Sublimation is a process in which a substance transforms from a solid state directly into a gaseous state, without passing through the liquid phase. This phenomenon is commonly observed in various substances, such as dry ice, mothballs, and certain dyes. In recent years, the concept of sublimation has extended into the realm of magic, specifically in the creation of "sublimation magic mirrors." A sublimation magic mirror is a unique and mystical tool that utilizes the principles of sublimation to create extraordinary visual effects. These mirrors are made by combining a special type of glass with substances that have high sublimation properties. When exposed to heat or light, these substances directly transform into gas, creating stunning illusions and enchanting experiences.
It's currently in pre-alpha, and you can sign up to test it here. It doesn't yet have a release date. If you want to find out more, the best place is developer Proletariat Games' imgur page, where it posts developer updates.
There are 11 classes that deal different types of damage so far there s fire, ice, lightning, stone, wind, and poison damage, and you can combo them, casting a poison cloud and then setting it on fire to create a giant poisonous inferno, for example. At a high level we ve tried to create a strong hierarchy of detail color contrast in our shaders materials that works well for gameplay and mimics the aesthetic of 2D animation.
When exposed to heat or light, these substances directly transform into gas, creating stunning illusions and enchanting experiences. The magic of these mirrors lies in their ability to create an illusionary world within the glass. By strategically placing the sublimating substances within the mirror and controlling the temperature or light conditions, the magician can produce breathtaking displays seemingly coming to life before the viewer's eyes.
Spellbreak: Developing a Magic Battle Royale RPG
The team behind Spellbreak talked about the development of their game: art style, environment production, texturing, VFX, and more.
The team behind Spellbreak, a new battle royale RPG featuring epic magic combat, talked about the development of their game: art style, environment production, texturing, VFX, and more.
About the Team
80lv: Could you talk a little bit about the team? Where do you guys come from, what do you do, what projects have you worked on? How did you get into games?
Our team comes from all over! The founders were all previously at Zynga and a small startup called Conduit Labs, though previously they also had games like Rock Band, Resistance and Dungeons and Dragons Online under their belt. Since then the team has only grown, and the portfolio of games has as well!
As for the road to get into games, that’s a very different path for everyone. Our CEO started outside of games at Disney Imagineering and then transitioned into gameplay engineering to start his game development career. Our CTO started in games very early, focusing on tools and engine work. Our Director of Engineering spent five years building tech for finance. We think a broad range of backgrounds only helps in building these complicated long-running service based games.
The Start of the Project
80lv: Let’s talk about how the project started. Spellbreak obviously had a longer story before it went public. What were the main influences and goals? How long have you been working on this idea?
After Streamline, we went into a period where we just prototyped a lot of different games. We had one that was more like a Viking Battle Royale, where people used melee weapons to fight. We had another that was actually more of an isometric game that allowed people to find gear and abilities. After a lot of time on both, we decided to take the best from each and ultimately ended up with Spellbreak (about a year ago or so).
Gameplay
80lv: We’d love to talk about the main gameplay. You promote it as a new take on Battle Royale, but it would be amazing if you could discuss it a bit in more detail. What’s so innovative and different about it?
Spellbreak is entirely oriented around making you feel like a powerful battlemage, where your spells affect the world and can be woven together for even more powerful results. As we built it up, we also integrated gear and skills that would make battlemages more effective to allow for a level of dynamic specialization you typically only see in RPG games. This is why internally we’ve referred to it as a BR-RPG for most of its development.
Art Style
80lv: Could you talk a little about the way you’ve figured out the style for the visuals? What’s the technology behind it, how do you achieve this look? How did the earlier prototypes for the game look?
When we were prototyping we had a very different style for the game, that really worked but was more medieval than magical. When our Art director rebooted, he specifically stated he wanted to go with more of an animated, heavily stylized approach that was more reminiscent of titles such as Avatar: the Last Airbender and The Dragon Prince. Working with the rest of the art team, we’re still approaching a lot of this look. We even made our own Kuwahara shader expressly to allow things in the distance to appear more painterly.
Environment Production
80lv: Can you tell us how you generally work on the meshes and the environments in the project? You’ve got to have quite spacious arenas here. We’re super interested to learn how to make these large, visually rich places, and fill them with interactive objects. What’s a good tool for it?
Ironically, we really just use the Unreal Toolset for populating the spaces, and Maya for modeling the assets themselves. Fortunately, our environment artist is extremely seasoned, but this is no substitute for planning out what you want to build. With a solid set of plans, you would be surprised by how efficiently you can populate a map, even one as large as the Spellbreak map.
Texturing
80lv: Could you tell us a little bit about the way you’ve been working on the production of the textures? We’re really interested to learn your general pipeline and especially talk about the shaders you are using. All the textures look very cool and soft, creating this lovely atmosphere of a cartoon.
