Support NeoGAF

[guggnichso]

Hi everyone. I hope this doesn't breach forum rules, but I wanted to make you aware of an indiegogo campaign of a buddy of mine. As he is from germany, he sadly is not able to use kickstarter for his project.

Ok. Philipp Morlock, developer of RollingTorque is an avid fan of the early Sonic Adventure games on DreamCast. He spent some time in his life working as a 3D artist for national german television and various advertising agencies - however, now he want's to follow his dream and produce a game that contains everything he LOVES about platformers, and none of the things he hates about them So, may I introduce:

In RollingTorque, you play a little pangolin, who discovers that by rolling up, it can build massive momentum and explore the vast world outside it's little nest.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pangolin

Here you can see a trailer of the pre-alpha:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apNRyra07io

The games pre-alpha demo based on Unreal Engine 4 is downloadable for everyone with this link:

http://rollingtorque.com

You WILL need the Visual C++ Package for Visual Studio 2013 to run it - all the information and links you need are provided at the RollingTorque Homepage.

Controls for the pre alpha demo are as follows:

If you like what you see and what you can play now, RollingTorques indiegogo campaign can be found here:

Indiegogo Campaign

The Steam greenlight campaign can be found here:

Steam Greenlight

And here are some screenshots of the pre alpha:

EDIT: Fixed the link for the alpha demo.

 

[Comandr]

There will never be another Sonic Adventure (like) game. Infinite sadness.

 

[maxcriden]

Looks really neat. I hope it's successful and hits Wii U.

 

[Blueblur1]

Looks cool.

 

[udivision]

finally sandslash getting the recognition he deserves

 

[Falk]

This looks pretty freaking dope for what it is.

 

[QisTopTier]

I love the visuals

 

[Murrah]

It actually does look pretty good. But......I didn't really get any Sonic Adventure vibes from it at all. More Mario 64 crossed with Kirby Tilt n Tumble. Though really, that's a good thing

 

[TimmiT]

Looks neat, also doesn't look like Sonic Adventure at all.

 

[guggnichso]

Looks neat, also doesn't look like Sonic Adventure at all.

Well, it's a pre-alpha tech demo at the moment, and it's meant to be in the SPIRIT of sonic adventure, not made to be a clone.

 

[The Broken Ska Record]

The main character looks adorable. I'll be keeping an eye on this.

 

[Banana Aeon]

There will never be another Sonic Adventure (like) game. Infinite sadness.

Not for me. Sonic Adventure was terrible.

I'm always interested in more Indies, and this does look good. I'll keep an eye out.

 

[Lijik]

Will check out the alpha when i can. I like the screens a lot!! Best of luck to your friend

 

[TimmiT]

Well, it's a pre-alpha tech demo at the moment, and it's meant to be in the SPIRIT of sonic adventure, not made to be a clone.

Not sure what the "SPIRIT of sonic adventure" is supposed to be like according to you, but the only similarity I see to it is maybe some standard stage themes and that the main character can roll into a ball. When it comes to actual gameplay and style it looks nothing like Sonic Adventure at all.

Also, I think that the IndieGoGo page needs some more info. It's kinda bare bones.

 

[hbkajshdvfbkjhvgkahsgdfka]

Closer to something like Marble Madness or Marble Blast than Sonic Adventure.

 

[QisTopTier]

Closer to something like Marble Madness or Marble Blast than Sonic Adventure.

Damn you was just about to say this

 

[_Ryo_]

This is more a dark and gritty version of Marble Madness/Monkey Ball than a sonic adventure-esque game. Is there a story? combat? boss battles? An actual adventure?

Closer to something like Marble Madness or Marble Blast than Sonic Adventure.

Damn you was just about to say this

Edit. Beaten like the sun.

 

[Zaku]

Backed at the early-bird level.

I always support games about Sandslash.

 

[guggnichso]

Not sure what the "SPIRIT of sonic adventure" is supposed to be like according to you, but the only similarity I see to it is maybe some standard stage themes and that the main character can roll into a ball. When it comes to actual gameplay and style it looks nothing like Sonic Adventure at all.

That's right, because now it's an early tech demo. With the spirit of Sonic Adventure I mean a 3D platformer thats meant to be fast, engaging and with a character that rolls into a ball I don't want to misrepresent this in any way as it is Philipps game, however, that's where he told me he draws inspiration from.

Anyone can e-mail him and ask personally about which direction exactly he wants to go with it under Mail@RollingTorque.com - sadly his NeoGAF account hasn't been approved yet.

EDIT: However, this will be a platformer and no marble madness like game.

 

[RK128]

While it looks nothing like Sonic Adventure outside of the character rolling around (and even then, in SA, you have to spin dash to activate it; it wasn't a natural roll like in the Genesis games), it seems to be it's own unique thing.

Still, it does look promising ; being able to 'Boost' on the wall and what looks like really smooth controls should make platforming a lot of fun . Wish the development team the best of luck; playing around with rolling physics can makes some damn good level design .

