Welcome back to the Realm Devlog series! Here for edition number 113 we’ve got some unique insights into the ongoing work to enhance the experience for players and creators alike. Aside from that we’ve been making awesome progress with some (for now) top secret AI features, as well as general fixes and improvements. Stay tuned for some sneak peeks at these mind blowing AI creator features coming up in the next few weeks!
Lets get to it:
Plaza Creator Portals Expansion
We are excited to show you the addition of 16 brand new portals to the Metropolis Plaza. These portals are reserved for the most outstanding builder worlds and our regular seasonal/side quest realms. This expansion aims to ensure that the finest creator realms receive the recognition they rightfully deserve.
Furthermore, you may have already noticed the implementation of a custom shader, displaying the preview images of creator realms as they fade in and out. This addition serves as a useful glimpse into the adventures that await behind each portal, an essential upgrade to how users will navigate from one portal to the next.
In many ways, we believe this approach fosters a deeper sense of immersion compared to traditional methods, such as navigating through a static app menu. In doing so, it prevents older yet still remarkable realms from languishing at the bottom of a list, aligning more closely with the visionary concept of a 3D web of experiences and exploration.
Metropolis Optimisation
Exciting things are on the horizon for the next couple of months, including new partnerships, features, and realms, all in addition to the already teased features.
Before we roll out these updates, we’re doing some spring cleaning to allow us to further populate the central plaza with dynamic user realm portals and other assets. This involves significantly reducing draw calls to improve game performance. There are various methods to achieve this, ranging from simple tasks like texture compression to more complex adjustments like refining the culling layout, referred to as “Rooms & Portals” in Godot 3.5.
As you’re aware, the Metropolis is divided into eight districts, each with its own distinct visual identity crafted through geometry, colour, and textures. We’ve streamlined the process by using a single texture and material for the colour variations seen in neon light strips, signage, and gradients, as demonstrated in the clip.
We’re essentially projecting a single texture across the entire map using triplanar mapping, eliminating the need to map UVs for each object individually. Since we primarily aim to translate solid colour variations rather than intricate patterns or normal maps, this technique allows us to utilize this effectively as a third UV map.
While we typically prefer using the visual shader interface in Godot for its step-by-step visualization, it does have its limitations. In this instance, we needed to limit the triplanar mapping to purely project from above, a task easily accomplished in Godot’s native written shader language, as demonstrated in the clip. The final result is the overall reduction of draw calls for all duplicate district materials by a factor of eight, which is significant.
Check it out here:
We hope you find this technical insight interesting, and for everybody else, rest assured, there are a bunch of visual spectacles to come in upcoming Devlogs. Until then, stay tuned!
About REALM
Leading mobile gaming platform with a purpose. Empowering players, creators & brands to participate in generating the future of entertainment in a co-owned virtual universe.
REALM players and creators are rewarded as they engage with the platform. The native REALM builder tool allows anyone, with no coding experience, to build personalised microverses, tell their story, and trade NTFs on the REALM Marketplace. Creators and brands can bring to life unique music, art, games, and anything else they can imagine into their realms.
