Project Aftershock - Indie Multiplayer Co op Sci Fi Racing Game

[yapdakilla]

Hi guys,

Being old time wipeout fans. We are a couple of indie developers are working on on a new indie sci fi racing game almost similar to wipeout but with a different twist and gameplay feel. Still in its early stages as we have yet to include gameplay elements to it.

However we posted some early work in progress screenshots here at Flickr:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3143/3287072697_87bb723715_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/35563494@N08/)

And a roundabout video tour of the first track work in progress:

http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/1468/vidthumb2hn2.jpg (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMgrHXgCU2E&fmt=22)

Check out our blog and forums for development updates :)

Liquid Rock Games
Blog: http://liquidrockgames.blogspot.com
Forums: http://liquidrockgames.xullum.net/forums/

[AG-wolf]

Looks nice thus far, good attention to gritty detail (as opposed to the uber-clean and streamlined atmosphere of WOHD), track fly-through in the video is waayy too slow for actual gameplay of course. The nose of the ship being perpetually pointed downward is a little disorienting.

Is it using a custom game engine, or built off havok/unreal/valve/etc?

[yapdakilla]

Thanks AG-wolf,

That was fast. Yeah thats the general feel which we are trying to convey an earthquake destroyed city as opposed to super clean futuristic cities as Wipeout HD.

Also it was easier to record the video running through the entire track without bumping into corners at a slower speed and also we've yet to fully tweak the craft handling. But rest assured the final craft speed will be much faster in the actual game.

We use Ogre3d as our rendering engine and built our own game engine around it.The game is currently built using open source software.

Rendering engine: Ogre3d
3D modelling package: Blender3d
2D package: GIMP

[Asayyeah]

Sounds promising !

[yapdakilla]

Thanks guys,

Each track would feature different zones which the racer must pass through, such as the dirt track zone, drainage , antigrav not only to give the game a different look but also to plan for strategies for example racing through the dust track would generate a lot of dust particles giving the player an advantage to plant mines which would be difficult for the guy behind him to spot on time. Also interactive environment props and traps for the player to use to slow down his opponents.

[Darkdrium777]

I will be watching.

[Mad-Ice]

Great! This looks very nice already. Keep up the good work.

[TheFrostE]

love the look, as AG wolf said, the nose down is a bit odd. but has some serious potential. and as the project goes further im sure you will find much support of it here at WipEoutZone :). cant wait to see more

[SaturnReturn]

I watched the video and for the most part liked it. Just a bit of feedback:

1. The track seemed a bit formulaic. A lot of it was along the lines of: driving along, here's a turn, then a straight bit, then another turn, then another straight bit. It's a destroyed city right? So I guess straight roads make sense in some ways. Especially if anyone is thinking of the standard US infrastructure model. But at the same time that raises another question...
2...Another question - In the video it looks like the area has roads that reflect current times. But it's futuristic and ships are anti-grav right? So wouldn't the whole transport concept be completely different by that point in the future, and therefore in no way resemble roads of current times? I guess what I'm saying is that the concept doesn't quite seem fully coherent and confuses my brain a little. I haven't read the blog or anything so maybe that would explain it. Maybe these are alien anti-grav ships from a different race that has found earth destroyed and has turned it into a massive race course, or something.
3. I don't like that ship too much. The racing will likely be pretty fast and require concentration. The idea of starting intently up the anus of a witchetty grub is a bit of a turn off for me, but only a bit. The rest still looks great.
4. The ship goes over jumps and doesn't barrel roll. That blew my mind man! Every jump I was hoping it would barrel roll. That's not a serious point really, just used to it from HD. But if some kind of stunt were to happen on the jumps it could be cool. Even if it didn't really effect gameplay it's nice to have the option to do something a bit flash whilst you're waiting to almost come back down to earth.
5. I had another point, but it's gone. I'm sure you will wait anxiously for the moment when I suddenly remember it :p

So yeah, there's some feedback which is hopefully a little bit constructive. I encourage other people to do the same and if there are common themes appearing then it might help you guys improve the game, which overall looks very promising. :rock:clap:rock:clap

[Darkdrium777]

Damn it guys, why didn't you post this? It's really cool :)

http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/6672/15786668aw8.jpg
http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/9538/53814050rs4.jpg
http://img299.imageshack.us/img299/363/86998607ru7.jpg
http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/7114/73460818tn1.jpg

I am watching with even more interest ;)

[TearsToShreds]

Looking great so far. I'll be keeping an eye on this. :)

[BulletWraith]

