Unreal Universe Monsters! Lets make some art together!

[Bad Joe]

for the nali discussion:

the nali never fought in unreal because they lived in fear of the skaarj and other technologically superior races on their planet that could easily destroy all of them. it's clear that they weren't traditionally a peaceful race, what with all of their dungeons, arenas, sacrificial temples, etc.

there are many dead nali with swords, knives, and guns found throughout the game. there's not too much in the way of nali participating in the tournament, especially because the wide belief that they're weak would likely get a lot of attention from the public and thus get liandri to sponsor a nali team

[Darkloser]

for the nali discussion:

the nali never fought in unreal because they lived in fear of the skaarj and other technologically superior races on their planet that could easily destroy all of them. it's clear that they weren't traditionally a peaceful race, what with all of their dungeons, arenas, sacrificial temples, etc.

there are many dead nali with swords, knives, and guns found throughout the game. there's not too much in the way of nali participating in the tournament, especially because the wide belief that they're weak would likely get a lot of attention from the public and thus get liandri to sponsor a nali team

It's false, the Nali did fought and tried to rebel against the Skaarj during Unreal (datalogs and various dead bodies with weapons tells so). But none of these rebels were seen by the player.
They weren't a peaceful race before (as hinted by Dark Arena) but now it is clearly stated that the great majority of them now are. They are a deep religious race, and certainly fear creatures with a higher level of technology, but even if they could try to defend themselves (they have powers and are able to stole supplies from the Skaarj) they generally refuse to do so. Instead relying on an exterior help if needed (like the player). Nali taking arms are still a rare case.
This is also why they're often considered weak by the other races. Not especially because of their lack of skill, but because they're mostly skittish and peaceful even when facing dangers. But a Nali willing to fight using more modern technology would be a certain match for anyone.

[MΛuL]

Don't you worry, this thread isn't dying any time soon....

Breathin' easy now...

[Dementiurge]

I'm inclined to believe Dark Arena was built by the Skaarj, or at least under their supervision.

No opinion on if nali warcows were frequent participants in the arena.

[Darkloser]

I'm inclined to believe Dark Arena was built by the Skaarj, or at least under their supervision.

No opinion on if nali warcows were frequent participants in the arena.

The description for Dark Arena say this :
"Within a barren valley looms an ancient Nali structure with an air of grim foreboding. As the player explores the perimeter of this remnant of some darker chapter in Nali history, the distant growl of a terrible beast suggests that a tough fight lies ahead."
The Nali built the Arena, during one their more barbaric period, but when the Skaarj invaded Na Pali they established themselves in it as well as most locations on the planet.

I believe Warcows where only used after the Skaarj invasion, when they started to have more frequent contacts and travels with the other species of the galaxy.
The description say this :
"When the militant Nali were driven from their homeworld they brought the only domesticated beast they knew of- their local livestock. By using Pavlovian techniques and heavy cerebral modification they are training their cattle to fight instead of graze."
So they probably couldn't be created during the Skaarj invasion. Firstly, because we never heard about it or even have a hint that they exist before the Tournament. The rebels Nali even they never were encountered were hinted via bodies and datalogs in Unreal. Secondly, it apparently ask for a certain level of technology, and it's understanding, that the Nali hadn't in Unreal. They almost never used any advanced weapons for exemple (Bodies of the rebels are seen with swords and knives), and they already had a hard time to understand how their "artifacts" even worked (See the eightball launcher).
It probably occured once other races started to take interest in then (probably as slaves/labour forces, plus the amount of tarydium they have), and transported them across the galaxy. They were some Nali that learned how to use a certain level of technology and started to fight for the right of their people and so used everything they had as a weapon, including the cows.

[papercoffee]

War Cows and War Nalis ...hmmmm ...interesting.

[rapfamily4]

Is anyone working on the staff for the Krall?

[Sly.]

[MENTION=11924]AndyN[/MENTION], your Krall looks fantastic!
And [MENTION=247414]rapfamily4[/MENTION], now, yes, I guess.
Here you go, small idea on how to make it resemble the original one while adding some additional flavour to it:

I also made a small edit of that one Krall screenshot with the provisoric staff to check if it fits well:


Basically, I mixed it a bit with the Shock Lance's design but tried to keep it simple.
Here's the original as posted earlier in this thread for comparison:


Now it's your turn guys, tell me what you think.

[Darkloser]

Neat design Sly !

I like the claw and that you didn't forget the plasma upgrades the Skaarj added.
Here's a few suggestions :

-Make the claw able to extend/retract. The way you presented it seems like the retracted stance, and I would like to see them able to extend and look like they're in the same position as the original staff. Would be a cool flavor to it. It would serve as a transition beetwen melee/ranged.

-I like that to show the difference on the other end of the staff, you made it bigger ( I had the same idea in mind). But I think you should push it a little further : Make it more like a blunt end for the weapon, like a mace or something. Here's a picture for what I think could work.


-Play more on the fact that it was originally a tribal Krall staff upgraded by the Skaarjs. Blend both ceremonial tribal commbat staff with highly sophisticated technology. And don't hesitate to play with colors (red and blue) like in the original. Especially to show the statue of a Krall. Maybe even add more sculpting or insigna and technology to the higher rank staff.

