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Post by arsquid on May 2, 2019 23:59:02 GMT
Atomyk Ebonpyre is the working name for a project I will be undertaking for the next few months. It will be an independently developed Homestuck fan-game- not of professional quality or epic proportions but well beyond the scope of anything I've worked on before. You might also recognize it as a song made by Toby Fox, used in the flash Dave: Accelerate. I've chosen the title not only because it's cool as hell but also because my project essentially aims to adapt said Flash animation into a 3D game.
Players will be Dave on his initial doomed foray into the Land of Heat and Clockwork. It will be mostly action-oriented, but with light RPG and puzzle mechanics sprinkled in as Dave climbs his Echeladder and works towards unlocking the full potential of the Timetables.
The “end state” of the game is unlocking full-fledged time travel and leaving the doomed timeline behind. It's not an inherently satisfying ending, but there will be an internal storyline and boss fights building off of what we know about Davesprite's timeline that will fashion a sort of ending out of the time jump. Plus, it’s not really a cliffhanger if you know what happens next.
I've chosen this setting mostly because I've always wanted to play as Dave in a game and LOHAC is an awesome setting. Davesprite's timeline in particular offers a unique chance to create a game set within Homestuck and within SBURB that still has a somewhat manageable scope.
Development has already started in Unreal Engine, driven by Blueprint scripting. Blueprint is a somewhat inefficient scripting system and will likely result in the final game requiring a fairly powerful computer to run at a decent framerate- but it is much easier than conventional coding and makes independent developing possible at my current level of experience. Again, this will be a student product of student quality so don't get your hopes up. You'll be getting what you paid for.
Speaking of, the game will be free. There are several reasons for this, the most obvious being that it's not my intellectual property and the Homestuck music I intend on using most certainly isn't mine. However it's also free because I'm utilizing this project as practice before I move on to something I'm comfortable with selling. It's also just intended as a realization of something I've always wanted, and I want to share that with as many fellow Homestuck fans as possible.
Planned Public Alpha Release: June 29
Planned Full Release: August 8
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Post by arsquid on May 3, 2019 0:02:19 GMT
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Post by connorkelly on May 3, 2019 11:36:05 GMT
Good job dude keep at it.
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Post by connorkelly on May 4, 2019 13:05:00 GMT
ETA on next update? And if you want help I took 3 years of programming in High School, only thing is my laptop is black screening so I have to get it fixed or get a new one.
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Post by arsquid on May 5, 2019 5:38:20 GMT
I think I'd like to keep this as a solo project, but thanks very much for the offer! I'd like to complete my current goal before making the next update (create a basic imp enemy and begin on the combat system) but I might post again before then if it ends up taking a while. So far I've got a base model from Maya with some animations from Mixamo in the game for the imp but managed to break Dave's animation blueprint in the meantime.
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Post by arsquid on May 8, 2019 22:30:15 GMT
Turns out Dave's animation blueprint wasn't broken, it was just disabled! I ended up remaking the entire blueprint only to figure that out. At least it's a mistake I'm not likely to make again. Currently working on making the imp character respond to Dave's attacks- it's supposed to cast to Dave on a collision to ask whether the thing it collided with was his sword (while it is being swung, specifically) or not but for some reason the cast is failing so it can't find the information it needs. Sharing information between different parts of the game is actually quite challenging!  EDIT: I got it working! There was some strangeness going on with the player character index which was causing the cast to fail. The imp now knows when it gets hit by your sword and reacts appropriately. Time to get to work on the combat proper. |
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Post by arsquid on May 10, 2019 14:43:58 GMT
Here's a video showing some of my recent progress.The imp enemy is in! There are currently two body types and four aspect types, being Harlequinsprite/Jaspersprite and Rust/Amber/Sulfur/Ruby. Currently the aspect types drives enemy health and damage, which is why the amber imp in the video takes more hits than the rust imps. The combat system still needs a lot of refinement, it doesn't feel right yet. One obvious example is in the video at 0:22, where Dave swings and misses the imp right in front of him because of the angle of the sword slash animation. Some work could also go into making the hits feel more satisfying (though how much feedback would you expect from a ninja sword?). The imps standing around for a second after getting hit is intentional but should be shorter on the higher tiers of enemies. I'm not totally sure what I want to tackle next. There's still more work to be done on imps- especially considering I haven't even started on the Crowsprite variations. I'm also considering starting on the ogre, so I can really start tuning the combat feel.
