78 replies to this topic

[Xer06siX]

davek1979, on August 26 2013 - 09:29 PM, said:

Are UDK vehicles representative of the size of Hawken mech _ Maybe you should acquire a model of any Hawken mech for scale reference.
UDK vehicles might be completely out of scale and you run the risk of the whole map being out of scale which isn't the biggest of problems when it comes to scaling meshes up, but a real pain if your low-res texture is suddenly stretched on a two or three times bigger mesh.

Are the Mechs in the game "over sized" or is the geometry "under sized". Perhaps a little of both. The vehicles represent the possibility of an object larger than a standard player model. By standard i mean 5-5"-6-5" human player models. The player model represents the fact that the Mechs are actually the size of player models in other games, they only appear to look big when placed next to miniaturized human and architectural elements and everything else is shrunken down to lend effect to size.

As you smartly pointed out these structures can be re-scaled easily and and texture issues reworked. This is why the basic blocking out of the level must take place, so that these things can be determined in fact. Importing a single Mech model from Hawken and using that mesh as a reference would be ideal as the model would transfer directly into the editor with scale intact.

XD

[Pastorius]

This is awesome work Xer06siX. I am really enjoying seeing it all come together. Watching such a process from sketch to completion is both a fascinating and educational experience. Keep it up!

Edit: If your are short of resources/objects Modius is your man and he's kindly offered to lend a hand

Edited by Pastorius, August 27 2013 - 10:44 AM.

[Xer06siX]

Pastorius, on August 27 2013 - 10:40 AM, said:

This is awesome work Xer06siX. I am really enjoying seeing it all come together. Watching such a process from sketch to completion is both a fascinating and educational experience. Keep it up!

Edit: If your are short of resources/objects Modius is your man and he's kindly offered to lend a hand

I will accept textures, meshes, whatever anyone wishes to contribute. :-D

[davek1979]

Let's be realistic. While I wish this project all the best, without assurance the map will be used by HWK/user maps will be allowed, this is nothing but practice of 3D workflow into UDK. Nevertheless, best of luck to all participating.

[Pastorius]

Sometimes it's not about the singular, finite result but about the process and sharing an experience with people that have a common interest.

The Hawken community is a very creative one and that should be celebrated.

Thankfully, for the most part, it is.

[Rocky1822]

Yep... so far so good ... this map is definitely coming up great....
I feel like I want to run my mech on it after the design is over!!!(IF they add this to the list of HAWKEN Maps...)

[Xer06siX]

davek1979, on August 27 2013 - 11:24 AM, said:

Let's be realistic. While I wish this project all the best, without assurance the map will be used by HWK/user maps will be allowed, this is nothing but practice of 3D workflow into UDK. Nevertheless, best of luck to all participating.

Anything created here can be directly imported into the Hawken Universe in one form or another. (assuming modding community support) The major issue is testing the "flow" of the levels to balance things out. Which I cannot obviously do now for example "Is this EU tree too far from this base_". "Is base 1 too exposed to sniper fire_"."my mechs get hung up on this piece of geometry....etc. These things could only to be addressed in the Hawken client. Apart from that, yes it is "practice" which I like to perform whether or not I intend to use the material, simply to keep up with the Engine and maintain my Level Design abilities.

[Xer06siX]

Daily update.

Some progress on a large rock formation using the Blender modeling program. Sculpting is complete, texturing and LOD(Level of Detail) compilation is the next step. Currently creating a universal assets package for use in all of the planned levels, of which this will be part of the Rocks pack.


"LRocks1"

Large rock first model. Intended to be used as "siding" for high degree slopped terrain, "Lone rock" formation placement, and cliff supplementation.

Package list planned contents.

1) Rocks (Rocks...)
2) Structural (Building components, walls, arches, bridge elements, pipes)
3) Deco (small and large misc decorative features)
4) Natural (trees, ice formations, waterfall base etc)

As I build more meshes for these categories and complete the packages I will make them available for download under Creative Commons License.

[Xer06siX]

Ski Village details emerging.

Basic terrain established as per the sketch. NumPatchesX/Y = 128. Substantially larger than Hydro.

View from the bottom of the ski slopes, looking up to the peak. This area will be littered with trees rocks and small homes and other structures scattered about. Set at night with full moon, this is to head off any excessive bloom effects from lighting the snow in more detail later on. The peak will be mostly obscured by trees and other objects.



View from the top of the slope where the Ski lift tower will be. Looking down into the valley where the village will be located.



Overview of Ski Village. Notice the depression on the left side where the village will be placed. The leading edge averages out to the top of the hill, with some berms setup. This is the starting point, and the first pass of blocking the terrain can be completed soon.



