Soul Split Devlog #6

Hello and welcome to another Soul Split Devlog, this time for February 2024.

In January we showed off a lot of stuff relevant to the second major area of the game, the Khorsian Lowlands, and this month we'll be focusing on this area even more and likely finishing it with the next development update.

So far for the Lowlands we have setup a lot of the assets we're going to use and now its just a matter of putting it together and figuring out the level design. Since this is an overhaul we already have a previous version of the area to work from, however there's one major change that we've made when creating this area.

Whereas before all areas in Soul Split were framed as interior spaces, we've decided to switch it up for this swampy hamlet and make it an exterior space. What does that entail? Well rather than raising the walls and pretending the black void outside of the rooms doesn't exist we instead lowered the walls added water and a skybox to give off the feeling of really being in a swamp.

This change along with some lighting adjustments really sold the swampy feeling of the area much more. Especially now being able to see the enormous towers in the distance makes the area feel much more interesting than previous iterations.

These changes in perspective aren't exclusive to just the Lowlands however, they're taking place all over the game as recently we've begun experimenting with enclosing interior areas. This would make it impossible to see over the walls and would ground the area in a far more immersive way.

Here's a before and after of the changes.

On top of those additions we've also begun to swap out some of the older assets for newer versions that are more in-line with the aesthetic of the game. For instance the plant life has been overhauled. Whereas before they were 2D sprites in an X pattern that swayed around slightly in the same way Minecraft does their foliage, now we've made proper 3D models for our beloved plants.

Speaking of lovely plants, we've also added a lot of much larger plants throughout the area as well.

Plant life has a very strong thematic presence in the Lowlands. Despite the area sitting far underground, the plant life grows incredibly fast despite the lack of sun. Which begs the question of where they're getting their sustenance from?

But plants aren't the only thing in the lowlands, wild beasts roam the lands and many of its residents have taken to worshipping them wandering the copses of trees hunting alongside them in a deluded state. Yet a small few remain locked in their dwellings shuttered inside from the violence happening on their doorstep, you may be able to pry answers out of those who remain, if you can find them that is.

But that's content for our next update where we go over the third and final part of the Khorsian Lowlands, where we talk about enemies and finishing touches.

Thanks for reading!