The Diacephalon and The First Khaldar (part I)

The Diacephalon (strangely closely after Diencephalon part of our nervous system) was a concept born in my first unpublished book entitled the same, Diacephalon or formerly, Rituals of the Elements.

In the book, it is a black stone with inner burning crimson, forever emitting black smoke. It is possessed by the First Born, and was given to Kaevrin, which led to the corruption of the entire world -- the pivotal point in history that spun the universe to destruction.

In Survivors, the Diacephalon concept makes its appearance again, but here it is revealed more.

"Not everyone shall embrace the Khala, and their path shall be validated."
-- Xuun'Cael, his last words during the final stand.

During the years after the Aeon of Strife has dissipated, Xuun'Urimron, sole survivor of a destroyed Tribe during the wars, plans to venture into the forbidden space, or the Arkun-Te. Despite his long childhood friend's warnings, his passion to learn the truth leads him to commandeer a first generation shuttle, and heads for the Arkun-Te.

The exact location of the Arkun-Te has been hidded for ages, and only the preservers of the Hurdrim'Atol knew about it. However, preservers hold even more secrets best forgotten. Secrets the universe keeps, not even they are aware of.

In his search for Arkun-Te, Urimron has discovered a dark secret: The newly found Conclave had imprisoned his Tribesmen in stasis.

Furious, Urimron sets on a path to free his brethren and put an end to the Conclave and their lies. He joins a small rebel band, keeping his personal aims closely guarded.

During a raid, Urimron, ordered to lure interceptors away for the boarding operation, had his warp drive damaged while in transit to a nearby moon. An act of sabotage by a jealous comrade leads to a discovery he had previously abandoned. Or so it seems.

He finds himself in the middle of a receding supernova, and the gravitational pull of the dead star starts pulling him in, tearing his ship apart.

Time gradually slows down, and Urimron's perception heightened. He could perceive history stretching out in his mind, from past to the future, as his existence smears over.

In the darkness, a Black cube ominously floats, as if calling him to it. Closer, it spoke to him, and he knew what had to be done.

Immediately, Urimron appears elsewhere. Unharmed, but not unchanged.

Released Chapters: THE GATHERING

The 'Psionic Matrix' is a series of structures designed to allow local communications among the Legions, blocking off the effects of the 'Psionic Warp', which affected their ability to communicate via telepathic link, and effectively shut down all psionically powered structures and machines.

Ralrazin was able to discover the source of this interference, and developed an energy wave that repels it. But it was short lived.

While the Khalai Executor was establishing the Auxiliary Legion's base of operations and rendezvous point for the rest of the contingents still en route from the nearby provinces, Zergund was sent to establish a post on the nearby pass, which serves as the main road into the base.

Soon after Zergund's departure, a sizable Zerg force emerges from the deep forests and ravaged the outlying structures, forcing the Legion to fall back and reconfigure the structures.

Blind to the severity of their position, Ralrazin continued her work and successfully reactivates the warp-gates, allowing the rest of the Legion to arrive, bolstering their forces, making the attack seem like a boring chore.

This would later prove to be a big mistake.

A huge cohesive Zerg force poured into the area from all directions, threatening to overrun the Legion.

Distraught at the sight of impossible odds, the Legion decides to hold their ground and meet their end in glorious combat.

Update, Long time.

Whew, it's been a long time. Thought the world was going to end back there. :D

Anyway, minor steps have been taken towards the completion of this project, and major ones are dedicated to creating a cartoon instead.

The campaign might not proceed development since Starcraft 2 doesn't support projects such as these.

In any case, I may be posting the scripts on here and on other sites for your reading pleasure.

Modeling the Characters

The Tool:

I've been studying Zbrush for some days now, and found Sculptris just a few hours ago.

Sculptris is very handy, quick, and hassle-free sculpting application. For the purpose of making concepts or even base models for retopology later on, I find this application very useful.

It's a very easy tool for creativity, and allows you to focus on what you're creating than fighting the UI.

The idea:

Based off of Starcraft and Broodwar's image of the Protoss, and combining it with Starcraft 2's more human-like features, I've decided to go for this structure.

I've always felt the Protoss were supposedly alien, and would love to keep those things in.

Purpose:

This model will be used to create the mid-res model, which will be for cinematic purposes.

Full Metal Loop

Experimenting with Metal Music.

Composing Music Tracks

New Version:

Map Making: Gradual Progress

The key to creating the first map was to start small. Create a map 64x64 or 96x96 and expand the map size and camera bounds as you go forward.

It is more rewarding and you get more satisfaction working this way, than working a big map and not be able to have something a bit solid after an hour of work.

The key thing to remember is to keep in mind the specific areas of interest in your map. This is where your draft comes in handy.