Video Update 10 - Test Levels, Omniframe Redux & Tsi-Hu Lore

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Grummz

$6k package
Community Manager
Ember Dev
Jul 25, 2016
808
6,719
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#1
Video update 10 is up! We're mainly tuning what we have now in preparation for final Omniframe art and animation. We show some new jetpack moves and glider thermals.

Also, we discuss the Tsi-Hu lore in this update for Em-8ER. Thanks for watching!


 

Wyntyr

Omni Ace
Ark Liege
Jul 26, 2016
6,336
11,601
113
Florida
#4
Feedback:

Jump Jetting - love the use of jets to slowdown for landing, I used it all the time for FF, especially when I would mess up the glider and still had some AWESOME ALTITUDE. Just had to watch out to be sure I didn't hit the fall speed threshold for ragdoll/panic animation to kick in and lose the ability to use the jets.

Running Animation - appears that the heels come up too high at times, almost kicking its ass. If it was sprinting in the 100m dash with its torso straight and head high I believe it would be dead on but for a tactical style run I think it looks weird at times...at least from the rear. Not sure about the side view.

Strafing Pause - if fast movement is the goal, then there should be no pause (personally I like slick v/s pause)...but...perhaps no pause for Light OF, extremely slight pause for Medium OF, and slight pause for the Heavy OF. Or even no pause for Light/Medium and extremely slight pause for the Heavy OF to give it the "feel" of having some additional mass that it's servos can't instantaneously deal with.

Gliding - the nose issue was spot on for FF, I think tweaking that would be good. The use of thermals, and possibly up drafts along mountains, to allow for longer hang times would be awesome. Animated speed brake components on the glider wings!? Love it! Would look cool when skimming too! I don't mind crashes...they happen...but the ass over tea kettle crash style may make some folks sick and I don't want peeps to equate being sick with playing Em.8ER.

Lore Drop - MORE!!!

Another excellent vid Team Em.8ER! Keep'em coming!
 

Faeryl

Omni Ace
Staff member
Community Manager
Kaiju Slayer
Jul 26, 2016
901
2,604
93
Planet Earth, USA, East Coast
discord.gg
#5
Feedback:

Jump Jetting - love the use of jets to slowdown for landing, I used it all the time for FF, especially when I would mess up the glider and still had some AWESOME ALTITUDE. Just had to watch out to be sure I didn't hit the fall speed threshold for ragdoll/panic animation to kick in and lose the ability to use the jets.

Running Animation - appears that the heels come up too high at times, almost kicking its ass. If it was sprinting in the 100m dash with its torso straight and head high I believe it would be dead on but for a tactical style run I think it looks weird at times...at least from the rear. Not sure about the side view.

Strafing Pause - if fast movement is the goal, then there should be no pause (personally I like slick v/s pause)...but...perhaps no pause for Light OF, extremely slight pause for Medium OF, and slight pause for the Heavy OF. Or even no pause for Light/Medium and extremely slight pause for the Heavy OF to give it the "feel" of having some additional mass that it's servos can't instantaneously deal with.

Gliding - the nose issue was spot on for FF, I think tweaking that would be good. The use of thermals, and possibly up drafts along mountains, to allow for longer hang times would be awesome. Animated speed brake components on the glider wings!? Love it! Would look cool when skimming too! I don't mind crashes...they happen...but the ass over tea kettle crash style may make some folks sick and I don't want peeps to equate being sick with playing Em.8ER.

Lore Drop - MORE!!!

Another excellent vid Team Em.8ER! Keep'em coming!
Awesome feedback @Wyntyr !! It's like you and I are on the same wavelength! ;) :cool:

I do want to give my own comments on a few things...

The Omniframe's movement: I'd rather have the fast moment (aka: "straight slick backwards and forwards movement with no pausing whatsoever" ); I also like Wyntyr's suggestions on the gradations of movement for each omniframe type.

Glider: I love the idea of possibly using thermals and updrafts along mountains! Oh and the speed brake flaps sound like a COOL feature!
Plasma Cannon: It now has the drop we asked for ... YAY!
Omniframe Model Adjustments: It makes sense that the OF would have "bendable" areas for us to move around in!

The Lore Drop = A W E S O M E S A U C E

I can't wait to see the next update!

