The Exodus Gallery

[Nyctaeus]

Obligatory space to present you all the eyecandy the project has to offer :].

THE VIOLET GATE

Screenshots:

Playthroughs:

John Maximous, 2.00: [LINK]
imMike Gaming, 2.02: [LINK]
Daffa Abiyyu Gaming, 2.02: [LINK]
Silent Viper, 2.03.1 (first chapter on 2.02): [LINK]
Jayborino, 2.04 [LINK]
UnknDoomer [Youtube: UD's corner of ultra silence], 2.04 [LINK]
Scrungus_frodonkle740 [played on Reforged SD and may contain minor bugs], 2.05: [LINK]
Skarlet 21, 2.05: [LINK]
CampaignGamesPH, 2.05: [LINK]
Aswel , 2.05: [LINK], 3.0 [LINK]
The Nightmare Book [Youtube: HushBook], 2.05-3.0 [LINK]

TWF [Exodus 2]:

 

[Nobelian]

@Nyctaeus Excuse me, if I may ask, is this a sequel about fighting what enemy? It looks like the Old Gods because of the Void.

 

[Nyctaeus]

@Nyctaeus Excuse me, if I may ask, is this a sequel about fighting what enemy? It looks like the Old Gods because of the Void.

Antagonists of the sequel will be derived from "native fauna and flora of an alien world". At least that describe some of them, as the sequel will feature several antagonist factions.

The purple is kinda... Well... All potential colors of evil, alien monsters like red, green or purple are already abused to hell and beyond in countless sci-fi/fantasy frahcnises, so we kinda not going to be any original here. If we make them green, it's gonna bear Fel associations. If we go for purple, people will immediately think "Void". If we go for Red, people will immediately think "Communists". And we can't invent new colors...

In the end I picked purple simply because it simply looks the most alien. The fact that we're not based on WoW allows me to associate purple with whatever our lorebuilding demands.

 

[Macielos]

Actually we tried to "invent" new colors by importing custom team colors to the game, but unfortunately they only worked in editor.

So all we can do is subvert expectations by having purple enemies that will later be revealed to be communists.

Damn, too soon...

 

[The_Messenger]

Sneak peeks into the alien world are rather nice, I find them rather more pleasant than that huge chunks of floating tectonic plates that composed Outland in Warcraft (despite it being highly unlikely, but it's fantasy so some rules don't apply).

When I first saw the purple monsters I thought to myself they were Faceless from the Old Gods, but after finding out about the existence of another world I started to think they were corrupted, somewhat sentient, beings that were once a great race. Like how the Draenei devolved into Broken after overexposure to Fel energies from the Legion.

What I am the most curious to see is how the political atmosphere will evolve between the Council's high ranking members. I got very much curious about the Grand Magistrix mentioned in the Violet Gate.

 

[Nyctaeus]

Most of the screenshots are from missions that take place in "Azerothformed" territories that the Enclave converted to be habitable for humans, elves, dwarves and gnomes. In time we will provide more detailed lore sheets with worldmap and all the juicy stuff. The sequel is gonna be a soft-launch into the new world, interlacing rather mudane feelings with the otherwordly.

Because Jiluun is original plot, we have all the artistic liberties at creating it. Unlike Outland, I design it with as much consistency with rules of physics, basic principles of biology etc as I can and I definitely want it to be believable. It doesn't mean that I don't want it to be appropiately crazy and strange :]. Still, completely fantasy places like Outland have no basis to host water sources, atmosphere or even gravity. I can say that Outland feels more "fairytale" then "fantasy" for me, while me and Macielos represent the school of worldbuilders that care about world consistency. Fantasy writers want things to be "too cool" sometimes.

While I'm the crazy guy who likes creating strange stuff, Macielos is working on social, political, economical and cultural layers of the Enclave. He does what he's best at - a civilization. Enclave has specified culture, social paradigms, administration, military doctrine, theme... Enclave is a fully-fledged pocket civilization, with all strong points and flaws of civilization. I can say that the Enclave hosts multiple parties and is a dynamic political arena to compete for different sources of influence of varied agendas and aspirations, but still they cooperate to keep structural integrity of the Enclave and ensure it's survival.

