PURE ONYX February 2022 Progress Update!

Hey again guys!

We have more to show off than usual this month I think, as this month marks the beginning of the combat overhaul.  This means we have new moves concepts for Onyx to show off, on top of those for two new upcoming enemies. 

We also have a lot to discuss in terms of planned changes to the combat system, both near-term and down the road.  In addition to functional changes such as control adjustments, we're improving combat animations as well, so be sure to read the details below.

Regarding art, I'm showing some early work on Malise, as even though she's in the works for the XXXIV project she will also appear in Pure Onyx ^-^.  

Kame has completed the Muscle Lady boss sculpt, and TK has completed the low poly + rig for the Ghoul enemies, though I haven't had time to add materials/textures in Unity so that we can present them.

We also have early progress to show from one of the large background scenes that Xxoom is painting for the Labs stage, and a lot of concepts from Limbo for the Spider Caverns beneath the Labs. 

Check out the full list of topics we're discussing today below!

Topics for this Update!

• February Release Details
• Malise Sculpt WIP!
• Combat Overhaul Overview!
• Combat Overhaul Phases 1 & 1.5
• Onyx Move Concepts
• Muscle Lady Sculpt Complete!
• Muscle Lady Animation Concepts
• Splicer Brute Animation Concepts
• Labs Background Painting WIP and Tile Concepts
• Spider Cavern Concepts

February Release Details

Tentative Changelog (** indicates items added or being added since the February 16 Inner Circle test release):

Important Fixes / Changes

• ** Controls will revert to defaults due to changes being made to base controls.
• Reverted camera motion edit from last month as it caused a nasty issue where camera would move much faster than Onyx at low FPS.

H Scenes

• Added second half of Onyx with FemCop + MaleCop H scene back into the game with reworked transition.
• Added reworked animations in the middle of Onyx with FemCop H scene back into the game.
• Added intro animations for the Onyx with Wraxe (Standing) and FemCop with Wraxe (Standing) scenes back into the game.
• Fixed "optional" post-H Scene liquid on Onyx during H scenes.  This is the sticky strands / build-up between her legs, etc.

Combat Overhaul (Ongoing)

• ** Onyx's jab now has slight knockback to mitigate infinite jabbing (temporary fix until we add a standing combo)
• ** Onyx's combo chains such as Jab, Right Hook, Backhand, Knee no longer push enemies to the side during knockback (experimental)
• ** Heavy Punch (power attack) animation no longer looks glitchy if Onyx turns around directly after performing it.
• ** Added a "Mod" key/button (CTRL for keyboard, L1 for controller) that modifies the behavior of Punch and Kick controls when held. 
• ** New controls for Stomp, now performed by hold Mod + tap Kick.
• ** New controls for Power Attack, now performed by hold Mod + tap Punch.
• ** Zoom In/Zoom Out default keyboard controls changed from Shift/CTRL to Q/A
• Updated all 22 of Onyx's combat animations + World Map scene animation to use her latest rig.
• Added Onyx's optimized (LOD) model during gameplay and on World Map scene.  Gives a very significant performance boost at virtually no visual quality loss.
• Added breakout animation to the player's Idle state (Onyx will now perform a new animation if she's idle for a while)

Animations

• ** Added new/improved Dash Skid animation for Onyx
• ** Added dynamic physics to Onyx's boobers/jacket/hair/dangly bits during combat.
• ** Added baked physics to half of Onyx's existing combat anims where it was missing (only existed on breasts/main hair previously).
• ** Onyx's clothes now blow in the wind on the world map.

Physics

• Onyx/actors now slide off of un-land-able surfaces intelligently/quickly. AKA we built a yeet machine.
• Onyx/actors can no longer get stuck in the air for extended periods between other actors and static objects such as walls/chests.
• Balanced actor repulsion on X and Z axes so actors nudge each other at visually similar rates to the side as into background/foreground.
• Fixed a bug with the collider for the actor repel shell not respecting facing direction because it isn't under the rotation root.
• Fixed worms falling instantly to the ground on spawn.
• Knockback force is no longer incorrectly added to Knockdown force.

Other Fixes / Changes

• ** Updated game's versioning system/format
• ** Updated default control graphics under "Controls" menu to match the new changes.
• Completed interactables overhaul in preparation for Splicer Looter enemy (enemies can pick up / interact with objects).
• Bunnies in background H scenes (and background scenes in general) no longer generate offscreen enemy warning indicators.
• Fixed worms moving/attacking while facing backwards after spawning.
• Fixed visual glitch entailing worms flipping back and forth when the game is paused or the console is open.
• Fixed enemy spawn issue where summoned enemies didn't need to be defeated before player could progress / exit map.
• Added temporary change that pushes enemies away and should make it less likely for Onyx to be bonked immediately after H scenes / grapples. Permanent fix will be better and won't require repositioning enemies.

Malise Sculpt WIP!

Demonu, Kame and I have been working on the Malise sculpt and design a lot over the past week and a half or so.  After literally a dozen versions on her face I think we've settled on one.  The goal was to make her as close as possible to the previous versions, but stylize her to fit in with Pure Onyx characters, since not only will she be represented in XXXIV but will also be appearing in PO.  The hair is still a major WIP, and Kame has gotten started on the body but has a long way to go.  We should have some more progress to show early next month for the XXXIV update!

Combat Overhaul Overview!

The February 16 release marks the beginning of the much awaited Combat Overhaul!  This overhaul is more like the beginning of a longer-term combat roadmap that I currently have divided into 5 phases.  

