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Tin Tim
Jun 4, 2012

Live by the pun - Die by the pun



Chapter 5 - Gun For Hire

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkne0j9PzGY
For his next job, Mace gets hired as a bodyguard for a mysterious but wealthy client of the Guild. His employer awaits him on the famous Utari Cloudwatcher, which is a luxury cruise liner that allows its passengers to take advantage of the rejuvenating effects of the Utari Nebula.

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your evil twin
Aug 23, 2010

"What we're dealing with...
is us! Those things look just like us!"

"Speak for yourself, I couldn't look that bad on a bet."
Haha, it's hilarious that they remove the ceiling and offer no explanation for that. Even if the real reason was so that they could set up that dropship attack, there's loads of in-universe ways that could have been explained.

Star Wars and Star Trek often had hangers and bays that were seemingly open to space, because the entrance was covered by a forcefield or shield that ships could fly through but which would contain the air and protect from space radiation etc. That could easily be what was going on there. Presumably when the bandits seized control of the bridge they pressed the "open ceiling" button. But one of the characters should have said something about it. The fact that the ceiling just disappears looks like the dumbest thing.

The textures in the bathhouse area of the ship were pretty nice, but then they spoilt it with that horrible room full of steam. If you are going to obscure the player's view with steam, you need to make it so that enemies can't see through it either!

Kiavahr
Oct 17, 2013

Outrageous Lumpwad
At least the devs were kind enough to make the enemies and friendlies visually distinct this time. I don't think I saw you put a bullet in anyone you weren't supposed to. (Grenades though...)

Tin Tim
Jun 4, 2012

Live by the pun - Die by the pun

your evil twin posted:

Haha, it's hilarious that they remove the ceiling and offer no explanation for that. Even if the real reason was so that they could set up that dropship attack, there's loads of in-universe ways that could have been explained.

Star Wars and Star Trek often had hangers and bays that were seemingly open to space, because the entrance was covered by a forcefield or shield that ships could fly through but which would contain the air and protect from space radiation etc. That could easily be what was going on there. Presumably when the bandits seized control of the bridge they pressed the "open ceiling" button. But one of the characters should have said something about it. The fact that the ceiling just disappears looks like the dumbest thing.

The textures in the bathhouse area of the ship were pretty nice, but then they spoilt it with that horrible room full of steam. If you are going to obscure the player's view with steam, you need to make it so that enemies can't see through it either!

Yeah, I wished that the devs had done at least something about the ceiling. I mean, the laziest option would really have been to add a voice clip that told you about an invisible force field. But as it stands, we just have to imagine it. And there will be at least one other instance where you wonder why space isn't suffocating you right now.

And gently caress that steam room, seriously. Aside from being a ham-fisted objective, it's real annoying when games do that. I have some things to say about the general level design, and why it's flawed in a few ways. A lot of it comes down to Warthog's previous game list not having a single FPS title in it. I'll see if the next video will give me some room to get into that.

Kiavahr posted:

At least the devs were kind enough to make the enemies and friendlies visually distinct this time. I don't think I saw you put a bullet in anyone you weren't supposed to. (Grenades though...)
I don't know what you mean. At best, I shot a grenade near a civi and scared him :v:

Clintodon
Oct 9, 2012
Just found this and started going through the videos; add another approval to the pile of "nice music replacement" responses!

I played the Xbox version a few years ago as a rental, and I recall that the AR had a "lock-on" feature, which would allow you to target the locked-on body part even at max-rate fire. Depending on your aim, this could either be awesome (if you locked on their head) or annoying/hilarious (if you locked onto their foot and killed them by extensive foot trauma). Checking game reviews and manuals I can't find a reference to this, but I'm certain I remember it; the indicator for a lock was a small red circle settling over the targeted body part. I can't see any reason they'd have taken it out in changing from console to PC. I think you activated this with the lock-on button, since I remember locking onto enemy's feet several times while they were rolling and I was trying for their head. Or maybe you had to use the target lock on an enemy and then hold targeting on the body part for a second? Been too long.

Pseudo-Edit: Hah! One more Google before posting, and I found it mentioned!

Source: http://reviews.teamxbox.com/xbox/511/Mace-Griffin-Bounty-Hunter/p1/

"A new feature, the target lock, I found to be a nice addition to the familiar FPS control scheme. It is accessed with a click of the left analog stick. While it does not work with all guns, some have the ability to lock onto a target in specific regions. For example, say you whip out the heavy machine gun and deliver a shot in the gut to the enemy. Now it may take quite a few bullets to take some foes down, and with the lock on activated, no matter how much they roll around, you can fire away keeping your sites right on them. This also works well if you’re able to get a nice headshot, for it will lock on the head region."

Hopefully this is in the PC version; might make your AR experience a little less frustrating.

