This is a 1v1 versus game much like Capcoms Streetfighter Series but based on my published written novel IP. The team consists of me 1 animator and 1 programmer so far.
The goal is to make a 2 player demo on the PC with 1 environment and all SFX (Audio Visual), I may need more help with the SFX side of things but ill let you guys know when that time comes…
Anyway you want to see pics videos?, look below on the progress
Katrina Celeste - character concept art (Commission by Genzoman on Deviantart)
Below are the paid commercial works I have available for this project, I will place the date next to each task once the position is open. TBA = To Be Announced
- Implementation of ingame GUI from Adobe Photoshop files - TBA - Visual SFX implementation - TBA - Game testers - TBA - Maya 2012 Rigger - TBA - Professional 3d artist - TBA
See attached Game Design doc for detailed information (WIP)
Top notch environment. I would add a bit of color contrast to make the scene pop out more. The top of the scene should have more light as compared to the bottom of the screen. Add some light shafts, etc and the level will begin to feel more alive. The level itself is nice, but the lighting is holding it back
I checked out Grand chase it looks pretty cool but definitely not the gameplay style I am going for. I will add more details to my original post so you can see what I am going for generally.
Ye I literally just started with environment design so I have a lot to learn. The only reason I attempted this was to save money really but I will try to improve on this as much as possible.
When you say add light shafts do you mean beams of light coming through the tree line? Do you know of any good tutorials I can use to better learn lighting techniques?
thanks
Edit*
Added more lighting and updated the first post with the video
Thanks, I will consider it as I’m having a hard time wrapping my mind around ways to put together large detailed levels in any reasonable amount of time.
Like Street Fighter, you say? How closely are you aiming at capturing the style?
I’m quite a big fan of the series, and am knowledgeable about fighting games in general (I look at the game mechanics in depth, regularly analyse matches and such). If you wish, I could provide input/ideas in terms of gameplay. I’d love to see a good indie fighting game out there.
I have updated my original post with the WIP design doc.
I have an intimate relationship with Vs fighting games and am very knowledgeable as well.
I am adapting the Capcom Vs SNK 2 groove system as well as the ratio system (for full game only) with the “feel” of super Street fighter IV gameplay ish.
Its hard to describe as there is nothing else similar to this but have a read through the document and let me know your thoughts, I would be happy to discuss any issues/changes you have in mind.
Some initial observations, comments and questions so I can get my head around it a little bit better:
Jumping right into the first concern I have is blocking. It sounds like a Tekken style of blocking, but that makes me wonder about the properties of most normals. This kind of system makes it very difficult to escape pressure (even more so as there’s no side stepping, oki options etc.), and that’s if you are going to have the game run in a similar pace to Tekken as opposed to Street Fighter. I’d highly advise only having high and low attacks for this type of fighting game.
As for stuns, would it work like GG or VF where you get temporarily staggered, but could wiggle the joystick to get out faster?
Wall/Floor bouncing… Any limitations to this, as in one wall/floor bounce per combo (like MvC3)?
So, spirit moves would be the equivalent of supers. Also, about the ultimate spirit move; Would it simply be an alternate super?
So, you gain meter by just jumping with Life Spirit? It’s an interesting concept if balanced well.
About running, would this mean that all other spirit types won’t have anything more than basic walking? Depending on the pacing of the game, it could potentially make matches less dynamic. Also, would you consider having something like back-dashing?
Would the spirit move cancelling work something like KoF XIII style Neomax super cancels, or MvC2/3 DHCs? It sounds somewhat like that, but I’d just like to confirm whether that’s the idea or not.
Unblockables and bind attacks make me a little concerned, as they might turn out unexpectedly strong. But I imagine neither of them are combo-able attacks, and that unblockables would get beaten by various invincible moves?
Is Safe Drop the only way of recovering in air after getting hit?
