Soul Reaver Alpha Screenshots

Recently, a rare footage from a supposed Alpha version of Soul Reaver has sprung up on YouTube. The video showed the first portion of the game and is different in many regards than what he have seen so far. Raziel has a white aura around him, just like the sluagh, and disappears once he switches to material realm, where the health coil appears instead. There is even the early "ying yang" shift symbol in the Glyph menu and the Glyph menu has 8 slots. However, the video was taken down not long after it was put up. The uploader said he had sold the alpha build. However, it is strange and unfortunate as to why the video had to be taken down as well. That footage has a huge historical value for all LOK fans, so I documented it in several screenshots below with short commentary. If anybody has more info about any alpha build of Soul Reaver which is out there somewhere, please contact me, I´d be eternally grateful. It supposedly has the Undercity still built in and hopefully the Turelim clan territory as well. Thanks goes to Thiago, who saved the video from being lost to the abyss.

EDIT: It seems that the video has been put back online again. Watch here.

 Raziel has white aura as soon as the cutscene starts

 The footage is very dark

 The vortex of souls looks different

The placeholder pillars symbol is seen through the warp gate

 Soul as seen in the Lighthouse demo

 There are blue particles spawned as Raziel devours souls

 The soul spawner is blue as well, unlike the green colour it has in the final version

 There is also a wondering sluagh in this area

Sluagh training room

 This cutscene starts earlier

 Walking on air is present

 The planar portal looks like from SR2/Defiance

 The debug menu in a normal font, unlike in Beta

The ying yang symbol seen before in early magazine reviews

and 7 additional slots for glyphs

 Material health coil only appears in the material realm

 The underworld entrance is left open when in the material realm

The footage ends here unfortunately

Soul Revenant - New team and switching to Unity

Greetings to all the fans supporting this project!

I got some news to share with you regarding what is new with Soul Revenant. After my old programmer left the project, I was alone and had to rethink how to complete the project. After posting the ad about looking for a programmer, I got a few replies and I can announce that the search was successful indeed. Now we have a team of five people (a programmer, two 3D animators/modelers, 3D environmental artist and me as the director/designer). We talked over what would be the best course of action for the project and after days of considering how to proceed, we decided we have to switch engines in order to fully unleash the game´s and team´s potential, as 3DGS was holding us back in many regards – be it the archaic programming language, lack of screen post-processing effects, high-end graphics, particle effects, etc. I believe that switching to Unity has many advantages and in the long run is a better choice for making this game.

Initially there were many problems to solve and one of them was the environmental shifting which was very problematic and in the old build it only swapped two models around. The combo of Unity and Blender with new talented artists will enable us to make a true HD remake in every sense – all of the environments will be fully remodeled in higher polygon count and more detailed architecture. Also, the Hylden gave us permission to use his amazingly detailed models of Kain and Raziel for the game. Unfortunately, all the code has to be written from scratch as well, as the language of the current scripts is nothing like what Unity uses. However, the new programmer is very skilled should be able to fully replicate all the needed systems for the game and I will try to help out with the basic functions as well. More so, we are all dedicated LOK fans on the team now, so remaking the game should be easier in this regard as well.

We will work in the scope of monthly goals to achieve, so there is always some progress done but it gives the team enough time to work but not become overwhelming. Please always bear in mind that we are all volunteers and have other responsiblities like work, studies, etc., so meeting a deadline might not be always possible. Developing a free game is very flexible process and depends mostly on the availability of the team. Currently, we started working on remaking the Drowned Abbey, so even though the updates will be less frequent, they will be worth the wait I hope. I might update this post with a little sneak peek of what we made so far. Thank you all again for your support and remember – as long as one of us stands, we are legion!

Looking for a programmer *CLOSED*

Since my current programmer, who has programmed most of the current code of my Soul Revenant project is busy and further unavailable, I am looking for somebody who could finish the coding. This is an unpaid, volunteer position and it is required for you to know C-Script/Lite-C programming language from 3D Gamestudio in order to be able to help. If you want to apply, please email me at ancientvampire(at)centrum.sk. Without a programmer, I can´t continue with the project, so if anybody can help, it would be greatly appreciated.

UPDATE: Position has been filled.

