Blogs - Hover:RideOut

To play Hover over the internet you may need to configure your network settings. If you are hosting a game you will need to assign a static IP address to your pc, and if that pc connects to the internet via a router, you will need to forward ports 6500,7777,7778,7787,13000 and 27900 to the IP address of that pc.

An extensive guide of this can be found here: Bit.ly

If you only intend to play Hover over a Local Area Network (LAN), you won't need to perform the above steps. Another way to bypass the need to port forward is to use Hamachi or a similar program.

Hover 1.0 is just awaiting the final go signal from the IndieDB admins then it'll be free to download for everyone. We'll begin posting some tutorial videos showing off the maps, some tricks and strategies soon so stay tuned for updates.

We're also planning on working on new maps in the near future, but if you have any feed back (once the game is out of course) we'd love to hear it.

Utility: S.E.P. Pulse Field
In an attempt to super charge the Outcast's shields, bandit engineers found that overloading their primary field generators could cause an explosion of charged matter that vaporised anything within half a metre and pushing back other objects outside that radius. This had the unfortunate downside of completely destroying the primary field generators.

When the tournament began as an official league, the S.E.P. Pulse Field was stabilised, removing its destructive nature, but giving it its own indepentant rechargable power unit. Now pilots use the craft to both disrupt enemy's movement and fling their allies in or out of combat.

Utility: Energy Shield
In the early days of the Outcast, military scientists were constantly researching ways to make the craft more durable without decreasing its maneuverability.

One of the fruits of this research was the Energy Shield. Originally designed with it's own power unit, the shield was eventually tied into the crafts main power systems, lightening the craft but causing a significant drop in the power to the turbines when activated.

Hey all, Corey here.

It may be the mid-semester holidays, but that doesn't mean that the group gets any time off. We've all been working extremely hard, taking advantage of the extra time we've got. Here's just a quick look at some of the work that I've done:

The Cathedral map has undergone some MASSIVE changes. From our many testing sessions, one of the reoccurring notes was that the terrain, in particular the hills that lined the edge of the map, didn't look realistic. A few solutions to this problem were thought of, but the final solution was to flatten the hills and redo them completely, and rather than to have the hills as the edge of the map, a town fence has been erected. Hills are can still be seen in the background, but are much more 'real'. The ground textures were also noted in testing sessions, with people saying they looked very similar to that of a pastel drawing and that they detracted from the map. These textures have been taken out and new textures added, which are gradually being layered onto the map. It's still a work in progress, but it really brings the map together.

Some new models have also been added to the map to give it a bit more substance. The first major addition is of course the fence, as well as the entrance gate which would serve as the primary entrance/exit to the town. Only a minor addition, there are now small drain hatches around the town. It may seem insignificant, but these draw attention and help other seemingly boring textures become more interesting. A few models have been created to go inside the Cathedral too; a podium and rows of pews. Not only do these make the Cathedral feel more like a Cathedral as opposed to just an open room, it also adds obstacles for players to hide behind and dodge around.

I've also been busy making sound effects to go into the game. We realise now that this should have been done much earlier, but there's not much we can do about that except learn for next time. I've only gotten about two-thirds of the way through them all, some of which still need more work on before they're ready to be considered worthy of release. As well as this, I have been in contact with DiViNiTY (Found him on the IndieDB forums) and from the looks of things, he may be providing us with most of, if not all of our backing tracks for the game. Fingers crossed! (DiViNiTY's music will, once confirmed, be uploaded to our IndieDB page for everyone tok have a look at)

Secondary Weapon: “Pusher” High Explosive Missile
The "Pusher" got it's name from the large concussion radius of the missiles explosion, allowing the user to knock their enemy around even without hitting them. Due to it's small size, a homing system could not be built into the rocket along side its highly explosive payload, as such most pilots choose to aim at the ground around their target rather than direcly at them.

Primary Weapon: A92 Energy Cannon
The A92 Energy Cannon is the primary weapon of the Outcast. It suppots a high ammo count and rate of fire but provides relitivly low damage and knockback to both the firers and enemy crafts.

Pilots can recharge the cannons energy cells with batterys found littered around arenas.

The team consists of a total of 7 people. Unfortunately, one member had to leave mid year, however he was replaced with another member.

Dean Muir
In this group, Dean is taking the role of the Producer. He runs group meetings, makes regular checks with the group and ensures everyones on track. He also helps with group tasks with modelling, having been the sole modeler of the hovercraft, and is also the primary designer for one of the levels.

Corey Miller
Corey has taken on the role of Lead Designer. He has to make sure that the other designers are on top of their work and communicates between them and Dean should and problems arise. Corey is primarily a level designer in this group, having designed one of the levels as well as the tutorial level. He is also in charge of creating sounds/sound effects for the game, as well as some minor modelling and texture work.

Fang Yuan
Fang is the artist of the group. Fang's job is to create all the necessary textures to be used in each map and for each model.

Timothy Haynes
Tim is the group's designated modeler. Tim models all objects and structures that are included in each level. On top of this, Tim also creates the UV maps for the models using textures that Fang has created.

Luke Napper
Luke has taken the role of Lead Programmer. It is his job to make sure that all programming needs are met on time and that the code is as bug free as possible. Luke programs various items, ranging from pickups, to the turrets, to the networking capabilities for playing across computers.

Saemus Moffat
Saemus was also a programmer for our group, though unfortunately due to other circumstances he was only available to help the group for the first half of the year. Saemus programmed most of the physics-based coding needed for the game, including the controls of the hovercraft itself.

Dene Richards
Dene is another designer who joined at the start of the second half of the year to replace Saemus. Since joining, Dene has been working as another level designer to create the game's third level.

On the top level, Hover is a vehicular assault-styled game. The primary objective of each team is not to score a set level of points to achieve victory, it is to enter the opponent's base and seize control of it. There are several aspects of play that set Hover apart from similar games:

The Hovercraft: Officially named 'Outcast', this serves as the player's avatar in game. The difference between the craft and vehicles from other games is that the craft has been designed to replicate an actual hovercraft. This means that the craft will glide a lot more as opposed to using frictional deceleration. The Outcast will also feel more recoil from shooting and from being shot, causing the combat to become significantly more hectic.
Being able to float on air, the Outcast is also able to dodge from side to side, a feat that other vehicles physically can't manage. This feature increases intensity of all fights, and can also be helpful if you have veered off course and are headed for a wall.
The Outcast possesses a shield function as well, which is rather helpful but also has its downsides. While the shield is active the craft will be impervious to all damage, however being hit by weapon fire knocks the craft around a lot more than usual.

Defensive Turrets: These turrets are what ensure the game doesn't end instantly. Turrets are positioned in front of each base and serve as protection in the absence of players. Should a member of the enemy team come to close, the turrets will lock on and unleash waves of gunfire until the player either leaves the radius or dies. Should a team reach a specified limit of kills, the enemy team's turrets will shut down, allowing them access to the base.

Bases: Each base contains a control pad which serves as the primary objective of them game. In order to win, a team must have a certain percentage of members on top of the control pad. Once this number is met, the game finishes and that team wins.

In the traditional style of team-based combat games, Hover will be played across several maps (which we will explain in-depth at a later date). Each level will be vastly different from each other, but will still feature the same game type.