This morning I handed in my finished SPP2 paper, thus marking the conclusion of my second year at NTU on the BA Multimedia course.
My SPP2 development and progression essay can be downloaded and viewed using any PDF reader by clicking the image link below...
As promised here is a short (silent) video of my Unreal map (Outpost) being played. The map can be downloaded HERE. If you do play please DO leave any comments, thoughts and feedback in the comments link below (no account needed to post comments) ENJOY!
* Apologies
You can download and play my Unreal 2004 map (Outpost) HERE. I spent all weekend playing about with the bot pathing to get it exactly how I wanted it, was fun, although it took me ages to get the AI characters to navigate my entire map.
I used a lot Unreal Scripted Sequences to get bots to defend certain areas, such as sniping points and so that AI players attacked from behind cover and well fortified areas. The AI is actually a challenge at some points in the game, but it’s still not that hard to win the round (especially if you’re a lethal FPS player like me, joke).
I managed to have a good time with the texturing also... I went out with my digital camera and basically looked like a mad man taking photos of the ground and walls everywhere I went. I’m pretty happy with the results; it’s basically my translation of the Unreals stock textures that I originally used.
I’ve tested this map on various machines; each had its own take on the lighting. On my PC (the one which I made the level on. CRT monitor) the lighting seems average, the shadows are fairly dark there’s no glare.
I also tested it on a few TFT machines and the map is a much brighter, each system had its own variation. It’s still looks OK, still very playable but there is some loss in the dark shadows. Not a lot I can do about that… try playing about with your monitor brightness and contrast settings.
Here’s a few screen shots, I’m going to record and upload a video of my map (Outpost) being played later this week for the people out there who don’t have Unreal 2004…
I’m having such a hard time at the moment trying to translate my development and progress into words for the SPP2 paper, so much so that working on my Unreal map seems like pure bliss in comparison! Its almost there, I plan to post the final level up here for download to play, watch this space.
I keep dipping out of trying to advance with my work to watch comedy videos on You Tube, it’s keeping me sane. Recently I’ve been re-discovering the comedy stylings of Stewart Lee (Fist of Fun & Jerry Springer the Opera).
I’m almost there I think... today I added some Jump Pads (jump paths illustrated by the purple curved lines in the screen shot below, click image to enlarge). Their locations really add to the maps flow.
I’ve also been playing around with crates as hard cover and positioning them strategically around my map.
I have also started to re-texture the map with my own texture work, but I still have some way to go with that (tomorrows plan is to tackling all the texturing).
My final task is to sort the bot pathing, which I’m currently reading up on. Then all that’s left to do is to play test the arse off it, before the deadline a week today…
Here’s a quick update... recently I’ve been working on my end of year paper, reflective practice and development (SPP2) so I’m hard at it with that at the moment. I will post the final draft up here as and when.
In other news I’m still chipping away at my Unreal Tournament map, it’s going strong. As you can see I still have a long way to go on the modelling front but I'm very pleased with it so far. I hope I can master bot pathing before the deadline; I have scheduled time to do so, fingers crossed.
Here are some screen shots of my work thus far…
Above is an overview shot of my map (box). The grey tall block with the red outline is what I’ve just started working on, it’s going to be office block style building.
This (above) is my new guard tower, it’s changed since my previous post. This new version has a bit more BEEF to it!
Above is an interior shot of a disused style building; wooden chip board has been used to board up windows and holes as a form of cover.
This (Fig. 1 & 2) is my bunker design. It's sunk into the ground by 64 Unreal units. If the player crouches and looks out through the narrow concaved windows, he / she will have a great vantage position that sits the crosshair just above ground level (shin height) deadly!
The main entrance to the bunker is a choke point which is overlooked by a narrow window looking out from the main room inside. There is an alternative way into the bunker, head up the stairs on the far side, onto the roof and down through the smashed hole. The barrels are explosive and have pretty devastating splash damage; I also plan to stick in an old crate box or two for some solid, hard cover.
Here are my build stats so far... 1141 polys and counting… my target is anywhere between 10,000 and 100,000 polys. Seems like I have some way to go before I hit 10k, I'm being too economical, I hope I can reach it.
I found a blindingly obvious bug in GTA IV last night.
A bug in a Rockstar game, no way, that's a first... I'm being sarcastic.
Allow me to elaborate… I was cruising along on a hog motorbike when Brucie buzzed me over the mobile and suggested a ride in his helicopter would be nice, I agreed. Five minuets later I roll up on my chopper and there’s Brucie waiting for me… but he’s stood with two women who I can only assume want to tag along for the ride (typical).
Here’s the issue… four people won’t all fit on a motorcycle, so normally the game should suggest alternative transport, not this time, we just all stand there like four un-movable chumps… I can pause, go in and out of the XBox menu, traffic even still roles past and people walk by, but the game is now officially Fµ(|{3Ð. No movement what-so-ever!
There’s another for Rockstar’s QA department to add to their long list of missed bugs in releases. Patch?!
* Watch out for that bug Niko! EEK!
Had another 3DSM tantrum this morning, yet even more hours wasted on useless meshes, this afternoon’s efforts were more productive though.
