Sigma Busters (Name Pending): Official Discussion Thread

[Glubbfubb]

wip lambda/epsilon design

Spoiler: large image

View attachment 383794

Quite like them, the second LAMBDA design is especially cool and b*****s, would make an epic character portrait and should be the design you should focus on, really like the Bowser and Ridley vibes this gives me. Red and black would defiantly look cool on LAMBDA, though I do think EPSILON looks too humanoid, I feel like they should be as animalistic looking as LAMBDA to compliment their similar origins, I am reworking EPSILON likely tomorrow to clarify how they play so their design can reflect that. My main takeaway is that both designs are cool, they just don't look like they have the same origin you know, so some elements to link them better would be something to strive for imo, but otherwise VERY solid designs. Also could you show me all the characters you made so far side by side so that I can better understand how you intend to scale them so I can size them better myself.

Also do you think naming them in all caps is a bit corny to you?

 

[Kirbeh]

Quite like them, the second LAMBDA design is especially cool and b*****s, would make an epic character portrait and should be the design you should focus on, really like the Bowser and Ridley vibes this gives me. Red and black would defiantly look cool on LAMBDA, though I do think EPSILON looks too humanoid, I feel like they should be as animalistic looking as LAMBDA to compliment their similar origins, I am reworking EPSILON likely tomorrow to clarify how they play so their design can reflect that. My main takeaway is that both designs are cool, they just don't look like they have the same origin you know, so some elements to link them better would be something to strive for imo, but otherwise VERY solid designs. Also could you show me all the characters you made so far side by side so that I can better understand how you intend to scale them so I can size them better myself.

Also do you think naming them in all caps is a bit corny to you?

The front profile pose is just a means to make them easier to draw and figure out what I'm going to do. Aside from the placement of the Lambda symbol the two designs are technically the same. The action pose is indeed meant to be the basis for a proper render though.

The difference in designs between Ep/Lam is actually purposeful. While they both originate from the Double Sigma, they are supposed to be differing counterparts, no? I took that into account for their designs. One is black, the other white. One big and bulky, the other smaller/lithe. One masculine, one feminine. One monstrous/machine like, the other a bit more humanoid but still identifiable as being machine as well. Plus, Epsilon's bio specifically stated that they're operating within an android body. Android means "resembling or possessing human-like qualities" so I figured that was intentional on your part as well. I kind of like that contrast between them better to be honest. I even brainstormed some animation ideas for these versions of Ep/Lam.

I'll do a height chart after I've actually drawn every member of the core cast. I think I'm just left with Kowalski who I haven't drawn at all. I do need to make updated versions of Weevle and Ahab to get the proportions down better too.

From your own descriptions this is kind of what I'm thinking. From shortest/smallest to tallest/biggest:

Weevle, Aremi, Kowalski, EPSILON, Wynnie, Levi, Ahab, LAMBDA

For weight, lightest to heaviest: Weevle, EPSILON, Aremi, Kowalski, Levi, Wynnie, Ahab, LAMBDA

For ground speed, slowest to fastest: Ahab, LAMBDA (slow boys) ---- Kowalski, Aremi (average) -- Wynnie, Levi (fast) --- EPSILON, Weevle (speed demons)

And naming Ep/Lam in all caps is perfectly fine.

 

[Glubbfubb]

The front profile pose is just a means to make them easier to draw and figure out what I'm going to do. Aside from the placement of the Lambda symbol the two designs are technically the same. The action pose is indeed meant to be the basis for a proper render though.

The difference in designs between Ep/Lam is actually purposeful. While they both originate from the Double Sigma, they are supposed to be differing counterparts, no? I took that into account for their designs. One is black, the other white. One big and bulky, the other smaller/lithe. One masculine, one feminine. One monstrous/machine like, the other a bit more humanoid but still identifiable as being machine as well. Plus, Epsilon's bio specifically stated that they're operating within an android body. Android means "resembling or possessing human-like qualities" so I figured that was intentional on your part as well. I kind of like that contrast between them better to be honest. I even brainstormed some animation ideas for these versions of Ep/Lam.

