Archasis UDK

[JamieG]

http://www.archasis.com/misc/RPic1.jpg

Hello! Here are some gameplay teasers of Archasis UDK:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0P6HPdzSHlE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qez_vi5Mg_U (added 2/26/2010)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDSObNbU1P0 (added 3/17/2010)

For more information about this project, visit this thread:

http://forums.epicgames.com/showthread.php?t=718444

[Piranhi]

Looking good so far, I like it!

[Zomy]

OMG
Really good work!

[micahpharoh]

it's off to a very nice start

[warlord57]

OMG! Thats all I can say. Well also Nice Work and Keep it Up :p Looking forward to seeing more.

[chess]

Awesome job, kindda crappy sword animations though (no offense) :S.

[mikepurvis]

The menu's are excellent. It's a really good start.

[Zerav]

What bothered me in UT3 Archasis was that the sword animation as mentioned is kinda "off" and its a bit slow, increase the animation speed and perhaps change the animation altogheter, one thing more, you might wanna try a trail effect on the sword/weapons to get a little "ompfh" hehe.

[Solid Snake]

Nice work.

[mkandersson]

Nice work so far. Very much like the gothic games. Which is awsome.
The animations need more work though.. Seem a little stiff.
But GJ

[JamieG]

Thanks for all the great comments so far :) The whole sword animation issue is not without merit, I'm personally not satisfied with them either. They were technically supposed to be place-holders, although the time constraint of the MSUC pushed them down on my list of priorities. Now that the contest is over, I can give melee combat in general the attention it deserves ;). Hopefully information on the Trail Data / Ribbon Data modules will make an appearance at the UDN soon, I looked into AnimTrails but they won't really work with my current setup. As far as the animation speed goes, it's a little harder to gauge because the Knight has a skill that increases his attack speed. If the animations start off fast in the first place, a high level skill in swordsmanship would look more like a ninja on amphetamines...

[chess]

I personally didn't care much about the speed, i mean, it is a little slow, but what bothered me was the "stiffness", i don't know much about medieval weapons and fighting, but i think it should have at least a little waist movement and a steadier stance.

Still, the game is looking really good, how's the game dynamic in general? you start on the menu, you purchase there everything you need and you equip your characters (plural?), and then you play quests following a campaign?

[JamieG]

... i don't know much about medieval weapons and fighting, but i think it should have at least a little waist movement and a steadier stance.

Yeah, that makes sense, right now the sword swings are top-half only so the player has freedom of movement, although that is left over from when Archasis was PvP only and may be less important now.


Still, the game is looking really good, how's the game dynamic in general? you start on the menu, you purchase there everything you need and you equip your characters (plural?), and then you play quests following a campaign?

Yeah, pretty much. You have multiple characters (one for each class), but can only use one at a time in the missions. After each quest/mission the player returns to the menu, where all their mission spoils (gold, experience, research points, any special bonuses) are tabulated and the player can re-equip/purchase/research/assign skill & attribute points before embarking on another mission.

[JamieG]

Here is an additional clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qez_vi5Mg_U

This one demonstrates a few more skills including the hunter's zoom ability, the knight's somersault, and some elementalist action with fireballs, eruptions, and chain lightning. Also, the freezing arrow now has an "explosion" effect.

[JohNLA]

Wow your results are stunning and it looks fun already.

[JamieG]

Wow your results are stunning and it looks fun already.

Thanks, it is fun already ;)... I'll try to get a public demo together soon.


Today I fixed up the fireball projectiles so they look more like, well, fire: no more ugly spherical mesh, and the particles are much denser with a quick decay. Also, chain lightning now has a slight delay between each iteration of zaps so it's easier to visualize the ricocheting "chain" effect.

Lastly, I overhauled the first-person animation playing of all my weapons to utilize AnimTrees rather than a single animation sequence. They now blend smoothly between idle, prefire, charging, fire, reload, etc so there should never be an awkward "jump" between animations.

[Cow Muffins]

Thanks, it is fun already ;)... I'll try to get a public demo together soon.


