Update: Some production screenshots and delight for the UDK version of Cyka

Can't show you the textures just yet...

More development screenshots are available on the Screenshots page, down under the "Cyka Kickstarter demo (Unity version)" section.  These some screenshots are just something to give you to look at just for now.  They are just showing the wireframe models of the Unity-developed Cyka demo and using a placeholder sky texture, as the terrain model textures and sky textures are not yet finished.

But what's cool about these pictures is that they're showing one-fourth of the total map size for the playable region for the Unity-developed Cyka demo.  To give you a sense of scale, click on screenshot 03 below, look at one of the triangle faces, and place your mouse cursor within one--that's just about the size that one character will be on the terrain.  Now imagine about 50 of similarly-sized units engaged in confrontation with 50 other similarly-sized units, and you can begin to imagine the elbow room your playing field will be in this demo.

Screenshot 03

Some of this terrain map will be what actually gets left untextured and released for free use on the Unity Asset Store.  This entire map when finished textured and animated will be in the pack of three game-ready terrain maps made available for purchase for $10, provided with many prop assets to allow people to make it look like their own terrain.  We're not afraid of selling the terrain because the terrain in the final game will look better defined than the more general-purpose terrain pack and there will be so many terrains in the official game that will pale even this large terrain size in comparison.

Also in development right now for this demo:

• models of several types of trees, rocks and plants are being made
• high-resolution sky texture being created and rendered from scratch in a separate 3D program
• initial character models are being modeled (animations come next)
• concept buildings are being conceptualized in both 2D and 3D
• creature designs are being done in 2D at the moment
• textures for the terrains are being done carefully (but not yet shown here)
• game logic for both demos are being plotted out

Again, more reveals of the Unity-developed Cyka demo are coming this week.

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Progress is coming along quite well for the UDK-developed Cyka demo as well.  So far, we've tried some tests of terrain as both generated using the heightmap terrain editor and as imported modeled terrain meshes, to weight out their advantages and disadvantages for us (some as memory usage, environment destructibility, ease of assembly, etc.), and we're definitely going with the terrain editor option.

UDK makes it pretty easy to create an impressive terrain quite quickly, so the test to be sure about our approach was worth the time.  Though, UDK is such a robust engine with tons of amazing features at your disposal, some obvious and some not-so-obvious, and personally, it's still quite the learning experience for me as the chief developer (currently the sole developer, at the moment).  I am proficient in using Unity, which I've been using for years, but UDK I'm rather new at--I've only adopted it this year--and so I want to be totally up to speed with UDK when I finally hire my team of developers.  Though, it's time-consuming learning while you utilize.

It's been worth taking the extra time to learn how to best utilize the engine--and thanks to a wealth of learning resources, that's been happening with no problem.  I'm mastering this engine quickly, and I can see how even more amazing this version of Cyka is going to be.  The original Unity-developed version will already be loads of fun (cross-platform-style), but this UDK-developed version of Cyka will be very amazing to experience on Steam.  The contrast between them will be one I think gamers will thoroughly enjoy.  (Of course, Kickstarter supporters who pledge at the $50 level will get both the Unity-developed standard Cyka (four copies of this version, in fact) and the UDK-developed Cyka: Steamed Edition.)

I can't wait to show you the work I've been working on so far!  Since I'm working on more than one thing at a time, I'm working non-linearly, going between different aspects and working on them a bit at a time, so that's why I don't want to show them off just yet.  But I'm sharing the untextured examples of my Unity work just to whet your appetite a bit.

- Brian

Update: Screenshots coming, building our team, Cyka details, and E3 excitement

The two demos are coming along well, and we'll post some development screenshots up as soon as we reach a good point we're comfortable with sharing them.  Also on the way are some more concept art, our first video for the PolyKhrome YouTube channel, a podcast, and those terrain maps for the Unity Asset Store that we're working on.  Expect most of that coming this week.

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Next on our announcements here, PolyKhrome be looking to expand our team soon.  The development team of PolyKhrome will be kept deliberately small, where we can be a tight-knit powerhouse.  We will have four positions available pretty soon.

