improved bike appearance

as you already know, the next version will mostly focus on graphics (which was not touched since v1.0).
after enabling multiple textures and creating beautiful levels, there is still one "outdated" thing left in the current Bike or Die - it is the bike itself.

and here is how it is going to look in the next version!

video: img/bod-better-bike.swf
(as you can see, the new bike was tested with Kristopher's public recording on Spike Cave)

like with multiple textures, there is an option to restore the good old wireframe bike with stick figure

but that's not all: the bike is now made of bitmaps, which means that it is quite easy to customize its appearance and and even create alternative vehicles (monster truck anyone?

). i'm going to make a special application ("bike or paint"?

) so painting your bike will be easier than making a level

16 comments

Lee

Hell Fire - that looks nice!
So, you'll keep a seperate page for peoples "Skins" for the bike - so we can use / look at each others bikes?
that's brilliant - I can see me taking a picture of me from the side on my bike, and chopping it into the various bitmaps - so it's ME riding....!!!

i think i should make a "skin explorer", similar to the levelpack explorer, but this is a long way, there is no "bike or paint" yet

and the flash replays should also use skins, so we would see the "true" appearance of the player. this could be funny, especially in "head to head"!

Kristopher

This is great, because while it mostly looks realistic, there are still parts that have the "physics humor" of the classic biker.

(Note: my file host usually goes down for a few hours around this time.

)

Mr.pickle.

ok neat!
umm but please don't get me wrong here anyone but the reason I origanally downloaded bod was that it had a stick figer guy on a bike I mean how much cooler does it get?sereously I know you said that you can change it back to the stick figer and all but....I always thought the best thing about bod was the simplicity of the biker,bike,and the levels(a.k.a.the 2d ground)this way it lookes so much like that teribly made take off of bod(I don't know the name of it but someone els made one that I downloaded onto my palm and it was horrible compared to this,the bike was a motor cicle and it looks awfull

),is it still high definition?the biker was sort of 2d and 3d at the same time origanally,but thos are just my opinions PLEASE don't take it the wrong way(I really don't want to start ANOTHER war).

but since theres not much of a chance of that changing anything,it really does look great

maby these are just my own sentimental feelings towords bod

Mr.pickle.

one more thing,is that biker more cartoony or live?

mike flips

Maybe if you take that celebrity lookalike application and for phones with built in cameras we can do a self portrait that puts our heads on the bike.

Kristopher

Ha, that would be funny.

BTW, I forgot to mention those bike wheels look like part of my K'Nex set.

Pickle, I know the original biker is hilarious, and now he is a classic too. (With over one million crashes total for all players, I think he is quite hospitalized by now.

) However, some people will like the new graphics, so it is good to add them.

PMD

SZ, I like the new look (not saying I wouldn't stick with the Old School bike though since I am used to it).

Pickle, the thing you are missing is that those other games that try to do motocross and biking don't have the quality physics that BoD does, so they don't play well. For me, it is the physics that make the game so much better.

Having a different graphic for the bike does not change whatsoever the way the picture moves and reacts to your button presses.

Keep up the great work SZ.

Mr.pickle.

MOTOCROSS!! thats the name of it!orrible game,I know that its the phisics that game lacks but I tried motocross first and I almost dident evan download bod cause it looked like a simalar game but bought it because it was a stickman(see above^^^)but then agian maby I just like stickmen,I am a xiao xiao fan(xiao xaio are the most famous stickman movies/games of all time{you can find all of them on"xaioxaiostuff.com"

})

I think I really just like the old look

mr.pickle: i see your point! that's why the classic stickman is here to stay.
however, it is also nice to have the rich graphics version as it opens up many new possibilities. perhaps someone could even make a better stickman using bitmaps

currently it is a hand drawn character, something between lifelike and cartoon guy (and i will probably improve it further a bit), but you can always use a different skin to adjust him to your personal taste

Vega

Love the new bike possibilities. BoD just gets better and better!!!

Excellent work SZ.

Cody

I don't think you should be able to take a photo for the bike and be able to see other people's skins, becuase some people wouls abuse the feature. Also, there should be an outline of the actual bike so you don't think you can fit somewhere and you can't, or vice versa.

Spence

hmmmm....i never thought about the outline...that could be a problem.
if Sz makes a desktop version of Bike or Paint, the you should be able to open a pic, then overlay preset outlines of the bike (or parts of the bike)then cut them out to be used for the actual bike. i guess the center part of the bike and the wheels don't matter, you can just fill them all in but the bars where the wheels connect would have to have a preset outline. im not really sure how the rider would be made...his (or her) head would have to have a preset outline to be able to see how far away something is like Cody said.
am i getting carried away?

Kristopher

The head and wheels are about the same size here as they are with the classic display mode, so it shouldn't be a problem. If the collision seems off by a few pixels, you can get used to it.

Spence

well yes, in that example but if we make our own, things could get out of hand...

Mr.pickle.

codys got a point about people abusing the feature,some people might put a bad picture of some sort