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Ok, here are some examples of the Sketchi. Their ships are dilapidated and falling apart, heck, they don't even have a consistent paper type. As such, there are a number of events associated with with this theme. Engine problems, fuel leaks, shield drains, sensor malfunctions, etc. Also, I'm considering some different 'rescue' missions that Sketchi society has set up to aid their space travelers. You can be the rescuer, or you can take abortable missions that will allow you to call for various help in times of need. This co-operative nature makes them powerful despite their technological problems.
Their weapons also have some interesting trade-offs. Ā A Junk Gun that can fire parts salvaged off of other ships (the same salvaged parts that the steam-punk people use). It's a cheap weapon, but it deals inconsistent damage. Sometimes it deals very good damage, sometimes not-so-good. Ā They also have a very compact ship-to-ship missile has a very high damage-per-space ratio. However, they are a bit unstable and have been known to randomly blow-up in flight. (non-lethal bomb) Ā They do have some reliable weapons in the Plasma Gun family. However, they are a bit fuel hungry, and quite expensive.
Part of the challenge for the player is managing risk, and trying to keep your ship running smoothly. You'll need parts to fix things, and you MIGHT be able to scrap items to get parts in a pinch - I'll have to see how resource hungry I want to get. The different ship classes have multiple forms that represent differing wear-and-tear. Different handling, max guns, etc. In this regard, ships of the same class are more unique. A ship with sub-standard body work might have less turrets slots, for example.
There is also an interesting twist in their society and government, that I'm going to keep as a surprise for now.
Graphic-wise, the ships are sketched in pencil on various papers. And these sketched ships are animated to appear even more sloppy. Incidentally, it is harder than one would imagine to make a ship look haphazard AND maintain a form that works well as a sprite.
Sketchi_Fighter.jpg (52.03K) Number of downloads: 71 sketchi.gif (6.71K) Number of downloads: 3 Left - A Sketchi fighter has engine troubles near a paper clip asteriod. Right - A small ship shown with animation. Notice the bits broken and/or missing.
P.S. Paper clip asteroids can be mined for metals, and it looks nice when they break into smaller U shapes.
This post has been edited by Desprez : 30 March 2008 - 12:49 PM
Cool! I like your Paper TC idea. If you don't mind my asking-How did you manage the effect of the ship having engine trouble?
This post has been edited by Shlimazel : 30 March 2008 - 01:16 PM
Submunitioning point-defense weapon.
On a side note, I wanna play this plugin already! Throws a tantrum
Ahh, that's clever! Thanks Belthazar.
Neat! It'll be like SketchFighter 5000 Alpha
Awesome as ever, Desprez.
@desprez, on Mar 30 2008, 01:38 PM, said in Paper TC - Update:
Rather then (or as well as) using ship animation frames, have you considered interdigitating frames showing two or three different sketches within a single rotation, so a ship changes as it turns?
Since you are clearly committed to blowing our minds, I should remind you that messing with more than shadow changes as a ship rotates can produce all sorts of interesting effects -- check out the solar panels on EVO cargo vessels, or take a look at this little plug that modifies a certain Auroran ship: True Abomination
This post has been edited by Dr. Trowel : 06 April 2008 - 05:38 PM
Ok, I haven't updated in a while. I just thought I'd mention that my time is currently being diverted from Paper TC for a bit, so updates will be few.
If you're curious, I have some table-top games I've been designing. A couple of them are approaching the testing phase.