Got the track’s slope lines working! You can make a track with height now. It’s just visual and doesn’t function yet, but it looks pretty cool and makes it easier to see how the game will play. Exciting!
Jan 10, 2021
I got the car-on-track elevation working (aka “z height”). This is all 2D and so I have to fake the 3D stuff myself, which is rewarding and I’m learning a ton :) Brushed up on some Trigonometry I haven’t used since high school to determine where the car should be on the “slope”. It will look better when I get all the car sprite angles made and implemented.
There’s no launching off jumps yet and a lot of other things need to happen to make it feel great (those car angles, some inertia on turns, walls with collisions, etc) but I’m really happy to have this working. it’s starting to feel a bit like what I’ve been working towards!
Jan 18, 2021
Concept design and process sketches of a humanoid ankylosaurus character. Could be a playable character or an NPC. I’m exploring the kinds of characters that might live in this world and thinking about what the rules are. Is there any magic in the world or is everything technology-based? Would be cool to have a bit of both! Contemporary or future? I plan to have car-combat so there will be some advancements in technology for sure, but how far to take it? I’m leaning more towards contemporary, but we’ll have to see.
Jan 20, 2021
A little hackback. It looks pretty good but 'realistic' isn't the direction I want, so I'm gonna make some more fun and imaginitive cars next. Might try an armored van for the Ankylo character (with a hammertail?), a submarine car design from the old prototype, or something else.
Jan 28, 2021
Concept sketch - This vehicle will be quite nimble, able to do spin-attacks and other combat moves, so I added side boosters to facilitate that. Perhaps the powered suspension system is able to move the wheels around allowing the vehicle to do jumps and other maneuvers.
Feb 10, 2021
A new version of the vehicle model based on the concept design. I really liked where the design ended up, kind of sci-fi but still chunky and cartoony, which is more my style so I'm happy with the upgrade!
SpriteStack - the car is drawn on layers (center) creating a 3D model (right), then pre-rendered sprites are exported and used in the game.