Here we are again! Our internal Alpha testing is well underway and we are quickly approaching Closed Beta territory. Here’s a rundown of what we have been up to since our last update.
Things have been so busy on the 3D side of things that we had to bring in an extra set of hands. Let’s start with a look at the "Energy Armor" that Caleb Embleton-Oliver finished up last week:
In addition to completing the Energy set, Caleb recently moved on to the "Space" themed armor set. Perhaps some keen-eyed parents out there might recognize that our inspiration came from some of our favorite 1970s sci-fi movies. We cannot wait to see the finished product on this one:
While Caleb was grinding out armor sets, Eric Crosby finished up the last few Starter Hair Styles. Here are some variations of pig tails, a pony tail, a big curly style and a couple shorter cuts:
After Eric completed the game’s customizable hair options he joined Caleb on armor set duty. He’s currently working on a “First Responder” style set, here’s a sneak peak at how the boots to that set are shaping up:
We also brought in a new animator to touch up existing player animations and make all new ones for the wheelchair player character. We do not have any videos of the wheelchair animations at this time but here is our new walking animation (and also a better look at the "Aviation" armor set that we revealed in a previous update):
Walking Animation: https://streamable.com/1k1qcm
Elsewhere on the project, Etch has been working with the programmers to get all of the various User Interface functionality implemented into the Alpha build. The first UI that was tackled was some of the “Squad Select” functionality:
We also started to work on our loading screens:
From there we are going to work on the World UI and Level Select UI so stay tuned for screenshots of those in the next update.
On top of all that, we migrated our website over to www.flamehawkstudios.com. Feel free to visit (still under construction!) or see below for a couple of screenshots:
In addition, all of our social media handles changed as well, here is where you will now find us;
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flamehawkstudios/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/flamehawkstudio
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flamehawkstudios/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/flamehawk-studios-inc/
YouTube: The Mechanical World of Dr. Gearbox
Steam (Wishlist us here): https://store.steampowered.com/app/1218220/The_Mechanical_World_of_Dr_Gearbox/
Website: www.flamehawkstudios.com
On the programming side we have been very focused on both UI implementation and integration of the customizable player character. We have also been working on the database to ensure that everything is stored safely and securely.
In Battle Trivia news, Pete Ayala finished up the Energy themed set and moved on to the Space and First Responder themed sets. As a reminder, each set has 50 questions - as the player answers them correctly they will unlock portions of the associated armor set.
Last but not least Chris Zic and Max Giacomelli have been meeting with Pete to continue the process of framing out the world, lore, campaign quests, etc. We are all excited to see how the writers plan to integrate STEM lessons into the quest structure!
That’s all we’ve got for this update – If you are part of our Focus Group please keep your eyes peeled for an announcement for you to help us test on PC via Steam in Early July!