The SunRiders [update Jul 15]

[Samu-kun]

Yosha! I think it's time we officially started a new WIP thread for our next big Ren'py appearance!

Chii... But didn't Samu-kun say that he was going to table us for awhile and work on something else awhile ago...?

Hmph. You don't need to worry about that anymore, Chigara. I had a small chat with Samu-kun a couple weeks ago and in the end, he promised me that he would finish us first before working on anything else.

Really? I'm so glad...

Eh heh... It took days to clean up all the blood...

Chiii...? [was sleeping when it happened]

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The SunRiders
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After some... persuation by the girls, I ended up changing projects again. I just broke one of the golden rules of game making: never, ever change projects after you announce to the public that you're working on something. Sorry everyone. >_< *failure* It looks like Seul Desir is indeed tabled for now. I'll try my best to make up for the disappointment by posting alot of cool things about how the development of SunRiders is coming in this post. Sorry everyone. >_<; >_<;

If you don't know already, the SunRiders will be the sequel to Raidaa no Asahi. If you haven't played that now, you definately should. ^_^ I'm extremely glad to tell everyone that my abilities have increased considerabily since making Raidaa no Asahi. Whereas when I was making Raidaa, it always felt like the vision of the story was being hampered by my mediocre abilities, it now feels that my abilities extend, and no longer limit, what the story can entale.

But that's enough text! Be prepared for a torrent of pictures!

[Notice: All pictures are still WIP]

General Project Information

Name: The SunRiders
Genre: Sci-fi mecha harem adventure visual novel (with no gameplay elements)
To be developed on: Ren'py

The Factions and Characters

The SunRiders takes place approximately 100 years following the discovery of faster than light travel, where humanity has virtually expanded to every corner of the galaxy and countless space nations have arisen to establish law and order. These are the various factions and characters that inhabit the world of the SunRiders.

The SunRiders

They are a trio of adventurers (plus Kaito-kun) on the prototype ship, the SunRider. They're always on the lookout for adventure and fun things to do.

Kaito Jirou

Gender: M
Age: ???
Role: The narrator
He's a totally average guy who one would pass by on the street without even as much as a second look. His father's a salaryman in the recycled paper industry and his mother runs a small Japanese bakery on the side. He wanted to join the Alliance Space Corps to escape this rather boring fate, but his father forbade him to join, so he became a civilian pilot instead. Now he has the even more boring job of hauling boxes of fruits across the galaxy along the three same trade lanes every day of his life. But little does he know he much his life will change when he meets three girls...

Asaga Okashi



Gender: F
Age: 19
Role: Happy and energetic girl

The wealthy heiress of an multi-billion dollar private military corporation, she abandoned her life of privelige in the search for adventure. Always full of energy and cheer, she's extremely carefree and frequently plays pranks on everyone else. Even though she may seem slightly annoying at first, deep inside she has a very kind heart and is always trying to undo the damage her father's company causes around the galaxy. She prefers long range mechs and pilots the TEARS 02 Black Jack.

Ikkari Ichinaya



Gender: F
Age: 19
Role: Confident but still easily flustered tsundere with a dark past

Born and raised in space her entire life, Ikkari is a very talented pilot. Her parents were killed ten years ago as a result of a PACT attack, thus she has a somewhat cold and even vindictative demeaner. She hates PACT and lives to avenge her parents. However, beneath the cold exterior, she's not really that bad of a person. She is close friends with Chigara and provides the team with meaningful guidance. She prefers melee attack mechs and pilots the TEARS 01 Pheonix.

Chigara Akahadi



Gender: F
Age: 18
Role: Shy and bookish girl

She has been a displaced migrant ever since her home planet of Half fell to PACT invaders roughly five years ago. She was separated from her entire family during the evacuation and is trying to find them. She has a reserved bookish personality and prefers not to speak. As a result of reading heavily, she's extremely knowledgeable when it comes to mecha construction. However, even if she's extremely intelligent, she's also somewhat absent minded and tends to make clutsy mistakes. She prefers support type mechs and pilots the TEARS 03 Liberty.

The SunRider



Gender: F...?
Age: ???
Role: Destroyer-class warship

What the SunRider lacks in size, she makes up with cutting edge technology and firepower. Powered by the most advanced computer AI ever built, the entire ship is capable of autonomous control with only a single captain to approve her actions. She seems to have somewhat of a haughty personality with a tendancy to show off by using excessive firepower. Not only that, but she hates menial tasks such as doing the laundery and cooking, but can be convinced to do it to show off how adaptive and complex her programming is. It really couldn't be helped, since she is the most advanced warship ever built...

