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[_Rob_]

Join Clive and Wrench in their 3D platforming adventure to thwart the evil Dr Daucus, save the world from an army of mutants and eat more than their fair share of carrot cake!

Featuring time traveling, plenty of collectables, enemies, mini-games and good old fashioned platforming. The 90's called; they want their game back!

Update Video

[_Rob_]

The level I've been working on recently is Iceceratops. Set during the ice age on a mountain top, you can expect to see all manor of prehistoric creatures.

Latest Update Video
http://www.youtube.com/embed/LhJkaE0xW_4

The level has been finished as far as the layout is concerned, the last finishing touches are being added But as you will hopefully be able to see the last month or so has been all about polish and refinement. There are many new props scattered around including rich foliage underwater, grass tufts on land, various rocks, caves and so much more than will fit into this long sentence!



But it's not all aesthetic; various tweaks have been made all round to make sure Clive & Wrench control as naturally as possible too. Additionally we now have sound effects that are actually triggered by certain frames of animation, meaning that we can have many more context sensitive sound effects. These can range all the way from footsteps that change dynamically, dependent on speed and surface; all the way to an opening "flap" made when Wrench uses his banana leaf to glide, followed by a subtle whistle as the pair fly through the air!

I've also finished the concept art for Clive's main villian; Dr Daucus. He's an evil scientist hell bent on enslaving all intelligent animals of the world in his quest for immortality.



Oh and whilst on the subject of concept art, here's some more for a pair of characters you will eventually have to race, Tiny Bunny and Tyson the Dino.



That's it for now, apologies for the long gap since the last update, but I want to always make sure the updates are packed full of good stuff, and hopefully worth the read! For smaller but more frequent updates feel free to follow us on social media!

[jiitype]

This looks awesome, love the art style. That 90's platformer vibe <3 Reminds me of that PS1 Bugs Bunny game and N64 platformers. Keep it up!

[ephoete]

Oh wow a good 3d platformer in the same vein that that Banjo-Kazooie and Jack and Dexter! Amazing in-game footage already pretty neat stuff guys.

[_Rob_]

Being put in the same list as those games is such a cool thing to read! Thankyou!

Been working on improving the HUD, debating whether they should always stay on screen or disappear when not in use, thoughts?



Also working on adding more detail with generic objects that can be instanced around the levels.

[_Rob_]

Been working on the rather timely Graveyard set level, "A Grave Mistake". The level set in a victorian graveyard . It has a lot of criss-crossing over and under places previously visited. Meaning I'm planning to have plenty of unique landmarks as to help the player not get lost.

The level started as always with the levels for Clive, as a rough concept art:



Here's some progress shots of a fair chunk of the level blocked out, there are a few generic props placed around such as gravestones and mausoleums, but bear in mind there's still a lot to do!

[_Rob_]

The (excuse the pun) bare bones of the level is now in the game and playable! Clive's also had a makeover to suit the level, and is insisting on being called Count Clive. His new outfit features a cape with dynamic bones (using the same system as his ears) so it fakes real time cloth simulation.



The level itself only has 1 main light and one key light, all of the rest of the level colouring (glowing torches etc) are faked with vertex painting, so the level runs very smooth with a very high framerate.





There's also some hidden collision data couple with a script that allows the stone paths to trigger different sound effects from the grass, water etc. It's amazing how much such small details can have a big impact on the "immersion" factor.

[_Rob_]

Been working on extra props such as little mushrooms, dandelions and tree branches today. Also tweaking rain effects and other particles to help with atmospherics. Oh and you can also ride a coffin down the river... so yeah there's that.

[_Rob_]

Been a long day at the day job, not much to show besides this guy unfortunately.

Meet Skullflower the Skeleton!

[phyerboss]

Very nice! Takes me back to the old PS1 3D platformer days!

When there was awesome classics like Spyro, Crash and Gex!

[TonyManfredonia]

Two things I noticed that really stand out:

- Costumes for each 'theme' of the level
- Just enough amount of 'campiness' for the title of the graveyard level.  "A Grave Mistake!"  It sounds like something you'd find on a very self-aware early 2000's comedy series. 

