Doll Maker's Diary, Part 8: Claire Hayes

Doll Maker's Diary, Part 8: Claire Hayes

Having elaborated on CRASH Alpha Team Leader Ellie Watts' backstory, powers, abilities and costumes, I will now move on to the current CRASH Commander, Claire Hayes. As the founder of CRASH, Mrs. Hayes has played an important role in the agency's history. Obviously, she deserves to have a Doll Maker's Diary entry dedicated to her, so here it is.

A brief description of CRASH Commander Claire Hayes.

CRASH Commander Claire Hayes was formerly an NSA officer, but soon expressed frustration at its inability to deal with the growing wave of superhuman incidents, and eventually left the NSA to found her own top-secret intelligence division for superhumans, which she named CRASH - the Covert Response Agency for SuperHumans. Much like her protege, Ellie Watts, Claire is a firearms expert and highly skilled in various forms of hand-to-hand combat. This made her a valuable asset during the first few years of CRASH's existence, when there were far fewer personnel employed in the agency, and budgets were much smaller. Over time, she helped CRASH grow into one of the world's largest covert intelligence groups, and undertook some of its most challenging missions. 

It was during one of these assignments that she rescued a hidden Himalayan tribe from annihilation by man-made avalanches, and as a reward, was allowed to learn their various secret psionic techniques. Eventually, she was promoted to CRASH Commander - the highest and most coveted rank within CRASH - and stepped down from field duty. She now handles mission briefings for her fellow CRASH field agents, ensuring that they are (usually) aware of the dangers they are about to face when they deploy.

Claire Hayes wore this outfit during her time as a field agent. It was not until later in her career that she gained the ability to establish internal and external psionic links. Even before then, her skills in battle were so formidable that she was able to successfully complete some missions entirely on her own. Thus, when she finally discovered her psionic abilities, she was even more of a force to be reckoned with than ever before.

Her knowledge of psionics allows her to distract her enemies by creating false targets near them, as well as assisting her allies by making them more aware of their surroundings. She can also establish an internal psionic link, enhancing her reflexes in the process. However, she cannot psionically link herself to anyone who is either too far away from her or is within a Psionic Inhibitor's area of effect. Given that Psionic Inhibitors negate her abilities completely, she often orders her agents to prioritize the destruction of these structures.

This costume is Claire's training outfit. She was one of the first CRASH personnel to realize that field agents must maintain peak physical condition at all times - a piece of advice she passed down to Ellie Watts. Her motto, "Willpower is everything", helps galvanize the agency into action when desperate situations arise.

Now that Claire has become CRASH Commander and stepped down from field duty, she handles the strategic part of the agency's operations. As such, she lets Ellie focus mainly on the tactical aspect of CRASH.

Thus ends a brief rundown of the CRASH Commander and her abilities. In the next post in this series, I shall take a look at another one of the members of CRASH's Alpha Squad, to which she belongs. And stay tuned - I also have plans for an upcoming storyline centered around CRASH.

Doll Maker's Diary, Part 7: Ellie Watts' Outfits

Doll Maker's Diary, Part 7: Ellie Watts' Outfits

Having already shown a brief description of CRASH agent Ellie Watts and her backstory, along with her powers and abilities, I will now give a brief rundown on some of her outfits. Some of them grant additional abilities in addition to the ones she already possesses. So, without further ado, here they are.

This is Ms. Watts' standard battle suit, color-coded according to CRASH doctrine in which blue refers to electricity-based powers. It's a well-balanced outfit with no major benefits or drawbacks, and is used for most missions, unless circumstances dictate that she use either of her alternate battle suits. Speaking of which, the next two outfits are specially designed for situations where Ellie would most likely be overwhelmed if she used her regular suit.

This light blue battle suit is designed for situations where Ellie needs more firepower and defense than usual. As such, it is fitted with additional armor components and mountings for gear and ammunition, although its extra weight slows her down slightly. Given that Ellie's superpower is electricity-based, I chose to make sparks of electricity come out of her left hand. Here, it refers to the suit's ability to amplify Ellie's powers, while also enhancing her ability to absorb incoming electrical discharges. Ellie is shown here holding a futuristic assault rifle in her right hand - considering that her superpowers have a limited use, it makes perfect sense, especially since Ellie used to be an FBI agent before joining CRASH.

