I recently implemented improved explosions - pieces of what was shot now fly every which way when it blows up, some trailing smoke, and the pieces bounce realistically off walls and floors. It is now even possible to shoot an alien's arm off in sniper mode and watch the arm come off and fall to the floor - although whether or not we'll make it twitch when it comes to rest is a matter of taste. I also just wrote the 3D sound system which includes stereo sound positioning and the doppler effect imagine a car going past you -its noise changes pitch as it gets nearer.
Also, when you're in the sniper view, sound characteristics change so that you can only really hear what you are looking at - things at the edge of your view are quieter than things in the middle - and as you zoom in to the aliens, their noises become louder.
We're aiming for the game to run well on any Pentium. Obviously, an svga card is needed since the game runs in x as standard , and the better your svga card, the faster the game should run MDK will make full use of any linear frame buffers and advanced palettes your SVGA card has.
The final game should also support some 3D accelerator cards. Since the game contains no fmv, the speed of the user's cd drive is unimportant -the cd is only used to install the game and to play any standard cd. If you've been keeping close tabs on the development of Shiny Entertainment's MDK, you'll no doubt be aware that as well as some seriously impressive polygon-based visuals, one of the technical features that really stands out is the fact that both the central character and many of the creatures that inhabit the lands of the game have been motion-captured to ensure that they look and act in the most realistic way possible.
The systems used are many and varied, and we've featured Gremlin's motion capture studio in PC before - both Actua Soccer and Euro 96 made use of the facility and the company is using it in virtually all of their forthcoming titles. Shiny's motion capture facility is slightly different although fundamentally the same and is handily known as MoCap.
Shawn Nelson, the team's expert on the subject, talks us through the process and even draws a little cartoon for us too. Okay, so you've got this 'MoCap' system.
Do you understand every-thing about it, or is it just a tool? And do you have a techie-bod background, or are you more arty-farty? From there, I was drafted to the University of Southern California where I got a Master's degree in computer animation.
I collect toys, especially the Spawn lineup and enjoy cartoons like The Tick. I don't always watch Star Trek but I know all the characters by heart.
I love boogieboarding and soccer. I started playing videogames on a state of the art Atari vcs with Missile Command and Gauntlet. Next came a Sega Genesis, a Macintosh, an sgi and a pc. Why use SGI? What's so hot about it apart from the hefty price tag?
Is it really all it's cracked up to be for this sort of thing? It's the only machine powerful enough to run the software that I need to use. I started with Softimage 2. Is it easy to get machines like that working?
Is the system as simple as just sticking ping-pong balls all over someone's body and then hooking him up to an SGI box? No way. I spent hours and hours and hours on the phone as I tried to get the calibration of our main character just perfect. Every time I thought it was right, our actor would put his hands on top of his head.
Looking back at the screen, one arm might end up on the floor, the other might stick out of his mouth. It was so frustrating, but then suddenly it all worked, and the settings were perfect.
Dumbo question now for the people at the back What is motion capture exactly? Motion capture is a system where you put censors on an actor who then moves around within a projected magnetic field. With motion capture you animate from the inside out. You can record hours of animation extremely quickly. If you do animation by hand with a pencil like Disney , it takes years.
The result is that we get much more movement than an artist ever has time to draw. All the subtleties are there, the joints work like real joints and - most importantly - you can feel the weight of the character as he performs his moves. Basically it restricts you to humans or animals.
If you want to motion capture a shark, then you are in a world of hurt, literally. If you have a legged monster that you need to do back flips, then you'd better hope you have a great pet store near your office. I suppose you could tie ten actors together Space is a big thing.
I had to build a stage to cut down the magnetic interference from the steel bars in our concrete floor; that coupled with the cables tying the actor to the main computer restricts his movement, big-time.
It hurts the actor if he does a dive and lands on the umbilical cable link, but I don't care about that! A conventional motion capture system uses up to 16 censors, but we only used Polhemus, who makes the MoCap system, says it's supposed to record at 50 frames per second but it only does The silly part is that the Alias software can't take more than 30 frames per second.