• 3D assets artist
• 2D assets artist
• Game/network programmer
• Sound designer

After the release of our demos and the start of our Kickstarter, we'll be looking to fill those positions.  We also plan to seek dedicated music production from one of my personal favorite game music composer, Jake Kaufman, if we reach our goal with the Kickstarter.  This will put Cyka development into overdrive, but for right now, we're focusing on establishing Cyka with a solid foundation these demos currently in development will provide.

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As for some more details about the game, because some have been curious of how Cyka plays in terms of perspective, the game's battle aspects play out in a third-person overhead (isometric) view similarly used in games like Starcraft II and Torchlight II, but we aim to improve on the usage than most games, as Cyka allows for a range of rotation with the camera, as well as allow players to experience the battlefield in third-person ground-level view, and first-person perspective for certain units with scoping available with their range projectiles.

You can quickly switch between overhead view and ground-level third-person view.  The overhead view is particularly useful for turn-based actioning, while the ground-level view is useful for real-time fighter action.  Though, you can use the ground-level view during turn-based actioning when you're taking cover and you want to snipe at an dead-as-a-duck open target who might have retaliating sniper units covering them.

The game's exploration aspects play out in third-person ground-level view, but players will have the option to traverse the lands in overhead view and to survey the land in first-person view.  You'll have a sense of freedom of exploring the fully-explorable continents of Rhye, as you traverse by foot, by mountable beasts (if which you'll have to catch and tame for your army), and by other means of transportation we don't want to give away just yet (but we'll hint this much: the sky's the limit).  Again, we're making the kind of game we wish would exist.

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As we develop the demos, we're going to post Cyka up in the IndieDB database of games, and I think our game will get quite the coverage in news there.  We expect this game will get the attention of a lot of folks, so if you want to be among the first 100 to receive a free desktop copy of the game (PC or Mac), visit our Facebook page, Like us if you do, and let us know how Cyka sounds to you so far, and we'll send keep you listed as one of the 100 people to send the game to upon completion.  We say this because we expect quite a lot of attention to flood in when the playable demos are complete and word gets out in indie game news sites.

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Finally, I just can't leave this update without talking about E3 2012!  I'm personally excited about this year's E3, in particularly due to the Wii U from Nintendo.  I'm looking forward to seeing more about the Wii U, though I'll be posting up some thoughts of the E3 presentations of Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo.  I've been following the Wii U's development from day one along with multiple sources (like Wii U Blog, Nintendo Everything, and Wii U Go), and as both a gamer (esp. a Nintendo fan) and a game developer, I'm ecstatic about the possibilities the Wii U's sweet controller and better online features provides.  I can say that PolyKhrome definitely has aims for developing for the Wii U, and I would definitely make sure we take full advantage of the features of the Wii U.  But one step at a time--become established developers first!

Anyways, that's all for now.  Though, I'd like to say thanks to visitors for our 500+ views of this blog so far--PolyKhrome really appreciates your checking us out.  A lot of hard work is going into this game, and I'm sure in saying that these demos will not disappoint you.

- Brian

Free terrain maps heading going to the Unity Asset Store today

We're releasing several terrain maps freely available at the Unity Asset Store a little later today.  Few of them we created to use in our game demos.  They'll be untextured and without additional props but free for any use, even commercial (just as long as you don't reproduce exactly our landscapes from the game!).  We can spare to freely share a few maps, since there'll be over 100 more in the game!

PolyKhrome will periodically release free assets from our game Cyka available at the Unity Asset Store and  TurboSquid, and BlendSwap.  We like to share some of our work with others, and encourage people to use them in whatever creative ways they can imagine.  You can expect more releases periodically in the future.  And hey, we'd love to hear from you about how you used them!  Post them on our Facebook page!  Enjoy!

- PolyKhrome Team


[5/25/2012] Update: Bare with us, folks--we've decided to provide some detail assets to the free untextured terrain maps, such as rocks and trees.  We're also uploading a package of 3 large maps for purchase at $10 that are fully-textured, loaded with animated and static props assets, low-poly and ready for any game production.  We'll post them up on the Unity Asset Store at the same time and post up a link to them both when we're done.