DDD113
30th December 2013, 09:09 PM
Hello to all, this is a thread for development work on the possible SSGX game mode Velocity Challenge (name subject to change), which is a mode based upon survival during constant acceleration with energy drain. The current rules (also subject to change) will be outlined here:
The Velocity ship (previously referenced as the Zone ship) will start on the first loading platform of an eight player starting gird, like a normal track. However, the tracks designated for Velocity Challenge will not be the normal ones, but tracks that are specially designed for the mode, which will be wider, and have mysterious landscapes and structures bathed in vague color textures, similar to the Zone tracks of WipEout Pure and Pulse. The race monitor then begins the countdown via Blocky, and the player's ship begins it's automatic acceleration to sub-Alpha speeds. Once the ship reaches that speed shortly after the start of the race, it does not continue to accelerate for the rest of the lap, remaining at that sub-Alpha speed.
Each lap in a Velocity Challenge event is known as a stage, and speeds only increase with the start of a new stage, so once the players ship crosses the start/finish line, it quickly accelerates only a small amount to the next stage, and then maintains that speed for the rest of the lap, and the same happens at the start of the next lap. There is no way to slow down in this game save for airbrake use and turning, but a double-airbrake maneuver is ineffective; the only way to slow is by turning the ship.
A very distinguishing feature of Velocity Challenge is the fact that your energy is constantly draining. You can replenish your energy by hitting speed pads, which replenish 1 energy point per pad, and performing barrel rolls, with each roll worth 3 energy points replenished (values subject to change). Keep in mind that in SSGX, multiple rolls are possible from a single jump, adding to the risk vs. reward mentality that makes this mode unique. In addition to the speed pads and barrel roll replenishing methods, the player will also receive 10 energy points every time they cross the start finish line, adding to the appeal of a fast lap if the player's energy is dwindling. This also creates the debate of just how far out of the racing line the player is willing to go to hit speed pads, which while they may restore 1 energy point, a completed lap restores 10, so the faster that lap is completed, the faster the player's energy is restored.
Basically, this mode is about survival but also about risk vs. reward situations. For example, you wouldn't want to hit a speed pad just to regain 1 energy if you knew you would subsequently hit a wall that would force you to lose the same amount or more. However, depending on your energy level, you might be willing to take more risks in order to stay alive, and these are risks that become more dangerous as speeds increase, and since there is no stage limit in this mode, it will eventually become to fast to react to, let alone replenish your draining energy.
In the end, the player is scored based on how many stages they complete, and their speed pads, barrel rolls, and perfect laps will also be recorded and displayed in the results screen for the reference of the player. This mode will provide a comprehensive speed challenge and a comprehensive precision challenge in one, making it a fairly difficult, yet very rewarding mode for experienced players.
Now, on the subject of the tracks themselves, it has already stated that they will be wider than standard SSGX tracks (I'm thinking the width of the mag-hills section on Moa Therma in WOHD), and will contain many more speed pads and jumps than a normal SSGX track in order to give the player adequate chances to replenish their energy, and more chances to take risks in hopes of success. I have currently outlined one Velocity Challenge track, christened Alnitak, named after the triple-star in the constellation Orion. It has four jumps and a whopping total of 52 speed pads, adequate for this mode although it does seem like a large number at first glance. The track designs and such are at the bottom of the post.
The main open space in Velocity Challenge tracks will be occupied by puffy clouds and haze surrounding the track. The clouds will generally be seen in 3 generic variations: light, medium dark, and dark. The dark clouds will be very dark grey, with a little bit of color around the edges (colors such as green and blue, which will also be dark in a dark cloud section). The medium dark clouds will be a medium grey shade, right between white and black, with more color variations mixed in but still not very much. These will be colors like blue purple. Also keep in mind that the shades of grey will variate in brightness as will the colors in both brightness and tone in order to give a mysterious, wondrous look to them. Finally, the light clouds will be white/very light grey with color accents such as light blue, purple, and pink, with more color appearing within the white and grey. The amount of each color may be altered for different sections of track, and sometimes colors not standard to each brightness of clouds may be inputted.
