In the last few days, I have finished adding support for a massive new feature to Wyrmsun: map layers. This will allow players to travel between multiple map layers through “connectors”, which can either be a cave entrance to a deeper underground level, or a portal to another plane of existence or a different world.

The current plan is for different surface/underground layers to be accessible by normal units, while magic portals will be invisible (and unusable) to all but heroes who have acquired the necessary magic skills to see them. The latter element is necessary to maintain the low-magic aspect of the Wyrmsun universe (in the sense of magic being the stuff of myth and legend and not a normal part of people’s daily lives), which is important to keep the historical part of the game from being too fantastical.

The multiple map layers feature is also planned to be tied in to new campaigns. Picture, for instance, a Nidavellir map in which your clan of dwarves travels through deeper and deeper underground layers, facing ever-increasing perils…