Kiavahr
Oct 17, 2013

Outrageous Lumpwad
So you're saying it originally had a replay feature? I am going to be retroactively mad if they took it out for pc instead of hyping it on the back of the box.

your evil twin
Aug 23, 2010

"What we're dealing with...
is us! Those things look just like us!"

"Speak for yourself, I couldn't look that bad on a bet."
The PS2 version of Half-Life had something like that, although it wouldn't lock onto a body-part, it would always lock onto the centre of an enemy.

Tin Tim
Jun 4, 2012

Live by the pun - Die by the pun

Clintodon posted:

Just found this and started going through the videos; add another approval to the pile of "nice music replacement" responses!

I played the Xbox version a few years ago as a rental, and I recall that the AR had a "lock-on" feature, which would allow you to target the locked-on body part even at max-rate fire. Depending on your aim, this could either be awesome (if you locked on their head) or annoying/hilarious (if you locked onto their foot and killed them by extensive foot trauma).
Haha, wtf? :stare:

I never heard of this, and no, it's definitely not in the PC version. The manual or control setup has no mention of it, and I tried using the target lock button for the ship while on foot too. But nope, no locking for me. I guess that it got removed when the whole autoaim part was ripped out for the PC port?

Also, sorry for yet another delay. Work stress and poo poo has got me editing at a snail's pace. But the next episode will be up in a day or two :)

Tin Tim
Jun 4, 2012

Live by the pun - Die by the pun



Chapter 5 - Gun For Hire

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=An6YB2XcWKI
After saving his new employer from being assassinated, and stopping the cruise liner from steering into the nebula, Mace's job still isn't done. The assassins have sabotaged the inner gyroscope of the ship, and if Mace can't get to it in time to fix it, the ship will spin out of control! However, the direct route is blocked, so he has to get to his ship and use it to dock with another section of the cruise liner.

vilkacis
Feb 16, 2011

I'm a-mazed (:hurr:) so many of those expensive looking space vases survived the battle intact.

It is pretty neat seeing all those different environments inside the ship, and the difference between gilded passenger areas and plain metal walls in the engineering parts. I like that quite a bit.

StarFyter
Oct 10, 2012

I just have to say, this and your Shogo LP both have provided a lot of artists to follow, thank you very much for going through the trouble of adding different music to the videos :)

And I agree, the space combat seems more inspired than the shooter sections. Reminds me of the first Red Faction, with Volition having done space games before, and then going FPS with less than stellar results...

your evil twin
Aug 23, 2010

"What we're dealing with...
is us! Those things look just like us!"

"Speak for yourself, I couldn't look that bad on a bet."
There's something fun about having big gun battles in expensive-looking decorated surroundings like a mansion or art gallery, or in this case the luxurious sections of the ship. Much more interesting than the corridors or warehouses or war-torn streets of most shooters.

racerabbit
Sep 8, 2011

"HI, I WANT TO HUG PINS NUTS."
:frolf:
Time for a bit of :science:

So yes, gyroscopes on spacecraft are a real thing, and are used primarily for attitude adjustment on satellites, though the ISS uses four for station keeping. Gyroscopes are useful because they can change (or maintain) the orientation of a craft without the use of costly (in terms of money and space) propellants.

A luxury liner like the one Mace is currently on could conceivably use the massive gyroscope to maintain it's heading and orientation to the nebula, though the energy build-up seems a bit handwavium.

Lazyfire
Feb 4, 2006

God saves. Satan Invests

So let's note I'm not a game developer, but I've learned a ton over the last year or so while trying to figure out tricks developers used to make some games run on limited hardware.

Interestingly enough, I think you actually walk into a different room the second time you go to the pool/rejuvenation chamber area. Someone would have to pull apart the game code and see how the map was laid out, but the version of the room that was more or less exposed to space was most likely a copy of the room you went into originally without the dome and minus a few scripts and bodies. That was probably why you could see the missing dome on the cutscene at one point; the game was rendering the second version of the room by then as you would only ever be going to that one for the rest of the level.

So how do you get back to the same hanger as the one you landed in if the rejuvenation room and the hanger were connected? Oddly enough, a more modern game makes this a pretty easy question. In Battlefield 4 when you activate an elevator you get teleported to the elevator destination after the appropriate delay. All the Mace Griffin devs had to do was teleport you from the hangar to the first room, and then load in the new room and hallways when you were off in the steam rooms.

Clintodon
Oct 9, 2012
Another update, another set of songs to enjoy :allears:

I think you're right and the machine-gun's lock-on got pitched out with the auto-aim because I can't think of another reason not to include it. It's disappointing; the lock-on was the machine-gun's selling point and unique cool feature vs. other FPS machine-gun versions. I can't think of another game that's used the lock-on/replay feature for a weapon either.

