I focused on 2 things since the last Dev Log.

First was fixing the swipe mechanic. We made some major networking changes so that animations would synch of over the internet. I had to rewrite some of the code to make it work again, and tell it to use some new scripts by Rupert.

I also started concepting the look of the level. The level is massive and I don't have time to concept every single building. So I have chosen 5 different areas and we will use them as benchmarks for the other areas.

Although these look 3D, they are completely 2D. The method involves starting with a sketch, then painting opaque blue  to represent which areas are in shadow. At this stage the image has a graphic 2 tone look with only blue and light grey, for dark and light.

Afterwards I lock a selection around the blue shadow layer, and take a soft black brush to paint ambient occlusion within the shadows, to differentiate which areas of the shadows are darker or lighter. This creates radiosity within the shadows and gives a 3D look.

At this stage the shadow layer can be set to multiply mode in Photoshop and diffuse colours can be painted underneath to quickly give colour and life to the image. Later I flatten the layers into midground, foreground, background selections so I can paint more freely - as the beginning approach is highly technical and limits create painting.

I'll continue to use this approach for the remaining 4 images, and it will hopefully give us a clear idea of what what architectural and textural details of the level should look like, as well as the mood and atmosphere.