 

[Allez Phill]

Looks good. I'm looking for games that I can just kick back and play without much to get into, this looks like one of them.

Also, these things look cool.

 

[MaximoffZero]

I'm at work right now and can't watch the trailer, but I will say that I like the concept art for the main character. Just don't call him Rolling the Pangolin or something like that.

 

[Conkerkid11]

Looks more like those marble games, which eventually turned into the Super Monkey Ball games or whatever.

Which I'm perfectly fine with, because Super Monkey Ball hasn't been good since the 2nd game.

 

[Cizeta-Moroder]

Shiiiit. My dream game.
I feel SA1 attempted to be something like this, but fell short on the technical side.

 

[Lijik]

That's right, because now it's an early tech demo. With the spirit of Sonic Adventure I mean a 3D platformer thats meant to be fast, engaging and with a character that rolls into a ball I don't want to misrepresent this in any way as it is Philipps game, however, that's where he told me he draws inspiration from.

Anyone can e-mail him and ask personally about which direction exactly he wants to go with it under Mail@RollingTorque.com - sadly his NeoGAF account hasn't been approved yet.

EDIT: However, this will be a platformer and no marble madness like game.

You might want to get a mod to change the thread title to "Indie 3D Platformer" instead of referring to Sonic Adventure just to help steer the discussion into being about the game instead of the thread title.

 

[guggnichso]

You might want to get a mod to change the thread title to "Indie 3D Platformer" instead of referring to Sonic Adventure just to help steer the discussion into being about the game instead of the thread title.

Thank! Done.

 

[maxcriden]

Thank! Done.

You might also want to put "IndieGoGo" in the title, so users are aware it's a crowdfunding project. That usually helps bring attention to a thread.

 

[guggnichso]

You might also want to put "IndieGoGo" in the title, so users are aware it's a crowdfunding project. That usually helps bring attention to a thread.

Thanks again!

 

[baphomet]

There will never be another Sonic Adventure (like) game. Infinite sadness.

Thank God. Those games were awful even when they were new.

On the other hand, this actually looks fun from the pre alpha trailer. Art style is unique but definitely needs to be more fleshed out.

 

[Colonel Mustard]

This reminds me more of ArmilloXBilly Hatcher, more than Sonic Adventures. It looks really good regardless

Spoiler

Wii U port plox

 

[Crub]

Dem minimum requirements

Minimum System Requirements
- Windows OS 64 Bit
- Intel Core Duo | AMD Phenom II
- 4 GB of ram
- GeForce GTX 660 | Radeon HD 7870

 

[Comandr]

Not for me. Sonic Adventure was terrible.

I'm always interested in more Indies, and this does look good. I'll keep an eye out.

Thank God. Those games were awful even when they were new.

On the other hand, this actually looks fun from the pre alpha trailer. Art style is unique but definitely needs to be more fleshed out.

Pardon you, SA1 was amazing. Great music, Sonic & Tails both had really good level design, even Amy and Gamma weren't that bad. The hilarious facial animation for dialogue. The huge Chao system? SA1 was superb. SA2 was hot garbage. Terrible all the way around. The only good thing that came out of that game was Live & Learn.

 

[SegaShack]

As a huge Sonic fan, the Adventure series is awful and has also aged terribly. The classics still are just as amazing as ever though.

This game looks fun though, it shouldn't discredit itself by associating with adventure.

 

[sörine]

I know it's pre-Alpha but I really love the visual style. I hope it doesn't change much.

 

[Adam_Roman]

I backed it, partially because that art style is beautiful. I love when polygons are visible for the sake of style. Really excited to see where this goes. I was skeptical of it when reading "Sonic Adventure like", until actually watching the video and seeing it's more like Marble Blast.

 

[TheCongressman1]

Seeing this just affirms my disappointment with recent Sonic, especially Lost World. This is the best example so far of simple and focused momentum gameplay.

Sonic Team's biggest downfall will always be lack of focus. They always try to shoehorn in elements that don't need to be there. I feel like Lost World could have been a lot like this game had it not been for the Wisps, the auto running segments, and bad movement physics.

This is definitely the direction I want to see Sonic go.

Anyway, this game looks pretty fun as it is, I'll have to download the demo soon. I'd like to see enemies of some kind. Also I wish the character would unroll when you aren't moving quickly, or have the curl (or boost? not exactly sure how it works yet) move mapped to a trigger.

 

[Lijik]

Played through the prealpha. I think its a lot of fun! My main complaint is I wish I could turn the camera left/right in addition to the other controls. Makes finding the paths and a few sections harder than they should be.

 

[MrBadger]

I'm not sold unless there's fishing and copious repeats of the line "get a load of this"

 

[guggnichso]

Played through the prealpha. I think its a lot of fun! My main complaint is I wish I could turn the camera left/right in addition to the other controls. Makes finding the paths and a few sections harder than they should be.

Just one thing: Everything posted here is read by the developer - sadly he wasn't able to register with GAF yet due to his e-mail address. But he's very eager to hear some feedback based on the impressions of everyone who played the alpha demo! And you can contact him directly at his e-mail address provided on the game's homepage.

