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Rivals of Aether - Official Thread

4nace

Smash Ace
Joined
Dec 18, 2008
Messages
663
Location
Bellevue, WA
Introduction
Hey Guys, 4nace here. Some of you may remember me from the Smashboards thread while working on Super Smash Land. I had a fantastic time working with fans on this forum getting insightful feedback on characters, stages, ideas, balance and more. This forum is the best place to discuss anything smash-related and that is why I am back with my latest project - Rivals of Aether.


What is Rivals of Aether?
Rivals of Aether is our latest game, which is an original indie title that explores the gameplay made famous by the Super Smash Bros series. The game expands greatly on the Smash Land engine and brings it closer to Melee speeds with more options for players and combos galore. You can think of Rivals of Aether as a bridge between Smash Land and Melee, but not quite in the same ways that Smash 64 would bridge the two. My high level goal is to create a fighting game that is offensive focused, accessible and varied. This game is not being designed to replace Melee, but rather to explore designs in a similar space.

Rivals of Aether features a brand new set of characters in a new world to explore. Since we are introducing a new world and new characters, we will feature a Story Mode in the final game. In the world of Aether, the four classical elements battle for dominance - Air, Fire, Earth and Water. The first two characters have been announced.

  • Zetterburn, the Fire's Roar
    • Zetterburn is a ferocious warrior representing the Fire Element. He is accustomed to battle.
    • Zetterburn has the unique ability to burn his opponents to deal damage over time. If you can land a Strong Attack on a burnt opponent, then you can consume your burn for increased damage and knockback!
  • Orcane, the Puddle Jumper
    • Orcane is a fun-loving trickster representing the Water Element. He is very elusive and causes major headaches for those in his merchant town.
    • Orcane has the ability to shift into water and jump between puddles. He can place a puddle with his Neutral Special or his Down Special. He can then use his Up Special to teleport to his puddle for a powerful splash attack out of it.
    • Orcane can also use Strong Attacks to consume his puddle and increase his range.
  • Wrastor, the Wind's Fury
    • Wrastor is a hot-headed aerial ace representing the Air Element. He is quick, aggressive and known for his rushdown style.
    • Wrastor has Strong Attacks in the air rather than on the ground. He is able to charge the attacks and hold himself airborne until letting off a powerful strike.
    • Wrastor can create a Wind Current with his Side Special. While inside his own current, Wrastor has increased horizontal speed which allows him to chase down opponents more effectively.
  • Kragg, Earth's Bastion
    • Kragg is a defensive tank representing the Earth Element. He is known for his strength and his ability to bend Rock with his will.
    • Kragg can pull rocks out of the ground using his Neutral Special then break them to send pieces flying toward his opponents.
    • Kragg can pull a pillar from beneath the stage using his Up Special and create ground beneath his feet. On the way up the pillar can damage opponents allowing Kragg to trap opponents underneath him.
More to come soon!

Who is Making it?
Rivals of Aether is early into development. We started on the game in April 2014. We are a very small team with only two of us working full time.
  • Dan Fornace - Design / Art / Animation / Programming
    • Before starting on Rivals of Aether, I was a Game Designer at Microsoft Studios and had the privilege of working on some great indie games. In 2012, I started working on Killer Instinct at Microsoft Studios. It was amazing to be part of that development process and I hope to bring what I learned from Double Helix and Iron Galaxy to this title.
  • flashygoodness - Music / SFX / Web Design / UI Design
    • Flashygoodness is an incredible composer who worked on Tower of Heaven in 2009. He also worked on Super Smash Land composing tracks for the hidden stages as well as making a special mix for the Tower of Heaven stage in that game. He joins the team with much more responsibility than he had on Smash Land and is ready to knock this game out of the park.
  • Johan Vinet - Stage Art / Pixel Art
    • Johan is an amazing Pixel Artist who joined the team in October of this year. He has been creating the new stage visuals as well as effects such as Kragg's Rock creations. He will be creating all the stages for Rivals of Aether so you can look forward to more amazing visuals from Johan!
  • Ryan Sicat - Promotional Art / Concept Art
    • Ryan is a great digital artist from Philadelphia, PA. After working with him on Elementimals in 2011-2012, I knew I could use his services on Rivals of Aether. For those of you who enjoyed the promotional pieces, seen in the trailer, you can thank Ryan. He'll be helping out on concepts and promos for the rest of the roster too :)

How can I help?
You can purchase our Early Access Build on Steam!

What is this thread for?
In this thread, we will give development updates and I'll be around to answer questions and discuss the project. I'll also drop in to post minor updates and look for opinions on pieces of the project!
 