8 FOR EM-8ER :cool::cool::cool:
 

Veckna

Deepscanner
Feb 11, 2017
7
27
13
UK
#6
Love the thermals - always enjoyed the gliding in Firefall and also in Aion (which I think had a version of the thermals but not implemented very clearly). Allowing you to stay in the thermal to gain height is awesome (I used to fly gliders so I love those mechanics in games), especially if you can visually tie them in to ground features/terrain (for ideas near ridgelines you could always put in a form of wave lift, the effect of air currents being pushed up by terrain, to use the feature in colder areas/without having to tie it in to volcanic vents/lava lakes if you didn't want to. Whispy 'current' animations or static clouds could be used if you needed a visual cue for players as to their location).
I liked the stall mechanic in Firefall, especially the feel when approaching the threshold (could have been my imagination but I got a sense of the juddering just before the stall and quite enjoyed 'riding' the limits) but can see why you might want to remove it (I still remember a few of my spectacular nose dives into the floor when messing around with the gliding).

Also - loved the glider courses (where you flew through the rings) in Firefall - if time allows I could offer dodgy man-hugs and a series of crap jokes as payment for implementing those in Em8er!
Two goldfish in a tank. One turns to the other and says "How the hell do we drive this?" - I may have just encouraged you to not implement it with that one but what the hell :eek:

For the sidestep I prefer the fluid motion for gameplay, even if it looks less realistic, as pauses can lead to frustration when dodging attacks in frenetic combat (I guess the impact for me will depend on how fast your combat pacing gets - the faster the pacing the less popular a pause will be for me personally). It's hard to judge without trying something though - maybe include an option for both in your upcoming demo (without having all the animations etc attached if it saves work) so players can toggle it and see? No clue how feasible that is (or if the value of the feedback would justify the effort) so might be a daft suggestion, apologies if so.

Still enjoying the updates so thanks a lot for keeping us informed!
 

D7Sledge

Terraformer
Jan 27, 2017
5
14
3
#7
These mechanic improvements to the Jets sound awesome. More air control is always good in my books.

Prossibly not a popular opinion though: How about a larger Jet Energy pool, but no regen?
You'd either have to savage partially used cells, in-field crafting low grade fuel/energy or hightail it back to an Ammo station.
I liked the idea of the fuel being a more long term managed resource, in the Attack on Titan games. As it leads to making combat (whether or not to engage or retreat) decisions and desperate situations (if mismanaged).
It would increase the variety of world with more world props (dead patrols, downed mechs etc.) and a useful reward for missions. Having the crafting of Jet energy for dire times (so players aren't completely out of options).

The limiting factor, if needed, could be explained away by heat management - since we're in mechs, it would bring alittle bit more Battletech style of mech. That way you keep the limited tank currently offered by the small pool that regenerates, but you also have to concern your self with fuel burning in the long term.

HOWEVER this only makes sense if you want to bring back the Ammo limitation from Firefall. If ammo isn't a problem I don't see why fuel would be an issue. Just some food for thought.

Hope to see Em8er succeed, where Firefall 0.91v left off ! ! !
 

Pandagnome

Kaiju Slayer
Fart Siege
Welcome Wagon
Happy Kaiju
Jul 27, 2016
7,730
10,079
113
Island of Tofu
#8
super update and what i noticed

- Nudist dummies with big camera's on their shoulders!
- Would like to see the female and male with their g-suit at night to see if the details on the suit glow and the thought of gliding
- trusting and e brake looks neat
- Agree with Wyntyr about the running animation & Strafing pause
- Is there any way to roll in the game i was thinking if instead of braking and wanted momentum could disable glide just before hitting ground do a roll and then run but that would be a skill based move. As long as you dont hit anything but if it was say a small tree it would break the tree and the momentum.
- This thermal is a superb idea, have a question can we use thrusters with gliders say we needed abit more height or boost or is this deactivated in glider mode?
- So much work and details in the high quality render to make the mech work smoothly with the animation thumbs up for the hard work
- The lore is the law.... it rhymed i like :D
 

RaZoR

Death Reaper
Jul 26, 2016
65
85
18
#9
Well done Grummz and team.
Truly your progress is showing spirit. The character movement is great.
We may need a creature or 2 to blow up a few of these cocky/unaware gliders getting to close to there strongholds with surface to air, or blowing gas bombs out of there hoohaa's, just to make it interesting....:p
Sounds like you may be having some Boss fight challenges in the wings. Good stuff. As tall as buildings you say.
Another fine update.
Cheers.
 

Djepetto

Deepscanner
Oct 1, 2016
64
117
33
#11
Definitely should be a pause when the character changes direction. It's more realistic and the pause could actually be an advantage in certain situations. Especially for skilled players in a gun fight. The Mechs are looking fantastic. I love, "Story Time." They're told so well. I feel really connected to the entire universe. Thanks for the update. Can't wait for the next installment!
 

