Fading In, Fading Out

[geneticdestiny]

Been working on this Crash character model for a while! I was gonna give him the Blue and White background like the old Smash Screens but since Ultimate uses this style I went with that. I drew Crash, made the background, font and number; the character number is a reference to his debut year (not how many I think/expect to be in Smash) and the Aku Aku icon was made by Austarus IV (SmashBoards). Austarus’s icon is based on Smashified’s.

All digital. Crash belongs to Activision, Smash is Nintendo’s.

[geneticdestiny]

Saw Black Panther in theaters and made this for a friend.

[geneticdestiny]

Forward Tilt: Wumpa Whirlwind

So much has passed since the last entry! We finally know the name and release date of the new Smash; since Crash and Rayman (especially) have much better odds than Ratchet or Clank, I’ll focus on them more. Shall we begin?

Crash begins his Tilt by rotating with his arm extended, swinging it forcefully to hit foes while turning. Then, with that same maneuver he uses the momentum to immediately kick by sticking out his leg. From one rotation alone Crash executes a punch and a kick swiftly.

But it doesn’t end there; press the Attack Button after the kick is performed and Crash uses the maneuver to transition into a handstand. With his legs in the air, Crash performs a split and then instantly spins his lower half into a cyclone, hence the Wumpa Whirlwind. It seems that Crash can somehow turn certain parts of his body into a tornado at will, like Taz. 

While his first 2 hits are quick and strong, the Whirlwind is able to spin indefinitely as log as you hold the Attack Button, making this a pseudo-Infinite Jab. “Pseudo” is the key word though, as it’s just his Tilt and doesn’t have a Finisher, so while you can get infinite hits there’s nothing to knock foes away when you’re done. In short, if you press the FTilt input once, Crash will perform 2 fast and solid hits; pressing the Attack Button again and holding it will yield the Infinite spin.

The 1st 2 hits are decently strong--his kick moreso--so the Whirlwind is meant to rack up extra damage if you’re feeling up to it or the foe is backed into a corner of some sort. As the Whirlwind racks up damage it has little knockback but the punch and kick are solid with it. In my moveset, Crash only has 3 Tornado-based attacks: His Neutral Special and Up Tilt in addition to this. Speaking of Tornadoes, this move is inspired by his attack in Skylanders, in which he basically does the same move but transitions into a full tornado. 

Done digitally. Crash belongs to Activision. Smash is Nintendo’s.

[geneticdestiny]

Crossover Fusion: Donkey Kong Country x Super Mario Galaxy 2 After seeing what DK and Diddy brought home from Mario's side of reality, Dixie wasted no time finding her own item to claim. She found a peculiar flower, picked it up and transformed into a kong that was made for the skies. Her outfit changed to fit the new climate and stay warm as she became: Cloud Dixie! Using the Cloud Flower, Dixie's able to summon 3 fluffy Cloud Buddies to aid her altitude; like the plumbers before her, she's able to jump higher, is blessed with a gentle fallspeed and can create platforms that keep her high in the sky without even needing her hair. With her newfound friends, Dixie spends plenty of time off the ground, watching horizons during sunset and molding clouds to make humorous--but sometimes inappropriate--sculptures for pranks, She's been seen shaping ominous formations over kremling territory and trollworthy, but sometimes sweet shapes everywhere else. She truly enjoys the power and uses it to explore, believing herself to be some type of demi-goddess of the sky. But it doesn't end there however, cuz with her newfound floatiness and cloud control, Dixie's got abilities that no other kong could pull off, even with their own Cloud Flower. Dixie's now able to swim through any cluster of clouds, mists, fog, dust, smoke, and even nebulae. And while her hair is still good for helping her fly--though slightly obsolete in this form--she now generates lightning from her ponytail, allowing her to extend the length of her lightning tail, electrify her cloudy companions AND any inanimate clouds at will; she's highly dangerous in her element now, as a strike from her hair alone will leave a monstrous sting like a lightning bolt's, while the electrically charged environment guarantees foes will be shocked often. Worse yet, her Cloud Buddies have minds of their own, so when Dixie juices them up with lightning they become far more hostile to foes and can attack with or without her command. As she can hide in the clouds as well, it's hard to know when she'll strike directly, if she even bothers to be direct. Her environment and Buddies could do the dirtywork for her while she lounges without a care. Done traditionally. Dixie Kong belongs to Nintendo

[geneticdestiny]

Aloy!

