[Mark]

I was bored again so that means take a pic from a thread and mess around with it for fun. The original upscale, then added stone weathering, then made sandstone sculpted version.
That upscale is very good. I hope the rest are up to that level.

Attached File(s)

•  egyptian4.jpg (486.29K)
  Number of downloads: 33

[MrFlibble]

Phredreeke, on 16 January 2021 - 01:28 PM, said:

The developer is Ukrainian so I assume that version came first?

It's a bit more complicated than that. There is rather widespread Ukrainian-Russian bilingualism in the country, and a pretty considerable portion of the population identifies Russian as their first language (that is not to mention the hybrid Ukrainian-Russian sociolects used in some areas). GSC Game World creator and owner Sergiy Grygorovych was born in 1978 in Kyiv so while I would not guess which of the two languages was the first for him to acquire chronologically, he is most certainly bilingual. I think it would not be too far fetched to assume that the dev team used both languages while working on the game. Russian wikipedia states that GSC Game World was the first Ukrainian software company to make Russian translations of PC games.

According to Wikipedia again, the game was first released in the US, and a few days later in CIS countries (without specifying further), which I guess both Russian and Ukrainian translations were prepared for the same release date. As to which language was used to write the original game script, well, that's a bit more complicated to find out because I don't think anyone of the devs would mention that in an interview unless asked specifically -- in a bilingual environment people switch between languages all the time.

Mark, on 16 January 2021 - 03:59 PM, said:

I was bored again so that means take a pic from a thread and mess around with it for fun. The original upscale, then added stone weathering, then made sandstone sculpted version.

Oh, that looks very nice! But I think in this case the original real life image is more like a fresco/mural than a bas-relief. I believe it's a painting from a tomb wall. (Most reliefs were in temples and lost their paint when exposed to the elements.)

[deus-ex]

@MrFlibble

Great summary and insights on the origin of the game developer GSC World Game. Thanks for your efforts.

[Phredreeke]

Shared these on Discord but thought I'd share them here too




(They're upscaled using Nickelback model then redithered and repalettised using my custom scripts)

[SonicB00M]

https://store.steamp...lassic_Edition/

The original DOS version can soon be bought on Steam. The remaster will come later, although we already have very fine source ports.

[Korbac]

Hi!

I think is worth a mention that CEO of NightDive Studios teasing Powerslave/Exhumed.

[MrFlibble]

Who thought that this kind of promotion where an extremely blurred / distorted / zoomed-in image of a supposedly preview screenshot of a new product, with no comment or explanation whatsoever, is a nice and dandy thing to do anyway?

I know this is supposed to be better than a poster saying "#### ###### is about to #### you ### ####", but some part of me just refuses to accept that.

[Jimmy]

I fucking hate this kind of marketing.

[Phredreeke]

A few weeks ago MaxiClouds released the first version of his Powerslave TC for GZDoom https://forum.zdoom....bdb4d61bfd3debf

Notable new feature is co-op mode

Spoiler

Let's hope Nightdive doesn't take this down too

[Korbac]

I just made a custom map for Powerslave/Exhumed, if you're interested, download link and screenshots are on it's ModDB page. It was made of course with these tools, thank you for those!
I couldn't figure it out yet why, but it only works with sourceports, DOSBox always crash when I try to start it.
Installing instructions (if needed) are in the readme file.

This map isn't a large or epic map, I'm working on a 5 level episode and this will serve as the starting level.

I appreciate any feedback you may have.

[oasiz]

Nice
I'll try to take a look at some point when I have more time.

[DisgustedGrunt]

Powerslave Exhumed announced at Realms Deep.



DOS version showed up on Steam a couple of weeks ago it seems
https://store.steamp...lassic_Edition/

[MusicallyInspired]

According to the trailer, it's the Saturn and Playstation versions combined into one. I assume it also has the PC stuff too? I don't really know much about this game.

[MrFlibble]

MusicallyInspired, on 14 August 2021 - 12:46 PM, said:

I assume it also has the PC stuff too? I don't really know much about this game.

The console versions have relatively minor differences (the details of which I cannot remember ATM though), but the PC version has completely different levels, and some different mechanics as well. So it would not be really possible to fuse the console and PC levels into a single thing without it becoming something altogether dissimilar from both sources.

[Phredreeke]

I think it uses PC assets when they are higher quality than the console versions.

[MusicallyInspired]

Ahh.

[MrFlibble]

Back when I discovered Powerslave sometime in the early-mid 2000s I did not play beyond the fourth map, and after that for a long time confined myself to the various demos. Now I'm having a blast with the GOG version and PCExhumed, and cannot get the level design out of my head -- up to the point that today I had a dream of meeting in person and speaking to someone from here in the forums who told me that the entire level set was made on a very tight schedule of four weeks. Absurd.

