This is the official topic for the working notes on The Astral Heat Screenpack project for CreepyTarantino

The previous completed topics for reference purposes can be found below:


- Completed Custom Lifebar system
- Completed custom portrait template system
- Completed Custom round announcer system
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[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] Logo concept and design project
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Hi creepy tarantino

I have done a thorough calculation and planning of your project.
In Summary, as this is a large scale job, this would be treated as a 4-part commission project.
It would be divided into 4 separate jobs - each completed and supplied in succession.
This is to ensure timely delivery and also fairness in payment/supply of services to the customer.
Also it would mean that a total payment of the overall commission price would not be required - only 50% of each initial part on start date. then 50% on completion and supply of the finished part.

Here is the summary:

Job summary:
Design and Create a complete Mugen 1.1 Main Menu interface screen, Character select screen, Vs Screen transition, and select screen portrait system to specifications as per discussed.
Implement/update the existing "Multiverse vs Capcom" Motif with the recently created & supplied "Astral Heat EX Galaxy Dream Battle" Logo aesthetics/design (design/PSD/files supp by PhantomD).
Apply and configure animated portraits and multiple slot usage to select screen system via the "Mugenhook" custom mugen addon system.

All screenpack menu screens to be designed with a minimum scale factor of 1280x720 to match the existing screenpack of the client, but will be able to be scaled up to 4k resolutions and higher via openGL mode if  used on high end/gaming graphic video card hardware that is compatible. Client does not require any quality limitations on the project/have any hardware limitations as discussed in initial lifebar project.

Details & Artistic Direction:

COMPLETED WORK

Spoiler:

Part 2 - VS Screen System:

Part 3 - Character Select screen system:

Part 4 - MUGENHOOK system:

Additional task/s
Application of cursor sounds, menu sounds, BGMs and/or any basic system function requirements for audio/.snd files on menus/transitions or other .def file font/system requirements relating to fonts or coding/MUGENHOOK technical specifics etc to be handled, implemented at no extra cost as required/where required.

Hopefully I have covered everything.
Please read through carefully and make sure I havent missed anything and if you have any further questions, please let me know and we can proceed.
My angle of attack (assuming you are happy with all the above) would be to start with part one of the project, then supply you this completed portion, then move on to the next accordingly.
This way you will receive the individual completed progress files and have it available in your screenpack as it is finished.
If this also sounds logical to you please let me know.

Sorry this took me so long to respond to. Had a heap of real life take place and it set me back sum but I’m back in the game. I like the idea of doing this in parts/sections seems like a healthy way to handle such a big task.

I think you nailed it as far as descriptions are concerned. Fairly certain we are the same page

Thats no problem at all. There's no rush or pressure.
Its actually good timing as I was helping out my friend with a stage project which I have almost finished.
Im glad you are happy with the fornat. It means you will gain access to each part as it is finished which is more practical than waiting for all four parts.
My angle of attack would be to start on Part 1 - main menu screen first (finer details are in the spoiler tab).
If you are happy with everything there and accept, I can start whenever you are ready.

Fantastic glad I didn't keep you waiting. I sent over the first half for part 1 so I'm ready whenever you are MI amigo

this logo is really great with the voice and the music I love it I can't wait to try it I really like these new life bars, they are very nice and full of beautiful effects these are really professional work, my pc ultra is coming soon, I'm really going to have a blast with your awesome creations, I'm taking out the chips and the cola to follow the progress of all these incredible projects.

lunalucard55 wrote:this logo is really great with the voice and the music I love it I can't wait to try it I really like these new life bars, they are very nice and full of beautiful effects these are really professional work, my pc ultra is coming soon, I'm really going to have a blast with your awesome creations, I'm taking out the chips and the cola to follow the progress of all these incredible projects.

Thank you for the kind feedback :-)
It is the combination of multiple peoples great work and ideas, and Creepy Tarantino's vision for his project.
I think it will be impressive when it is complete.

Not really much interesting to show as far as Aesthetics or textures, but I wanted to share some early brainstorming footage of the schematics for the Main Menu screen.
Please ignore the strange lines and colored blocks ecetera - these are just guidelines and spacing grid markers for placement.

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This initial step is often the most frustrating and tedious part of the process in my personal opinion.
It usually takes several trial and error takes, before the look and placement of the most important objects for the menu screen are where they need to be.
And it has to be right because it will affect how the rest of the screen is designed and how the finished product looks.
Basically this idea is building on the original sample and reference footage of the old Winmugen Mugen Megamix screen.
The general Idea here is to allow for the extra game mode icons, and also to offer some new innovation to the original one.
I am thinking of implementing a mode select system where each hexagon will Enlarge and be highlighted when that particular mode is selected.
This is basically just to show roughly how and where everything will be placed so it looks right and well proportioned, while also allowing for the space needed to add accents and details around the screen and other areas as I see fit.

This is gonna be badass

Proof of concept:

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Just demonstrating how the original MMX screen has been reinterpreted with increased modes and the increased scale factor from low res to widescreen HD in a 720p local coordinate/
Also, the Larger red Hexagons that are overlapping the smaller yellow ones, demonstrate the way in which the menu screen will work.
When a menu mode is selected/toggled, the initial hexagon for the respective game mode will enlarge to the size of the red hexagon and over lap it to emphasize it is being selected.
I think this is more dynamic than the usual font method.

additional conceptualization.
This is a layout test of the game modes and naming system.

