So, I've been heavily involved in more technical work recently (inventory/character interaction!) But, here's a little update! I should note that the camera FOV is narrow for testing purposes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtYl3VJw7kw
This is really incredible in multiple ways. Watching this thread is very inspiring and I can't wait to see how it will evolve !
A little observation about the VFX : I may be wrong but it seems like these smoke effects and explosions are huge. At such a small scale, I think smoke would be less opaque, having different shapes and motion from what we know... I'm sure there's something to explore about this too !
Thank you WaYWO, quockhanhlk , Ilya Sinyavtsev, cyborgguineapig TweaK: Cheers for the kind words. Yes, the FX in the Ballistics pack are human scale, so unsuitable for the game directly - though I'll be utilising the systems I made for the FX pack as a foundation for Infinitesimals - except the particles themselves will be entirely different to match the tiny scale
Looks amazing, love how the jetpack feels, like its really pushing the character forward, rather then the other way around, which it usually looks like in games.
are those really well done animations or is it driven by physics?
Thank you Lotet, Yeh, the the entire body is "ragdolling" almost all the time (eventually it will be 100%) with varying degrees of influence on body parts with the animations driving forces to joints too. It's an ok start but at the moment I'm using the usual capsule for general motion, but it's temporary and will be replaced with a custom approach I have been pondering in the coming months. James
I just came across this the other day, looks awesome and I love your attention to detail in every aspect of pre-production/production. Keep up the good work! Looking forward to seeing more in the future
Ok, so right now we're working on getting the POD into a representaive level with all manner of obstacles and environmental challenges in order to further refine it's procedural leg systems and handling. Hoping to be able to show some footage of that in the coming weeks.
For now, here's an ingame shot of a fly... currently missing the fur aspects, which will be part material, part geometry....Materials need further work to add more subsurface aspects also.
really cool, love that something as simple and small as a fly is this giant behemoth of a monster to these guy. cant wait to see the fur on the fly and some more videos!
Thanks Lotet A tiny update to show the POD, now will full forces being applied - so the leg forces are now entirely keeping it standing/moving. Climbing within the representative level will be coming next: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmJhM1ZBgiI
I'm not sure if it's important at that moment, but I think his legs looks way cooler on the concept. They have a strength and energy in each key. Current prototype looks a bit messy because of the big number of bends. Imho.
And one more thing. the Pod had an elongated foot. Now it's short and round...
Yeh, don't worry - the actual legs shapes right now are very incomplete. They have had a cursory pass but they need a lot more work. There is also a bug that needs fixing that is resulting in twisted leg splines.
Oh, the foot shin pads are there, they are simply disabled right now. Eventually the player will be able to customize the POD and choose different feet, shin pad attachements etc.
Cameron is working on revamping the foot placement systems but after that I'll try and do a pass on the leg shapes to refine.
Yeh, it's a tricky one. The concepts I just animated by hand, whereas now we are dealing with real physics to drive the POD.
Even though the game is at macro scale I'd like objects that are big to the aliens to feel similar to how a large object feels to us (primarily due to the slower time perception of the aliens). The POD itself is actually pretty large - comparable to a jet fighter in relation to the aliens. I guess the trick will be to find a decent middle ground where the POD is responsive but also needs to obey physics. In the long run i'd like to offer different types of POD's, including smaller faster variants of course. However, there are a lot of settings available now that allow us to tune it's handling, so it'll be interesting to get feedback when the prototype is ready and people test it out.
Nothing too exciting but I thought I'd show a quick preview of the improved leg shapes... Cameron has fixed an issue that was causing twisting/distortion and I did a quick pass on refining the shapes of the legs though there is still much to do.... Cameron is now busy working on the custom UE4 editor tools that all entities using the procedural animation system will be setup within. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CS-MtLG63M
Ok, little update. We are currently working on the climbing abilities for the POD. Will hopefully have some footage to show in the next couple of weeks.
Awesome as always. small thing ive noticed with all your images are the monochromatic tone. Ive always kinda assumed its since most things are still WIP and textures arent done yet, but maybe Im wrong :P
when you google macro photography there are always these very saturated lush colors schemes, curious whats your thought on the subject is.
Hey Lotet, Yeh, I tend to lean towards a more desaturated palette as a personal taste I had been considering whether I had been pushing it too far myself, so that won't be uniform across the game. The first segments of the games story takes place first in an isolated little rock planet (seen above, in very incomplete form). Then moving onto another planet with a colony/facility... before heading off on the main interstellar voyage. But I will make sure that things that should be vibrant will be so Pushing past my desaturation instincts where needed...
Work continues on getting the POD's systems in order... climbing is coming soon but we had to take care of a bunch of other things first. Here's a little look at some of the debug info we have going during testing (there is more than shown!)... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p88x_N78P1o& (there is a bug on display here where some feet get stuck and jitter... that is now fixed! )
Yeh, once the prototype level comes together I'll see about bringing some colour back. That track happens to be from the Predator soundtrack... one of my favourites So, just a placeholder.
I actually like the color pallet a lot for this area of the game ! Think there could be a slight bit more range in saturation between muted reds to crimson etc.