The United Earth Alliance
This is an alliance of Earth and her 100 space colonies. Ruled by the most elaborate form of federalism ever created, the Earth Alliance is the strongest democracy currently in the galaxy. It is rivaled only in economic and military power by NET. Power is distributed amoungst the President (head of executive), the Chief Justice (head of the courts), and the Prime Minister. (head of the legislature) Currently, it is raging a 10 year long war against NET.

Ava Crescentia



Gender: F
Age: 26
Role: Prime Minister of the Earth Alliance, head of the Universalist Party

Shrewd and calculating, she has utilized the general public's disgust at the Progress Party's mishandling of the war against NET in order to become the youngest senator to gain the the office of the Prime Minister. However, with her lack of experiance and her increasing unpopularity with the established order considered, it remains unclear just how long she will retain this office.

Kris Nooke



Gender: M
Age: 23
Role: Captain of the FireHawke Unit

The head of an elite mech squadron, he is an extremely accomplished pilot, although not without a slightly egotistical attitude. His entire family has a history of military service and his father currently serves in the Alliance Joint Chiefs of Staff. Like his father, he believes that policians are too busy with the bureaucracy to handle the war and favors extending the powers of the military to bring a quick end to the war. He prefers melee attack type mechs and pilots the STRIKE 01 Providence.

Raymondo "Ray" Beunaventura



Gender: M
Age: 20
Role: Lieutenant and ace pilot in the FireHawke Unit

Easy going and laid back, he's the carefree ace pilot of the FireHawke Unit. He likes long range attack mechs and ramen noodles. His life goal is to get kissed by one girl from every planet in the galaxy. He is the pilot of the STRIKE 02 Centurion.

Helio Altair



Gender: M
Age: 24
Role: Brains of the FireHawke Unit

Widely rumored to be the most intelligent man in the Alliance, it is fully possible he views life only as a series of mathematical equations. He is the enigmatic third pilot on the FireHawke Unit. He prefers support type mechs and pilots the STRIKE 03 Inquisitor. He doesn't really talk much.

The Former New Empire of Tropicolis (N.E.T.)

The New Empire of Tropicolis (NET) was once the center of commerce for the entire galaxy. Centered around the resource rich planet of Tropicolois, NET quickly rose as a challenger to the Alliance's power. However, as the economy of NET essentially blossomed within decades, the gap between the rich and the poor expanded far too quickly, creating an upper class of trillionaires and a lower class who lived in abject poverty. 12 years ago, the government of NET was overthrown in an revolution by the people... And a new government has not been formed since. 10 years ago, a mysterious message came from NET to every civilized government in the galaxy. "The time of the Revolution has come. The tyranny of governments shall end. Man is born free, and everywhere his chains shall become undone." Ever since, the Alliance and NET have been locked in a bitter galactic war.

Scott S. Leiburg

Gender: M
Age: ???
Role: ???

Nothing is known about this figure except that he has claimed to be the voice of NET and that all governments shall soon fall to the sword of freedom.

The People's Alliance for Common Treatment (P.A.C.T.)

Although advances in both technology and trade allow many people in the inner rim worlds to live comfortable lives, hundreds of nations still lie in barely habitable worlds where both law and public order have dis-intigrated. PACT is a terrorist organization that is based around fueling the hatreds of these people and presents an enormous threat to both the Alliance and NET. They believe both NET and the Alliance are raging a rich man's war to control the galaxy while the rest of the galaxy burns. They are committed to inflicting the greatest amount of harm possible to their enemies, whoever they may be.

Cosette Cosmos



Gender: F
Age: 18
Role: Fiery pilot who fights for PACT

Her planet was the site of an Alliance-Net battle roughly six years ago. Her entire family was killed in the battle as a result of collatoral damage and her brother was left permenantly ill. As a result, she joined PACT to avenge her family and to pay for her brother's medication. An extremely skilled pilot, she offers no quarters when it comes to fighting and is not afraid to harm innocents to achieve her ends. She prefers melee type mechs and pilots the WEEP 63 Catastrophe.

Claud Cosmos



Gender: M
Age: ???
Role: Cosette's brother

Cosette is extremely protective of her brother and will do anything to save him. Terminally ill as a result of injuries from the battle, it remains to be seen how much longer he will live.

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This is a WIP picture of a mecha model... It's coming along...



