This new level BROKE my game (And it was worth it)

Devlog 5 - This time around we’ll be building our first massive level and adding new environmental features. Subscribe for more ✌️
WISHLIST ON STEAM: store.steampowered.com/app/24...
DISCORD: / discord
TWITCH: / solomongumballtv
CHAPTERS:
0:00 Intro
0:35 Problems with the old map?
1:14 The idea
2:00 Sculpting & modeling the map in Blender
2:53 Why the ski trail system broke
3:45 Modeling landscape features
5:11 Props, props and more props
6:00 The item distribution mechanic
7:34 Addressing an old comment
8:39 Building the forest
9:28 Building the ice cave
10:18 The big jump
11:15 The avalanche
12:43 Outro
#unrealengine #devlog #gamedev #indiedev
Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
uppbeat.io/t/prigida/side-ste...
License code: SKMQTD7OVXIXLEQD
Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
uppbeat.io/t/mountaineer/jazz...
License code: AMA1ZGQVDVSWXXX7
Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
uppbeat.io/t/prigida/anemone
Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
uppbeat.io/t/kevin-macleod/ba...
Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
uppbeat.io/t/aaron-paul-low/p...

[@tobee1346]

For the tunnel you could make the walls icy with creatures frozen inside of it like a mammouth or a dinosaur

[@Paul_Ward]

I love this idea, it has so much character

[@danisob3633]

glowy cave paintings

[@fortunatmutunda4194]

Or a Yeti

[@eclairamisu2517]

Ice Age sends his regards :D

[@rattmcpossum]

You’ve gotta add a ufo as well for the ice-ace homage

[@JimJamKaBlam]

You could probably telegraph hazards with with literal signage (icicles ahead, avalanche zone, etc), or tease the hazard on a bend (or two) a little before the event itself. Imagine seeing the avalanche boulders perched atop of a cliff begin to shudder on approach. Think of it as you're telling a story through the race (an avalanche knocks down trees, making a bridge across a ravine, and so on)

[@KreskizKi]

yes, yes and yes

[@hinoki.mp4173]

very very good comment

[@antonior1601]

best suggestion right here. Tell a story with each track

[@rkneebone]

When you create special abilities/attacks, probably long time off, can you make an attack which comes up the mountain like a snowmobile and you could radio it in and it can be called emergency pick up Thanks

[@snelake]

or a little ‘teaser’ like an boulder falls in front of you that could never hit you but shows you that they fall

[@mathijsfrank9268]

It would be interesting if the icicles wouldn't explode, but be stuck in the ground, so you can either be hit which is really bad or go against it which is less bad. You could make the disappear over time if it would otherwise be too many icicles

[@eclairamisu2517]

If they leave a small ice mound behind that could also make for a nice little ski jump.

[@ericsilva6787]

That's pretty cool, they become obstacles

[@K_Boar]

I think this is the right direction for the game! Also, I think the flags should be like boosters, rewarding you for going through them with a little speed bump now that they don't give you items

[@carlbjurner5086]

For the Boulders made of snow you should have them leave a trail of thick snow which is slower to ski in. That would force players to drive around the thick snow instead of just straight down the mountain and make for a nice randomizer:)

[@a_cubedd]

I would also like to add, maybe adding some snow particles from the front of the boulders that lingers behind them might be able to sell their scale better as they destroy the snowy track

[@eclairamisu2517]

Sounds like a good idea. It also introduces another decision for the player: Either cross the trail directly, losing a bit of speed but being able to continue the ideal path afterwards or ski parallel to the trail to pick up more speed and wait for a gap in the trail to cross. If you add wind shadow to boulders, where you accelerate faster to a higher max speed if skiing close behind them it could lead to even more interesting gameplay. That one might be hard to balance against the boulder velocity while on track though.

[@PastaLuke]

Yeah, is jumping a thing? It would be fun to try and time a little hop over the slow-snow that the boulders leave behind.

[@BouncyBonBon]

To fix the avalanche you should add a detection system like when you're being chased by a red/blue shell in mariokart, just to give the player a heads up before they get crushed.

[@geameliai4500]

So true! Something like particles, screen shake, or a literal sign post would all be very nice

[@junkmail6567]

This and I think making the snowballs go a bit more parallel to the trail would give them more longevity and presence without just spamming them.