 

[The_Messenger]

Most of the screenshots are from missions that take place in "Azerothformed" territories that the Enclave converted to be habitable for humans, elves, dwarves and gnomes. In time we will provide more detailed lore sheets with worldmap and all the juicy stuff. The sequel is gonna be a soft-launch into the new world, interlacing rather mudane feelings with the otherwordly.

Because Jiluun is original plot, we have all the artistic liberties at creating it. Unlike Outland, I design it with as much consistency with rules of physics, basic principles of biology etc as I can and I definitely want it to be believable. It doesn't mean that I don't want it to be appropiately crazy and strange :]. Still, completely fantasy places like Outland have no basis to host water sources, atmosphere or even gravity. I can say that Outland feels more "fairytale" then "fantasy" for me, while me and Macielos represent the school of worldbuilders that care about world consistency. Fantasy writers want things to be "too cool" sometimes.

While I'm the crazy guy who likes creating strange stuff, Macielos is working on social, political, economical and cultural layers of the Enclave. He does what he's best at - a civilization. Enclave has specified culture, social paradigms, administration, military doctrine, theme... Enclave is a fully-fledged pocket civilization, with all strong points and flaws of civilization. I can say that the Enclave hosts multiple parties and is a dynamic political arena to compete for different sources of influence of varied agendas and aspirations, but still they cooperate to keep structural integrity of the Enclave and ensure it's survival.

Back when I played WoW, it was fun exploring Outland. I liked how the Twisting Nether looked like, I even enjoyed the sight of Shadowmoon Valley as corrupted and volcanic as it were. But my favorite place was the Path of Glory in Hellfire; even if it had a terrible lore, it was still an impressive sight and a grim reminder of what happened there in the past.
Considering what information was leaked about the condition of Jiluun is in, I assume you won't be able to explore the world without wearing the fantasy equivalent of a hazmat suit to avoid the magical corruptions that stain the world. But it was nice to see in some screenshots that some architecture survived the corruption, maybe even some cities are left moderately intact in order to admire what the former civilization had achieved. The most I am expecting to see are places that are, more or less, in the same state Auchindoun was in Outland.

It also is a very realistic and thought out idea about "azerothied" areas. It's not talked a lot and omitted in almost anything sci-fi on the market, but not everything is technically edible on other worlds.
I was quite impressed by the idea in Outer Worlds that the human colonies were actually sick because they couldn't get proper nutrition from the alien fauna and fruits they ingested so they were getting a mysterious sickness that got firm roots in the collonies. So in this case it's nice to see certain details were taken into account.

As far as I can anticipate, I think the greatest enemy in Jiluun is not whatever brough the once properous world to ruin, but is actually Solymus. He didn't show it in Violet Gate since he was overly helpful with a bunch of strangers and even went out of his way for some serious risks; but I don't trust him.
I do hope to see and experience Jiluun before Solymus decides to turn himself into a godly being or what crosses his mind to do with so much magical energies ripe for being harvested.

 

[Nyctaeus]

Some maps take place in ruined cities of the ancients. Both on the surface and underground, and we will visit and explore both completely desolated ruins and structures that remained in almost pristine state. I always wanted to go for "alien post-apo" theme for the sequel, but I want to keep a reasonable variety of environment themes, so the sequel will take player into many different kinds of landscape. Jiluun host very diverse pool of biomes.

Azerothforming of some areas of Jiluun, called The Cleansing, was done by Quel'Thalas priests, Kirin Tor mages, Khazmodani geomancers [and engineers] and Wildhammer druids. This joint effort of mages of various affiliations was supported by magical technology reverse-engineered from the findings of Ancients. We deliberately want to avoid "sci-fi" themes in Exodus, and revolve around idea pool that was served in WC3 and WoW in this regard, but also want to put more emphasis on other uses of magic and diverge further then classic fantasy tropes got us used to. The Cleansing was a gigantic, pioneer, exhausting and extremely difficult task that The Enclave had to do simply to survive. A border of possible that had to be crossed. The process wasn't perfect and The Enclave struggless with various, internal issues as well as pressure from native fauna and flora from the outside. The area controlled by The Enclave is not vast, just like it's population, and it's not actually entirely secure internally.