Although the data is sharper due to the 48 frames per second, we can't read it all. From that point on we give our data to Andy so that he can work all of his wonderful programming magic. More animation, more movements, more move options, ten times as much animation - yes, I think it's a good tool and I also believe that it does have a place in the future of videogames.
Remember however that I am a traditional animator first - and you will never get rid of us. The second Kurt's dinky little feet hit the floor, turn round and collect 'the world's most cowardly power-up' - your well-being will be somewhat increased. Then run up the corridor and chain-gun the waving guard to death. Soon two more will appear - fill the mothers full of lead.
That done, you can pick up the 'world's smallest nuclear bomb' from the left-hand side of the enclosed area and detonate it next to the locked door, which leads you through to You're in the practice room.
If you can't work out what to do here, despite the on-screen prompts, then you're a bit simple. Just enter sniper mode, blow the heads off those target-waggling guards, then wait for the bomb crate to float down to the centre of the tower. Shooting this will destroy the tower and its inhabitants, after which you should exit sniper mode, grab the grenade which drops down, then throw it at the transparent red wall. Don't stand too close or you'll hurt yourself, knucklehead. Here's the slightly tricky bit - you'll have to practise using your parachute in order to reach the mortar power-up which is squatting atop a pedestal like some kind of weird, rotating, tubular vulture.
Once you've done that, enter sniper mode once more and lob a mortar through the hole in the front of the building before you. This will shatter the glass and allow you to enter. As soon as you're inside, concentrate your fire on the guard generator in the middle of the floor. Once that's been taken care of, re-enter sniper mode and kill the guards by shooting them in the head not in the targets they're holding.
Grab the decoy power-up, then hop up the platforms and you're into Enter sniper mode immediately, and target the area just above the closed door. Ooh, look at the pretty exploding crates Leg it inside avoiding the guards and the tank , and keep shooting the guard generator until -boom! A way out of here It's the subway. As ever, concentrate on taking out the guard generator as soon as possible it's on the left , then jump across the track and take out the one hidden in the alcove on the right.
Fetch the grenades and then come back down to the train. Cross over to the other side through the train and approach the large door. When the tank comes at you like a big angry penis, smite it with your grenades.
Run ahead et voila - le exit, monsieur. C'est magnifique, non? Pay attention to this bit, because it's really hard unless you do what we say. Having brutally murdered the first person you see, shoot at the console.
This calls a spaceship, which should arrive within seconds. Walk inside the ship and you're into the nifty bombing mode, where you'll be shown a view looking down at the arena with a targeting cross-hair. The ship will automatically fly you over the arena before dropping you back off at the starting point, so make the most of your airborne time by bombing the heck out of absolutely everything you have infinite bombs.
Once back on terra firma, run towards the building in the middle the ones on either side contain power-ups, mind, so it's worth paying them a quick visit. When you get close to the last building, a tank will show up. A second ship will then appear above the building and hover for a few seconds. Enter sniper mode and shoot the exploding crate, which dangles beneath it like a tagnut.
This blows up the building, enabling you to enter. Destroy the guard generator and a nuclear bomb will be revealed.
Get this and the turkey power-up, then leave the building. The exit door is located in the far wall at the back of the arena - use your atom bomb to open it up. This bit's quite hard. Follow the passage to the right and kill the guards.
Then stand behind the last block on the right to shield yourself from the cannon. Assuming you grabbed the decoy earlier on, throw it to the left, then chain-gun the cannon while it fires in the wrong direction. If you have any grenades left, use 'em jackass. Now prance up onto the block and enter sniper mode.
Choose the mortars from your inventory, and loose one off into each of the four 'funnels' practice makes perfect. These lead down to the glass-fronted rooms and will blow up the four obnoxious, taunting guards.
If you don't have any mortars, or you're so crap and rubbish that you use them all up, backtrack a bit and you should find some more have turned up. After each guard has been destroyed, the entire structure blows up, leaving a hole in the floor. Obliterate the two tanks, then stand at the highest point on your side of the hole.