[geneticdestiny]

Back Air: Torso Tap

While airborne, Rayman paddles his torso to hit foes behind him. Pressing the input causes him to smack his hand into his body 3 times and knock it into whatever’s in his path, making this a 3-hit attack sequence. Each time he does so he applies more force than the previous strike in the sequence, causing his torso to push further and making the 3rd strike bounce with the greatest force as well as distance in the attack. Enemies when struck by this move are bounced back with notable force for the 3rd hit, a decent bounce for the 1st hit and of course, above-average bounce for the 2nd. It essentially functions like a bumper.

Despite its potentially strong bounce(s), it does very little damage when in contact with opponents and offers absolutely no hitstun. You’d be lucky to get 2% damage from the 3rd strike and that’s the most forceful of the 3. Its bounce is its one and only quality, and even the 1st hit will work wonders on foes in the right damage thresholds, meaning the 3rd can get deadly very quickly. Each hit should bump foes back enough to make a close-range retaliation difficult.

In my moveset, Rayman attacks with all his body parts. His head, his feet and his fists as well as torso all have different attack properties; his hands are GREAT for damage and knockback, his feet provide more hitstun than the rest with damage not far behind, his head racks up damage but does little else and his torso provides a mean bounce at times. Speaking of which, this attack is inspired by Rayman 2; in that game one of his idle animations is to dislodge his torso and bounce it like a basketball. That blew my mind when I was a kid, and looking back, it makes me realize Rayman’s torso must be very springy. So, why not weaponized it, right?

Rayman is Ubisoft’s. Smash is Nintendo’s.

[geneticdestiny]

Just my luck, my FAir for Crash crashed JUST as I was saving it, erasing all my progress and knocking me back to square 0. I managed to take a picture of it before it completely closed, so now all I have is this as the backup. 

Once I get my morale back I’ll start right over. But what was his Forward Air gonna be? Find out hopefully before he gets confirmed for Smash Bros!

[geneticdestiny]

Forward Tilt: Heli-Toss

Clank tosses out one of his Helicopter Blades like a Frisbee. It travels a short distance along a slow trajectory, and when it makes contact it hits a foe 3 times. It moves a bit slower than Luigi's fireballs, and unlike in All 4 One, it doesn't return to him like a boomerang. It simply vanishes after reaching its max distance. Good for disrupting a foe's timing thanks to the slow trajectory, which provides a good way to keep some distance between you and enemies who wanna get in close. You can have 2 out at a time. This is Clank's only projectile-based attack other than his Neutral Special, which will work well with this Tilt and many other attacks from Clank (more on that later). The Forward and Up Tilts are meant to disrupt, distance yourself from and annoy opponents without really comboing them. The Down Tilt is more direct; meant to KO foes on the right thresholds or briefly freeze them as they rebound from the blast. Clank tends to be a close-range combatant in contrast to Ratchet's projectile-friendly moveset, and although he's a fragile fighter, Clank can hit you with a few surprises thanks to his Specials, Smashes and Back Air. I thought I uploaded this a while back, but I guess not. Done digitally. This Zoni belongs to Sony, Smash Bros is Nintendo's.

[geneticdestiny]

Neutral Special: Combuster

Like the Omniwrench, if there’s one weapon Ratchet’s BOUND to have in Smash it’s his Combuster! Simply press B and Ratchet will whip out and fire his most used firearm, hurling a ball of superheated plasma that pops once it hits an enemy or object, creating below-average hitstun. The damage is decent, but here’s some more details about it:

As you can see, characters like Fox, Villager and Ness can use this against you, so always be careful when facing them. Further, like 2/3rds of Ratchet’s moveset, this move runs on an Attack-Limit in the form of Self-Replenishing Ammo; meaning that after used CONSECUTIVELY past a certain point, you’ll be unable to use said move for a very brief time. Ratchet’s got some hard-hitting ranged weapons, and to prevent noobs from spamming them, this system was put in place. The only way around this is to constantly use other Attack inputs. NEVER rely on just a couple of guns to win; the more you switch up the faster your guns reload. There’ll always be an icon of how many shots you have left in your current gun. As long as there’s one bullet/dynamo/disc/whip in the chamber or whatever, you can use the move, and the gun doesn’t have to deplete to start refueling. It just has to be used once. The system’s MUCH more dynamic and less frustrating than Robin’s, but also more extensive.

