World Design

[hoary ether]

I feel like it needs to be said, but something about the design of both maps right now aren't really hitting home with me.

Lots of hard work was put into the game for sure, I see it everywhere, but I can't help but feel that the grey ashy design is so engrained in everything that the world is just one giant grey blob with houses and some foliage jutting out. Even most of the vehicles that are all around are covered in ash, it's kinda weird when you compare that to the facility which is very sterile but colorful.

I haven't played much of the first game, but I do remember seeing the original facility and enjoying the aesthetic of it. I actually prefer that more over the current facility. The way the old facility was designed and built out, I would hope to see more of out in the radius instead of everything being absolutely caked in grey, dull ash.

[granite heron]

What would you like to see done?

The first game was basically all ash-covered as well

Both the bases from ITR1 and ITR2 are also just outside the zone, and therefore are free from ash

There are green plants and birds chirping, and time works normally

The devs have also leaned into the contrast in the game:

"we aimed to use the principle of contrast where appropriate. The base should feel like a complete opposite to the Radius locations: a normal world versus an alien surreal reality, the rapidly developing late 2000s versus the frozen-in-time mid-80s, prosperity versus decay and abandonment, order and structure versus chaos and unpredictability, calm and tranquility versus tension and danger, bureaucracy and regulation versus freedom and spontaneity."

I hope that future maps will be more diverse in terms of content, visuals, and feel

Maybe it would be cool to see some more “ash-free” areas within the maps

Maybe the logic is that the ash gets churned up or blown around the zone

Similar to sand dunes… so some areas might get revealed over time, while others become covered

It would also explain why there would be ash in the air so many years after the radius event

Basically the radius is like a big snow globe of ash

https://tenor.com/view/a-snowglobe-with-santa-in-it-the-holdovers-christmas-santa-claus-santa-gif-16304651273818923368

I do think the devs have done an amazing job at making the ground textures more diverse and vibrant and alien compared to the drab, monotone grey of the first game

[deep knot]

I disagree and agree

I think grey ash isn't the way to go but I do like ash in general

The ash seems flat

Smooth

I do think the maps themselves need to be more distinct with more interesting locations

Rather than just houses

Like the sanatorium doesn't even look like a sanatorium

Give us some gas stations and stores

Old huts

Brick buildinge

S*

[granite heron]

I would like to see more variety in the ash colors

especially the BLACK soot ash from earlier versions of ITR

But, it could be cool if some areas of ash are more on the green or pink or blue spectrum

or even some areas that are more white...

almost like snow

that would also be cool if maybe different types of ash deposits had material characteristics to it

like some sparkly "moon rock" effects

I think this would work well with the ITR2 artifact designs

and also lend to the odd, otherworldly and surreal nature of the zone

maybe this could even play into the anomalies or environmental hazards of the zone

like leaning into a kind of magnetic quicksand

these are a bit extreme, but you can imagine how cool some different colored ash and mineral deposits would be in ITR2

I just think it would be cool for different maps and areas of maps to have different color palettes and feel distinct

and maybe there are some really memorable, strange, anomalous hot spots like the images above

or maybe these are what the landscapes look like after a distortion zone has touched them?

and over time the ash deposits could blow away, shift, desaturate, or otherwise be added back to the zonal "snow globe"

[deep knot]

More desaturated slightly tinted ash would be great

I think the current ash textures needs more grit

The shadows carry it

[granite heron]

terrible photoshop:

[hoary ether]

I pretty much would like to see a lot more structures that are unique to the map instead of it just being houses. I know there's going to be things like factories and warehouses among other structures soon.

Side note, the cool rift like church structure in the center of Forest is super cool, but I would love to see more distorted structures that you can explore similar to that of the tutorial map, or more dense man made areas.

But as everyone in here has been suggesting, these are all great ideas that could help build the world a little more which will provide great depth. Even lighting alone could help a ton, but right now it's a lot of grey and red which is causing some fatigue.

[hoary ether]

Out of boredom, I'm gonna build an example in Roblox Studio of all things

[hoary ether]

I'm sure I'm not using the right era of cars, or buildings and there isn't a lot of detail going around, but my primary point is the use of colors.
You're gonna have to imagine the ash is kinda swept around and covers some of the assets.

Yes, there's color going on with this image, but it's a lot of Red and grey

I actually kinda like it, I think it's around dusk? During the day it's very grey

I'm not sure if my memory is serving me right, but like, it's super grey aside from spots of color

The multi tone ash would help a ton

[stable jacinth]

I think it would be better if they made the textures look more grimy

Like if they had ash, copious amounts of dirt, dust on everything

And it would rely on the object, cars would have more dirt and ash, houses would have more dirt and dust etc

[forest bobcat]

Yes