From this position, jump and float with your chute to the lowest point on the other side. If the gods are smiling on you, Kurt will grab hold of the ledge and pull himself up. Follow this section of the canyon and collect a 'cowardly' power-up to restore your health level. Then return to the edge of the hole and float down again using your ribbon chute. Jump off the glass platform at the start of this arena and glide down, avoiding the spikes as you do so.
Destroy the target dome in the centre of the room with your grenades, and an air vent will be revealed - just hop onto it to be carried up into the air. When you reach the top, turn around to face the long glass platform sticking out of the wall. Land on this, then jump from platform to platform to reach the top of the room this is fist-clenchingly hard, but persevere, okay? Once you're at the top, collect the power-ups and vamoose.
Follow the passageway round to the left and shoot the alert droid till it opens. Walk in to the droid, then drive it back down the passage and around to the door which leads into the corridor filled with sentries. Now, while inside the alert droid, you can drive between them with no trouble.
Once you get to the end of the corridor, avoid the very big guard and jump past him to the room beyond. Collect the 'world's most interesting bomb' and throw it into the centre of the room. When all of the enemies have crowded round it, press Enter on your keyboard to detonate it, remembering to stand well back!
If any of the sentries survive, take them out with your chain-gun 'til they have all been destroyed. Leave the corridor and collect the nuke pick-up which drops down to the left of the entrance door, and use it to blow the atomic lock off the exit door.
After floating up the air shaft, stand on the highest section of the arena and face the distant tower above the glass walls. Zoom into the boss he's in the tower and select sniper grenades. Target his face. Shoot him and, if successful, you will kill him with one shot. If you miss, or if you don't have any sniper grenades, just try again. If you do hit him, keep shooting at him with normal bullets, and a supply of sniper grenades will eventually drop down into the arena. Once he's bought the farm, the landscape will disintegrate, heralding the end of this level.
Wait around a second and a sniper grenade will float down behind you. Grab it and make your way down the ramp to the next room. As soon as you spot the floating guard, use sniper mode and your new grenades to rub him out. Then get the alert droid. At this point the ceiling should shatter and a nuclear bomb will arrive. Pick it up and hurl it at the door. Ahh, the shooting gallery. Immediately turn to the right to face the gunfire, then side-step into the arena.
Dodge the blasts and work your way across to the other side of the range. Peg it up the ramp and wait for the mortar to float down. Take this, then turn to face the glass wall. Using sniper mode, fire a mortar through the rectangular hole with the striped sides. The mortar will drop down to the guards and cause the floor to shatter as detonates.
A nuclear bomb will tl fly out of the hole and float down in front of the ramp. Lob it at the door and skidaddle, daddy-o. An arms factory. Walk to the edge of the glass platform and fire a mortar at the ringleader using sniper mode, dum-dum.
Then take out the two grunts carrying giant missiles. A big explosion should ensue. Make like a porn star and dive right into the hole. Without moving, chain-gun the first guard, then enter sniper mode and zoom in on the second one he's hiding behind one of the far cannons. Pop the sucker in the god-damned face, then walk down to the middle cannon. Get the turkey power-up, and turn to face the shooting range.
Fire repeatedly with your chain-gun, and the cannon will recoil, smashing through the window in the process Simply leap across the platforms to reach the exit door at the rear of the arena. Avoiding the cannons is easy if you memorise their firing sequence. If you fall off, there are two air-vents that can be used to reach the platforms again. One's at the start of the arena, the other is in the middle.
Drift down to the first of the floating platforms, where the leaping guard is waiting. As you approach, fire and he'll prance away. Stay on this platform, as you'll be able to attack the leaping guard without being hit by the pendulum from here.
Plenty of sniper mode headshots will finish him off, at which point a ramp will appear, leading to the exit. Jump across to this using the platforms, being careful to dodge the pendulum. Kill as many people as you can and grab as many power-ups as possible. After a certain number of kills which is randomised each time , a nuclear bomb will head for the back of the arena, behind the gigantic white tower.