Below is a short video of my level thus far, I’ve added the guard tower, a very Lego like structure which needs some décor
I have also added a small grass mound / hill, which I produced as a mesh… and as you can see the texturing is way off (really need to grasp UVW mapping) I’m very tempted to just use Unreal Ed’s terrain tool instead.
My 3D skills are limited, but improving every time I model. I’m devoting the majority of my time towards good, solid playability rather than wasting it all on bling meshes, thats my excuse!
For some reason the below video capture is much brighter than the game actually is, which is a shame because I'm rather proud of my lighting job.
Tuesday night’s games session was very productive! With Brad’s help we managed to solve a lot of my Unreal problems, as mentioned in previous posts.
Today… apart from getting stressed over various 3D models and meshes, I’ve re-worked the rock / wall faces using 3DSMax, my map now looks a damn sight better in my opinion… even if it is an empty box still. The top of the walls won’t be straight; I plan to change that also, just to add extra detail and effect… but all those small changes are last minute priority. I am also working on my other static mesh designs that will inhabit my level with.
I worked up the courage this afternoon to try some simple 3D modelling in Max (I’m scared of that program, seriously). Surprisingly… once I got going I rather enjoyed myself… I came up with a very straightforward mesh of a cave entrance and I also accomplished a fairly respectable texture job on it too.
I’m guessing all three problems are related and that I’m missing something really obvious, like checking a box somewhere located deep inside a hidden menu.
Today’s plan was to head into University and work on some static mesh stuff, but I felt like death when I woke up so I resorted to plan B… setting up my map in the UT Editor. I took what I learnt from the Sky Box tutorial (as mentioned in a previous post) and applied that to a day time setting for my specific map design. It took me ages to get the lighting right but I’m pleased with the results, well worth the time I put in.
Instead of using 3DSM or Maya to add the cliff / rock faces around the walls of my level I used UT’s 2D Shape Editor. I know this is seen as “the long way round” but I have more confidence with this tool set… and the results so far aren’t half bad, the cliff / rock faces clearly need more detail adding so that’s the next step before I start populating my map.
Please don't mention the awful texturing, I haven’t even started to work on them yet so what you see are temporary archived textures used only for illustration purposes.
I started this Sky Box tutorial as posted on Chris’ blog before heading off to my PT job today... then finished it when I got home. I had my ideas about how a sky box would work and I wasn’t that far off. I’m really pleased with the results, this cheered me up a bit today.
Here is a refined version of my initial map design, this is just the ground level layer, there is an underground section but I’ve not included that in the image below, possibly because I haven’t decided on a good enough layout for the underground slice yet.
I’ve done a polished 2D plan in Flash as I intended to make an interactive piece where the user could click on different sections and it would explain their selection in more detail… but I’ve been pushed for time this week (mostly down to working PT) and I couldn’t get it done by today... enough excuses.
I still think this design is maybe a bit too ambitious, considering my “beginner” level 3D skillz. I’m very tempted to opt for a completely indoor map but that’s bottling it basically… think I should just go for it…
Today has been a very bad day in regards to work and progress, slightly disheartening really. Not all bad I guess I’ve made a little progress, for example the layout design below has changed already, so there’s a nice an out of date image for you…
Planning time over, it’s now time to start building…
I was there, Monday night, 12am, queuing up at my local games store, itching to grab a copy of GTA IV. Now, a few days on and I feel I should put the controller down and think about this game on a professional level…
It’s safe to say I’ve joined the masses in bumming GTA IV right into outer space, it is VERY good… but the game has is it's faults (is it really worth IGN’s 10/10?)
Upon entering Liberty City I end up at my cousin Romans place, here I discover that you can sit down and watch TV, so that’s what I did for my first half hour of the game, I just chilled out and flicked through the channels.
One of the first missions required me to chase down some scum bag and end his life, a standard GTA activity. After chasing this guy to the third floor of a miscellaneous warehouse we came to a stand off, he pulls a knife on me, I’m unarmed. I noticed that my knife wielding rival is stood with his back to a large glass window, I kicked him through the window and he falls and lands on an exterior balcony. I jump through the now smashed window to where my enemy is slowly picking himself up, I decided to end it here and finish him off, mission complete! With the task accomplished I turn to go back through the smashed window… but… it’s no longer smashed, strange. What’s even worse than an auto repair window is the fact that that exact same window is now un-breakable and I’m now stuck up on a third floor balcony with no safe way down. This design flaw ruined what would have been a great gaming moment… shame.
I found myself out of cash pretty early on into the game, so instead of following the set missions to earn some coin I decided to be a low life and go rob an establishment at gunpoint, something you could do in previous GTA titles… but not in this one so it would seem. Pretty disappointing, guess there is the chance I wasn’t “doing it correctly” – I really hope so.