Also, the Velocity challenge tracks will contain ghostly buildings. These buildings will be very generically textured with medium to dark grey windows, and main exterior colors that include white, light grey, light green, light blue, and light purple. The windows will always be darker, while the rest of the exterior will be lighter, except maybe for accent colors on trim. These building will resemble those in WipEout's Zone mode, with little detail to their textures, and a smooth, sleek appearance. These descriptions also apply to tunnels and walls that may appear near the track if not obscured by clouds.
In addition, there may be ghostly landforms surrounding Velocity Challenge tracks, such as cliffs, among other possibilities. These will also be very generic, almost looking like the PS1 cliffsides seen at Altima VII, except with the Velocity Challenge ghostly appearance to them, meaning that they follow the same sort of color palettes as the buildings, except the landforms will generally be lighter colored possibly including dark accents.
I know this explanation has covered a lot, and I don't expect everyone to understand all of it, it's hard to explain it all in words and even harder to depict with pen and paper, but once I am taught modelling I could begin to work on some Velocity Challenge tracks to demonstrate some of what I mean by the descriptions I gave. Anyway, to the rest of the dev team, please give me some feedback on what you think of my idea to revive this old mode idea, and the track concept I have created for it.
Here is the track overview, including cloud descriptions, trackside object layouts, speed pads, and elevation change symbols (the arrows and the equal sign).
8379
My poorly-drawn Alnitak logo:
8380
And my again poor drawings of wall shape and appearance:
8381
Here is a general idea of the coloring I envisioned for Alnitak (notice the walls do not have the shape I drew above, I decided not to attempt to recreate that for simplicity reasons in this image.
8382
Also notice that it is made to look like the colored lines are slightly raised up, which is the idea that I was going for.
Edit: Here is the overview track segment texture, the light effect is just to show that the track will have a smooth and shiny finish and that the accent color lines will be raised up slightly from the level of the standard track.
8417
I will post the track texture overview for turns shortly, once it is designed and perfected.
Edit Again: Well it's not perfect, but it will give you an idea for what I am thinking, so here it is:
8418
The light effect is just to show the raised lines and shine again, and this applies to a somewhat narrow corner section, as the accent lines are a little bit too big and close together when compared to the straight segment model to be of the same width, but you get the idea, with the thicker white line on the outside being the main change in the corners.
The Velocity ship (previously referenced as the Zone ship) will start on the first loading platform of an eight player starting gird, like a normal track. However, the tracks designated for Velocity Challenge will not be the normal ones, but tracks that are specially designed for the mode, which will be wider, and have mysterious landscapes and structures bathed in vague color textures, similar to the Zone tracks of WipEout Pure and Pulse. The race monitor then begins the countdown via Blocky, and the player's ship begins it's automatic acceleration to sub-Alpha speeds. Once the ship reaches that speed shortly after the start of the race, it does not continue to accelerate for the rest of the lap, remaining at that sub-Alpha speed.
Each lap in a Velocity Challenge event is known as a stage, and speeds only increase with the start of a new stage, so once the players ship crosses the start/finish line, it quickly accelerates only a small amount to the next stage, and then maintains that speed for the rest of the lap, and the same happens at the start of the next lap. There is no way to slow down in this game save for airbrake use and turning, but a double-airbrake maneuver is ineffective; the only way to slow is by turning the ship.
A very distinguishing feature of Velocity Challenge is the fact that your energy is constantly draining. You can replenish your energy by hitting speed pads, which replenish 1 energy point per pad, and performing barrel rolls, with each roll worth 3 energy points replenished (values subject to change). Keep in mind that in SSGX, multiple rolls are possible from a single jump, adding to the risk vs. reward mentality that makes this mode unique. In addition to the speed pads and barrel roll replenishing methods, the player will also receive 10 energy points every time they cross the start finish line, adding to the appeal of a fast lap if the player's energy is dwindling. This also creates the debate of just how far out of the racing line the player is willing to go to hit speed pads, which while they may restore 1 energy point, a completed lap restores 10, so the faster that lap is completed, the faster the player's energy is restored.
