AuthorTopic: ANTRAXX - Bringing Back The Isometric Mech Shooter  (Read 13027 times)

Offline META4

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HUMANITY DIVIDED
Countless generations ago, mankind unleashed a devastating plague upon itself. Technology was developed to the point of perfection, wars were won in days and fought with squadrons of giant, piloted mechs. Nations grew greedy, their thirst for land and power was never quenched and almost all of Earth's resources were diminished. Two major nations formed from the scraps of civilization, trying to achieve supreme dominance and control.

After generations of war, desparate for a resolve and each side too arrogant for a peace treaty, they began to research a type of weapon that no amount of armour or firepower could save the fragile human body from. Wave after wave of biological weapons were released - thousands of species extinct, the air left unbreathable, cities vacant and what was left of humanity had to live underground in bunkers. Any trace of government slowly dissolved, morals tossed aside for resources, land and weaponry. Countless factions spawned as a result, humanity divided yet all living for the same purpose - to survive. Stuck in a perpetual war, will mankind exterminate themselves or find peace? You decide.


ABOUT
Antraxx is a massively multiplayer mech shooter with a heavy emphasis on teamwork and replayability with completely customizable mechs and zones. Boasting multiple game modes and in-depth faction politics and economy systems, allowing you to play the game how you wish.

The goal is to create a next-generation isometric game with a completely 3D engine rendering hand-drawn pixel art with dynamic lighting, shadows, positional audio and a refined control scheme. You are also able to create your own zones to share and battle in, providing near limitless sandbox gameplay.

FEATURES
  • Crisp, high-quality pixel art
  • Play in browser or download
  • Massively multiplayer
  • Customize and outfit your own giant mech
  • Create your own faction or join another
  • Acquire land and build your own zone
  • Annihilate your opponents or make peace
  • Player driven world economy and politics
  • Team-based, free for all and co-op game modes


GAMEPLAY
Collect parts and weapons to outfit your own giant mecha. Once you've crafted your own custom masterpiece, test out its mettle by dropping into one of the many dangerous conflict zones in the Antraxx world. It is here where you will get to test your might against other pilots. Acquire your own land in one of the many wastelands of the world in order to grow your own faction and cement your power. Special additions such as jetpacks, rocket launchers, lasers, teleportation, and cloaking devices allow for you to select your own unique playing style.

There are various game modes present in the game, alongside the opportunity for endless creativity with our map creation tools. Join in player-hosted public events, giveaways, and battles. Charge and fire your lasers for a big impact, fire cluster missiles from great distances or get up close and personal with a heavy machine gun. There are countless ways to achieve peace in the never ending war known as Antraxx.


TEAMWORK
There is a heavy emphasis on co-operative gameplay between your faction members and allies. No matter how powerful, one lone mech cannot withstand the might of an entire army. There is strength to be found in numbers. Join an existing faction, or if you wish you can even start your own and build a loyal following of friends and comrades-in-arms.

Silver tongue? Every pilot has the opportunity to use the chaotic politics and economy of the world to their advantage and earn riches, power, land and mechs through diplomacy alone. Remember though, the taller they are, the harder they fall.


ARCADE-ESQUE
With tight, responsive controls, you can pilot your own giant mech to either aid or destroy your fellow pilots. Inspired by classic arcade games, each battle is full of high adrenaline, explosive action.

Antraxx will immerse you in a detailed, 1980's themed post-apocalyptic world. It is up to you to dominate the battlefields with only your guns and armored mech to your name. Players will fight for the control of special booster points on the map which will allow them to restore energy, health, or even grant them special powers such as invisibility. Each map has its own individual mechanics which must be learned and mastered in order to provide a fresh but familiar experience every time.


MECHS
No one mech is alike. You are able to choose various individual parts from multiple default mech builds and combine them into an unstoppable force. Trade resources and your own mechs parts in favour of others, or blow them off of another mech and steal them. The choice is yours.


« Last Edit: October 18, 2016, 10:59:30 am by META4 »

Offline META4

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Re: META4 - Mech Multiplayer MMOCC

Reply #1 on: May 16, 2013, 09:12:33 pm






Offline Ymedron

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Re: META4 - Mech Multiplayer MMOCC

Reply #2 on: May 17, 2013, 10:10:08 am
Paint me jaded but that advertisement spiel is just a little bit... Advertisy. Using the words unique a lot which makes for a somewhat odd impression..?

