The Cosmic Vale

Devlog

• FIRST LIVE BUILD
  October 01, 2024 by ZSewellDesign#Live build, #Cosmic Vale, #Playable build, #level design, #unreal engine 5, #version 1, #Final build, #World of Warcraft, #fantasy, #mmo, #multiplayer, #action rpg, #arpg, #Passion project

  WE ARE LIVE! How to play: The map and the game mode are already established, so all you need to do is make your character then hit "PLAY OFFLINE" . You can choose to play in " TP/FP" or "Topdown" . Pl... Continue reading

  
• Polish
  September 29, 2024 by ZSewellDesign#Art pass, #Cosmic Vale, #Design Documentation, #Environment Art, #Fantasy, #Game Design, #Game Mechanic, #MMO, #Milanote, #Overhaul, #Player Hub, #Polish, #System Design, #Unreal Engine 5, #World of Warcraft, #World Art

  Endgame By this point, I was about a week away from releasing the project, so I focused the rest of my time on polishing the Vale. I cleaned up any misplaced foliage, refined the textures in the lands... Continue reading

  
• Building the Player Hub
  September 29, 2024 by ZSewellDesign#Art pass, #Cosmic Vale, #Design Documentation, #Environment Art, #Fantasy, #Game Design, #MMO, #Player Hub, #Unreal Engine 5, #Teleporters, #World of Warcraft, #level art, #World Art

  The Player Hub At one point during development, I realized the world needed a proper player hub to serve as a central point of interaction. So, I designed a cliffside tavern nestled in a lush valley,... Continue reading

  
• TELEPORTERS!!
  September 29, 2024 by ZSewellDesign#Cosmic Vale, #Art pass, #Design Documentation, #Environment Art, #Fantasy, #MMO, #Overhaul, #Player Hub, #Unreal Engine 5, #Teleporters, #World of Warcraft, #Game Design, #System Design, #Game Mechanic

  Teleportation In large-scale games like World of Warcraft , players can use teleporters to navigate massive worlds, and I wanted to incorporate a similar system to allow players to travel between the... Continue reading

  
• Alnor Citadel Overhaul
  September 25, 2024 by ZSewellDesign#Art pass, #Cosmic Vale, #Environment Art, #Fantasy, #MMO, #Unreal Engine 5, #level art, #world art, #world of warcraft, #terrain sculpting, #Player Hub, #Overhaul

  Citadel Rework One of the biggest adjustments I made during development was to the Alnor Citadel. Originally, it felt too open, and the stonework was much brighter than I had envisioned, clashing with... Continue reading

  
• Design Documentation
  September 25, 2024 by ZSewellDesign#Cosmic Vale, #Environment Art, #Fantasy, #MMO, #Design Documentation, #Unreal Engine 5, #Milanote, #World Art, #World of Warcraft, #level design

  "Doc.exe not found" I realized that I had very little design documentation for The Cosmic Vale during its three years of development. Recognizing this as a significant oversight, I decided to gather a... Continue reading

  
• Third Art Pass & First Build
  August 29, 2024 by ZSewellDesign#Cosmic Vale, #Environment Art, #Fantasy, #MMO, #Phase 1, #Unreal Engine 4, #World Art, #World of Warcraft, #Unreal Engine 5, #alpha version, #indie project, #level design, #environment design, #level art, #terrain sculpting, #world art

  The third art pass In the third art pass for my level design project, "The Cosmic Vale," I focused on enhancing the environmental storytelling to immerse players deeper into the world. I introduced va... Continue reading

  
• Unreal 5 & Lighting Overhaul
  August 29, 2024 by ZSewellDesign#Cosmic Vale, #MMO, #Unreal Engine 5, #fantasy rpg, #indie project, #level design, #world art, #level art, #environment design, #world of warcraft, #engine switch, #light overhaul

  Making the switch When working on The Cosmic Vale , I decided to switch from Unreal Engine 4 to Unreal Engine 5 to stay up to date with the latest advancements in unreal engine technology. This transi... Continue reading

  
• Second Art Pass
  August 28, 2024 by ZSewellDesign#Cosmic Vale, #Environment Art, #Fantasy, #MMO, #Art pass, #Overhaul, #Phase 2, #Unreal Engine 4, #World of Warcraft, #terrain sculpting, #fantasy rpg

  Landscape facelift During the second art pass for The Cosmic Vale , I undertook a significant revamp of the landscape material, focusing on more refined and realistic textures. The original material f... Continue reading

  
• First Art Pass
  August 22, 2024 by ZSewellDesign#Cosmic Vale, #MMO, #Fantasy, #Overhaul, #Art pass, #World of Warcraft, #unreal engine 4, #fantasy rpg, #World Art, #Environment Art, #Phase 1

  Creating Foliage Clusters In the first art pass for The Cosmic Vale , I focused on creating a visually immersive environment that balances natural elements with key Points of Interest (POIs). To effic... Continue reading

  
• Reworking the Terrain
  August 22, 2024 by ZSewellDesign#Overhaul, #terrain sculpting, #alpha version, #fantasy rpg, #mmo, #unreal engine 4

  The Overhaul After some contemplation & review, I decided to start from square one and completely re-sculpt the terrain. First off, the scale was HUGE! Way bigger than I had intended. And the terrain... Continue reading

  
• CV_Prototype
  August 22, 2024 by ZSewellDesign#Prototype, #Version 1, #Project Start, #Fantasy, #Cosmic Vale, #Unreal Engine 4, #MMO, #World of Warcraft

  The lightbulb moment I was browsing Pinterest on my lunch break one day when I stumbled across this image of these stone runes resting in what looked like a marsh/swamp biome. I dissected the piece fo... Continue reading