What I need

Eh heh... I've now reached the punch line. XD

After Raidaa, it looks like I'll be able to handle pretty much the entire art, story, and programming departments myself. So far, this is a solo project... But there's just one thing I can't do... I can't compose music to save my life. XD If there will be a kind soul willing to make the sound track of the SunRiders, I'll be very pleased... ^_^ So... Anyone interested? ^_^ I will warn you that it will be quite a dedication... There might be about 15-25 minutes total of songs that needs to be made, and of course, some talent will be expected as well. XD If you're interested, please post samples! Samples are always good! ^_^

[Aashtarsrain]

Yeah I know what you mean : my new project is going to be ready for release soon, long before the one I had already announced... Well, it doesn't matter ! Your new project looks really exciting and the mecha model very cool so far... Actually, I love stuff that reminds me of good old Xenogears and I'm looking forward reading your story ! Good luck with all this. Sorry for the music score, but though I sometimes did some pieces with a few free samples for my own works, I'm not a musician and all my stuff was very limited (due to my lack of abilities in that area) so I can't help you...

[Samu-kun]

Yeah, I really don't like putting projects on hold. I'm just worried about entering the dreaded cycle of jumping from one project to another every week and not getting any work done on any one of them. o_o; I will not deny that has happened with me before, so I'm wary of changing projects. >_< So far, I've managed to work on SunRiders for awhile now... I hope that continues to be the case.

...Or else Ikkari will come into my office again and we'll be forced to have another chat. o_o

But there is no way in the twin hells that I will let that mecha go to waste though. That monstrousity took me forever to make. And it's still not completed. >_< (Feels obligated to point out that it has a skeleton underneath the model, so it can easily animate. >^_^<)

I've never played Xenogears. Back then, I owned a N64... Woah... That sounds like such a long time ago. o_o;

Don't worry too much about the music... It'd be really nice to have somebody who could write the sound track, but I can still fall back on free music if nobody turns up.

(or keep using my anime sound track... There are some songs that fit so well with the game that it's sooo difficult to give up on them. ^_^)

[monele]

Oooh, Robotto! And a few new characters too ^_^. This should be fun

[Vatina]

Wow, that's an amazing mecha I'm happy you're still working on this, since it's the one of your two projects that I looked the most forward to. But of course I already said that a hundred times

[blakjak]

I love mecha and I must say your character concepts are very cute. The 3d mecha is really cool, and has quite the mecha anime feel to it.

I'll be a big fan of Asaga Okashi as she'll be piloting my mecha alter ego

Go Asaga Go !!!

[renkenjutsu]

Awesome mecha you got there. Reminds me of the Flag Custom from Gundam 00.... somehow. Maybe it's the legs w00t! Good luck!

[Cybeat]

So, what kind of music are you looking for? Battle/action type songs? I can make some types of upbeat music.

[Samu-kun]

Thanks everyone for the comments. ^_^ As always, they are very well appreciated.

I'll be a big fan of Asaga Okashi as she'll be piloting my mecha alter ego

Hah, another Asaga fan! It seems to me that people are split half and half as to whether they either love or hate Asaga. XD

Reminds me of the Flag Custom from Gundam 00.... somehow. Maybe it's the legs w00t! Good luck!

I'm glad... I love how the Flags look in Gundam, so it's no surprise it looks a bit like it. I especially like nice and slender mechas over big fat ones. XD They're much more agile and quick.

So, what kind of music are you looking for? Battle/action type songs? I can make some types of upbeat music.

In terms of what music I need, I would say quite a number of different styles. Since the musician will have the task of creating the entire sound track, I'm going to have to say that it will be quite a serious commitment. It probably won't be nowhere as large as the burden of say, creating the all the art required for the game, but I would say that I'm looking dedication above everything else. Of course, I would want a reasonable amount of skill too, but what's the most important is whether or not the musician will be able to stay with the project for an extended amount of time.

In particular, I think it'll be really awsome if we focus on reoccurring motifs and themes for each character. I really like having reoccurring motifs in songs, kind of like the works of John Williams (I'm only referring to him as an example, of course not expecting that level of talent. XD) and I really would put additional emphasis on making memorable tunes over overly ambient ones.

To answer your question though, I think that these styles will without a question be necessary.

1. Some upbeat and cheerful songs, typical of what you would find in a Japanese comedic harem visual novel.
-It would be great if we could get one "cheerful" song for each main character (Ikkari, Chigara, Asaga), but it would be beyond fabulous if we also got theme songs for each female character.