[@officialdominikbecker]

or turn the camera around, just like in the crash levels where you are being chased.

[@KellsTV97]

I normally don't watch game devs but I have been GLUED to this one 😅 can't wait to play it on steam!

[@pinkucow9872]

im sure its already been suggested but the icicles falling from the cave should stick into the ground instead of exploding acting like the ice spikes. if you ever add a system in which you do laps of the course it means each subsequent decent it gets harder too go through the cave without hitting obstacles.

[@weltenbummler2535]

As a fix for the avalanche section you could give the boulders a sound, like a crunch sound when snow is compressed or that kind of a rumbling a big boulder makes, so players have a heads up. Then you also should add the ability to look back, so you can actually try to dodge them.

[@lyidspino7653]

For the boulders, maybe change them to rolling snowballs that start of very small and transition to the large ones you see in the video. For the icicles in the cave, maybe make very small ones shatter. The larger ones could stick into the ground, which would become an obstacle? Maybe add a few ramps made out of snow or wood. This would make the gameplay more fun. You could maybe use the ramps to jump over fallen trees or small icy lakes.

[@ScalarYoutube]

For the boulders introduce some camera shake based on your proximity to a boulder when it impacts the ground. It will make it feel more dangerous and real.

[@felixkuper1344]

I feel like one thing above all should be important: The movement has to be incredibly satisfying! For me, games like Rocket League, Mario Kart etc. are only so popular because mastering the controls is so buttery smooth.

[@U_Geek]

For the boulders you could add smaller rocks that signal when a large one is comming.

[@eclairamisu2517]

For the boulder section you clearly want to telegraph approaching boulders better to the player. One approach would be to have the boulders roll on the side of the track, slowly closing in, before they get pushed onto the track by e.g. a ditch in the terrain. For that the boulders need to accelerate relatively quickly on the side of the road to overtake players and the change in direction should reduce their velocity significantly so that players can actually run into them. The player camera should provide a wider FOV to telegraph the boulders early on, so it might be a good idea to have it move back slightly for this section only. The only problem with this is that players won't be able to see boulders coming up from behind their FOV. This can either be solved by adjusting the on-track boulder velocity or by providing a hazard sign when a boulder is closing in while outside FOV.

[@charzulu]

These devlogs are great! I would switch the avalanche with yeti's throwing snowballs from cliffs. Use range detection triggers and snowballs that grow as they roll downhill.

[@betafruit]

This game needs varying snow conditions! In real skiing there is powder, hard packed, slush and icy patches. In addition there can be patches of dirt, rocks, logs and small creeks carved into the hill by melting snow.

[@backyy07]

snow ball section ideas as you asked for some: 1. have some snow balls rolling next to the skii track, to fit more in without hindering the player 2. have some rolling slower than the player, that you overtake. to give sense of speed. (if wanted) 3. you probably dont want them rolling that much faster then the player. as they come from behind and you cant really dodge them that well. either a bit faster or they just come from the left, so that you can see them coming. Great dev vlog btw!

[@JoshyRB]

I think a great name for the game would be Downhill Drama. “Downhill” because you’re skiing down a slope, and “Drama” because of the craziness and funniness of the game.

[@Bunemusic]

Idea for 12:15 -> Display a warn-icon when there is a ball behind the player. The location of the icon is where there ball is coming from.

[@redbronco9173]

Idea: what if they’re a little characters at the end of the map on top of the Hills throwing snowballs at you and the snowballs sliding down the hill, and becoming the bigger snowballs

[@HopefullyNotYou]

THE 3D ANIMATIONS IN THE EXPLANATIONS ARE SO GOOD as for the boulders, you could go with a warning indicator like when a red shell (and other items) are thrown at you in mario kart

[@Nurolight]

You know what would be a cool feature: have fixed cameras from 'TV Crew' that project on to LED Screens that are physcailly placed in the map. So even if you can't quite see who or what is ahead of you around a bend, you can look in-world at the giant screen and get a glimpse of what's ahead.

[@apoisonedgift4966]

For the avalanche section, you could consider bringing the camera further out and bringing the camera on a higher angle, so the player has a bit wider range of view and gets a little more time to adjust. It would probably really send home the "final stretch" feeling too as you pull back and show a larger area of the track and the chaos of the avalanche.

