Resident Evil: Behind the Mask [+Hazardous Battle]

[Gemini]

If the system could handle it, maybe you can do two or three Neptunes in the Aqua Ring instead of just one plus the babies.

I think it's very possible. The babies are nothing more than a scaled down Neptune, plus the whole polycount can be massively decreased by untriangulating the original PSX models. I don't remember the exact amount of faces Neptune has, but if I could pull off four T-002 in a room with no lag, five sharks shouldn't be a problem. The real question is: how to make them worth a damn? Unless I turn them into a huge pain in the ass that constantly follows you around the Aqua Ring.

[Chris' Boob]

If the system could handle it, maybe you can do two or three Neptunes in the Aqua Ring instead of just one plus the babies.

[Gemini]

And that is why he's lame
Even so, it would be much cooler if he at least didn't flop around and was still dangerous.
Even something simple like allowing him to drag himself around with his front fins, like some prehistoric fish, and do a short lunging bite.
That would be a great bonus.

If I were to remake RE1 with updated assets I wouldn't mind implementing a Neptune revision closer to what REmake got, but since Hazardous Battle is a plain arcade game I'm not even sure about including him at all. It's not like Neptune really fits anywhere in here. The way he was originally designed makes him a mere obstacle that is meant to surprise the player unaware of immortality stuff.

[Jimmy_Jazz]

I loved the simplicity of the original Neptune encounter. Seeing it flap around helplessly when the water was gone and then the bright blood running across the cool concrete floor after taking it out with a single shot was both beautiful and brutal.

[Vanya]

The problem is Neptune was never meant to be a boss, he's more like an easy obstacle that can instantly kill you.

And that is why he's lame
Even so, it would be much cooler if he at least didn't flop around and was still dangerous.
Even something simple like allowing him to drag himself around with his front fins, like some prehistoric fish, and do a short lunging bite.
That would be a great bonus.

[Gemini]

Programming Plant 42 is taking way longer than it should have due to all the parallel AI code it requires to coordinate bulb and tentacles, plus the original code is as usual one big mess to follow and understand. Some attacks seem to be able to grab and lift the player, but I don't remember that boss to ever trigger said type of attack, unless it's a cutscene with P42 grabbing Chris/Jill and Rebecca/Barry coming to the rescue. While working slowly on P42 I followed a parted route and went back to implementing more core stuff:

This is the FN Minimi from RE1 PC, with the original model altered a bit and given a proper texture painted in pixel art. I've also got the Ingram MAC-10 partially implemented, but it still lacks proper animations and a refined texture; besides fixes, it works just like the Minimi with more turn speed and a weaker damage table. I also took some time to improve the sound engine for switching from dynamic to static sample allocation, in order to fix enemies that spawn way too much SFX at the same time (like Black Tiger) and to make one-shot samples work as intended.

My suggestion would be to review the time-frame animation of Black Tiger's counter depending on the distance put between the player and the boss.

You're completely right about it. My Black Tiger is a loose interpretation of what the original moves like, but that's entirely because the code is a mess to follow and in the end I had to remake most of the logic using external footage. I noticed better how he behaves by replaying RE1 on my own, since most of the footage either goes for the quickest way to kill him or it's a knife only challenge; either case didn't help much. Anyways, what you can see in my last video was only one of the many reaction he has to weapon hits. Powerful weapons like the Remington cause him to execute a circular strafe with venom spit at the end. With other weapons he instantly spits poison and keeps on moving around until a stress counter becomes zero.

And I dunno what's up with the Super Tyrant but it seems to be missing the rampaged attack it does when it gets tired from chasing player - the attack which can easily corner the player into the wall and set-up the deadly three-hit combo. I suspect you're still messing on how to incorporate it since that's potentially the most devastating attack the Super Tyrant has and it's the hardest to evade.

Yup, he's missing the taunt attack in that difficulty, also the claw attack doesn't blow away the player. Harder difficulties should include taunt+rush and a harder-to-avoid rush claw attack.

Just saying, it would be great if it felt like I was actually fighting Neptune instead of feeling like an asshole for putting him down after draining his water away.

The problem is Neptune was never meant to be a boss, he's more like an easy obstacle that can instantly kill you.

[Ultimacloud123]

Here's an improvement,sharks with laser beams.

Textures could always be improved to be more grotesque. I know that's not part of your plan.