I am currently configuring a Particle System package for falling snow. I have not placed any emitters for the particles in the level until more fine tuning is complete, but expect to see it in the next day or so!

Edited by Xer06siX, August 28 2013 - 12:45 AM.

[erathic]

Snowy night map, that will be very cool ! Keep it up !

[Pastorius]

Yeh, that is very cool. I'm up for a night map too. I like the idea of the mechs having headlamps and/or spotlights too. I noticed that while Davek1979 was talking about scale, you said it would be relatively easy to extract and add the mechs_

I would love to see some mechs stomping around on these maps

Keep up the great work Xer06six!

[Rasti]

Yes, let the snow spread, muhahaha ...

What will the 'village' look like_
Wooden huts or more Hawken-ish futuristic structures_

[Xer06siX]

Rasti, on August 28 2013 - 06:13 AM, said:

Yes, let the snow spread, muhahaha ...

What will the 'village' look like_
Wooden huts or more Hawken-ish futuristic structures_

I actually wanna do more "traditional" modern houses (cabins_) and other facilities. Even though the game is set in the future, the detail in the story of the map, (that the facility had been mostly abandoned and untouched) can allow me to get away with populating the map with them. I really want the players to appreciate how large their Mech is by standing next to these objects. (The facility will be powered by the time the battle there occurs, but in some areas remain in blackout)

I'm really excited about a night map because we can really see all those awesome lighting (maybe even tracer round_) and explosion effects in their full glory!

It could look something like this image I put together last week, with houses spread about.



Particle Sys screenshots coming today!

Edited by Xer06siX, August 29 2013 - 01:37 AM.

[Xer06siX]

Active snow particle system integrated into the level. I am still adjusting the parameters of the particles, including varying sizes, velocities, and decay rates. Particle Systems can be a bit hardware intensive, so this process of tweaking is undertaken to ensure the maximum efficiency.

Short walk around video recorded with Ezvid. Sorry if the snow particles are a bit hard to see in the video.

EDIT: You may want to maximize the video and wait a second for the quality to change before playing, this will help with the quality issue.



Setting up some Conifer trees around the area, the first basic pass of blocking is complete and the terrain checks out good. Completed static mesh rocks and some speed trees are seen here. Overlooking some water tanks.



Another shot of a small clearing.



A partially obscured view of the peak, my attempt to capture some of the particles on SS.



A view from a small clearing looking up to the peak. Notice the particles blend nicely with the star effects, this creates a very solid seamless effect, I think the finished product will be quite crisp in this type of environment.



I will adjust the size of the snow particles when more blocking passes have been completed, so they may become more prominent, but scaling them could be an issue when referencing the size of the Mechs.

Note this is not the final snow material, height maps (or bumbmaps) will have to be made and used along with texture effects to create a sparkling snow surface. this one appears a bit bland but it serves the purpose for the time being.

More to come!

Edited by Xer06siX, August 28 2013 - 02:32 PM.

[Pastorius]

It's so pretty! great work Xer06siX.

[davek1979]

Maybe a thread to follow to avoid possible disappointment: https://community.pl...ds/#entry333893

[Xer06siX]

davek1979, on August 29 2013 - 12:32 AM, said:

Maybe a thread to follow to avoid possible disappointment: https://community.pl...ds/#entry333893

I am rarely disappointed when it comes to things I create, whether I use the assets or not. It's all a learning experience, or more like a practice like in the Medical profession from which I came.

I've been developing content for various Unreal Engine games since 1998, so I guess you could say I'm a bit passionate about it. CliffyB (previously at Epic Games) and the rest of the guys over at Epic are an outstanding group.

[davek1979]

Xer06siX, on August 29 2013 - 12:51 AM, said:

davek1979, on August 29 2013 - 12:32 AM, said:

Maybe a thread to follow to avoid possible disappointment: https://community.pl...ds/#entry333893

I am rarely disappointed when it comes to things I create, whether I use the assets or not. It's all a learning experience, or more like a practice like in the Medical profession from which I came.

I've been developing content for various Unreal Engine games since 1998, so I guess you could say I'm a bit passionate about it. CliffyB (previously at Epic Games) and the rest of the guys over at Epic are an outstanding group.

Perfect.

[Rocky1822]

This map is great!!! Its coming up pretty well...
Good job, Xer06siX!!

Edited by Rocky1822, August 30 2013 - 06:54 AM.

[GodsHolyMember]

It wouldn't surprise me if the HWK team plans to adopt community submitted maps down the road.  The more community involvement, the more that everyone will feel invested in the game.

I doubt that ADH is not paying attention to Xero's developments.  Seriously dude!  Making 2 maps simultaneously is quite a feat!

/used Milkshape + QUARK back in the old-old-days
//off my lawn!