Kill the sentry and the two alert droids, then throw the nuke at the door. You hateful twat, you. Walk round to the landing bay and wait for a sky sled to land. As the two guards jump off, jump onto the sled and turn to shoot them. The sled should now take off and fly around some battle arenas, where the guards are practising their skills, before moving into the mine controller's tower. Once the sled has stopped, it will drop you to the floor and allow you to enter the last arena.
For a bonus health power-up, wait at the landing bay and run into the left-hand rear corner when it is empty. If you do this correctly, you'll be teleported to one of the battle arenas. Wait for a moment, and one of the sky sleds will drop off a health power-up. Collect this, then stroll into the centre. This will teleport you back to the landing bay.
Follow the passageway up into the arena, then climb the ramp to your right to reach the upper platform and a health power-up. Face the window on the other side of the room and enter sniper mode. Shoot once to break the glass, then zoom in and shoot repeatedly at the boss until he closes the window. For a bonus shot, try to target his nose and eyes - ha ha ha ha ha. Once the window has closed, exit sniper mode and wait for the boss to reappear in his glass ship.
Shoot the ship repeatedly as it flies around the arena. Eventually, it will explode and the boss will drop to the floor and start running around like a swine, releasing guards into the area as he does so. Chain-gun him to death and you've completed this level. But before you get all smug and self-congratulatory, bear in mind that you only got this far because you read this little cheater's guide.
So you're a sad-arse really. Straight away, enter sniper mode and zoom in on the two sentry guns. Kill 'em both, then exit sniper mode and use the chain-gun to kill the flying guard. Some more guards will appear. Chain-gun them to death, then position yourself in the centre of the arena and use sniper mode to zoom in on the two locks either side of the large door in the distance.
Shoot both of these off and the door will crash down, killing the sentry. Stay in sniper mode and wipe out the two bomb-tossing swines as they run out. Next, find the ramp on the right-hand side of the room and jump across to the upper platform. Kill the guard standing there, then climb onto the slanted platform on your left. From here, jump over to the platform with the chain-gun power-up.
Grab that, then float across to the bones' air-strike power-up. Drop back down to the floor and exit the level through the door, turkeyneck. Kill both of the sentries, then use your chain-gun to destroy the guards to the left and right of the entrance.
Run to the two alcoves behind the guards and collect the two pick-ups - homing sniper bullets and a decoy. Hop into the empty pool and collect the super chain-gun. Jump out again and kill all the new arrivals. Walk behind the diving board to find the pool annex. Kill all of the guards in here and collect the apple. Wait for the two flying drones and the sled-riding guard to break into the room through the window, then kill the two drones.
Chuck the decoy back towards the pool area to distract the guard on the sled, then enter sniper mode and blow his goddam head off. Exit sniper mode and jump on the sled to collect the 'world's most interesting bomb' from the top of the room. The characters have to go through 6 missions to complete their plans. They land on a city ship, where the guys need to clear the territory of enemies with the help of sniper weapons built into the equipment.
Also, the protagonists will have a wide variety of interesting actions: flying on a parachute with magnets, riding a special skateboard, flying in a bomber.
The task is to destroy the alien leader, which will significantly weaken all aliens. In the process, it is necessary to exterminate all enemies standing in the way of the liberation of earthly inhabitants. The enemy acts together using tactical thinking. Each action needs not only to be pondered, but to be brought to life with lightning speed in order to confuse an intelligent enemy.
English and 4 more. Publisher: Interplay Inc. Share Embed. Read Critic Reviews. Add to Cart. Package info. View Community Hub. See all. Customer reviews. Overall Reviews:. Recent Reviews:. Review Type. All Positive Negative All Steam Purchasers Other All Languages Your Languages 99 Customize. Date Range. To view reviews within a date range, please click and drag a selection on a graph above or click on a specific bar.
Show graph. Brought to you by Steam Labs. Filter reviews by the user's playtime when the review was written:. No minimum to No maximum.
Off-topic Review Activity.
0コメント