I'll do a height chart after I've actually drawn every member of the core cast. I think I'm just left with Kowalski who I haven't drawn at all. I do need to make updated versions of Weevle and Ahab to get the proportions down better too.

From your own descriptions this is kind of what I'm thinking. From shortest/smallest to tallest/biggest:

Weevle, Aremi, Kowalski, EPSILON, Wynnie, Levi, Ahab, LAMBDA

For weight, lightest to heaviest: Weevle, EPSILON, Aremi, Kowalski, Levi, Wynnie, Ahab, LAMBDA

For ground speed, slowest to fastest: Ahab, LAMBDA (slow boys) ---- Kowalski, Aremi (average) -- Wynnie, Levi (fast) --- EPSILON, Weevle (speed demons)

And naming Ep/Lam in all caps is perfectly fine.

If that is the case, sure that can work, I wonder what they will look like animated. Though I intended Levi to be the first fighter designed since he has the most basic moveset in comparison to the rest of the cast, so keep that in mind.

Your close, Kowalski is actually the third lightest, not Aremi, the gameplay for him is to space with his bo staff so that the opponent won't pierce his lackluster inner defenses. He is a character with a near-unbreakable outer shell but frail insides. Don't know if that sounds annoying to fight but that's my intentions.

Progress is going very well, I am just having trouble debugging the ledges, been spending a week on them and there is still glitches I need to fix, mainly issues with how they interact with fighters facing away from the ledge.

 

[Kirbeh]

If that is the case, sure that can work, I wonder what they will look like animated. Though I intended Levi to be the first fighter designed since he has the most basic moveset in comparison to the rest of the cast, so keep that in mind.

Your close, Kowalski is actually the third lightest, not Aremi, the gameplay for him is to space with his bo staff so that the opponent won't pierce his lackluster inner defenses. He is a character with a near-unbreakable outer shell but frail insides. Don't know if that sounds annoying to fight but that's my intentions.

Progress is going very well, I am just having trouble debugging the ledges, been spending a week on them and there is still glitches I need to fix, mainly issues with how they interact with fighters facing away from the ledge.

If he's super frail once you do manage to break through, I think it balances out just fine. Some people may find that annoying for sure, but I don't think it's necessarily a good idea to get too hung up on that. Everyone has an archetype they have trouble with/less fun fighting. Making them to play but trying to avoid going overboard and getting into broken territory is the bigger thing to focus on imo. At the end of the day people will find getting grabbed by LAMBDA annoying, zoned out by EPSILON annoying, rushed down by Weevle annoying, and yes continuously getting out ranged with few openings on Kowalski but that's an intended part of the design. It's not inherently bad or annoying, but some people will say so anyway. So long as characters aren't truly broken, they just have to put up with it and learn the matchup.

 

[Glubbfubb]

Last comments before bed:

One thing that challenges me when making a charatcer is how much to reference from other pieces of media and how to make the reference unique. In LAMBDA and EPSILON's case they both take a bit inspiration from the spacies EPSILON more so in terms of move. They both have Shines who take after the Melee spacy Shine, with LAMBDA taking from Falco and EPSILON from Fox. LAMBDA however is what I describe moveset wise as a strange amalgamation of ROB, Ganondorf, Ridley, and Potemkin from GG. While EPSILON has more inate inspiration from the spacies while also taking some ques from the Mother kids, however EPSILON has a unique ability of manipulating gravity, which translates to easily being the floatiest, not lightest, character in the game, and combos that revolve around trying to move the opponent up to rack up damage into the blast ceiling. That is my intentions with EPSILON's moveset so far.

This change in gameplay may mean EPSILON won't have a gravity bubble in their main moveset, maybe in their hypermax attacks, if you have an idea of where to place the gravity bubble please tell me.

