Unplanned Break

Okay, so I must apologize for missing the past few posts.  However, all you missed in those would have been excuses.  Things along the line of work is hectic, need to study, need to read would have filed those posts.  Similar to what Life is doing to this post.  However, I do have a bit to show, so with further ado, what I have been toying around with.

I know this is nowhere near done.  In fact, it is nowhere near where I would even want to present it.  However, it has been quite a bit of time since I posted any modeling images, and so I wanted to show a bit of work.  Granted it is completely unrelated to the project at hand, but I thought it was cool looking.  Besides its interesting look, there are several aspects which make this piece interesting to me.  First is the mixture of organic and hard surface modeling, a blend I would like to incorporate into my game models.  The main body is organic in nature while other aspects like the pulley and arm are closer to hard surface modeling.  Also, since the body has several cut-outs inside the shape, I felt those would make an interesting look while providing a decent deal of complexity.  Obviously this model is nowhere near complete, missing many of the attachments in addition to the lower arm.

I am not even going to guess what the next week will bring, so until next time,
~gunnah

Oops

I accidentally missed a couple of posts there.  Not that I had anything to really share, but I do try not to miss them now that I am only doing one a week.  I have hit a bit of a road block with my contest entry, so bad I do not know if it is going to be a salvageable project with what I have coming up.  Outside of the little 3D modeling work I have been doing, life has been very hectic of late.  Between work going nuts, a visit from a relative who has been on another continent most of the last 18 months, and my exam coming up, I have made almost no progress in anything.  The good news is most of that should be wrapping up in the next week, not that I want to see my relative go back but the other two points.  So what does this mean for the immediate future: not much will get done this week.  Hopefully work will be sorted out Monday or Tuesday. My relative departs Thursday morning.  My test is Saturday morning.  With overtime likely this weekend and almost guaranteed the following, April is pretty much a wash for anything productive.  I hope I am wrong, at least enough to get a few work-in-progress images to show, even if they are unrelated to the game.  Well, I think that is enough talk of nothing, until next post,

~gunnah

Busy Week

I will keep this short since I do not really have much to talk about in terms of progress on my floor piece.  I was going to try to hurry to get the last few pieces created, but I did not want to rush the shapes.  I figured it was better to take a bit longer if it meant having a better selection.  What is the point of rushing through a piece only to have it be the first one tossed out because it had the least thought?  Of course the next contest begins this week.  Hopefully I can get something together for this contest, even if it slows this project up a little.

Well, no point droning on about how much nothing has been getting done and what great plans I can write.  Until next week,
~gunnah

Life

This week's post about sums up why I got almost nothing done this week.  Next week is likely to be similar. A lot of overtime in combination with car troubles meant what little free time I had was slept away.  I have been doing little bits on the game in terms of thinking about various aspects, but nothing concrete yet.  As mentioned in the two previous posts, my concern is getting a floor piece made, and then building the other pieces to make up the map.  Once that is done, I will have something to show.  Good news is there should only be one more week of heavy overtime.  Bad news is a new contest begins the week after next and I would really like to enter one of these.  I will admit my last entry fell apart due to inexperience modeling organic shapes, though I may finish it eventually anyway since I thought it was a cool scene.

That is it for this week, hopefully next week brings something new.  Until then,
~gunnah

Working on the Floor

Last post, I went over what was the minimum needed for me to create a level.  I detailed all of the pieces and their basic function, but I do not feel I gave one in particular enough credit.  The generic floor piece is one of the most important to construct for the map.  Not only will it likely be by far the most used piece, it will predominantly be responsible for setting the feel of the level.  Every other piece will be in one way or another a modified version of the floor piece.  Even pieces like the walls, while not directly a copy like the ramp, ledge or support pieces will be, will have the general shapes similar to the floor to keep a unified feel.

