PURE ONYX September 2022 Progress Update!

Hey guys!

The next Pure Onyx release will be on the 30th!  

This release will add FemCop's 2x Vioreaper scene, as well as a lot of improvements to Onyx's.  We've added a Slide ability in place of Stomp, which pushes Onyx forward and hits downed enemies, standing enemies and objects, in addition to small/low enemies like Larva.  We've also implemented what I believe will be the last major controls change, as the control designs I've worked on this month for future abilities and potentially future playable characters is looking very good I think.

For the progress update this month, I want to give special attention to combat, controls, and the additional (potentially) playable characters, Malise and Neon.

As usual we have a bunch of progress on upcoming characters and artwork to show off as well, so let's get into it :D.

Topics for this Update!

• September Release Details
• Police Boss Model Complete!
• Splicer DK-Doll Progress
• Character Sheets for Onyx, Malise, and Neon
• Slide Attack + Control Changes
• Malise Pose Concepts
• Background Artwork

September Release Details

Tentative Changelog (** indicates items added or being added since the September 24 Inner Circle test release):

H Scene

• ** Added FemCop w/ 2x Vioreaper scene
• ** Added improved Vioreaper rig for much better tail weights
• Vastly improved Onyx w/ 2x Vioreaper H scene animations
• Fixed shorts clipping throughout Onyx w/ 2x Vioreaper H scene with new and improved shorts rig

Combat

• ** Input life lasted too long on Dodge when no direction input was supplied.  Tapping dodge multiple times will no longer queue it twice
• ** Sliding through barrels no longer lifts Onyx up into the air.
• Added Slide attack (Down + Kick) to Onyx and removed Stomp. Launches Onyx forward and hits low/small or downed enemies.
• Defend is now Hold CTRL (keyboard) L1 (controller) by default.
• Onyx can now change facing directions while defending.
• Power Attack is now D (keyboard) R2 (controller) by default.
• Pressing Dodge without holding a direction will now dodge backwards, but maintain facing direction (effectively a backstep).
• Stamina now stops regenerating during attacks, and abilities that use Stamina
• Fixed issue causing stale input to fire unintended attacks when Defend ends.
• Trap damage no longer stops movement on actors during attacks/abilities
• Onyx can now jump directly after dodging without glitching out.
• Can no longer break Jump Kick by dodging during its animation
• Can now interrupt the ending of the Dodge animation with jump and attacks (less "sticking" after landing).

Stage

• ** Enemies no longer freeze on Game Over.
• ** Pre-detonating explosive barrels no longer disappear when a grapple occurs
• ** Fixed collision issue causing jittering when enemies/Onyx moved against pre-detonating explosive barrels
• ** Explosive barrels now shake camera and emit a flash of light on characters/ground when they explode.
• ** Flames from explosive barrels now begin animating on a randomized frame.
• Fire from explosive barrels no longer becomes invisible if player moves away (offscreen), then returns.
• Fire from explosive barrels now properly lights characters

Audio

• Added Dodge SFX for Onyx
• Audio balance edits so SFX no longer shift between left/right speakers nearly instantly
• When hit by fire from explosive barrels, the Hit sound is no longer ultra loud

UI / Misc

• ** Removed "Testing" input action from the Key Bindings screen in Options
• Cleaning the player character in Gallery now works again.
• "Destroy Item" now works again in Inventory
• Updated Controls graphics for new default keys
• Updated Help graphic to show new controls

Police Boss Model Complete!

Kame has completed the Police Boss sculpt!  Last time we showed him he was mostly there, but as is obvious he has a ton of details.  We made some proportion adjustments, especially to his arms, and reworked his head some.  Kame added the decals and sculpted remaining details, and finished his fist covers so that they can now close and open (or will be able to once it's rigged).

I'm very excited to see this guy in cel shading, as he looked great even in the early tests a long while back!

Splicer DK-Doll Progress

Before we get into combat stuff, we have new progress on the Splicer DK-Doll (futa version of the FK-Doll) :D!  Demonu wasn't able to make his usual sculpting progress this month because of the war creating some difficulties for him, but I'm super pleased with the designs he's come up with.

Earlier this month we decided her bodysuit needs some details, and Limbo created the concept designs above to give Demonu ideas for some elements he could use.  I later requested a change to the top since I think the type shown in his sculpts works better with the bodysuit than the bikini top.  Let us know which of the 3D versions you like :D.  We will likely merge the two with elements from each, so suggestions are welcome ^-^.

Keep in mind the color isn't set in stone, and some elements will likely change.  I'd like FK-Doll and DK-Doll to have distinguishable palettes by default, as we have done with the Bunny Girls.

Character Sheets for Onyx, Malise, and Neon

"Character Sheets" are my best attempt to diagram and describe a combination of the potential playable characters' controls & future controls, abilities, equipment, and playstyles in one place.  These documents contain many of the long-term plans I have for combat, controls, and mechanics unique to each playable character.

I encourage every player that's had negative feedback about combat to check these out, as many of the issues I've heard about are addressed within, and are simply waiting to be implemented.  

Early this month I spent about a week remaking the sheets in Google Sheets and performing the latest edits.  This is I think the fifth major iteration of these documents, and I'm very pleased with the progress that's been made on this pass!  They're also now much easier to present as images.  

To see the full character sheet images above, expand them in the gallery and save them to your PC or open them in a new window and then zoom.  Alternatively, you can check out the actual spreadsheets here:

• Onyx Character Sheet 
• Malise Character Sheet 
• Neon Character Sheet 

Slide Attack + Control Changes

We've added a Slide ability in place of Stomp, which pushes Onyx forward and hits downed enemies, standing enemies and objects, in addition to small/low enemies like Larva.  Setting up for this attack is much easier than Stomp, so we've reverted the control to Down + Kick, as this pattern fits with later aerial attacks that will be triggered by Up + Punch/Kick. 

You'll see that the controls changes we've made in the test builds correlate directly with the long term plans in the Character Sheets shown above.  

This month, removal of Stomp meant we could ditch the "Mod" key design (the key that changed the function of Punch and Kick) and add a "Specials" button that, when combined with directional input, will allow for all of the characters' major unique abilities to be performed.  Special abilities that are unique to Aim Stance for the characters with ranged primary weapons gives further variety to this model.

Lastly, with the keys freed up from the above, we've shifted Defend to its own key, giving the capability to change facing direction while defending, and to perform Dodge without needing directional input.  Dodging in this manner maintains facing direction, the usefulness of which will be evident later with ranged weapons.

Malise Pose Concepts

It's looking more and more likely that Malise and Neon will be eventually be added as playable characters -- largely because the gameplay design for them is shaping up to be pretty awesome >_> (see the Character Sheets in the topic above).  As such, Limbo has worked a lot on Malise pose and animation concepts this month!  This isn't even all of them @_@.

Labs Stage Design - Skywalk

Xxoom has finished painting the distant megastructures for the Labs Skywalk background :D.  These are each on independent layers, so we should get a pretty amazing 3D effect when we set up parallax for the background.  As shown in earlier iterations, the layers tile, so we should be able to use this across multiple long maps and vary up the distant background some.    

Labs Stage Design - Caverns

Zydaline has pushed ahead on the caverns maps and blocked out two new sections.  I've shown one above -- the Spider Nest, which still needs a lot of gooping up.  She's also progressed further on the cavern map that I showed an early version of a while back, and is waiting for a parallax test from me before continuing.  

On that note, also have done parallax testing on the crystal cave map, which you can see above :D.  There are some sections that need filled in, but this one is approaching completion!