Greetings!
We’re really excited to share all the stuff we’ve worked on in the past weeks. We didn’t share much in the first devlog since some things weren’t “ready” to show yet but it now is! We will not only show you screenshots but also actual in-game footage of the current state of Ogami Conquest. The demo will be available for a limited amount of people and is scheduled for between May 4-13th. Do you want to play the demo? Make sure to read until the end!
Table of Contents
Concept Map Update
Asset Showcase
Kookoo’s Mystic Axie Showcase
Using Toon Shader
Technical Progress
Demo Playtesting Giveaway
Concept Map Update
We talked about our new graphical approach towards Ogami Conquest in our last devlog but wanted to share more insights and progress of our first concept map. Although the main game will be played on a 3-lane map, we decided to go for a single-lane map due to time reasons for the first demo. Our main goal with this map is to test things out visually and get a feel for the overall setting around the Ogamis. We decided that we will start with a forest setting and set up the bases as temporary, fast-aligned camps representing one of the battlefields between the clash of the Malkyn tribe and the Trez’an. This map won’t be the one which will be used for the demo, though! We want to create a more flushed-out map with a ‘cave’ setting, using 100% of our own assets. We will update you regarding that in our next devlogs.
Please note that this is a concept map using partially third-party assets!
Asset Showcase
We are also working on the main base structure, which needs to be destroyed to win a match. It is known as “Nexus’” in League of Legends, and “Ancients” in Dota2. In Ogami Conquest, this building is called the “Sinsa”. It is a shrine that the Ogamis construct and place in their battle camps to gain the support and powers of their ancestors. Both tribes have similar beliefs and traditions, which is why they use similar shrines to support them in their battle against the opposing tribe.
Our 3D Artists worked on the melee/soldier Ogami as well as the cannon Ogami. We think it turned out great!
Also, we worked on some hand-drawn ground textures and used them in the concept map.
Kookoo’s Mystic Axie Showcase
We have a special featuring in today’s devlog, Kookoo’s mystic Axie! We 3D modeled, textured, and animated it, and designed the concept abilities of each body part. Our VFX Artist then made the abilities come to life!
But first, let’s talk about the body parts and their corresponding spells. Kookoo’s Axie has these body parts:
Although not yet talked about, we have some passives for every Axie class in mind. We didn’t share this because it is very early and will most likely be changed or improved/balanced. To sum it up, we are not trying to display every body part 1 to 1 to how it looks and is played like in Axie V2 or V3 but try to fit it into the world of Ogami Conquest while trying to keep the essence of the body part and their original abilities. Keeping the essence will not always work, that’s why some of the body parts will be completely different than in Axie:Origins. We will share our initial design of the different passives of each Axie class in the coming weeks in detail.
And here is what the abilities look like:
We highly recommend you to watch the video format of our devlog where you can see all abilities in action with description!
Using Toon Shader
We decided to use a toon shader for Ogami Conquest. With this choice, we are highlighting the stylistic approach even more. We think that an outline border works great with Axies. Although not perfect, here is an example:
The toon shader would not only apply to Axies, but to all moving creatures such as Ogamis and jungle monsters.
Technical Progress
The player (or Axie) movement is tricky. Axie’s body shapes are balloon-like and making them move in a natural-looking way comes with limitations. We decided that we won’t try to imitate the original balloon body shape and will try to adjust it, so it makes sense and feels “right” when the player is moving through the map. We compared ‘hovering’ to ‘walking’ in our whitepaper already and are right now taking the approach of ‘walking’. We are still trying to improve the walk animation, so please note that this is also not final! Do you have any recommendations or ideas for improvement? Make sure to let us know in our Discord! We’d love to hear your suggestion.
We implemented on-touch movement and joystick movement.
Our demo Axie’s can use their normal attack, auto-attack, can die, respawn.
We worked on the AI of the melee and mage Ogami minions. They have a health bar and can die. Upon attacking, the Ogamis will also chase their target and mage Ogamis will keep their distance. Yuri tells you more in the Ogami Developer Update video!
Demo Playtesting Giveaway
We will give a selected amount of people access to playtest the first Ogami Conquest demo! All testers will be able to give direct feedback to us and they are free to speak out their criticism and feedback publicly. But keep in mind that the demo will be in an early stage of development! In-game footage of the demo can also be shared and streamed. But please note that it’s still a “demo” and not a final product, meaning, it should be considered as something to give feedback to help improve it! Furthermore, all playtesters will be whitelisted for our Founder’s Gem NFT sale. We will hopefully share more information regarding Founder’s Gems as soon as the new guidelines/terms for the Axie Builders Program are set. We’re aiming to hold the NFT sale in May 2022.
We already selected most of the Demo testers but reserved 4 spots for a Discord-only giveaway. If you want to be one of the Demo testers, then make sure to join our Discord server and participate in the giveaway! Check out the ‘giveaway’ channel in our Discord:
That’s it for today’s Ogami Developer Update. See you on the next one!
On behalf of the team,
Yevme — Yunus Emre Ünal