The addition of the mobile phone has changed the GTA world completely, kind of like it has in reality, everything is now organised through your mobile. The network of interaction that the phone allows is very cool, for example I took this girl (Michele) out on a date; I picked her up on a recently stolen motorbike and took her for a ride. My driving skills aren’t that great and I ended up coming off the bike, along with Michele, she wasn’t happy about this and walked off home in a huff... officially ending the date. I tried calling her the next day but she remembered what happened and told me where to get off. I’m a persistent guy, so I keep calling her over the passing days but I get similar responses. After the fourth call I make to her I get a txt message saying that she appreciates all the attention and she’ll call me soon… great. That’s all I wanted to point out with this one… an example of how much detail there really is in this game, not just graphically but also with regards to character interaction.
Let me tell you about the time I went to the Russian bar on
There seems to be a lot of new features trying to immerse the player even further into in the GTA world, for example you can watch television, prank call people, surf the web, get a lap dance… blah blah blah… the list goes on.
The one thing that you can’t do (still) is SIT THE FUCK DOWN! I’ve been crying out for this minimal attribute ever since
Bouncy cars piss me off! Don’t get me wrong the car physics are great and I do understand that its not meant to be Forza or GT (even though everything else is as ‘realistic’ as can be) but when I hit a curb at 10mph I don’t expect to be flung 30 feet into the air, oh well. I guess you could argue that the bouncy physics allow for such big dramatic action scenes and crashes. A lot of the cars that I have driven about have got stuck on there sides, in past GTA games this would start the car to burn, not in this game though, the car just sits happily on its side blocking the street… rather annoying.
It’s been hard choosing what to talk about when it comes to this game, there is literally so much to take in and digest. I feel most of the new features don’t really affect the central game play (with the exception of the mobile phone).
Enough with the talk, I have to go play some more GTA!
Here’s a screen grab from what I’ve been working on today. I’m still playing around with the tool set, experimenting mostly, really getting to grips with the programs UI. Apologies for the texturing… I haven’t got that far yet…
I’m still yet to grasp outdoor terrain and sun lighting…etc, so for now I’ve just created a big room to put everything else in… n00b! As you can see in the screen grab below the lighting is all wrong, I’m currently reading through the Light Concepts chapter...
Last Tuesday evening I presented my map / level plan to the class (as shown in my previous post - 22/04/08)
Not much of a reaction, maybe because the military out post theme has been done to death, but hey… that’s the kind of maps I digg! I did pick up some constructive feedback though, mainly about the vast scale of my initial plan. I’m now focusing on a re-design one quarter of the size, results… smaller but more polished... still changing and developing the idea…
I’m also currently scouting Ebay, trying to get my hands on a copy of S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadow of Chernobyl. A game advised by my tutor for the level design and location themes, very similar to what I described apparently…
I’m getting more engaged with the UT2004 Editor, discovering new abilities each session I use the engine
Apart from that I’ve been finding myself scouring every games site under the sun for GTA IV info and updates, just to satisfy my relentless GTA thirst.
I have a copy pre-ordered and I’m pretty close to pissing myself with excitement just waiting for Monday, 12am to appear… just 3 more days!
Over the last week I’ve been doodling out map / level layouts and designs. I’ve decided to use Flash to show some of my plans in a presentable form…
The main theme behind this level is an old militia / military out post. This out post is out in the sticks, no other form of settlement or life is located anywhere near by. This out post isn’t very well funded or looked after, the buildings are old and this location has visibly come under attacked in the past and has changed hands a good number of times. Bullet holes can be seen in the structures, crumbling brick walls and buildings, smashed windows, crater holes in the ground from past explosions… etc
This location is surrounded by grass and foliage. The main road into and out of the outpost is tarmac, some regularly used dirt tracks can be seen also...
1. This building is actually 2 towers that are connected by a walk way in the middle. The tower on the left is higher than the one on the right. This building is main HQ of the outpost, offices
2. This building is the sleeping / living quarters. They have long been abandoned and left to ruin.
3. This area is the main entrance to the complex; a stationary gun has been set up here looking down towards the HQ. There are also some sandbags and crates here.
4. This building use to be the mess hall and kitchens for the outpost, yet again due to neglect this building and its contents have long been left to rot.
5. This building is where vehicles use to be maintained, it also use to be host the armoury.
6. This building is a small structure housing several prison cells.
7. Guard tower, this structure is a small hut raised up on stilts, only accessible via a ladder. This gives a good vantage point over much of the map.
As you can see this particular design is still in the very early stages.
I’ve talked more about the aesthetics rather than focusing on the exact details of every location on the map. I try to focus on visual feel more to begin with because I feel it gives me a greater sense of how the map / level will look. Details can always be refined later...
I’ve spent a decent sum of time this afternoon going through the terrain chapters and tutorials for the UT2004 Editor.
Tutorials are a mixed thing with myself, sometimes I get them and all is swell, sometimes I get lost and I abort… this time let’s say that my final file didn’t look like the screen shots in the book, pretty disappointing but it’s obvious that I screwed up somewhere along the lines. I plan to attempt it again tomorrow, with a fresh head.
Even though my tutorial attempt failed I absorbed and understood the rest of the reading in the terrain chapters. I now know and understand the main concepts of how terrain is handled in the UT2004 Editor.
You win some and you loose some….
