About:

This project began around February 4, 2016, and was worked on for about 10 months. The physical project was completed in June-July, though writing took some time to finish, as well as filming, editing, taking screenshots and double checking everything for the final release. Lacuna Egos Loth is something personal and dear to me, having worked on it for so long by myself, I hope it can bring some light to others and that they may find their own personal connection with it. I wanted to create something special with this project, especially for everyone who enjoyed my previous ones and had supportive and kind things to say—I hope this can make it up to you for my 3+ year absence. A lot of the ideas I've had for this project have been similar to some in the past, though I went well beyond what I initially had planned for it, it's definitely a universe in itself, separate from the ones I previously created. Creating a dragon was the inception of this project, along with a few designs I had in mind. I thought originally that the dragon might be destroying a very small city, as well as having a ruinous city on its back, but I wanted to go much further than that for a comeback project. The ideas and universe unfolded in my head and it quickly became more ambitious as I worked on it and developed the ideas I originally had, up to a point where I had to finalize it and consider it finished.

Although Lacuna Egos Loth is not actually an adventure map, it does have a dynamic story and soundtrack for the player to experience. I encourage everyone to experience what the story has to offer, as well as listening to the soundtrack while you do so—without the two, I believe that the experience is incomplete and hollow. I've chosen to tell the story mostly through signs this time around, mostly because they are out in the open for the player to read, although they have the choice whether they want to read or not, I think this method encourages them more than NPCs would. The other reasoning behind this is because I did not want faces to these characters, I wanted the player to imagine them on their own, and it plays a part into the concept of Lacuna Egos Loth's world. The world is somewhat 'frozen' in time, though there is feedback in that time, so there are characters talking in one part of the map and another. It is not a linear story, though I chose to start the player in Saprus Am Tenure (the central building that houses most of the people in the story), because I wanted to create instant immersion upon starting. I want to encourage the player to read the signs and immerse themselves in the world, while they are able to quickly take notice of the physical dialogue, and make a choice of which parts they will read before the others. Most signs will display a name before the initial dialogue, though signs without names are called 'Nameless', and they represent wandering spirits in the city that you may learn about as you read more into the story. Maestus Lucid has 7 main streets, each representing 1 of the 7 stages of grief—the reason for this is that the story deals with a lot of grief in general and has various characters displaying it.

I am happy to finally be able to share this with everyone, it was a monumental task to complete, full of ups and downs, that I had done completely on my own. I hope that when you do take your time to experience my map, you are able to connect and resonate in your own ways with it; that you're able to find appreciation in all the work that I've put into this project. I'd also like to thank you in advance, and that I hope my map can have a positive impact on you and even inspire you to create your own worlds.






Synopsis:

Prophetic visions of old now begin to uncoil, in the wake of Maestus Lucid's turmoil within the city, the people of Maestus Lucid continue their lives in ignorance of the foreboding signs that slowly reveal their inexorable termination. The eyes of the people have been blinded by opulence and a vehement hatred for those pushed into financial gallows, constructed by the elite of Maestus Lucid. Those who were sentenced to poverty by the elite were shunned as 'Inops' and deemed 'spiritually corrupted'; it has been indoctrinated into the youth by these elite to spite them. Numerous inops have been forced into hiding, setting up tents in various locations throughout the city, hidden from the elite's wrath, they stick together to remain intact. Those of fortune and power have the privilege to walk the streets of Maestus Lucid without worry, without fear—it is these very people who may turn their cheek to murders of the impoverished, or the very people who may inflict it themselves. Throughout the city, ornamental corpses hang, slowly spun by the pull of Satea's breeze, they are hung by the elite as a warning to those who are disobedient; showing what may become of them if they tempt the powers above them. Not bound by class or coin, the fear in the people's heart is unconditional, churned by warfare perpetuated by their own brothers and sisters. They are people from the same background, divided by those in power to fortify the sanctity of their city by setting fire to their chosen scapegoats, allowing them to maintain their system while also strengthening their grip on the city. However, the citizens of Maestus Lucid are not actual natives to the island of Satea, rather, their forefathers stole the land from its people with ruthless violence. Satean natives originally cultivated a thriving society of peace with its capital city Omikron, though imperials sought to take their commodities for themselves, thus sparking the Satean Holocaust. For years the imperials spared no native, torturing and murdering every last one until no more were left. The blueprints for Omikron and its agriculture were stolen and used to form what is now referred to as 'The City of Conquest', Maestus Lucid. The natives were killed off decades ago, yet their souls roam around the city still, sentenced to a life eternally in limbo, unable to ascend to the Ether, forever locked in a trap of echoing memories. No matter their past or present circumstances, the plight of tortured souls is brought to an end at the jaws of the Holocaust Angel—destruction that begets the end of the world.


Additional Notes:

Soundtrack created by Elizabeth Mao, if you plan on using it in a video or anything, please give her credit.

The map's size is 5632 x 5632

The city is roughly 1400 x 1700

All pictures and renders are created by me unless stated otherwise.

Shaders used: Continuum, KUDA, SEUS, Sildurs Vibrant Shaders, TME

You can find other content located on my twitter

Additional images found here

Additional DL link here

Special Thanks:

Thank you so much, my good friend, Elizabeth Mao, for creating a wonderful soundtrack for my map. It would not be the same without the atmosphere your music produces.

Thank you to Blockworks for having me and putting up with some of the crashes I caused (oops) and to the members Tickandtock and Block_Fortress for the smaller trees they provided in our archive that I used.

Thank you Udvio for the renders!