Hey Darkone,

Yeah things are pretty busy. I went to the game developer's convention in March, and it was the first time I got to show off the game in front of a bunch of people. It was really exciting to see strangers walk up, pick up the controls, jump in and enjoy the game. I got a lot of really positive feedback and some good critiques on the controls.

Here's some stuff we've been up to, off the top of my head:

[*:10ib0wic]improving the gamepad controls

[*:10ib0wic]added in the 3rd playable faction, the Wyr (see below).

[*:10ib0wic]added better AI for planet-side battles.

[*:10ib0wic]adding support for text localization for languages other than english

[*:10ib0wic]created a much cooler "spacey" door for inside our space stations.

[*:10ib0wic]started working with a new environment artist who just joined the team. He's working on top secret stuff. 😉

[*:10ib0wic]added better looking thruster particles to our space ships

[*:10ib0wic]working on adding a subtle gaseous mist to space scenes, for a greater sense of depth and movement.

[*:10ib0wic]added EMP charges for disarming incoming missiles (space battle).

[*:10ib0wic]started discussions with some sound composers who may write some music for the game.

Here's a quick screenshot I hacked together of the 3 playable characters (a spacesimcentral exclusive!):

click to enlarge

[hsimg] [/hsimg]

Glad the GDC went very well for Salvation Prophecy. Looks like you are working on some good things, another faction... sweet and they look great btw.

When you say better AI for planet side battles does this mean the enemy seek cover or call for backup?

The text localization of Salvation Prophecy is a great feature imho because I have seen a lot of great games come out that never got any english subtitles the ability to add this is great and can get Salvation Prophecy into more hands.

EMP's are a nice addition and any environmental effects to add to the experience is always a welcomed change.

You mention controller support. I cannot remember off the top of my head whether Salvation Prophecy has aspirations to be on the consoles (Xbox360/PS3)?

I haven't put any pics in there yet but I made a Salvation Prophecy gallery area (ssc_gallery/index.php/Indie-and-Community/Salvation-Prophecy) so feel free to post some pics there.

Nice units u got there. I like the "Wyr" , especially that blue thing on its back.

Thanks! Yeah that's 3 of the 4 factions. We're getting there! 🙂

Each one is a lot of work: model, texture, animations, input control hooks, weapon stats and effects, combat and movement sounds... But it's always exciting work turning a character to life in your game.

Yeah basically tactics like seeking cover, charging forward for a close-range attack, picking defensive positions around the planet colony buildings, selecting the most appropriate target, choosing between different weapons, and more intelligent movement and path planning.

Agreed. Even if you don't get all the voice over work translated, at least having translated text makes the game playable. There's some significant non-english markets for space games, like Germany.

No, we'll be a PC game only. I've had some experience working on console projects before, but as a new company making our first game, it can be tricky (and expensive) to land a development license for consoles.

I'm putting in a lot of effort to support keyboard&mouse and gamepad (for PC) right out of the box, and also joysticks, with a bit of button/axis configuration.

Sure, I'll drop some in. Thanks for setting me up.

Yeah, right now the Wyr are my favorite too, but maybe because they're new. 🙂

Any new developments on Salvation Prophecy Jabberwocky?

Yeah, still going strong!

lately I've been working on Alaydro, a jungley alien planet. It's starting to look pretty awesome. Plus I've now got a really solid landscape editor for constructing the alien planets, which is a gigantic help. We're also getting some of the artwork completed for the abandoned alien structures you'll find scattered around various planets, which game-play wise are little puzzles which give you a power up when you solve them. Although there's a little more story involved than just that.

But don't worry, we haven't been ignoring the space missions. It is a space game, after all. 😉 Graphically, the explosions are looking nicer. And we've got fleet travel working pretty well, where you travel with a fleet of ships from your faction across space and through wormholes to attack an enemy space station. But I don't want to show that off yet until we've fixed up the graphics for wormhole space.

I'll have some screenshots or video of the alien jungle planet to show off soonish.

Thanks for asking. 🙂

Jabberwocky, over and out.

Nice look forward to seeing this. 😀

What type of planet environments can we expect to see in the game.

will there be different gravity on the any of the planets.

Also you mentioned that you can walk about the space stations,what will you be able to do on the stations?.

Here's a screenshot of Planet Alaydro, the dark alien jungle planet I'm working on.

Here's a video link.

The video is heartbreakingly bad detail (and you lose a lot of the subtlety in the dark colours), but I guess it gives you a sense of things anyway.

[vimeo]13729893[/vimeo]

Gravity is consistent across all planets. I've focused development more on fun game-play rather than realistic physics simulations. Although of course some people think realistic physics simulations are fun, so I guess you can't win them all. 🙂

The space station is your base of operations. There's no combat there, but it's where you you receive missions, buy upgraded combat gear, dock your ship, and purchase upgraded ship components. For some space missions you'll depart your station with a fleet of ships. For planet invasion missions involving ground combat, you'll be accompanied by a bunch of other troops from your station.

Now this is more like it, are you watching JGE? Space combat, check. Places to explore and things to discover, check. Colony creation, check. Planetary assaults, check. Looking good Jabberwocky! 🙂 Similarities to Parkan 2 are also most welcome, had a lot of fun with that game. Thank you for the update 😉

Thanks Geraldine, I'm glad you like the kind of game we're putting together. 🙂

JGE has a very broad and exciting feature set. I've signed up for the beta. It's a little worrying how long they've delayed the release, but that could always mean it will be extremely polished with lots of content when they finally do come out. Netdevil has managed to launch a couple MMOs before so we know they're capable of it.

