All Things Art - FX Edition

What about lens flare effect with the sun and other forms of intense bright light?

Any chance of getting a new VFX for Tornado?

Tunnel Rat, do you only make the VFX, or can you apply them too? Can I ask you to put the Shatter Armor "shattering" effect on -Resist procs or the Placate effect on Smoke Flash, or is that someone else's department?

Will Doppelganger tech for Illusion Control ever be available for Phantom Army/Phantasm, allowing an army of your current selected costume (but restrict it to two palette colours as usual)?

I would like... what I call animal spirit auras.

Basically they would be something like Jean grey as the phoenix :P

I want to be enveloped by a bright shiny bird plz

I think I've seen it before here but just in case.

I'd really love to see some sort of Data Stream aura, incorporating the graphics from the Architect Entertainment buildings. A body aura made out of this would be incredible.

I'd also like to see the same thing with a Teleport customization variation. So you disappear and reappear in a flash of the Data Stream.

Animated halo effects (color customizable):

above head
around head/face
fist halos
body halos (emotes & costume changes)


narrow and wide band; flat and with depth


Halos of atomic particles, insects, animals (tiny scale), energy, elemental energy, dark, electricity, bubbles, blades, thorns, leaves, symbols (various), etc


for movement: axis tilting, rotation, details within the halo, color gradients, reverse motion, opacity transitions, trailing (like the leaves aura)

Have a couple posts about powers coming up. I realize that power design itself falls outside the direct rubric of Tunnel Rat, but based on my own experience with creative workflows, I'm sure there is a little bit of bidirectional flow of information. I'll try and keep my suggestions to powers not yet existing that would involve a heavy commitment from the VFX department (is it just a department of 1? I hope not!).

First up is a repost of some suggestions for new incarnate judgement powers from an older thread. Something like Nanite Army would be pretty cool IMO and it is based upon some existing tech but covers an aesthetic not often used currently within CoX:

• Orbital Canon - AoE power with targeting recticle. Uses an animation similar to either surveillance or one of the merc animations of talking into a military radio. One side of the tree is damage based as per other judgement trees. Not sure what the secondary effects should be.
  
• Critical Mass - (no not bike commuters :P) PBAoE energy based judgement. Character drops into the energy morph cce pose. Same circle of white light at the core followed by a shockwave of judgement. Energy damage. Secondary effects perhaps mimic some of what is seen in radiation as this power could double for both energy and rad themed characters?
  
• Divine Incantation - AoE with targeting recticle. Character's head tips back in an animation similar to the oracle in the ITF. A large runic pattern appears on the ground where targeted (or perhaps the ground pattern from the banners on the banner event?). Runic particles swirl about about the area and each affected victim. An even split of cold, fire, psi and dark damage. Someone wanna help me on what the ideal secondary effects could be or would be?
  
• Utter Chaos - The psionic meets cosmic prankster judgement power. Not sure on the animation for this one, but feels like it should be PBAoE. Left side is all psionic damage. The secondary side is special as it features a wildcard system (new tech I guess)--at top tier there is a chance that any affected victim will have any of the following 2 effects applied to them: -recharge, confuse, fear, sleep, hold (petrified with fear) or stun.
  
• Nanite Army - Targeted AoE. Uses a simple powder toss animation, like seeds of confusion. Then particles, similar to the bots set repair nanites squirm away from the caster towards the targets. Does a split of energy and cold damage. Potential secondary effects: -def, -dmg, -res, -recharge, slow.
  
• Ideas for a might based judgement:
  • 2 Ton Hammer - PBAoE. Requires the character be grounded like footstomp. Character drops to the ground punching left right over and over WHAM!WHAM!WHAM!WHAM! triggering a massive brief earthquake. Smashing damage with chance to override resistance on the left side of the tree. (Concerned about how common high smashing and lethal resists are in late game for the next several powres). Smashing damage with the following secondaries on the right side of the tree: chances for -res, knockup, & stun.
    