With this level of importance, I do not want to rush in and take the first thing I make and run with it.  Outside of missing some great ideas which may come from making multiple iterations, my main purpose is to find one that looks right while fulfilling my criteria.  Since form follows function, most of my criteria are fairly easy to meet.  Obviously, the science fiction look I am creating stems from the fact it is suppose to be a starship cargo hold.  Intricacies and a slightly unfinished look stem from the setting also and science fiction in general. These intricacies lead to cool and interesting looking pieces (and I could continue with this train of thought, but I think I made the point, its usage dictates a certain look and a certain look makes its useable).  The hard part come from my desired polygon count: one polygon or two triangles.  Having an intricate and detailed piece fulfill this requirement means a heavy reliance on normal and displacement mapping.  I do, however, feel this is necessary to keep the game running smoothly.  I know I could do some level of detail work, making the closer planes a little more high polygon, but I have worries about seems where the levels of detail change.  I have played game where their level of detail models changes too quickly and it made the game seem unpolished.

Hopefully, if things progress like they have been I will have a few more normal and displacement maps done by next week and then see how well diffuse, specular and ambient occlusion maps can fake distance the week after this.  Once I have all the maps done, I will show them, detailing the highlights and short comings of each.  At that point I can select one and start modifying it to make additional pieces.

Also, I know I said I was entering a contest.  Unfortunately work has been picking up and there has been quite a bit of overtime, so I was not able to get close enough to finishing the entry to even show it.  I may work on it later, but for now it joins my list of unfinished projects.  Until next time,
~gunnah

What is Needed to Make a Level

So I have decided to make a modular level, similar to what I had been doing with the road pieces.  I looked at my ideas for levels and decided the one I could probably piece together quickest is the space ship cargo hold.  So with the level picked, I had to decide dimensions.  This was fairly simple since the last time I was deciding on a level to make I had a rough idea of the size.  For the cargo hold, I am thinking something like a square with a side of two kilometers.  This would make a four square kilometer box with twenty-five possible points of contention.  While this may seem sparse, I want the game to flow in more small skirmishes than full team on team which I think this size and distribution may provide.  Of course the big test will come once I get enough done to start assembling the level.

With the level picked out, the size chosen and key points selected, I then began to think of how I wanted the level to look.  Since I am going for fairly quick and many of the pieces will be repeating right next to each other, I am going for a cleaner look.  So the only thing left is what actually needs to be made, which I have listed at about twenty pieces.  I am sure this is not a completely list as it has no unique pieces on it, but I think the main modular set will include about that many.  Below is a brief listing of how those are divided.

Floor tile: one piece; probably the most repeated unit in the map.

Ledge: two pieces, either a corner or an edge; used with raised platforms mostly.

Ramp: three pieces; one to go up, one to go down, and an optional mid piece.

Supports: four pieces; a base, a top and an optional mid section as well as a whole section; these are needed not only because floating platform drive me nuts but can also provide some more covered areas.

Walls: six pieces; all are either a corner or an edge, and either a base, a top or a mid section; mostly to wall in the map and the base.

Windowed Walls: two pieces, corner or edge; I want to use these on the north and south walls to break up the way the walls look.

Note that any pieces used for flooring (floor, ledge and ramp) I want to display the current owners colors.  These will be shown by lights in the floor which will change when the sector changes hands.  This means each of those will need five versions of each texture (one for each team and a  not captured color).  I have actually started on the main floor tile and hopefully I have something to show for next time.  Until then,
~gunnah

Another Week Already in the Books

So I started the week with two models basically done with being blocked out.  From there I decided if I worked on one model, it may get to completion faster than working on both at once like I normally do.  While working on the one, which I have called Scorpio, I have though of one other design which I have yet to block out.  None of these models are in any condition to be shown yet.  With any luck, the first concept will be up about middle of next month, for reasons I will discuss shortly.  For my first demo, I am hoping to have four tanks available to chose from, so this is a priority.

Now, for what is going to delay my tank modeling process: a contest.  I think my skill is decent, though nowhere near where I would like it to be, but I never have any deadlines.  Should I say something and the date passes like it always does, I move on to the next item on my to do list.  I am hoping entering the contest will give me a little more of a push to get stuff done.  The post after I submit my entry, I will put it on display. I am hoping it turns out as good as I have envisioned.

Just a final note, I have made some minor changes to the log's layout.  Biggest of these includes a list of tanks and their current stage of development.  I am hoping that keeps me motivated.  Until next time,
~gunnah