I love what you guys have done, the cyber er garbage punk feel to it, the Renders Darkdrium linked to are nice but I much Much! prefer the craft design in the clip you shared. I just hope they gout out some smog as they make their way along the track.
have you guys decided on much of a back story/pilot bio's etc?

awesomeness
-zer:donutshen

[Darkdrium777]

The first craft. http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/3638/craft1agv7.jpg

I was wondering though, are your ships going to float via an air cushion (Fictional explanation of course)? It certainly seems so, because many vents and grids and etc are pointing in various directions from under the ship. It's cool, it's a different approach to what's already been done :)

[yapdakilla]

Hi saturn:Umm..I dont think the tracks were designed with US infrastructure model in mind. Well the background story is that in the near future where holographic projection is possible (thats dev speak for "we need more colors to the level!") a massive earthquake devasted the planet's major cities. Decades later as society began to bring itself up together again a new racing league was formed based on high powered jet crafts capable of traversing any terrain. As for the craft design we wanted something a lil more organic just didnt expect it to be called a grub LOL. Not too sure bout implementing the barrel roll though. Will look into it. :D But yeah keep em crits coming, we might overlook some stuff which could be important.

Darkdrium777: lol those pics are already posted on our forums. and yeah the craft is supposed to float on high powered jets. Will be adding them engine glow and maybe some heat waves.

zer0shen: Glad you approve on our work so far. Never realized theres a cyber garbage punk theme. We have a rough idea on the background story for each craft/pilot but will be finalized later. and yeah there will be engine glowy trails and heat waves emitting from the craft's arse once we get to work on it :) Rest assured there will be more craft designs to be done for you guys to choose from and you get to pick their colors. :)

[blackwiggle]

It has promise.
It seemed to me a bit like the N64 Star Wars pod racer and Manashee from Wipeout Fusion,actually a LOT like Wipeout Fusion,especially the length of the track and the lumps or rock/concrete sticking out of the track [Not a fan of the added obstacles,frustration level gets to high and you end up not playing the game,think Fusion again],also the loading times for long tracks is a game killer now days.

Here's and idea,if it's a earthquake destroyed city try putting leaking hot air or water vents/pipes coming out of the ground that you could run over giving you a lift/boost.
You could also have a button where you pressed only whilst airborne from these vents/pipes where little glider wings would pop out of the side of the craft momentarily allowing you to glide over things [and I'm not thinking Chitty Chitty Bang Bang:lol]

The actual craft looks like something a dog would leave on your front lawn[sorry] or something some mole men might of cobbled together,it melds into the track in a lot of places,and as such I could see it being hard to see when hitting high speed.

I know you say it is based in a city,but it does seem a little claustrophobic IMHO,but that could be the colours of the track/surrounding more than anything else,but then again I'm comparing it to WOHD where everything seems wider spaced even though it actually isn't.

Just please DON'T make it so we have to do some half arsed move [linked to steering] like the barrel rolls in the current wipeouts.

Looking forward to this anyway.:+

[BulletWraith]

I think when you factor in the lights and other things emitting from the craft you will easily be able to differentiate the craft from its surroundings, I agree with BW about the boost(or perhaps shield energy or something) from vents but it definitely shouldn't be every substance coming out of the vents
(oh and love the idea of planting mines through sections of smoke)

I'm verymuch into the craft Design, the whole Grub thing is very cool, the only comment I can give as to their design is that I think they would look cool with a few thin aerial/spines coming out of them and little fumes of smoke emanating from the engines

and please for heavens sake
no barrel rolls, I'd rather lil wings coming out the sides like Black Wiggle suggested or even bug hop over take maneuver/environment avoiding boost shenanigans

oh and why the grub shape?, makes me imagine that people have been living in Fallout shelters for a couple hundred years and have made their way back to the surface like Cicadas, well Cicada's were my first thought as they have been climbing out of the soil and up the trees since its summer over here

for track design it would be nice to have some futuristic rebuilding/digging machinery to pass by, maybe drill pods that have broken the surface I dunno just ideas, I'm sure you have plenty of them, ideas that is, I feel like I'm giving to much of an opinion I just want to see and know more of this awesome looking game you both are cooking up
wow dimly lit sewer tunnels would make a great part of a track with the grubs automatically switching on some sorta bright scrap halogen headlight things

uh yes keep us updated,
no I'll just track down your forums
churr
-zer:donutshen
PS loved the Pod Racer game!
(edit: I'm very pro the grub shape/idea)

[Medusa]

Wow that looks very cool! Good work so far, one suggestion I'd make is to vary the height of the track more along the chicane-type areas, as it seems very Gran Turismo style there.
Also it made me wonder, how can there be such lovely holographic signs but there aren't any people or any new shantytown developments springing up amongst the ruins?