  • Hail Mary Hurl - Targeted AoE or AoE with targeting recticle. Character pulls a random vehicle model out of their dimensional pocket (where all our rifles and battle axes are kept!) and hurls it. The bus/truck/tank explodes on impact into physics appropriate physics particles doing an even split of fire and smashing damage. Secondary effects include knockback and stun.
• Ideas for non-tech weapons based characters:
  • Storm of Steel: Targeted cone based. Character does a dervish dance, launching a cone of shurikens, throwing knives and perhaps one or two other models just for ridiculousness sake. Left side of the tree is lethal damage, again with a chance to circumvent resists. Right side has following secondary effects: -def, chance for +toxic dmg dot, slow.
    
  • Whirlwind of Death: Think of this as Whirlwind++. You need to steer this one. Character draws their melee weapon (adds weapon customization if you have no blade) and then proceeds to become literally a whirlwind of death. Different pose, slightly more transparent tornado particle effects than normal whirlwind. Does massive DoT when touching baddies. Slight chance of knockup. Advancing up the tree increases how long the power lasts. Secondary effects: -def, increased chance of knockup, fear.

Now for the as of yet-non-existent-but-FX-work-heavy-powersets. Being very much about visceral aesthetics myself, I won't go into detail outlining power suggestions of tier 1 through 9. But I will describe in brief how the powersets could work overall to set them apart mechanically and I will list a range of customization options, each requiring an entirely new set of VFX per customization--similar to how spines sets work now. Obviously, mixing and matching of VFX options would be permitted similar to other sets already.

Whips/Chains/Lines: Despite the innuendo and giggles this suggestion always evokes from certain members of the forum peanut gallery, Demon Summoning shows that a whip set could be an aesthetically compelling option for CoX. I alter in my own opinions as to whether this set should be a control set, a dominator assault set or a melee set. Perhaps there is room to find a viable set with these weapons for each. Mechanically, the set should be heavy with stuns, knockups, and new tech reverse-knockback to grab and pull baddies past the whip wielder. It would have a shorter range than most control and assault sets but a longer range than most melee sets. Would suggest linking a suite of 3 or 4 sounds to different VFX as a chain would sound different than a bullwhip and that different from an energy whip.

VFX Aesthetic options for a whips set:

• Bull Whip
• Heavy Cable
• Chain
• Fire Whip as seen in Demon Summoning
• Cat-o-ninetails
• Energy Whip
• High Tech Whip
• Organic Tendril
• Leafy Vine

• Throwing Knives (tumble end over end or spiral)
• Tomahawks (tumble)
• Tech Hatchet (tumble)
• Carnie Discs (spin along horizontal plane)
• Traditional Boomerangs (spin)
• Heavy Metal Boomerangs (spin)
• Tech or Energy Boomerangs (spin)
• Playing/Tarot Cards (spin along horizontal plane)
• Dice (mix of spin, tumble and spiral)
• Crystal Skulls (spiral or static)
• Chattering Skulls (spiral or static)
• Flaming Skulls (spiral or static)
• Pumpkins (spiral or static)
• Flaming Pumpkins (spiral or static)
• Juggling Pins (tumble or spin)
• All three different types of balls from the /e juggle emotes
• Bowler Hats (spin)
• Shuriken (spin and tumble)
• Metallic Spheres (static--couldn't see the rotations anyways!)
• Grenades (tumble or spiral or static)
• Glowing and Translucent Runes (tumble, spiral, spin or static)
• Apples (tumble, spiral, spin or static)
• Goo Gob (spiral or static)
• Gears (spin)
• Springs (spiral)
• Hand Fans (tumble or spiral)

• Knife Similar to Throwing Knife Model
• Tomahawks
• Tech Hatchet
• Carnie Disc Held in Hand
• Boomerangs Held in Hand
• Wands (two to five options from simple black stage wand to something more Potterish)
• Chicken Foot
• Dragons Claw
• Zombie Forearm
• Tsai
• Wooden Quarter Staff
• Tech Quarter Staff
• Metallic Quarter Staff
• Energy Quarter Staff
• Shillelagh (with and without leaf sprout)
• Bone
• Walking Cane
• Folded up Umbrella
• Juggling Pin Held in Hand
• Wrench
• Scepters with a variety of symbols from various mythologies
• Billy Club

