Existence-Unknown

NS2 - Wood Chopping Lumberjacks

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:41:49 +0100

Seeing there is still a lot of commotion about the knife being replaced by an axe. I've made another comic on the matter. Don't get me wrong, I actually like the axe. But if there were going to be a knife made by the customization department, I think I'm also one of the people who will get it installed, sorry Cory. Anthoni requested something like a marine with knife between his teeth, so here's hoping ya like it :D Related article

NS2 - Beyond Natural Selection

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 12:22:35 +0100

After seeing the Harvester reveal by UWE, it immediately reminded me of Beyond Good & Evil. The first big baddy you encounter in there, when back on the island was quite similar, although somewhat taller and slender, while also being able to attack you in Beyond Good & Evil. Heck it wouldn�t be a good boss fight if it wouldn�t try and kill you after destroying your home. Anyway the basic look of the boss compared to the Harvester is quite similar.

None the less, the new Harvester design for Natural-Selection 2 is way �beyond Natural Selection�. Alright enough with the jokes! Related article

NSforums - Politically incorrect sheep

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:14:03 +0100

Community member FocusedWolf is a constant delight, I'm not sure if he's just trolling, because some of it seems like cleverly disguised sarcasm. None the less his TSA vs Nazi's comparison was a little bit over the top, I just had to capture it in a 1Shot comic. This is also the first and hopefully the last ~~FURRY~~ I'll ever draw :P Related post

Come to think of it, this wolf thinking black sheeps are something bad does ring a bell. I think it was something with being overpowered...

NS2 - TSA vs Dundee

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 19:43:34 +0100

Inspired by a comment over at the UnknownWorlds Entertainment forums by Anthoni. Ever since the latest news release for Natural-Selection 2, the related topic has been overflowing with comments. Since UWE has decided to remove the knife and replace it with an Axe, combined with Anthoni's comment about it being weird seeing a marine without a knife. Dundee came to mind. Related article

1Shot or Single Pannel Comics Info

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 19:12:02 +0100

This section will be the home for my one shot or single panel comics. They are based on anything I find interesting and have to be no more then just one single panel. I can use speech bubbles, but I prefer not to and just tell a joke or small story with just the drawings.

I�ve placed this section along side the Existence Unknown comic so it won�t distract from the EXU story. Furthermore all of these one shot comics will most likely be unrelated to each other. Unless I need more then a single panel, but that would be cheating the system now wouldn�t it :D

The idea came to mind when I read this comment by Anthoni on the UnknownWorlds Entertainment forums, resulting in the first 1 shot comic for this new section: NS2 TSA vs Dundee. I�m guessing NS2 will be one of the sources for this new section as well, their NS2 General Discussion and Ideas and Suggestions forums are quite entertaining sometimes.

Furthermore, I am probably also going to do some crossovers to other comics I like, after asking their permission of course. And maybe some other crossover ideas with movies or games in minds. I'll see where this goes...

Company of Heroes Bourtange Ruins!

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 19:24:47 +0100

This map release is based on the older one I released just a few days ago, Fortress Groingen. The difference is that the levees at the manpowerpoints are now demolished with the use of lot's of artillery and air strikes. It's a special release for OMGMOD, because the original version is colliding with the gameplay requirements for the mod.

Larger image on RTSBANANA

A map like this can play well on vanilla CoH and CoH:OF, but due to the severe bottlenecks in the map it will be quite frustrating to play in OMGMOD. Over at their forums they explained to me that OMGMOD works best when there are no rivers that block movement. And the fact that bridges are no good, due to the much longer repair time it takes to get a demolished bridge back up and running. A wider entrance will help as well, hence the reason I blew up the levees.

Larger image on RTSBANANA

Larger image on RTSBANANA

So, after taking down the levees to create an entrance into the fortress without using the bridges. The map now has a better chance to be more playable for them.

Mirrors:
- RTSBANANA - RC1 SGA
- RTSBANANA - RC1 SGB

Natural Selection 2 - Chibi Lerk

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 19:18:11 +0100

Now that UWE gave us a good look at their new look for the Lerk, I could start work on a chibi version of it. Below is the result, of something I've made yesterday. Now let's hope we get an alpha release soon for Natural-Selection 2, I can't wait to walk around in their engine :D

Company of Heroes Bourtange!

