Update June

I've finished the Knight's boss encounter and section 09, then started working on Paundraka (the final boss fight of chapter 01) but ran into a wall. Eventually I decided to prioritize the orphanage inside the monastery, because apart from the main shadow encounters it is also a "must-have" in a potential 2025 release of chapter 01, because it's the player's starting area.

It is incredibly difficult to create the set dressing for such a large area. Especially because I set high standards that evolved while I was watching several playthroughs by streamer Threedogg ( https://www.twitch.tv/threedogg). He is amazing when it comes to lore and analyzing setdressing. I remember I used to watch him for hours play PT, Silent Hill, or Darkwood and he would move towards every single item and put it into lore context, imagining stories and background events based on the simple placement of a specific item.

In our daily lives, each item around us didn't just fall out of the sky. There's a story behind every pen, every note, every cup of coffee. How did it get there? Why is at this location and not over there?

These questions haunt me. I try to do my best to give even every-day items in the monastery environment meaning ... but it is incredibly complex and difficult. 

There's a game of checkers on the table. Who is playing against who? And who won? If a grown up was playing against a kid, would they sit on the same size chair? Would the kid's chair be different? Would the table be lower if it was located in an area reserved for kids to play board games? What is the saturation of the color of the board? It probably has been used for many years and the monastery does not have a lot of money. So it should look a bit faded. But what about the pieces? They are of a different material, than the board itself? Would they lose color as well?

All of this used to be a lot easier when I was working on the forest environment. Yes, there are also rules when it comes to foliage. Medium trees will surround the largest mother tree and saplings will surround the medium tree. Reeds only grow at shore points where nitrogen accumulates to support their growth. Ferns grow better in half-shade, while flowers prefer direct sunlight. Then there's a certain element of chaos in everything ... depending on which types of trees died in this area, different nutrients would accumulate in the soil. But it can't really be predicted, so you just use the UE4 brush with foliage randomization over a large area and then work with what you've got.

Finding this balance, between consistency and work efficiency is incredibly difficult. But once again: We're making progress!