[@omegaadev]

Loved the editing on this one, the visualizations were awesome too! Even though you’ve sort of shown me a tiny bit of this stuff, it’s amazing to see all the other stuff you got accomplished in such a short amount of time!

[@Andrew-jx8gg]

1. Boxes on the mountain don't make sense, you could replace them with logs or balloons snowman etc. 2. For multiplayer the last two player could get a snowball item like the rocket in Mario kart, they become a controllable snowball. 3. Snow/wood ramps & tricks. 4. If the map is still too short, the race's end could be a big ramp, and as you go up then come down the map is flipped and you race reservely against other players. 5. Ski & snowboard and the concept of drifting. Ski is faster in straight line but minimal drifting, snowboard drifts more but you gain a bigger speed boost. Like different karts in Mario kart.

[@abf94y]

Hey, great work and nice progress. The icicles could fall and stay in the ground stuck until someone hits them, then they break and are removed and the skier falls. The balls cloud be closer to an avalanche and when a skier reaches a certain part of the level the avalanche is triggered.

[@solomon-gumball]

I like your idea about the icicles sticking in the ground. That might be a bit more interesting of hazard than them just smashing into the ground. Then maybe then would just burst after a while? Also kind of sounds like a fun item

[@zaba_dev]

Your devlogs are always amazing, I love this series dude. And the game looks really geat, I love the boulders falling as you race, looks really exhilarating!

[@sundayshorts8493]

Props to all the extra work you're doing creating all the visualizations for the video. Loving how the game is turning out!

[@solomon-gumball]

Thanks! Some of these visualizations I spent half a day on only show up for like 5 seconds in the video, so I'm glad to hear they're appreciated 😂

[@vegardjohansen9589]

For the avelange at the end I think it would be really cool and tense for having a really dense fog of snow so its both hard to see what position you are in and where the snowballs are. Could also have like a small warning when you're within a radius of the balls, a bit like the shell warning in Mario kart

[@RagingGamingBear]

With the cave part, the floor could be ice rather than snow. Could have the Icicles fall and break a chunk of the ice, turning it into water which in result would kill/reset the player if fell into it. Would also be cool for a lapped race as you will have to remember the progressive path you have to follow. Also with he snow boulders, would be cool to slowly increase the size the further they roll :D

[@epicdavid6180]

I think at the end of the track, you could put portals so the players go through the portal and get transported at the top of the mountain seamlessly. It would allow you to do multiple laps. (I'd imagine the portals work like how they would in portal)

[@kahlief]

I'm only 4 minutes into this, but I am just blown away by the visualization you've made to explain things. Great work!

[@bvkes9986]

so happy to see a snowboard kids mention, wishlisted, buying it day of release, this looks incredible! came back to add my 2cents on the avalanche area. maybe when the boulders hit the ground from height they leave a larger than normal snow cloud obscuring vision for those behind it, mixed in with a couple smaller jumps around the wide section to launch unsightly riders into the side walls

[@myrmatta1]

Idea for the boost panel jumps: Once a player leaves the ground after hitting a boost panel, let them control the rotation of the character. They would need to make a clean landing to avoid wiping out. If they pull off a full flip in the air, they get a little speed boost once they land (similar to doing tricks in Mario Kart). This could be a fun and satisfying skill check while also rewarding skilled players for taking risks.

[@weltenbummler2535]

My man over here has single handedly more creative ideas than Nintendo had for Mario Kart since 2008 in Mario Kart Wii.

[@ranpergames]

I LOVE the progress on the game!!! Especially the new camera since that makes the player feel more speedy and powerful yk However I don't know about the air balloons haha... I mean, they fly with hot air, right? And that's not really something that works well in a snowy and cold environment :D Anything else is just soooo cool (no pun intended), I really really love this devlog!

[@G0rtaz]

For the collectibles, you could replace the boxes with rainbow snowball

[@morgan0]

a few level ideas i had watching this: wooden platforms covered in snow that have a more intricate vertical structure, for areas where the mountain geometry might not work very well. could also have areas with no snow that catches your skis and makes you fall over. an area where the mountain breaks apart and you jump between falling rocks an uphill section where you’re propelled up by either grabbing onto a bar that slides up quickly, or a rocket launches you up, or just speed pads made of handwavium on the track which makes you go fast and launches you up. this could let you have laps on some tracks. and it would be cool to have an ice cave section where you can ski on the walls or even the ceiling if you’re good enough. could have that be a way to access a shortcut path, that you gotta ski on the wall at the end and that lets you land on a higher path.