I hate to agree, but the craft definitely looks like a cicada...maybe let it open its wings?:lol
And the nose down perception will make it really hard/impossible to navigate cleanly around corners at a higher speed, no?

[SaturnReturn]

yapdakilla - it's all good. Just wanted to share some opinions while I had them. Overall it looks great - and obviously I could choose from more than one ship so would just choose the best looking one to my own eyes. The organic look of the ships is cool and definitely fits the backdrop. I guess with all the comments I just felt that it looked half current times and half futuristic. But I reckon I was probably just thinking too hard and the story about rebuilding after destruction makes it all a bit more coherent for me. Also, at full speed I expect the longish straights will be gone in a flash so are probably nothing to worry about.

Definitely looking forward to full speed racing videos in the future.

[stin]

This video took me ages to load it up but I decided to look elsewhere and tried to go back in a different bandwidth and I did pick your different link, now I had watched it the whole thing.

Now, I gotta admit, this video is really excellent but it`s so similar to Fusion apart from track wise.

You had done an amazing job to yourself. Good on you :):+

Keep it up.

stevie:)

[yapdakilla]

Hi guys thanks for the words of encouragement. It really means alot to a couple of fledging indies like us. :)

p/s: Currently working on a new weapon for the craft where players can also turn it 180 degress around and shoot backwards so players don't have to keep taking hits up their arse. But you gotta use the 3d holographic minimap (to be included) to gauge where your enemy is behind you.

http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/4607/craftwgunig8.th.jpg (http://img25.imageshack.us/my.php?image=craftwgunig8.jpg)

[Darkdrium777]

I've thought about it for a few days, I think it looks a little big compared to the ship... Looks like it's the ship's weight, it would ruin the aerodynamics of the ship. The model looks great, but smaller would be better I think ;)

[yapdakilla]

Hey , no problem will look into the gun size. :)

Anyways heres an update on the demo level. Its pretty much there already (except for water effects still working on it). Added lotsa wild grass and stuff to the level. The grass also serves another gameplay purpose: players can drop mines within thick bushes of grass to obscure the opponent's view.

Updated screenshots here:
http://img12.imageshack.us/gal.php?g=aftershock0306200900142.jpg

[Velocitar64]

Through the whole video i was turning my head due to the camera angle XD

Looks very impressive!

[Cerium]

Kinda looks like a cross between Jet Moto and Wipeout. Could be fairly entertaining.

Few questions though...
What's the intended plan for multiplayer?
How will multiplayer games be hosted? Will clients host other clients or will there be separate server software? How much information will the client be trusted with during multiplayer sessions (please say 'none')?
What's the plan for detecting/dealing with cheaters?


And, one thing I would love to see that would add an element to the gameplay that I've never seen in a racing game: Destructible terrain. It would be awesome to miss with a rocket-type weapon, only to knock a piece of the wall directly in front of your intended target, forcing them off their line completely (or, take out some of those rock formations in the track to improve your own line).
Of course, this would be one of those horribly difficult to implement features, so I won't count on it. :D

[yapdakilla]

Hi Cerium to answer your questions:

Q:What's the intended plan for multiplayer?
A: Basically speaking on the multiplayer gameplay side, the host will be able to host different types of solo or co op games ( 2vs2,3vs3,4vs4 or 5 vs5 teams).Where each team member will have access to only a specific weapon and special ability throughout the entire game to prevent "weapon spamming" and also to make sure each team member helps each other out.

Q:How will multiplayer games be hosted? Will clients host other clients or will there be separate server software? How much information will the client be trusted with during multiplayer sessions (please say 'none')?
A: We will be creating a lobby match making server similar to that of warcraft 3 whereby any player will be able to host the game. As for how much the client will be trusted? Neither the host nor the client can be trusted.

Q:What's the plan for detecting/dealing with cheaters?
A: Its still to be finalized but the general plan is this: We plan to allow the community to deal with cheaters if detected by the gamer's performance vote at the end of each match. For example on a scale of 0-10 (0 for cheater , 10-great sportsmanship!) , should a player be receive several 0-votes, the players account achievements stats will automatically be put on "probation mode" and reset for 3 months by a community elected moderator and this player must not be caught cheating . If any of the game moderators are caught abusing their powers, players can also pass him the low vote and the moderators privileges will be removed.

We also plan to have destructible props such lamp posts or specific concrete pillars which will fall down across the track blocking your opponents and possibly your own team mates path. If not destroyed on time players might hit it and receive damage.

