't loot the snacks before you did!
That’s all for today. Until next time, please take care and have a great week!
-Robin and the Manzanita Interactive team