Found an example of the Xbox version's lock-on on Youtube while I was confirming my memory: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFYeptG8w3M

Tin Tim
Jun 4, 2012

Live by the pun - Die by the pun

vilkacis posted:

It is pretty neat seeing all those different environments inside the ship, and the difference between gilded passenger areas and plain metal walls in the engineering parts. I like that quite a bit.
Yeah! I also liked that the engineering area got darker and more cramped the deeper you went into it. It still is an annoying maze, but at least it looks right.

StarFyter posted:

I just have to say, this and your Shogo LP both have provided a lot of artists to follow, thank you very much for going through the trouble of adding different music to the videos :)
Glad that you enjoy it!

your evil twin posted:

There's something fun about having big gun battles in expensive-looking decorated surroundings like a mansion or art gallery, or in this case the luxurious sections of the ship. Much more interesting than the corridors or warehouses or war-torn streets of most shooters.
Totally. I'm not sure if it's because we're so oversaturated with brown/grey levels, but I treasure every FPS game that gives you neat colors around you.

AltaBrown posted:

Time for a bit of :science:

So yes, gyroscopes on spacecraft are a real thing, and are used primarily for attitude adjustment on satellites, though the ISS uses four for station keeping. Gyroscopes are useful because they can change (or maintain) the orientation of a craft without the use of costly (in terms of money and space) propellants.

A luxury liner like the one Mace is currently on could conceivably use the massive gyroscope to maintain it's heading and orientation to the nebula, though the energy build-up seems a bit handwavium.
Neat! I figured that it wouldn't be totally made up, but didn't knew that we already invented something like that. Also, "handwavium" is a cool word :v:

Lazyfire posted:

So let's note I'm not a game developer, but I've learned a ton over the last year or so while trying to figure out tricks developers used to make some games run on limited hardware.
As always, thanks for your insight! Later, I too wondered how the devs did it, because we saw earlier that they couldn't handle real-time terrain transformation. I'm referring to that one black spot after a cutscene in the slaughterhouse level. I'm fairly sure that there is also a trick behind the size of the space sections, but I'm going to record a short video eventually to illustrate what I mean.

Clintodon posted:

I think you're right and the machine-gun's lock-on got pitched out with the auto-aim because I can't think of another reason not to include it. It's disappointing; the lock-on was the machine-gun's selling point and unique cool feature vs. other FPS machine-gun versions. I can't think of another game that's used the lock-on/replay feature for a weapon either.

Found an example of the Xbox version's lock-on on Youtube while I was confirming my memory: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFYeptG8w3M
Ahw man, I would have liked to have that! Now I'm thinking about all the dickshots I could have landed :qq:

your evil twin
Aug 23, 2010

"What we're dealing with...
is us! Those things look just like us!"

"Speak for yourself, I couldn't look that bad on a bet."
I'm wondering if that lock-on feature actually did improve the accuracy of the gun, or if it simply meant that the crosshair would stay locked onto a body part. It may have helped the player aim at enemies, but doesn't necessarily mean that the gatling spin-up would have tighter spread.

Since aiming at an enemy's head (or dick) is a simply case of point-and-click when playing on PC, a feature to lock the aim onto an enemy head or limb would be pretty redundant.

There's no way to tell in that Xbox video whether the lock-on feature affects the weapon spread since the guy is running right up to the enemies and then then shooting them at point blank range. (I checked the guy's previous video, he was wrestling with the controls because he forgot to invert them. Hmm, surely if you are recording gameplay footage and you are running into walls because the controls are upside down, might be a good idea to start over? Nope, just stick it on the internet...)

Clintodon posted:

I can't think of another game that's used the lock-on/replay feature for a weapon either.

I did mention the PS2 version of Half-Life earlier. You couldn't lock onto an actual body part - that seems to be a unique Mace Griffin feature - but it did let you lock onto the centre mass of enemies.

Soup Inspector
Jun 5, 2013
Whew, just finished watching all of the videos. I played the demo of this and pretty much rage quit after several attempts, so it's cool to see what I missed out on!

I know you're probably tired of hearing this by now, Tin Tim, but I agree with everyone else so far on your music selection - even if I might not enjoy all the tracks, it's still pretty top notch!

Even though I know it'd probably be something of a drain on resources (both in terms of development and when you're actually playing it), I'm still disappointed more games don't have seamless transitions between a spaceship's interior and the cockpit (not to mention between ground and space). That really made a big impression on me when I was younger.