So, with this move you shoot forward, but what sets this apart from other Special firearms is that Ratchet can actually strafe while using it! Simply press B to fire the gun, and hold it while moving the analogue stick to move in certain directions! With this Special, Ratchet’s able to run, jump and shoot all at the same time; he can either close the distance while pelting foes or widen the gap as he keeps foes at bay. He can even do this when he has no ammo for the gun. That’s strategic, but since you’re forcing the gun to fire when it has nothing to launch it’ll take longer to even reload. Keep that in mind, as well as the fact that Ratchet can only pull off 8 consecutive shots before running out, and the projectile’s tight reach. Observe:

Because he can move forward and back, the reach of the shots coupled with the Ammo capacity is limited, and spamming it will take more time for it to return to full capacity, as well as slow the rate in which it restocks. That however is present with all of Ratchet’s Ammo-Consuming attacks, and while the range is decent, you may find it to be lacking compared to Fox and Falco’s. Speaking of which...

I’ve made a diagram to compare and contrast the other Space Animals in Smash. Of these 3, Fox fires the fastest and is the most reliable for racking up damage; all that holds him back is the lack of hitstun, but a good Fox player couldn’t care less about that. In Smash 4 at least, he also has the most range of the 3 above. Falco’s rate of fire is the slowest, but he does have hitstun and a level of range that beats Ratchet’s, who unlike both of them is able to run and jump like he’s wielding a Super Scope. However, these 2 have the luxury of unlimited ammo and superior range, while Ratchet must contend with a tight reach and an ammo system that punishes him for spamming. Each have their strengths and weaknesses. Also, by button mashing, Ratchet can fire a little faster, going from 172 shots/minute to 190; not as fast as Fox’s but both better than Falco. The faster you use up those shots the faster you run out of ammo though.

This, combined with his Down Tilt, Forward Smash, and Neutral Air give Ratchet a nice amount of varied front facing projectiles, all with their own strengths, weaknesses and ammo caps. Ratchet needs to keep enemies back because he’s easy to combo and not exactly durable. He can stay alive longer than Clank but his ability to do so isn’t remarkable at all. I’m surprised and happy Ratchet doesn’t use this gun in PS All Stars tbh. It’s his signature gun and they instead opted for the Constructo Pistol, meaning I get to illustrate it for Smash as part of my “No gun overlap” rule. Yay!

Done digitally and traditionally. Ratchet is Sony’s, Smash is Nintendo’s.

[jeffmerghart]

Our government keeps force feeding us the antiquated 2nd amendment/“right” for everyone to bear and possess a firearm. It shouldn’t be a “right”, it should be a regulated privilege like driving a car and it shouldn’t include assault or automatic or semi-automatic weapons!

It’s a different time now… there are no more Redcoats a- comin’ and most people don’t need to go out and shoot their family’s dinner anymore. We need to change our laws to accommodate today’s society. Our government doesn’t want change because it’s hard and they’ll lose voters and betray the NRA. But if we don’t change we don’t adapt, if we don’t adapt we don’t evolve, if we don’t evolve we DIE!! We’re not changing and we are dying! Our children are dying!!

There is no reason any automatic or semi-automatic, high capacity, military grade weapon should be available to the public! I’d like to drive a tank down the street but that’s illegal for a reason. But I’m not allowed to have lawn darts in my yard yet my paranoid neighbor can own a room full of weapons that can take out a school before anyone can stop him? What the fuck?!

I’m embarrassed we let it get this far. I hope today’s children’s voices are heard and they can end this. I’m sorry for their pain, their outrage and their fear. We’ve failed them, but hopefully together we can make changes. I am so proud of Emma Gonzalez and the other students of Stoneman Douglas High School for standing up and making themselves heard! Much respect, much love, and we call bullshit!

[geneticdestiny]

WIP

[geneticdestiny]

Back Air: Holo-Knuckle Sandwich

The illustrations return and Clank is here to lead the charge!

