Drifting Endlessly...

Just because you know where you are and where you're heading, does not instantly a success make.

So we're well into getting a prototype, demostrable AI, and a single/video completed so that we can head through the 'To Investment' door. But part of that is trying to raise interest in the project (via this very blog amongst other things) before we head through that door.

Its a weird place and at the last directors' meeting we agreed we've begun to drift.

I'm not sure whether knowing that this is the exact place where most projects of this nature fail is comforting or not :-). Commitment of all types: time, money, ownership/IP, is tested here.

This is the time to dig in and dig down for those reserves. Deadlines drift, interest wains, money is in short supply, and only the strongest survive.

So can we pull our socks up, take a deep breath in and commit to the next level (and there is always a next level) - watch this space!

"No ones going to take me alive, the time has come to make things right, you and I must fight for our rights, you and I must fight to survive" Muse - Knights of Cydonia

Story: Of Thunderstorms

Here's our second story installment.

This time developing the etherics again and also the introduction to the as yet unamed 'organisation' and its equipment/behaviour.

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you drove through a really vicious thunderstorm?

Of Thunderstorms

Dave

Story: Of Nadeja

So heres our very first story:

Of Nadeja

Enjoy and comment!

Developing Story

Hi

Over the next few months we'll be publishing a few Off World short stories/novellas for your consumption.

The stories kill three birds with one stone for us.

1) We can use these formats to test out gaming ideas, mechanics, behaviours, and character developments, before comitting aritst and developer resource to work on them.

Its a good way to test the 'good idea at the time' principle as its a heuristic approach; if the story 'feels' right to everyone, and everything is sitting/behaving as expected, then we can go into the next round development, with some confidence.

2) it generates further usable/trans media IP

3) provides background for artists and developers

Dave

Of Off World AI

So I have finally got around to creating some screen shots that show the AI working in a test arena. The 100 black spheres (etherics) are swarming and targeting the player in green. The blue NPC is just currently wandering with no particular purpose, but that will change very shortly.

All the behaviours are controlled by behaviour trees and will now get the behaviours filled in. All the structures and decision making for the BTs have already been created for the AI controlled entities, but most are empty.

The shown textures are not representative of the final game,

but are there to provide some simple context.

The black spherical objects represent the 100 etherics (look of them is not what they will look like eventually) swarming and targeting the player (in green). Shot 1 shows a broken swarm, Shot 2 shows the rejoining of the swarm and then the last 2 show the etherics moving towards the target (player in green). Once we get something more representative, I will upload some video.

Collison avoidance is used by ray tracing to discover collisions that then get added to a AI entity queue so they get processed as and when time allows. Currently this is every tick but can be setup to do otherwise to preserve precious CPU cycles.

The plan now, as I said above, is to fill in all the behaviours for the AI.

Current thinking for the AI direction is:

• Investigate evolutionary BT creation for NPCs
• Update 2D AStar path planning and create a 3D version for the etherics
• See how neuro evolution can be included, if practical
• Hunting behaviour
• Fighting AI by threat analysis
• Others TBC!

Any questions, just ask, more than happy to share my thoughts, experiences etc.

Cheers

Matt

Artwork images

So here are some of the illustrations for the Etheric Swarm (the Bad Guys, or some of many actually!)... in their unmanifest form they are tendrilly, un-solid.  Our artist Stephen Crowe described them perfectly... "A roiling mass that sort of 'unfolds' into existence, and is constantly changing, but always has a shape of 'intent' - a kind of direction or purpose". 

As they manifest they solidify into their more human appearance.

Sketch of an Etheric in the manifesting process

The finished version

An Etheric in manifest form, about to do something nasty:) Imagine a large 'swarm' of these guys descending on you...

Stephen really captured the kind of 'nasty' we wanted, and we're excited about seeing more characters come to life.

48 Hour Film Competition: Necromance Soundtrack

This is one of the band's songs we used for the recent 48 film competition here in NZ.

It's a result of Margs and I sitting down and agreeing on Dflat minor as a key for some incidental sketches we were working on in late 2010, and the song Tantra came to life soon after (Drop DFlat tuning on gat and bass - oh yeah!). Enjoy!

We'll try and get the finished edit we used for the film up at some stage soon, as Margs put some awesome occasional riffs over the metal part!