I was thinking the other night as I was watching people idle in Pocket D waiting for a trial run to start that we've got emotes to juggle balls and magic and fire and electricity, but there's another possible one that would be easy enough to animate -- 'juggleice' -- replace the ball with the model for the snowball from the Winter Event temporary power, and have the character juggling snowballs. Set it up as part of the Magic booster, or perhaps be unlocked automatically when a character gets the Snowball temp power from the Winter Event.

It's seems that, without intending to, this thread has identified a use for Origins as a category for specific customizable animations. I think it's a good idea that isn't restrictive enough to limit one's options.

Hi Tunnel Rat,

I know it's more fun to make new stuff, but could you pleeeeeeeeeeeease re-work the dark armor/blast powers? Specifically, many of those powers use a horribly low-res, muddy pixelated sprite.

The warshade powers and the Void judgment are a much better representation of what Dark powers should look like (at least in terms of quality/fidelity).

"There's villainy ... and then there's supervillainy. The difference is performance."
-Doc_Reverend

Things I would love to see:

Alternate animations for Dark Melee's Siphon Life and Midnight Grasp. In particular, I would love to see some "punch-y" animations that better match Shadow Punch and Smite and Shadow Maul.

A No-FX option for Electric Armor's three primary shields (Charged Armor, Conductive Shield, Static Shield). At the very least, I would like a non-"pulsing glow" option for Static Shield.

Mostly aura ideas that I would like to see in game -

First idea doesn't really need a graphical representation, just simply a right and/or left eye only option for existing auras (where applicable).


Others have mentioned this sort of thing I believe, but a sort of snakelike effect - could create runic or tech motifs.


Random ideas varying from a more mystical type effect on the left. The middle features a more robust eletricity aura that would arc and bounce around, and a lava/magma like aura. On the right is an energy like effect that would swirl around the selected location.


On the left more "generic" energy effect like auras, in the middle is a runic/magic casting circle and on the right two versions of a glow that's envisioned to have this sort of undulating/lava lamp effect with the particles.

I have another VFX bug for you, this time with pictures and precise description:

Pic:


Affected powers: Martial Arts -> Crane Kick, Martial Arts -> Cobra Strike

Bug type: Power effect isn't greyscale and overpowers colour choice options.

Detailed description:

This bug affects the "ring" power effect that plays with Martial Arts attacks Crane Kick and Cobra Strike. This ring does not take tinting colours properly, because the ring effect is not greyscale. It's in the same raibow as the Original Invulnerability effects. The effect DOES tint, but the tinting is applied over the existing colours, so no matter what colour you give it, it always looks like a tinted rainbow.

The pic in question displays Crane Kick as used by my female Martial Artist using Bright Crane Kick, with custom colours set to white/white. The neutral colours don't tint the effect and show what it looks like base.

The rest of the affected powers' effects are working as intended. The... Starburst glow sparkles and motion lines on Martial Arts kicks tint properly and assume the proper colour. It's these two very obvious rings on these two powers that throw the entire set out of whack.

My suggestion would be to out-and-out replace this effect for customizable versions of the powers and put in a white ring that, at best, takes on both primary and secondary colours. Or, much more simply, just draw it as a single-colour white ring and tie that to secondary colour for tinting.

Please fix this

*edit*
The Dark themes of the powers appear to be affected, as well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arcanaville Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.

Having the option of powers being generated from an unattached costume/aura piece.

The piece could be an orb, sphere, cube, glyph circle, familiar, etc.


I guess that means we would need costume pieces that are unattached to the character body (at least not visibly).

[Yeeeah, a Nanite Ranged/Nanite Defensive/Buff powerset with powers emanating from Nanite clusters that orbit the player]

Forgive me if I'm repeating this...

Head + Shoulders version of the fiery aura. Kind of like this: http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l8...q3ajo1_500.jpg