I also depicted Ellie in a dark blue battle suit, with less armor and fewer storage compartments. However, it boosts her speed and agility slightly, and as such, she reserves it for missions where stealth and speed are required. To this end, this special suit carries a built-in cloaking device which can render her invisible to the naked eye and most sensors for a short time. However, the cloaking device can only be used for no more than a few minutes at a time, after which she must decloak and let the device recharge. And as a nod to a certain science-fiction space exploration roguelike, I have shown one of Ellie's quotes in this sketch: "Eat Electric Death, tyrant scum!"

Here is the outfit Ellie is usually seen in when she's not on a mission. As the leader of CRASH's frontline squad, the Alpha Team, she helps train new CRASH recruits, ensuring that they will develop and utilize the various skills and abilities for use during and outside of combat. In addition, she often accompanies other CRASH agents on exploration missions. Moreover, as I have previously described, Ms. Watts is known for being highly adept in devising tactics and strategies, ensuring that CRASH is at least a step or two ahead of its adversaries... most of the time.

Creating this casual outfit for Ellie Watts made perfect sense to me, given that most of the time, she looks, walks, talks, and acts like an ordinary human being. This also applies to her fellow CRASH agents, since the C stands for "Covert". It explains why the outside world is usually unaware of the agency's presence. In fact, none of the world's governments have acknowledged its existence so far. Otherwise, the controversy surrounding it would, in all likelihood, be too much for it to handle.

Finally, here is Ms. Watts' training outfit, for when she's working out. All CRASH agents are required to be in tip-top shape both physically and mentally before each mission, and often undergo extensive training and reconditioning between missions in order to stay that way. Ellie is no exception.

With that, we conclude this description of Ellie Watts' various outfits. But I have plans to show details regarding other CRASH personnel, including Ellie's squadmates, in the future. These will be elaborated upon in some of the subsequent entries in the Doll Maker's Diary series.

Doll Maker's Diary, Part 6: Ellie Watts

Doll Maker's Diary, Part 6: Ellie Watts

For those who have been wondering, I have not neglected my Heroine Fan Art Creator characters over the past few months - in fact I have made several more sketches for them, and plan to make another quartet of new characters as well - but I have also wanted to create yet another set of characters in the X-Girl creator. And now, I have just made one of them - the electrifying Ellie Watts.

A brief description of Ellie Watts.

Ms. Watts is the first character I made in the X-Girl Creator to have an actual backstory. A highly intelligent and confident woman, she developed her fearsome marksmanship and hand-to-hand combat skills through extensive training as an FBI agent, but even those were not enough to prevent her from being held captive after a botched raid on a suspected terrorist hideout. She was then repeatedly tortured using electricity over the course of the next few days, until a lightning strike on the hideout sent a massive power surge through her body. Normally the surge would have killed her, but instead, it allowed her to manipulate electricity. As she escaped, she obliterated her captors in one fell swoop, only to collapse to the ground unconscious.

As the FBI's search-and-rescue team arrived, they were startled to see small bolts of lightning surrounding the remains of the hideout. Ellie did not regain consciousness for a week, and when she did, she had to be taken to a top-secret facility to undergo further testing. It was clear that the power surge had endowed her with the ability to manipulate electricity by launching bolts of lightning at her enemies - but with a few caveats. Due to her limited energy pool, she can only use her powers sparingly, which prompted her to regard them as a last-resort measure; moreover, she cannot do so while underwater, although rainy weather and snow have no effect on her. In fact, if she overuses her powers, she runs the risk of draining her strength, making her more vulnerable to attack in the process.

Thus, in order to compensate for these weaknesses, Ellie relies mainly on her firearms and martial arts training to deal with dangerous situations. In addition, thanks to the effects of the lightning strike, she is also capable of superhuman speed and strength for brief periods of time - usually a half-minute - but rarely for much longer than this, since these will also drain her stamina if used for long enough. As such, these additional abilities are also reserved desperate situations, where they are most likely to be useful.