Yep, likely so Right now i'm just using my Ballistics FX impacts but later on I'll need to do a completely new set of FX to match the scale of the game.
AfroCenTech: I haven't done much on the character recently since we're focusing more on getting the POD further along. Will post updates here when I do however
Ilya Sinyavtsev: Will hopefully have more to show in the coming weeks as we improve all systems and add more abilities. Still a lot to do of course
I spent a few hours this evening making the prototype level look a little better. Yeh, I know it's not very colourful yet... I promise I'll add more colour as I go!
Wow this is looking so fine! Im impressed. However, I'll give some critique again on the scale of physics, particles and so on. Everything in your scene right now makes me believe that your pod is made for a human being. Nothing in this rocky environment makes me think Im down there, super close to the ground along with a super small alien character. No grains of sands that appear the size of a melon, no pebbles that appear as tall as a house. All surface details look just as if we were normal size. What I said about smoke and fracturing of rocks earlier (see previous page) is also still true... I think if you went for a look that actually takes into account the scale on all levels, your project could stand out even more. Its a look no one has ever went for. I, for one, would definitely be interested to see you pull ot off. From what I have seen so far, Im sure you could.
Good crits there walkonsky This level doesn't give the right scale feel yet. The particles are placeholder so they will definitely be different. Smoke and dust will billow out in a completely different way. I have done other test levels that have a greater level of tiny grains on the surface, so I'll incorporate some of those elements next. There are some placeholder rocks in there (particularity the cliff edges) that are probably throwing off the look too. When I get some time in the coming days I'll dig up some of the previous work I did and post some here. Will good to get critiques on if you feel those give the right vibe
Replies
Watching this thread is very inspiring and I can't wait to see how it will evolve !
A little observation about the VFX : I may be wrong but it seems like these smoke effects and explosions are huge. At such a small scale, I think smoke would be less opaque, having different shapes and motion from what we know... I'm sure there's something to explore about this too !
Please continue, this is just awesome !!
TweaK: Cheers for the kind words. Yes, the FX in the Ballistics pack are human scale, so unsuitable for the game directly - though I'll be utilising the systems I made for the FX pack as a foundation for Infinitesimals - except the particles themselves will be entirely different to match the tiny scale
are those really well done animations or is it driven by physics?
Yeh, the the entire body is "ragdolling" almost all the time (eventually it will be 100%) with varying degrees of influence on body parts with the animations driving forces to joints too. It's an ok start but at the moment I'm using the usual capsule for general motion, but it's temporary and will be replaced with a custom approach I have been pondering in the coming months.
James
For now, here's an ingame shot of a fly... currently missing the fur aspects, which will be part material, part geometry....Materials need further work to add more subsurface aspects also.
cant wait to see the fur on the fly and some more videos!
A tiny update to show the POD, now will full forces being applied - so the leg forces are now entirely keeping it standing/moving. Climbing within the representative level will be coming next:
And one more thing. the Pod had an elongated foot. Now it's short and round...
Even this way, it's awesome!
Yeh, don't worry - the actual legs shapes right now are very incomplete. They have had a cursory pass but they need a lot more work. There is also a bug that needs fixing that is resulting in twisted leg splines.
Oh, the foot shin pads are there, they are simply disabled right now. Eventually the player will be able to customize the POD and choose different feet, shin pad attachements etc.
Cameron is working on revamping the foot placement systems but after that I'll try and do a pass on the leg shapes to refine.
this latest video is a lot more sluggish and animal looking rather then robotic.
I think a shorter but quicker stride would really help.
Even though the game is at macro scale I'd like objects that are big to the aliens to feel similar to how a large object feels to us (primarily due to the slower time perception of the aliens). The POD itself is actually pretty large - comparable to a jet fighter in relation to the aliens. I guess the trick will be to find a decent middle ground where the POD is responsive but also needs to obey physics. In the long run i'd like to offer different types of POD's, including smaller faster variants of course. However, there are a lot of settings available now that allow us to tune it's handling, so it'll be interesting to get feedback when the prototype is ready and people test it out.
Captain Orkney waits in anticipation:
when you google macro photography there are always these very saturated lush colors schemes, curious whats your thought on the subject is.
Yeh, I tend to lean towards a more desaturated palette as a personal taste
I had been considering whether I had been pushing it too far myself, so that won't be uniform across the game. The first segments of the games story takes place first in an isolated little rock planet (seen above, in very incomplete form). Then moving onto another planet with a colony/facility... before heading off on the main interstellar voyage. But I will make sure that things that should be vibrant will be so
(there is a bug on display here where some feet get stuck and jitter... that is now fixed!
cant wait to see climbing! also the music in that last video is awesome, is it for the project or just some random royalty free stuff?
Think there could be a slight bit more range in saturation between muted reds to crimson etc.
Ilya Sinyavtsev: Will hopefully have more to show in the coming weeks as we improve all systems and add more abilities. Still a lot to do of course
I think if you went for a look that actually takes into account the scale on all levels, your project could stand out even more. Its a look no one has ever went for. I, for one, would definitely be interested to see you pull ot off. From what I have seen so far, Im sure you could.