(1) Project Y4: A Total Conversion

[Rao Dao Zao]

Me too, so will units be able to see themselves from the back of those holograms as if it was translucent?

There's no "will" about it -- the holograms are translucent.

That effect would be kinda cool, or maybe even a sizzling effect to the hologram everytime a unit walks through it...

Well, if you want to hack WC3 to have post-processing effects, you go right ahead.

Anyway, some maze updates. This picture shows the first maze "threat" -- the Rhombus. They have a light melee attack, so they're not really that threatening. The Hybrid tank can easily dispatch them before they get close, so I might increase their damage a bit.

Most notable change is the huge background. The grid gently rotates (though since it's a skybox I still need to ramp up the pace quite a lot to make the movement visible).

I was thinking about trying to go for a totally different colour scheme with the node hacking -- we have glowing green lines, maybe blue/purple gradient for the background -- but the problem there is that the interface is all orange lines so changing the scheme here would fight that (not to mention it's all common computer systems, so the mech UI and the node hacker graphics would be consistent).

TL;DR I've been playing Icewind Dale II instead of working on Y4.

 

[Tleno]

So that background will rotate? Wow, that sounds real cool... and hard to make...

 

[Miss_Foxy]

Lol isn't there a way to trigger it instead of having to hack it?

 

[Tleno]

Lol isn't there a way to trigger it instead of having to hack it?

sounds like an easy way... easy ways are always booring.

 

[Rao Dao Zao]

So that background will rotate? Wow, that sounds real cool... and hard to make...

Five minute hack-job. Skyboxes are just models with a couple of choice flags set -- hell, I could just make it a special effect attached to the maze avatar (since node hacking is camera-locked) and it'd probably still work. I don't understand why people still treat skyboxes with such awe.

Lol isn't there a way to trigger it instead of having to hack it?

Trigger horribly dynamic graphical effects? In WC3?

 

[Miss_Foxy]

But Rao... D:
What about making it have a model change whenever you walk through it, kinda like a phase-shift effects except it's replaced by a model with the sizzling as an stand animation, would it work then?

PS: GET INTO THE CHAT RAO

 

[Rao Dao Zao]

But Rao... D:
What about making it have a model change whenever you walk through it, kinda like a phase-shift effects except it's replaced by a model with the sizzling as an stand animation, would it work then?

To make a sizzling animation for a WC3 model would require one of two things:

1) Vertex animation.
2) Animated texture suite.

Yes, you could create these things (one bone for every vertex (eugh) and probably sub-division hell to get enough resolution for sizzling, and because of my UV-mapping style I'm not convinced an animated texture suite would even work) and then trigger the unit animation to play when anything comes in range.

But is it really worth all the effort for a tiny graphical effect in a single part of a single side mission you don't even have to play through?

I don't really think so.

PS: GET INTO THE CHAT RAO

I'm at work, can't be slacking too much.

 

[Miss_Foxy]

Okay...
But would you add it if somebody else made one for you during their spare time?

 

[Gausslander]

I'm curious, will there be narration for the antagonists as well as the protagonists?

 

[Rao Dao Zao]

I'm curious, will there be narration for the antagonists as well as the protagonists?

I will not reveal anything about the villain(s) of this piece at this time.

 

[Miss_Foxy]

LOL
adding some mystery to it, eh?

 

[Tleno]

I will not reveal anything about the villain(s) of this piece at this time.

Not even if the main antagonist is human or some more mysterious force?

 

[WherewolfTherewolf]

Not even if the main antagonist is human or some more mysterious force?

Even that could ruin the hype, can't go out and kill the hype

 

[Rao Dao Zao]

Not even if the main antagonist is human or some more mysterious force?

Let's go back to the blurb:

A remote RDZ Industries industro-military research and development facility has gone dark... Its factories are on overdrive, producing AI-controlled drone units that have destroyed everything in the facility. Take control of the brand new, highly experimental All-Purpose Assault Mech as you are sent to investigate the stricken facility -- get in, regain control of the base systems, and find out what the hell happened.

I know it's not going to be deep story heaven, but please, I'm not going to ruin what little there is.

 

[Gausslander]

How far along would you say you are this late in development? I understand things need polishing, but is the map just about completed otherwise (as far as terrain and basic combat goes)?

 

[Rao Dao Zao]

How far along would you say you are this late in development? I understand things need polishing, but is the map just about completed otherwise (as far as terrain and basic combat goes)?

The "basics" have been complete for a long time. The actual quests, on the other hand...

