"XRay Engine" build 1098 — the latest known build of Oblivion Lost. It was intended to demonstrate the graphics and concept of the game at Milia 2002. It exists in three versions, differing in the set of locations and the use of game resources (interface color, weapon set, and the main character’s model).

Description

All versions of the build include the lev5_aztec level, representing a valley with the ruins of an ancient civilization’s temple complex in a mountainous valley with gorges and sparse forest. The main character begins the game in the southeast of the location next to a tracked vehicle covered with a tarp labeled X-Ray, along with containers. In the north are fortress structures and a relatively small temple with several towers, an inner courtyard, and underground levels with a sacrificial altar. The north and south of the location are connected by two mountain gorges guarded by enemy robots. The underground part of the valley consists of short tunnels with a fissure through which lava flows. Certain boundary restrictions of the location appeared, but it is still possible to find a way outside of it.

The player has access to several new weapon models: XM-134 minigun, Groza and FN2000^{[note 1]}. Protecta also presents in the resources as an unfinished model. Two highly detailed models were made for the main character — the male Jeffry and the female Barby^{[note 2]}. For the first time, a full graphical user interface appeared: a mini-map with friend and enemy markers, health bars for robots, health and armor bars for the main character, and weapon information.

One of the main advantages of the build is the completely reworked AI, expressed in the behavior of combat robots of the "T-800M" model. The main character is given 3 allied robots that follow the player and try to remain less noticeable by hiding behind cover. The player could issue them commands via a special menu activated with the "Alt" key, but this feature was not implemented. Enemy robots appear in the location when certain zones (triggers) are crossed and try to kill the main character. Another notable feature of the build is the photorealistic grass, which at the time impressed reviewers.

Build versions

The first version is a self-extracting archive with the build and instructions on how to launch it, prepared for Milia 2002. It differs from the others by having 8 bat-files that allow the build to be launched with different modes (with interface and weapons visible, or without) and graphics settings. Gameplay features: the main character uses the Jeffry model, weapons include the M134 and FN2000, and the user interface is blue.

The second variant is not a specific build but rather a working project folder, not intended for demonstration, containing additional content such as test locations and related textures, as well as a log file from the lost "XRay Engine" Build 1097. Due to incorrect shader settings for combat robots, it is possible to see through geometry, creating the impression that they "float in the air" while moving. The build features: Jeffry as the main character, M134 minigun and FN2000 guns presented, and the user interface is gray and less detailed compared to the blue version.

The third version does not differ from the first one in terms of executable files and game resources. It includes only one bat-file for launch, the male character Jeffry is replaced with the female character Barby, while FN2000 is replaced with Groza.

Shortcomings

1. The AI of combat robots was not fully developed — retreat, holding position, hunting, and movement to specific points were not implemented.
2. Rendering issues with the crosshair when aiming at the sky and with the player model when falling into the lava fissure — caused by incorrect rendering order.
3. Weapons lack reloading and magazines ^{[note 3]}: 9999 rounds for the machine gun and 1000 for the rifles^{[note 4]}.
4. The user interface was not fully finished:
   • the bottom row of the weapon bar shows 0/0 and icons do not change when switching weapons;
   • above the robot health bar there is an inactive panel ^{[note 5]}.

History

All versions of the build were compiled on February 3, 2002, but at different times: the first and third at 18:09, and the second at 17:20. The build was intended to demonstrate the graphics of the X-Ray Engine and the gameplay of Oblivion Lost at Milia 2002. From February 4 to 8, the first version of the build was presented at the exhibition^{[link 1]}. (archived copy of the page), and on February 8 official screenshots of the build were published on the company’s website^{[link 2]}.

On March 18, a gameplay video of the build appeared online^{[link 3][link 4]}, recorded with a camcorder (footage was lost). On April 1, the publisher “Russobit-M” released the last official materials using this build — 4 screenshots^{[link 5][link 6]}, one of which had already been published earlier with a GSC Game World watermark, and a trailer for the game Oblivion Lost^{[link 7]}.

The first and second versions are found in the archives leaked by user Loxotron on February 9, 2011 on the GAMEINATOR forums.

The exact history of the third version of the build is lost. According to one version, in mid-March 2004, a GSC Game World employee uploaded the build to a closed game developers’ forum as an example of engine work to be shown to another company, without considering that several others also had access to the thread. One of them downloaded the build. Later it ended up with a GAMEINATOR forums user nicknamed BadStalker, who created^{[link 8]} a special thread where he first posted 8 screenshots, and on March 14 published^{[link 9]} links to an archive split into 7 parts,^{[note 6]} initially showing only several screenshots (all original file-sharing links are not avaliable now, but the build spread across various sites in repacked form as a single file).

Features

• The AI logic no longer used a scripting engine — everything was now hardcoded into the engine.
• Unlike the previous build, a special loading screen was shown at startup instead of a log.
• A system of tactical gameplay was implemented: the player moved through the world with companion robots that could be given commands to act or wait.
• Basic FSM-strategies for NPC behavior were introduced: attack, cover allies, pursuit, and death.
• An AI grid system with cover calculations and A* pathfinding over it was introduced.
• The first preliminary implementation of game particles was shown.
• The first build where NPCs moved around the world using the AI grid.

Download links

• First version
• Second version (includes SDK)
• Third version
• xcore_cpu critical fix

The build works unstably on operating systems starting from Windows Vista, so it is recommended to install a critical fix, which disables the friendly robots (the main source of most problems) and also adds support for widescreen displays.

To launch the build in the first version, you should run one of the bat-files^{[note 7]}, while in the third version you need to run the single bat-file run_quality_3.bat.

In the second version, there are no bat-files, so you need to create a bat-file in the game folder with the following contents: XR_3DA.exe -server lev5_aztec

When running the build on Vista and later versions of Windows, constant memory release occurs due to engine errors, which makes the build extremely unstable.

Trivia

• The glove texture is taken from the game Codename: Outbreak, and the main character model Jeffry is a reworked model originally used for the intro cutscene of that game.
• The models for M134, Groza, and Protecta were created by Andrey Prokhorov for FireStarter, which was being developed at GSC Game World at the time, and were taken by him into this build.
• The first published official trailer of the game is a video montage based on build's gameplay. The developers edited the footage and added a futuristic animated interface, the HPSS-1m pistol and the Bulldog 6 grenade launcher (noticeable by the black gloves on the hands), a different scope, and the model of a flying spherical drone. Human NPCs were added by editing the build’s resources, while all accompanying sounds (animated interface and drone flight) were overlaid onto the recording.
• Screenshots of the l1_escape_part location from the second build variant were used in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.___Design_Document__v1.4_.PDF — a presentation design document of the game S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Oblivion Lost for foreign publishers.
• On the tarp covering the vehicle, the name of the build’s engine — X-RAY — is written in a stylized font. The trailer described above begins with this shot.

Screenshots

The Groza in Build 1098

Oblivion Lost logo

Build 1098 - The Stalker chick

Build 1098 - A girl with a minigun.

Build 1098 - This is where it all started

Build 1098 - Robot pet, stalkerette & Groza

Build 1098 - The infamous pyramid.

Build 1098 - Friendly Robot

References

Notes:

Links: