In this update we'll take a look at the "Fun Factor" featured vehicles, reveal the next theme, and look at how the campaign progress is going. First, here's the video for the Fun Factor vehicles:
FEATURED VEHICLES
- Eldritch Lord - RequinRanger*
- Hex-Storm - JacuJ*
- Stinger - Stranger
- Nothing Overkill Here - Snicker_Nee_Yo
- Robot mk2 - Paudl
- Laser Spear - DarkySilis
- MCCH Ascended Crystal - Arad
- Bardl (Object Launcher) - Mazapine
- TCCH Great Worm - Arad
- Flying Monster - Paudl
- Spore V3 - PyroTeknikid
- Shock Factor - Mr. Bigglesworth
HONORABLE MENTIONS
- ShatterDrone - AjaxGamr
- AI Whirligig Saw - Jussi
- Dragon - Stranger
- Mammoth - Stranger
- Junkasaurus - St. Nicolas
- Tornado Madness - Costello
- Heavy Escavator - DrBean
- LCCH Prometheus - Arad
- Explosive Barrel Mortar - [Arch]B_Glo
- Mole Shockwave Blaster - Kili
- HCCH Octopoda mk2 - Arad
- Gilded Ornithopod - [Arch]B_Glo
- Junk Muncher - St. Nicolas
- LCCH Wandering Crystal - Arad
- 34-Hurricane - Dr.Boom Ultra
- Flapjack - Zombie Ninja
- MCMW Secutar C-E - Arad
- Mosquito - Stranger
- Spinning Laser Disc - Richard333
- Harvest - ID24601Right
[Apologies if I misspelled anything in the list]
There were a lot of solid entries into this month's contest, and many close calls between the Honorable Mention and Featured Vehicle list. As I've been finding out over the past couple months, creating a vehicle that has a unique purpose/function, fun and easy-to-use controls, and a cool design is a difficult task. There were two vehicles that were especially impressive this time: Eldritch Lord from RequinRanger and Hex-Storm from JacuJ. Hex-Storm is particularly outstanding from a technical and design perspective, while Eldritch Lord is just so creative and mesmerizing to use. Both of them inspired me to create new vehicles for the campaign, and I anticipate creating a few more that are roughly based on other entries. Thanks to everyone who entered the contest, as this was a very enjoyable contest to try all the vehicles!
NEXT THEME: GRAPPLING HOOK
NEXT DEADLINE: JULY 19TH, 2023
The next theme will be "Grappling Hook". Use the grappling hook itself, or some other combination of ropes/winches and attachers or similar parts to create a machine that uses a grappling hook in some interesting way. Functionality, ease of use, and overall design will be the priorities. It can be a vehicle that climbs stuff (requiring tough structures is fine), one that tears structures down, or anything else as long as a grappling hook-like device is a key element. The deadline is July 19th.
CAMPAIGN PROGRESS
I've been back working on Instruments recently, with various changes to Rhythm Storm completed (more details and new videos on the RS Steam page on June 6th when the beta demo goes live). Mostly I've been working on additional vehicles, some inspired by the fun factor vehicles, and creating a new video for the game to highlight them. That video I'm not sure will be public, as it's mostly for entering PAX Rising and other online games festivals. Will see how it turns out before making a decision.
After the video is wrapped up, I'll continue working on more features for the campaign (objectives/enemy AI/new objects/etc). I have 44 vehicles that are pretty close to final, with 6 more planned. I hadn't been counting and didn't really expect to reach 50 vehicles, but it seems like I might as well aim for it now. I'm not sure all of them will make it into the campaign with their own missions, and some might just be reward vehicles or alternate vehicles. I expect the vehicle lineup to be one of the key selling points for the game, so I'll be polishing and refining them even after the campaign is initially released.
I'm unsure if the number of maps will be more or less than the number of vehicles. The current plan is for each map to have 2 missions, with the main one having 3 stars to achieve (simpler and different requirements than the current system), and the other being a score-based mission of some kind (time/destruction/enemies destroyed/etc). Some vehicles will definitely show up in multiple maps, and its likely you will be able to switch vehicles in the middle of certain missions.
That's a lot of stuff to work on, and I'll also have some sort of beta-testing before the full launch of the campaign. Before getting too deep into all that, I want to do a pass on bugs and other easy suggestions, so look for a new version in the next week or so.