Grave Prosperity - part 1 News

Hello everybody!
So since the last update here there has been a whole lot of things going on in my life. Lot's of very big changes. Some of you may already be in the loop if you follow the game's Youtube channel or other social media pages, but this is going to be an update for those of you who do not already know.

I could type it all out here, but that would be a huge pain in the ass, so instead I have a video explaining what all was going on during my time away.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

So there's that. Pretty neat stuff, right?
Right!

Now on to the next order of business! What's been going on since then? Because that video was made like 4 months ago...
Well over these past 4 months I have built this:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

I know that House of Velez may not be of any relevance to some of us here, since it is the exact opposite type of a game to Grave Prosperity. But the part that should interest you is the advancements that have been made (and will continue to be made) in how I am developing my games.
Although I put GP on hold in order to work on something simpler and more appropriate for the time I had available, that doesn't mean this hiatus comes with no benefits.

Everything we saw in the clip above is new knowledge for me. The whole Resident Evil styled inventory, the seamless world travel without any sort of black screens between doors, seamless transitions from cutscene to gameplay and back again. All of it. It all came from working on this project, and it will all translate over to my work on GP after this project as well.
In the past these are the things I always wanted for the game, but because GP was my first ever project, I didn't have the means nor experience to create them before.
But I do now.

So for everyone who is excited for the new HoV, awesome, me too!
For everyone who is not, and is kind of annoyed at the fact that I had to but the brakes on GP temporarily, just remember this:
The game we could have gotten would have been good. But the game we're going to get will be even better, because it comes with the experience and advancements made from the time it takes to work on the HoV Remake. I'm basically off training in the mountains in order to prepare for my biggest project yet.

So hang in there, everybody! It's going to be a little while, but when I come back we're going to be seeing a very different and much more impressive version of Grave Prosperity!

Until then, feel free to follow the progress of the House of Velez Remake here:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100051135744778

Or here:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/D_R_I_G

And of course, always here:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQLF-aN1soWYfv_XCJhZ_og

Take care of yourselves and be safe!

Since the last update there's been quite a bit done!
Lots of environment building and some new enemies have also been made. I've finally completed building on that outdoor section we saw in the last update, and recently I've been working on the infamous room where we encounter our first Scavenger! That's been a lot of fun. There's a couple extra little areas leading up to that now too, instead of just the room itself. I think everyone will be into it!

I've also added a shotgun, which you will see in the video below, along with a new zombie-type enemy we'll encounter.
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
I wanted the shotgun to be fun to use, so it's capable of blowing off limbs, blowing enemies in half, or even completely obliterating a torso (which is shown in the video above).

As of the moment, the focus is on getting the Scavenger's AI made. I've been so excited about getting around to working on these guys since they were the biggest problem with the older games. They'll put up a fight, but I'll have them balanced out this time. I can't wait to run a combat demonstration when they're ready!
Past that, I need to get that room with the spinning pillar made. And then I have an entirely new section of the game to build! You'll see an image of a large castle-like structure below. That's going to be its own entire section of the game. I decided to have a level leading up to the Stillborn Wanderer instead of just walking into the fight like we did in previous games. That means more opportunity for new monsters and exploration, which I'm all for!

Ok, enough blabbing from me. Here's a bunch of screens from what all I've been building on.



I'm looking forward to putting together the next update! I think I'm gonna make it a Halloween one! Seems appropriate.
Take care, everybody!

Since the last update I decided to do some more studying up on 3D modeling. I also picked up Zbrush so I could start making some very high detailed sculpts to project onto low poly models. Doing this has really helped optimize things as well.
Having Zbrush, I decided that this would be the best time to get the Scavenger properly made! They're the most well know monster in Grave Prosperity due to their incredibly unforgiving reputation as the first enemy you encounter in the old games. Because of this I didn't want them made until I felt I could get the best quality out of them.

Here's some of the progress as I was learning:



The second, and most recent thing I've been working on is boss transformations. I'm a big fan of monster transformations in any game, and I really wanted something like that for this one. So here's a test run using the Lake Monster boss fight I've been working on:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Currently I'm wrapping up the second of three phases for this fight. Once that's done it'll be back to adding on to this outdoor area. There's still a whole other section after this before we're done with this area! Then it'll finally be time to get back indoors where I can finally make the area for the first Scavenger encounter. Of course it'll be completely expanded on like this part, so it should prove to be an interesting endeavor!

Time for another update!
So last time I said I was hoping to return with some info showing the new Scavengers. But I ended up moving in another direction and then got really caught up in said direction... So basically I've been building an entirely new outdoor section that introduces a couple new mechanics, including minor platforming, a grappling gun, and swimming. It also brings in new enemies and bosses. This section is meant to replace and expand on that very small outside area from the original game where the tomb stones were. Right before the Lab.
Those new mechanics I mentioned are already made into the game and they are designed to expand on our ability to explore the world. Combat is cool, but I want there to be more than just that and minor key hunts. There will be lots of hidden items, extra enemies, and new places to find, and this is how we're going to do it!

I got some screens here showing some of the new area and a short video showing a little testing on the latest enemy's AI:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

The way I'm expanding this section is the way I want to expand many of the other sections too. The original games couldn't be too big because of the engine I was making them on. With UE4 I can make the game as big as I want! So there's going to be quite a bit added.

With all that said, I'm going to continue working on this area until it's done and then I'm going to try to reel it back in and finally get the Scavengers into the game so I can show them sooner rather than later!

Should be fun!

It's finally time to show off Amber's full machete and firearm move set!
Like I talked about last time, I added the shooting system and included that RE4 style contextual melee system to supplement it. And the addition I have been most excited about working on is also now complete! The execution system!
There's 3 different types per enemy-type. Depending on where the camera is pointed on the enemy, Amber will do a different execution. So if the camera is pointed up at them, she'll do one, if it's looking down at them she'll do another, and if it's looking straight at them she'll do a different one. So pretty much like a DOOM-lite glory kill system.

Anyway. Enough talk! Let's take a look at how things are looking after a month of work:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

So I am very very happy with the current state of the game. This is basically what I always hoped Grave Prosperity could look and play like when I first started working on it years ago. Seeing it the way it is now is something really special for me!
There's still a lot to do though. I'm going to get Amber's damage animations made and then I think it'll be about time to start building on the world again. I don't know when the next update here will be, but I'm thinking it will be when I get the Scavengers into the game. These Dolls are pushovers, but we all know how the Scavengers are. Now that I know Amber's move set it will be fun to balance them around it!

Be seeing you all again soon!