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CaptainCrisb

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Apr 9, 2014
Messages
486
In Super Smash Land, I wasn't a big fan only having two buttons to attack. It made it kinda complicated, will this game utilize buttons?
 

4nace

Smash Ace
Joined
Dec 18, 2008
Messages
663
Location
Bellevue, WA
Yuupers. This one has normals, specials and a dodge button, as well as 3 Strong Attacks that are performed like Smash attacks in the SSB series.
 

mYzeALot

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Jan 4, 2011
Messages
213
This looks super sweet, is this supposed to be intended for joysticks, keyboards, or either?
 

gameonion

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This looks amazing. Looking foward for the release! Is this a Flash game or a real, downloadable game?
 

EazyDI

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Nov 30, 2013
Messages
104
I see a lot of potential in this game and I will be keeping a close eye on it in the future.
 

4nace

Smash Ace
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Dec 18, 2008
Messages
663
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Bellevue, WA
It's being built for controllers. You can do everything with keyboard in the development build, but the game is designed for having an analog stick. We have not announced any platforms yet, but it will be a real downloadable game for either PC or Console or both :)
 

EverythingSmash

www.youtube.com/everythingsmash
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253
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Ventura County, CA
Hope you don't mind, I uploaded the trailer onto my channel, hoping that it will help gain this project more exposure, I linked the channel it was uploaded at originally, the projects website, and this forum in the about section of the video. I did so hoping it will help the project pick up some attention. :) I'd love to be a part of helping this project become a reality, and If theres any way I can help just let me know either here on smashboards, or by emailing me @ kylechaffee921@gmail.com ( If you have an issue w/ the trailer being uploaded on my channel I understand and feel free to contact me about it and I'll take it down.)Hope you have a nice week, looking forward to hearing from you,
- Everything Smash
 

greenluigiman2

Smash Ace
Joined
Nov 21, 2007
Messages
809
So since there are four elements and more than four characters, is it safe to assume that each element will have multiple characters to represent it?
 
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First off it looks great. seconded i main wolf in ssbb and i love using him as a character and i couldn't help but notice some similarities between him and zetterburn. was there any inspiration from wolf? if so thank you because wolf is awesome. also i love how you can do bonus damage with strong attacks when you set your opponent on fire. Third will it be 1080p? JK.
 
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ZackTheGreat

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I'm excited for this game! I got a little gitty seeing some source code for one of the promo images. I know that programming language anywhere. :D

As I said on Reddit, I'll be happy to help test (I sent an email already), and I'll be promoting this game when I can. It has so much promise and I want to see the game reach its full potential.
 

XLIFE

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Fantastic, it looks to be a very solid game. Do you guys have any plans on making this game available on the eShop?

BTW @ EverythingSmash EverythingSmash thanks man, I first saw it through your channel.
 

Xanthus

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187
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North America (East/Central)
Looks amazing! I have been waiting for more news on this ever since Super Smash Land! I've worked with game maker, not with game maker studio though, and would happily be an active tester when/if the time comes :>
 

PWN3

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Dec 28, 2013
Messages
115
Location
Victoria
I'm already madly in love with this game. You have my full support, guys.
 

4nace

Smash Ace
Joined
Dec 18, 2008
Messages
663
Location
Bellevue, WA
@ EverythingSmash EverythingSmash
Thanks for spreading the word. I'm sure a little more publicity won't hurt :). Perhaps we can work together for a combo vid or something in the future!

@ greenluigiman2 greenluigiman2
Yup. That is a safe assumption. Although they may not be directly the same. Think Ice vs Water.

@ TheSqushiestManatee TheSqushiestManatee
Wolf was my main in brawl so you might see some similarities there :D. Also play him a bit in PM. It will be so many ps. Im think 4K is the only way to really experience it :p

@ ZackTheGreat ZackTheGreat
GM:Studio is the bee's knees nowadays. And yeah I'll check your email in a bit. Just a heads up to everyone who applied, I am going to be travelling to EVO, but after that is over next week, I'll go through applications and look for people to send a two character build to.

@ XLIFE XLIFE
Haven't announced any platforms yet, but we are interested in consoles since the game is being designed as a controller based game.

@ Xanthus Xanthus
Glad to see we had some people waiting around since Super Smash Land. It was a blast working on that game, and this one is going to be way better!

@ D DA12inch TONY
Most likely no direct cross-play. We'll see if I can get any multiplayer at all smooth enough to ship. If so, then chances are it will only be on one platform.

Thanks guys!
 

T00nbink

Smash Cadet
Joined
Jul 7, 2014
Messages
42
Location
Netherlands, Heel
Wow, this looks really interesting.

I found out about this project because I watched the trailer on EverythingSmash's YouTube Channel.
I would love to play this on consoles so I hope this project becomes reality.
 

