Greetings Fellow Avatars! More Scene Updates this week along with a little bit of story info.  Enjoy!

Here’s what we have for you in this week’s edition of Update of the Avatar:

• New Libris Ruins Screenshots & Video!
• New Boreas Colossus Screenshots
• Story: What “Colossus” and “Titan” Terms Mean

New Libris Ruins Screenshots & Video!

[From a Dev+ Forum Post Update by Esteben “SorcerousSteve” Zaldivar]

Hey guys! SorcerousSteve here to give you an update on Libris Ruins!

I am approaching completion of the the worldbuilding phase and now with all the major POI’s in place I will begin spawning the map with lots of bad guys and yes, traps.

Looking to the North the ruins of the ancient courthouse are dwarfed by rugged cliffs in the background. To the lower right we can catch a glimpse of the Sanctus River flowing by.

The presence of shards has cause an overgrowth of alien plants near the prison grounds.

Bear traps lay obscured outside the prison grounds ready to snatch at unsuspecting wanderers. Watch your step! Shoutout to ReidtheRollo for his support in making this trap come to life!

A panoramic of Libris Ruins with the ruined courthouse in the far left, and the prison in the far back built on to the cliffs.

Hope you guys are excited to visit Libris Ruins this R43!

Esteben “SorcerousSteve” Zaldivar
Level Designer

New Boreas Colossus Screenshots

[From a Dev+ Forum Post Update by Travis “Vas Corp Por” Koleski]

Travis “Vas Corp Por” Koleski
Level Designer

Story: What “Colossus” and “Titan” Terms Mean

You might see us refer to a scene as having things in it like the “Oracle Colossus” or a “Titan Colossus”, and there may be moments of confusion either because of the ambiguous nature of words like “colossal” and “titanic”, or because the Oracle Colossus doesn’t actually look like the Oracle as often portrayed in our game… so allow me to illuminate!

As for colussus, we have been using that term in the standard way, to refer to any huge statue that is much, much larger than a human being. Any gigantic statue can be referred to as a colossus, but we’ve primarily been reserving the term as capitalized when using it as a proper name, such as “Colossus of Grannus” or “Oracle Colossus”, and then primarily when referring to the largest primary giant statue used as a main point of interest in a scene.

Now, as to why the “Oracle Colossus” found in Hellfire Rift doesn’t look like the Oracle device found in Confirmatories across the world, the explanation is simple! The colossus found in the Rift, based on what is described in “The Sword of Midras”, was a remnant of the ancient world built long before the Cataclysm of the Sundered Moon and the terrible forces that tore the Hellfire Rift itself open…

That enormous statue had once been at the heart of a great city, and the remnants of that place have long since subsided down toward the center of the channel of lava since the rift was opened many, many centuries ago. The craft with which it was made, and its qualities of divine femininity, so impressed the Titans that they were inspired to draw upon the essence of these qualities when setting to the task of creating the Oracle herself, according to legend…

And so, to this day, those who know of this mighty colossus refer to it as the “Oracle Colossus” because of these legends, though it was set into place long before the Oracle was even a gleam in its builder’s eye…

Scott “Scottie” Jones
Senior Environmental Artist