Soul Reaver 15th Anniversary

Today we celebrate the 15th anniversary of a game which changed my life, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver. Soul Reaver first grabbed my attention in a preview listed in one of the OPSM issues in 1998. Its revolutionary mechanic of no-loading times and shifting between two realms made it a real hit in 16th of August, 1999. Highly anticipated, it was often compared to its competitors, mainly Tomb Raider 3. I was previously used to the box-like structure of Tomb Raider games but Soul Reaver totally surpassed any ps1 game at that time with its complicated architecture, stunning visuals, expertly crafted models and professional voice over. Even to this day, the game remains highly playable and enjoyable. It will always remain on top of my favourite games of all time.

It is hard to imagine it has been already 15 years since Soul Reaver was published and in order to commemorate its release, I am giving away Legacy of Kain collection on Steam and 10 Nosgoth keys (which were all graciously contributed by a fellow LOK fan and friend, Chance, thanks a lot!).

In order to win the LOK collection, write me an email at ancientvampire(at)centrum.sk with a description of why do you like Soul Reaver and what is your favourite moment from it. I´ll choose one winner and post their answer in this article.

UPDATE: We have a winner! Congratulations to EzioAs! Hope you will enjoy the collection.

"Why I like it

While I did play it 3-4 years after it was released, I got into it very quickly. Even though it was released during the PS1 era, it still has graphics that were very good for it's time. The environment was also very well done and the character design was very different from any game I use to play (which is mostly RPG).
There's shifting from different world, difficult puzzles, swimming, multiple spells, places to explore, there's tons to love about the game.

However, the biggest thing that remains to me why the Soul Reaver (and the entire Legacy of Kain games) is the story, dialogue and voice acting. No game came even close up to this day (well, some do but still doesn't beat it).

My Favorite Moment

Hmm, quite difficult to choose but I'll say the ending, the one where Kain goes into the portal, Raziel follows and meets Moebius. I know most people hate it but I do love cliffhangers. They give you the sense that next game already has the storyline and most of the time, it doesn't clash with previous games. That's my favorite moment."

For anybody else who does not have Nosgoth yet, grab a key from below and redeem it here. 

(You need a SE account and link it with your Steam account in ordert to play).

BEWUDE-225-JOWAVA-011
DECOLE-205-BOBODE-031
NEBODE-227-JALANE-016
NECOLA-227-JALAVA-001
PEWOLA-225-JADABE-221
PAJOFA-325-COYAVA-225
BEJUFA-227-JAWADA-201
NEPUFE-777-COTOVE-015
DAGODE-375-BANATA-236
VAWOFA-257-BADABA-211

Update: All keys have been used!

I hope you will enjoy the game and looking forward to your emails!

Nosgoth Sound Bytes

There has been a demand for character´s lines and music from Nosgoth, so I decided to record some for you. It is currently not possible to extract them from the game, so I have to record them while playing (which is not that easy, as you have to turn off everything except the character´s voices and play). Some are not perfect yet as you can hear other characters speak but better than nothing, at least for now. I´ll update the list of files later as I record more of them (I laughed at the game´s own accidental attempt to censor one of the words from Hunter´s lines...).The file also includes death cries. Music recorded here is before they have added the prolonged fighting section. Thanks goes to Count Eyokir for music and voice clips provided and Marmite 666 for lines!

Download Nosgoth Sound bytes 1
Download Nosgoth Sound bytes 2 
Download Nosgoth Sound bytes 3 
Download Nosgoth idle voice clips
Download Nosgoth Title Theme
Download Nosgoth Battle Music
(Includes Freeport, Valeholm, Provance and the Fane)

Sound bytes current list:

Alchemist:  
The flames find my enemies.
You´re going to die, you bastards.
Now burn them all.
I will find you vampires.
Leave none alive! 
Search this town for this damned leeches!

Dumahim: 
I give you death.
One less rebel.
Should have stayed a slave.
There is prey to be killed.
They must die.
The hunt continues. 

Hunter:
Come on!
Till every leech is dead.
Death to the vampires.
Come on you leeches.
Rot you f...., rot!

Razielim:
Come out, come out, wherever you are!
I shall find you.
Now, I teach them terror.
To battle, find those humans.
To the fight!
Victory awaits!

Prophet:
Cease!
Today we will kill the spawn of Kain!
There can be no doubt that victory will come!
I speak with the voice of many and I call this day your last!
Your fate is at hand! 
From the darkness, light.

Scout:  
The battle goes on until all their kind are gone.
Till every leech is dead.

Turelim:  
For Nosgoth. 

Hide the marmosets in Legacy of Kain: Defiance?!