Looking damn good, 😀 bit strange that you are controlling a creature or is it just a stand in.

On the station when you buy gear for the ship,will you see the components appear on the ship (ie ones that affect

the looks of the ship on the outside) and is it the same for you avatar.

I think you said the game will be a digital download any idea yet what size it will be. ❓

Thanks!

Heh, yeah figured someone had to comment on that at some point! Mostly, I thought it might be nice to video tour the planet as one of the local inhabitants. Although there's a feature on the "if I have time..." list that might involve controlling a creature for a bit.

I wish I had the art budget to pull these off, but no to both. Well, we may have some time to customize the various character weapon model upgrades. And I do switch the sounds and fire effects for some of the upgrades, both for ships and character weapons.

Tough to say yet. My guess is probably in the 0.5GB - 1GB range.

Great work so far on the new planet Jabberwocky!

I especially liked the looks of the planet atmosphere reflecting off the water gives it a nice effect, and I kinda like the dark feeling you have going on with the planet and the colors you are using seem to fit just right. And the vegetation looks different enough to make you feel like your on a alien world and not on a earth clone.

What were those floating moving lights? Lifeforms?

How big is this planet going to be because the creature seemed to cover some ground pretty quickly?

Those floaty lights are the main light source for the planet surface. You can't interact with them, but their movement patterns would suggest some kind of intelligent life-form. I think of them as bright alien fireflies. 😉

Lighting is critical to the look and mood of a planet, and when you're building a bunch of different planets you try to think of new and creative ways to light the surface.

That lizard creature moves extremely fast compared to a regular player. I also artificially increased it's speed even more so I could tour more of the planet in the video. Unfortunately the fast movement doesn't look nearly as good once the video was compressed online at vimeo.

About the planet size - my goal is to make these planets large enough that there's plenty of exploration to do. But not so big that you can wander aimlessly for hours without finding anything cool. So I tend to use boundaries such as oceans or mountains to isolate a section of the planet surface for the player to explore. This way I can custom design the area and ensure there's something interesting to find.

The idea of adding realistic-sized planet surfaces to a game (many 10000s of kilometers across) may seem cool at first. But only until you try playing it and discover it's vastly boring. 😉 Maybe some other game designers would disagree. We often do! 😈

I know in all the videos of Salvation Prophecy we have see so far of the planet surface it is mainly filled with combat. Will there be planets that are for exploration (ie: artifact finding, resources, meeting new alien races)? Will the battle on planets mean something in the game as a whole? So if I land on a planet and we fail to accomplish the mission will life go on and there is consequences or do fail and need to do it over until we pass it?

The game has two primary focuses:

1. Space/Planet Faction Battle

These are the space and planetary battles you've seen video for. In the game, you are a soldier. You rise up through the ranks by completing military missions. Your success as a soldier and fighter pilot is intimately bound to the success of your faction, since you fight side by side with the other troops in you faction. Failed missions result in fewer troops and less resources for your team. Successful missions result in more power and territory. You take on a vital role in forging your faction's destiny as you gain power and rank.

This all plays out in a fairly open-world manner, where the factions dynamically adjust their military strategy throughout the game, based on proximity to planet resources, hostility from other factions, and assessment of possible threats and combat odds. So each game could play out differently; it's not a defined set of "levels" you need to play through.

2. The Prophecy Story-Line

The game's title, "Salvation Prophecy" alludes to a story-line that will unfold during the mid and late stages of the game.

The prophecy refers to an apocalyptic vision of the Salvation faction, who are a fanatic race of humans who mutated during the final stages of earth's descent into ecological catastrophe. They have foreseen a future of fiery portals, demonic invasion, and the destruction of mankind.

At first these are considered the delusions of religious zealots by the other factions. Then, events unfold that reveal some kind of invasion is imminent. Regardless of your chosen faction, you will be drawn into a search to uncover clues which unveil this threat, and artifacts to aid you in the inevitable conflict.

This part of the game will lead to exploration of alien planets.

So, as a player, the pursuit of faction dominance, and the unveiling of the prophecy will be the primary gameplay motivations. Not every battle or mission needs to be a victory, but to win the game you will need much success in both aspects.

I hope there is some news about Salvation Prophecy soon. No release date yet though.

Nice blog on Gamasutra Jabberwocky. I posted a link to it in a thread we have about that subject viewtopic.php?f=10&t=1142&start=80

You said SP getting near to release are you doing a demo of the game. ❓

And have you changed you forum software as I could no longer log into it.

Hey PINBACK,

Thanks for the shout out on the blog. I'm glad people found it interesting enough to read. 🙂

Yeah, I did change the forum software. I was having problems with spam and security vulnerabilities. So I updated to wordpress for the main site, and phpBB (same as SpaceSimCentral) for the forums. Everything has been MUCH better since then. Sorry about losing the old posts and logins, but converting everything over would have been a major task.

I'm probably going to release a free demo when the game is complete so people can check it out before they buy. You'll hear about it here for sure. 🙂

Good! Something to look forward to in the new year 🙂

Salvation Prophecy on Gamers Gate? <img src="' http://spacesimcentral.com/forum/public/style_emoticons//icon_cool.gi f"' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='8-)' />

http://www.gamersgat... ... n-prophecy

I wonder if there might be a GOG release?

I played this game last year and i think it's not a bad game considering it is indie. Imagine a big publisher like Ubisoft working on a title like this and we can have a real killer app for pc!

I bought this game and liked it. I hope Jabberwocky got, and still is, getting lots of sales.