Ash - Another Story in Halcyon

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Offline MaJoR

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on: July 23, 2011, 12:24:55 PM
As a member of megaman community since 2003, I've been with you guys a looooong time. But I also have an interest in video game design, so, like any fan, I immediately combined to two, and turned to fangames. But year after year, I had no direction, and spun my heels and failed. But then I met JMC47, operator of the most successful 3D megaman fangame to date, Megaman Legends Expasion (MMLEx). We got to know eachother for a couple of years, and when my project and MMLEx both canceled at similiar times, we joined up with Fenix and Dash, developers JMC and I knew from previous ventues, and combined our efforts. The result is ASH - Another Story in Halcyon.

Another Story in Halcyon takes place in the Legends universe and is going to be a single player action adventure in a similar vein. But knowing how the landscape of gaming has changed, we aren't trying to recreate Legends style of gameplay. We're trying to renovate it, and bring it to and past the modern expectations of gaming. With all the unique enemies in Legends, along with the rich setting, so much can be done to fulfill the potential that many saw in the original games.

It uses completely original graphics, models, music, and the engine is coded from the ground up. It runs in Open GL 3 and has adjustable levels of graphics much like most modern games.

Our original plan was to keep development closed in, keep working to ourselves so we could unveil it all complete with a TADA to the fans. That decision came at a cost; it slowed development and put a lot of pressure on those who did want to help, while at the same time limiting our visibility. After seeing how strong the community really is, how they rallied together in these toughest of times, we don’t want ASH to be this lunatic project that seems so far away; we want to share it with everyone so we can all work to make it a reality.

As such, from this week forward, we will be releases weekly updates to the public. Each week will update you on the status of Another Story in Halcyon, as well as showing ideas and concepts we’re working with behind to the scenes so that we can improve what we’re doing and those of you watching can see the work put into every decision, as well as give your input. To make it easier for you, we've branched across numerous sites so you can easily follow our progress and give input.

 
You can follow ASH on your favorite social media site! Click the icons to go to one of our accounts.
               


This week, JMC47 created a small video demonstration of one of the elements we're working into ASH; dynamic Lighting. There are two versions, one with audio commentary, and one without. Both have the option for text commentary (Closed Captioning)

Audio Commentary
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pn7TZweqb2g[/youtube]
Text Commentary[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mN40VHJ8DUU[/youtube]

For those not interested in videos, here's a few screenshots. The first set demonstrates lighting within our random ruins, the ruins we use for testing and development. The first shot is one of JMC's favorites, showing how flare's soft light can brighten up a dark room all by themselves. The second demonstrates the shadowing from the flashlight; the shadows can be very stark and moodie even within the bare generated ruins.



Click the thumbnails to see the full size pics!


And here is our gallery of shots for our first completed ruin theme, the Furnace. Remember all these shots are in game, nothing was changed after the fact (minus the logo). They are in 1920x1080, so you really get to see the game in action!




Click the thumbnails to see them in their 1080p glory.



Now, to answer one frequently asked question right away, Megaman is not emaciated! Why is the character so thin? It's not megaman. It's a girl. Poor JMC has gotten so many emails asking why megaman doesn't eat more... we just used a similar color scheme for old time's sake. We'll be releasing a character bio on her later, when we get into story bit in our weekly updates.

Anyway, there isn't many of us, and we could always use some help. If anyone is interested in assisting, feel free to PM me, email or post! Thank you for your time.



Offline OBJECTION MAN

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Reply #1 on: July 23, 2011, 12:51:19 PM
It looks great so far. Makes me wonder, why not go the extra mile and do a game starring Trigger? Not demanding, just curious about hwy you decided to go this route.

Oh and, yeah, with a character design like that, it's going to confuse people without a doubt.


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Offline Acid

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Reply #2 on: July 23, 2011, 12:55:02 PM
Are the areas as huge as they seem in the thumbnails/ in the pictures behind the thumnbails?



Offline MaJoR

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Reply #3 on: July 23, 2011, 02:33:17 PM
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It looks great so far. Makes me wonder, why not go the extra mile and do a game starring Trigger? Not demanding, just curious about hwy you decided to go this route.

