Last Knight: Rogue Rider Edition News

It is Halloween! Already, in Last Knight! In this little Halloween event you will be able to find lots of Pumpkin hats in the Endless modes. The horned bucket heads, skeletons and other rider will wear various pumpkins as well. If you happen to encounter ghosts, don't worry they are just common encounters at Halloween and are pretty harmless. Some of them are likely your dead previous selfs since you likely got wasted a lot since you first set a horse foot in this world.



The update also includes a small fix for a really rare case were some of the levels would not generate properly on start sometimes and the player gets stuck.




It has been some time since the game released and I'm currently busy with making 2 new games but lets take a minute to reminisce with some bits of the development (hell):


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O54Crl08Ogc
Note: Most of these bits show more or less unintended results which are often of a amusing nature.

Here is something of more substance in terms of making of. This shows how I sculpted most of environment assets as very high resolution Zbrush sculpts which are then baked to models with much lower poly counts.


The grass for instance is actually modeled in various variations and then baked to planes.

Here is the bat as a Zbrush sculpt and as the final model in the engine:

A lot of the characters had been mostly modeled as high poly meshes instead of sculpted which works best for clear defined shapes like the knight's armor:

Here you can see the low poly version. The goal was always to make it as low as possible while remaining most of the silhouette. A lot of the high poly detail and smoothness takes over to the low poly through a baked normal map texture. It basically fakes the low poly model to look like a high poly model. This technique is still a standard in current games. While polygon counts keep rising it won't go away anytime soon.

For the skeleton I did something special in terms of animation. I used motion capture to record my movements using the Kinect. It was a bit tricky to get working:

But later I got it working and with a few tweaks I got this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-Qaq_8M_oo

So the next time you behead a skeleton keep in mind that really it is a projection of me! (I have more fingers though.) I also motion captured all the other creatures. No just kidding, it was the skeleton exclusively, doing any anything different then humanoid motion capture is rather tricky.

Btw, if you are already living in the future like me and still need something to 3d print for your Halloween decoration check out this Skeleton version that snaps together and can move: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:644370

Here are some more pics of the development:

The horned bucket head high poly model.


The little dragon ZBrush sculpt.


Some tests with various mutators.


Showing the later added world deforming destruction.


First implemented part of the weather system.


The food shader deformation animations.


The first randomly generated hat which really was a wig.

May you have a smashtastic experience,
David Hagemann
Toco Games
@TocoGamescom - Lastknightthegame.com

P.S.
Here is a little something of one of my next projects which is a first person painter:

For more development hell you can follow me on twitter: @TocoGamescom
Or check out my free game jam games:
Where Is My Hammer: http://tocogames.itch.io/where-is-my-hammer-destroy-everything
Shootmephrenia: http://tocogames.itch.io/shootmephrenia

It is that time of the year where lunatics with bunny masks roam the kingdom and joust each other to death for the fun of it. So grab a bunny mask and join the action!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CoKCSQGDKY
In this Easter event you will find lots of bunny masks and eggs in lots of variations. That also includes game manipulating hidden eggs that you can find in the menus, just click on them to activate them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wxHJTknzMU
This update also marks the 2.0 version number! I guess that means it is complete x 2.
New are animations for the other rider, they will now cheer when they dodged a obstacle successfully and react to you sometimes. It makes it all the more fun to watch when they die just while they happily throw their arms in the air or when they look back and then run right into a obstacle.


Changed are the extra cameras which are now all located on the number keys, when you press a number multiple times you get to additional cameras as A-D. Camera 1A is the default camera. When you press 0 you get cinematic randomly changing cameras.

For first person the FOV can now be changed with the number keys, 1-9 with 0 resetting it to the default FOV.