I love it!  I'm going to keep my eye on this one.

[Savick]

This is going to sound super mean, but it's what I think, sorry.
The art style looks super generic, bordering on creepy. There's just nothing interesting about the characters that makes me want to care about them. It might be just me so, don't stop working on something you like just because one dude didn't like it.

[_Rob_]

@phyerboss Hey, thanks! Glad you're getting those vibes!

@amanfr01 - Thanks man, it's a fine line between campy and stupid, so I'm glad you think the balance is right! As for the costumes, yeah it's always to fun to figure out the best outfit for a level, helps keep things fresh too I hope.

@Savick - Thanks for commenting, I appreciate the honesty. Personally I like the art style; but I understand opinions will differ.

[_Rob_]

Time for an update video, showcasing all the stuff I've been posting recently. Take note of the leaping skeletons bursting out of their graves!

[_Rob_]

Just a quick preview of the church's interior! The window uses a combination of an unlit texture for the glass, some geometry and a gradient for the main light beam, a projector for the impression on the floor and some nice dust particles.

[Tyro]

Gotta' love that MediEvil reference on the tombstone.

I'm getting a Banjo Kazooie (specifically, Mad Monster Mansion) vibe from that last screen. The gameplay video looked incredibly solid as well.

I really hope this project succeeds, you've clearly put a lot of work into it. 

[_Rob_]

Hehe, glad you caught that! Thanks for the kind comments, it really means a lot that people take time to make them!

I've been working on finalising Clive & Wrench's moveset, and I think I'm finally happy with it. He now has a new attack the "Chimp Whip", where Clive swings Wrench around his head like a whip wiping out anyone in his way. He also has some variations to his attacks to, for instance when galloping the attack button will make him roll instead of Chimp Whip, and whilst gliding Wrench will return the favour and swing Clive into any obstacle in their way!

I've also been fixing a lot of animation issues, and adding tweens (blend animations to smoothly transition from one to the other), for example on a short jump clive will bend his knees slightly upon landing, but if he's fallen a long way will have a much lower crouch to absorb the impact.

All of this new stuff can be seen in this video:

[_Rob_]

I've been working on a new level, making sure to use less materials to improve performance. One of the ways I've found best is to use a single rock texture, several modular wall pieces and build the level up like a Lego model. Couple that with some vertex painting and the results can be pretty cool!



I'm toying with the level name at the moment, it's an island home to pirates with dense forest areas and a beached pirate ship, any ideas would be great!

[_Rob_]

Been working on a few things so far this week.

Polished the "Wrench Swing" animation so it looks a little better weighted (studied how hammer throwers wind up as they throw).

I've also created a small treasure chest, to fit the new pirate aesthetic. Originally I was just going to have this smash able, but it seemed much more interesting to have an animated state instead. So now upon hitting them a couple of watches jump out and the chest has a short knock back and open animation.


(ignore the pointer, sorry!)

These chests are also operable by simply landing on them, and if you do can give the player extra height kind of like the Koopa's in Mario.

I've also decided on the level name "Corsair's Cove" and created a logo for it. Below are a few shots with the new logo, and some extra details such as a pirate's hut (complete with cloth-physics flag) and some cheap generic grass objects.

[oahda]

I love the hole for the backpack in the cape.

wtf tho
windows and linux and wii u but not mac
wtf r u doin
pls fix

The skeletons look a bit floaty (lack of sound effect when their feet hit the ground, too? – I think that would help) but otherwise it looks great.

Savick, you should look at the video. I found it slightly generic just from pictures too, but in motion, with the fitting sounds and music, it's so very different. Really nice.

The flower is really hard to notice before the skeleton suddenly appears, btw. Even knowing they had a flower on their head and guessing it would stick out of the ground, I had to pause the video to actually see them. Maybe you should make the flowers bigger, or make them rumble a bit before the skeleton jumps out. Or both.