Also while I want each move to have a distinct purpose, the animations behind them are still up in the air, so if you have better ideas for how a move like a described gameolay wise can animate please suggest away.

Finally I may need to ask for assistance to fix the ledge glitch issue, it is a very tough cookie to crack that might take a while to fix, I can't tell you how long it will take to fix it, just want to let you know.

 

[Kirbeh]

Last comments before bed:

One thing that challenges me when making a charatcer is how much to reference from other pieces of media and how to make the reference unique. In LAMBDA and EPSILON's case they both take a bit inspiration from the spacies EPSILON more so in terms of move. They both have Shines who take after the Melee spacy Shine, with LAMBDA taking from Falco and EPSILON from Fox. LAMBDA however is what I describe moveset wise as a strange amalgamation of ROB, Ganondorf, Ridley, and Potemkin from GG. While EPSILON has more inate inspiration from the spacies while also taking some ques from the Mother kids, however EPSILON has a unique ability of manipulating gravity, which translates to easily being the floatiest, not lightest, character in the game, and combos that revolve around trying to move the opponent up to rack up damage into the blast ceiling. That is my intentions with EPSILON's moveset so far.

This change in gameplay may mean EPSILON won't have a gravity bubble in their main moveset, maybe in their hypermax attacks, if you have an idea of where to place the gravity bubble please tell me.

Also while I want each move to have a distinct purpose, the animations behind them are still up in the air, so if you have better ideas for how a move like a described gameolay wise can animate please suggest away.

Finally I may need to ask for assistance to fix the ledge glitch issue, it is a very tough cookie to crack that might take a while to fix, I can't tell you how long it will take to fix it, just want to let you know.

I actually think Gravity Bubble would work just fine a neutral special. Perhaps with some altered properties to make it a bit less overwhelming/keep it from being too powerful. But as far as the actual animation/pathing you could go either the Shadow Ball route, or a multi-angle projectile like Urien's Metallic Sphere from Street Fighter.

And good night!

 

[Glubbfubb]

Bruh Kirbeh I just realized my issue with EPSILON's design, no stripes, they have a tiger influence and they only vaguely resemble a cat, so adding some stripes would tie the current design together, what do you think?

 

[Glubbfubb]

Okay, the next step after getting this ledge glitch fixed is tying to make a stage. This is the layout I am deciding on; it's based on Warioware layout-wise but, of course, balanced for competitive play. It is likely EPSILON's home stage, and the working title is Lost Satellite, which was basically a probe used for scanning planets. The probe was used by EPSILON to create their android body. I am just giving out the template Kirbeh as an outline for how the stage will play hitbox-wise as this will be a major step after fixing the ledge glitch.

 

[Kirbeh]

Okay, the next step after getting this ledge glitch fixed is tying to make a stage. This is the layout I am deciding on; it's based on Warioware layout-wise but, of course, balanced for competitive play. It is likely EPSILON's home stage, and the working title is Lost Satellite, which was basically a probe used for scanning planets. The probe was used by EPSILON to create their android body. I am just giving out the template Kirbeh as an outline for how the stage will play hitbox-wise as this will be a major step after fixing the ledge glitch.

Broken image, but it might be because I'm on mobile, so I'll check on PC once I get home. Still at work for the time being

 

[Glubbfubb]

Do you guys think its weird that LAMBDA's stall and fall is tied to their back air, not their down air? I feel for the character it fits, so that is why I included it, but it sure is abnormal.

 

[Glubbfubb]

I really hate giving slow updates, but I'll be real this ledge issue is very tricky for me to fix, sure I could focus on other development stuff, but the simple function not working bugs me so much that it has taken over my focus over all else. I really want these ledges to get fixed and I am trying all of my might tomorrow. I am just going to bite the bullet and ask for help since this is an issue that I just can't pinpoint. Thanks for your understand, I don't want to give up on this project and disappoint everyone, I want to make something to be enjoyed and cherished and I want a good start out the gate, it is just these ledges are so bugging me.

