Video Update - posted by Warlock @ 14:55

Xavier (Blade project leader) has confirmed that they are currently working on the new video, which he promise will be much better than the previous one. He also told me that the video will include the main music theme in Blade.

I'll keep you updated in the comments for this newspost if I learn more of the details on it.

Official Forum Watch - posted by Warlock @ 20:07

Rebel Act has started the work on the new Blade video, so it should be out any day now. Let's hope we'll get have it ready by the end of this week - fingers crossed. Making a quality video takes a couple of days at least I've heard.

The plans for the demo has been to include one of the first levels, but they might consider to include the tutorial and a small map that will not be available in the final game. Personally I prefer the last option. It's a bit annoying to play one level over and over again in a demo, and when you finally get the full game, you'll have to force yourself to complete it for the 100th time - taking away some of the excitement and fun of it. But, most of all, I want to see a multiplayer level in the demo!

What's your thoughts on this topic?

Status Report - posted by Warlock @ 18:19

I got a little status report from Xavier here the other day and figured I share it with you guys.

Things are going quite well, we have already finished the first levels with Beta quality. You'll see many changes since you played Blade at Madrid...

The team is working very hard and they are really motivated to finish it very soon...

We're adjusting the special effects for the spells...it looks really great!!!

Friday's Screenshot - posted by Warlock @ 18:08

I almost forget about this today, but hey, It's Friday again, and time to post a new sparkling screenshot of Blade - which is just what today's screenshot is. Doesn't that torch look a bit different than what we've seen before? It looks more glowing and sparkling to me. Hell, Blade is only looking better and better for each Friday! Also notice the shadows here. You can clearly tell that the ground, which the Knight stands on, is a step higher than the floor in front of him. Try picturing that without the shadows on!

The Developers at Work - posted by Warlock @ 19:33

Our ongoing article, The Developers at Work, has been updated. This time we've talked with level designer Fernando Del Ama, who is currently puting his last touch on the levels in Blade before the beta. Want to know a bit of what it is like being a level designer? Want to know how the level editor works and what you'll be able to do with it? Head over to our articles section and find out!

Blade Toon Follow-Up - posted by Warlock @ 19:52

The Blade-Toon screenshots I posted yesterday turned out to be pretty popular, so I figured I'd post some follow-up info I recieved in an e-mail from Carlos today:

There are three main parts: the outlining of the objects, the processing of the textures and the special illumination. Each can be set/unset independently.

Now I have two main processes for the textures, one in color (the one I sent you and another one in Black and White), I may write more filters for the textures.

It is a little slower than the normal version, I have not measured it, but I think that it is about a 5-10% slower, maybe less. It depends on the scene. The only process that takes a little time is the outlining.

I have another rendering mode with line shading, but it's not ready to be shown.

More Fan Art - posted by Warlock @ 18:31

Our Fan Art section has been updated with a new and pretty damn cool sketch by Borja. The Dwarf looks like he has gone quite beserk here, and it should work very well as a Blade poster for you to print out and hang on your wall!

Thanks to Samsagaz for sending it in!

Blade Toon Renders - posted by Warlock @ 20:15

Rebel Act programmer, Carlos, sent me two screenshots of an interesting experiment of his: Toon Rendering in Blade. With this technique, the 3d engine renders the scene, in real-time, like a cartoon! You can view the result by clicking here and here. You can also find these two screenshots in a zip-file from our downloads-section.

Please Note: This is NOT an official Rebel Act project. It is a personal research by Carlos García Cordero and it might not be included in the final product.

Weekly Screenshot - posted by Warlock @ 17:29

It's that day of the week again and we continue to do what we've done the past 12 Fridays now, which is posting a brand new screenshot of Blade! I've taken a closer look at the screenshots we've posted so far, and noticed that the texture alignment looks pretty good now compared to what we've seen in some of the older screens. Leave a comment to this newspost or head over to our forums to tell us what you think.

New game in works? - posted by Warlock @ 23:39

Just wanted to bug you with some stuff Juan posted over at the official Blade website's forums. Apparently, Rebel Act is forming a new group, who will be working on the concept and design of a new game, overlapping the last stages of the development of Blade. Could this be Blade 2 perhaps?

Juan also mentioned that the new publisher of Blade is to be announced VERY soon, along with some other good news regarding the new Blade video.

Thanks to Pookie and Joanqui for helping me out with the translation!

Some minor site updates - posted by Warlock @ 21:03

I've added Volador's Blade IRC-channel to our IRC-Info page. This is a Spanish channel and is quite often visited by some of the developers of Blade.

I've also restructured our Fan Art section to make viewing the many and impressive fan art submissions we've got so far easier.

Blade WinAmp Skin - posted by Warlock @ 15:04

ADi sendt me a Blade skin for WinAmp today. You can find it in our restructured downloads section. If you make any stuff like this for Blade (skins, wallpapers, music etc.), drop me a line and I'll add it to our downloads.

New Fanart - posted by Warlock @ 23:33

Just recieved a new drawing from Yan Le Gall (yanos from our forums), showing a follow-up of his previous submission. Great work! You can view his fan art and all the others from our fan-art section.

New Weekly Screenshot - posted by Warlock @ 18:34

You know the deal, every Friday we post a new and fresh screenshot of Blade. This Friday is of course no exception! In this shot we see the Dwarf looking up, from a dark space, at something that appears to be a collapsed floor. Perhaps he fell down from there and want to get back up before some evil creatures jump out of the shadows?

Goodies before the summer - posted by Warlock @ 20:15

In the shadow of E3, Rebel Act is continuing their hard work towards a Blade beta, which should be ready by the end of this month or early June. Another thing, which they hope to kick out before the summer, is a brand new Blade video. Hopefully they’ll show off all the characters in this new video, so you can all see how different and darn cool they are :-)

Blade at E3? - posted by Warlock @ 13:40

Not likely...in fact, it is second to certain that Blade will not be at this years E3 expo, as a deal with a new publisher for Blade is not yet finalized. If anything else happen, I'll keep you posted.

Screenshot of the Week - posted by Warlock @ 19:35

The joy of Friday is once again upon us, and as always we slam up a brand new screenshot of Blade. Here we see a knight (this time with his head still attached to the neck) walking towards a gate with three dark knights waiting on the other side. Perhaps they'll be kind enough to open it, and let you inside in the heat? Well...leave a comment and tell us what you think.

Links Section Up - posted by Warlock @ 21:39

I've finally taken the time (and remembered) to put together a links section. Better late than never ;-)

If you know of any sites I've forgot to include or you have any additional information, leave a comment.

New and Fresh Poll - posted by Warlock @ 20:15

In our last poll we asked you Which Character are you most eager to try?, it seems (not surprisingly) that the Barbarian turned out to be the most eagerly awaited, with 200 votes. The Dwarf came in at second with 184 votes, followed closely by the Knight with 182 and finally the Amazon getting 149 of the total 715 votes. It was a close race for sure, meaning that all characters are found appealing and interesting. After the game has been out for a while, and we've all got our chance to try 'em out, I'll put it in a poll again.

In this new poll I'm interested in knowing which part of Blade that appeals the most to you, so go ahead and vote! Previous poll results can be found right here.