[@morgan0]

and another idea, you could also have some tracks where you ski on sand rather than snow, could be fun to have some new items to use as well as changing how some existing ones interact with the world. cold sandy deserts exist as well, so snow sections and sand sections could mix in the same track, as well as provide a reason why snow related items don’t like immediately melt or whatever

[@tiredrat2628]

For the avalanche area, I think sliding snow would be interesting. Maybe like in koopa cape where you aim to be on it to go faster? Also maybe to make it look less barren you could have some uprooted trees and skis sticking out of the snow.

[@ChristianEriksson83]

The avalanche part made me think. Just before that part, have a warning sign, the trigger the camera to zoom out a bit and make the FOV wider for a second or two maybe. Just to show the player a more macro perspective of the situation, then zoom back in to further enhance the stress and adrenaline.

[@DasherDash]

About the avalanche part: I'd consider adding some kind of "warning" that you're about to get hit. I think it would be really frustrating, if you're at 1st place, and you lose because of random boulder. For example: 1) Exclamation mark in triangle, from the side that the closest boulder is approaching you. 2) Tracks that indicates path of the boulders + some camera/controller shake when boulder is just behind you.

[@alexcine]

The game looks amazing, im hyped to play it someday. It really gives so much inspiration and ideas. Wishlisted on steam! So here is some of the ideas that came into mind for 12:16 Make the bolders come from the side so you have a way better time predicting the boulders as a player. And it could be really and I mean really frustrating if the boulders are faster then you are. So please make them slower than the player Plus, add some ramps and a lower section to make things more interesting maybe even some objects in the middle of the road.

[@ericsilva6787]

Idea for the boulders section: You could have them be visible from an earlier part of the level, and maybe the player can go trough some obstacle and see how it triggers the avalance. For example, when they fall after the jump, the ground could shake a little and they could see the boulders falling in the distance. Also, if they came from the front they would be much easier to dodge, and satisfying too since you could see them coming. There could be an opposite slope diagonal to the players at that section PS: this game looks fun as hell, can't wait to play it!

[@Brosquini]

I love these changes! what you could do though is tone down the smash effect on the icicles, to a small smoke puff and some tiny ice fragments to make it more realistic and less obtrusive, also for decorations you could add grandstands, bunting, floodlights and trees and bush's. Alternatively you could also have drones that fly over head, you could even uses there camera footage in the replay. But definitely do some banners and bunting to add some color. Also you could add ice patches which increase your speed but vastly reduce your turning capacity when you ski over them to add some strategy to the course. To liven up the avalanche section you could add a few speed boosts, jumps, crates and obstacles throughout to make the last moments the most memorable.

[@lelandcbw]

Amazing! It's really coming together. I would recommend for your own sanity that you add a multiplier to that boost strength variable in your BP. Your starting value of 60,000,000 is just hilarious. I'd multiply the boost strength by like 50,000 in the blueprint. So that starting variable would only be 1,200. Will just make it a more sensible number for you to tweak for future levels. But man, keep it up, it's looking so good, and multiplayer is no joke to setup you've done so well.

[@Cryptonat]

Great progress! I'm sure its been suggested, but maybe a 'sixth sense' indicator of approaching boulders and weapons. The boulders do come out of nowhere quickly. A good test would be increasing the amount of boulders, slightly shrinking them, and significantly slowing them down. Like they are going through some deep powder and can't quite get up to speed. They could also grow as they roll down, gathering that fresh now and slowing them down further. I have a feeling with some of those changes, the finale could feel dynamic and unique every time.

[@mrpython265]

1) Make the boulders grow over time 2) Add an Option to look back 3) Make the lobby a wooden hut

[@tyjle]

The snow VFX in grand mountain adventure is using flipbooks on its particles, animation on the subUV level. There's a free plugin for Krita that can bake an animation into a spritesheet you can use for the same purpose! You can probably find some free ones too but you are very good at figuring these things out yourself it seems! Awesome video, the production quality is so good.

[@tyjle]

Also as an avid park skier, it's my dream to see some corks in this game!!

[@solomon-gumball]

The ones I show in the video are flipbooks- just not very good ones 😂. I'll study the grand mountain adventure ones a bit more but if you have any ideas on how to make them less "thin" looking, let me know.