The sprites as far as I can see look technically pretty good, though all the yellow and gray gets really noisy and it's hard to really understand the depth of the scene due to that. I don't think it's necessary to paint every block with big yellow warning stripes, it just overpowers the scene and makes the actual warnable things (like opening doors or moving platforms) get lost in the noise. For example, there shouldn't be anything to be careful of on the seams in between every ground tile.

Judging from the color on the mech, it might also disappear in the noise of the background as it's not very significantly lighter or more saturated than the floor it stands on. Movement helps, but I would probably easily lose an enemy mech standing still in the example level in you built in the last post.
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Offline PypeBros

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Re: META4 - Mech Multiplayer MMOCC

Reply #3 on: May 17, 2013, 10:53:44 am
The sprites as far as I can see look technically pretty good, though all the yellow and gray gets really noisy and it's hard to really understand the depth of the scene due to that. I don't think it's necessary to paint every block with big yellow warning stripes, it just overpowers the scene and makes the actual warnable things (like opening doors or moving platforms) get lost in the noise.
Seconding that. I see an easy way to help reading the scene by dropping more and more stripes as you approach the "plain ground",btw. Alternatively, you might just introduce a "plain ground" tile, with almost no technology involved (Bitmap Brothers "Chaos Engine" could be a distant reference for that) against which the structure (which does not involve that much crossing sections) would read better.

Offline rikfuzz

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Re: META4 - Mech Multiplayer MMOCC

Reply #4 on: May 17, 2013, 11:35:13 am
Yeah, beautiful as the individual assets are, a full screen of them messes with my eyes like a magic-eye puzzle.   :(  And there is no visual difference between a variety of heights, making it quite confusing. All would be solved by a nice, low contrast base level tileset.

Offline Helm

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Re: META4 - Mech Multiplayer MMOCC

Reply #5 on: May 17, 2013, 12:39:50 pm
The critique is spot-on about the overbusy ground tiles. Also if the engine allows, fake drop shadows would do wonders for the structures. The don't have to be super realistic.

Offline Seiseki

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Re: META4 - Mech Multiplayer MMOCC

Reply #6 on: May 17, 2013, 05:40:37 pm
I did a rough edit over at Tigs. Posting it here as well.
I'm curious what you think of having a blur effect, since I know a lot of pixel artists hate shaders/filters :D



I'd actually love to see the level design looking more functional, like adding roads and buildings.
And even having maps taking place on planets, with terrain, buildings, etc.

Right now it's rather abstract which I think makes it feel less realistic, like why are we fighting on platforms in space instead of inside cities and military bases with cars to stomp on and buildings to tear down.

Offline tim

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Re: META4 - Mech Multiplayer MMOCC

Reply #7 on: May 18, 2013, 04:39:27 pm
I was doing to do almost the same edit. It's incredibly better without these yellow stripes everywhere. They need to help understanding the level design, the key areas, the ramps, the heights, the walkable areas, etc... However the blur is really unecessary and doesn't add anything. When you play the focus is not on the mech, but on the level, the opponents, so you need to have the entire screen really readable. It's not a movie where you direct the eye, it is a game, the player can look where he wants.

Last thing : change the logo. It looks like a pure Metal Slug ripoff.
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Offline Seiseki

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Re: META4 - Mech Multiplayer MMOCC

Reply #8 on: May 18, 2013, 04:47:34 pm
Now that you mentioned it.




After having them side by side it is a complete ripoff..
The 4 has been patched up quite roughly by copy pasting bits.

They did mention that several artists have been contributing to the project, I just hope who ever did this haven't stolen more graphics.
« Last Edit: May 18, 2013, 04:57:48 pm by Seiseki »

Offline META4

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Re: META4 - Mech Multiplayer MMOCC

Reply #9 on: May 19, 2013, 02:06:16 pm
The logo is indeed a alteration from Metalslug. Sorry for not mentioning we are still working on a replacement. All other art is created from scratch. The artists working on the project all have remodeled my own concepts.
« Last Edit: October 18, 2016, 11:02:10 am by META4 »