[PROTOTYPE] Ripper

[Karton]

(i) Click on images to get 1080p version

Hi there !
I've been working on a Ripper for UT4, 'cause I always loved this weapon on UT99, so why not give it a try ?
I hope you'll give me great feedback ^^

This is actually my contribution to the "Make something go boom" challenge. I'm also a developer, and while there is only art at the moment, I'll definitely make a C++ implementation of this ripper.


__ the Idea __

I've seen many concept arts on this forum for the ripper, and some from Unreal Championship too.
But most of them are very close to the "original". And to be honest, I think the ripper's shape in UT99 wasn't aggressive enough.
I've been wandering around a way to get a more impressive mechanic, and rotating arms to place the next disk on the launch pad was definitely a great option.
I've come to this concept :



I've made a small gif so you have an idea of the dynamism while firing.
Arms are in alternate rotation to gain style, but I've designed (after some work, shown in next section) a cinematic model which is able to work in either standard or alternative rotation mode.

(Animation is slow so you understand what's going on, but the firing rate is driven by game design, and the animation can be played at any speed)
PS: Oops... I haven't moved disks, but they should be at the end of those arms.



__ the Arms __


The main parts of my gun are those twin arms articulated to pick the next disk and place it on the launch pad.
I've spent a few hours to get a working kinematic model. There is no motorization yet, but It works. (not animated yet though, but trust me this system is able to reproduce the gif above.)
And I've only used revolute joints (3 per arm)

Also, I may put a Plexiglas gutter for the disk to slide in during the operation. I'll see if it fits once I've got all the rest done.



A closer look :



( These meshes are colored by rigid body)



__ HighPolys __


Enough of those technical explanations ! It it HighPolys'o clock.
And here are plenty of renders, because everyone loves highpolys !








rear view






Aw, and sorry for those crappy normals, I should have smoothed them. But maya was already Ga-ga-ga with all my highpoly parts.

__ The disk __


The ripper is heavily focused on the disk itself, so I've put a special attention to get a nice (well, more aggressive than nice) disk.
I'm happy with it. Sure it needs some polishing (those are draft maps), but it's close to done.

top :






bottom:






__ The TODO list __

Aww, there is still a lot of work ahead !
Here is a short list of what's on my mind :

• Get a highpoly for the ammo box
• get an animated version of the kinematic model
• get some hipolys for those arms
• refine the back of the gun
• global shape harmonisation
• Lowpolys
• UVs
• nDo detail pass (very important for the ammo support plate)
• Textures (including decals on the disk, and some polishing on it)
• Final graphic review

Then, there is the UE4 integration:

• Understand the C++ weapon internals
• implement a bouncing disk
• Fx
• Sound Fx
• ?

ANd last, there is the balancing, GameDesign-wise.

[Esula]

I really like the disk loading mechanism, very cool!

[InVader]

Cool disk loading.

[Krazy]

keep working on it, seriously, this is impressive and I love the reloading arms idea just remember the ripper primary fires something like 2.9 disks a second and I'm not sure how it's animations would look at that speed and if it would become irritating to look at, as a design however it's very imaginative and very cool

[Karton]

keep working on it, seriously, this is impressive and I love the reloading arms idea just remember the ripper primary fires something like 2.9 disks a second and I'm not sure how it's animations would look at that speed and if it would become irritating to look at, as a design however it's very imaginative and very cool

You are right, this is something to consider. The rate of fire was too high if you ask me, and the damage per hit was insufficient.
But if we stick to the UT99 behavior, I have a simple solution : each arm carry two or three disk at a time


PS : It just came to my mind that if we reduce the fire rate, maybe it could be interesting to get a deadlier hit each time the disk bounces on a wall.
Things like speed increased at each impact, or damage increase, or maybe something else could be great if done right.

[GreatEmerald]

Eh, the loading mechanism might be cool but it would be utterly impractical. That thing would break off after a bit of a shake, not to mention a middle of a firefight, and it looks very inefficient as far as loading mechanisms go.

[Karton]

Well, efficiency isn't the point in the concept, it is made for the show.
and for the fragile look, those colored concepts are just the kinematic explanations. The arms will be deigned to be very robust. (at least as thick as in the animated gif)
I'm positive that this weapon will appear rock-solid.