In the past couple of months I got into 3d printing and I had to print Last Knight models as well. For the skeleton I went the extra length and made it so that his bones snap together and his body can then move:

More: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:644370

I also printed several versions of the knight helmet with the version that is printed in parts being the newest. It can then easily be assembled:

Unfortunately I had no blue nor silver filament but it looks also pretty cool in black in white. It might be the noble white and black knight who fights for tolerance and equal rights.
More: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:750091

If that got you interested in 3d printing you will find lots more of my designs here, which includes a Professor Farnsworth, a fruit tree, the whole world, a Invader Zim action figure and of course a bunny: http://www.thingiverse.com/Davision3d/designs

I'm not starting any merchandise for Last Knight here but I have also uploaded the skeleton skull as a keychain for purchase on Shapeways which can even be printed in 14k gold if that should be your thing: https://www.shapeways.com/product/J26S9SQYC/skull-keychain?key=64afba31665af379a03782bb3a206b3b

The update also includes some tweaks and fixes. Here is the change notes list:

Originally posted by notes

- Added Easter Event
- Added other rider animations
- Changed extra cameras to be all on number keys
- Changed first person fov to be on number keys
- Changed 0 key to be randomly switching between extra cameras
- Changed x-mas modes to require unlock again
- Tweaked some menu things
- Fixed gamepad x button
- Fixed suprise surprise mode mutators staying active after run
- Fixed exit game animation still having menu controls
- Fixed medals for different campaigns not updating instantly
- Fixed lance aimring ray setting not saving
- Fixed a issue with the music system

Happy Easter!
David Hagemann
Toco Games
@TocoGamescom - http://www.lastknightthegame.com

A new game mode for Christmas!



I could not resist making yet another mode for X-mas. I just took the original Big X-Mas Chow Down mode and replaced "Ch" of the Chow with a "M" as a result the Big X-Mas Mow Down mode was born.

Well, it wasn't quite that easy. That new mode doesn't feature any of the extreme turkey munching nor the candy canes crunching. Instead there are lots of other rider on the winter wonderland roads. They are trying to deliver presents all over the kingdom. But as you might guessed in this kingdom nothing really ever gets delivered for rather obvious reasons. So don't feel bad about ramming them and snatching their presents! Most include giant snowballs that you can then throw at the next rider. Why are there snowballs in the presents? Because some people must have realized that their presents won't get anywhere anyway so they filled them with cheap snow instead.
But you can also find power ups, hats and some magic mutation for yourself and horse in those presents. You also still have to mow down those randomly generated snowmen of course as well as the horned bucket heads but those giant snow balls make it all a good bit easier.

If you never played the Big X-mas Chow Down mode before you can check it out here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qW9708f8U0

Here is the change notes list:

Originally posted by notes

- Added X-mas mow down mode
- Tweaked extra cameras
- Tweaked other rider
- Changed extra cameras switch to page up/page down +/- (numpad)
- Fixed a rare bug with other rider destroying collisions
- Fixed x-mas music lacking stingers

Merry X-mas,
David Hagemann
Toco Games
@TocoGamescom - http://www.lastknightthegame.com

Here we go with update #9 which marks version 1.9!

You probably wondered by now why Halloween never seems to end in Last Knight. Wonder no more! It is now Christmas and Santa made your deepest wish come true. What wish that is? To put all those competitor rider to waste.


Well, not all of them, some get wasted in the brand new taverns while some others are still out there roaming the kingdom and getting wasted. But they finally respect you now and will not try to get into your way anymore even if that means their painful death. You could say they respect you more then their own live.

Those other rider also represent now all those houses in the game. Like the house of the dancing fox, of the mad unicorn, of the roasted turkeys etc. They wear the flag of their house proudly (till they die around the next corner) and there are also rogue rider that represent their own generated family (and their rather short legacy). When you crafted the castle yet you will see also rider of your own house but you can just ram them in the side anyways, because it is just too tempting to not do!