-I suppose it's just because you edited AndyN's picture, but make the staff less tall. They're supposed to be able to swing it one handed as well. Especially when sliced in half.

I see the Krall staff a little like the Ma'Tok staff from Stargate. It's like an ancient weapon repurposed as a futuristic military equipment, yet you still strongly see it's origin and to which kind of culture it originated. The only difference is that it's less "refined" with the Skaarjs than with the Jaffa (The Skaarj just put the things and say "Good enough for what you'll do !").

[HexxuSz0r]

oh snap sly is back i love this dude

[rapfamily4]

Nice work with that! ;D

[papercoffee]

[MENTION=6491]Sly.[/MENTION]
I love how you implemented a trigger into the rod.
This whole thing looks great ...it's maybe a little bit long to be practical.

[Sly.]

Thanks rapfamily4 and R.Riddick! Yeah, I'm back.
[MENTION=34994]papercoffee[/MENTION], thanks, I was wondering how they would fire it when looking at it, heh. Also, [MENTION=14867]Darkloser[/MENTION], I took that criticism about the length and applied only that one for now. Getting closer to a proper staff step by step, I hope.
Let me know if that's any better:



Also checked how it would look like with "open" blades:

Looks much more nostalgic, I was hesitating to try that, but now that I see it, it could be interesting to have them open up for melee hits.

I think the staff's metal ring ending is fine enough and a suitable "secondary weapon", if necessary, as well. I tried to "recreate" the carved stripes on the original Krall staff (barely visible there) with those and make them more promiment. Theoretically, they could be where the "main tech" was added (think of it as the "core"), though if others agree, I'll gladly give it a different, more club-like ending.
Also, what would everyone say about a more ceremonial version with addition decoration and some wood carvings for the elites? I think it could be better to have two staff versions, a simple for the regular folks and a "luxury version" for the high ranked ones. Got to distinguish them after all, eh?

[Darkloser]

Thanks rapfamily4 and R.Riddick! Yeah, I'm back.
@papercoffee, thanks, I was wondering how they would fire it when looking at it, heh. Also, @Darkloser, I took that criticism about the length and applied only that one for now. Getting closer to a proper staff step by step, I hope.
Let me know if that's any better:

Yeah, the length is way better now. Keep it like that.

Also checked how it would look like with "open" blades:

Looks much more nostalgic, I was hesitating to try that, but now that I see it, it could be interesting to have them open up for melee hits.

That's why I suggested it, for both the nostalgia part and because it would be interesting to see the stance change and eventually see how the player will face it. The only thing I might hesitate is which one is truly the "firing" stance and which is the "melee" stance.

I think the staff's metal ring ending is fine enough and a suitable "secondary weapon", if necessary, as well. I tried to "recreate" the carved stripes on the original Krall staff (barely visible there) with those and make them more promiment. Theoretically, they could be where the "main tech" was added (think of it as the "core"), though if others agree, I'll gladly give it a different, more club-like ending.

Yes, I saw that you tried to recreate the stripes of the orginal model, which is awesome.
I just suggested the "club" part because of the savage tribe mind that the Krall possess. I'm certain they could have developped this second "weapon" just to have twice as much way to beat their enemies to death. Because that's all they want to do with you. They're a warrior like culture, which is why the Skaarjs used them as soldiers rather than labor forces.
And I never said it couldn't contain the "core" as well.

Also, what would everyone say about a more ceremonial version with addition decoration and some wood carvings for the elites? I think it could be better to have two staff versions, a simple for the regular folks and a "luxury version" for the high ranked ones. Got to distinguish them after all, eh?

-Play more on the fact that it was originally a tribal Krall staff upgraded by the Skaarjs. Blend both ceremonial tribal commbat staff with highly sophisticated technology. And don't hesitate to play with colors (red and blue) like in the original. Especially to show the statue of a Krall. Maybe even add more sculpting or insigna and technology to the higher rank staff.

I see the Krall staff a little like the Ma'Tok staff from Stargate. It's like an ancient weapon repurposed as a futuristic military equipment, yet you still strongly see it's origin and to which kind of culture it originated. The only difference is that it's less "refined" with the Skaarjs than with the Jaffa (The Skaarj just put the things and say "Good enough for what you'll do !").

I think from that you could guess what my answer will be ?

[Sly.]

Hehe, totally managed to ignore that for some reason. So, I guess I'll have to think about how to make a tribalized version now. Maybe I'll try a clubbish end with that one too.

I think the changing stance could open up a lot of possibilities, one being a simple stab attack with closed stance and firing, the other being the classical one handed beating with open blades for nasty cuts!

Though of course firing could be done with any stance I guess. I wouldn't see why not at least.
A closed one might be more handy for aiming though and maybe it could also be "forced" in an explanation that it might be necessary for concentration of the bolts, meaning that leaving it open will create more spread. But that's open for functionality discussion for later, I guess. The models are not even done and same with the programming.

PS: I already see a parody of that staff with a trash collector Krall picking up old Skaarj newspapers with it.....
Must... resist... doing... that...