Vulcan Valhalla News
22nd August 2001
Valhalla3D Development Update
Wow! Just realised that our last Valhalla3D news was in February!
What can I say but aaargh! Okay, apologies aside lets bring you up to date.
Concept
For those of you not sure what Valhalla3D is? Basically it's a 3D Adventure game
for the PC that requires allot of thinking and puzzle solving in a mystical world
but with real world roots. The adventure is broken down into episodes with each
episode (eventually) being delivered through the Vulcan Portal application. We
refer to Valhalla3D as a '3D Episodic Adventure'.
Anyway, we plan to create Valhalla3D episodes for as long as we are alive :)
Which will create a never ending experience and hopefully the biggest adventure
game in the world! So far episode one is still in development!
Development
Valhalla3D is developing slowly but brilliantly, through testing we realise
that it is turning out to be an incredibly detailed 3d environment and something
that you have probably never experienced before.
For example, if you played 3d games before, 9 times out of 10 you are in a location
and realise you have to run through it to get somewhere else! A wall is a wall and
an object will normally be a texture of that object on a polygon shape.
This is something we never wanted for Valhalla 3d and always thought it funny
that when playing a 3d game the goal was always to get somewhere else :)
probably because the location was so dull and boring. Anyway in Valhalla3D we
are hoping the opposite will happen, for example...
Total Absorption Into A Virtual World
..imagine you are in a study, and see a writing desk, now this writing desk will be as
close to the real world as possible, for example it will have a weight and
dimensions and will interact with it's real world, drawers could be opened (which
will behave with full dynamic physics and collision) and inside the drawer you might
find a music box which too could be opened to find some rings or perhaps a locket
on a chain that perhaps could be opened to reveal a picture of somebody's true
love etc.
What we are aiming for is total absorption into a virtual world and we are hoping
that you actually forget it's 3d with polygons, texture mapping, lighting, collision
physics, AI and interaction etc. and instead are just left with the stimulation of the
actual environment.
By no means is this an easy development process and unfortunately is the main
reason for this huge development time for the first episode, but ultimately we are
sure you will love what we end up with.
On this note we are trying hard to get some early beta test demos of the Valhalla3D engine
available within the Portal over the coming months.
Valhalla Classics
Meanwhile (and some of you already know this) we eventually got round to
converting our old Amiga Valhalla games for the PC, so if you've always dreamed
of playing these old classics again or simply are curious as to what these old
games played like, then you should get our free Vulcan Portal application as that's
how they can be downloaded and even played inside! It's a long story so it's
probably just best to get that application from the Portals website and find out for youself.
We expect to have the first episode of these classic games available in about 1 to 2
weeks time.
Live Long & Prosper!
Paul Carrington
Director Vulcan Software Ltd
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