Project ANEW Update Thread, Keep checking here for updates

So, anyone else apply so far?

On a side note, I know my guy will start out with the standard equipment, but I've allready got my eyes on a gun, but I'm gona have to save up allot to get it. That Walther WA2000 is prety awsome!

No, we've stayed at the same amount of people since the last time I updated it. Kinda put me in a tight spot, which I'm trying to work out.

Incidentally, I haven't done much with ANEW this week. I became an "uncle" a month ahead of schedual, so that's absorbed all my quite time. Hoping to get back on track soon.

Oh, thats kinda disapointing.

On the other hand, congrats on the nephew! is it a girl or a guy? either way, can we call you uncle Rich now? XD

Actualy, a few people around here called me "uncle" as of a few years ago.

And it's a healthy boy, despite being 5 weeks early. I'm not biologically related, but the father and I go waaaay back, and we consider each other as close as brothers, hence the honorary "uncle" title. You almost have to pity the poor kid since he'll grow up with an obviously deviant mind teaching him things like how to make napalm out of styrofoam and will have to endure humoring me as I try to perfect the One-Inch Punch on his dad, who is twice my weight.

I expect him (the baby) to be at my house soon to mow my lawn and wash my car by the end of the week.

The napalm out of styrofoam I think he'l apreciate learning when he reaches teen years, but whats the One inch punch?

One-Inch Punch

Bruce Lee's a hero and role model of mine, and the One-Inch Punch was one of his more famous feats. Seriously, if you had that kind of power and ability at your disposal, nobody would be able to beat you, and to my knowledge, nobody ever beat Bruce Lee in a real fight.

Okay, maybe consider this update a birthday present for Sparky.

So, October kinda sucked for me. Way too much drama for absolutely no gain whatsoever, and that put me into a funk for a while. The good news is that the drama's over, and I can again get back to work on ANEW without delay.

I'm easing back into things by reviewing the Weapons System. I've decided to add a couple of features to it, namely the inclusion of Add-On Slots for guns that will accomodate them. This means that guns, like the GLOCK 22 which has an accessory rail, will be able to use them for adding stuff like laser sights or flashlights. Consider it a sort of semi-custom option, and it'll help people get even more out of their weapons without having to buy a specialized weapon for every mission.

The second inclusion isn't a new idea, but its something I think will be welcomed. The Custom Option will be included, and it'll work by giving you a pool of points to add on to the gun's already existing Ratings any way you'd like. You'd also be able to change the weapon's appearance, though the specifics for that are still being worked out.

To help with all of this, and to give you a good idea of what you'll actually be looking at, here's an example of the new sprites. Yes, sprites. Actual, video game-looking sprites. For guns.



Its pretty crude and really basic, but it gets the job done and allows me to make up many of these cards quickly. When you plan on having hundreds of weapons available at some point, Pokemon-style, you tend to take a more utilitarian approach to things.

Not only do you get good 'ol numbers for your Ratings here, but you get a visual aid in the form of that great, 1980s-era equalizer thing, which immediately shows you how well that weapon performs compared to all other weapons (not just weapons in that same group). You also get the most important facts about the weapon for writing, such as caliber, magazine capacities, and the like.

Looking at our friend the GLOCK 22 here, we can see from that ratings scale that the GLOCK's high point is its Reliability, but because its a handgun it suffers from relatively poor Power and Range, and offers mid-level Accuracy. With that graph in place, you can immediately see that without deciphering a bunch of numbers, which are still there and continue to play a role in the actual game.

Incidentally, that also reminds that I wanted to clear up something about your character Weapons Stats and how that works with the actual Weapon's Ratings. If, say, your guy has a Handgun Rating of 85, that translates to the GLOCK 22's Ratings being reduced to 85% of what you see.

This is a cue from the real world, you see, and also functions as an allusion to the old "Robot Master" deal. That GLOCK 22 will have decent Accuracy if fired from a machine rest, but if its in the hands of an amateur he won't be able to hit squat. This places emphasis on honing your Weapon Skills to get the full potential out of your tools, and further prevents godmodding or just plain dumb writing.

It also plays into the "Robot Master" gimmick by having your character be a master of a particular weapon group, like how Fireman and Heatman are good with lighting things on fire by not so good at, say, shooting gusts of wind out of their mouths. Its fairly subtle, yes, but its there. In fact, there's quite a few little homages to Megaman to be found in ANEW, some less obvious than others.

If you remembered my previous ANEW "sprites", they were pretty damned big. Since then, as you can see above, I've shrunk the size by 50%, making them much more managable, and arguably even better looking (after alot of clean up). This'll also allow me to make them even faster.

As an example, check out how much I got out of the M1911-A1 sprite.



Quite a few. The devil is in the details. Alot of people will just see the same gun over and over, with little shit like different shapes and colors here and there, but that is actually a very diverse array of weapons, from the National Match's superb Accuracy to the WINMAG's extreme Stoppping Power, they all have their strengths and weaknesses, and they all will be ample tools in the hands of a proficient author, who realizes that the weapons of ANEW are there not only to complete Scenarios, but to help define their character.

It also helps that I got a ton of mileage out of a basic sprite. The 1911 might be ANEW's 8-bit Megaman. Hell, I could get three times as much out of that basic sprite if I wanted to get crazy.


The most important missing link in the ANEW system is the Roulette System, which is STILL under development. It doesn't help that I keep thinking of cool shit to implement while weeding out unnecessary shit, but I'm getting really close to setting it in stone. By far, its the most complicated piece of work in the entire game, and it HAS to be made in such a way that the average player will be able to decipher it easily and quickly. Its a definate challenge.

So, as they say, the show goes on.

Looks quite thought out. In terms of actually describing weapon scenes, this will prove useful.

Sorry that it took me a while.

Those look great, and will make things for the participant that much more easy!

Oh, and just wondering, any new aplicants?

Unfortunately, no new applicants. I think people are waiting to see how it works out before submitting, which keeps me in a tough spot.

The sooner you start it the better, IMHO. People will turn away if you wait too long.

Sadly, like on MM Teams, people are quick to say "sure", but slow to respond. I think it's best to just get moving when you're ready to go.