 

[Kirbeh]

I really hate giving slow updates, but I'll be real this ledge issue is very tricky for me to fix, sure I could focus on other development stuff, but the simple function not working bugs me so much that it has taken over my focus over all else. I really want these ledges to get fixed and I am trying all of my might tomorrow. I am just going to bite the bullet and ask for help since this is an issue that I just can't pinpoint. Thanks for your understand, I don't want to give up on this project and disappoint everyone, I want to make something to be enjoyed and cherished and I want a good start out the gate, it is just these ledges are so bugging me.

You really shouldn't feel obligated to give updates too frequently or feel super pressured about it. It's a passion project that you're basically handling solo and making on your own time. Not like there are that many eyes on this thread to begin with, maybe half a dozen people have poked there head in at most. If you had a project up on Kickstarter or Indiegogo then yeah, the pressure would be on because at that point you'd be attempting to deliver a product being funded by the public. A project like this though, as early as it is, and with basically no team or audience yet, take things at your own pace. You're learning as you after all.

The biggest challenge right now is just making those little bits of progress and not giving up on it yourself. There'll be slow days with little to no progress, days you don't have time to work on it, etc. So long as you can chip away at it when you can, you should be just fine. Just have some patience and put some more faith in your own abilities. Even if things are slow and you hit a few snags, you're just getting started.

 

[Glubbfubb]

You really shouldn't feel obligated to give updates too frequently or feel super pressured about it. It's a passion project that you're basically handling solo and making on your own time. Not like there are that many eyes on this thread to begin with, maybe half a dozen people have poked there head in at most. If you had a project up on Kickstarter or Indiegogo then yeah, the pressure would be on because at that point you'd be attempting to deliver a product being funded by the public. A project like this though, as early as it is, and with basically no team or audience yet, take things at your own pace. You're learning as you after all.

The biggest challenge right now is just making those little bits of progress and not giving up on it yourself. There'll be slow days with little to no progress, days you don't have time to work on it, etc. So long as you can chip away at it when you can, you should be just fine. Just have some patience and put some more faith in your own abilities. Even if things are slow and you hit a few snags, you're just getting started.

Yeah thanks, I've been worrying to much, going at my own pace is the most healthy choice for me

 

[Glubbfubb]

I just realized a random thought: the current way Hypermax Moves are set makes them somewhat similar to Cloud's limit break mechanic, did anyone else notice this? I am saying this because I am trying to make Hypermax moves more consistent, and maybe taking inspiration from Cloud's limit break is a good move, I feel like it makes them better to design and allows me to be more consistent in movesets. What does everyone else think?

 

[Glubbfubb]

Okay so after some time thinking, I feel like I perfected the Hypermax mechanic and fixed my issue with making the game unique from other platfighters.

Here is my current idea:

Every character has a Hyper Meter near their percent bar, meter is gained by both taking and receiving damage, though you get it the most by performing combos. By clicking the Hyper button, which is where the shield button usually is, with the button combo for a special, that special becomes a Hyper Special, an enhanced version of the original attack that could give status effects.

Now you may be asking, where is the shield button now? Simply put, the Hyper Meter also powers your shield; if your meter is empty, you can't shield and getting attack while shielded drains your meter faster. Now this brings the dilemma of if you want to tank the damage and risk being KO'd, or shield it and lose out on your Hyper Specials.

The Hyper Meter has segments to it; when you use a Hyper Special, you take one of the meter pieces. If all your meter are filled, you can spend it all to perform a Hypermax Attack, a very powerful move, but once used, your Hyper Meter will disappear, and you need to wait for it to respawn, meaning you can't shield for a bit after using the Hypermax, giving these attacks some risk. Each character has three different Hypermax Attacks they can choose from in the character select, each taking varying amount of meter to fill and are activated by performing a Hyper Neutral Special.