Grummz

$6k package
Community Manager
Ember Dev
Jul 25, 2016
808
6,719
93
#13
I like that glider crash. Could be made into a skill based mechanic, where you can't just slam into the ground at full speed or you'll ragdoll, and have to slow down before you land.
While I like the skill element, I'm going to try to do a smooth landing in all cases unless you hit the side of a mountain. I want skill to "plus" a mechanic, but not to punish those who are doing the regular stuff. Skill will be used to execute sharper turns, and some other moves, etc.
 

Grummz

$6k package
Community Manager
Ember Dev
Jul 25, 2016
808
6,719
93
#14
Definitely should be a pause when the character changes direction. It's more realistic and the pause could actually be an advantage in certain situations. Especially for skilled players in a gun fight. The Mechs are looking fantastic. I love, "Story Time." They're told so well. I feel really connected to the entire universe. Thanks for the update. Can't wait for the next installment!
Thanks! I like story time as well. lol. Nobody calls it Lore Drop. I guess I'll change the name!
 

Grummz

$6k package
Community Manager
Ember Dev
Jul 25, 2016
808
6,719
93
#15
Well done Grummz and team.
Truly your progress is showing spirit. The character movement is great.
We may need a creature or 2 to blow up a few of these cocky/unaware gliders getting to close to there strongholds with surface to air, or blowing gas bombs out of there hoohaa's, just to make it interesting....:p
Sounds like you may be having some Boss fight challenges in the wings. Good stuff. As tall as buildings you say.
Another fine update.
Cheers.
Yes, we want large Kaiju. Not Cat 5 (that would be its own level, and I have NO idea how to accomplish that yet).
 

Aphaz

Deepscanner
Jul 26, 2016
187
260
63
#16
Yes, we want large Kaiju. Not Cat 5 (that would be its own level, and I have NO idea how to accomplish that yet).
what do you mean by you have no idea...? do you mean the technical stuff, or idea as in story-eise?
it can always be "kanna-style" locked in an "underground temple as a guard...":D. and make it a squad (up to 5 players) and platoon (up to 10 players) type of instance. people will go shooting just for fun...and the temple could give us the info we need to faster raise the tech level or stuff...up to a point, ofc.:D

you can also "old school bane style" simply open a "hellgate" anywhere on the map and people will treat it like the old invasions missions on old FF.
once the "hellgate" opens, it spawns "lesser tsihu" until someone activates the gate at which point IT appears, and to make matters worse starts heading towards the nearest outpost leveling everything in it's path so unless a sizable force is not present, closing a hellgate is inadvisable, as the monster MUST BE PUT DOWN immediatly... in this way you can limit the activation unless a set ammount of players are a set distance away from the hellgate

there, hope this helps:D:D:D:D
 
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HumanTrainingBot

D-Gater
Ark Liege
Oct 26, 2016
52
73
18
#18
I haven't read anyone else's post yet, so here are my thoughts while I watch the video.
  • I prefer instant movement over a slight pause. I've been fighting with the Mass Effect 2 controls because of the pause in movement when moving in a new direction and the slow "character turning" animation.
  • I love having thermals, but I would prefer a larger "updraft" area and a slower ascent than demonstrated in the video.
  • Please keep some sort of crash when hitting the ground. There should be some sort of penalty for throwing yourself at an immovable mass of rock and ice.
    • If you have a shallow angle and slow speed, transfer into running. Otherwise, the player crashes and needs to spend time to stop their tumble and stand up.
    • I am open to a transition from gliding to running where the player/omniframe glides face-down, pulls in the glider wings, performs a summersault when they hit the ground, and then starts running. (Fluid transitions feel awesome)
  • Updated Omniframe model looks good.
    • I'm not sure I like the zigzag-hexagon pattern on the spine, but it's probably mirrored on the final model and looks better. I think I would prefer a 2-wide-1-wide hexagon pattern down the spine or some other symmetrical pattern.
    • For the flaps, I suggest choosing a design direction and sticking with it. The two possible directions that come to mind are:
      1. Player presses buttons to execute programmed maneuvers; flaps follow programmed positions to show how the maneuver is executed. The game teaches the player what buttons (or button combinations) do what maneuvers (e.g. fighting games where a sequence of button presses and joystick directions results in one attack).
      2. Player presses buttons to control the flaps; the Omniframe is in a physics engine that calculates the forces that the flap positions would have on the Omniframe based on the Omniframe's speed and direction. The player teaches themselves how to fly (muscle memory) with some tips from the game or other players (e.g. optional tutorial within a simulation or a video tutorial posted online).
  • Someone probably mentioned this already, but the ferro-fluid mane and general appearance of the beast form reminds me of the Mimics from Edge of Tomorrow (Live Die Repeat). I LIKE IT!
  • Lore drop sounds good. Keep them coming!
 
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