Lex Luthor updated to v1.5 for Scruffyversary

Download Location listed below: As part of 2010's Scruffyversary Blackest Night week event, Buyog has updated Lex Luthor. He has handled the bulk of the code, and Enzo the bulk of the sprites, but both were flanked by members of the Scruffy Dragon team and forum community.

The sprites look great and just like you would imagine Lex Luthor would look. I especially love the glow effect added to the brand new Oranger Lantern mode which is the main feature of this update. The only sprites I'm not big on is the stance as his lower body just looks a little stiff to me. The sound clips, which were also part of this update, are way above and beyond. His AI might be a little tough to some, but he does use all of his special and hyper moves to the best of his ability.

Every move created for Lex fits perfectly and really gives you a sense of the comic character. All of the moves are very responsive to command, and most are easy to pull off. I am however not a fan of the command string used for Nanite Swarm, so I edited it.

*Specials*
---------------
- Kryptonite Ray: Projectile beam with 3 different versions depending on punch button used. Can be done in the air.
- Stiletto Blades: Combination slash attack
- Electrified Armor: Can electrocute upon touch
- Tyrant Drill: Kicking attack. Can be done in the air
- Flamethrower: Projectile flame attack
- Energy Shield: Adds super armour ability
*Hypers*
-------------
- Failsafe Emission: Powerful energy shockwave attack
- Nanite Storm: Sends nanites after opponent
- Kryptonic Attack: Hyper beam projectile attack
- Tyrant Finisher: Combination rushing punch attack
*Orange Lantern mode*
--------------------------------
Moves that can be done only in this mode
- Orange Lantern Kryptonite Ray: Draws the opponent closer. Can be done in the air.
- Greedy Embrace: Grabs the opponent and squeezes with large hand constructs
- Personal Superhero: Creates a construct of Superman who attacks

I love this character but he has a few issues. As privately conveyed to Buyog w/an image, he was seen air-walking in AI testing. The Greedy Embrace special can be an infinite if the player times it perfectly due to not enough time for the opponent to recover. It also looks like he becomes unhitable when Greedy Embrace misses. And the AI can spam Kryptonite Ray a bit. The thing that stands out the most is how the damage can get a little out of hand from various moves being strung together. And the AI can really abuse this with how it can combine moves like Kryptonite Ray with Personal Superhero in a way a human player cannot. But I still like this character very much and I highly recommend him to everyone. Especially how Orange Lantern mode is utilized from the recent Blackest Night comics, making him more unique and fun to use.

You can download him at:
http://www.scruffydragon.com/forum/index.php?app=portal

You can check out this listing at CVG United's Character Review Database to give your own score, as well as post any feedback you may have.
http://cvgunited.com/index.php/topic,5197.0.html

Scruffyversary So Far...

This video shows off all of the characters released for Scruffyversary so far:
- Super Soldier by Duratan and Sic-1 updated
- Thanoseid by Rozeros and Zvitor updated
- Pocket Lara Croft by Magus release (w/stage)
- Pocket Vixen by Lumina released
- Pocket Wonder Woman by Magus released
- Pocket Wolverine by DrStrange and the Pocket Mojo team released
- Pocket Batman by Magus updated
- Pocket Superman by Magus updated

There are also video previews of Joker, Bizarnage, Ferroman v3.0, X-23, the DC Pocket Villains, and Greenskull

The event also memorialized ComedyHaHa, reorganized the Pocket project section, reconstituting the old team website to show how much has changed, and announced a Spiderman specific project by Hobgoblin and WuCash.

For more info, go to:
http://www.scruffydragon.com/forum/index.php?app=portal

New Release: The Atom by AngelEcks

In honor of the upcoming Scruffyversary, AngelEcks has released his very first character, The Atom. Here is a video I made of all of his moves in action, followed by a written discussion on the character.

Because of the release on April 1st, some might think this is an April Fools joke character, but trust me, the joke will be on you if you do not download him. To help his friends at Scruffydragon celebrate Scruffyversary, AngelEcks has released The Atom today. He handled all of the sprites and code (with help from the DCvM template.) And this was all done in 3 weeks!

He is a member of The Unlimited team, so all of his sprites are very nice looking. Though he does say that he'd like to do some sprite clean up in the next update. The sound that is used is pretty good, but I would not mind a few more audio clips. The AI puts up a pretty good fight, though some of his specials and hypers could be done used a little more in that regard.

The moves are very good and highly representative of the actual Ray Palmer. I thoroughly enjoy the ability to shift into the sub atomic realm for movement and to set up attacks. And due to the use of the DCvM template, they are all highly responsive and easy to pull off.
*Specials*
---------------
- Mite-Punch: Charging punch with sub-atomic strength. Power dependent on punch button used
- Mite-Kick: Sub-atomic strength kick from the air
- Subatomic: Shrink and quickly regrow to knock back your enemy
- Sub-Atomic Side-Step: Step in to the sub-atomic realm to avoid attacks. Holding the kick button down allows you to stay small while still keeping the ability to move right and left
*Hypers*
-------------
- Atomic-Punch: Hyper version of Mite-Punch
- Sub-Atomic Surprise: Hyper version of Sub-Atomic Side-Step, but you move faster when smaller and when you release the kick button, he attacks with a powerful punch
- Sub-Atomic Adventure: Ride the bloodstream of the target to cause internal damage
- Indigo Lantern Hyper: Tap into the power of another Lantern for an attack

I really like this character a lot, but there are a few issues. For instance, a few more sprites on a couple animations would help fill out those actions a little more. Also, as stated above, I wish his AI would take advantage of his other special and hyper moves a little more. Especially Sub-Atomic Side-Step as that move is very unique and a blast to use when you play with him, opening up numerous strategies for the player. So if the AI could tap into that, it'd be really cool. There is a sprite alignment issue in Sub-Atomic Surprise to where if you are on the opposite side of the opponent in which you initiated the move and then release the kick button for attack, you will be facing the wrong direction. I'd also like to see Indigo Lantern hyper support for Guy Gardner. There is also a confusing typo in the readme where Mite-Kick should say D, DF, F + K in air instead of using P button. Not a big fan of having to be so close for the Sub-Atomic Adventure hyper to activate, plus I think it could be embellished a bit more as it is a great concept. Finally, some of the clsn boxes could use some refinement. Those things can be looked past though as he is fun to play with and I'm highly looking forward to his updates.

You can download him at:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=R9WQJPOE

You can check out this listing at CVG United's Character Review Database to give your own score, as well as post any feedback you may have.
http://cvgunited.com/index.php?action=downloads;sa=view;down=158