The changes to this mechanic would really shift the gameplay into something both fast-paced and strategic, the choice of picking which Hypermax Attack to use also adds customizability to each character, letting them feel a bit different from each different attack variant. How does that sound to you?

 

[Glubbfubb]

Here are my archetypes so far:

Aremi - Setplay/Rushdown
Ahab - Bruiser
Kowalski - Long-Range Spacer
Levi - Spacer/Rushdown
Wynnie - Spacer/Bruiser
Weevle - Rushdown
EPSILON - Zoner
LAMBDA - Grappler

Does this seem to be a good variety of character archtypes, I feel like it is?

On top of that here are my planned status effects

Frostbite - Halves the speed of meter growth
Burn - Doubles meter consumption, shields degrade twice as fast
Frozen - Frozen in a chunk of ice, your completely immobile and need to mash buttons to escape
Scorched - You take extra damage and can't use your shield
Fear - Scares you into not being able to do Hyper attacks
Shocked - Stunned temporarily in the air
Weightless - Halves weight, making foes easier to launch
Heavy - Doubles weight, making foes easier to combo
Flu - Damage over time
Bleed - Performing attacks now damages you
Mending - Heal yourself over time

Here are the planned distribution for these status effects

Aremi - Burn, Fear
Ahab - Weightless
Levi - Frostbite, Frozen
Wynnie - Burn, Shorched
Kowalski - Bleed, Fear
Weevle - Flu, Bleed, Mending
EPSILON - Shocked, Weightless, Heavy
LAMBDA - Burn, Bleed, Shocked

 

[Glubbfubb]

Good news, while the ledge issues aren't fixed yet, I managed to fix an issue with landing, basically when I tried to crouch in the air the game would crash, so I fixed that issue, I'm going to fix some small glitches in an attempt to fix the big issue.

 

[Glubbfubb]

Hey Kirbeh and KneeOfJustice99 , there is a power outage in my home, so I can't work on the game, so I'm taking a break on the updates until it's done

UPDATE POWER IS BACK ON, YEAH BABY

 

[Glubbfubb]

DEV UPDATE:
Attack hitboxes are created, now I am moving on to creating the variables related to attacking, when some art is underway i'll work on stage art and camera, ledges have also been postponed until I can get them fixed.

Also some comments on all this progress would help keep me engaged in this project.

 

[Kirbeh]

DEV UPDATE:
Attack hitboxes are created, now I am moving on to creating the variables related to attacking, when some art is underway i'll work on stage art and camera, ledges have also been postponed until I can get them fixed.

Also some comments on all this progress would help keep me engaged in this project.

Still around, just busy with work atm, haven't had much time for drawing.

 

[Glubbfubb]

Still around, just busy with work atm, haven't had much time for drawing.

That's okay, nice to know your still alive, how do you like the updates I made, any comments on those?

 

[Kirbeh]

Glubbfubb

Finally had a little time for more sketching. Quick Ahab update and finally tried to brainstorm a design for and draw Kowalski.

Spoiler

I think Ahab might be good where he's at, he was one of the simpler designs concept wise after all. Kowalski, I will continue to workshop. Still unsure of how to approach the design overall so leave any additional suggestions/requests you may have. I made him a gangly lizard loosely inspired by the Star Wars monkey-lizards, but again, I don't want to make him too similar.

I also plan on redoing the designs for Levi and Wynnie as I'm personally very unhappy with them.

 

[Glubbfubb]

Glubbfubb

Finally had a little time for more sketching. Quick Ahab update and finally tried to brainstorm a design for and draw Kowalski.

Spoiler

View attachment 384824
View attachment 384825

I think Ahab might be good where he's at, he was one of the simpler designs concept wise after all. Kowalski, I will continue to workshop. Still unsure of how to approach the design overall so leave any additional suggestions/requests you may have. I made him a gangly lizard loosely inspired by the Star Wars monkey-lizards, but again, I don't want to make him too similar.

