Obani Pollux is a location in Up Your Arsenal. It is the second moon in the Obani moon system[1] in the Zygan System, along with Obani Gemini and Obani Draco. The moon is a small metropolis with cybernetic vegetation, and has an uneven surface consisting of rock plateaus over pools of lava.
History[]
Obani Pollux was presumably involved in the Obani Moon Wars, which Shellshock fought in as a soldier of the Obanian Army, resulting in his freak accident.
Ratchet and Clank visited Obani Pollux after first reaching it through Obani Gemini, in the hopes to access the third Obani moon,[2] Obani Draco. The two were searching for the Biobliterator, having seen from a high-security computer on Daxx that the Biobliterator had been sent there in a transport shuttle.[3]
After repairing the satellite laser links, Ratchet accessed a teleporter to the moon and fought through enemy forces to find a way to the third moon. Skidd McMarx, who had insisted on going with them, arrived just as the fighting ended, having been held up at the Galaxy Burger drive-thru. The third moon was surrounded by an omega-class disintegration field, and Skidd attempted to break the lock.[4] The Galactic Rangers then contacted Ratchet about a tyhrranoid attack on Blackwater City, meaning Ratchet needed to leave while Skidd worked on the lock. While he was doing so, Courtney Gears arrived in a space limo, and agreed to autograph Skidd's t-shirt, before capturing him and taking him to Obani Draco.[5]
Geography[]
Obani Pollux is a larger moon than Gemini. In contrast to Gemini, it is made up of entirely artificial life in the form of cybernetic vegetation and towers vaguely resembling a civilization. It has a mostly grey appearance due to the grey surfaces and metal buildings. Most notable are the metal trees across its uneven surface of plateaus above a lava pit, as well as some metal flowers and plants below the trees. Only a few green plants can be seen on the side of one of its plateaus.
The moon is home to several towers and tall buildings dotted around its uneven surface, with some towers even built into its lava pits. Glass bridges connect some of the rooftops, and a metal bridge connects the rooftops of one of the towers to its largest building, a round spire. Much like Gemini, jump pads are used to traverse the higher rooftops and plateaus.
Behind the scenes[]
As with Obani Gemini, Mike Stout designed the level, while Tony Garcia programmed the enemies.[6] Due to the level being a spherical world, it was particularly difficult to develop. Calculating the position orientation of the enemies was particularly difficult for performance, as every enemy's orientation had to be calculated every frame, meaning there could be framerate dips often.[7] Projectile tracking on a spherical world was also extremely difficult, and though there was a plan for the elite sharpshooter's projectile to track across the ground, doing so would be frustrating for players as they often could not see where the projectile came from.[8] Additionally, if the guard bots were not oriented correctly by Stout when placing them, they would fly up incorrectly.[9]
Citations[]
- ↑ Up Your Arsenal menu § "Explore the Second Moon"
- ↑ Up Your Arsenal script § "Explore the Second Moon"
- ↑ Up Your Arsenal script § "Infiltrate the Weapons Facility (gameplay)"
- ↑ Up Your Arsenal script § "Explore the Second Moon (gameplay)"
- ↑ Up Your Arsenal script § "Escape the Tyhrranoid Ambush (gameplay)"
- ↑ Stout, Garcia 3:43
- ↑ Stout, Garcia 5:17
- ↑ Stout, Garcia 11:35
- ↑ Stout, Garcia 14:28
References[]
- Video games
- Insomniac Games (2004). Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal [Game]. PlayStation 2.
- Videos
- Stout, Mike; Garcia, Tony [@uselesspodcasts] (2012, August 6). Ratchet & Clank 3 Dev Commentary: 22 - Spherical Physics [Video]. YouTube.