As for the plasma machine gun, am I the only one who sees a slight resemblance to a retro ray gun? :v: To provide a (probably flat-out wrong) explanation as to why the barrels don't get detonated by the plasma machine gun, I'm thinking that since they're made out of metal (or at least have whatever tag that makes the game think "this is a metallic object") it just makes the barrel reflect the projectiles. At least that's what seems logical to me as a layman. If that's not it, then :iiam:

Finally, I noticed a fun detail: if you swap out the remote explosives for something else after the animation for inserting the detonator has been made, there's actually an indentation in the shape of the detonator when Mace removes the detonator. It's very much a "blink and you'll miss it" deal, but I like little touches like that.

Action Tortoise
Feb 18, 2012

A wolf howls.
I know how he feels.

Soup Inspector posted:

As for the plasma machine gun, am I the only one who sees a slight resemblance to a retro ray gun? :v: To provide a (probably flat-out wrong) explanation as to why the barrels don't get detonated by the plasma machine gun, I'm thinking that since they're made out of metal (or at least have whatever tag that makes the game think "this is a metallic object") it just makes the barrel reflect the projectiles. At least that's what seems logical to me as a layman. If that's not it, then :iiam:

The plasma gun reminds me of the weapon Zorg was selling off in the beginning of the Fifth Element. It's really bulky and curved and it looks like it closes up just like the gun.



To go with the Half-Life similarities, the ricocheting bullets look like the wasp gun the alien soldiers have in that game.

Lazyfire
Feb 4, 2006

God saves. Satan Invests

your evil twin posted:

I'm wondering if that lock-on feature actually did improve the accuracy of the gun, or if it simply meant that the crosshair would stay locked onto a body part. It may have helped the player aim at enemies, but doesn't necessarily mean that the gatling spin-up would have tighter spread.

Since aiming at an enemy's head (or dick) is a simply case of point-and-click when playing on PC, a feature to lock the aim onto an enemy head or limb would be pretty redundant.

This seems way more likely. If the devs were lazy they simply stripped out auto aim from the PC version, which had the unintended effect of removing finessed lock on from the Xbox version because it was just auto aim targeted at a specific area. I could nearly promise that either the function of the button or the auto aim code was stripped from the PC version's code. Not both, just one of them because it would require less effort. Hell, they could just make the targeting button unmappable and solve the entire problem with a few lines of code.

Tin Tim
Jun 4, 2012

Live by the pun - Die by the pun



Chapter 5 - Gun For Hire

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxTXsZYTRzc
After saving the ship for the second time, Mace still can't relax. As it turns out, his employer decided to flee the ship in a small shuttle, and is now being hunted by the bandit fighters around the cruise liner!

Note: Reinhold's a dumb butt

radintorov
Feb 18, 2011
A space escort mission where, as soon as you blow up all the enemies, a new ship shows up and blows up what you were escorting anyway because of plot?
Somehow it doesn't surprise me that the developers of this game also worked on Starlancer. :v:

radintorov fucked around with this message at 01:24 on Feb 23, 2014

Tin Tim
Jun 4, 2012

Live by the pun - Die by the pun

your evil twin posted:

There's no way to tell in that Xbox video whether the lock-on feature affects the weapon spread since the guy is running right up to the enemies and then then shooting them at point blank range. (I checked the guy's previous video, he was wrestling with the controls because he forgot to invert them. Hmm, surely if you are recording gameplay footage and you are running into walls because the controls are upside down, might be a good idea to start over? Nope, just stick it on the internet...)
Yeah, that's a good point. Tbh, I also wouldn't have expected it to influence the spread. If Clintodon hadn't brought up the fact that it was stated as a feature, I would just have thought it's the basic lock on thingy that almost all console shooters have. And yes, that video was hella bad :v:

Soup Inspector posted:

As for the plasma machine gun, am I the only one who sees a slight resemblance to a retro ray gun? :v: To provide a (probably flat-out wrong) explanation as to why the barrels don't get detonated by the plasma machine gun, I'm thinking that since they're made out of metal (or at least have whatever tag that makes the game think "this is a metallic object") it just makes the barrel reflect the projectiles. At least that's what seems logical to me as a layman. If that's not it, then :iiam:

Finally, I noticed a fun detail: if you swap out the remote explosives for something else after the animation for inserting the detonator has been made, there's actually an indentation in the shape of the detonator when Mace removes the detonator. It's very much a "blink and you'll miss it" deal, but I like little touches like that.
You know, that bit about the barrels is probably right. Like, I could see the devs deliberately adding that as a feature. This game has a really wonky scale of attention to detail and overall design. And the details on the guns and the animations for them are a good proof for that. I mean, some people on the team apparently cared enough to add all those little moving parts and lights! If only the level designers would also have cared that much :qq:

Lazyfire posted:

This seems way more likely. If the devs were lazy they simply stripped out auto aim from the PC version, which had the unintended effect of removing finessed lock on from the Xbox version because it was just auto aim targeted at a specific area. I could nearly promise that either the function of the button or the auto aim code was stripped from the PC version's code. Not both, just one of them because it would require less effort. Hell, they could just make the targeting button unmappable and solve the entire problem with a few lines of code.
Breaking News: Game Designers Are Lazy Fucks! :v:

vilkacis
Feb 16, 2011

Wow, that mission ending. I hate when they do that! :argh:

Nice little plot summary though.