Today I fixed up the fireball projectiles so they look more like, well, fire: no more ugly spherical mesh, and the particles are much denser with a quick decay. Also, chain lightning now has a slight delay between each iteration of zaps so it's easier to visualize the ricocheting "chain" effect.

Lastly, I overhauled the first-person animation playing of all my weapons to utilize AnimTrees rather than a single animation sequence. They now blend smoothly between idle, prefire, charging, fire, reload, etc so there should never be an awkward "jump" between animations.

So you're basically a renaissance man?

[JamieG]

So you're basically a renaissance man?

Haha, nah, I just really like the UDK. Sometimes I dream in unrealscript... :rolleyes:

[Cow Muffins]

Haha, nah, I just really like the UDK. Sometimes I dream in unrealscript... :rolleyes:

Well, this looks very cool. I could see this being extremely awesome with co-op. But that would probably be difficult.

[Kelt'ar]

THis...Is...AWESOME! :D

[Demruth]

Looking pretty decent! :)

[5hfifty]

This looks great!

Reminds me of Amulets & Armour from when I was a kid hehe

[BloodReyvyn]

Reminds me of a more realistic version of Fable (great game, though the sequel sucked). Nice graphics despite a few shortcomings in the animation department when it comes to the swordplay... but obviously it's still WIP, so still pretty kick ass and more than I can do.

The ambiance needs a little work too, more little sounds here and there, etc. I'm a sucker for really good atmosphere.

[JamieG]

Well, this looks very cool. I could see this being extremely awesome with co-op. But that would probably be difficult.

I do plan on incorporating co-op eventually. The Archasis mod for UT3 was originally PvP, so there are still remnants of the network code in my source to utilize at a later date. For now my focus is polishing up the core gameplay.


The ambiance needs a little work too, more little sounds here and there, etc. I'm a sucker for really good atmosphere.

Oh yes, sound is very important. Unfortunately I never had a sound guy to help me out on the UT3 version so that got pushed aside. I'd love to add some volume fog, more vegetation, fireflies, wildlife, etc eventually.

[illspirit]

Nice work. I thought the version for UT3 was awesome, so it will be interesting to see what you can do with a blank slate in UDK.

By the way, did you ever sort out the floaty IK feet problem during the special fullbody attack anims?

[JamieG]

Nice work. I thought the version for UT3 was awesome, so it will be interesting to see what you can do with a blank slate in UDK.

By the way, did you ever sort out the floaty IK feet problem during the special fullbody attack anims?

Thanks! I've been having IK feet problems across the board, so in the UT3 version it was completely turned off while in 3rd person. I'm going to see if I can solve all the issues with UDK, but the mesh keeps "popping" between IK and non-IK foot placement (standing still vs. movement).

[illspirit]

Thanks! I've been having IK feet problems across the board, so in the UT3 version it was completely turned off while in 3rd person. I'm going to see if I can solve all the issues with UDK, but the mesh keeps "popping" between IK and non-IK foot placement (standing still vs. movement).
I was trying to do some RMM melee stuff a while back, and read in some topic that you disabled it while I was searching for a solution. The reason I ask now is that I was going to give it another go, and wanted to make sure I wasn't going to end up reinventing the wheel. If I have any luck, I'll be sure to let you know.

[JamieG]

If I have any luck, I'll be sure to let you know.

Thanks, and likewise!

[Brokenteddy]

This is really excellent work.

I've been using UDK for a little while now but just wanted to ask where did you even start learning unrealscript?

Really cool results and with some more effort and refinement that could really be something special!

Good stuff man!

[danimal']

Very awesome, my only tiny crit would be that the lighting seems really flat. Is that intentional at this point? The custom content, menus, combat system were really fantastic but my eye kept going, wtf's with the lighting? :) Amazing stuff though, keep at it, you've gone so far.

[JamieG]

This is really excellent work.

I've been using UDK for a little while now but just wanted to ask where did you even start learning unrealscript?

