The Mechanical Musician in an Iron Lung, Big Band!

[Flotilla]

Mod note: This is an entry for the resource threads competition.

I was shocked to learn that there wasn't a thread on our next DLC character, so I pretty much had to make this. Introducing...

Big Band
​

Set to arrive in merely weeks, it might be best to read up on this guy before he gets a chance to school you in the finer aspects of trombone-to-hand combat.

Who is this guy? What's his story? Why the heck does he have a backsax?

Big Band was formerly an officer of the law, Ben Birdland. Ben had seen the grisliest wars and the birth of a new Skullgirl, but he finally met his match when he went AWOL from his crooked police force. When his former colleagues caught up with him, he was beaten beyond belief and left to die, horribly crippled within the confines of an iron lung. Ben's story eventually caught the attention of the Anti-Skullgirl Labs, who agreed to rebuild him with an impressive armament of pneumatic weaponry. Reborn as Big Band, he allies himself with ASG Lab 8 in the pursuit of the newly-risen Skullgirl.

Whoa, sounds neat. But how's he going to play?

Big Band is BIG. His attacks are massive and hit for mucho damage.

He has huge rush-punches with armor, long-reaching anti-air grabs, a full-screen mallet smash to disrupt zoners, and the second most-damaging level 1 super in the game! And that's only scratching the brassy surface of this melodic menace.

Like Cerebella, he's a rather slow character, encouraging careful and deliberate movements when approaching your target, lest you open yourself up. If you're a Third Strike fan, Mike Z often says Big Band will play "like Q, but good."

Oooh. So when can I expect to see Big Band ingame?

He's already ingame in the Skullgirls Endless Beta! Test him out there, and participate in his development as he nears completion. He'll be in the full game in the weeks following, after he is content-complete.

How far in is Big Band's development?

Big Band's moveset is very nearly complete, with only a few more additions to come in the following days. He's perfectly playable! However he'll need the following before he will be released into the full game:

• Most of his voice work has yet to be implemented (alongside Big Band's tag-in lines for other characters).
• He doesn't yet have all of his frames cleaned and colored.
• His final sound effects are in the process of being implemented.

Weekly updates on Big Band's development can be viewed at http://www.twitch.tv/eightysixed . Mike Z shows off the latest Big Band builds every Friday, starting at 8 p.m. PST. An archive of previous weeks' builds can also be found there.

How much will this guy cost? I HATE SPENDING MONEY.

On release, Big Band will be 100% FREE for three months after release. If you add him to your Steam account within that three-month period, he's free for you to play forever. After this three month period passes, people who have not yet redeemed him for free will have to pay $5 to get Big Band's character and story-mode.


That's the long and short on Big Band. I'll be sure to update the OP with relevant information as it comes out. Until then...

 

[Vadsamoht]

Linked this thread to the Unreleased Characters section.

 

[Flotilla]

Updated the development info. He got a lot of colored frames this week, and the majority of his normals are ingame. Also have updated his ETA since Mariel gave a more up-to-date estimate.

EDIT: Updated his development estimates, since Mike Z gave some percentages today.

EDIT2: Big Band is slowly approaching completion, and I've updated the OP yet again.

EDIT3: Updated gameplay section to give examples of some of Big Band's moves. Updated yet-to-be-finished list. Changed the ETA to be more time-relevant as he nears ever-closer to release.

EDIT4: He's out almost! Quick rewording to reflect that.

 

[Sliced_Toast]

I am just interested to see his balance changes and all, there is some talk about him being reduced in size, and I can understand that, however when the re size happens will it completely murder his ability to cover gaps? Also I can't wait to see the rest of his moves, as it stands thanks to the beta, his damage is just wonderful as sin, I will admit its a tad bit high, however is that not the allure of this man? To close gaps and lay the smack down? I know most people just see the damage and go "Holy hell is this fair?" to which I say yes, because of the fact that most of his moves are pretty unsafe so far, and getting in will require timing. I don't know where else to go on the forums to discuss the beta work on him and what people think, if anyone could tell me where to start the post so it does not need to get moved. I would be very appreciative.

 

[Flotilla]

I am just interested to see his balance changes and all, there is some talk about him being reduced in size, and I can understand that, however when the re size happens will it completely murder his ability to cover gaps?

Mike said that the resize would "be way less than 10%". He'll still be pretty big.

 

[Sliced_Toast]

Mike said that the resize would "be way less than 10%". He'll still be pretty big.

Phew, that is a good thing to know, given that fact, his Bass Knuckle will still reach the ends of the screen, no one will be safe from the walking orchestra.