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 00:41:16 +0100

Just last week I started work on a Company of Heroes map. The task at hand for me was to learn a map editor from scratch. True, I've doodled around in the Worldbuilder some. But never got past putting down a building and placing some textures, only to quit the program because I didn't know how the interface worked.

It wasn�t after checking up on a few video tutorials on YouTube, made by Lolto over at www.omgmod.org, I picked up the Worldbuilder basics pretty quickly. After watching the video's and keeping them on the side for later on, I saw how intuitive the interface of Wordbuilder actually is. And as a result learned the editor, created and finalized my first 6 player Company of Heroes map in a time span of about 10 days.

The map is based on a medieval fortress up north in the Netherlands called Vesting Bourtange. I renamed it Fortress Groningen, because it isn't a 100% recreation of the fortress due to gameplay related issues it would have.

Larger image on RTSBANANA

The fortress is shaped like a pentagram (starshaped) and has two vehicle bridge that lead into the fortress. It also has two infantry bridges as well, unlike the real fortress. Furthermore I've tried to tie in the resource sectors in such a way that both teams can have the same amount of resources if they own half of the fortress.

Tanks will have lot�s of trouble when trying to maneuver inside the fortress, this is because the roads were designed back in the day for horses and carriages.

Larger image on RTSBANANA

The map is already up to a RC2 version. The RC1 version file on the site was corrupted and I had to reupload it. I took the opportunity to add in a few more weather options and fix a few issues with the minimaps and loadingscreen for version RC2.

Larger image on RTSBANANA

There's both a SGA and SGB file, the SGA lacks the weather options, but is easier to install (just one file). The SGB file has more files to copy, but you do have the ability to have a choice between 4 weather options! Mind you, that installing both versions can get confusing ingame, both share the same name and will also show up together in the maplist!

Mirrors:
- Filefront - RC2 SGA
- Filefront - RC2 SGB
- RTSBANANA - RC2 SGB

Menu structure change!

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 20:18:13 +0100

Putting all of the "about" menu items into a submenu of the comic will make them more visible and also give a better idea what these about sections are related to. It is about the comic so it should be related to that sections. With that explained I hope this will give a better overview of the site.

The news section now show the latest five news items (instead of just one), with the rest of course selectable trough the archives.

I'll probably add reviews and tutorials sections as well. Most of those are now located in the news section, but it just doesn't feel right to leave them there. They deserve their own section!

I've also missed the Tuesday update, because of a few CMS things I had to do behind the scenes. I'll update the comic today and will also create one tomorrow (Friday)

And another alien arrives on the scene

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 19:40:54 +0100

The aliens are all going to have an article in the about/cast section, just like the human cast!

I've now added a new alien called the seeker, which has not been seen yet in the comic. But it is one of the aliens that is part of the group. It is a base lifeform just like the two others I've introduced. You can have a gander at them right here and do the click on image thing to get to the detailed description:

The next one on the list to have a description will be the Searcher and after that, I think I have to get to brainstorming on more alien lifeforms! These guys could already fill-out a small territory control game if I had or wrote an engine to do all that stuff.

Alien Seeder

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 18:39:24 +0100

A Seeder is very rare. But in some areas that are even too hostile for the Spawner, this alien will be the only option in such an area. It will seek either minerals, liquids or gas and once it finds a good spot it will drill into the ground and extend its tentacles to get to the source.

A Seeder is very small, about the size of a small bird, making it very easy to destroy. However spotting them is close to impossible. When they are searching out a resource or spawning a Collector, they are close to invisible. Only if you look very closely and know where it is, you could spot it. Their visibility has been measured at around 10% of the visible spectrum. Light will even pass trough and won't even cast a shadow.

In the following picture you can see the 3 stages it will go trough. I've made them fully visible, in the background you can see how we normally perceive them:

The only time they are completely visible is when they drill into the ground. And during the time they are spawning a Collector, it and the growing Collector will become more visible as the Collector grows. Just before the release of the Collector it will be about 25% into our visible spectrum. And will become fully visible once it releases the Collector, after that it will go back to 10% visibility.