For his BAir, Clank swiftly turns around and slams 2 holographic cinderblocks together. Using his gloves from Secret Agent Clank, our little Zoni projects these hardlight constructs as he claps his hands, causing the blocks to clamp down HARD, and inflict serious pain on whoever’s caught between them. The move’s no doubt powerful and not only his deadliest Aerial, but also one of the strongest attacks in his entire moveset. It is outclassed only by his Smashes, Down Special and Final Smash. Foes who are lucky to ONLY get hit by a block before it bangs into the other have a better chance of surviving, but do beware, as the top block is swung with more force than the bottom, as the arc shows. In addition to its incredible strength and range, Clank's BAir stands out from his other Aerials for being the only one in which he uses a weapon to attack. The others feature his built-in Movement or Offense systems and as such aren't as strong as this move, which makes this uncharacteristically powerful for Clank. In general, Clank tends to be easy to KO and he mostly has strategic and practical moves, but some, like this Aerial are surprisingly deadly for his weight class. High on knockback and killing power. Done digitally. Clank is Sony's, Smash is Nintendo’s

[geneticdestiny]

Forward Smash: Dynamo of Doom

For Ratchet’s Smash Attacks, I’m showcasing some chargeable weapons from the series. To begin his Side Smash, Ratchet strikes a James Bond-like pose while whipping out a strange weapon–it appears to be an orb attached to an apparatus with a light bulb on top and a handle holding it all together. He charges the gun while holding it by squeezing the trigger, and as he does so sparks begin to surge from the orb while the bulb lights up like a Christmas tree. once it reaches critical mass the electricity shines bright enough to obscure the orb. Just what exactly is Ratchet planning to unleash with this gun…?! PEEeewwzZZZZZSSSSHHhh….!!! an electrical sphere straight from the Dynamo of Doom! In A Crack in Time, Ratchet used this gun to fire off orbs of various sizes to manipulate the battlefield while facing dozens of enemies. He used this as an effective form of crowd control due to the orbs lasting a bit after being fired out. As you charge your Smash Attack, Ratchet charges his gun and immediately sets it loose upon his victims when you release the Attack Button. The Dynamo orb, once fired expels all the energy it has stored while being charged and moves along a fixed trajectory; anyone who makes contact with the electrical sphere and/or the orb itself will take constant damage until they either shield themselves, escape the damage radius or when the orb expels all its energy. Here’s an example of the sizes of the spheres:

As you can see, the more Ratchet charges his Smash the larger the sphere, but the size of the sphere affects how fast it will move and thus how far it will travel. Each orb has a 2-second lifespan once fired and travel on a strictly horizontal path. The larger spheres can rack up alarming levels of damage but it comes with a catch: enemies won’t be stunned or flinch when in contact with the orb or sphere, they’ll take damage the same way in which Fox shoots you. That‘s great for people Ratchet uses this on, but there’s a couple more things to keep in mind about this attack:

Dynamo Spheres also have a level of suction that gets stronger based on the charge, making it harder to escape a fully charged variant. Larger Spheres tend to move slower than the Quick Smash variant, but its suction is a mean force to contend with, and slower characters can become easy prey for the attack. A small sphere will give a gentle tug while a large one certainly won’t; you don’t have to be Sonic to escape the spheres by running but you do have to be fast (sorry Ganondorf).

If you are stuck in the sphere and can’t outrun it, use your shield and dodges/rolls constantly to drastically limit the damage you’ll receive. Since you won’t flinch while being hurt by the sphere you’re free to try and defend yourself, but don’t get too caught up in damage control, because Ratchet’s free to do whatever he wants after firing off a dynamo, like use an attack with actual killing power. The pros and cons of this Smash attack means that it’s best used strategically, and the insane amount of damage it can inflict, coupled with the slow movement of the larger spheres means that you should NEVER use this on a skilled Ness and Lucas, because it can give them some massive health boosts.

TL;DR: Ratchet’s Side Smash has him release a radius of pain that racks up damage without stunning, flinching or knocking foes away. It has zero KO power, its radius and magnetic pull are positively affected by its charge time while its speed and distance get the inverse. Each orb fired has a 2 second lifespan; the move can be Reflected, Absorbed and Collected–thus these reasons make it best used strategically. Ratchet is free to do and use whatever after firing the orb and airborne opponents have a harder time escaping the suction compared to grounded foes. Suction works similarly on items.

