1. The Pass is on YYG; currently hovering in obscurity. Please play and rate. (highly is preferable)

2. Three new screenshots for y'all, showcasing some random new additions to the CO engine.

More specifically:

(0x AA. Resolution 640x480)

* Nighttime scenes - a simple recoloration of the output produces a brand new effect. Also, this is the second of 11 "pillars" in the game world.

(2x AA. Resolution 1280x960)

* The interface - as minimalist as possible. Known cities/ships' names are displayed in an overlay, and all available special commands (for instance, Go to and Land at) are displayed in the upper-left corner. The only permanently shown interface bits are the Manage Ship/Manage Crew buttons at the bottom of the screen.

* New, more detailed city models. And by "more," I mean "insanely." Of course, it's not done yet - I'll want to add a bit of detailing work such as windows and doors - and probably just remake the city entirely - but the current is about the final level of polygonal detail. Notice the frames per second.

I do wish I had a method for casting shadows in screenspace, though.

(3x AA. Resolution 2560x1920)

And finally, the indoors environment. Environments are procedurally generated and assembled from stock components. (for instance, wall tiles and roof tiles) Doors are placed at predefined locations, while windows are randomized.

You can see a bit of the environment outside the building through the window; the lighting isn't quite right yet, but I'm working on it. Windows and other lighting objects (the candle) cast their own light onto the scene. This image is of the same room I showed in the debug-style screens last blog. The captain model is (for now) static and not colored properly (notice how comparatively vibrant his coloration is?); and is equipped in the style of a 1700s sea captain. This will change.

His face IS fully animated/rigged; he can smile, frown, show surprise, move his eyes around, glare… at the moment he has rather a severe "angry" expression. Total captain polycount: 2700. FPS with 4 captains in the room, all running high-quality AI: 115. FPS without: 130.

I'm still looking for a good format for animated models in X3d. SMD is difficult to work with (exporting issues from blender) and md5 is not really supported…