[@tyjle]

@@solomon-gumball So one thing I'd point out is it looks like the particles are spawning too far apart (there's gaps in between at high speeds basically) and that's detracting from the density your're looking for. Another thing that will help blend the snow particles with your environment is depth fade on your material. Right now the particles clip really obviously into the ground and with depth fade you can smooth this out. The particles in GMA are getting spread much wider (thicker) than yours are currently-- this could also affect gameplay tho so Idk how much you wanna push it. The texture used in grand mountain adventure is also much more "cloudy" where yours is more "sandy". It's much grainer and looks less fluffy. However the main track takes place on a different snow conditions than your game. Might be fun to explore different effects for on the track and off road! Anyways sorry for the paragraph but I hope this was helpful.

[@ajtracer6975]

For the avalanche section, you should make it so that they start small and build up/accumulate snow as they roll down the hill. Like you see in cartoons etc. You could then change how you punish the player based on the size of the rolling ball (e.g. only dizzy/freeze them with smaller balls but knock them out with larger balls)

[@joshperry8032]

for the avalache section you could even zoom out the camera more to show all the snow they're racing from and the scale could feel more impactful with the zoomed out camera, more snow movement on the players screen and maybe more opportunity to race through plooms of snow left behind by boulders. It might give the effect they're struggling to make it through

[@charlesnorbert]

You could also add snowballs that get progressively larger so you can see them start small and then they become a bigger obstacle farther down the hill. This game is looking great keep up the good work.

[@PedroL.Rosario]

I have a really hard time with level design, and I'm very inspired by how you make the path, the obstacles like snowballs, falling ice, everything comes together naturally; amazing video!

[@owenmurphy9728]

12:15 for the boulders make it to allow the players to have a free camera mode if they hold down a key so they have to skillfully use the free cam and turn the camera around so its looking behind their character to avoid the boulders.

[@qiveal9293]

I watch a lot of devlogs but, this is a game I would actually play.

[@oskartholen7081]

The game is really starting to shape up, loving the new map! defitely the right approach to it. I had one thought while watching this video so Il just throw it out there and that is to add to the background and the scenery parts of other levels, so that it gives the feeling that some of these levels are the part of the same skii system. I would even like to see you experiment by taking it a bit further, having some maps merge by the lower part of the maps and end at the same spot as they tend to do in skii systems. I do understand that this complicates the map/level creation as they need to be able to fit and blend in together with each other in the same space. but I do think it would add to the skiing fantasy. Lonely Mountain does this and for me it adds a lot to the experience while playing that game. I eagerly await the next dev log, Best of lucks with the project!

[@Lucas-gg9yb]

About that tunnel section: add a downwards shadow using decals to the falling ice, it will indicate in the floor where it will fall

[@hamster2u396]

Love it! One of my favorite parts of downhill biking and the skiing game you mentioned was finding jumps and jumping off of places you’re not necessarily supposed to and seeing if I can make a shortcut or crash in a funny way. An off trail shortcut or a jump off a cliff that could be tricky to pull but would end up in a funny crash or saved time would be awesome.

[@ATealPenguin]

12:14 for the boulders you could add like flashing orange triangle exclamation point little indicators on the side/corner of the screen where the boulder is coming and they could get bigger the closer they are. And you could make it look less sparse by having some shoot off right away, and just have a bunch more that sit up there and shoot off delayed from the others. Super cool game though, really like the art design especially.

[@oltragamer4197]

I suggest that you make the end a longer, flat surface with some trees and a small ski village. If possible some slope variation in the course, that speeds up or slows down the player would also be great! This could be sections of the course being steeper or maybe slope variation between the outer and inner part of a turn! My final suggestion for a future level would be a sand dune level, where the player skis on the sand.

[@junkmail6567]

It is so cool to see you theorize and then generate some of these ideas. Your blender creations are so neat and accomplish the goal so well.

[@mela_pela]

so when you said avalanche at the end I imagined something really big coming after you and gives you anxiety because it always seems like you're not going to make it. so here is my suggestion: rotate the camera in the last part of the map so that you see behind instead of your front. you see a whole avalanche going super close to you and some chunks of snow or balls go faster than others (so it's not just a line behind you but you still have to dodge them right or left. In my opinion, it adds a nice and complex last stage!