Basically, this mode is about survival but also about risk vs. reward situations. For example, you wouldn't want to hit a speed pad just to regain 1 energy if you knew you would subsequently hit a wall that would force you to lose the same amount or more. However, depending on your energy level, you might be willing to take more risks in order to stay alive, and these are risks that become more dangerous as speeds increase, and since there is no stage limit in this mode, it will eventually become to fast to react to, let alone replenish your draining energy.
In the end, the player is scored based on how many stages they complete, and their speed pads, barrel rolls, and perfect laps will also be recorded and displayed in the results screen for the reference of the player. This mode will provide a comprehensive speed challenge and a comprehensive precision challenge in one, making it a fairly difficult, yet very rewarding mode for experienced players.
Now, on the subject of the tracks themselves, it has already stated that they will be wider than standard SSGX tracks (I'm thinking the width of the mag-hills section on Moa Therma in WOHD), and will contain many more speed pads and jumps than a normal SSGX track in order to give the player adequate chances to replenish their energy, and more chances to take risks in hopes of success. I have currently outlined one Velocity Challenge track, christened Alnitak, named after the triple-star in the constellation Orion. It has four jumps and a whopping total of 52 speed pads, adequate for this mode although it does seem like a large number at first glance. The track designs and such are at the bottom of the post.
The main open space in Velocity Challenge tracks will be occupied by puffy clouds and haze surrounding the track. The clouds will generally be seen in 3 generic variations: light, medium dark, and dark. The dark clouds will be very dark grey, with a little bit of color around the edges (colors such as green and blue, which will also be dark in a dark cloud section). The medium dark clouds will be a medium grey shade, right between white and black, with more color variations mixed in but still not very much. These will be colors like blue purple. Also keep in mind that the shades of grey will variate in brightness as will the colors in both brightness and tone in order to give a mysterious, wondrous look to them. Finally, the light clouds will be white/very light grey with color accents such as light blue, purple, and pink, with more color appearing within the white and grey. The amount of each color may be altered for different sections of track, and sometimes colors not standard to each brightness of clouds may be inputted.
Also, the Velocity challenge tracks will contain ghostly buildings. These buildings will be very generically textured with medium to dark grey windows, and main exterior colors that include white, light grey, light green, light blue, and light purple. The windows will always be darker, while the rest of the exterior will be lighter, except maybe for accent colors on trim. These building will resemble those in WipEout's Zone mode, with little detail to their textures, and a smooth, sleek appearance. These descriptions also apply to tunnels and walls that may appear near the track if not obscured by clouds.
In addition, there may be ghostly landforms surrounding Velocity Challenge tracks, such as cliffs, among other possibilities. These will also be very generic, almost looking like the PS1 cliffsides seen at Altima VII, except with the Velocity Challenge ghostly appearance to them, meaning that they follow the same sort of color palettes as the buildings, except the landforms will generally be lighter colored possibly including dark accents.
I know this explanation has covered a lot, and I don't expect everyone to understand all of it, it's hard to explain it all in words and even harder to depict with pen and paper, but once I am taught modelling I could begin to work on some Velocity Challenge tracks to demonstrate some of what I mean by the descriptions I gave. Anyway, to the rest of the dev team, please give me some feedback on what you think of my idea to revive this old mode idea, and the track concept I have created for it.
Here is the track overview, including cloud descriptions, trackside object layouts, speed pads, and elevation change symbols (the arrows and the equal sign).
8379
My poorly-drawn Alnitak logo:
8380
And my again poor drawings of wall shape and appearance:
8381
Here is a general idea of the coloring I envisioned for Alnitak (notice the walls do not have the shape I drew above, I decided not to attempt to recreate that for simplicity reasons in this image.
8382
Also notice that it is made to look like the colored lines are slightly raised up, which is the idea that I was going for.
Edit: Here is the overview track segment texture, the light effect is just to show that the track will have a smooth and shiny finish and that the accent color lines will be raised up slightly from the level of the standard track.
8417
I will post the track texture overview for turns shortly, once it is designed and perfected.
Edit Again: Well it's not perfect, but it will give you an idea for what I am thinking, so here it is:
8418
The light effect is just to show the raised lines and shine again, and this applies to a somewhat narrow corner section, as the accent lines are a little bit too big and close together when compared to the straight segment model to be of the same width, but you get the idea, with the thicker white line on the outside being the main change in the corners.