Tin Tim
Jun 4, 2012

Live by the pun - Die by the pun

- Concept Art & Stuff -

As usual, I did a bit of research before starting this thread. I collected a few bits and pieces that I want to show to you. If you don't care about concept designs and things like that, just skip this update. It's okay :)

Character Design

In the OP, I mentioned that Mace initially looked a bit different, and that his model got changed during the development process. That isn't an uncommon thing, but I think that it got worse after the change. Let's take a look at an early concept drawing of Mace.


That's quite a bit different, isn't it? And this concept was not only made on paper, it had an actual 3D model.


Just look at that cool guy!


If that isn't the perfect look for a gruff space bounty hunter, then I don't know what is.

Traces of his old model can even be found in some promotional things

I like the silhouette in the title, and the poster is great all around.

However, the devs thought that Mace wouldn't be accessible enough with that look. I've taken that statement from an old interview, so I'm not even sure what it should mean. Like, I guess that they wanted people to like Mace and turn him into a franchise? But I think they ended up making him rather bland, and removed what defining features he had. Also, how can you not love that little cape? Seriously. I could do without the hat+visor combo, but the cape and the details on the model are rad.

Development

Since the game was never very popular, it's hard to find exact info about the development process behind it. But Giant Bomb has the game tagged with "Development Hell", so I think it's okay to assume that the road wasn't straight. I really couldn't find any words about the matter, but there actually is a surprisingly large number of pictures from older builds still on the net.



These screens are from the original pitch demo for the game. The graphics are pretty rough, and lol at that UI. But there is one kinda interesting thing about those screens, because Moscone apparently was initially supposed to be a human.



The graphics of this build are much more refined, so I assume that it's the last promo/demo version, and came out somewhat before the final build. I mean, aside from the UI, it's very similar.

Concept Art

I really like looking at concept art, so I was glad that I could still find some from this game.





There aren't a lot of sketches still floating around, but I think those are pretty neat! However, I was also able find the page from the person that we can thank for all the nifty weapon designs and for most of the objects. Harold Withers, has a lot of pictures and words about his part in Mace Griffin, so I'm going to link & quote those for your convenience. I guess some of the stuff has minor spoilers, but it really shouldn't be an issue, as most of it is out of context.

quote:

This was my first games industry project.

I took up an artist position at Warthog to work on Mace Griffin: Bounty Hunter. (or just 'Bounty Hunter' as it was known back then) I was fortunate in that I started just as the concept stage was kicking off on this 3 year project, meaning that I got the opportunity to have a go at producing concept art for many of the different elements in the game, everything from Space Stations to handguns. As it turned out weapons were my forte, and I ended up being put in charge of the hand weapons, right through from concept to finished models. Not a bad gig on a First Person Shooter.

Interesting that he says that the development process took three years. I really have no inside knowledge of the industry, but I guess that kinda supports my theory about a rocky development road. Anyway, let's dive into the weapons first.

quote:

My first major art task on MGBH was working up the hand weapon concepts.

And though a few of the weapons went through changes as the project went on most of the end designs remain remarkably faithful to the original concept art. But of course some of the designs fell by the wayside, some thankfully as their initial design may have been to unwieldy, or they just plain didn't work when taken into 3D. But there are also cool weapons that didn't make the grade for one reason or another. One was a Cryo Pistol that I re-worked into one of the EMG designs. It would freeze enemies which you could then dispatch shattering them into shards of ice Terminator 2 style. Another weapon that didn't make the grade was the Laser Pursuer Sphere. This was a floating orb armed with a laser cannon and a powerful pneumatic spike. It was to have two settings. One being sentry. You'd release it into a room full of enemies and watch the chaos begin. The other being assassin mode, where you'd program it to hunt a specific target. On reaching it's quarry it would swiftly dispatch them with a spike jab to the skull. Your enemies could use them too. So if you enter a dark room, hear this ominous hum and see these little infrared sensor lights floating in the dark and know you're in trouble.

Concept sketches

It's neat that he talks a bit about weapon concepts that didn't make it into the game. The last one sounds really cool, but I can see how actually implementing it would have been difficult.

quote:

I had a flare for weapons design at the concept stage, so I soon got building them.