That was one of the first decisions we made in development. Basically, we didn't come up with Trigger. We never wrote for Roll or Tron or any of them. Tons of the character histories for the stars is unknown to us. Obviously, we could make up those holes, but we would be guessing. Who is to say our idea of how Trigger would react in a situation is better then your idea of how he would react? By having the story detached from the star cast of legends, we don't have to worry if our guesses are right or if the characters are behaving as they should. It allows us the freedom to really dive into the Legends world head first.

Quote
Oh and, yeah, with a character design like that, it's going to confuse people without a doubt.

It isn't really character design that is the problem. Her design is very lean and fit, with graceful feminine curves. When you see her, you very much know she is a girl. The issue is her armor. Back when we first designed that armor, we wanted to keep her gender ambiguous, for various reasons which I kinda don't remember anymore... So, I made the armor bulky, specifically designed to hide her curves and fake the appearance of a bulky frame. Apparently I did a great job, cause it's working too well! No one realizes she's a girl, and think that "megaman" is bulimic. >_<  I'm working on her armor again, and I'm going to be removing that ambiguity and fixing this once and for all. You'll be able to see it when we get to the character bio in a couple weeks.

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Are the areas as huge as they seem in the thumbnails/ in the pictures behind the thumnbails?

The furnace really is that big. We were like, why not? Legends had rooms bigger then that (albet you couldn't see the end of them because of fog), and at the time we wanted to put a large furnace (hence the name) in the center that would take up alot of that space. The furnace model proved a bit problematic however, so we ditched it and went with the recycling plant concept that you see here. It does leave some empty space on the floor, but it gave us the room for the scaffolding, so I think the space was well used.



Offline OBJECTION MAN

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Reply #4 on: July 23, 2011, 10:27:34 PM
Yes, I understand what you mean about the story. A pretty wise move given how you explained it.

Armor design is part of character design... But you seem to get the idea. While it is obviously a feminine frame, I can understand given the inconsistent 3d modeling most fan games employ, how people could say "is that suppose to be Megaman?.."

Overall it does look really damn good for a fan game. At this point I'm really interested in the engine capabilities and camera handing.


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Offline Flame

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Reply #5 on: July 24, 2011, 10:28:22 AM
I actually really like the addition of the flashlight. I find it funny that all these underground ruins just so happen to all have light sources. I mean, theres got o be SOME ruins that have absolutely NO light, right? this makes that a bit more logical. some areas have light, others dim light, others none at all.

On the character design- yeah- I wasnt able to tell it was a girl with that armor TBH. To me- the design looked more like a really thin stretched out Mega Man. (it's the helmet I think. looks too much like Classic Mega Man's) people might also be more used to the Legends series style armoring, which is large and sometimes a bit bulky. I mean you look at Teisel, Glyde, Rock, or any of the others with mechanical Digger bodies, and they have what really looks like thick armoring. (its the whole deal behind people rejecting the "human looking" Trigger design in the armor contest, especially without the "underwear" armor) But for a female character, I suppose showing a bit more underarmor and human looking shapes work best. Also- perhaps have the option to remove the helmet? showing a head of hair that would fit a girl best? (dunno, shoulde rlength or something maybe? maybe a ponytail? I dont know)

Also, although you want her to be lean and fit, she STILL is a bit TOO thin. if you remove that armor, she is incredibly thin. some more thickness to her arms and legs and maybe neck would seem better (all opinion mind you)

That said- those stages look pretty cool. that furnace stage looks to be massive and really large. Cool. Large stages are menacing and cool looking. add fire and heat and red colors, and moreso.

I wish you guys the best of luck! Its not every day that  a 3D megaman fangame comes out.

'n fact, I dont think I can recall ever seeing a 3D mega Man fangame... Just mods for other 3D games. (like Quake or GTA)

...When Larry the reploid accountant goes maverick of his own accord, he's certainly formidable during tax season, but he isn't going to provide X the challenge needed to make him grow as a warrior and reach his potential.


Offline Krystal

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Reply #6 on: July 24, 2011, 12:15:21 PM
Pretty. I like the lighting algorithms. Not particularly convinced by the heat distortion though. The concept seems pretty cool, on the other hand.

Okay I know you've been bugged enough about the character design already but are you going to redo her animations? One of the things that squicks me the most in 3D games is bad animation, which is easier to pull off than you'd expect.

Btw, what program do you make your 3D models in?



