Wartide Media Updates

[TerranUp16]

Compilation of all released Wartide Media Updates:



Above you see our new logo. Yeah, it's "temporary", but in a long-term sense. Besides from the obvious symbolism between blood and war, it also goes a bit deeper with a somewhat subtle parody of the infamous "WIP Stamp"- perfect for a project so early in development, such as ours.

Anyway, I come with more than a logo- much more, in fact. I come with model shots of the MBT-6 Behemoth and Construction Crew Dozer, I come with concept terrain shots as well as concept vegetation shots, I come with a head for a piece of art you'll see far more of in the very near future, I come with music, and I also come with information.

So, let's continue with some music. The following track comes to us courtesy of our composer, funkmaister. What is it? It is basically a concept for Protectorate background music. We have been trying to capture the proper feel for their music for quite some time now- something that complements the game's intensity and reflects the Protectorate's heavy firepower, but something that is still only background music. We feel that this piece is on the right track.

Listen
Download

Next, let's take a look at some foliage. Shigee, our art director, has been working hard to find the optimal method for producing in-game foliage for Wartide. This image represents his magnificent progress. No, we certainly do not plan for every planet to be a tropical paradise, but tropical foliage always provides an eye-pleasing showcase (looks at Crysis).



Of course, foliage alone will not make a level. Shigee has also been working on modeling and texturing terrain. Truly, neither the above image nor the images below provide the full picture of what Wartide terrain will look like. Both must be combined- we intend to reach a terrain level of detail reminiscent to Company of Heroes'- not only because terrain is pretty, but because terrain and the objects upon it create battlefields, and the field of battle will be quite important in Wartide, thanks to its tactical focus. Also note that the terrain textures below are more stretched than they will actually be, due largely to the fact that these images were not rendered in the game's engine.









Ok, so foliage, terrain, music, logos- all great, but maybe that's not why you wanted to check out this post. No, perhaps you want to see unit models. Well, I'll do you one better- I'll show you a couple of unit models, and actually explain what they are and what they do- note the word explain!

MBT-6 Behemoth
Protectorate Main Battle Tank





Meet the MBT-6 Behemoth. Truly, it is a behemoth. Don't expect to see too many of these trundling around, because although they may be the Protectorate's "Main" Battle Tank", they are quite expensive. Behemoths provide heavy tank support and some of the heaviest firepower around to the Protectorate. They possess heavy, slanted armor that can absorb plenty of damage. But, armor alone is not sufficient protection for a beast such as this. Ney, should the Protectorate invest so much in such a vehicle, it will fit it with a laser defense system, capable of destroying incoming projectiles before they even have a chance to test the Behemoth's formidable armor. Undoubtedly more fearsome than the Behemoth's ability to simply stay alive is the offensive firepower it brings to bear. It wields a forward-mounted tank gun, a turret-mounted helical rail gun, and three automated coilstorm anti-personnel turrets. Its helical rail gun can fire projectiles at awesome velocities, granting it both extreme range and burly damage- it can slay a majority of tanks with just a single shot. Combining the aforementioned with the helical rail gun's accuracy, the Behemoth can actually pass for a tank sniper of sorts. Supporting the helical rail gun is the more traditional tank gun, which lacks the range, damage capability, and accuracy of the helical rail gun, but has a faster firing rate, allowing the Behemoth to take-on multiple enemy tanks as long as it can keep them in front of it. The traditional tank gun also allows the Behemoth to simply wreak more havoc- on infantry, cover, structures, etc... The three, automated coilstorm anti-personnel turrets allow the Behemoth to repel enemy infantry effectively. However, as with most other vehicles in the Protectorate arsenal, most of the aforementioned armaments are optional. In tandem with the "support" system (essentially, Wartide's take on tech trees), the MBT-6 itself will be available before some of its armaments are- the rail gun and laser defense system each have special requirements. Without those two, the Behemoth mounts the regular tank gun on its turret, and gets a cheaper price tag. With the laser defense turret, the same configuration remains, but the laser defense turret is added. With the rail gun and no laser defense system, you get a configuration that mirrors what you see above, a configuration that only lacks the laser defense system. And, well, I already talked about its full configuration Each configuration has a different cost, and just because you can put a rail gun on your Behemoth doesn't mean you have to, so you can go the cheap route if you want (same goes for the laser defense system). Of additional note is that the Behemoth is constructed in such a way that its armaments can be modified post-purchase, so you can always retrofit your "cheap" Behemoths with rail guns or laser defense turrets if you want (for a price, of course). It's a nice, added bit of versatility, and these configurations are not limited to just the Behemoth- in fact, they permeate quite a few Protectorate vehicles. Of course, this "customization" is quite bounded compared to the possibilities another faction will offer (sorry, all I can reveal for now ).