The very name of The Enclave refers both to the fact, that it's inhabitants are both survivors from another world and they also live in separated area they adapted to their needs. Outside that lies endless wilderness and wastelands thats extremely hazardous for creatures not adapted to it [and also for those that are]. Solymus obviously described the world much more softly then things really are, but on the other hand, The Enclave is smart and well-prepared to face it's dangers.

This matter will be explored further before the release. I want players to have opportunity to have a short but meaty brief about Jiluun, because it's literally hundreds of pages of writing, but it will not be mandatory to understand plot of the sequel.

Solymus is more complex character then simply a madman desiring infinite power. He's definitely a pragmatic one with clearly goal-driven actions, but it doesn't mean that he doesn't care about the civilization he created or people under his command. I won't spoil much about his doings in the campaign, but I can say that he will act as "paternal" figure for The Enclave, a will influencing many actions the player will be doing and an important factor that pushes the story forward.

 

[The_Messenger]

Oh, no no. I was just being 'mean' when I said Solymus was trying to turn himself into a godly being. I admit, my sense of humor is lacking.

I do believe that means there are "exile colonies" on Jieluun then? Places where those that were too severely affected by the energies that can't be cured and sent to wait out their last days?

Dwarven druids? It sounds a bit odd since lore-wise, and unlike their Mountain cousins, Wildhammer Dwarves (hill dwarves) were more shamanistic rather than druidic in their practices. Both schools do touch nature, but shamanism touches on the spiritual realm while druidism touches nature more deeply. So I think a skilled shaman could actually "commune" with the suffering elemental lords of Jieluun while a druid could not. While a druid could communicate with nature (how Malfurion did in Lordaeron) while a shaman could not.

It would be good to see those places, I'm also curious if any sort of magical autonomus defense system from the former denizens of Jieluun are still functional.
But the most dangerous ones have to be the ones where that warped vegetation is abundant, nothing like a swarm jumping out of hiding to remind someone that they aren't welcomed there.

 

[Kasrkin]

The old wow rpg books have a lot of good stuff in them.

 

[Nyctaeus]

I can say that Miasma spreads in many different ways, including hydrological, geological and biological, but most forms are too heavy to be airborne. This facts generated uneven distribution of the miasmatic corruption among Jiluun biomes. There are places within Enclave territory that could not be cleansed for various reasons. There will be entire lore sheet related to Miasma, because it's absolutely critical factor factor shaping Jiluun landscapes.

Exodus portrays Wildhammer druidism/shamanism as not as clearly divided, as they usually are in WoW due to it's class system. This is also a reference to the older lore concepts, like the one referenced by Kasrkin. I imagine that while Wildhammers usually wield either life or elemental, both schools of magic are interlaced by their cultural system and it's possible for a Wildhammer dwarf to be fluent at using/mixing both. Both life and elemental mages of Wildhammer origin operate in the Enclave and they have their niches. Mages of each species/faction have a different role in economy or environmental activities of the Enclave, and they are all required to provide the colonies with sustenance. Wildhammer druids are the only access to life magic available to the Enclave.

Exodus lore features individuals of very customized magical skills. Eldin for example is purely a Light Mage, but he's not a priest nor paladin. He's a Light Mage. Actually a former priest, who later joined Kirin Tor and he uses arcane-inspired techniques to manipulate Light. And yes, he's still using Light believing he's doing a good thing. He just figured out that one does not need to be a strong believer to use Light :].

 

[The_Messenger]

The old wow rpg books have a lot of good stuff in them.

I guess it's up for debate. There are too many holes in the lore as is, and as Warcraft grew things started to get muddled together (not even devs can keep up in some cases). Blizzard is making an attempt to make classes universal (catering to fans crying more or less in my opinion) for all races one way or another by bending the lore ever so gently, so... I guess there will be Dwarven druids at one point?

Eldin is a rather unique "mage" I would say since it has been proven lore-wise that the Light didn't discriminate by race and served as long as the intentions were aligned with it. But you have Eldin who is a mage and mages aren't theoretically "believers" or base their actions on faith, but are generally calculated and logic-based individuals who see everything for what it is: a logical and complex system of elements that works in harmony and can be used if proper applications are used. But there were odd class mixes throughout gaming history where you had warriors use light spells but were neither clerics nor paladins. So Eldin is a rather nice individual to see in action.