Offline JMC47

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Reply #7 on: July 25, 2011, 12:28:10 PM
This is JMC47 here, I'm the team leader of this fangame and felt I should be here to answer some of the questions personally.

Quote
It looks great so far. Makes me wonder, why not go the extra mile and do a game starring Trigger? Not demanding, just curious about hwy you decided to go this route.

On top of what MaJoR explained, I also headed up MMLEx, which was a typical MML3 styled plotline about getting Trigger down from the Elysium... but after dealing with that so long, I realized it was a fairly conventional.  Not to belittle some excellent fan efforts, but most stories revolve around them getting home, fighting the elder system and everything is happily ever after.  As well, most of the characters are established, people know and love them.  Getting voice actors that would satisfy the wide variety of characters seemed impossible, and while there are definitely gems in the fan community, it was more miss than hit.  There's only so much you can do when the first two chapters of a story are already written, so I thought that the best course of action would be to write something from the ground up.

Does that make the story worse?  Does it make it bad?  Of course not, there are bad fanfics and good fanfics of all kinds, I just want to make an interesting and engaging story and setting that not only is improved by the source material, but strengthens it all at the same time by adding depth and weight to ideas that may have been merely glossed over in the original games.  Having been on both sides, I have to say as a writer I do believe this will provide the strongest story I can make for the community.

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Also, although you want her to be lean and fit, she STILL is a bit TOO thin. if you remove that armor, she is incredibly thin. some more thickness to her arms and legs and maybe neck would seem better (all opinion mind you)

We've had a serious lack of character and orthographic artists throughout development, so designs shouldn't be considered final at this point.  Even so, none of her proportions are outright wrong within the human realm, it's just very tricky to nail a style without an experienced character artist overseeing development.  That said, your opinion is not an uncommon one and it will be addressed when we have the resources to design the models properly.

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Pretty. I like the lighting algorithms. Not particularly convinced by the heat distortion though. The concept seems pretty cool, on the other hand.

The heat distortion looked far better in motion; but it didn't really translate to screenshots.  Though, those are very old screenshots and most of the effects used for them have been obsoleted or removed altogether.

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Okay I know you've been bugged enough about the character design already but are you going to redo her animations? One of the things that squicks me the most in 3D games is bad animation, which is easier to pull off than you'd expect.

I'll gladly admit the animations are bad... we don't have a true animator, so I was pulled into duty, because I was the only one with any experience.  If you think 3D animation is easy, then please give me a hand!  I've been trying to figure it out for years!  We were fairly new to blender when this started, but the rig is fairly solid, and I recorded my own sources with two video cameras and learned the basics of 3D animation to at least make them passable (depending on definition.)

If you've seen MMLEx, you'll know that I've improved, because there I was also called into service there except didn't have the resources to do much other than guess.  3D animators are hard to find, and ones willing to help out on a small fangame is even harder. 

The other thing to note is that well over 80% of the animations are either missing, incomplete, or really bad and not implemented because I'm not a capable animator.  Really, I'm just doing what I have to in order to keep the project moving.  As such, yeah, the animations will be redone.  It's just a matter of finding someone capable of doing the job right.
 
Quote
Btw, what program do you make your 3D models in?

All the models are made in blender and we use a custom exporter script to get them in engine.  Animations, Rigs, and other model based resources are also created in Blender.



Offline Krystal

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Reply #8 on: July 25, 2011, 01:09:51 PM
Haha my 4 line post generated like half of the answers I feel special
* Krystal is shot

> Orthographic character artist
I can't draw symmetrical for the life of me (though it may be for lack of trying) but I can draw and then model off my own drawings decently. Mainly because I change things up along the way. Whether you wanna accept my help is up to you?

> Distortion
Mostly the distortion was too 'even'. Real life has a lot of randomisation. If you're putting that kinda stuffs back in I suggest randomising the heck out of it.

> Animation
Okay firstly, 3D animation is anything but easy. My last line meant "animation so bad it hurts is easier to make than you'd think". You have the right approach (reference material, solid rigging...or as you claim, I guess), but even professionals can make crappy animations. Actually, scratch that, professionals make terrible animations all the time and it makes me wince. If you're desperate for help I don't mind, but I can't promise you I'm a great animator. (But I know someone who's good at 3D animation. Neesan is busy with her own projects though \o/)

> Blender
Ah, I've heard good things about that program.