(Nobody is under the influence of alcohol here)

The addition of the tavern acts as the go to place to hear all the drivel. There you can listen to the tales of the wonders of the world. But luckily you don't have to sit through all that boring slipslop and only get the important bits which is in which direction a particular wonder is located. There is a side-effect to the addition of the tavern though, other riders have been seen riding dizzy on their horses while others are simple sleeping while riding and some have even forgot to put on their armors! That can not end well. (As if it ever would)
Note: There is 0% alcohol included in this game. Non, zero, nada! It is all just apple juice in those barrels.
Oh, those randomly generated other rider now also wear randomly generated hats sometimes.


You probably also wondered why you could only see the dark silhouette of the traders. Fear not, they are not some dark evil demons that hide in the shadows! They are human beings just like you and me, well, for a big part.

Here is the charming diamonds trader brought to light:


Wait, something went not quite right there, lets try again:


No, that was a wrong parameter, lets roll with this, here they are all right:

Isn't it a dream team? Well, one is getting out of line but that has to do. He just got too much magic in him!

The traders are not shy to comment on the hats you wear. You better take their fashion tips seriously because the right hat can help immensely with trying to survive, because magic!


The extra alternative cameras have been tweaked quite a lot and you can now choose favorites with the number keys from 0-9. There are default favorites which are basically my favorites but you can make them your own by choosing a camera with the mousewheel or in case of the gamepad with the d-pad up and down buttons. To then save a selected camera on a number simply press left control + the number key you want to save it on. You can then also automatically randomize between the favorites by choosing camera 0. (If you have problems with your mousewheel or d-pad you can also lock camera switching by pressing numpad 5) Don't forget, in first person you can instead zoom in and out.


I participated in 3 game jams recently and out of it came 3 little games you can download:



"Where Is My Hammer" Everything can be smashed to pieces and there is a hammer. Created for the Indies VS PewDiePie game jam.

"Shotmephrenia" A FPS in which you have to shoot no one but yourself! Make perfect trickshots, figure out how to reflect the bullet over multiple panels and run and jump to catch your bullet! Created for the 7DFPS game jam.

"Nowhere" A very small but deeep artgame that messes with your head. Created for the Ludum Dare 31 gam jam.

Here is the whole collection: http://itch.io/c/2912/creative-destructive


Here now the whole change notes list:

Originally posted by notes

- Added Trader visuals
- Added Tavern
- Added hats, flags and color randomization for other rider
- Added sleeping other rider
- Added other cameras hotkeys with custom favs
- Tweaked other rider to be much less
- Tweaked other cameras and added 2
- Changed other rider to not strafe in front of you
- Changed other cameras gamepad switch to d-pad up down
- Changed other cameras to overwrite text-fx per camera type
- Changed loading intro
- Changed endless hat droprate to be high (it is x-mas)
- Improved hats inventory menu
- Improved sounds system
- Improved music system
- Fixed bug with fat strength property
- Fixed ghost other rider colliding
- Fixed music system issues
- Fixed magic lance visuals not showing up anymore in boss level
- Fixed rare you are dead message stuck
- Fixed other cameras with finished camera bug
- Fixed cannon cinematic camera glitch
- Fixed a issue with 2 custom advanced graphics settings getting overwritten

May you have a smashtastic experience and merry x-mas,
David Hagemann
Toco Games
@TocoGamescom - http://www.lastknightthegame.com

P.S.
The hat drop rate in the Endless modes is now pretty high because it is x-mas time! Want to play the Big X-Mas Chow Down mode but don't have a wooly hat yet? Here you go: http://www.tocogames.com/files/WoolyHat-Knight.zip

The Halloween update is now live! A bit late but still not too late.



You will now find lots of pumpkin hats as well as enemies with pumpkin hats. The drop rate of all hats in Endless Journey is greatly increased over the span of the event. It will probably last some days into the next week. Because it is Last Knight's last night's Halloween event! Or last week's or something!