I do think that out of everyone in the Conclave, the Dwarves would be the strongest believers in tradition, and would be rather nice if they didn't abandon their beliefs in their ancestors and would continue to adhere to their Wildhammer brethren's way of living now that it might be essential to making Jieluun habitable.

But I can't help but wonder, does Jieluun have poles? Arctic regions at both ends of the planet like how Earth has the North and South poles? I'm not talking about Northrend since in WoW it was heavily modified with regions that weren't exactly fitting of a "frozen wasteland".

 

[Nyctaeus]

Well, Blizzard is often rectonning something and the lore is messy in general. Sometimes individual interpreatation is the only way to work with it. Another reason why we approach liberally to WoW canon.

Eldin believes in progress, common sense and bright future. Eldin believes in knowledge, insight and reason. And Eldin believes that The Enclave is manifestation of those values and promoting them is... Doing good. He sees himself as a harbinger of a new age and secular prophet of the changes to come. On the other hand, he knows how to rip Light energies from the Light Realm using Kirin Tor knowledge. Personal philosophy mixed with expert magical knowledge makes him unique at both siphoning and using the Light. He's one of the very few individuals of such skills in Kirin Tor, to the point of receiving unique designation of a Lightweaver.

The Enclave hosts all faiths from Azeroth, including Wildhammer shamanistic/druidic customs. The Church of Light operates in the Enclave, tho it has much less power then it used to have. Enclave acknowledges religious freedom, but is secular as political entity.

Jiluun has poles. Jiluun has tectonic plates. Jiluun has continents. Jiluun has oceans. Jiluun is pretty volcanic, rocky and mountainous.

 

[Macielos]

This is what happens when you properly use Napalm Dump in Chapter Ten: Hammer and Anvil: these visuals plus the special soundtrack. The screen comes from an older patch, I just needed to paste it somewhere to put a link in a comment under Jayborino's playthrough and the gallery seemed a better idea than some generic mediafire.

EDIT: Aaaaand adding this link made YT delete my quite long comment without any warning... some brain-dead dev must have coded it that way.

 

[The_Messenger]

This is what happens when you properly use Napalm Dump in Chapter Ten: Hammer and Anvil: these visuals plus the special soundtrack. The screen comes from an older patch, I just needed to paste it somewhere to put a link in a comment under Jayborino's playthrough and the gallery seemed a better idea than some generic mediafire.

View attachment 454436

EDIT: Aaaaand adding this link made YT delete my quite long comment without any warning... some brain-dead dev must have coded it that way.

It reminds me of the times the Imperium of Mankind declared Exterminatus on planets.

 

[Macielos]

Today some new eyecandy from the less artistic (but slowly learning) one of the duo.

 

[Nyctaeus]

Meanwhile, somewhere deep below the surface of Jiluun...

 

[Macielos]

"You know me, master Solymus, I'm a simple industrialist. All I want to do is produce stuff for you, dumb sewage to the river and make shitloads of money in the process. For the glory of the Enclave, of course. Just send me some Hunters to keep those fuckin' monsters out of my property!"

 

[The_Messenger]

View attachment 457379
"You know me, master Solymus, I'm a simple industrialist. All I want to do is produce stuff for you, dumb sewage to the river and make shitloads of money in the process. For the glory of the Enclave, of course. Just send me some Hunters to keep those fuckin' monsters out of my property!"

They may be mutated wildlife, but I feel for them if someone's dumping sewer filth into their home.

 

[Macielos]

They may be mutated wildlife, but I feel for them if someone's dumping sewer filth into their home.

Well, Jiluuni environment is extremely hostile from the first contact with Azerothian colonists, so the sewage may be actually considered an act of self-defence .

 

[HuanJuan]

View attachment 457379
"You know me, master Solymus, I'm a simple industrialist. All I want to do is produce stuff for you, dumb sewage to the river and make shitloads of money in the process. For the glory of the Enclave, of course. Just send me some Hunters to keep those fuckin' monsters out of my property!"

Pesky capitalism at it's finest. There is no better system right now, than capitalism, but this is pure barbarism.