When everything needs a new model, even the most basic fetch quest requires some considerable development effort. I still need to finish triggering the final assault stages of the main quest (let alone test them), and I have hardly started on the final boss material (though I'm fairly sure I know how I want it to be (after fifty million sketches of one design, it just didn't implement very well so I'm going to go for something different)).

I haven't even finished Icewind Dale II yet, though I can't be far off it now, so I haven't been doing much work on Y4 for the last couple of weeks.

 

[Tleno]

Hmmm... at least it sounds like you already did like 60-70% of the whole project...

 

[Rao Dao Zao]

Hmmm... at least it sounds like you already did like 60-70% of the whole project...

It looks more complete than it is because I work in a really haphazard way.

I need to see what I'm working on, so I tend to do terrain (at least to a basic extent) before filling in the actual quest props required.

It's like doing a web project for a client. You can change everything you want under the bonnet to make it actually work and they'll hum and haw -- but dick with the CSS and you'll blow their minds.

 

[Rao Dao Zao]

Just posted another development blog. This time, I tell of the permanent upgrades that you will be able to buy as you progress.

And bloody fatal errors.

 

[Tleno]

Just posted another development blog. This time, I tell of the permanent upgrades that you will be able to buy as you progress.

And bloody fatal errors.

Oh yes, perma-upgrades, now that's what I love!

 

[Miss_Foxy]

Well, Quality sure beats the speed which the map takes to be completed.

 

[Rao Dao Zao]

Well, I've been quiet for a while because I was playing Icewind Dale II, then I replayed Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 and some DLC for it, then I played Lost Planet for a weekend and now I'm on to The Witcher...

But in amongst all this, I have still been working on Y4.



I have finally decided to bite the bullet and use the normal WC3 decay system to make enemies leave wreckage behind. This will hopefully make the world a little more dynamic. It'll take some time to roll this out to all models; currently I have it installed (complete with metal death-chunk particle emitters) on the XMech.

Of course, this opens up the option for some kind of battlefield scavenger unit to, say, produce Spiderbots on the move...



I am currently also unsure how to approach the selection of repair pads. Right now, apart from locations where there is only one repair pad (e.g. self-contained underground segments), the repair pad must be selected by the player -- when you select a repair pad, there is a "Set as Reconstruction Point" option. The downside to this is that I often forget to set this, so it can cost a life or two traversing the entire map again.

Some options:

1. Leave it as it is and it's your own fault for not selecting.
2. Select if you walk close to one, á la Rexxar.
3. Select based on the sector/annex you're in, i.e. the closest repair pad possible.
4. ???

Let me know what you think.



The past few days I have been re-animating the AP-AM so it has a few more attacks. I added some shoulder bones so the shields will pivot with the arms a little bit (only around the Y axis, not up and down as the arms flail for attacks: it means the arms have a few more degrees of freedom). I've perked up the main attack sequences and added a couple more, including my trademark head-butt attack slam.

Also re-worked the basic Razor blades so they look a little nicer.

I'm also playing with having the EMP cannon in fact be two cannons on either side of the cockpit. It always felt strange to have such a delicate weapon right out in the air where the blades are swinging around -- they feel much better slotted on beside the cabin. Unfortunately, this means there can never be shoulder cannons... But I had already discounted them anyway.

 

[Vengeancekael]

Such lovely gifs!

Select based on the sector/annex you're in, i.e. the closest repair pad possible.

das da best choice mon

 

[Linaze]

"Select based on the sector/annex you're in, i.e. the closest repair pad possible."
This.

 

[Gausslander]

Rexxar-style would be perfect. I'd have the whole repair pad illuminate similar to the resurrection stone too.

 

[Miss_Foxy]

Woah, I've officially become a RDZ fan, do make more projects even after this, it's hard to find modders with such potential for SP games lol.

 

[Rao Dao Zao]

Rexxar-style would be perfect. I'd have the whole repair pad illuminate similar to the resurrection stone too.

A few holograms wouldn't go amiss, I suppose. I wonder if it might even be worth giving you shared vision of your current repair station, so you always have a fair idea where you're going to come back from just by looking at the minimap.

However, you're so far out-weighed by the lazy people who don't even want to have to walk to the repair pad to activate it.

Woah, I've officially become a RDZ fan, do make more projects even after this, it's hard to find modders with such potential for SP games lol.

I do my best.

 

[Tleno]

Wait, maybe some sort of icon on the minimap would work better than shared vision?

 

[Rao Dao Zao]

Wait, maybe some sort of icon on the minimap would work better than shared vision?