Brand new are competitor rider that roam the world like you do. But have no fear, they are not the smartest, nor the strongest, nor the fastest, nor the bravest. So they probably die sooner then you do. They will also grab coins though, so you might want to get rid of them with a friendly joust in their back. Alternatively you can just ram them in the sides like you would do in the game Burnout (Just with horses instead of cars and ragdoll goodness)

Don't ram them in the back though because that will result in a Smash-Up! Those riders are slower then you so you will automatically catch up to them but you can also accelerate that by bunny hopping. Get them before they die! Poor bbbbbaaaaaaaaaa sssssssssssss ketballs.

There are also scary skeleton riders which are not even a tad more intelligent. But they have at least the excuse that their brain is already rotten!
Also pretty brainless are the ghosts, yes ghosts! But don't be afraid they are as fast as the wind and with it quickly gone.


Not 1, not 2, not 3, 37 new cameras are now in the game! They cover all kinds of views while a lot of them are not very practical yet really cool to watch! There are also just FOV variations and the first person FOV can now be changed by simply using the mousewheel. Here are some of them:

Click it for the full view.
You can simply change the 3rd Person Camera with the mouse wheel while playing. There is also a randomization on slot 0, it changes the camera randomly every few seconds which makes it very cinematic but also really crazy. You can see the number on the top left when you use the mouse wheel. Most of them are pretty experimental and there can be clipping and cameras just going through obstacles.


Yes, you can now dance in Last Knight! I discovered dancing by accident while making the Rogue Rider Tutorial images. I just implemented somethings that let me force a ragdoll to different sides with pressing keys to get this images:

As it turns out it looks like dancing (Not the best dancing but pretty good from my point of view)
You can now dance after every region passed in the Rogue Rider Adventure mode and when you die there and when you found a Wonder of the World. You can also dance as many times as you want then in the trophies screen to celebrate your "flawless" victories!

I can dance!

My horse can dance!


No, not with real money! Who buys unreal hats with real money? Anyway, you can now buy a random hat with lots of gold and alternatively randomly transform a existing one. (Let the same hat type generate new)
But you only get those options in the customize screen after you purchased the new castle with lots of gold. This is for Endless Journey only.


As mentioned before there is now a little tutorial for the Rogue Rider Adventure mode which gives you the basics you need to know. The inventory has been also made more clear.
You can see the tutorial also in the loading screen when clicking and you also see now stats flying in while the world gets generated.


I made some discoveries performance wise, especially over time the performance is now significantly better.


No, it was not all the poop ragdolls! But most had something do with some things not getting cleaned up.


Here is the change notes list:

Originally posted by notes

- Added other riders (Smash able AIs riding through the world)
- Added randomly generated Pumpkin hats
- Added 37 3rd Person cameras (change with mousewheel while playing)
- Added First Person FOV on mousewheel
- Added Dancing (Region passed, RRA death and Wonder of The World screen)
- Added Hats buying and transforming (New castle required)
- Added Tutorial for RRA
- Added Stats showing for RRA loading
- Added intro forHalloween
- Changed Endless Journey hat drop hate much higher for the Halloween event
- Changed RRA gamepad camera rotating to be indirect
- Improved Performance (lots for over time)
- Improved cinematic cameras (mostly canceling)
- Improved Inventory (easier to understand)
- Fixed Knight quests start text taking over to RRA
- Fixed RRA camera unlock button issue
- Fixed Knight endless mode unlock text not showing
- Fixed some Camera options being still attached to presets
- Fixed some spaces missing in the RRA armor reward screen
- Fixed a load issue with old save games
- Fixed rainbows disappearing bug
- Fixed some issues with the new music system
- Fixed "Careful! Explosive!" achievement not working
- Fixed a issue with distance setting
- Fixed some tutorial text

May you have a Smasssshhhhhtaaaaaastic Halloween,
Dead Hanged-Man
Toco Games
@TocoGamescom - http://www.lastknightthegame.com

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