Need ideas for SRX - nitro and vehicle damage

Community Forums/General Help/Need ideas for SRX - nitro and vehicle damage

Vorderman(Posted 2010) [#1]
Evening all,

I need to add the nitro / boost indicator to SRX but I don't want to just add a number on the screen as Stunt Car Racer did. Anyone got any good ideas as to how I could show the nitro level remaining without using text? It needs to be obvious to the eye even when watching the road ahead, so a small dial seems too obscure.

Also I need to show the vehicle damage level somehow, and I don't want to just copy the Stunt Car Racer rollbar-crack approach.

Here's the current view - any good ideas welcome!!!




GfK(Posted 2010) [#2]
I'd use a semi-transparent HUD, like you'd get if it were a flight simulator. Could plop all your info there, right in the centre of the screen. Could even have a pitch/roll indicator for those long periods of being airborne.


Vorderman(Posted 2010) [#3]
That doesn't really fit in with the rest of the info though - the speed / revs and steering are all displayed as part of the car's 3d mesh - a HUD overlay is exactly what I'm trying to avoid using.


GfK(Posted 2010) [#4]
Well I don't think you want the player to have to look too hard to find the info they need, and a HUD overlay in the screen centre would avoid that.

Another option might be to add pods/gauges. You could get away with having them quite big I think:






big10p(Posted 2010) [#5]
I think most people would prefer some kind of HUD for everything, TBH.


GfK(Posted 2010) [#6]
HUDs are easier. In the screenshot above I can't even make out (beyond an educated guess) what any of the dials on the dash are for.


Blitzplotter(Posted 2010) [#7]
Looking very impressive so far Vorderman. Seeing as damage does not necessarily need to be an analogue dial, why not incorporate a vertical 'hydraulic fluid' bar which will loose fluid as the damage increases? You could also increase the steam/smoke from the front of the car as the hydraulic fluid reaches the bottom of the gauge..... My two pence.


Genexi2(Posted 2010) [#8]
HUD is easiest, gauge would be the other option.

Only other thing I can think of is giving a visual cue with the nitro's flame when you're running low, perhaps have it change color, or fade more.


BlitzSupport(Posted 2010) [#9]
I was just about to say what Genexi2 just said -- make the flames fade/flicker/change colour according to how powerful they are, ie. how much nitro there is.

But, yeah, a big arcade-y vertical bar on each side for the two readings would probably be best.


Vorderman(Posted 2010) [#10]
Thanks for the replies.

I think most people would prefer some kind of HUD for everything, TBH.

I really don't want a HUD, I want the game to be just you and the car.

In the screenshot above I can't even make out (beyond an educated guess) what any of the dials on the dash are for.

TBH it's not that important what they are for, but the large one on the left is revs (mostly irrelevant, included only for completeness) and the one on the right is speed, which helps the player to judge approach-speed for jumps. Reading the needle position is easy, but I see what you saying about the text so I'll make that much clearer.

Seeing as damage does not necessarily need to be an analogue dial, why not incorporate a vertical 'hydraulic fluid' bar which will loose fluid as the damage increases?

I like this idea, but it would work best for the nitro remaining level rather than damage, like a bottle of gas that empties.

You could also increase the steam/smoke from the front of the car

Yep, this sounds good. The game already has a particle system so clouds of black smoke from the exhausts would look visually cool and obvious to the player that the car is getting damaged.

Only other thing I can think of is giving a visual cue with the nitro's flame when you're running low, perhaps have it change color, or fade more.

make the flames fade/flicker/change colour according to how powerful they are, ie. how much nitro there is

Well the flames do change colour already - they turn purple and get larger (fnar!) as you use the nitro, but unlike the original Stunt Car Racer the flames are present all the time when driving, they're just smaller and yellow when not using the nitro. I like the idea of using smoke for the damage though so the exhaust flames could pop and bang and mis-fire when the car is damaged.

The nitro-boost in my game is used much less than the original Stunt Car Racer - the cars can slide around and be drifted and the effect of the nitro on the torque to the rear wheels is pretty vicious, so you have to be really careful using the nitro on anything other than a straight piece of track. Cornering fast is much more technical - you have to balance the power and slide the car around on opposite-lock, being careful not to oversteer and spin or understeer and fly off the track.

You can't just keep your finger on the boost button for the whole race as you did in the original Stunt Car Racer, where the car was glued to the track around the corners.

For those reasons I chose to have the exhaust flames present all the time (but smaller when not boosting) and the nitro limit is going to be pretty small, maybe just 10 seconds or so.


Mark Judd(Posted 2010) [#11]
I've always been a fan of wheel mounted indicators - could you have a LED type affair in an arc across the centre of the steering wheel ?

The LED's would be coloured, and would light in sequence to illustrate the amount of nitro left. Different colours perhaps, red at the end of the range for example.

They could be in a similar style to the light on the dash.

oh - and hurry up and finish this - I really want to buy / play it :)

Mark


Kryzon(Posted 2010) [#12]
Or perhaps just a single light thingy (like the one you already have in your panel texture, looks like a red button or something). When there's nitro available, it turns on (a 'blink' sound effect would be awesome too).

...when the car is under the nitro effect, you can make that light start blinking really quick, getting slower each time. When it's very slow, you turn it off (which would mean the nitro has run off and you need to 'cooldown').


Blitzplotter(Posted 2010) [#13]
Can I be a beta tester? Although I confess it does appear you are way past that - Although I can offer the opporuntiy to test on a variety of hardware.....


Vorderman(Posted 2010) [#14]
Can I be a beta tester

:) Thanks for the offer!! If I ever get to that stage then I'll drop you a line!

I've always been a fan of wheel mounted indicators - could you have a LED type affair in an arc across the centre of the steering wheel ?


Interesting idea thanks, I'll probably try this if I can't get the large-bottle-of-nitro idea to work out.


xlsior(Posted 2010) [#15]
You could add another indicator to one of your existing gauges, e.g. like the green LED's in this one:



As long as the color is bright enough (or add some glow), you could see it in your peripheral vision.

alternatively, use a thermometer-style vertical gauge, sort of like:

You can either put it besides or in between the two dials you already have, and maybe give it a bit of a glow to enhance the visibility
When full, show a vertical blue or green bar, and when getting low turn orange/red, or start blinking/beeping to draw a little attention to it.

...Or you can use a horizontal bar gauge, and mount it to the overhead rollerbar above the 'windshield' area. If it's bright enough or has some glow, you should also be able to pick it up with your peripheral vision.


Duckstab[o](Posted 2010) [#16]
i personally would go for a circular dial on the right top side of the screen using a flaming bar to either indicate depleation or availablitly

it is a easy place to view corners always, to intergrate into the central view is what makes games a pain in the ass :)