But even that dream was not to criticise the maps, I'm finding the layouts quite consistent in how they use the available features of the Build engine, and following an interesting design philosophy that actually makes the game stand out. It's a kind of evolution of the Doom style, but focussing on creative mazes and traps more than on attempts at realism, unlike later and more popular Build games. And the levels are quite huge, but never seem to fall apart into separate disconnected areas. They also manage not to get repetitive, as every map so far has had a distinct theme or focus on a subset of game mechanics that is different from the rest.

I wonder if this was fleshed out during the 3DR phase of development, or at Lobotomy? I haven't played the early Shadow Warrior protos, but watched a couple of videos, and perhaps there is a certain similarity between the Powersave levels and the early Japanese castle stuff in SW?

[Aristotle Gumball]

DOS Powerslave is super underrated I think. The difficulty ramps up both in terms of map complexity and enemy numbers/types of enemies you encounter, that by the end it's a real mindfuck to get through. The last level I just couldn't figure out on my own. Too much going on.

[Phredreeke]

Yeah, DOS Powerslave gets overshadowed by both contemporary DOS FPS and by its own console counterparts.

[Jimmy]

This new port looks great, but the only complaint I have is the lighting is way off and things look too clean. Consider the gritty and dark nature of the original game, and please try to recapture that. Just watch the comparisons in the trailer itself with the plasmaballs being thrown down the hallways. The hallway is too bright, the plasmaballs aren't vibrant but muted. Powerslave is pretty loveable for it's darkness and vibrant colored lighting. This is missing here.

[oasiz]

Agreed, it looks something like early 2000s implementations with polymost where a lot of the shading and colours might have been more realistic but at the same time removing all the hand crafted stylization out of it, generally affecting visibility & palette use the most.
I have hopes that this will be fixed though.

Can't wait for this to come out though, It's a game that really deserves to be played.

[Phredreeke]

I'm not too fussed about the inaccurate lighting given the lighting is already different between PS1 and Saturn version and this version is a bit of a mashup of both (with some sprites taken from the PC version as well)

(also hoping for someone to make a more faithful port of the Saturn version)

[MrFlibble]

oasiz, on 22 August 2021 - 11:29 PM, said:

Can't wait for this to come out though, It's a game that really deserves to be played.

I've never played the console versions in any form, but the footage I've seen so far appears to be mostly labyrinthine 3D structures with a lot of verticality, but also very confined with almost no open areas to talk about. Is that so? (indoor arenas or large halls don't count) Part of the charm of the PC version for me lies in that you have distinct outdoor areas in addition to the great variety of tombs, caves, temples and so forth.

[Aristotle Gumball]

MrFlibble, on 23 August 2021 - 05:52 AM, said:

I've never played the console versions in any form, but the footage I've seen so far appears to be mostly labyrinthine 3D structures with a lot of verticality, but also very confined with almost no open areas to talk about. Is that so? (indoor arenas or large halls don't count) Part of the charm of the PC version for me lies in that you have distinct outdoor areas in addition to the great variety of tombs, caves, temples and so forth.

Dude, it is a completely different game. Seriously. I had no idea until I chanced upon the Powerslave EX beta version that got pulled when Kaiser signed with Nightdive. It's a really clever game that seems to me like Portal almost in the way it forces you to solve 3D puzzles. The abilities you get are fun and when you backtrack to traverse previously inaccessible areas, it feels cool.

Outside of the same/similar weapons and enemies, the way it plays is much less like a shooter and more like an Egypt themed Super Mario-metroidvainia.

[Jimmy]

Phredreeke, on 23 August 2021 - 04:22 AM, said:

I'm not too fussed about the inaccurate lighting given the lighting is already different between PS1 and Saturn version and this version is a bit of a mashup of both (with some sprites taken from the PC version as well)

(also hoping for someone to make a more faithful port of the Saturn version)

Except it drives so far away from the tone of both versions and looks like neither. It's not about "accuracy." It's about tone. The overall bright, clean look evokes a cartoony atmosphere. The original game was quite grim. That's not present here and it majorly detracts from the appeal.

[Phredreeke]

I wonder if this was in response to criticism of the overly colorful lighting? https://twitter.com/...588343162052610

[Aristotle Gumball]

Hell yeah.

[Avenger]

I have to say that the Powerslave EX port that was done a while back before being pulled after whatever company owns the IP finally decided to do something with it was well done and far more of a polished product than "PC Exhumed" is in it's current state with the exception of some missing widescreen fixes. It's just too bad that it was based on the Playstation version of the game.

If this is anything like that port I'll be happy and hopefully the mod community will fill in the blanks.

[Powerslave Ex]

Tenho novidades, vejam se gostam.
[url="https://youtube.com/@PowerSlaveExhumed?si=JnwmyHJQXW4KTcSU"] My link[/url]

[Powerslave Ex]

⭐📦Tenho novidades, vejam se gostam. ATUALIZAÇÃO/2023

👉🏻Canal do YouTube
https://youtube.com/...GkJYvz59wuEVM4e

👉🏻Vídeo Powerslave EXS
https://youtu.be/bd3...tN15oxu4vJ8OP2b