Here’s a screenshot and video clip showcasing Sanctum 3’s unique flying system. These use the Sanctum Flying Skyscape tileset, custom developed for the series by the very talented Estelindis.
Essentially, there will be two ways to travel in the module. One that should already be familiar to players is journeying overland, using linked areas along the roads on the map that I posted recently. The other, faster and more dramatic method, though, will be by flying through the “Sky Over Rayche,” which the player can ascend to and descend from at designated locations across the land. The video clip (about 75 meg) illustrates this latter method.
looks great Tony!! i have to find my original NWN1 disk and do all the updates and reinstall, been playing around with NWN2 too long!!
Have I ever told you before that you have a serious talent in creating an atmosphere which simply takes my breath away? I have? Well, it won’t kill you to hear it again!
(Sorry, coud not help myself, but an opportunity to sort of steal Alistair’s line was too good to resist :p)
Anyway, I thought it was interesting when you said that both travelling options is present. But is there like a pro and con for doing one and not the other? And it seems like pc and his/her crew are racing against time to raise an army, so would the time contraint be an issue regarding the player’s choice of travelling? But I highly suspect that I will end up trying both methods of travelling anyway, since the designed landscape will be too good to miss!
Aderyn: as always, thank you very much for your very kind comments! There are several reasons why the player might choose overland travel as opposed to using the Sky Over Rayche, and I’m still thinking over some of the design issues. There will definitely be things of interest to find by traveling the roads as opposed to flying, so players will likely want to make at least one trip along the roads to check them out. They will include some plot quests and encounters, as well as things that add some color and ambiance to the module as a whole.
My primary motive in adding the sky was to make the whole plot-concept of wind-walking and/or Pegasus riding a visceral part of the play experience. Otherwise I could have handled all of the flying travel with scripted area jumps. This way, I can also make the “Sky Over Rayche” and its mini-map function partly as a kind of “overland map” a la games like Dragon Age, even including landing destinations that don’t necessarily show up until you learn that there’s some reason to travel there.
Regarding the time constraint: I have deep concerns about building those into the module as a whole, because if handled badly they can seriously cramp the play experience. I have another approach in mind for that, which is tied to the much more non-linear design of Sanctum 3 compared to the first two chapters. But more on that for another time. 😉
Argh! Can’t wait to play!
Hopefully, the release of DA2 in March will keep my mind occupied until SOA3 is released.
By the way, when will SOA3 be released?
Hi! I’ve long been a fan of the SotA series in NWN and it has definitely been one of the most memorable for me. I’ve played through it multiple times over the years and was looking it up the other day to play it again. All the stuff for chapter 3 looks very promising. 😀 I look forward to playing it whenever it comes out. I’m happy to see that flying is going to be an integral part of the game play (albeit optional, which is good for people who like to explore [me]). I hope it’s still in development and all is going well! I’ve been looking forward to the new chapters. 😀