I have known about this message for a quite a long time and finally I got around to post this discovery (I have posted this on the Eidos forums but had no proof back then). You can find this secret message only in the ps2 version (I can't test it on Xbox) saying: ''HIDE THE MARMOSETS!''. Does it refer to the monkeys or the tool for materials? Maybe both? In any case, it is a strange thing which was removed in the pc version.

How to find it:

Upon Raziel's second visit to Vorador's mansion (after his return from Avernus), you can find the following message in the bottom floor of the flooded sewers area (where you found a piece of the seal). The message even changes colours from yellow to green when shifting. 

Daniel Cabuco revealed what this message means in his facebook post:

"Pretty straightforward: hide those marmosets! Lol
There were a lot of overtime hours on Defiance. As a result, people would get punchy around 10pm-2am. Lots of inside jokes suddenly became really good ideas to put jn the game.
Some were official like the chibi mode or cardboard tube, others wormed their way in.
Honestly surprised anyone found something like this. We used sayings like this as placeholders to test memory. Having it change in spectral shows that it was also used to test modes.
Hide the marmosets, don't scare the crows and Electric Bugaloo were all used. They were all supposed to be removed (which I am sure happened when the PC version was made)
In SR2 I used my car photo as a placeholder and a Japanese Pride fight poster between Kazushi Sakaruaba and Royce Gracie. (Which were removed so don't bother looking for them lol)
Amazing this was found after so long a time."

The gate to the Hylden Dimension is now open

Good news everyone! My friend the Hylden finally resides within his own realm - the Hylden Dimension. He made the most accurate fan Kain model in existence and is now working on remaking the Pillars and it's surroundings to recreate scenes from SR1. If you like his efforts,  support his project by liking his page on facebook or subscribing to the newsletter on his page.

Gamer's Republic Soul Reaver Preview

A few weeks ago I was browsing Ebay for any magazines which would have rare SR1 info or screenshots and stumbled upon Gamer's Republic issue no. 6 from 1998. The  front cover with Raziel looked very promising... I had a hunch it will be worth it, so I purchased it almost immediately (luckily it was not expensive at all). When it arrived in the mail I was rewarded with plenty of previously unseen information and screenshots. The magazine also features and advertisement for a an official SR1 strategy guide by Millennium publications set to release in January 1999. However, in that time only the SR1 Prima guide was published as the official one. No other record of this SR1 'official' guide by Millennium supposedly exists (if anybody has any info, I'd be grateful).

 

Download Gamer's Republic SR Preview in PDF

Greenish SR1 logo

This page mentions the following info - it is unclear as whether there were 10 actual Lieutenants planned or it mistakenly lists 3 Kain Encounters and Priestess as part of the number:

''In victory against 10 clan leaders, special abilities are bestowed upon Raziel as he assimilates his victim's essence, every confrontation leading  to a greater being.''

 About the Reaver enhancements:

''Raziel starts out with only his claws to battle, but once he first confronts Kain, he destroys the Soul Reaver sword (the weapon Kain used to butcher his victims in the original game), and must claim it as his own in the spirit world. Once Raziel claims the sword, he can baptize it, as with other weapons, in streams of light, water, fire, spirit, imbued it with added strengths.''

About the Undercity and vampire worshippers:

''In religious undercity, zealot cult members will actually rush to torched vampires and split themselves open to pour blood over the vampires' charred remains, resurrecting them.''

 Close up of the Chapel area

 Rare close-up shot from the Sunlight Forge

 Rare close-up shot from the Water Forge

Previously unseen render of Raziel with lava as background (implying Turel's territory?)

Turel's clan territory and Lt. Raziel skin

Since the Undercity is done now, I have started working on the Smokestack area and overhead mountain paths leading to it. Follow me on facebook, where I post updates frequently. Here are the latest screenshots I took from the Smokestack/mountain area:

Also, I got an idea to have a little easter egg in the game. Since we never got to play as Lt. Raziel in Soul Reaver, I have decided to put him in my remake as an unlockable skin.

PSM 19 and more SR1 early screenshots

I have finally got my hands on the old US PSM issue no.19, which houses the most interesting preview and strategy guide for the cut content of Soul Reaver! All credit goes to Whitney from Silent Hill site, who kindly uploaded the pages regarding Soul Reaver and thanks to Kevin who contacted her.