 

[deepstrasz]

There is no better system right now, than capitalism

Of course there is, democratic and meritocratic socialism.

 

[Macielos]

Of course there is, democratic and meritocratic socialism.

I am radically pro-capitalist and will be more than happy to defend it as the most effective and just system of generating wealth (despite having obvious e.g. environmental costs), but please, guys, not here, don't start a political shitstorm in the gallery .

In Exodus we aim at showing colonist society advancing into industrial age (with strong magocratic component of course), showing all complexity and moral greyness of this era. Definitely avoiding simple answers.

 

[The_Messenger]

Well, Jiluuni environment is extremely hostile from the first contact with Azerothian colonists, so the sewage may be actually considered an act of self-defence .

But won't that hinder the efforts of making Jilun hospitable for the colonists?

 

[Macielos]

But won't that hinder the efforts of making Jilun hospitable for the colonists?

Of course it will. The authorities or the Cleansers would definitely react if a major water source was under threat of contamination, but with the smaller ones not everything can be precisely planned or controlled. The colonists could probably raise such issues to the Magistratorium which it the Enclave's parliament, but these things take time.

Colonization of Jiluun was generally very spontaneous, chaotic and decentralized. There were two huge waves of refugees that came from Azeroth in search of new lives - one during the Legion's invasion and the second during TVG. Various parties, factions, local communities and private companies settled certain areas on their own. Although many of them struggled to survive in the wastelands, the Enclave did its best with its limited resources to secure and transform more terrain for them to colonize. Sometimes conflicts were unavoidable, some colonies didn't stand the test of time, but overally throughout the next years after TVG the Enclave will keep building progressive industrial society, resulting in fast growth and prosperity, but not everyone will be happy or successful in the new era. Just like in real life.

 

[Nyctaeus]

Jiluun is heavily tainted with unstable, magical pollution, which is the very reason why the Enclave approach ecology with very high rigour. All habitable areas are work of the Enclave itself, with entire, pocket ecosystems engineered from the ground by joint effort of various parties present in the Enclave. Those lands also require constant care and maintenance from dedicated organization known as the Cleansers. Enclave knows, that their pocket civilization simply cannot exists without all this effort, so cleansed lands are heavily protected both from effects of magical pollution and industrial-induced degradation.

Tl;dr - Human life and habitable lands are the most valuable things in the Enclave. Simply because both are fragile, hard to maintain, hard to restore and uncommon.

On the other hand, heavy industry is also mandatory for survival. Majority of the industry is localized in the areas where the Cleansing process failed or was recognized as a waste of effort. Those areas were cleansed of magical pollution, but the ecosystem was never magically engineered afterwards. The industry of course exists in other parts of the inhabited areas, like the factories above built in a very habitable biome known as The Golden Plains, but the scale of it is small, and purpose of it - focused. I guess the factories above process refined, crystalized Miasma into other, usable forms. Majority of The Golden Plains is covered by endless crop fields and lifestock breeding facilities.

 

[Nobelian]

Of course it will. The authorities or the Cleansers would definitely react if a major water source was under threat of contamination, but with the smaller ones not everything can be precisely planned or controlled. The colonists could probably raise such issues to the Magistratorium which it the Enclave's parliament, but these things take time.

Colonization of Jiluun was generally very spontaneous, chaotic and decentralized. There were two huge waves of refugees that came from Azeroth in search of new lives - one during the Legion's invasion and the second during TVG. Various parties, factions, local communities and private companies settled certain areas on their own. Although many of them struggled to survive in the wastelands, the Enclave did its best with its limited resources to secure and transform more terrain for them to colonize. Sometimes conflicts were unavoidable, some colonies didn't stand the test of time, but overally throughout the next years after TVG the Enclave will keep building progressive industrial society, resulting in fast growth and prosperity, but not everyone will be happy or successful in the new era. Just like in real life.

"Legion's Invasion"? Allow me to ask deeply about this , will there be a Burning Legion invasion in Jiluun?

 

[Macielos]

"Legion's Invasion"? Allow me to ask deeply about this , will there be a Burning Legion invasion in Jiluun?

I meant Legion's invasion of Azeroth, i.e. Reign of Chaos events .