[@drewleibold7661]

Have you thought about including some resort-type signage and pathways. Drawing to experience from skiing on a mountain, there are signs that indicate the difficulty level of the route using color. From easy to hard, it can roughly go Green, Blue, Blue-Black, Black, and Double Black. Why not include different routes that indicate a faster route, but perhaps a more hazardous route. A High Risk, High Reward Scenario. There could be more snowballs, moguls, trees, or other obstacles. Just an idea. I love this game. It hits a nice vibe. Keep going, king!

[@galavaria36]

It looks really good, I like the ideas you had to make the level design work, and it looks like a lot of fun!

[@BeatDiazMusic]

I was waiting for a video from you, I like the progress and additions to a very impressive game.

[@philippkurth9285]

I really love these devlogs. It's nice how much progress you have to show in each video. These videos are packed with funny and interesting stuff. Good job!

[@tobyrichardson79]

You should add ski cabins with people standing outside watching and cheering, maybe you could add a bit where they throw skis and ski poles at you!

[@CupolaDaze]

For the avalanche section, you could have some smaller "boulders" that give off there own powder and have lots of them across the course for that section all falling. Then as you go down through them it feels like the whole snow bank is falling and not just the large boulders. Similar to how the player pushes the boxes away have the player push those small boulders away. So then no need to deal with any interactions between them and players on the multiplayer side of things.

[@idkbruh173]

everything about the boxes screams satisfaction, I feel rewarded for breaking them even though you don't actually get a reward. time well spent in my opinion.

[@storingjazzinmycheeksforth5319]

for the box explosions, have you considered using an animation instead of physics? like something where it expands and explodes into particles in a more cartoonish way. depends what you're going for aesthetically with this game but at least personally i would find that far more satisfying honestly tho you have no idea how hyped i am for this game, these devlogs are like crack dude (coming from someone with next to 0 game dev experience haha)

[@solomon-gumball]

Yeah! Animated explosions certainly aren't out of the question. Could really perfect the look that way. We'll see tho- I do like the dynamic nature of the physics simulated version.

[@CowJuice69420]

For the tunnel section it would be really cool if when the ice fell it staked itself into the track and remained, causing the ice to split in the flooring permanently leading to different track formations with obstacles and lots of chaos!

[@nickgreefpool]

Besides the mechanics, I would pay close attention to the ammount of color of the landscape. I get it, it's snow, it's white; but I feel like part of the unmemorable level design is just the lack of colors, especially warm ones. When you introduced the Ballons at the end it felt refreshing.

[@reumarks]

Fantastic progress! I am loving the way this level is coming together and all the cool and unique sections! My only suggestion would be to the way the icicles fall and land, currently they stop suddenly when hitting the ground, however this looks kind of strange since due to their size you would expect their shattered peices to continue to fall with the same momentum. I suggest having the tip either instantly shatter, or sink into the snow slightly upon impact, as it stopping on a dime doesn't fully sell the impact.

[@Storypaintings]

Awesome video! You explain things really well 🎉

[@Mukna132]

I think the easiest AND most interesting way to deal with the avalanche is to simply change the camera angle to be like it was before. 'Change the camera' could be one of the things that you can use for any level to add that flair of uniqueness to them. e.g. Some kind of underground cave section that has a platformer-esque camera (though that might make controlling it hard, but you get the idea)

[@gnommen]

I feel like for the boulder section, you could make the boulders a bit slower than the player's speed that way they don't unfairly appear from behind you. If that makes it too easy then you could just add a shit ton more. I feel like that would make it more of a readable and fun challenge.

[@matthewthibodoux4539]

You need a statem to tell the player how many penguin missiles and stuff they have! Great vid as usual

[@yonatanshinhar1573]

You can show the mountain while you ski and then snowballs fall form the snow on the mountain and they come from great height so you can’t really see them respawning, love your videos and game 😁

[@TheDario64]

For the avalanche segment at the bottom, you could have a tall mountain opposite the direction of the players so that the boulders actually come towards you as you're skiing down, or make the final stretch a "bowl" shape and have the boulders come in perpendicular to the player path so that they cross back and forth in front of you

[@FoxesInBoots]

Awesome work, homie! For the avalanche part, I think that using the shadow of the balls could be a neat way to show that they're coming

[@dakotahernandez9511]