I must note that the above model is not final. As with everything else you see here, it is WIP. The Behemoth is especially WIP. The rail gun and anti-personnel turrets reflect old design decisions. The rail gun will be swapped for a helical rail gun and the anti-personnel turrets (previously formatted around metalstorm technology) will be updated to coilstorm technology (the turrets will no longer be multi-barreled- well, not in the sense they currently are anyway ). Also, the turret will be reworked a bit to allow for superior handling of the rail gun's intense recoil. Essentially, it's going to get spruced-up to be more realistic. Besides from all of that, the texture is still WIP (not because of what I mentioned above).

Concept, model, and texture by brrr with some collaboration from shigee

Construction Crew Dozer
Protectorate Construction Vehicle



So, with that... behemoth... out of the way, we now turn to something a little more reserved. I must first start by saying that rather than deploying one super-constructor vehicle or herculean man, the Protectorate relies on a team of five workers and three vehicles to build their structures. No, units may not be built and trained from structures as they are in many (most) other RTS games, but structures nevertheless serve vital roles, and the Construction Crew is the backbone of any concerted Protectorate offensive. All these machines of war and soldiers and weapons and such have needs, and the structures the Construction Crew builds ensures those needs are met. Additionally, the Construction Crew is responsible for the construction of the PGE Protector Gun Emplacement- essentially a giant rail gun which can fire into space. The PGE serves as both an effective (though expensive) anti-air turret and a dropship safeguard- PGE's can ensure the safety of dropships as they travel from orbiting capital ships to the planetary surface, delivering troops, equipment, supplies, vehicles, and weapons. Only with PGE's (and PG-88's, which some structures, such come with) can players bring in new units. Thus, the Construction Crew plays a vital role, and the Dozer shares that burden as a part of that crew.

Concept, model, and texture by brrr with some collaboration from shigee

And now, for a sneak preview of what you'll see next time-


It's a head! Indeed it is- the head of a Protectorate Engineer. Expect to see more of this fellow in our next update. But I can tell you that the above art comes courtesy of Falcoknight.

PS- We are still recruiting! If you are interested in aiding us, please hop-on over to the "Apply" section! We're are currently in the greatest need of programmers, but we are nevertheless recruiting across the board.

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Protectorate Engineer-
The Engineer plays two, vital support roles for the Protectorate. First, he can detect, destroy, and lay mines, as well as detect and destroy any other explosives. Second, he can repair vehicles and lightly damaged structures. The Engineer can also transport/move and set Protectorate sentry "turrets". When the Engineer must defend himself, he turns to his CP-20 (Coilstorm Pistol), which is a larger, more accurate, more effective version of the CP-19 hold-out pistol, featuring a larger clip as well. Should enemies get too close, he also has the standard-issue EK-60 (Electric Knife).

Original concept and artwork by Falckoknight with weaponry added by broken





Punisher_X supplied a background for Falcoknight's Protectorate Engineer concept. Credit also goes to Falcoknight for some color touch-ups to better blend the foreground and background.

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Introducing...

Protectorate Soldier
Protectorate Frontline Infantry




Meet the Soldier. Presently, he's still suiting-up, putting on only the first stage of his low poly armor (more stages of low poly armor, high poly armor, his helmet and all of the stages for that, all of the additional mapping and texturing, and the ability for his armor to move must be applied before he can head out to the frontlines), but he's not embarrassed to reveal himself a little early and a little under-dressed. The Soldier serves as the Protectorate's basic but versatile infantry unit. He wears hard (but soft and still effective in various areas for easier movement), effective, but tight combat armor that grants him protection from enemy assaults, climate/atmosphere control, medical aid (the armor is able to act like a stint for broken bones and apply pressure to bleeding), and superior strength and speed. The armor is just heavy enough to provide the protection the Soldier requires but light enough to allow him to operate effectively in urban and forest environments (two hallmarks of the Protectorate's homeworld), relying on the Soldier's ability to supplement the protection the suit offers with environmental protection (aka, cover). Atop the Soldier's head rests his helmet, which provides protection and quite a bit more. His helmet's visor functions as a screen, allowing the Soldier to rapidly view sensor feeds, data, and the like. His helmet also cooperates with his weapon to allow him to overlay "what the weapon sees" in place of a true scope (or it can also overlay crosshairs for the weapon), and the helmet also lets him view pertinent data about his weapon and to specify changes to portions of its operation (for example, its firing rate).

