Gauntlet Update

As week two of our six week break from classes, Turmoil Studios has been hard at work getting more and more of In Light and Darkness up and running.

To start off this update, a little news. We recently got all of our scripts up and running in the new version of the UDK. This had been a major problem in the weeks leading up to the beginning of our break as there were some minor changes to the scripts within the UDK itself and we couldn't seem to figure out how to get it to work. With our scripts working in the newer version, we now have access to the new interface software, Scaleform, and a number of small changes that will ultimately make In Light of Darkness a much better product.

In the video below, we showcase a number of the latest changes and additions to In Light of Darkness. First off, a new recording of the first level with the update lighting as well as a few minor changes. Some of these changes include: fixing the Nocturne Pistol to no longer fire the Shock Rifle beam, cleaning up the level spawn, adding and changing some lighting, fixing a few clipping issues and a few bug fixes. The biggest change to the level was the retexturing of the door at the end of the level so that the runes would glow, and the effect is quite awesome.

As for what is left to be done in the first level, we still need to get the enemies to have AI, need to setup the cinematics and stream the end of level into the second. Tim, our modeler, is also working on some small models that can be used to fill the empty spaces that scatter the entire first level and break up the level a little more.

The second part of the video shows the Gauntlet. The Gauntlet will be the first weapon the player receives in the game and will serve as a melee weapon as well as the player's access to summoning, inventory and spells. Basically, the Gauntlet will open up to allow the player to access the various interfaces that are associated with inventory, spells, weapons, stats and the game encyclopedia.

The Gauntlet is entirely custom modeled and textured by myself. It currently has no in-game functionality and the animations are giving me all kinds of trouble for reasons that are beyond my understanding. As far as I can tell, the Gauntlet has bones setup and the mesh is set to respond to them, just like all the other skeletal meshes I've made, but, once in the UDK, the bones no longer deform the mesh. It's a strange problem because my earlier animations still work on their respective meshes, but they don't on the Gauntlet.

More updates to come,

Nathaniel Kirst

Turmoil Studios

Antarctica Storyboards

The team has recently received a bit of down time from being in class every day. For the next five weeks, we are all on a vacation, per se, but will be continuing development on In Light of Darkness on a bit of a lighter schedule until classes start again.

The biggest development in the last week is the completion on modeling the Gauntlet. This will be the primary melee weapon throughout the entirety of the game and will also have a number of other functions. This includes accessing inventory, character info, weapon selection, power selection and quest log. In addition to these functions, it will serve as a powerful weapon the can be upgraded, as with all weapons, to become more powerful in it's ability to take down the enemy.

For the time being, the Gauntlet is in the stages of being rigged for animation and textured so that it looks just as good as it performs.

Since requirements for our senior project ask for at least three levels of gameplay, I have personally storyboarded out the major areas of all three of the Antarctic levels. Each will progressively move the player further into areas that are more human in architecture while also showcasing some of the enemies and their personalities.

There will be a mini-boss at the end of the second level and a major boss at the end of the third level. In addition to the bosses, there will be a few quests started along the way th

at will continue well into the rest of the game.

One example of this is the Language Acquisition quests, which will allow the player, if they so choose, to learn more of a respective races language. This will open up further dialogue options later in the game and allow the player to understand more of what his or her adversaries are saying both in and out of battle.

More updates on their way.

Nathaniel Kirst

Turmoil Studios