At a high level we’ve tried to create a strong hierarchy of detail/color/contrast in our shaders/materials that works well for gameplay and mimics the aesthetic of 2D animation. In order of visual primacy – Combat VFX > Characters > Environments. Almost every surface in Spellbreak uses some form of toon shading. We developed a shader for use in Unreal materials that makes use of a ramp-like texture to define how the lighting wraps around surface normals. This material can smoothly blend between an artist-controlled cel-shaded look, standard PBR lighting, and any indirect lighting contribution. Characters are almost always completely cel-shaded, omit indirect lighting, and use very flat textures to reinforce a 2D look. The background/environments are also cell shaded, but we tend to use the PBR blending a little more case by case. Environment textures contain more detail than the characters and are more heavily sculpted with chunkier, impasto-like shapes. We also use some styled edge highlighting and distance thresholds for extra detail, but we use more muted color palettes and try to avoid a lot of noise and high contrast specularity.
There’s often a player expectation of amazing detail up close, but that detail can turn into a lot of noise at a distance. Many of our materials contain distance thresholds to simplify color palettes, alpha masks, and other details so that they can sit properly in the game’s visual hierarchy at any distance from the player. This is probably most noticeable with tree foliage. We set some distance thresholds that simplify the alpha masks at controlled distances so that we can get simpler looking styled tree silhouettes that feel a bit more painterly than if we simply relied on basic texture mipmaps.
Visual Effects
80lv: Another big feature of the game is those stunning visual effects! The explosions are both massive and incredibly well-made. Could you talk a little bit about the way you’ve approached this part of your production? How did you work on the stylized volumetric effects? Did you do everything in the engine or did you use Houdini? What way did you scale the effects and adapt them to the gameplay features?
At the beginning of the project, we didn’t have much experience creating VFX, but we knew that we wanted to capture the look of 2D animation. We spent a while exploring methods entirely in Unreal that could achieve this look, that would be fully 3D, that would eschew time-intensive processes (like actually drawing things frame by frame), and that would allow for a lot of iteration and design changes. For the final results, we’ve developed a handful of tricks all in service of evoking the look of hand-drawn aesthetics.
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One of the most common effects achieved with sublimation magic mirrors is the creation of moving images. By carefully positioning sublimating substances in predetermined patterns, the magician can manipulate the airflow or light source to generate the appearance of images moving within the mirror. This effect can be enhanced by incorporating different colors and textures, giving the images an ethereal and mesmerizing quality. Furthermore, sublimation magic mirrors can also create illusions of depth and dimension. By layering different sublimating substances within the mirror, the magician can make objects appear to be floating or morphing into different shapes. This adds an element of mystery and enchantment to the performance, capturing the audience's imagination and leaving them in awe. In addition to visual effects, sublimation magic mirrors can be infused with scented substances, creating an immersive multisensory experience. The magician can control the timing and intensity of the scents, enhancing the atmosphere and further engaging the audience's senses. Sublimation magic mirrors have captivated audiences worldwide with their blend of science and magic. These mirrors offer a unique and captivating form of entertainment, transporting viewers into a world of wonder and illusion. Whether used in stage performances, magic shows, or even home decor, sublimation magic mirrors continue to redefine the boundaries of magic and leave a lasting impression on all who encounter them..
Reviews for "Elevating Interior Design with Sublimation Magic Mirrors: Reflecting Style and Sophistication"
1. Sarah - 2 stars - I bought the Sublimation Magic Mirror expecting to have a seamless and high-quality printing experience. However, I was disappointed with the results. The mirror kept malfunctioning, causing blurry and distorted images on the printed items. I tried reaching out to customer support, but their response was slow and unhelpful. Overall, I would not recommend this product as it did not meet my expectations and was not worth the price.
2. Michael - 3 stars - The Sublimation Magic Mirror had a lot of potential, but it fell short for me. The printing quality was decent, but the mirror itself lacked durability. After a few uses, I noticed scratches and marks on the surface, which affected the clarity of the printed designs. Additionally, the mirror's size was smaller than I anticipated, limiting the size of the items I could print on. While it worked fine for smaller projects, I would have preferred a more robust and long-lasting product.
3. Emily - 2 stars - I was excited to try out the Sublimation Magic Mirror and expand my printing capabilities. However, my experience with this product was disappointing. The mirror was difficult to set up, and the instructions provided were unclear. Even after spending hours trying to configure it correctly, I couldn't achieve satisfactory print quality. The colors appeared faded and dull, and there were inconsistencies in the printing process. The lack of clear troubleshooting resources and unresponsive customer service only added to the frustration. Unfortunately, I would not recommend this product to others.
4. Mark - 1 star - I had high hopes for the Sublimation Magic Mirror, but it was a complete letdown. The mirror arrived damaged, with scratches and cracks on the surface. Despite this, I decided to give it a try, but the printing process was a nightmare. The mirror constantly overheated, causing the colors to bleed and the prints to look distorted. It was a waste of time and money, and I regret purchasing this product. I would strongly advise against buying the Sublimation Magic Mirror if you are looking for a reliable and effective printing solution.