[yapdakilla]

Heres a small video update which has more details to it such as wild grass pebbles fallen leaves.Craft speed has been increased 50% . File size is about 130mb .

A little explanation on the craft speed in game. The crafts in Aftershock generally do not have boosters but the way the craft speed can be increased is by controlling power distribution between the engine output and shield output.

If the player increases his craft shield output capacity (for example key "Q") energy is diverted from the craft engines and thus his craft's shields is strengthened and regenerates faster but at the cost of maximum speed. For example shield output increases 300% max but crafts max speed reduced by 50%

Similarly if the player increases his craft engine output capacity (for example key "E") energy is diverted from the shields to engines and thus his craft's maximum speed is increased but at the cost of lower shields. For example engine output increases max speed by 300% shield output reduced by 50%

Think of this of this energy distribution similar to manual control.

The video download is available at:

click on pic to download from FileFactory
http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/4770/vidlink.jpg (http://www.filefactory.com/file/af4d9fe/n/Aftershock_PagingGeoVid_60_fps_avi)

[zargz]

Love the ship, the track and the environment. :+

Whatever you do please No Barell Rolls, thanks! :-

Don't know about the 300% increase in speed coz everyone will Have to use it otherwise you won't win, for sure.
Perhaps less to gain and more to lose will make you think twice before using it like
50% shield for 5% speed increase and 85% shield for 10% speed! Would you dare do it?
I'm sure the hardcore won't even blink before using it and the more careful will think 'better safe than sorry'.

Never been a fan of any speed enhancements(speed for shield in wo3 and BRs in pure and pulse) except for speed pads.
Which leads me to another idea that struck me right now - front and back shields, kinda starwars :)

* If you are in front - ''all power to the back shields!" if you are behind - to the front. Don't choose and they'll stay 50/50.

* May be a gradual shifting like pressing "up" once will change the shields from 50/50 to 70/30. Press again 90/10. Yet again 100/0.
Press "down" and go the other way.

* An icon showing the ships front and back shields in green(full shield), yellow(ok shield), red(low shield) and black (no shield - one more hit and you are gone).


Q: Will there be any pick up/speed pads?


Good job! :):+

[SaturnReturn]

I'm not sure I like the sound of the cheat reporting thing. Couldn't it be exploited very easily if the bad sports just go round voting everyone a zero?

As for barrel rolls. I'd like to see something included. Not really as a speed boost but some kind of stunts just to make things look more interesting for any of us with short attention spans. Otherwise any long jump is just waiting time while you come back down.

[Mu5]

Interesting - perhaps when the ship is in the air you have to pitch it up/down in order to get the best jump. At the point of take off, you could calculate a parabolic arc for the specific speed the pilot is travelling. In the air the the player has to try and match that arc - the closer you are the faster you go :)

[yapdakilla]

Hi guys, we've just launched our own twitter site at http://twitter.com/LiquidRockGames where we'll be posting our game development updates on Aftershock live!

[Darkdrium777]

Now I can bookmark your website on my PC too (had only done it on the laptop)
;)

[Koleax]

I like it. It's post-apocalyptic and still has more trees than Wipeout HD.

I'm just not going to give that up, lol.

[abukii]

Thats some excellent work there. As an aspiring dev, I know the woes involved. Keep us posted for sure. Cheers!:+

[yapdakilla]

Hi guys we've decided to change the direction of Project Aftershock to TRACKVERSE which is essentially a track building game which will feature different building block themes such as city theme, post apocalyptic theme, sci-fi theme, etc.. for players to build their own tracks and share with friends. The player will also be able to mix n match different themes together to create even whackier tracks. ;D. Each theme will come with its own set of vehicles and a couple of gameplay modes such as normal race and co-op race will be featured in the early alpha release which we hope to release in a couple months time *fingers crossed*

Here are some vids on the tracks done using the building blocks.

Post apocalyptic theme track demo:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJswM-nHbrU

[yapdakilla]

City theme track demo:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUSYb2PcaPA

[yapdakilla]

City Theme and Post Apocalyptic Theme Mashup:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yXMoJSu_l8

[stin]

That`s pretty good stuff you just had created this new game. When it will be possible to go online?

stevie:)

[yapdakilla]

That`s pretty good stuff you just had created this new game. When it will be possible to go online?

stevie:)

Hi, well we hope to release the initial alpha release of the game in a couple of months to showcase the basic concepts of the track building part. The game will still be rough around the edges and we'll keep on polishing as we move towards the final version of the game. :)