The polygon budget for the first person view weapons was around 1500 in the beginning, that changed and got higher as the project moved on and the capabilities of the game engine became more defined. Since these weapons were going to be on screen practically the whole game they had to look good. One of the interesting aspects of the FPS weapons for me was the animation of the firing and reloading actions and making them as realistic as possible. I had considerable input into the functionality of the weapons and worked closely in conjunction with animator Dan McGeoch on this. Low poly versions of the weapons also had to be created for the NPC's. The Jaldari, the large ape-like aliens in the game required their own modified versions of some weapons because of their size. They use the Plasma weapon and the Shotgun. We came up with the notion that the Plasma weapon was originally Jaldari, and that the weapon you use is a modified scaled down version for the human market. Where as the scaled up Shotgun was sold by the humans to the Jaldari, to suggest cross species trade and commerce.

3D models

And now we know why you can't pick up the Jaldari plasma guns!

quote:

As the concept phase continued I worked on ship & space installation design.

This became an interesting prospect to me, because since I wasn't actually building these models, it was going to be someone else's take on the designs I'd created that would make it into the game. Andy Wan was the guy building all the ships, and hats off to the man, his in-game models are pretty much exactly what I put on paper. Of particular note are the Shuttle, Mining Station and the Tallan Corp Headquarters, Identical to what I drew. The Rickshaw went through extensive reworking as you can see from the different concepts. It's an air taxi that features in a gun battle chase sequence. It became apparent that the design would have to open up to give the player an effective arc of fire. Tennion Station evolved into the Guild Station in the final game, but in this incarnation the spaceport was to be a sprawling city amongst the stars, with some missions actually taking place within it's own walls.

Concept sketches

quote:

With the weapons done it was time to move on to objects.

I had to build and texture the various objects that would populate the games levels. Once again I was pretty autonomous, but collaborating with designers on items that were specific to their levels. I'd be creating everything from a tea cup to a flatbed truck. Of particular interest is the Escape Pod. I had a lot of fun with this since you actually got to pilot it, which meant that I had to build a fully detailed interior as well as the exterior shell of the ship. Unfortunately the level in which it featured, the Osiren Derelict Medical Research Vessel, was cut from the game, which was a shame because it was a really interesting and well designed level. You do however still get to see the exterior model of this ship in the finished game, it appears as an unmanned Drone Cargo Shuttle in the Rescue Krugo level

3D models

The cut level he talks about sounds pretty interesting!

quote:

The Stasis Pods are another object from the Osiren level.

The player would have walked past banks of these things filled with towering Jaldari aliens frozen in stasis, then later in the game they would be re-animated and the pod doors would rise up, and they'd attack the player. Scary stuff eh? The Order of Virtual Light (OVL) levels had a very distinctive style, and their objects had to reflect this. All their items shared the same color scheme and came emblazoned with their orange symbol. To brighten up your living quarters aboard these deep space installations you've got to have your potted plants to add a little greenery. The Sample Tanks were one of the primary features of the Genetics Lab level, and when you walk into a darkened chamber filled with these containing mutated critters, you'd get a really eerie Aliens style laboratory feel. And where would we be without that old gaming classic the wooden crate?

3D models

quote:

Variations on the crate would come next to show some real diversity between levels.

These were all designed to add character to specific levels that they populated. Another object which would see some serious action was the Heavy Flatbed Truck, a huge vehicle which could be the centerpiece in many level sections providing a point of interest, and a great source of cover from enemy fire. Also with this you'd find the large freight containers which would often hide a cache of handy pickups for the player to find. The diverse items that went into the levels had to reflect the look and feel of that level so as to look like they belonged. There are no stronger examples of this than the items to be found on the Utari Luxury Starliner with it's opulent polished wood stylings or the holographic devices of the very alien Watcher Station.

3D models

This gives us a little insight on one of the stronger elements of this game - the diverse settings. I said it before, but you really can't knock the visual design. I guess you could say the the graphics ended up a little bland somehow and that the design could have gone deeper, but that's kinda nitpicking.

quote:

This page features a selection of screenshots from the game.

Here you'll see the various items, be they your weapons, the weapons of the non player characters, or any of the other objects that helped to populate the numerous environments as they appear in the game fully integrated into the dark futuristic world of Mace Griffin. Towards the end you'll find two images from the original pitch demo for MGBH, or just plain Bounty Hunter as it was known back then, these feature a hangar that I had to light, texture and refine, and a buggy I built that we put in there which was never implemented into the final game. Also note the rifle which was the first weapon I built for the game. And finally we have an image of the MGBH box art.

3D models and stuff

And that's it! I'm really glad that I found this page, and could give you a little look behind the scenes. Though, maybe that stuff is only interesting to me, because I'm a big nerd for details like that :v:

The Comic

I mentioned this in a post a while ago, but yes, there actually was a comic about Mace Griffin. Behold!