You could add a rear-view camera feature and a warning sign that says like "look behind you!" or "watch out for falling rocks!" for the avalanche section

[@DeusExNihilo]

One of my most favorite games of all time is SSX3. I personally think it's the best racing game ever made. There's a lot of gameplay mechanics that make it stand out but the core one that makes the gameplay so great is that it rewarded you for doing tricks during races with speed boosts. I definitely recommend checking it out if you haven't played it

[@baenbo3486]

The avalanche section should have a slalom at the end with speed pads and ramps, it could add to the tension of running from the boulders

[@seapickels9087]

For clouds, if you enable the volumetrics plugin there is a really good set of cloud materials. The one I use is M_VolumetricCloud_02_Profiles_PaintClouds, its not an instance because most of those are invisible for some reason.

[@CacheOfBones]

What I think would help you make your boulders look better is try and make it so the particles it makes are thick clouds of snow that don't dissipate immediately. That way it almost makes it so you are charging into the aftermath and should take up more space and feel pretty cool to be burrowing through.

[@NozomiClips]

For the booster jump you could do what Portal did. When you have the minimum required velocity (and face the correct general direction), let the player follow the jump on a fixed path. That way you don't necessarily have to calibrate every jump individually once you have a system set up. And it's probably more enjoyable for the player if they don't land short or slightly to the side of the track. If you fail, you would not want it to be a close call.

[@sonnywitton9446]

incredible work thus far! for the tunnel i thought the icicles could dig into ground making a small slippery patch? for the avalanche, maybe an indicator to notify you of the direction and intensity of its distance, like when you're being shot in a game and it tells from where. great work!!

[@DESMal]

Skiing games are fun. I remember doing some racing in "We Ski and Snowboard" down the hill. One think I liked there was just being able to see other routes down the hill while racing down the hill. Like how on Mount Wario you can see the other routes.

[@Tbjbu2]

Wow I love it, another great devlog! I love all of the cool ideas for the level!

[@Caasiblank]

For the avalanche I think that smaller faster snowballs could make it feel more alive and full of danger. This could be more than one snowball type too, like a slow large one, medium speed medium one, a fast small one, and a super speed tiny one.

[@NickSquaredTV]

@ 12:45 - it made me think that you should put in a “snowball mode” or “avalanche mode” where you control the boulder and try to knock out as many skiers as possible

[@skulduggery1]

Great progress video. Its coming along great and I can't wait to play!

[@jonas2613]

Looks amazing! I like this new approach. The map looks fun. I am excited to see what your creativty produces next!

[@a_cubedd]

Ok idea for the boulders im thinking..is to have something like a ski resort/mountain village on the track that the boulders would smash through. I want to see them big balls interacting with stuff. I want that thrill of seeing big things crushing other big things and your little tiny guy is trying to dodge and survive this whole mess. I would also argue that this, with the right decorations, can add a bunch of color and life to the track like those balloons. Tbh tho idk how the AI might deal with it and still live for another day

[@Skeffles]

This level looks amazing! I really like the low poly style but am aware you're moving away from it so it'll be interesting to see where you take it. Also a suggestion for the falling icicles, perhaps they can freeze the player in a block of ice. They still slide forward at a slower pace but cannot control their direction.

[@shnigle_shnagle]

For the woods, you can make populate them with tree IN the path which would serve as fun obstacles probably, and it's also more similar for when you actually go to the woods while skiing.

[@FreeSki4Life720]

An insane amount of progress and so many great changes. Keep it up!

[@BukkitViper]

Can we get different skies with different effects? Maybe unlock them by completing challenges. One ski has a high speed but little turn, One with high turn, great for carving but not so high speed. The classic slalom and high speed options. Maybe an all rounder, the possibilities are endless. One that paints the snow red or blue or something else...

[@domolutz]

Very cool to see your progress and the new approach to level design seems to work out way better. One thing to keep in mind is the name of the game... maybe "Gumball" isn't a good name for it because there has been some famous franchises with that name. Just so your game is easily findable when googling.

[@supim]

you can make that more the snowballs roll the bigger they get and also make the screen shake when a snowball is close to you

[@WonderNews225]

You should make the icicles fall into the ground, leaving the top half of the icicle poking out of the snowy ground. This creates more obstacles for the players to dodge, also making a more memorable moment in the track!