[Vanya]

Generally speaking, as far as the models are concerned, I feel it would be really cool and worth the effort if the infected animals were a bit more monstrous like their concept art. I remember feeling underwhelmed by the in game designs of Yawn and Black Tiger since they were basically just giant size versions of normal animals.
And with Neptune I didn't even get a giant animal. He was just a stupid shark. Anything that could be done to improve him would be awesome. Just saying, it would be great if it felt like I was actually fighting Neptune instead of feeling like an asshole for putting him down after draining his water away.

[blackpower]

Gemini: you forgot Shark neptune, you could increase the size to make it difficult to defeat?

[Kegluneq]

As per what said on Twitter, here goes Black Tiger:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSikJjMPgos
Took me a bit to put him together the way I wanted him to be. As always, more info in description. This footage contains the latest engine additions, like the new status menu draft and the HUD set on Smart mode.

I think you should review your Black Tiger AI. You're making it too easy. Not because the venomous spit has been decreased from 3 to 1 but because of the way it moves across the room after it has been hit - which allows the character to reposition before the Black Tiger counter-attacks despite the lagging shotgun recoil animation from an upfront shot.

The Black Tiger was designed to be the type of enemy which you can't strike from upfront because there's no delays in counters. If you use the Flamethrower (or the Survival Knife) against it, you need to be positioned to the side (close to the back) to not be caught by its counter. It's all about strategic placement which your AI is effectively tearing apart.

My suggestion would be to review the time-frame animation of Black Tiger's counter depending on the distance put between the player and the boss.

And I dunno what's up with the Super Tyrant but it seems to be missing the rampaged attack it does when it gets tired from chasing player - the attack which can easily corner the player into the wall and set-up the deadly three-hit combo. I suspect you're still messing on how to incorporate it since that's potentially the most devastating attack the Super Tyrant has and it's the hardest to evade.

Nonetheless, I'm enjoying the progress you're making, Gemini. It's looking pretty wicked!

Thank you and Merry Christmas!

[Gemini]

I assume for BTM you will use an inventory screen similar to RE1-CV?

Bingo. I've got most of the code done already, but never showed it because BTM has been on hiatus for a while until we can get back to it with a more complete engine (i.e. when Hazardous Battle gets the green light of 'plays like RE').

Interesting tidbit!

RE2 does also the same, I think it gives you a chance of 1/64th for getting a critical hit.

If I'm not mistaken, similar color patterns were also used in later games. You can add a reddish variation in addition to silver, and it's going to look even better!

As far as I'm aware, later revisions of Black Tiger didn't alter his appearance, following directly what he looks like in the original artworks. I'm not really going to change enemy color schemes unless there is a huge mistake somewhere; so far they look perfectly fine as they are. Currently the only enemy I did change a bit is Plant 42, but all I did there was fixing his normals to be consistent since RE1 does funky lighting calculations that make no sense. I didn't want to add hackish code to my engine just for this specific case, hence why the "change".

[-Rusty-]

Ugh, I want those DS models.

[Getta robo]

Both black tiger and plant 42 look fantastic. However, I think they could both have some more polished colors, reflecting their aggressive and dangerous nature, pretty much like in the real world.
Would you consider modeling them after real and similar counterparts?
For example, take a look upon these tarantula's colors.

If I'm not mistaken, similar color patterns were also used in later games. You can add a reddish variation in addition to silver, and it's going to look even better!

[Scream]

I assume for BTM you will use an inventory screen similar to RE1-CV?

Critical hits in Director's Cut are nothing more than the M92FS switching hit power with the Colt Python at random intervals.

Interesting tidbit!

[Gemini]

With Black Tiger out of the way, this is my current boss implementation:

Planning how it works was kind of a hassle because the tentacles move separately while the main bulb is just there pulsing. For once I decided to go RE1 style and made the enemy spawn tentacle entities, which are linked to the bulb's temp matrix (at some point they are supposed to detach and fall to the ground). Model has been optimized a bit and inconsistent normals regenerated for good.

Once Plant 42 is implemented I can go back to Yawn, the last boss barring a demo from being released.

Coming back to the limb targeting system idea, how about having every shot decided by a randomized cycling loop that automatically picks a limb to shoot, like the one hit kills in director's cut.

Like I said before: overly complicated with no real benefits. Critical hits in Director's Cut are nothing more than the M92FS switching hit power with the Colt Python at random intervals.