Dev blog #2: October art update

Our small (but perfectly formed!) art team has been beavering away updating almost every aspect of the original Switch Galaxy’s visuals, which are coming together very nicely indeed.

Among others, these improvements include the update or full rebuild of the existing ships, tracks and hazards. They’ve also given us the opportunity to increase the resolution of the models and textures and add material effects that were not available to us before.

Along with new player ships, we’ve also introduced animated sections to the models, triggered by certain portions of the track.

The updates aren’t just confined to the track either – we’ve implemented a new 360° view of space, with much larger nebulae and sharper, more detailed starfields. We’re also working on dynamic sky effects, which add extra depth and flare to the environment.

The menu systems for both in-game and front-end have been totally overhauled and redesigned both visually and structurally, with programmer and artist working closely together to make things look and feel just how we want them.

We also felt that we could make the destination cities more substantial, so we’ve set about adding extra scenery on the approach, ranging from new city walls to vegetation.

Exciting times! Check out some of our work in progess images below….

Andrastea Ship – Garage and Skins

Andrastea_Garage andrastea_skins

Evolver Ship

Evolver_Update_02Evolver_Update_01

Skybox

Skybox_01 Skybox_02

Vegetation

Trees_1 Trees_2 Trees_Model

Tunnel Effects

Tunnel01 Tunnel02

Atomicom Support Children’s Charity with Switch Galaxy Ultra

A national children’s charity is set for a starring role in Switch Galaxy Ultra following its partnership with Atomicom.

Caudwell Children will feature within the new Switch Galaxy Ultra game after the company agreed a deal to support the Children’s charity, in the hope that their relationship with Caudwell Children will raise funds as well as widespread awareness for the charity.

Owen Johnson Ben Sutcliffe bw-col-smThe new Switch Galaxy Ultra will feature a Caudwell Children download pack which will include an exclusive Caudwell Children ship upgrade and provide players with access to exciting new levels and special features. All of Atomicom’s profits from the pack will be donated to the charity.

CEO and Co-Founder of Atomicom, Gary Nichols said: “We are delighted to announce our support for Caudwell Children.

We have wanted to work with the charity for a while and feel this is the perfect time for us to support them so we devised an exclusive download pack for them with sales of this going to help support the work they do. We can’t wait to launch the game as it’s really come a long way since we launched Switch on mobile back in 2011, it’s quite an amazing story for us to have the latest version launching on PS4 and PS Vita and to bring Caudwell Children with us along for the ride.”

Trudi Beswick, CEO of Caudwell Children said: “The announcement that Caudwell Children will play a key role within Switch Galaxy Ultra is a fantastic one for the charity.

Having our own download pack within the game will in no small way help us deliver practical and emotional support to families caring for disabled children

I would like to thank all the team at Atomicom for their generosity and I look forward to seeing Caudwell Children’s name spread further.”

 

 

Dev blog #1: The Story So Far…

Welcome friends and fans to the first Switch Galaxy Ultra blog post!

It’s been a busy few weeks following the recent announcement at GamesCom (http://blog.us.playstation.com/2013/08/22/switch-galaxy-ultra-revealed-for-ps-vita-ps4/) but we’re taking some time to document what’s happened to date in our ‘universe’ and bring you up to speed on our plans for the coming months, before the PlayStation®4 finally launches on 11 November 2013.

The story so far…

Switch Galaxy has come a long way from humble beginnings. Following the release of the original Switch title released in July 2011 on Android, the game was redeveloped and rebranded as Switch Galaxy for PlayStation®Mobile.

We could not have been happier with the response we got to Switch Galaxy from fans, press and the industry. Switch Galaxy became one of the most critically acclaimed titles on PlayStation®Mobile and it was due to this incredible success that we decided to once again reboot and rebrand, bringing Switch Galaxy Ultra to PlayStation®4 and PlayStation®Vita.

Tunnel effect

Tunnel01

So what’s new?

Switch Galaxy Ultra includes a super smooth 60FPS with enhanced graphics and effects plus new content including levels, ships and upgrades. Atomicom also enlisted Darren Douglas, original Wipeout concept artist and published Judge Dredd artist, to create a comic introduction and in-game comic scenes for the game, which are really stunning and very funny.

We’re also working with two new DJs to try and get some licensed tracks in to liven up the mix. At the moment, though, we can’t say who they are, but we’ll announce that as soon as everything’s set in stone.

And what’s next?

Over the coming weeks, we will bring you a series of posts on our plans and developments, providing insight into our journey to launch!

