Painted ground, new forests and houses, spells with real effects, flowing water and wildlife: what changed in Averrion 0.2.11 to 0.2.15.
Over the last few updates (0.2.11 to 0.2.15) we've been experimenting with new art and effects for Averrion: Ascension, trying out new asset packs and building the engine features to show them off. Here's what's in the alpha now.
The ground is real ground now: the towns and the wilds are painted in grass, dirt lanes, cobbled roads and stone squares that blend into each other, instead of a grid of tiles. The Gloamwood and the Ember Road have new forests of tall trees, pines, ferns and flowers, and Emberhold has new timber-framed houses, a tavern and market stalls.
Rivers ripple, catch the sun and foam at their banks. The ferry is a proper rowboat, with your own hero standing at the bow and the ferrymaster poling at the stern. Deer, stags and foxes wander the Ember Road and graze along the riverbanks.
Spells have real effects now: fireballs fly as fire and burst on impact, novas race outward as rings, and curses, fields and summons draw spinning rune circles. Town portals are swirling gates, waypoints stand in pillars of light, and a golden pillar rises when you level up or finish a quest. Legendary drops shine with a beam you can see across the room.
Wolves and the ranger's hound move like animals, archers fire real arrows, and the Druid's Stomp has its own animation. The Catacombs' floors are bigger, with the stairs down always on the far side.
This is alpha art: some of it will change again as we settle on the final look, and new characters are next on the list. The full list of changes is in the changelog at averrion.com/changelog.