:eyepop:

I tried really hard, but you can't find scans from this. It also has only one released issue, which isn't that big of a surprise. I was still able to collect some bits about this comic though, so let's check them out!

quote:

Mace Griffin has had a hard life. Driven from his family home by the corrupt Enforcers, Mace joins up with the peace-keeping force known as The Rangers. But before Mace can use his training to it's fullest, he is framed for the death of his Ranger squad. Mace now has to face 5 years in a dangerous prison. If he survives his sentence, there is only one place left to turn, only one last hope of righting all the wrongs in his life. That hope is with the Bounty Hunters Guild, and with a new life, as Mace Griffin: Bounty Hunter. Based on the hit video game from Universal Interactive!

This is a plot synopsis. It's more or less faithful to the game, except that it also details Mace's prior life.

And while I couldn't find scans from the actual comic, I was able to find some black & white sketch pages that are up for sale in some old corner of the internet.



Those pics don't have a very high resolution, but still look like a cool comic that I would have bought back in the days. Interestingly enough, some known people were also involved with making it. David Wohl was one of the writers, and Cedric Nocon did the illustrations.

But in the end, it's kinda strange that this comic was made in the first place. I mean, are there any other video games that also tried to launch a comic series alongside? I guess this plays into the fact that the developers tried to establish Mace as a legit action hero, and wanted to turn him into a franchise.

Welp, that's all the :engleft: I have for this game. Hope you enjoyed some of it!

Tin Tim fucked around with this message at 22:17 on Feb 28, 2014

Tin Tim
Jun 4, 2012

Live by the pun - Die by the pun

Jfyi, there won't be a video update this week. Atm, it's carnival season in Germany, so I'm going to be really drunk for the better part of the next few days. Sorry, but I take honoring our rich cultural traditions very seriously :v:

your evil twin
Aug 23, 2010

"What we're dealing with...
is us! Those things look just like us!"

"Speak for yourself, I couldn't look that bad on a bet."
Dude, love all the concept art and background info! Enjoy getting drunk.

Glazius
Jul 22, 2007

Hail all those who are able,
any mouse can,
any mouse will,
but the Guard prevail.

Clapping Larry
Wow, I really like that alternate look. As it is Mace looks... kind of generic, really.

Also, I think combining "escort mission" with "reach a certain point to die" blew out my video-game rage processors.

Soup Inspector
Jun 5, 2013

Glazius posted:

Wow, I really like that alternate look. As it is Mace looks... kind of generic, really.

Agreed; Mace looks really distinctive in his initial get-up.

And I may have mentioned it before, but I can definitely see the Starlancer guys' influence. Admittedly I'm not sure how many of them went on to work on Freelancer, but when I first looked at the game I couldn't shake off a Freelancer-ish vibe. I think it's the aesthetics. :v:

Spudd
Nov 27, 2007

Protect children from "Safe Schools" social engineering. Shame!

I just want to jump and say I god drat love all the music you're putting into your videos, it helped me discover a new genre of music that annoys my friends. :v:

Game chat, I probably wouldn't like this game very much, the way you explained that last flying part then would make me too frustrated to enjoy it in the end.

Tin Tim
Jun 4, 2012

Live by the pun - Die by the pun



Chapter 6 - Clear And Present Ranger

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3uC1TnjLcI
Mace speeds towards Fort Denver, to save senator Schmidt and finaly get some answers.

Wildlife

Ice Beast - On Korath, the Ice Beast fills roughly the same ecological niche that a polar bear does on earth. These nine-foot-tall shaggy bipeds hibernate throughout most of the day, emerging from their caves to feast on Korattan snappers or any other small prey they can find. On the hunt an ice beast is virtually invisible, and they have been known to pull an ice miner from his post without leaving a trace, beyond a flicker of white motion on a security camera. Their pelts are much prized, but only the bravest will hunt them on the ground.

Not to much to say right now, because the one we saw was caged. But maybe, just maybe, we'll get to see a free one later on :tinfoil:

Tin Tim
Jun 4, 2012

Live by the pun - Die by the pun

Hey, folks! Sorry for the delay, but I had poo poo to do :)

Soup Inspector posted:

Agreed; Mace looks really distinctive in his initial get-up.
Yeah! I really can't understand why they made him so drat bland in comparison. If they really wanted to make Mace more accessible, it would have been enough to get rid of the visor, and have him take of the hat every now and then. The rest of the details on his former model are also plain better than the barren model we have now! And I don't know if ya'll saw it, but his old model has a lever-action rifle on his back. How cool would that have been?

