A more real Tormya – fur, scales, stone and steel

The chroniclers have been busy this week. Tormya looks very different now – here is what changed. Creatures you can almost touch Every animal and beast got rounder, smoother bodies and real surface detail: wolves, deer, bulls and horses now have fur that follows the shape of the body (along the back and down the legs), dragons and serpents wear overlapping scales, and eyes catch the light. Your mounts and pets got the same treatment – no more blocky legs and flat colours. Heroes in shining armour Characters now show the full detail of their gear: steel plates, gold trim and buckles gleam and reflect the sky, while leather, cloth and skin stay matte. Every dent and seam of armour and clothing catches the light. The Warden's armour finally looks like real steel instead of a dark silhouette. Weapons and shields forged anew All swords, axes, hammers, spears, staves, wands and shields were rebuilt: brushed steel that reflects the sky, leather-wrapped grips and wooden shields with iron rims. Bows are now proper recurve bows with a string, and crossbows have a wooden stock and a steel prod. Living towns Market squares have stone fountains, a bronze horseman on a stone plinth, striped market stalls with crates and barrels, carts with spoked wheels, wells with a winch and bucket and wooden signposts. Taverns serve food on wooden plates with bowls of apples and brass goblets. Barracks have straw training dummies, archery targets and racks full of real weapons. Temples are lit by shelves of candles, and a stone altar stands before the priest. Watchtowers and lighthouses The old towers were rebuilt stone by stone: watchtowers have arrow slits, iron-bound doors, battlements and a wooden roof, and lighthouses carry a fire basket that burns through the night. Backpacks and bags are now real leather with straps, brass buckles and a rolled blanket. Dungeon portals The purple boxes are gone. Every dungeon entrance is now a carved stone arch with a swirling gate of energy – step through it to enter. Harbours and water Rowing boats with oars lie on the beaches, galleons wait at the piers, and the sea sparkles where the sun hits it – calmer and clearer in the distance. A lighter download Despite all of this, the game is about a third smaller to download (under 470 MB). Your client updates itself when you start it – if you downloaded the game before 30 September, download it once more from the Download page and from then on it will keep itself up to date. Day and night Tormya now has its own time of day. A full day lasts two real hours and is the same for every player. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west with golden light at dawn and dusk; at night a cold moon lights the land, colours fade, and the torches, campfires and candles really start to glow. Your character carries a lantern after dark. The current time is shown in the middle of the bar under the minimap – gold during the day, blue at night. A real sky Look up: clouds drift across a blue sky, the sun glows above the horizon, sunsets paint the clouds gold, and at night the stars come out. In the Frostlands and on rainy days the sky turns grey and heavy. Rain and snow Clouds roll over Tormya now and then: rain pours down, streets and stone get wet and glisten, and you hear it drumming around you. In the Frostlands it snows instead, and in the desert it never rains. Indoors and underground you stay dry. Like the time of day, the weather is the same for everyone. See you in Tormya!