The graphical wonders of Cities Unlimited continue to amaze us, this time with a demonstration of system the game uses to simulate night and day [view article on CUPlanet]. Monte Cristo actually uses a virtual sun to light the landscape below, while the light is physically scattered through the atmosphere to create blue skies - or the beautiful colours of a fall sunset. A video shows shadows realistically revolving around buildings throughout the day, while their windows reflect the different coloured light. It creates a great effect, and almost looks photo real. Here’s a few screenshots from the video to illustrate the difference between night and day (click for larger version).

Monte Cristo wished the Cities Unlimited community a slightly belated happy new year today by giving us a very cool looking screenshot. The post at CUplanet.com says, quote:

The whole of the Cities Unlimited team joins me in wishing you an excellent 2008.

To celebrate the new year, we want to share with you an image taken from the latest stage of our development.

The posted screenshot is the first ever of a city skyline, and shows a dense city punctuated by a few highrises. The city has a backdrop of quite incredible looking mountains, which we’ve seen in earlier shots. It definitely looks promising! So, without further adieu, here’s the screenshot!

If you want to see more, check out the Cities Unlimited screenshot gallery!

A Digital City wishes you a happy new year! Cheers to a great 2007, and the time for new beginnings in 2008… and yes, I have lots of plans for this fledgling little site. Now, time to go to bed!