Thanks for your feedback Elig.
Concerning the
Big Empty World issue. I'd like more feedback on this, from you and others, because I don't want to build a game that only I would enjoy playing. Actually, I'll still build that game, but I'll make a second version with more mass appeal that people might buy. There will be a lot more content in the final version, 6 (fairly distinct) dungeon types, 10 unique 3D creature models (already completed) each with several variants, and more things to see then just those giant statues. A lot of my inspiration for this game comes from playing Elder Scrolls Oblivion. I didn't do very many quests, I just liked to wander the wilderness to see what was out there: maybe a dungeon to explore, an altar, an abandoned house. I would see a new pond and think "wouldn't it be cool to fish there". Other people might not have the same sense of wanderlust as me.
Some cool scenarios that could happen in the game (the full version):
1) You see a Short Faced Bear (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_faced_bear) off in the distance, through the mist. You know not to engage it at your current level, although its pelt is worth a lot of gold. You go in closer and see its cave. You use your Stealth skill to sneak past the bear, look around its cave, and then take some loot off one of its victims. You see a weak point in the cave wall and hammer through. It leads to a deeper cave that you explore. You then find a small pool of water and decide to start fishing.
2) Wandering about the forest you stumble upon a small obelisk with some runes. Using your Archeology skill you decipher them and they tell you the location of a nearby dungeon. You go to that location to find a lake with some half-submerged ruins sticking out. You swim over and see that there is an underwater entrance. You leave the lake to hike up to the the higher altitude regions where a certain plant grows that you can brew into Water Breathing potions using your Alchemy skill. You'll need a lot of them.
Concerning the technical stuff. The engine is entirely custom, so I might be handling things in unconventional ways. I don't use the stencil buffer, I just punch a hole in the terrain geometry both visually and in the collision detection. As for the dungeon layout, it randomly connects room shapes pulled from a large set of potential rooms and hallways. It then adds random decorations, doors, and spawn points to the rooms (according to some rules based on room type). There are only ten room types right now, but I expect around 50 for the release version. I have an editor that makes it fairly easy.