Spudd posted:

I just want to jump and say I god drat love all the music you're putting into your videos, it helped me discover a new genre of music that annoys my friends. :v:

Game chat, I probably wouldn't like this game very much, the way you explained that last flying part then would make me too frustrated to enjoy it in the end.
:hfive:

Yeah, I hear you. That particular part almost killed the LP. For real, I almost stopped playing. But to be fair, you also have to take into account that the game was developed for consoles, and had auto-aim in mind. That part is probably a lot easier with the console version.

E: Also lol at the new layout. It enhances the space experience itt

Tin Tim fucked around with this message at 23:34 on Mar 16, 2014

your evil twin
Aug 23, 2010

"What we're dealing with...
is us! Those things look just like us!"

"Speak for yourself, I couldn't look that bad on a bet."
Ice beasts, cool bouncers, sexy pole dancers and your rad music! A recipe for a great video.

Also that senator you need to protect... He was bravely ready to face death (which would have made sense if the shooting was still going on!), then he ran out into supposed danger to deal with the door lock, then he suggested the best way to escape... and then is happy to wait while you clear the path and he said he'd do whatever you say. No whining or complaining or criticising, makes useful suggestions but follows your lead. How refreshing! Here's hoping that they continue the trend and avoid the useful pitfalls of annoying escort missions.

Tin Tim
Jun 4, 2012

Live by the pun - Die by the pun

your evil twin posted:

Ice beasts, cool bouncers, sexy pole dancers and your rad music! A recipe for a great video.

Also that senator you need to protect... He was bravely ready to face death (which would have made sense if the shooting was still going on!), then he ran out into supposed danger to deal with the door lock, then he suggested the best way to escape... and then is happy to wait while you clear the path and he said he'd do whatever you say. No whining or complaining or criticising, makes useful suggestions but follows your lead. How refreshing! Here's hoping that they continue the trend and avoid the useful pitfalls of annoying escort missions.
As far as escorts go, the senator is a real easy customer. The only thing I would complain about is that he moves a little slow, and you have to wait for him several times. Then again, you can also fill that time with looting boxes, so it isn't such a big deal.

Also, sorry for yet another delay! Since Spring is showing its face, people want to be outside and do things :)

Tin Tim
Jun 4, 2012

Live by the pun - Die by the pun



Chapter 6 - Clear And Present Ranger

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuSW3m1FbSo
After saving the senator, Mace now has to get him back to a Senate ship that is waiting outside of Fort Denver. But there is a whole city filled with enemies between him and his ship.

radintorov
Feb 18, 2011
The moment in the blooper at the end where you turn to look towards where the space taxi is flying and then pause when you realize that you are no longer on it is just priceless. :allears:

your evil twin
Aug 23, 2010

"What we're dealing with...
is us! Those things look just like us!"

"Speak for yourself, I couldn't look that bad on a bet."
Your music choice made me really pumped during the first space combat section. "Yeah, this is badass! Oh wait, it's probably just Tin Tim's music making it feel badass..." Shows just how much a good soundtrack can affect how you experience something.

And yeah, the remote-explosive mode of the grenades is really quite useful. I really came to appreciate remote explosives in Blood Dragon, where I was chucking "C400" twice as often as actual ordinary grenades. It's really handy being able to lob an explosive a short distance, back off and then detonate a second later, rather than trying to chuck grenades and get the timing right and not have them blow up in your face.

Spudd
Nov 27, 2007

Protect children from "Safe Schools" social engineering. Shame!

In the future all that exists are Snipers and porn outlets. Beautiful.

Tin Tim
Jun 4, 2012

Live by the pun - Die by the pun

radintorov posted:

The moment in the blooper at the end where you turn to look towards where the space taxi is flying and then pause when you realize that you are no longer on it is just priceless. :allears:
After viewing it, I wondered what would have happened if I hadn't turned fully. Like, would Mace have hovered along the sie of the taxi as long as some part of his model was still touching the floor of it?

your evil twin posted:

And yeah, the remote-explosive mode of the grenades is really quite useful. I really came to appreciate remote explosives in Blood Dragon, where I was chucking "C400" twice as often as actual ordinary grenades. It's really handy being able to lob an explosive a short distance, back off and then detonate a second later, rather than trying to chuck grenades and get the timing right and not have them blow up in your face.
I just got to appreciate the "fire and forget" aspect of them very much! And the AOE is a lot larger than it seems. So when I get fed up with fighting fair, I'm just going to chuck those things :gibs:

Spudd posted:

In the future all that exists are Snipers and porn outlets. Beautiful.
In the grim darkness of the far future, bachelor parties are a lot more complicated.

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Tin Tim
Jun 4, 2012

Live by the pun - Die by the pun



Chapter 7 - Genetics Lab

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mQP_BgTVlc
With the senator on his side, Mace begins to investigate what's really behind this whole conspiracy. And the first lead brings him to a secret genetic research facility, hidden in the depths of an asteroid field.

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