Really cool results and with some more effort and refinement that could really be something special!

Good stuff man!

Thanks :). I started learning unrealscript when UT99 came out, dabbling in a few weapon mods. I relied solely on the UDN's script reference and browsing the source code... which required a whole lot of reading, but in the long run has really paid off.


Very awesome, my only tiny crit would be that the lighting seems really flat. Is that intentional at this point? The custom content, menus, combat system were really fantastic but my eye kept going, wtf's with the lighting? :) Amazing stuff though, keep at it, you've gone so far.

Haha, yeah I hear you about the lighting. I haven't switched over to lightmass yet and lighting hasn't received much attention yet. All those SpeedTrees like to cast ugly, uniform shadows :rolleyes:

[JamieG]

Here's a new gameplay video for March:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDSObNbU1P0

This video focuses on some of the Elementalist's abilities like Fireball, Chain Lightning, and Eruption. Also included is an example of the "capture artifact" type of objective. The player retrieves an artifact (in this case, a power orb) and carries it to a specified location. While carrying the artifact, the player cannot use any weapons. In some cases, though, it is possible for the artifact itself to be a weapon. The artifact can also be dropped at any time and picked up later.

[chess]

**** The video is not processed (if that's a word xD) yet :S. I'll check it out after school.

[JamieG]

**** The video is not processed (if that's a word xD) yet :S. I'll check it out after school.

Yes, the HD-ness of it is still processing. It seems to work if you just go to my channel though: http://www.youtube.com/user/jrgalim

[chess]

Cool i got to watch it (i'm not going to school cause it's raining and i'm not sure if they aren't on a strike so xD). Hahahahahah you lost at your own game :P.
The game is great man, hope i can get to play it someday.

[witaker]

It seemed like a lot of your spells 1 hit people, is this because you were just trying to showcase what spells you have been working on or are you going for more like a style of play where your character feels like a total badass whomping on large groups of enemies at a time?

But all in all 10/10 very impressive so far

[JamieG]

Hahahahahah you lost at your own game :P.

Lol, yeah... headshots still catch me by surprise.


The game is great man, hope i can get to play it someday.

Stay tuned ;)


It seemed like a lot of your spells 1 hit people, is this because you were just trying to showcase what spells you have been working on or are you going for more like a style of play where your character feels like a total badass whomping on large groups of enemies at a time?

But all in all 10/10 very impressive so far

Thanks for the compliment! I do need to tone down the damage of the spells, but the characters are meant to develop into total badasses as the game progresses. It's like Diablo, you start off beating down on small groups of baddies with a few basic skills but by the end take on armies all by your lonesome self with awesome power :D

[witaker]

Lol, yeah... headshots still catch me by surprise.



Stay tuned ;)



Thanks for the compliment! I do need to tone down the damage of the spells, but the characters are meant to develop into total badasses as the game progresses. It's like Diablo, you start off beating down on small groups of baddies with a few basic skills but by the end take on armies all by your lonesome self with awesome power :D

Yeah! Diablo was the EXACT game i was thinking of lol, well actually half Diablo/Oblivion lol

[Winwarproductions]

Wow you really got my heart pumping to do more stuff with UDK. You have really great stuff. I'm going to be working on interface soon as well and I really love yours, and the wide open environments in your game. Sure it has it's things that will never be perfect in anyone's eyes but it actually works. You have alot of stuff going on in there. This one of my favorite game developments on here so far. Keep it up.

ftp://michaeljcollinsdreamart.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b12uMfxKghk

http://forums.epicgames.com/showthread.php?t=718917

[JamieG]

Wow you really got my heart pumping to do more stuff with UDK. You have really great stuff. I'm going to be working on interface soon as well and I really love yours, and the wide open environments in your game. Sure it has it's things that will never be prfect in anyone's eyes but it actually works. You have alot of stuff going on in there. This one of my favorite game developments on here so far. Keep it up.

Thanks for the kind words, knowing I have support from the community keeps me going!