As long as there are resources to spawn Collectors, it will continue to do so. If the well is dry (so to speak) it can detach itself and continue the search for the next resource spot.

Stand your ground!

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 13:32:13 +0100

I've made this one as a new banner, which can be found on the EXU links page (banner 3) This banner is available in the dimensions 468x60 and 728x90

I liked the artwork enough to also make it into something to put on deviantArt. Here's the deviantArt version:

1500 x 600 on deviantArt

The funny thing is, it keeps getting easier to draw these guys. I would usually have an example drawing, to be able to draw them. I use a new technique as well, making a simple sketch to see where the head, arms and body goes. Then flesh out this sketch some more. And finally I go in and add the comic lineart, after which the inking and simple shading is done.

This is a much better way to work then during my Flash days. I didn't learn to draw digitally back then, as I just used the line tool to manipulate the lineart.

Chibi-like color pallettes

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 14:20:05 +0100

Now that I've created a few comics. I found myself jumping back and forth between comic files to get the colors right for the cast.

With this in mind I thought of creating a color palette, which looked like a few squares with the colors needed for the main characters. I found it quite unimaginative, so I came up with these chibi-like versions of the cast. It is quite easy to select the colors needed to keep the color consistency in check. And you have something to look at, instead of colored squares...

Happy 2010

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:09:09 +0100

Well it has happened again, after exactly 365.25 days after the event before this one, we are now officially in a new year. Not counting the other side of the world of course, those guys have a head-start. But for the good ol' GMT+1 area it is now 2010.

Low and behold the fires of the sky and ground are upon us again.

Anyways, happy 2010 and enjoy the new years comic!

Alien Collector

Thu, 31 Dec 2009 00:21:02 +0100

A collector is a best described as a floating slime ball that spawns from a Spawner, it will collect liquid, gas or mineral resources by enveloping them. Once this has been done it will take it back to the Spawner where it will be converted.

Collectors can also grow on their own in areas where a Spawner can�t grow with the use of a Seeder. Once it has matured it will start collecting resources.

If it can't find a Spawner, it will start consuming the resources by itself and will grow in size. Because of this size increase its speed will slow down, but it will also get thougher at the same time. Nothing like a Searcher, but still much tougher then a normal Collector.

When it has consumed enough resources, it will start to gradually mutate into the Searcher slime ball. This process is much slower without a Spawner, but in some areas it is the only option

Alien Spawner

Wed, 30 Dec 2009 23:13:14 +0100

This �hole in the ground� can usually be found on the edge of a forest, where it will connect itself to the tree roots and use them to acquire liquids to grow. I can also be found near natural springs or lakes and even in dry areas, as long as it can reach the ground water.

Once it matures, it will launch three slime balls which we call Collectors. As the name implies, these will collect resources for the Spanwer to consume.

As a defense system, it will always have three Collectors stored. These will launch once it detects movement. It is believed the black orbs growing on the green slime are some kind of sensory system.

When it has consumed a certain amount of resources, it is capable to spawn a much larger slime ball which we call a Searcher. This new spawn will seek out a large liquid source to transform itself into a beacon for other alien life forms to be attracted to a the planet it is on.

Christmas 2 double O 9

Sat, 26 Dec 2009 19:30:21 +0100

It seems the kiddos have lost their ability to have fun with snow, judging from what the kids around here say.

They are bored and have no idea what the hell they should do with snow... Things like having a snowball fight or sledding down a hill is foreign to most of them. And when I told them they could build a snowman, they just looked at me funny. Could it be that the ~~huge~~ amounts of snow over the last couple of years killed their imagination? Well to be fair some kids actually do some of the snow stuff, but only because their parents took them sledding and threw a snowball in there.

Not to forget� Have a merry Christmas all, to those who are actually celebrating this thing. I'm not participating, mostly because I think it has lost it's charm over the years. But I'll still give you Christmas celebrating peeps the jolly cheers of the holidays... Don�t expect to see a Christmas comic though, I don�t feel like it...