Realms Beyond - A Glimpse of Our World

Another update for Realms Beyond. This one focuses on the city states of Pyrrhenia and has some screenshots of temples.

Many centuries ago, the city states of Pyrrhenia ruled over a massive empire. Their settlers had colonized new shores all along the coast, and their ships had even crossed the ocean to find a strange new world in the west, of which now only memories remain. In the years before the Great Cataclysm, however, Pyrrhenia had been a subject of the Kingdom of Cormac, the zenith of its power long past and now a mere shadow of its former glory.

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But in the chaos of the Great Cataclysm, the Pyrrhenian cities declared independence and became free once more. Pyrrhenian lands were largely spared by the catastrophe, and the newly autonomous city states became the centers of a Pyrrhenian renaissance, foremost of all the city of Villenia.

Even though on paper the Pyrrhenian Empire has been restored, with an emperor and a senate made up of representatives of each city state seated in the ancient capital of Tregara, in truth the city states act as independent entities and are in fierce competition with each other.

In Realms Beyond, the player will visit the city state of Villenia, heart of the Pyrrhenian rebirth, where – as High Oracle Andraste told us above – everything conforms to the divine order of the cosmos.

The society of Villenia is divided into three distinct social classes: the craftsmen, the seafarers, and the soldiers. This division is reflected in Villenia’s government, as it is not ruled by a single entity, but by three so-called Tutharchs who each rule over their respective social class. The Tutharch of craftsmen inherits his position from his predecessor; the Tutharch of soldiers is elected by his subjects; and the Tutharch of the seafarers is determined by a contest of wits, skill, and physical fitness.

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In the eyes of every proud Villenian, this system embodies the divine order of the cosmos, where every man and woman is at the place the gods have decreed for them. But some voices of criticism can also be heard, claiming the lack of social mobility between the three classes is unfair… but such voices speak folly, as what could be more just than the order decreed by the gods?

In Pyrrhenia, you will find many ruined temples and palaces in the wilderness, the remains of settlements abandoned centuries ago. During the Cormacian occupation, many old monuments fell into disrepair. Now they serve as hideouts for bandits and sinister cults operating in secret, far from the prying eyes of the populated cities. Artifacts of Pyrrhenia’s glory days can still be found in some of the ruins and fetch a high price in the newly independent city states, where the people adore their ancient culture.

[…]

More information.

I wonder, is this based on somebody's old PnP campaign setting?

The texturing work on the areas looks really good. Quite a professional effort here.

Yeah, the screens are beautiful and I can't wait to see more.
The setting of Pyrrhenia seems be inspired by the ancient Greek city states.

Very Ultimaesque! Amazing art direction!

Slowly chugging to the finish line but its getting there.

$66,748 pledged of the $114,110 goal.

I wouldn't be surprised at all if this existed in some previous pen and paper version. Even if not, looks excellent and has me more excited for the game!!

I want:

Champions of Krynn Remaster!!

Pool of Radiance Remaster!!

I still don't feel comfortable with the steep angle. But I think I'll get used to it after a few hours of gameplay.

I'd love if there was an adjustable camera angle via a config file, to keep it hidden from the casuals.

Originally Posted by screeg
I'd love if there was an adjustable camera angle via a config file, to keep it hidden from the casuals.

I don't think this is possible as most likely there will be prerendered assets. Also iirc the steep angle is used as an performance optimization as there are less assets to be rendered due to the smaller viewport.

Camera angle isn't quite to my liking but otherwise looks like a solid KS.

Originally Posted by Morrandir
I don't think this is possible as most likely there will be prerendered assets. Also iirc the steep angle is used as an performance optimization as there are less assets to be rendered due to the smaller viewport.

You mean sprites? I very much doubt it. I didn't say a modified camera angle would work or perform well, that's why I suggested it be included in a config file rather than in the game interface.

Originally Posted by screeg
You mean sprites? I very much doubt it. I didn't say a modified camera angle would work or perform well, that's why I suggested it be included in a config file rather than in the game interface.

I was thinking of buildings like this and similar assets.
Afaik these normally are 3D-Models which are prerendered (not at runtime) in a certain angle to be shown in tge game with very little performance demands. Are they called "Sprites" too? I don't know.

If that's the case setting another angle simply wouldn't work, no matter if it was an ingame or an external config setting.

Yep, that’s how Infinity Engine and PoE work. It’s a pain in the ass to do things that way though, I would guess that Realms Beyond is full 3D at runtime. Maybe @HobGoblin42 can tell us.

@Morrandir, I didn't know that! No, sprites (I think) only refer to animated characters or objects.

Like @Morrandir already said, it's a hybrid engine and smaller objects are pre-rendered for that specific camera angle. That allows us to render and to interact with many small objects in levels which is very important to achieve the Ultima-esque interactivity with your environment (items everywhere!).

The larger elements like the walls or roofs are fully 3D and could be used in full 3D games as well. But we decided to go with a fixed camera like PoE or the old Infinity Engine games, because of many reasons.