[Ghoul]

awesome i m really impressed, i thing this took lots of time to code...

[JamieG]

awesome i m really impressed, i thing this took lots of time to code...

Thanks! I started coding it in November 2009 on UDK, but beforehand had figured out how to code a lot of it via the UT3 mod version of Archasis (which I had started in May 2008). Starting over with the UDK gave me an awesome opportunity to clean up all of my classes and really optimize the process for fast development.

[Navy_Spitfire]

Looks really solid, keep at it

[anomandarius]

Hey Jamie, the videos look great.

In one of your posts you stated that all of the UI work was done in unreal script. I'm wondering if you could be more specific.

Did you design the UI's in the UIEditor and then hook in to them using unreal script, or did you just cut the presentation layer and data stores yourself and then unproject the mouse to handle the input?

My current UI is all script-based without a UIScene but I'm looking at your UI and I'd really like to get a second opinion before I start re-rolling my own widgets.

I've read all of your posts through the user panel and I know you've been at it for 10 years and learned by reading code but as far as the UI goes is there any particular advice you could give me that would help me shorten the learning curve?

Thanks in advance and the game is looking better every time I see it.

[anomandarius]

I actually started reading all of the posts from your partner in crime Archasis and came up with this thread (http://forums.epicgames.com/showthread.php?p=26861969#post26861969).

I'm not certain how much of that translated to UDK but the terms sound similar to what I've read thus far.

Any direction would still be appreciated but that thread seems quite solid for anyone else tackling the subject.

There's a strange disconnect in the UDN where it assumes that if you use the UIScene then you're going to use kismet period. Then I look at what the advanced users are doing and they all say unreal script.

[JamieG]

I actually started reading all of the posts from your partner in crime Archasis and came up with this thread (http://forums.epicgames.com/showthread.php?p=26861969#post26861969).


Haha, yeah, that's actually me as well, I switched screennames when I switched to UDK... I was actually going to direct you to that post before you found it yourself :).



I'm not certain how much of that translated to UDK but the terms sound similar to what I've read thus far.


That all translates perfectly, I still use that method.



Any direction would still be appreciated but that thread seems quite solid for anyone else tackling the subject.

There's a strange disconnect in the UDN where it assumes that if you use the UIScene then you're going to use kismet period. Then I look at what the advanced users are doing and they all say unreal script.


Hmm, I never noticed this, I used the UT3 source to figure out UIScenes rather than the UDN.

Edit: I added that UIScenes post to the Documentation board, thanks for reminding me about it!
http://forums.epicgames.com/showthread.php?t=723110

[JamieG]

Here's a quick little update:

http://www.archasis.com/team/forumpics/newpic1.jpg http://www.archasis.com/team/forumpics/newpic2.jpg

http://www.archasis.com/team/forumpics/newpic3.jpg http://www.archasis.com/team/forumpics/newpic4.jpg

http://www.archasis.com/team/forumpics/newpic5.jpg http://www.archasis.com/team/forumpics/newpic6.jpg

[Viion]

not bad, like the effort put in, your GUI is horrible though, and I dislike the FP View, ah well keep it up

[Xendance]

There's a bit too much bloom/haze in some of those scenes. At least in that forest map.

[Winwarproductions]

This actually looks really cool. You have a lot of places to roam around. Your not just focused on one area. Now your able to go back and enhance certain things so that the game can flow visually. I love when light has an effect on small detail. Even the small detail people notice when their playing a game. It make it more believable. For example your trees. I love the texture, but when the light touches it I can kind of guess the poly coun't. I shouldn't be able to do that if your using UDK. Normal maps can help a lot. Try to make things pop out more. Everything is so soft, and blurry. When you blur alot it does take away from the contrast.
I really really love your yellowish cave. It looks like it would be great to have some lava in there.
In the second picture, try making a detailed boulder or rock to place with those fern plants on the ground. I really like the shot and view and the plant's on the ground seem like they are missing some other detail around them like rocks and stuff. Right now it seems like plants growing out of carpet.
I actually never used the terrain editor in Unreal. Do it normal map? If so then the grass or fern like plants will fit right in with it. Everything can stay low poly, just enhance the detail and make it pop more.