2. Some epic high energy songs for the mecha battles. These should be orchestral in nature, with a fusion of choral, brass, and electronic sounds. These songs should be really reminiscent of the songs you hear during the battles of Gundam SEED or 00.
-In particular, I'm looking for these songs
a. A "launch sequence" song, where all the girls are suiting up and launching into battle on their mechas
b. A typical battle song
c. A more action packed battle song for plot pivotal battles

3. Some sad songs for when things get dramatic in the plot. I can't make much promises about the plot, seeing how it's still in development, but I'm pretty sure there will be quite a number of bad ends where things far worse than just ending up with no girls will occur. Not only that, but there will be quite a bit of more sad moments in the main plot as well.
a) A slow, melancholic piece
b) A orchestral, tragic but still with an epic feel song for dramatic moments during battles

[Cybeat]

I think I can do those. What's your e-mail address? I'll send you some songs whenever I can. PM the address.

[LVUER]

I like Raidaa no Asahi but I think I'll like Sun Riders more. The characters are more well-drawn and they are more cute (it seems you better at drawing girls than boys ^_^).
The mecha is quite cool. Is everybody got their own unique mecha? I hope the bosses' mechas are big and badass monsters!
Do you orient more to reals or supers?

[Samu-kun]

Yes, it's pretty much obvious that I'm much better at drawing girls than guys. My specialty is big huge eyes and lolicon style, so I'm definately not bishonoun friendly. But as you can see, I'm really the worst at shota style. Poor Cosette, having such an ugly brother... XD

Mm... I don't think I'll be able to create a fully unique mecha for each girl. That single mecha was hard enough to make by itself. But without a question, each mecha will have different weapons and have a specific role to play in battle. For example, Chigara's mecha won't have much weapons, but will instead be able to project an energy shield around Ikkari and Asaga's mechas to make them temporarly invunerable. And I think that even though they won't each be made from scratch, there'll be some interchanging of parts so that each mecha will still be somewhat unique.

The SunRiders will be real mecha. No talking robots. XD And there'll be quite a bit of focus on the politics and the war in the universe of the SunRiders as well. Not only that, but the mechas themselves won't have magical powers or anything.

But there will be some concessions to super. The biggest one is that the girls will shout out their attacks before using them. XD It's much cooler to have them shout their attacks instead of describing what happens through narration. Not only that, but I'll have to make too much art to actually show what attacks each mecha is using, so it's much easier for the girls to just shout it out. XD

The only machine in the story that is fully sentient is the SunRider. And this is done to explain how a warship could remain fully operational with a skeleton crew of less than 10 people and for mostly comedic purposes.

I'll be posting a detailed post about all the mechas in the future once I've finished modeling all of them.

[PyTom]

I'm kinda curious what you're using to model the mechs in. I don't want to promise anything (and especially not a specific timeframe)... but when GL Ren'Py becomes a going concern, it _might_ be possible to animate the mechs.

[Samu-kun]

I'm using Anim8or to model all the mechs. As I know, it can export models in .3ds, .obj, .vtx, and .c formats.

Mm... Right now, I'm not sure if I'll even be able to create convincing animations for it. The model has joints at the shoulders, elbow, knees, hips, ankle, and neck. (lacking wrist joints, and I can't seem to get the joints to have torque, that is rotate in place...) Also, I never was expecting to render this in real time, so I didn't take that many steps to optimize the number of polygons and such... So I'm not sure just what kind of a graphics card you would require this render this.

If I could somehow create believable animations, then I was going use post-rendered .avi videos. Actually, I was going to post a question on the Ren'py forum about playing videos in Ren'py once I actually reached that stage of production, but since you've brought it up, I might as well ask it now anyways. XD

Does Ren'py support the ability to use videos as backgrounds?

For example, I was maybe considering having short .avi clips of mechas using some of their more signature attacks, transforming, and launching from capital ships playing in the background while still having the message box and character portraits still present in order to present dialouge while this is happening. Not only that, but is it possible to present options that will branch the story while the video is playing in the background? Once the clip is finished playing, then there'll be a CG of the very last frame of the video, which has been run through a number of graphical filters, until the player left clicks to progress the story. I've learned in Raidaa that it's very easy to create nice looking CGs of 3D models if you create a scene in anim8or and just run the picture through a bunch of filters on Paint.Net, so creating a large number of these CGs will not be impossible.

I was actually hoping to ask you this after I actually reached the stage when I knew more clearly just how feasible this is... If it works, then this will seriously be the stuff of my fantasies. I won't guarntee that I'll have the abilities to pull it off though. XD

[renkenjutsu]

Suggestion: Why not make small changes and different color schemes for each girl's mecha other than just the weapon loadout? Like this one has a different shoulder pad, different head design, etc. You know, something small can really give a big impact when it comes to mechas. Just my two cents.