(Posted Novemember 14th, 2020)
Greetings once again, everyone! The year is starting to come to a close, and for my fellow Americans Thanksgiving will be here soon. This begs the question - what are we most thankful for this year?
For me, I'm most thankful to be part of this project. Subverse is shaping up to be an amazing game and I'm so proud of every single person in the studio for making it happen. And of course, I'm eternally thankful for every single of our backers that pledged to this project and made it possible.
We at the studio know you've been asking for information concerning release, and we've heard you loud and clear - that is why I am letting everyone know that the next Dev Diary on November 28th will provide not only our publishing strategy for the game and a release window, but it will also contain a ton of information and production materials that fully explain and demonstrate the total gameplay experience of Subverse.
After all the months of teasing, I expect everyone's going to be so satisfied with the massive hot load of information they receive that they're gonna need some intense waifu cuddling action, so here's some in advance!
So...if we're going to talk about the release in the next Dev Diary, what are we talking about today?
I've invited the ever-amazing Professor BANG to give you some insight into some rather exciting grid combat content and the behind-the-scenes process that went into making it!
"Professor BANG here. You may know me as one of the devs, but I'm also an animator and modeler. I have to say my fellow coworkers are more skilled creating erotic and suggestive animations, but what I'm good at is making more traditional video game stuff like animations for the grid combat characters.
Because the characters in grid combat are so small, we always make low-poly models for them to increase performance. You might assume this makes them look more basic, but that's not necessarily true. Baking the high resolution details onto a low resolution surface is a good way to have great-looking characters that are easy to render. Animating low-res characters is both difficult and fun since I try to put personality into the character's movement by adding little quirks that make them different from the others.
Usually I make eight animations for a character - their basic attack, ultimate, counter, death, taking damage, idle, affliciton status and teleport - but the most important is always the idle animation. That is the first anim to be made since that is what is the player will see the most and serves as a foundation for everything else.
I always try to get the most out of the animation rig, so sometimes I have to rely on Unreal's extra abilities like ragdoll physics - something I really enjoy testing!
Ragdolls are especially useful for the death animations. Making a Fuccbott fall apart would take a lot more hours to animate by hand, so instead I just simulate its physics in Unreal and record it to an animation.
And you know what else helps? Jiggle physics! Now I know what you're thinking, but they're not just for breasts. Things like hats and hair and most of the dildos on the Fuccbotts are physically active, so when they get hit or move around the momentum on their appendages is calculated in real time.
My philosophy is that limitations breed creativity, and I always try to make the most out of our options.
I provided several videos below to show you my recent work, but keep in mind these characters and animations are normally seen from a distance with additional particles and effects added, so please consider them WIP!"
THE FIRST MANTIC
There are three types of mantics in Subverse - those that fight, those that fuck and those that do both. The previously teased big boy Fuckenstein that you all loved so much is one that does both. However, today I'm going to reveal one that exists exclusively in grid combat. He's also the first manticore you can unlock outside of the core team you start with (Bulgetto, Chodestool and Dromstik).
Meet the mighty Napholeon!
Born from Lily's attempt to create a super-soldier manticore that would have the tactical intelligence of one of Earth's greatest military commanders combined with unstoppable psychic powers, Napholeon, unfortunately, came out of the tube a bit pre-mature.
Regardless of his hilariously under-developed self-awareness and delusional self-importance, this mantic is a ranged energy unit that can shred tanks with his Giant Slayer passive that does % HP damage. His ultimate can also do heavy damage while stunning the target, giving your team an entire turn's worth of strategic advantage to take them down.
DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS
Hold on to your butts - it turns out Subverse has a super-secret SIXTH ENEMY FACTION that's even bigger than any of the others! How is that even possible? Well, it's quite simple - they're called the Scoundrels, and they're made up of mercenaries, monsters, mindless drones...basically all the random units that don't have a particular allegiance to anyone but themselves. Here's a rundown of some of the Scoundrels you'll meet in the game...
Vekati Artillery Drone
This cute little fella has long been the gold standard for mechanized guard bots. After all, why deal with cleaning up the messy entrails of intruders that managed to penetrate your perimeter when you can just nuke them on sight from a distance?
While they are durable and have great range, they aren't very mobile. They can be easily surrounded and neutralized with little trouble from that position.
Vekati Artillery Drone Footage Here
Lava Kappa
Known for causing all sorts of perverted mischief with anyone that gets too close to the pools of liquid hot magma they live in, Lava Kappas are not to be taken lightly. Though their bodily fluids are normally about the same temperature as a manticore's ejaculate, when they get angry their sticky liquid reaches a boiling point and becomes weaponized.
Lava Kappas can gain access to their ultimate faster than most units in the game, so make sure you target them correctly to prevent a volcanic eruption that will damage your entire team.
Raenos Mercenary
Raenos are a reclusive species of amphibious bipeds notorious for their tendency to teabag enemies upon defeat. Hey - it's not disrespectful, it's their culture! Due to their physical requirement to live in a moist, warm environment they are always seen wearing heavy bio-regulated armor that makes them tough to take down.
Word of advice - don't send your melee units in to attack these guys unless they're going to land the killing blow. They carry some of the most powerful shotguns in Prodigium that can shred through almost anything and anyone.
Raenos Mercenary Footage Here!
And that's not all - the Scoundrels also exist in space. You'll encounter all sorts of mercenary and junker vessels that will have interests involving your untimely demise, so get ready to face them soon.
What's Next?
The Dev Diary on the 28th of this month is going to be HUGE. As previously mentioned we're announcing a release strategy and window, showing off gameplay AND you can look forward to seeing Subverse's incredible cover art. For those of you that have the artbook, you probably know what to expect from the previews in there.
I'm looking forward to it, and I know you are as well! See you in Subverse soon.
Sincerely,
Mr. Kristoff
- Senior Producer
As always - Don't forget to join our Discord!
https://discord.gg/studiofow