SmashChu

Banned via Warnings
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Messages
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First, on a surface the music is good, but the sounds need to pop more. They seem to soft and dull.

Now, more importantly, is do you plan to sell this to make money? If so, I would not designed it to try and be like Melee or, more specifically, what the competitive community wants. Basically, if you appeal to a group you'll get that group. Appealing to the competitive crowd will get you those sales, but you'll overshoot the rest of the market. And you run the real risk of not attracting enough people and the game is a flash in the pan. Remember, strong communities are built from popular games. Smash Bros, Street Fighter, Starcraft, League of Legends, Counter Strike, Halo and Call of Duty. All of them were popular games but weren't made specifically to be played as a tournament game. If your aren't making this game to sell, then ignore what I said. But if you are trying to sell this game, you need to decide you target market, determine how much the game will sell and plan around that. THis mean that if you are making a game for the competitive crowd, you may need to lower the budget and scale back on content or production quality to ensure a profit. Something to consider.
 

Swann

Smash Journeyman
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Oct 8, 2011
Messages
273
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Raleigh, NC
Make what you love.

I was a big fan of flashy's work on ToH and everything I've heard so far from the upcoming Sealark. Very happy to see his name again :)

Nice work so far. I'll be keeping an eye on this one.
 

SmashLover777

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I was so interested in this game after seeing the trailer. Since I am into fighting games I think I'll get it when it comes out. My question is that will this have something like a Final Smash from Smash Bros? (BTW this game is looking great) :estatic:
 
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Sol_Vent

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Woah... I'm already really hungry for more on this. I'd like to ask tons of questions, but for now this will do:

How do you pronouce "Orcane" exactly?
 

EverythingSmash

www.youtube.com/everythingsmash
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I was so interested in this game after seeing the trailer. Since I am into fighting games I think I'll get it when it comes out. My question is that will this have something like a Final Smash from Smash Bros? (BTW this game is looking great) :estatic:
I'd guess yes at the end the lion character looked like he was about to perform a final smash-ish move. Haha :)
 

Sol_Vent

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I'd guess yes at the end the lion character looked like he was about to perform a final smash-ish move. Haha :)
I'm actually pretty sure that was one of his moves from earlier in the trailer. Specifically, the attack where he slashes toward the ground to create a "flame carpet."
 

RascalTheCharizard

Smash Ace
Joined
Apr 10, 2012
Messages
987
Will RoA (day 1 abbreviation ftw) have directional influence or another mechanic that serves the same purpose? I'm interested to know since there is apparently a focus on offensive play and combos... and I don't like Marvel. Lol.
 
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Halfhead

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Jul 16, 2013
Messages
361
Very exciting, very cool. I have a podcast and I'll be giving this project a mention.

Additionally, you've missed a self reference opportunity by not naming Orcane "Vapor" after Vaporeon's character select name in SSL.
 
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MrGameandBalls

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Apr 19, 2014
Messages
181
OMG THIS IS AWESOME! I'll try to spread the word! How much do you think it'll cost? And are there any chances of a demo coming out? Sorry if I sound too greedy :p
 

gameonion

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Can playtesters upload Promo-videos or something like that? Would be good to know.
 

vileguy

Smash Rookie
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Messages
11
Location
San Jose, Ca
This looks awesome. I will definitely look into this when it's available to the public. I'm also interested in helping the team out and sent an e-mail.
 

4nace

Smash Ace
Joined
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Messages
663
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@Everyone who came to say they liked it
Thanks for the kind words! Will definitely help in motivation as we go heads down onto character #3.

@ SmashChu SmashChu
Thanks for the feedback. We will be working on sound effects to get more pop and crunch out of them. In terms of the audience, there are definitely risks in targetting the competitive. My goal is to make the game deep and accessible. It is a lofty goal that many games tout and few reach. Hopefully this game can find an audience between fighters and party games.

@ SmashLover777 SmashLover777 on Final Smashes.
That was not a Final Smash in the trailer, it was indeed Zetter's Down Special from earlier in the trailer. We haven't implemented anything like that, but if we do it will be our own twist on the idea :). Something fun for free-for-alls and team matches perhaps!

@ Sol_Vent Sol_Vent
"Orcane" is like "Arcane" but with an O. So like "Orc - cane". Also I will refer to that move as Flame Carpet from now on :p

@ R RascalTheCharizard
We have DI right now. Smash DI, and standard DI. We also have a third subtle Noob DI where you can affect your momentum slightly while in hitstun. Since the game is overly aggressive we will be looking closely at combos to make sure every hit is not 0-death. We have ideas surrounding DI and something like a breaker or burst but are not going to wedge something in to fix a non-existant problem. I wanna see some pros play to see what they can do!