Hrmm. I have no experience with mini-map icons. Perhaps some locust gold-mine could be moved around to the current repair pad location...

 

[Tleno]

Hrmm. I have no experience with mini-map icons. Perhaps some locust gold-mine could be moved around to the current repair pad location...

Exactly. And gold mine icon could be changed with game Interface to something more... repair related.

 

[Gausslander]

Wait, maybe some sort of icon on the minimap would work better than shared vision?

Nonsense! Shared vision is the way to go!

 

[Rao Dao Zao]

Nonsense! Shared vision is the way to go!

The options aren't exactly mutually exclusive. The advantage of having a minimap icon is that it wouldn't be so easily confused with other units you might have left lying around -- spiderbots, mines, civilians you haven't bothered to escort out of the base yet, et cetera.

Luckily, with the magic of Jass selecting a repair station is all done by a single function and a couple parallel arrays, so it won't be hard to add an icon if it becomes necessary in the future.

 

[Gausslander]

Will you be expected to die enough in this SPRPG that these points are necessary? They were never featured in WtFSA or This Wreckage, so why are they necessary here?

 

[Rao Dao Zao]

Will you be expected to die enough in this SPRPG that these points are necessary? They were never featured in WtFSA or This Wreckage, so why are they necessary here?

In WtFSA and This Wreckage, death was the end -- Henrik dies, it's game over, the bad guys take over the world, et cetera. The way combat worked, though, with plenty of hit points and WC3's standard slowish pace, the margins between you and death were (as long as you paid attention and kept up-to-date shields) pretty wide. It is quite possible to play through WtFSA and This Wreckage without dying at all -- two or three re-loads in a game between three and seven hours long isn't so bad (not counting breaks for dinner, of course).

But this is not the case in Y4. I have gone for much tighter, snappier combat, with less hit points all round and a much faster pace. With death so much closer, yes, you die more often -- reloading twenty times in a two- or three-hour game would be frustrating. I exaggerate, I only died 20 times in a row when the hill defence was totally broken.

So I went for a lives system. There was much discussion in Blog 416 about which way to go; originally the penalty for death was money, now it's an independent life system. I only have a rough way of squaring this against the plot, but it'll need to do.

There will be bonuses for not dying, though. The Unreal Tournament-style Killing Spree is back (no artwork for it yet, though), and I will eventually implement physical bonuses for each spree level.

Y4 is a balls-to-the-wall action game. The lives-and-respawn system reflects this.

And to perpetuate the old adage, "This isn't This Wreckage in space!"

 

[Gausslander]

Ah, sounds great. Might I suggest a defibrillator rather than a fixed life system?

In id's upcoming persistent-world shooter 'Rage', players will have a set chance to resurrect upon death with an electric shock, but when that chance does occur, a mini-game ensues. If they do the mini-game correctly, the player deals shock damage to all nearby foes, and comes back with a partial (probably upgradeable) amount of health.

Just a thought.

 

[Rao Dao Zao]

Ah, sounds great. Might I suggest a defibrillator rather than a fixed life system?

In id's upcoming persistent-world shooter 'Rage', players will have a set chance to resurrect upon death with an electric shock, but when that chance does occur, a mini-game ensues. If they do the mini-game correctly, the player deals shock damage to all nearby foes, and comes back with a partial (probably upgradeable) amount of health.

I prefer the zero-to-action setup of lives -- you may die, but two seconds later you're on a pad with full health (and full of artillery shells), raring to go back into the world. A forced mini-game seems like it might break the flow too much, not to mention I am creatively bankrupt at mini-game design as it is.

And on-the-spot resurrection... Well, whatever killed you is probably still there and will probably have no trouble killing you again. Alpha mechs, for example, are scattered around and sort of fill the function of mini-bosses. They are big, tough, and can kill you very quickly if you're not ready for them: so they are where most of your lives will be brutally stolen (until you learn to abuse EMP). I suppose the mech could resurrect with a good area stun to give you breathing space, but then death becomes as much a weapon as life and management wouldn't be too happy with their people deliberately sabotaging their mechs to get the benefits...

Naw, I think I'll stick with lives as they are. They've worked out pretty nicely so far.

 

[Miss_Foxy]

Hmm...
How about a slightly 'challenging' way to respawn, like having to cross some maze in a random server (Well, an in-game made server, of course) in order to get your life back?
Would be a rather good way of encouraging people to stay alive.
I'm really sorry if it's not a good suggestion...

