GREETINGS FROM SHATTERSCARP (Sixty-six postcards from the imaginary desert)

After the lush forests and misty swamps of The Emerald Stairs, it was time to visit the arid scenery of the region called Shatterscarp.

For me, this desolate place is the most beautiful part of the game.

In the first two screenshots of today's post, you can see the warm, earthy tones of rocks and sand illuminated by the harsh desert sun.

After sunset, the scenery undergoes a dramatic change. The desert turns blue...

... and the iconic glowing mushrooms, the trademark of this colorful game, look fantastic in that midnight blue. The following screenshot ...

... shows the interior of one of the many caves of Shatterscarp. The mushrooms here, in the deep shade, are glowing during the day as well.

In this screenshot, you can see my Elven avatar standing at the entrance of a large cave made of some kind of crystals. It's the only cave of that kind in the game.

The crystal cave is situated near the sea, at the top of the cliff. Here you can see a small fragment of the arid coast.

Remains of the impressive architecture left by a mysterious ancient civilization are scattered all around the Shatterscarp Desert.

Here you can admire one of those magnificent ruins in the indigo blue of the typical starry Shatterscarp night.

Some ancient columns look like a convenient natural phenomenon. I'm not an expert when it comes to the archeology of this strange place, so who knows; maybe they are just column-like rocks that merge nicely with the architecture.

Here you can take another look at the ordinary daytime scenery. My in-game friends, a dwarf and an aquaman of sorts, are also present in the screenshot.

This picture shows a stretch of relatively flat, sandy coastline.

The coast here in Shatterscarp is, for the most part, high and rugged. It is very inaccessible for non-flying people and animals.

Here you can see some picturesque rock formations protruding from the shallows in the intertidal zone.

These majestic rocks, situated somewhere in the middle of the desert, resemble some ancient ruins I encountered not far from them.

Here you can see some of the fairly varied desert vegetation. The elongated, worm-like white and pink things are probably some kind of fungi.

These exuberant, glowing things found in the dusty interior of an ancient ruin are definitely fungi.

This thing looks like a sinister, sacrificial altar or something like that. Can't tell you how old the bones shown in the picture are.

Have I already said that the mushrooms in this game are varied and beautiful? Well, they really are. This is a great game for fungi lovers at a time of year when mushrooms can't be found in our world.

Here you can see some resilient desert trees, for a change.

If you're lucky, you might even find treasure chests lying on the sand. This site looks like the remains of a traveling merchant's wagon after it has been destroyed.

There's nothing special here, just another prickly tree adapted to the arid environment.

This screenshot shows more rocks and ruins at night, with one of the local moons above the scenery.

The place shown here is illuminated by the bioluminescence provided by the fungi and bacteria.

This is the same place, but shown from a slightly different angle this time.

Here you can see another stretch of the desert with some aloe-like plants in the foreground.

Fossils like the one shown in this screenshot are a fairly common site througout the region.

Here you can see more rocks. Nothing special, just some ordinary Shatterscarp rocks. In the following picture ...

... you can admire some very cool architecture embedded in the same kind of dark rock formations.

In this screenshot, my avatar is exploring one of the canyons that provide easy passages through the rugged mountains.

In the foreground of this picture, you can see some interesting lichens. They are much bigger than any lichen I have ever seen here in our world.

Nothing special here, just a small wooden bridge in the nighttime scenery.

Here you can see some very cool rocks that look like a litlle island in the sea of sand.

These are the same rocks at dusk, when the giant mushrooms start to glow.

This sculpture isn't ancient. It was made by the primitive lizard people who inhabit all biomes in the game.

Here you can see more scenery at dusk. The stars are already sprinkled across the evening sky.

This screenshot shows the desolate scenery late at night.

Here's the same stretch of desert in the harsh midday sun.

At some point, in that area, I came across an isolated wooden barrack. This recent building is part of a mine. I don't know exactly what is being mined here.

Here you can see the same barrack from a different angle.

This screenshot shows the only oasis in the Shatterscarp Desert. It's a small but relatively deep lake with beautiful crystalline water.

Here's the same place seen from a different angle. As you can see, the oasis isn't far from the sea.

Nothing special here, just another lovely nighttime scene. The same can be said for the following picture.

Yep, just another ordinary night in the desert, that's all.

This ordinary daytime scene has been slightly elevated by some beautiful blue mushrooms displayed in the background.

Here you can see a nighttime scene that, among other things, shows one of the small huts of the lizard people I mentioned earlier in the post. The hut was built under the petrified vertebra of some giant, long-extinct creature.

Another nighttime scene. This one shows some cool rocks under the clear, starry sky.

Here you can see the tribal village of the lizard people. The village was built near the rocks I showed you in the previous screenshot.

Nothing new here. Just some ruins you already saw in this post. You can see them from a different angle this time, and the screenshot is composed differently.

Here you can see the same ancient architecture in a different daytime atmosphere.

What can I tell you about this screenshot? Some cool plants. That's all.

Here you can see more desert fungi. Aren't they cool?

Yep. Some more rocks here. I love this scenery, especially at night.

Another daytime scene. The rocks don't look that good in the harsh midday sun. The blue suits them much better than the shades of brown and gray.

Here you can see my avatar standing at the top of one of the military watchtowers built near Thirdborn, the only town in Shatterscarp.

Nothing new here. Just rocks, plants, and fungi.

Another blue scene. The screenshot was taken at dawn.

This screenshot shows some blue evening rocks near the sea.

Here you can see the rock formations partially covered with some interesting crystals.

This screenshot shows the desert early in the morning. The distant scenery is nicely illuminated by the sun, while things in the foreground of the picture are still in the shade. Some lovely blue flowers are a nice addition to the scene.

The bioluminescent, blob-like things scattered or splattered across the rocks in this picture look like colonies of bacteria or some kind of fungal growth.

Another screenshot with nothing new on display. Just some ordinary desert rocks at night.

Yep, this is just another picture of the underwhelming, nothing-special kind.

Some picturesque ruins again. The screenshot was taken in the evening.

Here you can see some gray rocks, some pink crystals, some small plants, and exotic fungi; that's all there is to see in this screenshot.

This last, sixty-sixth screenshot is here to close today's post in a fairly decent and visually attractive way. This thing ends here; hope you enjoyed it - THE END.