This is me being nitpicky, but buffering does not mean directly cancelling from one move to another. You buffer inputs, such as down, down-forward and forward. You could then press punch to perform a Hadouken. What you’re referring to is a special/super cancel.
Juggling was briefly touched upon, but I’m wondering what formula it will follow. Would all moves have infinite juggling potential, but have a gravity/hit stun deterioration system such as GG/MvC3, or will it be more along the line of SSFIV where only certain moves juggle?
Air throws weren’t mentioned, but I’m wondering whether you’d consider having it as a universal mechanic, or character specific if you’re considering it.
Oh dear, sorry about that. I get easily carried away when it’s about fighting games!
In any case, these are my thoughts/opinions/questions so far. It may be a bit too in-depth this early on in the development, but perhaps it’ll leave some things up for consideration later on.
Thanks Saikobooru this is exactly the reason I opened this thread
Blocking
The idea is to have it based on the Streetfighter IV model, crouching block will block all attacks bar overheads. The way I described it in the game design doc was misleading and I will change this.
In short stand block will block everything bar grabs, unblockables lows
Crouch block will block everything bar grabs, unblockables overheads
Stuns/Dizzy’s
You hit the nail on the head, once stunned/dizzied you will have to mash out buttons/direction inputs to reduce the time you are stunned. I am thinking doing it simular to soul calibur but with a twist where the following table applies to stun (not in stone)
I am totally open to suggestions on this but it will be tested once the demo is ready.
Floor/Wall bounce
Again you hit the nail on the head. Floor/Wall bounce can only occur once per combo. The only possible exception will be during “Spirit custom combo”
Spirit Moves / Ultimate Spirit moves
Spirit moves = Super moves
The Ultimate Spirit move will be like a unique “Level 3 super”. The difference between this super and normal supers is that
1 - Is unique
2 - Is 20% stronger than normal supers
Life meter
I wanted to try something a little different for meter building. This will have to be tested balanced to get right but I think it will work pretty good. My goal is to have a system where if we picked the same character but different “Meters” our play styles would be completely different.
Movement
Again I did not make this clear in the document, I will fix this also.
All “Meters” will be able to dash in both directions like Streetfighter IV. Any Meter that has a “Run” will have “Forward dash” replaced with “Run”
Spirit Move Cancelling
I m not too familiar with KOF XIII (Last KOF I played on a high level was KOF 2002) but the idea came from Streetfighter EX series (or Fighting Layer).
By inputting the command for a super during anypoint of your first super animation you will cancel into the new super. You will not be able to cancel into the same super however.
i.e super A cannot be super cancelled into super A again, you have to use super B, C, D etc
Unblockables Bind attacks
In the Streetfighter EX series you could use a super meter to perform an unblockable attack. I want to implement the same concept here. The actual attack is slow enough to be reacted to but fast enough to be useful. If struck by an unblockable you will be stunned.
The “Spirit bind attacks” is something I added to add more advanced tactics into high level gameplay. This is something that will need to be tested a LOT to get right but my general thoughts is an attack that is the same speed as an unblockable.
Both these attacks are not combo-able and if your opponent reacts to you using this move they will be able to either hit you out of the move with a quicker attack (any attack will counter it) or jump/dash/parry/repel out of them.
Safe Drop
The idea is if you get hit by anything weaker than a medium strength attack in the air you will automatically safe drop. If you get hit by a heavy attack or a special/spirit move you will fall to the ground.
The only way to avoid this is to have a “meter” that allows safe drop.
This is still a WIP function and I am totally open to suggestions.
Buffering
Yes you are correct. ill fix this as well.
Juggling
This is a very important subject.
For now I have gone with the Streetfighter IV (ish) juggle system but let me break it down
All attacks will have a hidden numeric value applied to them. This value will increase as other moves connect to juggled targets.
Example (I will use Streetfighter moves/characters to simplify this explanation)
Ken hits airborn opponent with a Light Dragon Punch.
