Guild of Writers

A grand tree once stood upon the center of Vaal’lin. It was from this tree that the Vaal’lin got their name after King Jihl inscribed cryptic runes upon the tree’s trunk.

Unfortunately the tree was burned down during one of the many conflicts that Vaal’lin witnessed. In its place 7 vast slabs of white stone each carved from a single block were put up in the tree’s place one against adorned with the runes of Jihl.

So a little more free time has opened up lately which has allowed me to continue working on my various Age projects.

So I figured I’d post an update of sorts about what is going on with the 3 projects I am currently focusing on.

Fahets

Fahets has been completely overhauled at this point, there are surviving elements (Norapods, Rusteart plants) but a lot of new stuff too.

• Age Size – The Age is probably 4 times bigger than it used to be at this point. It is now more open instead of an enclosed basin location.
• Textures – Most textures have been updated or switched out for better versions, most obvious of these is the rock textures which now have more depth to them.
• Wildlife – More wildlife has been added to give the Age more depth.
• Sound/Music – No music but ambient sounds have been added to again add more depth. Main complaint about Fahets (after the “it’s too small” was about lack of sound).
• Interaction – Still working on this. Interaction is small in this Age because it simply doesn’t require a lot. It isn’t a puzzle location. But there are a few things to interact with aside from Journals and Linking Books. Unfortunately having interactive things added is difficult as animation triggers seem to be bugged in my version of PYPRP and no one can figure out why.

Kehrahn

For those who aren’t aware of the concept of Kehrahn. The Age started as a birthday present for my wife. Each year on her birthday I add something to the Age or expand the Age. She has given me permission to release it publicly but there there are some things I need to sort out before doing so.

• Models – Looking to update some of the models like the trees so they are better suited for the expansion of the area.
• Textures – Some texture updates have been made to various items in a bid to improve the look. These are mostly minimal though as the focus is on improving the models.
• Animation – The animation of the fishes is very basic with a lot of room to improve.
• Expansion – The Age has already been expanded but the expanded area is not working for me. As a result it will be completely overhauled to encompass the new concepts drawn up for beyond the lake area.

Fehnir’s House

An interim update for Fehnir’s place a 1.5 if you will. With the next main update (2.0 lets say) including the Linking Books for Ahryahn and Lehns.

• Textures – Some updates to textures mainly the walls of the room.
• Models – Made changes to the models that make up the room structure to allow for better lighting and shows (using vertex painting more than secondary meshes with lightmaps) as well as incorporating the changes to the stairs for better collision.
• Collision – The stairs were a mess with the collision being the wrong angle. This has now been rectified but has resulted in a slight change in geometry for the room (expansion and shortening of certain walls).
• Camera Regions – The camera region bug for the Book podium area for the Ahryahn Book has now been fixed and update which should help with removing the clipping of the ceiling in that area.
• Story Changes – Slight update to the story in that area and the inclusion of Sophie’s journal giving more story for the Third Path’s history has been added.

I have no idea when these updates will actually see the light of day. Fahets will most likely be first because work is almost finished there. Fehnir will likely be out before Kehrahn as Kehrahn has a lot of work to do on it.

The Temple of the Falling Star is a small temple within the Vaal’lin city and sister to the Temple of the Rising Star which resides in another Age. The two temples are linked together by a thread that goes beyond space and time.

Books are still the core to the Vaal’lin Linking technology, but they also took it a step further. Each inhabitant of Vaal’lin is equipped with a personal Linking stone that is worn on the chest. Such an item is so common place within society that fashion has evolved to include said stones within the design.

At the core of the device is an extremely small linking book that is connected to the rock interface allowing for a Link to be made upon contact. Similar technology was used with the Vaal’lin Public Link Service.

So I finished the other three images for the temple of the Four Gods for the Vaal’lin project.
I also figured I would post a little more information for those who are interested regarding who they are and so forth.

Azal the God of Creation and is represented by the day. He created the universe with Ib, Hameta and Ophen. It was said he looked upon Ashel with favoritism. When Ib corrupted the people of Ashel Azal turned his back on them, refusing to help them rise up again. Feeling that they should do it on their own merit.

Once considered a brother to Azal due to similar personalities and looks as Azal. Ib lead the corruption of Ashel and as a result was cast down and imprisoned in the darkness he helped spread. He is said to be the night.

Ophen is often represented as either a bird or as time and is both male and female. Due to their free spirited nature and that Ophen once saw both the past and the present at the same time. Ophen was partially blinded in one eye and so their view of what came before is obscured.
When Azal turned his back on the people of Ashel, Ophen stepped forward and offered them guidance.

Hameta is often depicted as the Goddess of the oceans/water. She inadvertently helped the God Ib in the corruption of the people of Ashel when she turned Azal’s gaze from the world.

Nexus Book: Nexus book placed in each Guild Pub.

Seating: Aside from the few seats surrounding the Guild Pubs, Kahlo Tavern style tables and chairs should be added to give more people places to sit and allow for a cozier more conversational setting to the location:

As you can see I have introduced a few concepts.
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