[geneticdestiny]

Re-blogging this with updated info, hopefully giving some clarity.

[geneticdestiny]

Trying my luck with #Inktober. Going for the 2nd half of the month.

[geneticdestiny]

Neutral Air: Splitting Kong

Dixie does a split and spins twice to hit foes. A very basic attack that’s meant to get its job done; foes on low damage thresholds will get hit twice, others will get hit once. A very practical move.

This is another move I forgot to show years ago. Like the Forward Air it’s traditionally drawn, and before I started using the extra details that’s in the digital drawings. Still, I like how it turned out.

Done traditionally. Dixie Kong is Nintendo’s

[geneticdestiny]

Jab: Clank Fu

Clank uses his signature martial arts move as his standard attack! First, he starts with a simple swing, then follows up with an uppercut while making a minimal hop. The first hit knocks foes back slightly while the 2nd does the same in the direction it’s moving. Quite simple, and if you press the attack button again, Clank will perform his Infinite Jab by spinning like a tornado! At that point he lets his arms smack foes as he teeters up and down, then finishes with a sturdy karate kick knocking foes back a decent amount.

Originating in Secret Agent Clank and becoming his default attack from All 4 One afterwards, this move is much more useful than the punches he used back in the day. The hits in Smash Bros provide small damage on their own, but the Infinite part of the jab makes up for that, as not only can Clank hit indefinitely, but he also hits people both in front of and behind him while staying in place, but with more focus on those in front. Since he teeters up and down as he spins, it’s slightly harder for foes to escape as well, and while his Finisher isn’t particularly strong, it’s firm enough to knock foes away.

Overall a simple but practical move for Clank, who belongs to Sony while Smash is Nintendo’s.

[geneticdestiny]

Neutral Air: Blitz Blast

For his NAir, Ratchet whips out his very first shotgun from Going Commando and immediately fires it in front of him, creating a vibrant firecracker-like streak in an instant flash of light. Enemies hit by this take varying amounts of damage and are pushed away from Ratchet; the gun fires quickly and has very impressive reach for a Neutral Air, but since it is a shotgun most of its power is at the center. Observe:

As you can see, The Blitz Gun’s strength is most potent for those who make contact with the inner burst. Foes will be met with considerable damage and knockback here as they’re launched a solid distance, while those who make contact as the blast begins to branch out receive far less pain and are only nudged gently. The outermost branches cause almost no damage, but the pellets at the end do create hitstun, making this NAir disruptive for those at the tip. The hitstun is just a minor flinch, but no doubt annoying for opponents. Not to mention, this attack perforates foes, allowing multiple targets to be hit in a straight line.

This NAir shares similarities with Mega Man’s and has a wide enough spread to make approaching Ratchet from the front dangerous, but unlike almost all other NAirs Ratchet’s only protecting his front, meaning every other side of Ratchet is exposed and many should take advantage of that fact. Also, many of Ratchet’s attacks run on a move limit that’s more extensive than Robin’s in the form of Self-Replenishing Ammo, so he can only use this and many others a limited time before it’s temporarily disabled. He’ll have to rely on other Attack Inputs and contend with those individual ammo capacities as well, but for simplicity’s sake, Ratchet can use his NAir about 4 times in a row before it depletes. Also, this can be Reflected, Collected and Absorbed.

Ratchet has one more trick up his sleeve with his NAir. Observe:

If you tap the A Button while airborne Ratchet will fire the gun directly in front of him, but if you hold the button and tilt the Control Stick Up or Down, he’ll angle the gun slightly in those directions and the gun will fire repeatedly until you let go. This is useful for those who are slightly above and below, but holding the Button means you’re firing faster and thus depleting it sooner. Also, the gun’s spread is different each time fired; above are just 2 examples.

This attack is GREAT for halting approaches, decent for Crowd Control and good for Edge-Guarding, but has limited usage (like 66% of Ratchet’s moves), only protects the front and has killing power at the start of the blast but nowhere else. Done digitally. Ratchet is Sony’s, Smash is Nintendo’s.