I also plan on redoing the designs for Levi and Wynnie as I'm personally very unhappy with them.

Honestly, the caiman head looks the best of the four. Personally Kowalski should have pale-ghost white skin, since he is an Albino Protochimp, maybe have more prehistoric features, like maybe make him look like the missing link between reptiles and primates. As for Whynnie/Levi I do think they were a bit too tall, I pictured them more having the height of Fox and Falco than Marth and Roy. I know that sounds weird since their the Fire Emblem analogues, but I feel like it would make sense for reptilian humanoids to have a more short/hunched build than the mammals due to biology reasons. Though of course they shouldn't be ugly, a good character design leads to more people wanting to play as them, I mean playing as humanoid dragon knights is inherently cool, but a strong complimentary design is still a good thing to have.

Also off topic, but I feel like Weevle would look better if she had two pairs of arms, that would better emphasize her rushdown gameplan since more arms means more fists/claws in the opponents face.

Another thing, I am working on attack hitboxes, so once I have a base to work off of I am pretty much ready to make fighters, still need some practice though.

 

[Kirbeh]

Honestly, the caiman head looks the best of the four. Personally Kowalski should have pale-ghost white skin, since he is an Albino Protochimp, maybe have more prehistoric features, like maybe make him look like the missing link between reptiles and primates. As for Whynnie/Levi I do think they were a bit too tall, I pictured them more having the height of Fox and Falco than Marth and Roy. I know that sounds weird since their the Fire Emblem analogues, but I feel like it would make sense for reptilian humanoids to have a more short/hunched build than the mammals due to biology reasons. Though of course they shouldn't be ugly, a good character design leads to more people wanting to play as them, I mean playing as humanoid dragon knights is inherently cool, but a strong complimentary design is still a good thing to have.

Also off topic, but I feel like Weevle would look better if she had two pairs of arms, that would better emphasize her rushdown gameplan since more arms means more fists/claws in the opponents face.

Another thing, I am working on attack hitboxes, so once I have a base to work off of I am pretty much ready to make fighters, still need some practice though.

Quick sketch with the caiman head

Spoiler

I'll see about redesigning Weevle since you also want her to be much smaller, so I'll add the extra arms when I get around to that. As for Levi/Wynnie, do you mean the proportions as opposed to height? Fox/Falco are actually very close height wise to the FE cast in Ultimate at least. Though I'd also argue that their proportions are pretty similar too given that the Star Fox characters are anthropomorphic.

(If Fox stood up straight for his idle, he'd be the same height too.)

 

[Glubbfubb]

Quick sketch with the caiman head

Spoiler

View attachment 384830

I'll see about redesigning Weevle since you also want her to be much smaller, so I'll add the extra arms when I get around to that. As for Levi/Wynnie, do you mean the proportions as opposed to height? Fox/Falco are actually very close height wise to the FE cast in Ultimate at least. Though I'd also argue that their proportions are pretty similar too given that the Star Fox characters are anthropomorphic.

View attachment 384832

I did not realize that Fox and Falco are of similar height to Marth/Lucina, so yeah try using the spacey proportions when redesigning Wynnie and Levi, would be interesting to see how a spacey build can function as a swordey. I do think that build would work better since they are more reptilian than humanoid, while retaining an aesthetically appealing design that would allow them to still look normal.

 

[Kirbeh]

I did not realize that Fox and Falco are of similar height to Marth/Lucina, so yeah try using the spacey proportions when redesigning Wynnie and Levi, would be interesting to see how a spacey build can function as a swordey. I do think that build would work better since they are more reptilian than humanoid, while retaining an aesthetically appealing design that would allow them to still look normal.

wyn/levi redesign sketches

Spoiler

 

[Glubbfubb]

wyn/levi redesign sketches

Spoiler

View attachment 384833

Much better designs ngl, also is consistent with what we have for Aremi and Ahab. A consistent style is always good when making a fighting game cast.