But thanks for reminding me this. I should keep this in mind.

[van Kuss]

This is cool
But wouldn't the vertical disk occupy a lot of space in first person view?

[SDAHeatWave]

This is cool
But wouldn't the vertical disk occupy a lot of space in first person view?

From the shots it does look it might take up a lot of room. Maybe make it smaller or something that won't take a lot of room in first person.

[TotesAmaze]

It doesn't look very practical but if the final model looks awesome doing it (and sturdy enough) I don't see a problem.

You may find some inspiration from record changing mechanisms in jukeboxes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0z2Bc-C79w

[NeoSabin]

Yay login issue fixed! Back on topic though. What if the the ripper blades were small (think pizza dough) that expanded to minimize the ammo chamber? Fire one then two spider like arms grab the next and quickly expand/shape the "glob?" into the ripper blade.

[HeisenbergTrip]

Good job! I think it still has many things to consider, but the technical side and analyses you did is really professional. Keep working on it! It may be in the final game if continue with this, it's really impressive the detail you are working with

[TKBS]

Great flow of work, great to see an initial, blocky concept quickly become a nice vision, but the Discs can be considered to be massively flawed.
Personally i enjoy the ripper however;

• It was stated in the official announcements that the angles of the blades with New high poly and complex assets in UT present a problem with the ricochet or bounce.
• The random element is controversial in that it is both supported and unsupported by the people. But the truth is the random bounce is a huge issue

The generally accepted stance on the ripper (within this forum), can be shown to be that

• if the ripper was present, it would be acceptable only if it was fixed.

- Otherwise, the impact for level designs is too great to include it as a base/ core weapon.

• Potential fixes:
• With low count (2) bounces of the Blades Max.
• and the blades being simple in design rather than complex.

Also; why does the ripper projectile have to be a blade?

• Why can't in be a Ball shape that explodes on touch?
• , like the ball on the end of a flail:
  
• add spikes equal at the tip, if you want some detail instead of straight spikes use a serpent blade design.
  
• this can add both detail and the fix for impact/bounce

, its the exact same effect without the hassle, Hourences 'the ball' pretty much shows how much can be done with a sphere

other ripper concepts discussed include:
https://forums.unrealtournament.com/...ghlight=ripper
https://forums.unrealtournament.com/...ghlight=ripper


I had a baseline discussion where people could collaborate their concepts and avoid potentially wasted development time on stuff, making the forum a less disjointed place at the same time... i see it was put to good use.

Either way you go great to see the ripper , nice work.

[Karton]

Yay thanks for those feedback ! I really appreciate.
I've been working on the ammo box on the right.
Here are some thoughts :

The point is to unlock the disk in two ways depending on the arm movement.
If the arm is going downward, then all three locks opens. If the arm is going upwards, then only the topmost one will slide along his rail.
That way a disk can be extracted either by the front or by the top side.


And as it is always Highpolys o'clock :








I'm currently thinking about inclining this ammo box... It won't be a problem to redesign the arms mechanics, and it would reduce the occupied space...


@NeoSabin:
I don't understand very well what's your idea. But if you think of some retractable blades mounted on springs that would pop out when the disk is extracted from the box by the arm, I'm totally in !



@TotesAmaze:
Thanks man, I took some inspiration from there. The ammo bow was conceptually close to it ^^



@TKBS:
Your post is very interesting, and I'll think of it. Just: time for me to sleep, I'll make a point later on this.


PS : "but the Discs can be considered to be massively flawed" == > why ? Can you precise what's wrong ? (keep in mind that the collision shape will be a simple cylinder)

[Captain Crit]

Also; why does the ripper projectile have to be a blade?

• Why can't in be a Ball shape that explodes on touch?
• , like the ball on the end of a flail:
  [ATTACH=CONFIG]5764[/ATTACH]
• add spikes equal at the tip, if you want some detail instead of straight spikes use a serpent blade design.
  [ATTACH=CONFIG]5765[/ATTACH]
• this can add both detail and the fix for impact/bounce

, its the exact same effect without the hassle, Hourences 'the ball' pretty much shows how much can be done with a sphere

Dude, the Ripper always had sawblades as the projectile fired. Even with a flail, how is it supposed to bounce off walls and cielings? That was what made the Ripper so fun too!