[Winwarproductions]

This actually looks really cool. You have a lot of places to roam around. Your not just focused on one area. Now your able to go back and enhance certain things so that the game can flow visually. I love when light has an effect on small detail. Even the small detail people notice when their playing a game. It make it more believable. For example your trees. I love the texture, but when the light touches it I can kind of guess the poly coun't. I shouldn't be able to do that if your using UDK. Normal maps can help a lot. Try to make things pop out more. Everything is so soft, and blurry. When you blur alot it does take away from the contrast.
I really really love your yellowish cave. It looks like it would be great to have some lava in there.
In the second picture, try making a detailed boulder or rock to place with those fern plants on the ground. I really like the shot and view and the plant's on the ground seem like they are missing some other detail around them like rocks and stuff. Right now it seems like plants growing out of carpet.
I actually never used the terrain editor in Unreal. Do it normal map? If so then the grass or fern like plants will fit right in with it. Everything can stay low poly, just enhance the detail and make it pop more.
I think it all looks great though. I would like to play it and check out the areas. It's sad because now when I play games, all I see is polygons. Sort of like Neo and the Matrix.

[gausswerks]

I'm digging the update pics a lot, really nicely "together" looking scenes with visual consistency as well as good clarity.

[iniside]

News screens are really cool, you are starting to compete Risen :D.

[JamieG]

Thanks for all the comments :)

[Baracuda771]

I would just like to know, and you don't have to answer this but, what is the storyline going to be along the lines of? Is it going to be like a bit of Dragon Age, or more like Elder Scrolls? What is the background of the game? Just wondering because I couldn't find any information on the matter on your website or your threads.

[JamieG]

I'm not familiar with the storyline of Dragon Age or Elder Scrolls, but we don't intend to mimic any existing games. Archasis is set in its own world independent of any other fantasy realm or history. As for the content of the storyline, that is meant to be divulged to those that play the game ;).

[Baracuda771]

Ah... I see. Very good answer; most people aren't looking for clones of other games. lol

[LordNelson7]

I hate to be a bother, but I have been searching everywhere and can't find that much information on the topic that I am searching for.

How do you accomplish melee in Archasis?

Any hints would be excellent.

Thank you very much for your response.

[JamieG]

LordNelson, check out this thread:
http://forums.epicgames.com/showthread.php?t=718855

It will definitely point you in the right direction. Archasis uses traces every tick between two sockets in the weapon 3P mesh during melee attacks.

[LordNelson7]

Thank you very much!

I really like the way that Archasis looks, and I was wondering if you've done any Scaleform integration into Archasis yet.

That is something that I am working on now.

My game is a rpg/rts hybrid set in a world that has been torn asunder by the war between Magic and Technology.

I have a build mode up and running, with Scaleform integration, but I am doing it through Kismet.

I am trying to learn how to integrate Scaleform with an existing project.

Perhaps we could share ideas.

[TheDopefish]

JamieG, how's it going? :)
Would love to see more progress of Archasis!

[JamieG]

Thank you very much!

I really like the way that Archasis looks, and I was wondering if you've done any Scaleform integration into Archasis yet.

That is something that I am working on now.

My game is a rpg/rts hybrid set in a world that has been torn asunder by the war between Magic and Technology.

I have a build mode up and running, with Scaleform integration, but I am doing it through Kismet.

I am trying to learn how to integrate Scaleform with an existing project.

Perhaps we could share ideas.

As of now I have moved all of Archasis' UI to Scaleform (required as of October UDK), and it seems to be working out. However, I am still using the old draw-to-canvas method for the in-game HUD. In what way would you like to integrate scaleform?


JamieG, how's it going? :)
Would love to see more progress of Archasis!

Hi Dopefish! I suppose I could share some more progress soon. I am currently working on several character models, so when they are presentable I'll post some pics ;)