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I've updated the HeroMachine 3 Alpha with the following changes:
More on all of this after the jump.
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Posted in HeroMachine 3, News & Updates
With that rather cryptic and Star-Trekkie-like headline, I am happy to announced that the early test version of the upcoming HeroMachine 3 is now available! Please note all of the caveats and disclaimers and warnings of incompleteness at the top of the page -- this is a very, very early look at the program, there are lots or more items and features yet to be implemented. Only about half the slots even have any items in them.
So yes, there will be eyes and noses and mouths and pants and gloves and boots and all that other stuff, in time.
Regardless, that page will always have the most up-to-date version of the test program I have.
What I'm looking for at this point is very broad feedback, things like how you feel the multiple item functionality works; whether or not the little toolbars in the preview of each item makes sense and has the buttons you want on it; does the organization of the items in the various slots work; etc. I'm fully aware that there are (not to get too technical) "a crapload" of features that while mostly working are still quite buggy, like the item selection getting hosed up if you mouse out of the menu area and scaling "all items" only works horizontally, that kind of thing.
Anyway, please make any suggestions, observations, complaints, requests (either items or features), or quips you like in the comments to this post. Whenever I launch an update I'll make a new entry for it and we can go from there.
Thanks already for all the great feedback I've received so far; with your help this program will absolutely kick ass!
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Posted in HeroMachine 3, News & Updates, Previews
I am happy to announce that the Lordi Machine (aka the "Horror Mini") has now launched! Lordi is a metal band from overseas, and teamed with UGO (and yours truly) to make a HeroMachine version for you to create your own band members in their distinctive style
Have fun!
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Posted in News & Updates
I've now added a "Backplanes" slot to the HeroMachine Horror Mini Beta, available here. It includes the holstered shotgun, bat wings, man-bat wings, mechanical wings, extra arm, and a few other items from previous versions.
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Posted in News & Updates, Previews
UGO has put up a gallery featuring some of the contest entries they've received so far. I don't know how they choose which ones go up, nor do I have access to the library of all entries, so I don't have any particular insight to offer on why yours isn't up there. I just thought they were neat and that you might like to get a look at some of the competition.
This is in reference to the Modern Warrior Contest being put on by UGO where the best character design gets to star in a new online video game, in case you missed it.
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Posted in Challenges, News & Updates, Previews
With many thanks for your suggestions, I've added a "Face" slot to the Horror Mini. I also added a "Randomize All" button because, come on, random zombies = fun.
I cheated and just copied/pasted the Warrior faces into the app since I'm so short on time. I could probably do the same with the FacialHair one, but that'll complicate things a bit for the female version. Do-able though. The Warrior Hair items don't seem to fit all that well, but if you want it I can see what I can do. Ditto for the Backplane.
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Posted in News & Updates
I've just put up the HeroMachine "Horror Edition" beta up, which you can find here. Let me know what you think of it, features you'd like to see, things that aren't working, etc. Here's a sample character I made up while checking things out, sort of a "Zombie out on the town" sort of thing.
I took a lot of the recommendations people made in the last post about things like big chunks of missing skin (which you can see in the sample above), eye sockets missing eyeballs, separate skull pieces in the Head slot, and much more. It's already over the 1MB mark, so I don't know how much more I can comfortably add to it, but by all means holler if there's something you really wanted but don't see.
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Posted in News & Updates, Previews
The previously beta-tested Warrior Mini has now been officially released, and is available for use right now on UGO.com. But even better, the applet is the center of a new contest that is so cool I almost wish I weren't working for UGO so I could enter:
How cool is that?! Read the contest rules for more information, but basically you have from now until the end of January to work on your creation. You can enter up to five different characters. From the rules, here's how they'll be judged:
Winner Selection: All entries will be judged by a panel of three (3) judges comprised of members of the UGO editorial staff who will select five finalists based on the following criteria: Visual Design Aesthetic Appeal (30%); Visual Design Originality (30%); Character History (20%); and Character Name (20%). Judging for the five finalists will take place on February 2, 2009.
And once again, the winning character will be featured in an online game built by and featured on UGO.com. Yes, that's right, you could be the next great action hero. Or at least, someone you make up could be, which is darn close.
Anyone who wants to pose questions about design techniques or to get feedback on what you've built, feel free to post it here or hit up the UGO HeroMachine forums. The guys there have a ton of experience building cool characters using the HeroMachine tools and can probably give you some good pointers.
So get out there and start creating, and good luck to everyone!
Update: Just to be clear, you must create the character with the tool linked above (no other HM version) and it must be submitted via the "Submit to Contest" button in the applet. No other submission method will qualify.
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Posted in Challenges, News & Updates
I've got all 52 Head items in and the 12 hand-held items, so I took a moment to whip up a scary-looking guy in the upcoming Horror Mini.
That's an assemblage of something like eight different "Head" elements, some (like the eyes, horns, and ears) duplicated and flipped. I like the effect of having one huge eyeball hidden behind the ball-less socket of an eye item, while the other giant eyeball has been moved in front of it to look like it's bulging out. Good times.
Here he is from a distance:
He's kinda nekkid on account of I don't have the clothing items in yet, but you get the idea. I like the effect of the two different interior colors combined with the red line color, all outlined in black with the "outline" feature.
The deadline on this is extremely tight, so I don't know if you'll have a chance to play with it in beta before it launches, but I hope you will for at least a day or two.
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Posted in News & Updates, Previews
Three middle-aged nerds (including yours truly!) review all of the MCU movies in chronological order. Short, funny, and full of good vibes, check it out and let us know what you think!
Nerdmudgeon.com