• Phase 1 (Complete) - Update combat to optimized Onyx model / rig 
• Phase 1.5 - New idle anim + anim physics + general combat improvements 
• Phase 2 - New moves (dodges, combos, etc.) & combat features
• Phase 2.5 - Improved verticality + aerial moves / flying enemies
• Phase 3 - Player grabs / throws
• Phase 4 - Secondary (temporary) weapons / items
• Phase 5 - Biomonster / vehicle riding

Phase 1 is complete as of February 16, and we're already started on Phase 1.5.  The order is somewhat flexible after Phase 2, so it's not set in stone, but over the next couple of months I'd like to be well into Phase 2.  

Anyways, check out the next section for details on the first couple of phases!

Combat Overhaul Phases 1 & 1.5

The goal of the now complete Phase 1 was to bring Onyx's combat rig and model up to date with her H scene rig/model.  Onyx's rig is now on version 80, whereas until the last release combat was still using version 39-ish.  We simply couldn't take time out to update all 22 of her combat anims every time a major change occurred.  Now that her rig has the features we need for H stuff however, we've gone ahead and done just that.

Improved Performance

Compatibility with the latest rig means we can also utilize Onyx's highly optimized LOD model for a big performance boost (+20% FPS for me in heavy areas -- likely higher for low-mid tier systems) at virtually no quality loss.  It also means features like her abdomen and thighs will deform much better.

Phase 1.5 focuses on improvements we can make with existing moves and features -- both visual and functional.  

Improved Controls 

Let's start with functional improvements!  We plan on slowly migrating controls to the final planned design. The first big change to expect is the addition of a "Mod" key/button, that when held changes the behavior of the face buttons (or corresponding keys).  For now, the two moves that take advantage of this are Stomp and Power Attack (Heavy Punch):

• Stomp: Hold Mod + Tap Kick
• Power Attack: Hold Mod + Tap Punch

By default, the Mod key is CTRL, or L1 on controllers.  This should make Stomp much easier to line up / perform, and will remove accidental Power Attacks that leave Onyx vulnerable.  The Mod key will also be the "Aim" key once ranged temporary weapons are added down the road.

Due to these changes, Zoom In / Zoom Out on keyboard will be moved to Q / A (on QWERTY) by default.  This will make Shift available as the Dodge key once we get to Phase 2.  

Improved Enemy AI

Another area that's getting attention is AI.  Mr. Kittyhawk is adding an "Ability Manager" to enemies that will allow their attacks to be conditionally disabled.  This means we can disable specific attacks while Onyx is getting up, or just after she escapes a grapple, to prevent annoying spamming like we see now.   

Knockback Revisions

We're likely changing knockback so that only combo finishers and AoEs knock enemies away from Onyx on the depth axis.  This means enemies will no longer slip out of Onyx's lane while she's mid-combo.  Up till now we couldn't change this on a per-attack basis, but with the recent addition of Attacks to the game database we can now add this feature.

Animation Physics

Now for the visual improvements!  With the combat rig updated, we're finally adding physics throughout all of Onyx's combat animations, so expect more jiggles and hair/jacket movement soon.  We're also making a variety of fixes to anims for her current moves.  

New Idle Animations + Breakout Anims

The biggest visual change in Phase 1.5 will be new idle animations.  I think most agree the current one is sort of awkward, and we have a few new designs.  I'm using plural because Onyx now has what's called a breakout animation system, where every so often she will break out of her current loop and change.  We've added one breakout anim where, if left idle for a while, she will stretch and fluff her hair.  We plan on adding an additional step where she will shift her combat pose every few seconds to look less mechanical.

Onyx Move Concepts

Here are some of the planned new moves for Onyx once we get into Phase 2 of the combat overhaul!  Many of these moves will be integrated via the game's skill system eventually, which we will give info on later.  These moves are designed to increase Onyx's mobility, extend combos, rework issues with existing combat features such as infinite jab, add AoEs for desperation style attacks, and more.

Here are some of the moves shown in the concept artwork... keep in mind there are many more to come:

• Backstep
• Reworked Idle animations
• Aerial Dodge Left/Right
• AoE #1 and #2 (improved range)
• Reworked Kick Combo
• Combo Extensions
• Double Jump
• Aerial starters / launch attacks
• Jump attacks that quickly return Onyx to the ground + hit grounded enemies
• Shoulder Bash (dash attack)

Muscle Lady Sculpt Complete!

Kame and Demonu have finished the Muscle Lady boss sculpt!  Demonu finished her final hair model early this month, and Kame has been working hard to finish her body and outfit, which looks great!  See the image gallery for a look at her wrestler's cloak design, which is what she will wear before the boss encounter -- tossing it aside once the fight begins :D.

Muscle Lady Animation Concepts

Limbo has completed a bunch of potential attack animation concepts for the Muscle Lady boss!  You can check out the full size sheets in the image gallery attached to this post!

Splicer Brute Animation Concepts

Limbo's not finished yet!  He knocked out a bunch of potential move concepts for the Splicer Brute as well ^-^!

Labs Background Painting WIP and Tile Concepts

Xxoom and Limbo have been working hard on background and tile concept artwork for the Labs stage!  

Xxoom is working on a large scale set of paintings for a multi-layer parallax background that will be used for the Skywalk section of the stage.  It's very WIP, but I made a couple parallax test animations to look for issues and figured I'd show them off here :D.  I've shown some of the more completed work in close-up detail!  

 As for the tile concepts, here I'm showing an assortment of Wall and Gate tiles Limbo has made for the Labs stage.  These are tiles that allow the player to enter into a door or gate in the background of the level to branch the map, as well as walls that act as terminus points for maps, forcing the player to backtrack or use a door in the background to continue.

Spider Cavern Concepts

The Spider Caverns are a new section of the Labs stage that's accessed via a giant freight elevator partway through the level.  Limbo began concepts for it early this month and I've assembled a collection of them in the gallery of this post to show off :D.