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the idea I have in mind will be that when a mode is selected, there will be some text/info window system likely on the bottom left which provides a description for each mode.
Once I can finalize these core components, the look and style and textures can start getting applied.
the entire icon system will most likely be 100% animation and have some form of interpolation movement and graphics with our discussed colorscheme incorporated into them

small update:
Finished creating the base placeholders for the menu icon select mode enlargement system for the mode select fonts
(ignore the look/color/style as its just the base working file for placement only. These flat images are just being used so I can pre-code them as dummies to replace with the actual graphics later on)
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So as a mode is selected, the relevant icon will be enlarged like so
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The next step will be to make the mode description text that will appear on screen to give the player information of each mode.

I have completed the first half of the information data for the menu select text boxes

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My plan is to create an information pop up box in the left hand corner of screen that will change to the relevant information depending on which mode the cursor is selecting.
Obviously since the original project had alot of tributes to the old capcom games, and now I see that the title of the game and logo that you guys came up with fits so well, I have made sure to stick with the "space astral arcade Japan" theme with game mode names and some small novelty details on the arcade modes.
I still have the other hald of the modes to generate script for aswell

I freaking love this!!! It's beyond badass, makes it feel Hella official

completion of the script for the second half of the mode fonts
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Not only are the designs cool but I love the names and descriptions you killed it

Thanks my friend I appreciate that you like it.
I wanted to try make it seem as real and commercial as possible.
Dont take this next progress shot too literally at the moment as there is alot of layering and tuning and potential changes to go on this before I even get to the animation step, and I havent boxed off the info section or finalized hhow the BG animation sequence will work,
But as you can see a general idea of how atleast the purple aspect of our scheme will be implemented can now be seen

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all still a work in progress of course - the menu icons will potentially have other animation happening inside the hexagons themselves but the glass factor will potentially be final

HOLY FUCK!!!!! Pardon my French but this epic think I'm in love. I can't stop staring at it

Now that’s what I call a menu screen. To much sauce, and you will last out from all the excitement of it.lol very good build so far, please continue to, knock it out the park man.

creepytarantino wrote:HOLY FUCK!!!!! Pardon my French but this epic think I'm in love. I can't stop staring at it

thanks for that, but don't fall too in love with it as is because it is going to evolve probably quite a bit from this , but atleast now you can get a general idea of the direction it is going.

Phant0mD wrote:lol nooooooice!
I see you used those textures well so far lol im glad they come to good use.
If it were me i'd add a black trans fade on the orange border with maybe another 6pc border line tho and overlay that with something maybe the same/similar to the hexagon outer strokes.

@EX ALso nice touch on the E-Amusement man! Ima send you something else that might add some sauce to it. Let me give you some japanese arcade machines text shit to give it that real real official look. Ill send you some goodies over soon

Yeah thanks for that man it really helped. I'm using your glass effects on the icon system as you will see.
I saw the EW-Amusement  stuff and im definitely going to use this stuff. The Japanese text will surely give it a real authentic feel.
I will probably add those things in the header or footer as small slide ins or something like that.
There were a few i was almost going to use that I decided not to as i wanted a little bit of variation- Sort of half way in-between the logo and half way in between the lifebar textures I already used, but also with a very small nod to the original version that Creepytarantino already had made.

GRAYFOX wrote:Now that’s what I call a menu screen. To much sauce, and you will last out from all the excitement of it.lol very good build so far, please continue to, knock it out the park man.

Thanks [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] I appreciate that. I know you made some great screenpacks back in the early days on Winmugen and Mugen 1.0 so I appreciate the praise coming from you for sure!

blending these three elements together with a little bit more emphasis on the space/arcade type motive I think will have it really being its own original thing but still within what creepytarantino's vision for a Blazblue/capcom crossover type theme.
This is what I'm thinking for the font highlight mode system. Green obviously to keep with theme.
Some sort of character display for each mode or something representative of each mode.

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Oh i see, this is the project that the epic lifebars frm the YT video were in.
There's some insanely professional looking projects going on in here.

SuperWhiskey wrote:Oh i see, this is the project that the epic lifebars frm the YT video were in.
There's some insanely professional looking projects going on in here.

Thank you for the compliment [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], and yes it is. Well that was one version of the lifebars. Maybe in some future videos the others will get showcased perhaps. or maybe a showcase of the final product when everything else is completed.

I have completed the font system for Classic arcade mode.
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Impressive!
I like the progress on this so far.
Do you intend to have a themed default training stage to go with the screenpack like oxocube and Daru did in the Battlecry project? That would be cool to package it all up

Filthy Fredo wrote:Impressive!
I like the progress on this so far.
Do you intend to have a themed default training stage to go with the screenpack like oxocube and Daru did in the Battlecry project? That would be cool to package it all up

Thanks Fred, i'm confident it will look much more impressive once it is all up and running.
At this stage the project is just for Updating and improving on the existing screenpack - there are no character or stage related elements I am working on personally for this commission.
Completed the font system for Vs Mode
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Completed the latest font system For Team Mode Arcade
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