Here's a short video featuring what I have so far with my mining laser particle. I'll have to revisit it in order to make the area of impact feel more powerful, but it works enough for the blocking in phase.



But, basically these lasers move side to side a random amount, blasting away at the rock below. If the player runs into one of these they will be fried! Therefore, I made the lasers fairly slow, and with the curvature of the asteroid you are driving on, you will be able to see the lasers with plenty of time to dodge. I accomplished what I have so far with two separate particle systems. One for the beam, and one for the debris on the bottom. Using this system, I simply have to wire the bottom particle to a ray cast event from the ships to place it correctly on the asteroid's uneven surface. 
For the racing level I am planning on having mining lasers be one of the main obstacles for players to watch out for. I came up with this idea while I was looking up reference. I want my level to be space themed, so while searching for asteroids and what not, I found some EVE-Online screenshots.

EVE-Online is a fantastic, one of a kind game that has accomplished the impossible - having a completely player driven economy with almost no interference from the developers. In fact, the developers mostly let players do anything that is considered hacking or cheating.

Either way, one way of getting cash in EVE is to mine asteroids! In-game ships use mining lasers to blast ore out of rocks and collect tons of minerals. I always loved EVE, the game play, the wacky people that play it, and the beautiful sky boxes that populate the many star systems players can wrap to.

 

Therefore, I shall try to mix together the particle system they've developed here, with something a bit more threatening. I will also pull inspiration from the Halo series, especially the Covenant's infamous Glassing Cannon



I would aim to make a particle that basically takes the beam look from EVE, adding in the devastating orange glow the Covenant's concentrated beam of plasma creates when it impacts the surface. I will have to play with how powerful that glow is, so players are not blinded by it completely.


Video for better quality

Here are some additional effects from Halo Wars that I will reference. I like the idea of a strong pulse that happens every so often. Maybe I can make it feel powerful, but keep it from being as blinding as the glow from the first gif by having this periodic pulsing effect.


I'm going to create a themed racing level in space! After working on an ancient celestial temple, I need to get some sci-fi under my belt, so I will be modeling, texturing, and making lots of fun spacey sci-fi props for this level.

I'm planning on making a level that incorporates asteroids and space stations built into them, no unlike Omega from Mass Effect 2. The race will take place primarily during the day, so everything will be lit by a sun with very key key lighting. However, I am playing with the idea of having an eclipse during the final lap of the race to change the mood and make it more intense, by switching everything to a very low key, and illuminating the map with dull red emergency lights.




The track will have three primary areas, an asteroid cave, a space station, and the surface of an asteroid. I want to create a sort of meteor shower that the player has to drive through while on the surface of the asteroid as a stunt.

If that is too difficult I might just change it to a sort of crater soloum, where the player has to avoid driving into a crater.
But I will try to blend sci-fi elements from games like Mass Effect, Dead Space, and Destiny with realistic space elements such as using Phobos as a reference for making the surface of my asteroid and also referencing parts of the International Space Station to make panels and details of my space station more believable.





Here are just some quick thumbnails of certain aspects I want to capture, such as the eclipse on the final lap...









The entrance of the first asteroid at the beginning of the race, where the race first begins...










And exiting the space station on the way to the asteroid's surface.
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