Offline JMC47

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Reply #9 on: July 25, 2011, 10:49:10 PM
We'll gladly take any help. MaJoR has had to do without orthos so long that he doesn't even need them, but the lack of character art has hurt us. Without artwork, the character has to be designed and created entirely in 3D, and 3D is not the best medium for design work. But we haven't had the character artists we need, so we do what we have to do to move the project forward.

The distortion was something we threw in at the last minute, it wasn't a serious attempt at it, we were just excited for the initial announcement.  But... the furnace shots were shown right around when Capcom announced a certain bombshell game; so things are just starting to make the rounds now.

I'm really good at making animation terrible animation, trust me!  I'm not a natural animator and I don't have the time to dedicate myself to it alone, so it's been an uphill battle to get the animation quality anywhere near passable.  Countless hours have been spent on making sources, working with the rig, learning blender, and redoing animations, over and over again.  If you want to give 3D animation a shot, I'll try and get you set up for it.  But, I wouldn't have you work with the current rig outside of practice, because it won't be used passed these demonstration videos.  It might be useful for getting used to blender, though, if you're truly interested.



Offline MaJoR

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Reply #10 on: July 27, 2011, 02:09:36 PM
ASH Dev Video 2 has been released! This week, we are featuring an old friend from MegaMan Legends 1, the FooRoo. Let's just say it's called "FooRoo Hell" for a reason.

Narrated Video
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZB9EnKHo9yo[/youtube]Link here

No Voice Narration
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDBl20OL2Eg[/youtube]
Link here

Now, I hate to have to say this, but it’s worth noting that there are a lot of incomplete animations, special effects and temporary graphics within the engine.  They’re issues we were unable to complete in time for the video, but they will be addressed in time.  Anyway, as usual here are a few screenshots for the latest builds.







If you have any questions, comments, complaints, or want to help out, feel free to PM me or JMC, or email us at AnotherStoryinHalcyon@gmail.com



           



Offline SonicZH

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Reply #11 on: July 28, 2011, 07:42:31 PM
very cool update.  This enemy seems very difficult to kill now compared to the past games. will there be auto lock on feature?



Offline JMC47

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Reply #12 on: July 29, 2011, 02:42:30 AM
That's actually a very difficult question to answer.  Just before this video, we removed the auto-lock on from blind fire because it was a bit glitchy and liked to screw up the trick shots I needed to do in order to defeat bigger rooms unharmed.  Now, I didn't show this in the video, but it's possible to kill the Foo Roo in about three or four hits without an eye shot as long as you focus your attacks on a small portion of it's armor to make a quick breach.  I spread out the damage because I like seeing it react to shots and spin around, at least when there's only one left.

Now, into the dilemma between using Lock-on or not.  Legends was a console game, and you didn't have the precision of a mouse.  As well, we designed ASH's gameplay around having manual aim.  In my experience tuning lock on in ASH, it has either made the game too easy by being too accurate, or when we tone it down it's useless because it's too inaccurate, and you're better off with it disabled.   Killing Foo Roos with the default buster may be tricky, but in the full game you'll have a lot more options on how to fight them (the engine is incomplete, especially our moveset) and hitting them will slow them down as you hit them, instead of just dying once their armor is breached.

So, to answer your question of whether or not there will be an auto lock feature?  It depends on how the game plays when it's more complete.



Offline MaJoR

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Reply #13 on: August 03, 2011, 07:17:13 AM
We've been getting alot of questions about how music works in the game, so this week we bring you the third video of the ASH dev series: Mood Swings.

Because we explained a lot of the basics of ASH’s gameplay in the previous episodes, this one is going to focus on simple dig to the bottom of one of the random ruins, featuring the dynamic music in action.  Unlike the previous videos, which had editing, cuts, narration, and other things to help concisely show an element of the game, this one is one continuous playthrough all the way to the bottom.  As I explain in the video, please do not take this as a finished product, or even a representation of how digging is going to be in ASH.  With only a single reaverbot active and many of the animations incomplete, a lot of the options are stymied.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07jOGyUghtA[/youtube]


As always, we're always looking for more suggestions for upcoming videos, so feel free to post your ideas or send us a message via PM or AnotherStoryinHalcyon@gmail.com.



