Rivals of Aether - Official Thread

[Puppyfaic]

Now, for the obligatory 'Is this game going to have online multiplayer" question!

Is this game going to have online multiplayer?

 

[4nace]

Announcement:

Rivals of Aether will be coming to Xbox One and PC in 2015! Experience the game as it was meant to be played on Xbox One. We are also targeting to support LIVE multiplayer.

Check out the other great games going through the ID@Xbox Program here:

Thanks,
Dan Fornace

 

[AbbiDood]

So.. no Wii U support? That sucks. Definitly not getting an Xbox One any time soon, so I guess I'll have to stick to the PC version.. ugh.

 

[CaptainCrisb]

That's.... disappointing......... although, I kind of saw this coming anyway ._. meh, PC it is!

 

[arcticfox8]

I was actually planning to get an Xbone for KI so this kinda works out

 

[Mach5Mike]

So yeah, I'll be honest, I'm in the same boat that would have loved to have see this on the Wii U and/or 3DS (granted, I'm a biased Nintendo fan, so my opinion is obviously skewed), but I can always get the PC version, so at least I can still check out the game whenever it's released.

 

[4nace]

PC will be fully featured and support controllers so you can plug in whatever kind you have .

There are some good reasons for Xbox One being our console of choice, including that the game is being developed in Game Maker Studio.

Also look forward to updates soon. Still hard at work. Been staying up late every night the past week animating the third character. Still have many attacks to do, but locomotion is complete.

Thanks,
Dan Fornace

 

[AbbiDood]

I was thinking the main reason for this being on Xbox One is becouse you're working on KI, a Microsoft exclusive game I guess haha. But yea either way, as long as PC works perfectly fine it'll work out I guess.

 

[Puppyfaic]

Disappointed that you chose X1 of all things, but I guess beggars can't be choosers.

 

[arcticfox8]

How I grade game systems:
Does it play games?
Are there good games?
And that's it

I honestly don't understand the salt

 

[CaptainCrisb]

How I grade game systems:
Does it play games?
Are there good games?
And that's it

I honestly don't understand the salt

We're just disappointed, as this is Smashboards and almost everyone here currently has a Wii U and/or 3DS. Also, if your grading systems/consoles, of course it's gonna play games, so why even answer that? Perhaps a good question would be "What are the exclusives." imo. Anyways, back on topic: Is there still a way that the game could appear on other platforms or is this officially final?

 

[4nace]

Hey Guys,

We are working on our Result Menu Screen for after a match. One of the changes I want to make to this screen is to not overwhelm players with stats but instead show some of the truly important and cool ones.

Other than the obvious KOs, Falls, SDs and Damage Dealt/Taken, what kind of stats would you guys really like to see after a match?

In terms of platforms, PC and Xbox One are the only two as of now. Never say never, but for a dev as small as we are, two platforms is a lot to handle as is!

Thanks,
Dan

 

[CaptainCrisb]

In terms of platforms, PC and Xbox One are the only two as of now. Never say never, but for a dev as small as we are, two platforms is a lot to handle as is!

Thanks,
Dan

And the hype train is right back up! I know what you mean though, I can only handle PC development myself XD

 

[AbbiDood]

Even a 360/PS3 version would've been cool, considering pretty much everyone has one or the other nowadays.

 

[TheDiamondPiggy]

Hey Guys,

We are working on our Result Menu Screen for after a match. One of the changes I want to make to this screen is to not overwhelm players with stats but instead show some of the truly important and cool ones.

Other than the obvious KOs, Falls, SDs and Damage Dealt/Taken, what kind of stats would you guys really like to see after a match?

In terms of platforms, PC and Xbox One are the only two as of now. Never say never, but for a dev as small as we are, two platforms is a lot to handle as is!

Thanks,
Dan

Do you think there would be a way to implement an MVP feature in team battles? Or since it is a combo heavy Game, have a "highest combo" counter and also include the amount of percent you racked up in that combo.

 

[Tybis]

Other than the obvious KOs, Falls, SDs and Damage Dealt/Taken, what kind of stats would you guys really like to see after a match?

