Hello again!

The next release will be by the end of the month as usual, and will feature a new 2x Vioreaper scene for Onyx.  It will also include improvements to the previous Vioreaper scenes, AI improvements to FemCop and Larva/Crawlers, improvements to destructible objects and the H system framework, and a Help screen + early tutorial framework.

This month we have progress on the 3D sculpt for the Splicer female enemy!  Our environment pipeline is also picking up pace, and we have progress on both the Labs and Sewers stages to show off.  

I've also put together a little storyboard of the Sewers stage from start to finish (one of the paths at least).  I think it will give you the best idea yet of what to expect from a level design standpoint, and what to expect from missions in Pure Onyx. 

Topics for this Update!

• July Release Details
• Splicer FK-Doll 3D WIP
• Splicer Brute Animation WIP
• Labs Stage Design - Caverns
• Sewers Stage Design
• Help Screen

July Release Details

Tentative Changelog (** indicates items added or being added since the July 22 Inner Circle test release):

H Scenes

• ** Added Onyx w/ 2x Vioreaper scene to the game and gallery.
• ** Added more liquid FX to the Vioreaper and Vioreaper + Larva H scenes
• ** Better face animation, audio mix + more SFX for Onyx's Vioreaper + Larva H scene
• H animations now crossfade when transitioning naturally, and transition instantly when manually skipped.
• Added SFX to Onyx's Vioreaper + Larva H scene.
• Characters no longer blend out of T-pose in background scenes when H Filters are updated from Options while in-stage

Stage

• ** Improved performance of navigation graph regeneration when destructible objects are destroyed.
• Destructible objects no longer become glitched if a grapple is triggered just as they are destroyed.
• Destructible objects no longer spawn directly against the edge of playing field (prevents Onyx getting caught on them in the air)
• Destructible objects can no longer be hit by Stomp.
• Loot will no longer spawn where the pickups clip with destructible objects, and vice versa
• Increased barrel spawn rate during survival (wave spawn) events / missions.
• Fixed waterfall sound cutting out in Water Test Map.

Enemies

• ** Larva have a longer cooldown between leap attacks.  It's twice as long at wave 1, and 1.5x as long after wave 20.  Should be less stun-locky.
• ** Improved enemy AI navigation around objects in the playing field
• Added FemCop to the new AI ability manager system.
• FemCop no longer leaps around incessantly when not attacking.
• FemCop's Leap max distance reduced.
• FemCop's Kick combo attack hurtbox size reduced to only hit in front of her
• Continuous collision detection added to FemCop's final combo attack, thus increasing its range after she leaps forward.
• Enemies / NPCs no longer crossfade from T-pose when they spawn (Take 2)
• Wave spawner will no longer break if an enemy is destroyed for improperly leaving the stage.
• Larva/Crawlers that end up outside the intended combat area will now always return to it.
• Larva/Crawlers should always end up in the appropriate swarm instead of getting splintered into multiple unrelated swarms.  This ensures they properly agro when their swarm is disturbed, and keeps their motion swarm-like instead of linear.

UI

• Added a Help screen with answers to popular FAQs.  It appears once in-stage on New Game, and is subsequently accessible via pause menu.
• Less ambiguous messages on Quit / End Mission now make it clearer what progress is saved and what isn't.
• Max enemy wave is now displayed during survival events / missions.

Splicer FK-Doll 3D WIP

Demonu has made a ton of progress on the FK-Doll's 3D sculpt this month!  Kame started out with an early 3D sketch that he handed off to Demonu, who is on his third iteration of the sculpt so far.  He still has a lot of work on the coat to do, as well details on other clothes such as the cap.  The back of the hair also needs to be refined some more so as to work better for a low poly version.

We're very likely going to add a futa version of her as well, as Demonu has come up with a few variations that would work nicely with the concept.  Expect more on that next month!

Splicer Brute Animation WIP

TMX and TK have done a lot of work on the Splicer Brute!  TMX has been working on the animations, while TK has been working on improving his rig.  We've been struggling some with his legs since he has stylized proportions -- his legs are relatively short but need to extend a lot for attacks, so we have to make them look good when stretching.  I think we're almost past the big issues though!

Labs Stage Design - Caverns

We made a lot of progress this month on both the crystal caves section and the main tiling chamber of the caverns area!  

Xxoom has nearly finished painting the background layers for the crystal caves water map, and our new matte painter Zydaline made a lot of progress on the foreground elements.  I've also been learning to paint in the required style, so I spent a couple days painting the foreground features as well.

Zydaline also has made a stellar mock-up of the main chamber of the caverns (above), which once refined a bit more will go to the painting and retouching stage.  Elements from this map will be utilized in the path to the spider boss as well.

Sewers Stage Design

Having made a lot of headway on the Labs stage, Limbo and I are back to working on more map concepts for the Sewers stage!     

We've made progress on most aspects so far, including the entrance, tile set maps, minigame challenge section, and iterated on one of the boss arena designs.   Missions will have dynamic properties and layouts, but the plan is to have two main branches per stage (each ending with a boss).  I'll step through Limbo's concepts so far for one of the main Sewers branches :D.

We're looking at a few options for the entrance map(s). One not shown is an overhead bridge crossing the river and into the city -- should make for a pretty striking visual reminiscent of some SNK fighting games.  This section likely leads into one of the tiling maps.

Beyond the tiling hallways we've already got in-game, Limbo and I have been looking at some water and some open maps.  I'm especially fond of the one with pillars and the idea of caustics causing light patterns on the walls.  

Once reaching the depths, Onyx must escape the Babel forces in the most practical way possible -- jetboarding through a big honking pipe littered with debris and biomonster cleansing crews.

As mentioned in previous updates, each stage will have a sort of minigame challenge that puts a spin on gameplay while still sticking to its core mechanics.   This jetboarding section (inspired by Battletoads and Shinobi -- thank Limbo) will be similar to the motorcycle section in the slums, so it'll make good use of the scrolling map features we intend for both.  

Onyx will have to avoid debris, make jumps off ramps, and dodge enemies firing at her from behind.  We may also give her a gun so there's a combat element with flying drones.  

The boss fight consists of fighting the spawns of this big boi (for whom Limbo has done a few design variations).  Big guy here is actually an MATM boss that appears in the story later.  The spawns themselves are large but much closer to player character scale.   

We're still fleshing out the boss fight, but we're considering an idea where Onyx runs horizontally, finding energy weapons from fallen soldiers to fire at the spawns who are pursuing her.  This is punctuated by bouts of melee as well as tidal wave attacks from big man in the background, for which Onyx has to reach cover points behind debris. 

Help Screen

We've added a basic Help screen to help new users with some of the most frequently asked questions that we get.  This appears the first time a player enters a stage after starting their first New Game, and is available later in the menu.

We will eventually expand this to have multiple pages and include a more detailed FAQ that will clarify a lot of development plans new patrons and subscribers wonder about.  

This also gave AltairPL the excuse to rough out the framework for the eventual tutorial system, which will more thoroughly go through the game mechanics and controls as events occur during the course of the game.