Initially, Ellie found it hard to control her newfound powers, and decided to resign from the FBI after realizing that they could be a liability without proper training. However, after the reestablishment of CRASH (Covert Response Agency for Superhumans), she joined the agency in order to gain full control of her powers without unduly draining her strength. Over the next few weeks, she underwent further training and impressed the instructors with her abilities. Eventually she became an official CRASH member and was cleared to accept various missions around the world.

After learning how to control her powers, Ellie acquired the ability to hit multiple targets with a single lightning strike. This is particularly useful in combat, as she can now neutralize a cluster of foes much more quickly. Also, her powers have a passive use: she can detect electrical fields emitted by nearby living organisms and machinery, making her more aware of surroundings than before. Finally, she has used her considerable intellect to develop highly effective battle tactics and strategies for each mission in which she is deployed into.

This concludes my backstory and description of Ellie Watts. In the next entry in this series, I will give a rundown of Ellie's costumes, some of which provide additional abilities different from her own.

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 39: Project Saker

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 39: Project Saker

Having downloaded the files for the Falcon Dynamo S, which had just been declared the winner of CSR71, I began thinking about what to do with it. The raw ingredients for the car were tempting: a normally aspirated V8 driving the rear wheels via a manual gearbox, and fully independent suspension at each corner. It looked fast as well, even when standing still. But I had to examine the car in more detail just to find out what I was working with. In keeping with the donor car's avian name, I dubbed the build Project Saker.

The Falcon Dynamo S+ before it underwent a total transformation as part of Project Saker.

When I finally got around to revising the car, I ended up feeling somewhat deflated. I was expecting the Falcon's V8 to produce 300 horsepower or more, but in fact it only made around 270. Moreover, the suspension, drivetrain, and brakes were all set up mainly for comfort, which made the Falcon more of a grand tourer than an actual sports car. It was obvious, then, that the Falcon had to undergo an extensive makeover if it was to become a supercar-baiter.

Omitting the rear seats and installing lightweight forged wheels was one of the first steps I took, since the car's weight would be significantly reduced in the process. In addition, to give the car a sportier feel, I installed a six-speed manual gearbox and mechanical limited-slip differential, as well as larger brakes and fixed-rate suspension with passive dampers and sway bars. Finally, the stock tires were replaced with high-performance rubber, ensuring that the car would have more grip in enthusiastic driving.

However, the engine received the biggest changes of all. By fitting a set of individual throttle bodies, aggressive cams, forged internals, high-flow intake and exhaust systems, and increasing the compression ratio, the Falcon's V8 now developed just over 380 horsepower - enough to keep up with all but the very fastest cars of its era. Of course, fuel economy suffered, but that wasn't the point of the makeover. And besides, it's going to be the last thing on your mind when the redline has been raised to 7500 rpm or more.

On the outside, the Falcon gained a larger front splitter and rear wing, as well as a bright blue paint job. So equipped, it was nearly unmissable even from afar. Apart from this, however, the bodywork remained almost unchanged compared to the stock version.

The same car after tuning. Note the larger front and rear spoilers and wider wheels.

After the makeover, the Falcon felt like a completely different car. In terms of straight-line performance, handling, and braking, it was in a completely different league to a standard Falcon. In particular, it recorded a 0-60 time of just 4.9 seconds during testing - enough to leave most rivals in its dust. And with a top speed of 170 miles per hour, hardly anything would be able to keep up with it on long straightaways.

Overall, I found the build to be extremely satisfying. Given that the donor car had been built to conform to a somewhat restrictive set of regulations, asking the question "What if the car didn't have to follow the rules of the competition in which it entered?" was a no-brainer for me. Fortunately, the answer to that question turned out to be an absolute scorcher of a car, capable of going toe-to-toe with contemporary exotics.