Light Dragon Punch = 5 Juggle points
To be able to hit this opponent in a combo before they land Ken needs to use an attack that is 6 juggle points or more
Ken hits airborn opponent with super dragon punch
Super Dragon Punch = 10 Juggle points
Total juggle points of airborn opponent = 15 (5 + 10 = 15)
For Ken to be able to hit this opponent again he will need a move that has 16 points or more (no move will have such a high juggle value so this will be the end of the juggle)
Generally speaking the stronger the attack the higher the Juggle potential will be with supers having the highest potential (bar Spirit custom combos where potential will be infinite) I am thinking of exuding all normal attacks to have a juggle potential but I will test this once the demo is out.
I am open to suggestions on this as well but this will make combo balancing much easier from a programming perspective as all that needs to change is a single numeric figure.
Air throws
I plan 100% to implement this but am in 2 minds weather to have it as a universal feature or character specific. Again I am open to suggestions.
Thanks for this early feedback as it will help to better structure development going forward. If anyone has any questions or concerns I will be happy to answer them. I check this forum daily so responses will be quick.
The development is coming along nicely and I expect to have a web demo open within 8 weeks for testing.
Hehe, no problem! If I can help out with any fighting game related thing, I’m happy.
The stun system sounds good. I usually takes about that many inputs to get out of dizzy and such in SSFIV, if I recall correctly.
It’ll be interesting to see how the different Spirit Meters will be used, as I imagine the cast will already be quite varied. I’m sure you already know it won’t be easy to balance, but I do hope it goes well!
Ah, I should’ve definitely mentioned the EX series, or even Fighting Layer over KoF and MvC2/3 (I’m impressed that you know about Fighting Layer, never thought I’d meet anyone else! I love the soundtrack in that game. ).
Again, I didn’t consider the EX series. Yeah, that kind of unblockable seems sensible!
So, unlike SSFIV, you’d be put into a soft knockdown state on anything that’s stronger than a light attack? Would juggling be possible afterwards, or were you thinking more along the lines of KoF XIII? (if you hit an airborne opponent with an air “blowback” attack, they’ll be put in a soft knockdown state with no possible follow ups)
Also, after doing a Safe Drop, would you be in a neutral aerial state, or would you simply stay invincible until you land? I figure the latter would be a better option, as being in a neutral aerial state would give the grounded opponent an advantage.
Ah, the SSFIV way of doing it sounds sensible. I suppose it would make it more mixup/reset centred rather than about combos. Oh, and by the way… Doesn’t Ken’s U1 hit if you link it after the super?
Hmm… For a game that is more Street Fighter in style than anything else, it may be better to limit it to a few characters when it comes to air throwing, I think. Grappler type characters, or characters like Cammy come into mind.
In any case, I look forward to checking out the demo. I’m quite interested in the project, as I see that you’ve got good fighting game knowledge too.
I think soft knockdown with no possible followup is they way forward.
Also with safe fall I was thinking you stay invincible until you land as well as landing on your feet. This will need to be tweaked for multi hitting super attacks but I think this is a good way to go forward.
I updated the pdf in the first post and will post some progress vids later today.
Alright, sounds good!
I suppose those were my questions and such for now. I’d honestly be interested in the development process coding wise (how input lenience would work, the many different hit states, figuring out damage/meter scaling etc.), but I figure that’s off limits for me. You could say that making a fighting game is a dream of mine, heh.
In any case, I’ll stick around, and hopefully be able to help out with some testing maybe.
I think i will go with 3 or 4 stages for the demo. below you will see the second design again made by me. i still have a lot to add such as proper lighting, falling ash more debris etc but you can see how it is coming along.
Ok its been a while but work has never stopped on this project.
We have had some issues with the rig when importing to Unity, most of our animations just broke but at last we can see the light using the mecanim plugin, see first update below
Update - 4
Of course this is far from finished but this is showing good progress. I expect to have the animations working perfectly within 2 weeks and the game code is already finished so its just a matter of putting it all together.