 

[Rao Dao Zao]

Hmm...
How about a slightly 'challenging' way to respawn, like having to cross some maze in a random server (Well, an in-game made server, of course) in order to get your life back?
Would be a rather good way of encouraging people to stay alive.
I'm really sorry if it's not a good suggestion...

This is pretty much the node hacking game. As I've said before, I don't intend to make respawn require any kind of mini-game. Bosses' hit points reset, you lose any spree bonuses that might one day get implemented, you're stuck back at a repair pad, and you're one step closer to Game Over -- I think that's incentive enough to stay alive.

 

[Miss_Foxy]

Haha, I'll have to go with that then, doesn't sound too bad.
Considering the fact that you're the creator, after all.

 

[Gausslander]

So any new eye candy you can post here?

 

[Rao Dao Zao]

So any new eye candy you can post here?

Not really. I'm currently working on adding wreckage to all the units. So far I've got the XMechs and Betas down, and the drone Deltas now all get swapped for a generic death model (so I can make some variations later). I still need to make a full wreckage unit for the Alpha, since it's big enough it can't compress into something that looks pathable (but once you kill its wreckage, that will compress into something that looks pathable). And then the PMech, Fireguns and probably explosive barrels need wrecks too.

I've also re-done all the interface icons so they're a little more consistent, and the cursor and the icon edges are now in orange instead of yellow to match the rest of the interface. The cursor, curiously enough, appears to be shaded so it comes out darker than the rest of the interface, so I might need to look into replacing the entire model (if it can even be done).

Then I added the capability for the computer interface generator to show an "image", so I can spice up the computers a little bit. There's a picture of that on ModDB, but it's nothing particularly flashy.

So... Lots and lots of little things, but not really much to show off. I think that once I've done with adding all the wreckage models, I will re-build the original teaser trailer (or find another piece of glorious experimental synth to use for a brand new one).

Actually, I should really do an AP-AM focused video at some point. I'm really really pleased with all the new attack animations and it would be nice to show all the different mods and weapons in motion.

 

[Tleno]

Yes, yes, wreckages, attack animations... all that sounds awesome. Would be great to see it in action.

 

[Miss_Foxy]

Considering it's a Single Player map, I just can't wait to play it heh.
All the cool animations and such, would there be many random events that happen suddenly and unpredictably as well?

 

[Rao Dao Zao]

Considering it's a Single Player map, I just can't wait to play it heh.
All the cool animations and such, would there be many random events that happen suddenly and unpredictably as well?

Right now, there are no random events.


However, I would very much like to return to the weather system of This Wreckage; the problem is translating it into a space context. I certainly intend to have some kind of odd meteor shower, and I think I've decided the moon has enough atmosphere for some kind of fog-inducing dust storm to be possible.


And there is now something which is sort of a random event. Originally, EMP barrels just exploded in an EMP blast that stunned nearby enemies (basically an EMP artillery shell). Now, however, there is a 50/50 chance of the barrel breaking into a concentrated little lightning storm that will damage nearby enemies with electric arcs for a short period of time.

 

[Tleno]

Ooooh... what about some sort of seismic acticity increase so that volcanoes start barfing lava like crazy and ground and camera shake, possibly slightly slowing down all the units? This would even be even more intresting combined with some boss battle - The boss himself is not very strong, but enviroment is on his side.

 

[Vengeancekael]

I certainly intend to have some kind of odd meteor shower

Wouldn't that destroy everything

 

[Rao Dao Zao]

Wouldn't that destroy everything

LITTLE meteors. So little that they only damage VEHICLES, but not so LITTLE that you don't see HUGE FLAMING BALLS coming CRASHING DOWN all over the place.

Ain't that convenient?

Anyway, I'd really rather continue making the game work before I start fiddling with random events. I'll just get side-tracked and not test it for weeks and then run into a million game-breakers I've spontaneously introduced.

 

[Miss_Foxy]

How about like, some unexpected events to annoy some players when they're using the 'Computer Systems' in the game and then the thing suddenly catches fire?

 

[Rao Dao Zao]

How about like, some unexpected events to annoy some players when they're using the 'Computer Systems' in the game and then the thing suddenly catches fire?

The whole point of having the completely flow-breaking computer system is so that you don't get interrupted. This means you can read them at your own pace. Since they contain lots of lore and key codes, it's reasonably important that people don't just skim them.

 

[Deolrin]

I think Miss_Foxy might be referring to the node-hacking minigame. As in, while you're playing the minigame, suddenly something explodes and you're kicked out of the minigame.