A more detailed description of the build (complete with a backstory) can be found here:

http://discourse.automationgame.com/t/automation-speedhunters-share-your-modified-and-classic-cars/21023/31

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 38: Dyeing for Beauty

Confessions of an Automationeer, Part 38: Dyeing for Beauty

CSR70 was one of those rounds I enjoyed quite a lot, because it allowed me to make the most of a somewhat limited budget by utilizing a host of creative design and engineering choices, and my decisions paid off handsomely, for my car ultimately emerged as one of the top 5 finalists; even though it didn't win, it acquitted itself very well in testing. Buoyed by a strong finish in the previous CSR round, I approached the next one with great enthusiasm. This time, the budget was considerably larger ($25,000 without markups, as opposed to $18,000 previously), and the required trim year was 2001 instead of 2005. In addition, the client was looking for a sports car instead of a family car. Not surprisingly, I set to work on my CSR71 entry almost immediately after the rule set was finalized.

Thus was born the DiMarino Imperia 325. This two-door sports sedan was powered by a gutsy straight-six engine driving the rear wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox and a mechanical limited-slip differential. With a high-quality premium interior and advanced safety systems, this was clearly a daily driver meant for true enthusiasts. Incredibly, after all was said and done, the resulting car cost just $20,500 before markups are factored in. In short, the Imperia 325 was incredible value for money, but there was one caveat: I had to use up nearly all of my allotted production units and engineering time for the trim to get the result I wanted. Even so, all that wanton spending seemed worth it - or was it?

The Imperia in question. Its predecessor (which I plan to make later on) is no oil painting by comparison; this one, in contrast, looks as fast as it goes.

In the days leading up to the initial judging phase, I calmly waited for other users to submit their entries, which allowed me to compare my approach to designing an entry with theirs. The entry list consisted of everything from mid-engined two-seaters, front-engined hardtop coupes (most of which were rear-wheel-drive), and several convertibles. There was even an SUV, whose presence in this particular round left me wondering: Why on earth did someone submit such a huge behemoth in a contest meant for sports cars?

That question would not be answered until the last part of judging. In the meantime, I began contemplating the consequences of what the client thought of my entry. It quickly became apparent that, out of all the possibilities I could come up with, this was one that made sense to me more than any other. The choice of body for the Imperia 325 was mainly down to age more than anything else; in the UE4 version, many of the other coupe bodies available by 2001 were unlocked in the 1980s, and although I could get my entry to look, feel and drive as good as I wanted with them, I felt they were still too old to be worth using.

A week after the round was launched, the judging process finally began. To begin with, the client would reject anything that felt too old, or didn't look (or feel) good enough. This led to many promising entries falling by the wayside. However, the Imperia 325 was definitely not one of them. Even so, with so many other entries still in the running (and highly competitive ones at that), determining the top five would be a thankless task.

Finally, the moment of truth had arrived. Which of the remaining cars would the client pick? Certainly not the Imperia 325, much to my regret; the client thought its rear-end styling was too odd, to say the least. Nor did the many cars which, despite leaving somewhat promising first impressions, turned out to fall short in at least one key area (such as comfort or sportiness) after the client gave them a more thorough examination. So, after the next round of cuts, just five cars were left, exactly as the client had planned. There was, however, one car (or rather, SUV) in particular among the semifinalists which the client chose to keep: the Enactor Land Roamer Estate, which would become the client's next daily driver.

The aforementioned SUV. Its practicality ensured that it would sit happily in the client's garage next to something else... but what would that car be?

And so it was time to rank the finalists. These last five cars made a very strong case for themselves, but only one of them would be the client's new weekend car. The Mosport Arrow Y2K, Erin Tauga Coupe 3.0L and Ninomiya XFR SSR-T (6MT) could have won, but for whatever reason, didn't quite win the client's heart over. So there were only two cars left: the Keika Twist 2.2+ and the Falcon Dynamo S+. In the end, the Dynamo's practicality, superior safety and higher performance won the day, and the client snapped it up.

The 5 finalists of CSR71, from top to bottom: Ninomiya XFR SSR-T (6MT), Keika Twist 2.2+, Mosport Arrow Y2K, Falcon Dynamo S+, and Erin Tauga Lex 3.0L

The user who created the Falcon Dynamo S+ was kind enough to share it with other users after the conclusion of CSR71, and I immediately downloaded the corresponding files for it, eager as I was to find out why it won. But I had other things in mind for it - and those will be described in my next post.