@ Halfhead Halfhead
Very cool. Link the podcast here! And Orcane is actually the gamertag of a good friend of mine. He has used it for years. It fit too well to not use! Vapor is clever though. :D

@ MrGameandBalls MrGameandBalls
No idea of pricing. And while we won't release any official demo online as of now, we will be looking for ways to get people to try out the game.

@ gameonion gameonion
That will probably be on a per-build basis. After we polish up a build sure. But if you playtest an early character then no.

@ SmashLover777 SmashLover777
It's possible! We won't reveal the character types until the character is revealed but all type of elemental powers are possible inspiration points. :)

Thanks,
Dan Fornace
 

SmashLover777

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@Everyone who came to say they liked it
Thanks for the kind words! Will definitely help in motivation as we go heads down onto character #3.

@ SmashChu SmashChu
Thanks for the feedback. We will be working on sound effects to get more pop and crunch out of them. In terms of the audience, there are definitely risks in targetting the competitive. My goal is to make the game deep and accessible. It is a lofty goal that many games tout and few reach. Hopefully this game can find an audience between fighters and party games.

@ SmashLover777 SmashLover777 on Final Smashes.
That was not a Final Smash in the trailer, it was indeed Zetter's Down Special from earlier in the trailer. We haven't implemented anything like that, but if we do it will be our own twist on the idea :). Something fun for free-for-alls and team matches perhaps!

@ Sol_Vent Sol_Vent
"Orcane" is like "Arcane" but with an O. So like "Orc - cane". Also I will refer to that move as Flame Carpet from now on :p

@ R RascalTheCharizard
We have DI right now. Smash DI, and standard DI. We also have a third subtle Noob DI where you can affect your momentum slightly while in hitstun. Since the game is overly aggressive we will be looking closely at combos to make sure every hit is not 0-death. We have ideas surrounding DI and something like a breaker or burst but are not going to wedge something in to fix a non-existant problem. I wanna see some pros play to see what they can do!

@ Halfhead Halfhead
Very cool. Link the podcast here! And Orcane is actually the gamertag of a good friend of mine. He has used it for years. It fit too well to not use! Vapor is clever though. :D

@ MrGameandBalls MrGameandBalls
No idea of pricing. And while we won't release any official demo online as of now, we will be looking for ways to get people to try out the game.

@ gameonion gameonion
That will probably be on a per-build basis. After we polish up a build sure. But if you playtest an early character then no.

@ SmashLover777 SmashLover777
It's possible! We won't reveal the character types until the character is revealed but all type of elemental powers are possible inspiration points. :)

Thanks,
Dan Fornace
Ok. And in Super Smash Land Vaporeon was playable and had many aqua attacks. Did Vaporeon inspire Orcane's moveset? And Thanks for answering my questions •ω•
 

arcticfox8

Smash Champion
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Oct 6, 2013
Messages
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Good times, KY
I like what I've seen so far.
Some questions, if you don't mind.
I thought I saw a Melee airdodge and wavedash in the trailer. Are these in the current build/are they planned to be in the final version?
One of the staples of the Smash series is that you can play with items. Will there be items in RoA or some similar concept?
I personally like clones in the Smash games, but a lot of people don't. Will RoA have some clone characters?
 

SmashChu

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@ SmashChu SmashChu
Thanks for the feedback. We will be working on sound effects to get more pop and crunch out of them. In terms of the audience, there are definitely risks in targetting the competitive. My goal is to make the game deep and accessible. It is a lofty goal that many games tout and few reach. Hopefully this game can find an audience between fighters and party games.
Again, I want to preface this by saying: if money is your goal, then you need to care about your audience and, of course, sales.

The problem is a lot of games say they want to do both and tend to go no where. Actually, Play Station All-Stars is a great example of this. The game tried to be Smash BUT ALSO be a competitive fighter. The end result was neither worked and the game flopped. It should be noted that SmashBoard had a well-lived thread for discussion and playing. It's something you have to think about. And again, the best competitive games got to where they are not be targeting those players but buy making a fun game that attracted a lot of people.

The idea seems cool but could be crippled if it doesn't consider this. But if this is for fun, then do what you want and have a blast. Truth be told, I have no idea if you even plan to sell this or not. I didn't see that anywhere.
 

CaptainCrisb

Smash Journeyman
Joined
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Messages
486
Just throwing this out there, since this an an original game, do you plan to release this on any consoles? (Personally, I'd looooveee to see the game in 3D visuals for the 3DS!)

Oh! And will there be any extra stages based on Flashy's previous games he's worked on? Like the Tower of Heaven Stage in SmashLand?
 
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Segtendo

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I trust you'll do just fine with thie, 4nace. Good luck.
 
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