Bitten by the sidescroller bug...

[Dusty]

I think this has a ton of Mirror's Edge vibe in terms of color scheme, and a hint of Dragonball Z building design... I'm not sure why I get that feeling but it just brings back memories for whatever reason. I also have to agree with Conceit though, having the foreground in the perspective of shadows doesn't make a lot of sense, and looked better prior to the camera change. I also think I liked it a bit better when the camera height and angle was a bit higher, as now it's a bit hard to even tell that the things on the ground are boards, if not for the original picture.

I think you should work on the timing of the explosion some. Maybe the explosion should be faster, while the smoke lingers a bit slower and longer.

[Indigo]

I'm very interested in how you made the explosion - care to explain a bit?

[Howard Day]

Conceit: Yeah, it's waaay prettier the original way.

Dusty: I will definitely cop to being inspired by mirrors edge - it's such a very pretty game, it's hard not to be inspired by it. As for Dragonball Z...I've never seen it - and I dislike most anime, so I can't account for any similarities. And yeah, the explosion timing needs work - that's just a first run to get the particle systems worked out.
Indigo: Yeah, no problem. It's a series of 3dsMax particle effects, with some procedural materials applied - that's actually true of all these scenes and models - there's only one bitmap used, the flag, in the whole lot. If you're really interested in the specifics, and can get your hands on the trial version of 3DS, then I'd be happy to make the file available if you'd like.

[Indigo]

I'd certainly enjoy taking a look at that.

Edit:  Looking at the scene, I'd love to see a parallax-scrolling background layer behind these pieces.  A bluer-desaturated cityscape full of this style of buildings would be absolutely awesome.

[Howard Day]

Indigo: Cool, here's the file: http://www.hedfiles.net/explodedemo.zip - you'll need at least Max 2009 to run that.
I played with the timing of the explosion - I think it's improved.

I also found the time to make my first enemy - well, mostly, still playing with the animations...

DEATHBOT!

Thoughts?

[Indigo]

thoughts?  I'm in love.  Really.  Everything is really well-designed and animated extremely well.  I want to see all these dang models on my screen so I can analyze them! yarrgh!   Thanks a ton for the file.  i'm going to look it over after I find Max. (i've been modeling in lowly wings)

[big brother]

Where have you been all my life?

Also, I admire your streamlined workflow. This is a big chunk of assets to get to a reasonably polished state in only a few days.

[Dusty]

Hmm, something about that bot bugs me. Its movement is almost like a limp of sorts, rather than something you'd see on a similar spider...

[WM]

Hmm, something about that bot bugs me. Its movement is almost like a limp of sorts, rather than something you'd see on a similar spider...

I think it's because the legs dont alternate perfectly; it's more of a sluggish gallop rather than spider-steps.

[Howard Day]

Indigo:Hope you're able to make use of it.
big brother: Eating cheetos. Thanks - it's not nearly as hard as it looks...
Dusty, WM: Yup, you're right. That first was just a first pass...

Much better, I think.
Thoughts?