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Post by arsquid on May 11, 2019 20:59:08 GMT
Making quite a bit of progress recently, here's a video clip. I've given the ogre a "resistance threshold", which makes them temporarily immune to hitstun after being hit a certain amount of times. On the other hand, Dave has already gotten to the point where imps are kind of trivial and he can stun-lock them to death without much difficulty. The main focus right now is ironing out the combat, and I'm looking to implement Crowsprite imps and basilisk enemies in the coming weeks. If anyone has any ideas for combat design, feel free to share them!
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Post by connorkelly on May 12, 2019 23:25:34 GMT
Keep up the good work!
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Post by connorkelly on May 13, 2019 2:18:40 GMT
Are you going to add different attacks for Dave? Instead of just the one animation?
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Post by arsquid on May 13, 2019 3:02:03 GMT
Are you going to add different attacks for Dave? Instead of just the one animation? Yeah probably! It might just end up as a few different animations called at random, but a combo system would be interesting too. I just don't know how to apply such a thing really, like what different types of attacks would Dave do? Here's a video of the recent progress.New features: - A "Stride" meter, which depletes every time Dave flashsteps. It recharges quickly but forces the player to be at least somewhat mindful of their usage of the technique.
- The flying imp, who is still a work in progress (more so than the other enemies). It's weak but forces the player to time their attacks or use the jump attack to hit it.
- Lava kills you instantly, as demonstrated.
Changes: - Dave now wields a broken ninja sword, as he should during this point of the story. It also means the player has a smaller hurtbox to work with and must actually move around instead of stun-locking an entire crowd of enemies.
- Flashstep no longer makes Dave invulnerable, making it less of a get-out-of-jail-free card. On the flip side, it increases his speed more than previously.
- The lava is red instead of orange, matching its color in the comic.
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Post by arsquid on May 14, 2019 22:13:22 GMT
New video.The basilisk is proving VERY tricky, update on that soon... In the meantime, I've implemented a combo system! There are now two types of basic attacks- vertical slash (whose input I will refer to as X) and horizontal swipe (whose input I will refer to as B). Doing combos increases your Style meter, which determines the rate at which Stride regenerates. Here's a rundown of all the combos- XXX- Standard triple attack combo BBX- Uppercut, sends enemies flying upwards XXBX- Stab, deals extra damage Jump+B- Aerial attack Jump+X- Slam attack BBB- False combo, doesn't increase Style In addition, imps now drop Health Gel.
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Post by connorkelly on May 16, 2019 2:59:41 GMT
What are you planning on doing with Calsprite?
Also you're doing great. Don't give up!
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Post by arsquid on May 16, 2019 18:52:09 GMT
Thank you! I was thinking Calsprite could be a late-game power, like you summon him and he damages all enemies on screen or something.  Here's a peek at the basilisk enemy, as well as a hint of the graphical changes I've been making lately. I'm still not happy with the basilisk, mostly because I don't think Blueprint's character component was meant for long boys but it is at least in the game now. I think I'll be coming back to it later. Working on the basilisk meant making custom animations, which has at least given me the confidence to start doing my own animations for the rest of the game. I'm going to overhaul most of the attack animations in the game and change attack timing and collisions. The end result of that should be something that functions very similarly to what's in the game already but feels a lot better to play. |
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Post by connorkelly on May 18, 2019 15:28:29 GMT
Besides just wacking baddies, what kind of goals are there going to be to accomplish? And what are you going to do about Rose? You could probably just ignore her all together, or only have her come in at the end for the pesterlog we see before Dave goes back in time, as a final cut scene sort of thing.
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Post by arsquid on May 19, 2019 21:22:40 GMT
I think Rose is actually a great opportunity to add some characterization to the game, have her pester Dave throughout the adventure and such.
The primary goal is just to make your way through LOHAC. We never really found out what Dave's quest was but I have ideas for content to put in there. Buildings to clear, time-based puzzles. We also know this Dave obtains Caledfwlch as well as a red frog at some point so I'd put those in there. My current working idea for an end goal is, when Rose and Dave decide he needs to go back in time, Dave has to "power up" the timetables at the Beat Mesa. This isn't a thing in the comic I know, but it'd be a great excuse to put a large enemy in his path and have a final boss fight on the Beat Mesa.
