January 2022 (Patreon)

January's workload has been spread out across a lot of HellScape. Planetside, Cyber, TechShip, Xeno Military and even Airship have all seen updates, both big and small.

Additional time was allocated to workflow improvements to make larger, more complex single objects such as vehicles while supporting animation production where possible.

Finally, I've been doing some Patreon house-keeping, from updating the tiers, working on clearer branding and launching the HellScape Discord server. You can skip straight to the pinned post to download these updates, but do not use the new AirShip pack without reading about it below or in the included change log.

Updated Packs

Planetside: As part of those workflow improvements, I started on some alien plant life. First you'll find a collection of 'spine trees (Don't mind the weird names). They are tree-sized things that could be sentient for all I know! They come with and without shadows. I find they work best when applied with the scatter tool using a few colors very similar in hue.

The "ring stabber" is probably not the kind of plant you want to get caught up in, and it is also included as a recolorable asset to match any planet.

Finally, you'll find some metal (or composite) ground plates to help keep your boots out of the alien soil when traipsing about. The 'dusty' versions have transparent areas meant to 'pick up' the color of the terrain under them. Try using the scatter tool with the directionality set to +/- 3 degrees to quickly hammer out imperfect pathways between habs.

Cyber:

This small update includes the start of neon signs, a much needed street light and a paper lantern path. While 'floors, walls and structure' were voted on over objects for Cyber, the letters project was already under way. I have a few more structural assets that aren't quite complete. I'll release those as they are finished, so you won't be stuck waiting until the end of the month. In the mean time, please feel free to post some inspiration in the #mood-board Discord channel, even if it's just a screenshot or capture from your favorite game or movie.

Work has also started on Cyberpunk animated signage. These neon signs need only animate a few frames, so they are very light weight.

TechShip: Version 1.8 only has two line items in the change log, but both of them are huge projects. First, a slew of colorable greebles to add detail to your ship hulls. You will find 45 degree versions of many of these so you can populate angled hulls. 

And then there is the Point Defense Turret. The PDC, inspired by a fantastic show that has recently ended, are designed to shoot down incoming enemy missiles, or shred smaller craft that stray too close. Designed to deploy from the interior of a ship's hull, I've provided deployed versions both for the top of your ships, or the sides.

Thanks to a collaboration with Wasp, the creator of Foundry VTT's fantastic Sequencer module, the animated PDC will soon be the first premium animated HellScape asset. Using Sequencer, and thanks to Wasp's great generosity and patience, FVTT users will be able to use a script to dynamically deploy and retract all PDCs on a given ship. This system uses static images and opacity states to keep the performance costs low, and guarantee all of your players will see the turrets in the correct state, even after reloading a scene, or joining late. The WebM files only fire when an animation is needed. (Note that the shooting effect shown above was done using Foundry lights, and is not currently part of the script)

While the pre-packaged Foundry version is still being worked on, those of you who have pledged at tiers that include animated assets can grab the files themselves right now.

Xeno: I've started on the 'scrn' object set. While it is early days and I'm still zeroing in on this particular look, I see no reason to hold back the assets that are already prepared. Scrn includes path, objects and a pattern for making alien ship interiors that are more than just green slime. The walls pictured above are actually paths.

Military: As a test of some of these new workflow concepts, I've re-created the Stryker vehicle and added a version with the ramp down.

AirShip: AirShip has had a major refresh to more closely match the newer style of HellScape. Nearly every object has been edited, loads of errors have been cleaned up and a few new objects have been added. Full-screen this image to see everything from the pack (Red green and blue duplicates are there to show re-colorable assets). But be warned, this is a breaking update. All assets have been converted to webp, meaning that your older maps won't load properly. You can always contact me for an older version if you lose yours.