His weapon. The Protectorate outfits its Soldiers with the Coilstorm Assault Rifle model 16, better known as the CAR-16. As a coilstorm weapon, the CAR-16 can fire bullets at screaming velocities and at a rapid rate. The entire firing mechanism is electronic, allowing the Soldier complete control over the firing rate and also improving the firing rate and reliability of the weapon. The Soldier generally wields the CAR-16 "plain", without a stock or any form of sights. The reason? The Soldier's armor provides the strength to handle the weapon's recoil and his helmet already provides targeting for the weapon. Of course, attachments like a stock and iron sights are available should the Soldier ever need them. Nevertheless, the CAR-16 is a formidable weapon. The high velocity at which it fires its bullets allows the weapon excellent range, damage, and penetration, allowing it to practically bypass some cover and give lighter vehicles something to worry about. But the CAR-16 is really a two-part deal, because it has a grenade launcher attached to it. The Soldier fires concussion fragmentation grenades from this, which can devastate clustered infantry or pose a threat to tougher targets, like cover and vehicles. The launcher itself utilizes coilstorm technology, allowing for a rapid firing rate, good accuracy, and excellent projectile velocity. However, these grenades are not unlimited. Protectorate commanders must ensure that Soldiers have access to them by stocking-up on them and transporting the grenades to Soldiers on the frontlines via logistical supply lines. Nevertheless, with the combination of the CAR-16 and its attached grenade launcher, the Soldier proves itself quite capable of dealing with enemy infantry and of at least standing a chance against other threats.

Concept by Falcoknight and model by Shigee

PG-88
Protectorate Surface to Air/Space Defense Weapon


And now meet this lovely, modeled concept of the Protectorate's Protector Gun model 88, aka PG-88. The PG-88 is essentially an extremely powerful, long-range rail gun. Its purpose is to take down enemy aircraft and to provide cover to incoming dropships and other Protectorate craft entering atmosphere by firing into space and targeting enemies there. The PG-88 can do this because it fires projectiles so far at such extremely high velocities that it maintains an unmatched degree of accuracy, despite its gargantuan size. It fires its projectiles at such high velocities that the kinetic energy of the projectiles alone is usually devastating enough to tear targets to shreds. The PG-88 is a modular piece of equipment, able to adjust its barrel length (because not all planets have the same amount of gravity)- its barrel is divided into sections. The PG-88 pictured above has only one section of barrel attached. One will also note that the PG-88 actually has two barrels. The reason is to allow it to keep-up a respectable firing rate, for the barrels alternate their fire, allowing one to cool while the other fires, as when a PG-88 fires, it builds up a tremendous amount of heat in its barrel. This particular PG-88 isn't exactly combat ready, for it is not mounted on a Protectorate structure or incorporated into a Protector Gun Emplacement (PGE), but once it is, airborne and spaceborne enemies shall fear its presence.

Concept model by WarGiant (aka, AwesomeCranberry)

And, finally, we end this update with the "usual" mix of terrain and foliage from shigee!





I must note that the terrain shot uses only a single tile, which won't be the case in the final game, but it should nevertheless give you a good idea of the texture/tile quality you can expect to see in Wartide- except the terrain will just look better because of the greater tile variance. Just a final note that everything above is completely WIP and subject to change.

[TerranUp16]

Transparent version of the Wartide Logo for those interested.

[killmod]

nice models keep it up TerranUp16

[TerranUp16]

killmod Wrote:nice models keep it up TerranUp16

I can't really claim credit for any of the modeling =( But our team members can =) (I believe I properly credited everyone above- let me know if I missed a piece). Anyway, most of this is out of date right now but we're taking our time with the newer versions to bring them up to the proper level of polish and to do the research and design necessary to ensure our units are more than "just" pieces of art and that they are also functional representations- and that, as such, the weaponry is technically accurate, the armor sound and realistically compositioned, and all visual features serve a function- functions that animation should bring to light. We're also ensuring that a hefty level of effort and polish goes into our base art assets such as the body beneath the soldiers' armor so that everything looks top-notch and truly acts as a portal into the Wartide universe.