neko.works
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DevLog #87: July 2023
🕑 Added 2023-07-31 15:23:40 +0000 UTCHi everyone, here's what I've been up to this month ๐
Night Riders
This month marks its 10th anniversary - it was first released on Android in July 2013 ๐
I've made this game in 2 months, though most of that was working on the custom game engine in Java / OpenGL ES 2 - built from scratch ๐
Though, I've actually started working on the Night Riders series event before that, in 2011 ๐
This is also a custom game engine, but running on Windows x86 / C++ / DirectX 9.
It even had camera change support, a feature that will only appear in the series in the upcoming game ๐
Though, I abandoned this prototype as I felt the gameplay wasn't right.
Anyway, I really wanted to release "Super Night Riders S1" this month for the event, but there's still a bit of work left ๐
Super Night Riders S1
Again, focused on it this month too.
The road system is getting close to final, with many cool new features.
Here's a SEGA Daytona USA style loop circuit, as it's now possible to have inclined roads.
It's also possible to change the assets colors, here's the forest and sakura stages with an autumn feel.
I've mentioned it last time, but here's the sea system in action.
You can see the wheels suspensions reacting to the changes of height, as the sea is implemented like a road.
Here's a level design thing I wanted to implement for a while.
First saw it on TV as a kid in a game: Road Blaster / Road Avenger (LD Arcade / SEGA MegaCD).
That game was actually in FMV - just a bunch of videos, yet I thought it was a revolutionary 3D game leveraging the new amazing power of the MegaCD ๐
The idea is having a busy road, for instance with a truck, and going up on a cliff / side of the road to pass it.
The road system is so much powerful that it's now possible to design various bits like this in the stages.
Here's work-in-progress 3D models of Alice and Yoko in lowpoly style.
So yeah, the classic visual style option is coming back in S1 ๐
This style is inspired by the SEGA Model 1 arcade / SEGA 32X console.
Iconic games in this style would be Virtua Fighters, and Virtua Racing.
Finally, here's a 4K video in the sakura stage showcasing a concave road.
This is a non-public video so please do not share:
Light Fairytale Episode 4
Yeah, that's a 4, not 3 ๐
I've commissioned the new cover artwork and received the first draft.
Sorry for the tease but I think I shouldn't reveal it yet.
I'll post it here once Episode 3 is released ๐
Dark Fairytale
Worked on one cut of the intro Anime.
Only animated the heart and mouth so far, the eyes will also be animated.
This is the monthly 4K wallpaper available in the attachments bellow.
I've also made a portrait version that you could use on your phone.
Here's how it looks like on mine - The Google Pixel 6a.
What's Next
I've been focusing on "Super Night Riders S1" since a few months now but unfortunately, I didn't hit the milestones I was targeting in due time.
This caused delay on "Light Fairytale Episode 3". Currently, I've implemented 2 dungeons and many events around it, but still missing the main dungeon + main town.
It should be possible to complete the development and release it this year.
As mentioned, this is just half of the content planned for this episode. The second half will be added mid-next year.
So, I've decided to work on both projects at the same time, and release both before the end of the year ๐
This means that SNR S1 won't release as planned in August. As of now, I don't know when it will release. But it should happen soon - before LF E3.
That's it ๐
Thank you so much for your support and patience. See you soon ๐
Comments
neko.works
Hi! The videos shared so far are work-in-progress. The car's collider is the same as the motorbike, that's why it looks wrong ๐ There is collision with the trees but the rival riders are not affected as of these builds. The game have only short Japanese voices - similar to my other series "Light Fairytale". I've been mostly working on the road system for quite some time now, as it need to be full featured and well designed day one, because this game have user generated content. This is the most time consuming work on the project. I plan to fix the mentioned issues a bit later, but from my experience with the 2016 release, it should be easy and not too long. I'll write more about this project on the upcoming DevLog around the end of this month. I'm also planning a "Teaser 2" video soon. Thanks ๐
StaticSphere
I'm writing to ask you a few questions. 1. Is the vehicle crash determined as it appears? Or did you set it smaller than it looks? 2. Is there no event in the plan like a fall event when a player collides with obstacles or other vehicles? When I saw the video in the teaser, it was very strange when it collided. 3. I checked that the Steam store says Japanese voice is supported, is there only a simple conversation? Or was it a mistake to check? (papago translate used)