           



Offline Flame

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Reply #14 on: August 03, 2011, 11:11:24 PM
Cool. I like how the music becomes intense when enemies appear. I can imagine how this might look when its more finished.

Also, a question I thought of. Are you going to simply name the game A.S.H.? or Rockman?Megaman A.S.H. etc?

...When Larry the reploid accountant goes maverick of his own accord, he's certainly formidable during tax season, but he isn't going to provide X the challenge needed to make him grow as a warrior and reach his potential.


Offline JMC47

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Reply #15 on: August 04, 2011, 07:02:39 AM
It's just ASH or Another Story in Halcyon, no MegaMan or Rockman.  While it is meant to fit in with the rest of the series, it would be misleading to slap either of those titles on it, because it doesn't star MegaMan, and rather focuses on the potential of the Legends universe to craft an engaging story.  Everyone has their own opinions on MML3, and short of Capcom telling us how it works, there would be no pleasing the fans in that regard.  As well, the one Legends game that didn't star MegaMan (Misadventures of Tron Bonne) omitted MegaMan from their title, so I do feel it is the proper decision.

Aside from that, we've stepped forward from Legends in most respects.  We want to change things, we want to try and make the game better than the Capcom releases.  We don't exactly fit in with Legends in terms of gameplay and design.  You're not some overpowered super machine/person (depending on your theory for Trigger) blasting through defense drones.  Rather, you're a normal digger, who has to face off with the very machines designed to keep you out.



Offline Flame

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Reply #16 on: August 04, 2011, 07:20:23 AM
Fair enough. I suppose in fitting with the established naming convention for Legends side stories set by Tron Bonne, just naming it ASH/Another Story in Halcyon works just fine.

...When Larry the reploid accountant goes maverick of his own accord, he's certainly formidable during tax season, but he isn't going to provide X the challenge needed to make him grow as a warrior and reach his potential.


Offline MaJoR

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Reply #17 on: August 12, 2011, 03:32:49 AM

Sorry for the late vid everyone, this one proved to be surprisingly difficult.  But hey, better late then never! ASH Development Video 4 is here, and we’re trying something a little bit different yet again.  Rather than show more of the random ruins, we decided to do a feature on reaverbots and the potential they’ll have within the game.   I hope you enjoy the sneak peek along with lots of butchered names of new and old reaverbots alike!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jK7Y45GPZY&feature=player_detailpage[/youtube]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jK7Y45GPZY

The new reaverbots shown in the video are:

Camera Reaverbot --> Mirobisu (Me-roe-be-sue)
Jellyfish Reaverbot --> Yanafujou (yah-nah-foo-joh)
Cute bot --> Pocommi (Po-comb-me)

We've been sticking to the original Japanese naming conventions, so they can be kinda hard to pronounce, and even harder to spell.  Feel free to try to figure out what those names mean; all the names are based on real Japanese words.

As usual, if you have any questions, comments or complaints, feel free to message, email, or post to give me or JMC a heads up.



           



Offline Flame

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Reply #18 on: August 12, 2011, 03:44:44 AM
When i saw the sharu kurusu I immediately heard clanking in my head.

You should totally include like 1 spikurusu as an easteregg.

That said, I like the new ones. the Jellyfish one is my favorite so far. I see a running theme here seems to be units that can call for backup or create backup. encouraging stealth that much more. (EG if you try to just blaze through you will get in a world of hurt)

Pocommi is adorable.

...When Larry the reploid accountant goes maverick of his own accord, he's certainly formidable during tax season, but he isn't going to provide X the challenge needed to make him grow as a warrior and reach his potential.


Offline JMC47

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Reply #19 on: August 12, 2011, 05:17:07 AM
It's not about making stealth more useful or more necessary, but feasible.  There are times when you're going to want more reaverbots to show up (Zenny/part grinding, for instance) or, you might just have an easier time fighting and keeping enemies in front of you than trying to sneak past.  I imagine most people playing recklessly early in the ruins and fighting a lot until their health gets low, then things will start to get interesting.  But, yeah, it's mostly about having multiple ways to play the game and having each with its benefits and caveats.  Stealth leaves more reaverbots alive and less of an escape route (if you go passive) but if you fight effectively, you can whittle down their numbers to more manageable amounts.