"Into the Shadows", PC-demo by Triton, 1995

[FragMan69]

This would have revolutionized the game world completely. Quake would be just another game.

[CombineHgrunt]

These 3D-graphics in 1995..

I dont get why it got never released.. it would have been sold millions of times

[fullbodydenim]

Please see XBOX game 'Enclave ' for the spirtual successor to this demo!

[shairaptor]

Wow I think I remember that from 1995! Very impressive stuff! =)

[bjeah]

Triton also produced the Fast Tracker music software. The graphics kick Quake's ass, and to think this demo was released a year before! What are their current project?

[digitalnexus]

Would've been brilliant if it was made into a full production. Thumbs up :)

[BuckFastZombie]

The animation is GREAT!! Looks better than characters in modern games, they way the skeleton moves is superb!!

[azija44]

do licha, czekałam na tę grę a ona się nigdy nie ukazała... ale naście lat temu to demo naprawdę robiło wrażenie, motoryka postaci wzorcowa...

[kanfor]

Estaba en un CD de Micromania XD

[kokopiko]

I wonder why it was abandoned? Looks like technological turnover for that time.

[ped7g]

The technology is DOOM like 2.5D engine with so many clever tricks it was never matched again by any1 else (DN3D come close). It was absolutely stunning back then. But doing an "engine" is just a small part of game. To release a good game you have to secure proper budget (not just money, also proper team to fit into proper time window), and finish the game within the budget, and sell it well (together it's very tricky). I think they were not up to it back then,yet. Pity,could have been legendary

[TheCoolPainguin]

The animations and graphics were really impressive for the time.

Interestingly, the creator of the game went on to become the CTO of Starbreeze Studios, who made the Chronicles of Riddick games (the first one being the best looking console game last generation)

[TheAfricanSoul]

runescape graffics lol

[MPaans]

I still have this demo. Haven't been able to run it for some time now. So tnx for uploading it. :) I remember being very excited about this game, as it looked awesome back in 96 (an actual 3D skeleton! haha). Only Quake (and Tomb Raider, perhaps?) came close. Too bad it never got released.

[foulplay99]

I don't know why, but I just remembered seing a demo vid of this game way back when I got my 1st PC.

Its a damn shame this never got released. I thought it got released as Die By The Sword a few years after, but looks like i was wrong :-)

Anyone who was looking forward to this should take a look at Severance: Blade of Darkness. It looks really dated now, but the combat is fun and the animations are awesome!

[subj1]

Good job. I have posted a video reply that has the full version, with the Orc

[robvas]

The textures are so jumpy and sparkly. Looks like a PS1 game.

[JDoucette]

It may seem like PS1 due to the 320x200 (or 240) resolution and likely lack of sub-pixel polygon coordinates for the characters (just like Quake), but it was far better than the PS1, since it had perspective texturing (and sub-pixel coordinates) for the level (just like Quake). That's why the textures don't jump. Compare it to any PS1 game and you'll see this is leagues ahead. This ran fast on relatively slow hardware (486/Pentium) also.

[ped7g]

although this is not full 3D engine. :) It's based on 2.5D stuff like DOOM, but with sloped walls (DOOM was able to do only stairs), portals and some other nifty tricks. It looks still better then full 3D Quake because of lighting, lighting is actually more important for humans then geometry, and Triton made genius use of it. (The characters are full 3D models of course, 2.5D is the map and it's renderer)

[xm07]

@ped7g

It looks pretty 3D to me. ;-) Camera maybe can rotate only in 2 axes (doom has 1 axis only) but character models are definitely rendered (not sprites like in DOOM) and model faces (polygon surfaces) obviously can have any angle in all axes so it is for sure full 3D engine at least for characters. And that precise shadow projection ...

[ped7g]

@xm07: no, camera has just 1 axis, like in Doom. Up/down is done by moving "viewport" up/down just like in Hexen and other doom based games with up/down.

Characters are full 3D models inserted into 2.5D scene (similar to Quake, where maze is rendered in quite different way (BSP trees front to back + generate z-buff) then characters (z-buffer "draw everything"), although both 3D and textured). Shadows are true geometry intersection calculation, today it looks like simple stuff, back then: marvel!

[retroHC]

This was 15 years ago man!

[Belace]

Holy...

I love you, Youtube. I love you, dear uploader.

I remember staring at this demo with my friends in disbelief, day after day, 14 long years ago. :) We were amazed by the sheer coolness of the dungeon, and the movement of the characters. The atmosphere, the kickass music - this is the feeling I miss from most of the games of the present day.

By the way, aren't we missing something from this movie? Like an orc whacking around with a staff or a halberd after the skeleton's part? :)

[mtlfdth]

That was supposed to be on saturn also...

[Asphyx123]

Brings up a lot of good memories. I still remember staring at this in disbelive back then. I was so much looking forward to it but it never got released, hehe. Also liked the music a lot. Sounds very future crewish.

[usagichan9991]

i remember being so excited about this game and also so disappointed when it got canceled....

quake 1 was the hot shit of the day, but this demo made q1 look like doom 1

[theterranaut]

I remember Edge magazine (UK) featuring this in about 95/96? Looked amazing.

[timonoj]

There are a few glitches during the video, the res is a little bit low, and since video and audio are not synced, there's a character missing (it says 4 out of 20, but u only see 3), the orc was also introduced, showing many melee combat movements at the end of the animation, when the drums come in.

[sc0tt10]

House of the dead, anyone? looks awesome for 1995

[mentalmaxkool]

Game was written almost completely in ASM.. awesome graphics and performance for the day. Too bad it never saw the light of day.

[elfshotthefood]

Really impressive technology for the time; too bad the game was never released.

[evilotto4]

Thanks for posting the video. This game was playable at the 1996 E3. I remember watching someone play it at the Scavenger booth. Had I known it was to become vaperware, I would have played it!!

[asicys]

I love Triton! The amiga feeling is scattered all around this demo :)

[dbqjoe]

I remember running this on my old comp, and I was staggered.

[Verazor]

in this clip it seems to be another movement/videoangle-process; is it possible you record this clip on S-Video output, because it looks like the same at me when i play the demo on S-Video output to the TV, on VGA-output to the PC Monitor it's the originally movement/videoangle-process, i try to put my clip with my "poor camera" on youtube

[Optimus6128]

Simply amazing for it's time and not only!!!

[esfenodon]

one of the most awesome 3d demo of all times. I have tried to open it with dosbox lot of times.. hoping someone put it in youtube just for see and hear that piece of art again.

Thanks for doing it.

[familyfriendly]

This thing is incredible. Would've uploaded it myself if I could get this demo running these days. Hehe. Got the GUSMAX and all, but it simply won't run.