 

[wilflare]

I'm rolling the art direction

 

[KidB]

I really like the art direction, I'm not sure if the correlation to Sonic Adventure is a good thing...

 

[maxcriden]

Thanks again!

My pleasure!

 

[Sami+]

Looks pretty cool, I'm interested.

A bit disappointed though, I really liked Sonic's gameplay in SA1 - a modernized version of that would be so rad.

 

[Orniletter]

Damn, thats a low-poly art direction done right.

 

[ALLseeingEYE]

That looks great. Great art style, the lava looks awesome, but the gameplay looks like Sonic done right. Keeping an eye on this.

Who is this developer, and what has he done before?

 

[TheCongressman1]

Alright it's impression time. I want to start off by saying, I really appreciate the fact that you have put out an alpha version. I enjoyed getting to see what you are working on. This is one of the most interesting platformers I have seen in a while so I want to see it turn out great.

Ok, here's what I'm thinking so far.

Graphics:

The game already looks beautiful, but it does seem a little off. Low poly tends to look odd when you have a wide range of varying triangle sizes. The difference between the character's size and most surfaces is weird, it's like having pixel art sprites on painted backgrounds or vice versa. I'd say simplify the character model a little and find a good middle ground for poly size in the environment.

Gameplay:

This is a great start toward the kind of platformer I want to play. Rolling around feels fun, however there's a few things that are unintuitive to me.

First is that the camera is extremely limited. A free movement camera will be a must. I found myself having a hard time making jumps because I couldn't tell where I was jumping.

Another is that just trying to stay still is a chore. Slight slopes will make you slowly drift away when it doesn't need to. Now drifting around is fine when you are traveling fast. There needs to be a risk for speeding up, such as on the pipes. But then on the other hand, your boost has a grip effect, so it's actually more beneficial to just boost across. Maybe different materials should have different parameters for grip at certain speeds? That way, wall running techniques can still be relevant.

Then there's the boost aspect. I find it odd that this game seems to be toting momentum gameplay but boosts gain you almost no momentum after you stop boosting. I think that instead of relying on boost to keep your speed it should be more about using the environment to gain and keep momentum. Right now the game is more about timing your boost meter usage rather than utilizing the physics, which is exactly the opposite of what this game seems to want to be.

I think a great way to work around those last two points is having the character have two modes of movement: running and rolling. When running you have a low top speed, but you can more easily move up slopes at low speed and are more stable. When rolling you can gain speed more quickly and have a higher top speed, which makes you more unstable. So you pull the trigger at any time you roll up, but while at high speeds you are unable to unroll yourself.

Level design:

For the most part the level is interesting and fun to play around in, like the transition from the surface to the mine was really cool, but there are certain areas that seem a bit lacking. There are lots of dead ends that are a fairly long way away from the main area of the level. This makes traversing the stage a bit tedious. I think more of these paths should be interconnected in some way.

Another thing is that there is a lot of underused space, especially in the mine area. One simple wrong move and you are sent to the lava with no chance of survival. I think the risk is a little too high in most situations. There should always be some risk, but having to restart because of one slip is a bit too harsh.

Something that might help this is the idea of 3 tier design. That idea is that there are three basic height levels to an area, the top, middle, and bottom. On the top you have the most reward for speed, but also the most risk of falling down. The middle is the moderate path, there is equal risk and reward. Then the bottom is the slowest and most tedious path with little reward, but also the least risky. Then those levels frequently intersect which brings the player an opportunity to move up or down depending on where they want to go.


Again, I really enjoy what you are doing so far, and I can't wait to see what you do with it!

 

[Hero of Legend]

Looks amazing! I also hope for a Wii U port, though it running in UE4 makes that very doubtful. :'(

Unless you could bring it to Unity which Wii U supports perfectly (I hear Unity 5 is coming soon to it if it isn't already available), plus some devs have said they're trying to get DX11-like effects working on Wii U so you might be able to get it working on Wii U.

Any reason why UE4 was chosen?

 

[Deputy Dangle]

The in-game art style is really eye-catching. It's like a combination of low polygonal surfaces and clay that even makes those screenshots look tangible. I'm interested.

 

[RollingTorque]

Hello
I am the Developer of Rolling Torque
My NeoGaf Account just has been validated.
yay!

I wanted to thank you for all your feedback and your kind words.

Especially to TheCongressman1!
Thanks for taking your time to play through the alpha and giving me thoughtful feedback and advice!

Unfortunately i didn't get Steam Greenlight.
Perhaps i put the alpha out too early, and it should have been more polished... i don't know...
Anyway, this means for that i put the project on hold for the moment.

But i am already working on my next Project.
This time i am working on a title which could also run on a mobile platform.
To avoid the Greenlight process, since you can self-publish on ios app store and google playstore (as long as you fulfill the Review Guidelines...)

Anyway, thank you again for your feedback.

 

[Sparrowhawk]

Dang, already moving to mobile? This game looks like it holds a lot of potential. It's a shame to see it being put on the back burner.