WILL's Prototype Designs

[WILL]

Well as K4Z said, it is only a running title for now. [size=9px](I'm not sold on it, just needed to call it something other than the platform game or the robot game. :?)[/size] If you guys can think of a better or more appropreate one, toss me some suggestions, but I don't plan on setting any names in stone for some time...

As for Mr. GUS. I did it again. :lol: I managed to pick the one thing that you focused the most on, or based the whole or most of the concept behind. How do I do that?

Ok, if you want to continue with the idea of the small arms, see what you can come up with. I guess extra variety of ideas cannot hurt at this point.

BTW, I love the color of his eyes now. It's better than what I suggested before!

You know a work-around for the little arms could be? He knows how to operate other machinery and digital devices that do the fine work for him. Thats why he's obsolete, he knows how to fix stuff, but just cannot do it himself. (Read: Same as a human doing the work himself.) He was afterall only an early model. But this is further going back and forth with the small hands.

How is this for a wild idea? You split him into 2 different robots! G.U.S. is the big guy and you have a little one that whips around and is like his assistant or 2nd hands. I think it might be ammusing to see him rambling on and just keep givin'er while his poor silent assistant is trying desperately to pick up the slak that GUS seems to be missing. :lol:

We could use GUS as part comic relief in the game this way. The half absent minded mechanic bot that knows how to fix stuff, but he's such a kluts that all his assistant(s) are/is the one(s) that *really* do the work.

Maybe make him have no real tools on his body, just a big guy with big... everything. Big tools with big and small machines to do everyhting for him. Little assistants buzzing around in addition to his tool carrying helper.

Just a fun idea I had just now. Since we had two ideas for our rather large worker friend.

:idea: (Picture a scene with him going on about how important it is that he puts something back together or it'll blow your rm off or something, he turns around and keeps going on about it, letting go of the very thing he's talking about and the little bots start freaking out around him. The hero just bows his head in disbeleif as the little workers fix his work for him. He turns back around to a 'fixed' version be his counter-parts as if he didn't do a thing wrong.) :idea:

As for the hat, maybe try softening the top edges of the hat... and also a version without to see what will look best overall.

Hmm... the feet (I know, ignore whats there now) they should be a lunky as the arms and body are compaired. Big 'ole clod hoppers. Or... just keep thinkin' fat mechanic named... 'GUS' :lol:

[savage]

And when do we get that recap again?

[WILL]

I'm not overly keen to see Cyber in the title, as loads of games have Cyber this, Cyber that. Has the story changed since the last time I visited the thread? Can you post a small recap for the slow ones like me.

Click here for brief recap!

[K4Z]

Thanx for the recap, really helped to clear some things up .

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I did some work on the small arms, just to give you some idea of what they really look like.
[size=9px](I'll do work on legs soon )[/size]


(I've started setting up some IK rigging on the arms, and with the hydraulics and everything moving, it does look pretty cool , and will allow for some pretty interesting animation)

The look of the small arms will help with the overall look. As in, the combination of New smooth and shiny, with old mechanical, wires hanging out, look. (Which is the look I'm trying to achieve with the entire game)

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I would like to keep the small arms for now (At least until you see the final product, if I still haven't convinced you by then, I'll chop 'em off ).
But I do love the idea of him as a bit of a bumbling fool, who actually brakes more things than he fixes, while it's really his assistant droids that do any realy work.

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I'll post an update to the Interface idea soon, still toying with ideas.

[WILL]

Well the arms are looking a lot better. Hmm... well we could try another idea. How about the arms are an attachment instead of being controlled by GUS?

So not only do the little helpers try to fix all his mistakes, but so does the poor arms attachment attached to him. It tries helplessly to fix things independant of him completely even though it's attached to him still.

Maybe he'll walk away from the table and the little arms will be struggling like a person to reach and grab for the table to stop it from falling and when it crashes to the floor, it drops the arms as if it just gave up...

You should give it little fingers too. To give it some personality as a seperate independant character from GUS.

Oh and one more thing, the outter shell on this guy is gotta have a bit of rust on it. Nothing looking like it's new. Like parts that were nice and clean, but over the years growing rust on it...

[Traveler]

K4Z, its looking pretty cool indeed. Perhaps you can add some metallic/rusty look quickly by using the (procedural) metalpresets under the F8 key. There's always time to add textures later, but it'll give WILL a better idea of how it'll look in the end.

[WILL]

EDIT: Posted in a wrong thread, but I moved it here where it belongs now...

You know the style of old technology I think of when I think of these non-'hero robot'-based robots? Ever see Judge Dredd the movie[size=9px](The one with Stallone)[/size]? You know that big mechanical war machine? Thats what I think of... not the shapes of the bodyparts or any of that so much as the texture of the metal used and the panneling on the body parts. Like you can see the small bolts and screws holding the plat in place. Not huge protruding bolts like you see on the PGD header though, more subtile and even sunken ones actaully. If even that... just the paneled effect.

One thing about the latest revisions of GUS I'm not partial to is the fancy doily designed art on him... The original panel look was better. It got too flowery and 'pretty'. Leve the general shap of him, it's good and the jaw and head is great, but just try to square off the edges of the body's paneling.

[K4Z]

Yes, I like the idea of the arms acting as somewhat seperate from the main body.

Maybe he'll walk away from the table and the little arms will be struggling like a person to reach and grab for the table to stop it from falling and when it crashes to the floor, it drops the arms as if it just gave up...

I love that idea, perfect for the comic relief :lol:, but it'll be up to my animation skill if I can pull it off with any success :?.

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I actually used parts of the Judge Dredd Robot as a reference. I really like that style. What I am trying to accomplish with GUS, is a sort of more newer look than that. Still made mostly out of chunks of metal (instead of composite plastics like the Main Character), but everything is kind of smooth and bubbly looking instead of straight and flat. Like a transition between new and old, yet GUS's 'new' look, is on the way out and starting to get old.
(Hope I'm not being confusing, don't really know how to explain it, but hopefully it'll make more sense in a few more updates)

I'm still planing on putting bolts and rivets all over his shell, but that'll be one of the last things I do.

His panel design was a failed attempt to give more detail to his plain sphere of a body . I don't like it either, came out too rounded and smooth. I'll try something else.

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As for his color/surface, it's still a bit early to be worrying too much about it . But to put everyones minds at rest (for now), I made some quick (and I mean quick ) tests.

Heh-hem . Here's a simple UV maping of his right arm. I just used a default brush in Photoshop to chip some paint away. No real diffuse or gloss map, so it looks too new (Yes, it looks horrible, but it's just a start)


Next up is a procedural map. I just layered a bunch of textures over each other and it came out pretty good. The rust looks better, the paint is more how it should look, nice and flat, and a bit faded.


I expanded on the procedural mappings and added some more layers. I tried to give an undercoating, and it's becomming visible as the top coat is chipping off. Also tried adding scratches as a bump map.


Just some tests, nothing is set in stone yet .

[savage]

Hey K4Z, did you get my PM?

[K4Z]

Hey K4Z, did you get my PM?

I did now . (Don't always notice new messages from cos of my popup blocker)

WILL asked me about it a few days ago , and I'm up for it. I'll finish writing it up tonight and submit to one of you two. Should I email or pm it?