 

[Kirbeh]

Much better designs ngl, also is consistent with what we have for Aremi and Ahab. A consistent style is always good when making a fighting game cast.

glad you like them, i'm going to sleep now

catch you later, i'll work on weevle next chance i get

 

[Glubbfubb]

I've been thinking, you know those custom moves from Smash 4 that turned DK into a tornado-wielding airbender? I think I want to model some of those moves into Ahab's moveset, but of course not make them... cracked. Like I want to use some concepts of old custom moves for my fighters but more balanced and polished, so I feel like those moves are a nice base for Ahab's moveset, but of course with a boxer aestetic.

 

[Glubbfubb]

Ahab's reworked moveset coming in

Role: Bruiser

Ahab has 4 jumps

Jab: A very fast jab, befitting for a boxer, Ahab's jabs chain together into a tornado of quick strikes, best used for racking up damage before comboing into a tilt attack.
Forward Tilt: A downward hook from his left arm that can spike opponents.
Down Tilt: A lower blow that leads into a small uppercut, a good combo starter.
Up Tilt: A more vertical uppercut that it best used at juggling opponents.
Dash Attack: A dive attack, gloves first, based on how real whales breach the surface.

Neutral Air: Ahab tries to crush his opponent between his two gloves, slow but powerful, especially when you hit the sweetspot.
Forward Aerial: A classic forward hook that spikes people in the blast zone.
Back Aerial: A sidestrike from behind via his boxing gloves.
Up Aerial: An uppercut with a minor wind hitbox to lead foes into the uppercut.
Down Aerial: A crescent-shaped swipe with his gloves downwards.

Side Charge: The wind swirls around Ahab's fist, and he launches the energy out with a powerful forward strike.
Down Charge: Ahab falls over like a breached whale, burying anyone underneath.
Up Charge: A wind-charged uppercut that summons a tornado to be launched upwards.

Up Special:
Spinning Cyclone
Ahab spins around like a tornado, good for horizontal recovery. You can mash the button to increase the height at the cost of horizontal momentum.

Up Hyper:
Vacuum Cyclone
On top of increased height, Ahab's tornado can now suck in and launch out opponents with a wider hitbox.

Neutral Special:
Tornado Fist
A chargeable fist attack that can be stored for later, the sweetspot deals more damage and the sourspot deals more knockback.

Neutral Hyper:
Cyclone Fist
The punch is weaker now, but when launched Ahab creates a wind box to push foes back, one of his best edgeguarding tools.

Side Special:
Rainmaker
A punch that uses fluidity rather than power, when used Ahab leaps forward over most projectiles and crashes down in a splashing motion.

Side Hyper:
Icebreaker
Now as hard as a freezing tempest, this punch now conjures and winter storm that freezes opponents hit in the sweetspot.

Down Special:
Counterstorm
A weaker counterattack that makes up for upper launch power, when Ahab is hit he launches the foe upwards in a tornado via a spinning attack.

Down Hyper:
Wind Cutter
Ahab now performs a spinning attack that launches two tornado projectiles, one at each of his sides, his best out of shield option due to being fast.

Hypermax Attacks:

Cyclone Juggler
A rolling punch that launches a giant afterimage as a projectile, good for edgeguarding.

Stratospheric Striker
A very slow and short-ranged uppercut with enough launching power to nearly 1 hit KO the target.

Aerodynamics
Allows Ahab's next attack to have increased launching power and super armor.

