Inner Circle Update for June 29 2020!

Hey guys!

This Inner Circle update turned out to be bigger than expected, so I apologize for sliding in so close to the end of the month with it. There's a lot to show, so I'll get right into it!

Topics for this Update

• Splicer Boss Progress!
• Splicer Boss Animations WIP
• Onyx Rig Updates 
• FemCop Sculpt Finished!
• New RoboBadCop Boss Concepts
• Ubercharge's Environment Progress

Splicer Boss Progress!

The Splicer Boss is finally ready for animations! He's proven to be the most challenging enemy from a technical perspective yet, but I think we're really zeroing in on making these shaders pop. 

I've been studying Arc System Works' style for Guilty Gear Strive, and based on that I added a new technique to the shader process to get better edge highlights on materials like leather and metal. The result is a much better sense of depth without sacrificing the cel-shaded aesthetic.

Splicer Boss Animations WIP 

We've worked most of the kinks out of the boss rig, and I've begun working on his combat animation set.  We've also had the opportunity to start working out the details of the weapon system, since we're treating the wraxe as an actual weapon instead of part of his character.  This is one of the early steps in "equipping" gear and swapping models/animation sets appropriately for Onyx/enemies. 

Onyx Rig Updates 

TK has finished rigging Onyx's genitals, and has prepared a lengthy demo video that shows some of the capabilities, as well as the automated joint corrective morphs in action.  You can find the video here! 

FemCop Sculpt Finished! 

Happy Otter finished up the FemCop enemy sculpt at the end of last week, and made a set of renders for you to check out :D.  I'll have a preview of her inside Unity soon! 

New RoboBadCop Boss Concepts 

The new Police faction boss has a lot going on, and Limbo's been working on additional sketches so we don't grind gears too much with 3D revisions. This time, he's focused on the accessories such as the jet packs, missile launcher, ammo feeders, and fist cannons.  

The boss fight should become a bit more clear here, as these new sketches show a range of capabilities and attacks.  To elaborate, some of this guy's combat features include:

• Combos combining fist attacks with his retractable cannons
• Aerial and ground modes  
• Ability to glide along ground via booster jets (think Armored Core)
• Missile pod delayed AoE attack (laser guidance indicators appear on ground before they rain down)
• And what you're all interested in I'm sure -- mass field holographic restraints (AKA photon density fields (AKA "magic"))) for H attacks ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) 

I plan to animate his jet packs so they can obtain different configurations that help the player better read his stances.  Since this would be a pain to design with mechanical joints, I came up with the concept of these joining to him via superconducting electromagnets.  This allows them to float freely.  

As for H attacks, we have a lot of leeway here, but I think an aerial H scene is a must.  Let me know what ideas you come up with :D.

Ubercharge's Environment Progress 

Ubercharge has been working on the night version of the Mech Bay map tileset this month.  He still has to render out the tileset, but I've posted a finished quality tiling example, as well as a big board of WIP preview renders and concepts we've done!