After a small brainstorm we decided that we'll add a sewage plant there.

 

[Nobelian]

I meant Legion's invasion of Azeroth, i.e. Reign of Chaos events .

I apparently misunderstood.

 

[deepstrasz]

Tl;dr - Human life and habitable lands are the most valuable things in the Enclave. Simply because both are fragile, hard to maintain, hard to restore and uncommon.

Stop killing the spice worms with your terraforming!

 

[Nyctaeus]

Stop killing the spice worms with your terraforming!

 

[Nyctaeus]

Big lore update is posted, but I guess it's nothing wrong with a small followup with something more... Ingame. Map 06 [which isn't actually really 06, but that's another story].

Now that Crater map is public, I can show one of biomes of Jiluun I'm working on - the Ashlands. Specifically, the Lower Ashlands. Areas heavily transformed by volcanic activity in the past, but the most intense geological activity already moved to different areas. Those lands would be fertile if not the acidic rains or ash falls, but Jiluun was always the ultimate test for life.

But Nyctaeus, why are there coniferous trees from Azeroth here? It's simple. This entire biome is one of failed Cleansing attempts. Pines are a leftovers that adapted to this hostile environment.

 

[deepstrasz]

Looks like the Nazis from Commandos turned to orcs in this alternate world/universe.

 

[The_Messenger]

I'm giving those pine trees 5 months at the most before the acid rains get to them.

 

[Nyctaeus]

I'm giving those pine trees 5 months at the most before the acid rains get to them.

They are red, so they adapted

Looks like the Nazis from Commandos turned to orcs in this alternate world/universe.

Just converted from sky-themed clan into more fiery guys :]

 

[xXxMKDxXx]

I'm sorry to ask this, is this even Warcraft3?

 

[Nyctaeus]

I'm sorry to ask this, is this even Warcraft3?

Hahah

Yeys. A third yeys :]. And can be played on 1.31

 

[Nyctaeus]

Mysterious screenshot from mysterious location portraying mysterious activities :]

 

[deepstrasz]

Mysterious screenshot from mysterious location portraying mysterious activities :]

Such a mysterious mystery mysteriously awaiting unfolding.

 

[Nyctaeus]

Such a mysterious mystery mysteriously awaiting unfolding.

Naaaaah, I think it needs moar mystery cuz' it's not mysterious enough.

Spoiler: ...

There will be no Balrog.

 

[deepstrasz]

Naaaaah, I think it needs moar mystery cuz' it's not mysterious enough.

Forbid that planet.

 

[RatzRatzzz]

Meanwhile, somewhere deep below the surface of Jiluun...
View attachment 457190View attachment 457191View attachment 457192View attachment 457193

OMG what beautiful landscapes! By the way, did you import the mushrooms in the cave from WoW?

 

[Nyctaeus]

OMG what beautiful landscapes! By the way, did you import the mushrooms in the cave from WoW?

Yeah, most of this is heavily reworked WoW stuff. I often complement WoW ports with custom-modelled props textured to fit.

 

[RatzRatzzz]

Oh, thanks for the answer! I also really like working with models and textures from WoW, the landscape seems more alive. Success and inspiration to you and the Exodus team!

 

[Macielos]

Guess who's already bracing for another adventure fiiled with bloody struggles, ruthless plundering, vicious intrigues and Captain America butthurting about language?

That's right, a full-fledged ALTERACI CHAPTER is coming, alongside with revamped playable Syndicate techtree. Stay tuned!

 

[Nyctaeus]

FYI the "full-fledged alteraci chapter" means one, new map titled "Into the Snake Pit" :]. But 2.06 will feature updates to other maps as well... And ofc. more fancy, cool stuff.

All the new, shiny textures Moy painted for our unique heroes will be also available :]. I'll probably release our hero assets as individual asset releases to be available for modders to use.

 

[Nyctaeus]

Let's get back to themes of the sequel, shall we? In case if anybody missed mystery screenshots... Well, I have one :]. Look who is back!

 

[deepstrasz]

Koreans, all along.

 

[Macielos]

With warlords such as these, two things are certain:
1. Alterac will rise again!
2. It will be one hell of a show!

 

[Nyctaeus]

There are places that don't exist. Well... At least officially.