Post by PAs_DillNillA on Aug 26, 2013 21:03:29 GMT -5
Today’s update is actually a video blog that focuses on the level under construction for our demo. In fact, you’re probably watching that video rather than reading this, but for those of you who are reading, here’s some insight on the contents.
First off, I’ve made the conscious decision to spend less time on polishing update videos and apply the time savings to actually working on the game. What this means is that while you’ll still see the work in progress, I won’t really worry too much about transitions and precise editing. That’s what I mean by “raw” or “rough.”
Secondly—and it’s always worth repeating—what we’re showing today is work in progress, and is already a few days old. All the assets are low poly but I hope that you’ll start to get an idea about the feeling and the scope of the environment.
Speaking of the environment, it was inspired by an actual village in remote Serbia. I mention the “fairytale quality” of the place in the video but it’s not just the signature architecture which is really charming. It’s the fact that the residents of Zarozje appear to believe—at least some of them—that vampires are real and that they have one. I remember talk about a curfew and everyone has long braids of dried garlic
hanging on and inside their houses. I’m not sure whether I believe that they have an actual vampire on the loose or not, and maybe I’ll be able to go there and investigate for myself one day, but for now I can tell you that there is no vampire in the H-Hour map inspired by this village and others like it. Really. There isn’t.
I mentioned in the video update that there’s construction happening in the studio. That really isn’t in our space but it’s so close that it might as well be. For the duration we’ll just keep our headphones on most of the time and for my part, I’m blasting industrial music which I find marginally more melodic than the sound of power tools.
For those reading this, here’s a little more information than I covered in the video update. The coding of the ballistics model has begun and in anticipation of its completion, Kevin has already built our test range level. While the first complete pass of the ballistics model is still about three weeks away, I am already imaging all the intense—but fun—hours tweaking the weapons in that test level.
The speed with which the character animation is coming together was not a surprise in the sense that the animators working on it are all pros but the fact that they are building the animation trees/hierarchies at the same time and with startling speed. What this means is that not only are the animation cycles very cool and authentic, but that they already blend one to another. Even analog input is working so the characters transition smoothly from “creep to run.” I guess I shouldn’t say I’m surprised since that was what I anticipated but usually at a larger company something happens to derail this kind of progress. I like to think that it’s proof of how things are going to roll going forward.
A lot of people have requested that we include an overweight hostage/VIP in the game and we listened. The hostage for the demo gametype is not the healthiest person on the planet but she’s got attitude. I’ll let you wonder about what exactly that means for now, but let’s just says she’s going to be a memorable character.
If you have comments about the preliminary assets you’ve seen in today’s video please post your comments on my blog (if you’re reading this on the SOF Studios website you’re already there). This will make it much easier for me to respond to questions. Thanks!
www.sofstudios.com/index.php?/topic/2274-this-one-is-rough/