Currently we’re working on a few things, our programming team is mostly doing platform specific tasks including the PS4 and PSVita graphic engines, which should all be complete by the end of the month. We’re also working on a neat little trick so you can see where the track goes right into the distance, so you’ll see it bend and sweep ahead of you before the main track is drawn.

Spline trick

Region capture 4

The art team is busy finalising all the new content and have one more ship left to create. The next job will be finalising the front end and implementing the PlayStation® specific options and buttons.

In terms of where we stand in our current development schedule we’re heading up to first playable although in reality this is more like a pre alpha version as most of the game is already done.

Over the coming weeks, we will bring you a series of posts on our plans and developments, providing insight into our journey to launch!

Stay tuned for more news from the Switch Galaxy Ultra team!

Andrastea wireframe

andrastea_wire

 

In the news: why ‘WipEout couldn’t have been further away from the inspiration’

Check out the recent piece on Pocket Gamer, CEO Gary Nichols talk about why ‘WipEout couldn’t have been further away from the inspiration’

“Was WipEout a big influence for you on Switch Galaxy Ultra? If so, what is it about that series that inspires you?

Actually, WipEout couldn’t have been further away from the inspiration.

Atomicom co-founder Mike Clarke and I both worked at Psygnosis, so we had a hand in WipEout. I worked on a number of WipEout games and the last thing I wanted to do was base a game on it.

I grew up playing Atari 2600 games and one of my favourites from that console was Dodge ‘Em. It was so hard and fast at times and that made me want to replay it to try and do better. So, we started discussing the idea of remaking it in 3D.

We did lots of concepting, had the game running in 3D, but the camera and the turns made people nauseated.

One day, Mike suggested we straighten out the lanes, so we did. Thus, Switch was born. In truth, it’s really difficult to make a futuristic racer and for it not to be compared to WipEout.

I guess it does go in our favour that we are kind of filling a space that WipEout would have once dominated.”

Read the full article here: http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/PS+Vita/Switch+Galaxy+Ultra/feature.asp?c=53515

In the news: Switch Galaxy Ultra Brings Wipeout Pedigree to Vita and PS4

A great piece about Switch Galaxy Ultra on PSN store blog:

Switch Galaxy Ultra Brings Wipeout Pedigree to Vita and PS4

“Switch Galaxy might be one of the best games currently available on the PlayStation Mobile store. Earlier this year we reported that a native Vita version would be coming, but we now have some some more details to share. I chatted with Gary Nichols about the game earlier in the week. The concept image he gave us makes me even more excited”.

Read the full article here: http://www.psnstores.com/2013/08/switch-galaxy-ultra-brings-wipeout-pedigree-to-vita-and-ps4-dev-qa/

Press release

The Fastest Gaming Experience on PlayStation®Mobile arrives exclusively on PlayStation®4 and PlayStation®Vita with more than double the content.

Atomicom announced today that they are bringing Switch Galaxy Ultra – their highly acclaimed PlayStation®Mobile title – to PlayStation®4 and PlayStation®Vita. The announcement was made following Sony’s keynote at GDC Europe.

Switch Galaxy became one of the most critically acclaimed titles on PlayStation®Mobile and it was due to this resounding success that the studio are bringing an Ultra version to PlayStation®4 and PlayStation®Vita.

Originally released on Android in July 2011 as Switch, the game was developed in just six weeks and went on to be downloaded over two million times worldwide. Since then, Atomicom gave the title an overhaul and created the first version of Switch Galaxy for PlayStation®Mobile in March 2013.

Switch Galaxy Ultra includes a super smooth 60FPS with enhanced graphics and effects plus new content including levels, ships and upgrades. Atomicom also enlisted Darren Douglas, original Wipeout concept artist, to create a comic introduction and in-game comic scenes for the game.

Gary Nichols, CEO and Founder of Atomicom, says: “The recognition and enthusiasm for Switch Galaxy from the PlayStation community and press has been fantastic. We are thrilled at the opportunity to not only make a native Vita version but to also create a PlayStation®4 version”. He adds: “We had a lot of plans to develop Switch Galaxy further and thanks to the support of Shahid and his team at SCEE, all of this is now possible.”

Shahid Ahmad, Senior Business Development Manager at Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, says: “The team at Atomicom really impressed us with the PlayStation®Mobile version of Switch Galaxy. We wanted to support them with their future plans for the game and are looking forward to seeing both PlayStation®4 and PlayStation®Vita versions.”

Download full EPK here: http://www.switchgalaxy.com/press/