Hey guys! We’re back with another Developer Update. Our team has been heads down working on content and preparing our December 2014 Trailer which will reveal two new characters. In the meantime, we still wanted to share some news with you guys as we’ve made a lot of progress this November.
First of all, Zetterburn’s stage, the Fire Capitol, has been given an incredible visual makeover by Johan Vinet, our resident pixel wizard:
The bold colors and elaborate architecture are a display of the wealth and the power of Zetterburn’s people. You may even notice some homage to Zetterburn among the buildings, given his status as a war hero of the nation. The original iteration of the stage was designed by Dan, concepted by Ryan, and subsequently drawn in pixels by Dan. However, thanks to the prowess that Johan brings to the table, the updated stage now has an insurmountable level of style and detail in colorful 16-bit goodness:
The next update we’d like to share with you is a design feature regarding stage layouts. Many of the stages in Rivals of Aether will have unique interactions such as launching off the spring in the Air Armada or comboing off the building wall in the Fire Capitol. But what if you want to play on the stage and not worry about stage interactions?
That is why Rivals of Aether will feature a Stage Mode option. Each Stage has two versions for playing – Aether Mode and Basic Mode. Aether Mode brings you the stages in their full glory, often with fun features to master. Basic Mode reduces stages to their simplest, cleanest forms, perfect if you want an intense fight with absolutely no distractions. You can change your Stage Mode setting on the Stage Select screen at any time. Here are two examples:
The Air Armada loses its spring but otherwise remains intact.
The Fire Capitol loses its wall but keeps a similar layout by replacing it with a platform.
The last update affects how characters get back on stage after getting knocked off. After getting feedback at our Smashboards thread from our playtesters, we have implemented a Wall Jump. Now when you are trying to get back to stage, you don’t have to be so predictable. You can Wall Jump once unless you hit the ground or get hit by an opponent. You can even Wall Jump while in a helpless state. That means you can use an Up Special, get to a wall, jump and then Up Special again. This aids characters with predictable recoveries as the sides of a stage give them another option:
That’s all for this month. In December, we will be showing off the two next characters along with a brand new stage with art from Johan. Additionally, you’ll be able to feast your eyes on some great Frozen Moments created by Ryan and treat your ears with Flashy’s next Rivals track! Next month should be very exciting for the development of Rivals of Aether indeed.