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Post by connorkelly on May 21, 2019 19:07:42 GMT
I agree with the Beat Mesa final boss idea.
Getting Caledfwlch and powering it up does sound like a fun plotline to follow.
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Post by arsquid on May 22, 2019 1:12:25 GMT
New progress video. Unfortunately the game audio become very static-y in the recording for some reason so I left it out of the video. Custom animations for Dave! These definitely still need work but at the very least he is now properly left-handed. Basilisk enemy is in. The first area of the game is here, a location I'm calling "the Skyscraper". The central elevator will be activated later in the game, for now I'm just trying to get the small one on the left side working properly instead of teleporting up and down. Health, Stride and Style have been given proper UI elements. That gear spins faster the more combos you've pulled off and loses color gradually as you run out of Stride. I'm still struggling with game feel to be honest. I wanted to try out a system where hitting a button would let the player target an enemy like in Zelda but still can't get it to work after the longest time.
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Post by arsquid on Jul 18, 2019 2:50:43 GMT
Here's the newest video.I've taken a long break on the game and missed the planned alpha release by a lot. At this rate the alpha might come out when I was planning on having the full game released. But hey, I'm back now!
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Post by arsquid on Oct 26, 2019 1:47:19 GMT
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phantos
Moppet of Destiny
『HARD TIMES』
Posts: 115
Pronouns: they/them/theirs
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Post by phantos on Oct 26, 2019 10:31:29 GMT
I got out of surgery tonight and the first thing I wanted to do was check this forum, and I saw that you had updated. I'm new to the thread and didn't read anything until just now, but I wanted to say... This game is really good! Admittedly I was really loopy getting started, I basically didn't realize my wu tang was playing on top of toby's track and the lava killed me like 30 times before I got the hang of it, but the design of the level areas is really good and I am terrified of what's ahead because those falls and traps and mobs were intense (note: I am bad at video games). I skipped the combo system entirely on accident but still got some sick moves in.
And then there's the writing. It's really VERY good, and I was thrilled when I realized it was this side story was getting fleshed out. I only read the first few bits of HS, and this doomed timeline really got me thinking back in the day. I'm looking forward to seeing the conclusion to the story.
---
EDIT: I've sobered up and read down on the thread and I am doubly proud of you for working on this for so long and staying committed to giving us updates as you go. Bravo! I am sad to read that you more or less are winding down on things, but I am very happy with the results! I hope you do a video play through so I can see all of the writing if I cannot beat it myself.
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Post by arsquid on Oct 26, 2019 17:33:00 GMT
Thank you so much! Admittedly the game's received a little bit less attention than I was hoping for, even with signal boosting on other sites, so your commendation is especially encouraging. I'm so glad you liked it! I might continue working on the game whenever I get free time, as coming back to it after a month break or so it was just so much fun. I'm a fan of this part of the story as well (as I'm sure you can imagine) and Dave and Rose are just so interesting. And 4 months is a long time, you know?
Out of curiosity, did you reach the second pesterlog? Right now there are only those two conversations in the game, plus an extra something at the end.
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phantos
Moppet of Destiny
『HARD TIMES』
Posts: 115
Pronouns: they/them/theirs
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Post by phantos on Oct 26, 2019 18:05:12 GMT
I did get to the second pester log, after the first major chamber, but I died soon after. The writing there was great! Dave and Rose have personalities that lend themselves to staying cool under pressure but this is a doomed timeline and I feel like the writing fits that sense of dread just right. They're still kids, still friends, but Dave's got some work to do if he's going to save the game. If I were you, I could sleep peaceful knowing I made a badass addition to the behemoth of fan content out there. Thank you again for making it for us to enjoy, though I am now curious if you have any other projects in mind. EDIT: The combat is as fun as the writing btw |
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Post by arsquid on Oct 26, 2019 18:27:28 GMT
Thank you! I'm currently trying to come up with a compelling idea for a commercial project, developed similarly to this one but then sold at the end instead of distributed for free. I think I might be better at adapting other people's ideas than making my own, haha. I'm sure I'll come up with something.
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Post by luigi on Jan 21, 2020 22:20:17 GMT
Hey don't be discouraged I loved this project I was following the updates on YouTube, didn't know it was complete. I know at least 1 other person irl who was really excited about what you were doing. It looks great, I'm excited to try it.
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