TC Isles
Developed
by: TresCom
TresCom
Isles is one of the latest levels made for Trespasser. There are many
attributes that make TC Isles unique when compared to others levels. Throughout
its level design, model architecture, and texture art, it shows the style, and
talent of its artists and creators.
When
I first played the level, I can still remember my excitement. This was supposed
to be the best level of its time; the first level to have completely new models
and use no Trespasser based terrain; in other words, a completely original
masterpiece. Having loved Trespasser the game itself, I was no less than
excited to compare the two; what I found was amazing. Tons and tons of space to
explore. Unlike the old Trespasser, this level called for exploration, instead
of following a direct path. You had to look for everything yourself. Nothing
was left for u to follow. Now, the average critic would most likely say,
“Well, it sounds so difficult, that it might get boring.”
Now
this is a logical explanation, and I would think this as well, but some how,
the creators and minds at TresCom have made a level that requires exploration,
but is simple. Finding your destination is simple. Yes, it is true. Somehow,
though there are thousands of feet of space, you easily find where you need to
go. Yet, it isn’t too easy. Ahhhh.
Also, there isn’t only one way in
which to get someplace. There are literally 6 different ways to reach a single
destination. Some paths, may, at times, be slightly more difficult than others
and that is what makes the game interesting. The game simulates randomness and
chance. It makes the game feel more real.
Speaking of realism, the game is as real
as it gets. The scenery is awesome. You really feel like you are in the island.
You really feel like you are being ripped apart by the raptors jaws. You feel
like you are falling off a cliff. The world around you is so immense and
thrilling. You get to travel throw different terrain and incline levels and see
many different plants. Everywhere you walk looks and feels like a real jungle.
The shrubs, trees, grass, rocks. They all appear authentic. I can not explain
the scenery in words. It is amazing. Take a look at the screens I have posted
up here. You know what. Don’t look at the screens, play the level
yourself. P.S. That is, after you
read my review : )
Another thing that brings goose-bumps to
my skin is the model detail. When playing the older Trespasser levels, the first
thing you will notice it how bad the graphics are. I know the game is one of
the most realistic there is but come on. Well, you can’t say that because
Trespasser was made way back in ’98, when I was still in like in the 5th
grade. Anyways, TC Isles has improved the detail a lot with these things:
-
More
Triangle
Well duh! This one is kind of obvious. Trespasser’s models
can have up to 2048 triangles (kind of a small amount compared to the level of
detail in today’s games) but for some reason, the old Trespasser’s
level’s models never had much more than 200. Well, TC isles increased the
amount of triangles slightly. Still, it did do a good job and you can notice
the difference.
-
24
– bit Textures
If you have ever made models (I should say textures) for Trespasser,
you will know that trespasser works best with 8 – bit textures. Yes,
those textures are very un-detailed. Most of today’s games use 16-bit
textures. Well, TresCom went past that and put in 24-bit textures to give TC
Isles an extra boost in detail. Unfortunately, the textures size still must be
256 x 256 pixels, which I might add is extremely small. That is why some models
look as if they have been stretched out of shape (it is actually the texture
and not the model). Hopefully Big Red will find a way to increase 256 x 256 to
something like 1048 x 1048.
Here is one of the models from TC Isles. OOOh, Ahhh. Yes it is
amazing. I love this model a lot because the textures don’t look so
stretched out from a little ways away (lol). TresCom did an excellent job on
their models. As I said before they are all original.
I just absolutely love the trees they made. The palms, big ones
like this, and the tall skinny ones too (I like the last one the most because
they remind me of me. I am tall and skinny.) The leaves are so rich in color
(too bad they look a little boxy). What would an island be without trees?
Little shrubs and small palms like the one above add effect too.
They give it a more forestry feeling, for most of what you see in a jungle or
forest is on the floor.
I love the rivers in this level. They look so real. The new sounds
they added are awesome. Oh, I forgot to talk about sounds. TresCom has done an
awesome job with the sounds. Completely new sounds (I think, still have to
confirm that). Everything has a
sound and authentic one too. And the sounds feel like they are never reused in
other models (though they most likely are). 
Talk more about the river. The new waterfalls are spectacular. I
love the way they look. This screen above is one of my favorite ones. The water
and the waterfalls just add a special aw to the scene. I would have loved to
see a huge water fall. Like one about half the size of the
Another thing that is radical is the new dinosaurs. They have got
a new raptor model even. Check it out above. Slightly taller, and better hands,
I would definitely call this and improvement. It looks great; very scary when
it is charging at you. You can see that great truck in the background. I almost
thought that it was from the original Trespasser, but it turns out, that I am
pretty sure that it is made by TresCom.
Here you can see a Gallimimus about to take a chunk out of a
plant. TresCom has awesome modeling skills. To be perfectly honest, Remdul did
every single model for this level. A lot of work I know. He is an amazing guy.
While creating this level, TresCom made some awesome discoveries and
achievements. Here are some of them:
-
Plant
AI Value
Now, this mite not mean much to most of you, but if you are a
level designer/creator, you should be jumping for joy. They found out how to
make a plant eater eat plants, which was never known before.
-
Jumping
Raptor
Now, this wasn’t quite perfected at this stage, but with the
level did come a jumping raptor. Still very glitchy, but the raptor did jump.
Latest news shows that Big Red is perfecting it and has made an action value
that will allow you to call for the ‘jump’ action. Again, level
designers, jump for joy.
-
Map
The invented an in-game map for this level. An ‘x’
marks your position and it moves when and where you move. Awesome huh?
Well, that is basically it. I have mentioned almost everything
about this level. But I won’t mention everything of course, so you can
have a little fun playing it.
In the End it comes down to the Pros, and the Cons. Pros being the
good things, and Cons being the bad things. And here is what I came up with:
Pros – Better detail than last trespasser levels. Better
textures than last trespasser levels. Great level design. Plenty of puzzles and
features. Not too hard, but not too easy. Immense map to explore. New dinos.
Completely original models, textures, and sounds. Good quality sounds. New features,
such as maps and new cheats like ‘invul’ (forgot to mention that).
Great realism. Realistic physics (uses trespasser’s demo engine, which
has about the same physic realism as the real trespasser.exe. Improved AI. And
finally, overall, great game play.
Cons – Could have had more triangles in models. Sometimes,
finding your way around the area becomes impossible at the beginning (that
changes after you play it a few times). Some problems or oddities at times will
occur with dinos (happens on all level with trespasser).
That is it. I give the level an A-.
“A minus!” you might burst out screaming. Give it an A!
Well, I personally believe they could have done a little better
with the triangles (made models more detailed). But I still loved it. It is the
best trespasser level out so far.
A special thanks to me for taking good screens (just kidding. But
I did take all the screens.)
And one to TresCom for such an awesome level.