• Longest true combo
• Longest combo string
• Longest time spent in air
• Total time spent offstage (time spent in air with no ground directly underneath).
• Average input-per-second/minute?
• Total damage parried

And maybe some character-specific stats, such as

• Orcane; Total puddles.
• Zetterburn; Total damage dealt via burn.

 

[4nace]

@ TheDiamondPiggy
Hadn't thought of MVP. I imagine there is a way I could sort it out. Depends on what is considered the MVP. I could probably do a combo of damage differential and KOs/ Falls. I will probably do something like that, but maybe not for early test builds .

Longest Combo totally makes sense. I like the idea of making it damage instead of hits as that is much more telling of the combo. Might not even need to do hits as well then.

@ Tybis
True Combo is a cool stat. Not sure if all players will understand but it is something that is easy to track :D
Ground Time vs Air Time is always something I would look at in Brawl but I'm not sure how important it is. Seems more cool than impactful.
Parries is schweet. Will probably do that! Inputs is also very cool, but I'd have to see how technical top players get before deeming its worth.

Character specific is actually really cool. I will look for a way to do that with each character!

Thanks Guys! Cool ideas for sure!

Dan Fornace

 

[arcticfox8]

Longest Combo and Highest Damaging Combo should be separate, but I think Longest Combo should take priority if we can only have one.

 

[4nace]

Yeah I am thinking of only just having one or the other.

Longest combo is interesting because some characters will be able to get deceiving long combos. For example, Zetteburn's Neutral Air hits 3 times and Orcane's Down Air hits 4 times. But that's not necessarily a bad thing, as you just want to see how many hits you could get in a row. I'll play with with the two and pick one. I would lean toward hits as well at first thought. Would be bad if your most damaging "combo" on Zetterburn was just a single fully charged Smash Attack and you didn't know it.

Right now I am leaning toward:

• KOs
• Falls
• SDs
• Damage Given
• Damage Taken
• Parries
• Longest Combo
• Hit Percent
• Character Specific Stat

Like I said, I don't want to overly crowd it because I find too many stats become white noise. I would be willing to replace hit percent or add another stat with something really cool.

Thanks,
Dan Fornace

 

[TheDiamondPiggy]

Wait, can someone explain what Parries are in this game? I'm confused.

 

[4nace]

@ TheDiamondPiggy

Check out this part of TheSmashCast podcast to see and hear a bit about Parries:
http://youtu.be/HM1dgH1D4Lg?t=4m4s

 

[TheDiamondPiggy]

@ 4nace Wow thank you! That seems like a pretty good skill, but it seems too cheap, at least from a competitive standpoint, and from a casual gamer, if one person could "Parry side smash" without taking any damage. Maybe you could toggle it on and off or have it as a cancellable feature?

 

[arcticfox8]

@ 4nace Wow thank you! That seems like a pretty good skill, but it seems too cheap, at least from a competitive standpoint, and from a casual gamer, if one person could "Parry side smash" without taking any damage. Maybe you could toggle it on and off or have it as a cancellable feature?

As long as it has a set active time, endlag on wiff, and can't be held indefinitely it's fine to me.

 

[Freedom Cobra]

I saw this game during the ID@Xbox Gamescon montage and something about it just grabbed me. I went crazy looking for info which led me to your website and then this forum page. My PC can barely run Happy Wheels so there's not much point in trying that, but if you need a playtester on Xbox One I'm on standby otherwise I just wanted to ask a couple things:

• Any ideas on some of the Achievements you'll have for the game?
• Will any of the characters have a in-depth bio or personality traits such as disliking a specific other character(ex. Zetterburn being rivals with Orcane).

 

[4nace]

@ TheDiamondPiggy and @ arcticfox8

Yup. Parries will be a balanced part of the game. They have small startup and a short period of active with good ending lag so its not abusable at the moment. As more characters get it, I will definitely watch the balance. I probably won't have a setting that changes that but rather make it a complete part of the experience.

@ Freedom Cobra

Awesome! Thanks for finding us here. I'm not at the stage yet where I need playtesters for Xbox One, but once I get there, I'll let you know!

To answer your questions:

• I haven't put too much thought into achievements yet. That's something I'll have to plan out down the road for sure. You can expect 80% of the achievements to be pretty achievable or straight-forward. However, you can expect 20% to be some fun and crazy stuff!
• Yes! There will be a Story Mode and we are planning on extra bios that unlock as you play with a character more. Characters will have Rivals and their paths will twist and turn. I am very excited about the story we are writing for Rivals of Aether!