Download US PSM issue no.19

SR1 is refered to as "Kain 2"

This page has rare shots of an early Soul Reaver, when Raziel held it like a sword. Also notice the caption under Turelim vampire (Dark Demons part) saying: "This Aluka boss grants Kain the ability to breathe underwater." which has every single word in it wrong! The page also mentions that Raziel mission is to exterminate all the vampires in Nosgoth and that humans would give you tips.

From this page, they included a strategy guide (Guide for an unreleased game? This is rather unusual and premature). Adepts are called "acolytes" in their description and mentions the Melchahim as "Skinner clan", while refering to Necropolis as area called "Melchahim" instead.

On this page, Rahabim are called "the Aluka clan" and also mentions two cut abilities - Shift at Will and possession. Shift at Will will be gained after 2/3 of the game and that Raziel can now access Sound Forge, Sound Glyph,  Force Glyph and Undercity. It also describes how would possession ability work in great detail.

This page describes each Soul Reaver enhancement in great detail, however, it does not state where exactly each forge is located.

This page deals with Glyphs. Strangely, it describes the Sunlight Glyph being the weakest (only stunning enemies instead of burning them) and Force Glyph is put as pre-last (while it doesn´t kill enemies like Sound and Fire Glyph do).

My fellow SR1 researchers Kevin Chatmajo and Aevum have found interesting collections of old images from many gaming sites. Some of them are previously unseen images of alpha and beta versions of the game.

Alpha/Beta Screenshot Collection Gallery

Sources: allgame, GIA, Player´s Choice Games, Gamespot, MobyGames, Gamer´s Hell,

Also, check another version of Sanctus Christus SR1 video (in French) which has tons of unseen footage:

The Undercity and the Priestess

In the last two weeks I was focusing on redoing all of the Undercity and incorporating it into the world of SR. I have used several bits of the existing City architecture and used some of them to built the new Undercity part. I have also applied the released Undercity textures on the new levels to create an authentic feel. I won´t spoil where the entrance to the Undercity is as you have to find it yourself, but I hope you will find the additional area exciting to explore and solve the new puzzles. 

Compare with the original screenshots (source: Arnold Ayala´s blog):

Also, here is the Priestess as she will appear in the game:

Compare with original Priestess sketch (recoloured by me):

New footage and screens from Soul Revenant

I finally got back to working on the game again and put all the levels in the world so they are pretty much ready for putting in decorations, torches, etc. I have recorded a short video of how it looks like so far. Bear in mind that animations, enemies, abilities, lighting, etc. is all unfinished and will require lots of work and tweaking. Like the project on Facebook for more news and screenshots!

Amy Hennig IS coming back! *UPDATE*

Today we inform you that a super secret source from inside Square Enix HQ has emailed us about what every fan yearned for - that Amy Hennig is retaking Legacy of Kain! More details follow soon!

UPDATE: Our source decided to reveal himself and also sent pictures confirming the discussions he had with Amy. He says his driving force to contact her is that he has been missing in the game industry for ten years now and he got bored while being trapped in Soul Reaver. He stressed that the fact that he is not in the latest game called Nosgoth is just outrageous and demands a new LOK Game to be made!

Here are some incriminating photos he sent us:

According to him, he and Amy got their heads together and conceived a new idea for a LOK Game. Then they went back to Square together and pitched them the new title Legacy of Raziel: The Tales of the Talking Sword, which will be in the same style as critically acclaimed games such as Walking Dead or The Wolf Among Us. He did not say when the production on this new LOK game will start, but we can only hope it will be soon.

On another note, Nosgoth is giving away special skin of Justin Reaver! Don´t miss this once in a year opportunity to get you this slick haired sexy golden Reaver that everybody wants!

Amy Hennig left Naughty Dog

According to various sources and her twitter account, Amy Hennig departed from Naughty Dog on 3rd of March and currently is unknown her next career move. You can read more on her career here and here. I wish her all best and thank her for all the amazing games she provided us with.

UPDATE: In the latest news it claims Amy wasn´t forced out as the original post claims to be the case.

Nosgoth Live Q & A Transcript published

Since the live Q & A from September provided a lot of answers for the new mp game Nosgoth, I have decided to transcribe it into a text form so it is easily accessible any time. I apologize that it comes so late. It was done in November, but because of some unforseen consequences it had to be postponed. Huge thanks goes to my fellow friend and LOK admin Aevum, who helped with the transcript and its proofreading. Hope you enjoy!