When I started developing Silas I wanted the movement to be fast and tight. I also wanted to add some unique features like strafing to the kart genre.
My first attempt at movement was using physics. At the time I would simply use wheel constraints and the such to make a kart. This did not work due to the fact that the kart did not handle well enough under great speeds. And I also didn't like how colliding with another player would completely throw you off in a race.
My second attempt was still by using physics, but using forces to guide it. This really sucked though since it felt like a frictionless game and it was even harder to control. Eventually I realized I had to hard-code everything.
So a few years into development, here I was completely coding the movement from scratch. This worked quite well, first I put in the basics, then the hill movement, then the suspension and jumping. The suspension and how jumps worked was actually the hardest and gave me the most trouble. But after many months or work I got it down nearly perfect. It was fast, frantic and tight. This is exactly what I needed.
I would say the most inspiration came from a couple of titles, Mario Kart DS and the original Unreal Tournament. As I always thought these games had really tight movement.
Here are some movement features that make Silas different:
- There are two powerslide levels, blue and purple. Blue takes less time and is less powerful whearas purple is very powerful but hard to get.
- You can strafe easily
- By powersliding and hitting the brake you can turn very sharply
- There are things called jump-pads which launch you in the air
- Two types of ground turbo boosts
- Certain sections of the air have gravity modifiers
Here are some classic kart staples that are in Silas:
- Each character has it's own weight/acceleration/top speed/powersliding/weapons ratio
- You can go forward, backward, turn, powerslide, and hit ramps with ease
- Torque on hills
- Independent suspension on the wheels, which will spring the kart up depending on how high of a jump it has
- Hitting a wall will slow you down a bit and bounce you off
- Hitting another character will help or hurt you more depending on the weight ratio
Here is a youtube video showcasing the movement:
Thanks for reading. Please feel free to let me know what you think. I aim to make Silas one of the best PC games around, so please help support it by tracking, spreading the word, and pre-ordering!
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Looks pretty cool.
Looks like it plays exactly like Mario Kart. The character even goes 'Woo Hoo!' When you use the sliding turbo thingy.
I wouldn't have minded a Mario Kart clone, I thought this would be free, but then I saw you were charging for it. Not only that but you then say, 'Support indie games'. No thanks, I support creativity and good games. Usually that's the main thing indie games have going for them, they don't have the budget for shiny graphics and what not so they are innovative and creative. This is just a cheap Mario Kart knock off and doesn't deserve any support in my opinion.
Sorry for the negative rant but that really got on my tits, especially the 'Support indie games' bit. It's games like this that give indie games a bad name.
I'm pretty sure that racing is just one of the game modes. Even if it were the only game mode, this game would be more comparable to Diddy Kong racing than Mario kart since there are aircraft.
I wouldn't call it a clone. Besides, finding any game like mariokart on the PC now days is rather rare. If you like mariokart, then wouldn't that mean you would like Silas as well? If I were you, nothing should be criticized until you or anyone has played the game. You must not realize that development for any sort of game takes so much work and effort. You complain about originality, yet you probably play CoDMW2 or something. Silas will definitely be a new and original experience. It's about having fun and enjoying the game anyways. Regardless if it does bad or well, at least the guy is making his dreams come "true". That's just my thought on it.
true, true Dr_Gonzo
The kart controls are somewhat similar, but so does every FPS character control similar to any other FPS game. Just like the basics of every RTS game is the same. If you were to base a game off it's fundamental controls, then almost every game would be a complete clone. ;)
The point of this video is not to show off the game as a whole but just the fundamental movement.
The overall gameplay is completely different I can assure and feels very little like Mario Kart, especially the battle that feels nothing at all like it! I would recommend you check out my previous videos to see a few of the innovations offered. In time I will show more and more of the innovative features. :)
P.S - As for the "Support Indie Games", I see nothing wrong with that, I am one guy making this entire game with no budget. If someone enjoys the game and helps it's development by pre-ordering they are supporting a lonewolf developer. And that's a cool thing. :)
I like the capability to strafe in turns. Sounds more dynamic than just floating around. Silas looks like a cool game, I look forward to a beta release.
I'll buy it because my nephew's name is Silas
That looks pretty fun, combined with the weapons, I'm sure racing will be intense. It does sorta look like Mariokart, but I wouldn't call it a clone. Its like saying BF:BC2 is a clone of MW2, those are two entirely different games that share a few features, but are both awesome in their own way (I gotta say I prefer BF:BC2 though, it has less angry children).
P.S. I definitely I will get it once I save up a bit of money, how much is it? I can't seem to find the price on the website.
Thanks guys! I know that it is harder to tell from not playing it, but I believe after many videos in the future and eventually a demo, everyone will be able to see how this game really is it's own unique gameplay. :|)
Cool comparison with the BF:BC2/MW2 though, but I would say that holds true for the racing modes more or less. But the battle of Silas truly has little resemblance to Mario Kart and is much closer to something like Unreal Tournament/Halo/Twisted Metal.
It's only $9.99 while it's in pre-order. Plus you get a really amazing original soundtrack instantly that is 27 songs long done by Loudcore(fans of The Crystal Method/The Prodigy/Deadmau5 will adore it). As well, access to a private beta version that will be releasing in the near future(Early Jan). And the gods of Silas will smile upon you. ;)