Still chugging on the third character. Hoping to do a playtester build next week with three playable characters. I could see the playtester build being pushed until after PAX, but it'll be early September at the latest right now!

Thanks,
Dan Fornace

 

[Puppyfaic]

Is Rivals of Aether going to have any kind of voice acting? I'd love to help out on that front if I could. I have not much experience with it, but it's something I've always wanted to try.
Also, are you going to implement special modes, like fighting with HP instead of %s?

 

[4nace]

@ Puppyfaic

We don't have plans for any VO right now. I could see us doing VO for a trailer or something else down the road so if we reach out I can keep you in mind. Depends on which character we want to talk of course.

We might do some alternative "for-fun" modes. Haven't landed on what those would be yet.

-Dan

 

[Puppyfaic]

Playtesters are supposed to receive emails today, correct?

 

[4nace]

Nopers! Not Today! But yes it is looking like this week. Been staying up all night crunching the past two weeks. Planning to have a build polished up for an event this Thursday in Seattle.

If I had to guess when the email would come out, I would say either early Thursday morning or Saturday/Sunday. Playtesters will get an email with instructions. As of right now, you will NEED an Xinput controller plugged into your PC and at least one friend. (No AI) That means either an Xbox 360 controller or a PS3/PS4 controller emulated as Xinput. So if you want to test, then go looking for one (a friend i mean :D)

EDIT: For anyone that lives in the Seattle Area and wants to play Rivals of Aether before anyone else, head over to the ID@Xbox Open House this Thursday!
http://majornelson.com/2014/08/21/youre-invited-microsoft-play-idxbox-games/?linkId=9347526

Thanks,
Dan Fornace

 

[Puppyfaic]

Guess I won't be playing then.

 

[4nace]

Hey Guys!

30 people have just been accepted into the playtester group! If you feel like you have a ton to contribute and did not receive an email then email roa.game@gmail.com and REALLY sell yourself! I'll reach out to a few more people on Monday!

Thanks,
Dan Fornace

 

[CaptainCrisb]

Just got accepted! Can't wait to try this baby out!

 

[asia_catdog_blue]

I'll ask again. Will there be a Stamina Mode?

 

[4nace]

@ asia_catdog_blue

Nope. Most likely will not have a stamina mode. Although we will be exploring other multiplayer modes.

-Dan

 

[TheDiamondPiggy]

Dan. Dan. You made my day.

 

[Puppyfaic]

@ asia_catdog_blue

Nope. Most likely will not have a stamina mode. Although we will be exploring other multiplayer modes.

-Dan

Really? That's the one Special Mode I like more than any other :<

 

[Puppyfaic]

So, playtesting this a little bit. Why is it that I can run Smash Land at full speed but not this? This game also slows the rest of my computer down a TON while it's open. Also, what email address do I send my feedback to?

 

[CaptainCrisb]

Really? That's the one Special Mode I like more than any other :<

Indeed. I'd have loved to see Stamina mode. But, either way, I never really used it in Smash Bros. anyway

 

[4nace]

So, playtesting this a little bit. Why is it that I can run Smash Land at full speed but not this? This game also slows the rest of my computer down a TON while it's open. Also, what email address do I send my feedback to?

Hmmm.. The speed could be a variety of things. Most likely the shaders that allow characters to change color. I did have speed issues on the tree level in a 1v1 with my laptop and then it did not have speed issues elsewhere. So try the fire level and see if you get the same decrease.

Update your DirectX to make sure you are on latest:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=35

If the speed issue continues, I might try sending you a build that does not overlay gradients on the stages to see if that helps.

Bugs and stuff can go to roa.game@gmail.com. Discussing balance as you see it now can go to this thread as other playtesters can also voice their opinions.

Also I'll look into a stamina mode, but I would think some multiplayer mode unique to rivals would be a bigger gain.

Thanks,
Dan Fornace

 

[TheDiamondPiggy]

Dan, I downloaded the DirectX and now there's a new error code involving shaders, should I email it to you? Bringing this up here becuase you were talking about a build without shaders?