 

[Glubbfubb]

Nothing in the world matters more than this announcement... WAVEDASHING HAS BEEN ADDED

Not only that, wavedashing is a direct stat I can control, so it's not a byproduct of existing stats. Meaning slow characters won't be saddled with a bad wavedash automatically. Basically, the lower the traction stat, the more momentum you will have for your wavedash, while the wavedash stat itself powers the initial push of the maneuver which spends the aforementioned momentum. So a high wavedash stat plus low traction means the wavedash will go a very long distance, and vice versa with a low wavedash stat and high traction.

In some examples, Aremi will have standard traction and wavedash stats, so her wavedash is on par with Fox's. Weevle meanwhile, has higher traction but a lower wavedash stat, meaning her wavedashes are faster than Aremi's but travel a shorter total distance.

 

[Kirbeh]

Weevle concept doodles

 

[Glubbfubb]

Weevle concept doodles

View attachment 385114View attachment 385115

A nice amount of personality, maybe make her wings a bit more insectoid, like she can still have bat-shaped wings but maybe have that classic insect wing membrane if you know what I mean.

 

[Kirbeh]

A nice amount of personality, maybe make her wings a bit more insectoid, like she can still have bat-shaped wings but maybe have that classic insect wing membrane if you know what I mean.

I get what you mean but combined with the shape of the bat wings, making the wings have that sort of segmented pattern just makes them look like spider webs. Moreover, I don't want to make the wings too detailed. For one, I don't want to clutter the overall design and more importantly, it's not the sort of detail that's going to be reflected in actual gameplay. I'll workshop some patterns and see about including it in the design for renders and promo art but its extra work with little payoff when it comes to sprite work given how much and how quickly she'll be moving around.

 

[Glubbfubb]

I get what you mean but combined with the shape of the bat wings, making the wings have that sort of segmented pattern just makes them look like spider webs. Moreover, I don't want to make the wings too detailed. For one, I don't want to clutter the overall design and more importantly, it's not the sort of detail that's going to be reflected in actual gameplay. I'll workshop some patterns and see about including it in the design for renders and promo art but its extra work with little payoff when it comes to sprite work given how much and how quickly she'll be moving around.

Good point, maybe add insectoid qualities in other areas, it is a strong design all around, and I like how you hinted at how no one really treats her seriously despite being LAMBDA's (technical) second-in-command. I feel like the vibe she should give off is that one little kid who is tagging along to the grown-up's job to "assist" them, they may not be all that... qualified, but they are loyal and have a good work ethic. Weevle is LAMBDA's morality pet of sorts and she just want someone to look up to, without the risk of them being eaten by feral G'nats.

 

[Glubbfubb]

Dev Update: Spent 2 hours coding in custom launch angles, yay for me

 

[Glubbfubb]

Uh do you guys think adding hitstun to my game a worthy enough update to announce, or is it just me?

 

[Glubbfubb]

Hey Kirbeh I am considering adding a back-tilt attack, so everyone will have 4 tilt attacks + a jab and dash attack on the ground. Does that sound like something you'll be up for as well?

 

[Kirbeh]

Hey Kirbeh I am considering adding a back-tilt attack, so everyone will have 4 tilt attacks + a jab and dash attack on the ground. Does that sound like something you'll be up for as well?

I was under the assumption that jabs, and dash attacks were already going to be part of the move sets so yeah, I guess. As for back tilts, what do you have in mind? Just an extra tilt that hits forward sort of like a regular FG command normal or does it actually his behind characters like back attacks from Streets of Rage?

 

[Glubbfubb]

I was under the assumption that jabs, and dash attacks were already going to be part of the move sets so yeah, I guess. As for back tilts, what do you have in mind? Just an extra tilt that hits forward sort of like a regular FG command normal or does it actually his behind characters like back attacks from Streets of Rage?

It's literally just the same way you activate Back Airs, just on the ground. I feel like its a nice wrinkle to make gameplay a bit more distinct. Maybe some Back Tilts can be slower than the other tilts, but have higher kill power since they are both slower and harder to input, kinda like normal Back Airs. The main purpose was to give each air attack a mirror on the ground.