Moderator: Thanas
Hmm, nice image, but I'm not sure where to work it in. Possibly if I do a stage where you have to rescue an island that has already been half-eaten by these things, there could be lots of them around as dangerous obstacles (assuming they turn up only after the more aggressive variants have pacified the area).salm wrote:It would be cool if one type of obstacle or enemy looked like and moved like jelly fish. hundereds of floating space jelly fish would be damn cool.
Yes. That's why the geometry is all smooth trig and polynomial curves, rather than an irregular mesh; they're defined as a series of function calls to mesh segment generators, rather than a 3D model file. There's a small amount of noise applied to differentiate individuals. It's a quick and dirty technique that severely limits the kind of models you can produce, but I think it works quite well for this application.salm wrote:Do you create these bastards procedurally as well, like the terrain?
I guess because you simply have a lot less control over procedural models than over models crafted by hand.Sarevok wrote:I had no idea procedural mesh and texture generation was so advanced ! A lot of the grunt work in making a 3D game goes into the artwork. Why don't the game industry use same techniques as you do to cut down time and costs ?
Hmm... is there a way to procedurally create meshes as complex as characters with the properties required for a gaming character?Sarevok wrote:It could still be helpful to generate most the mesh and then tweak the it to look the way you want. Say you are making your basic FPS soldier guy. By answering a few basic questions you get a generic armored dude with preset animations for walk, shoot, jump etc. Basic attributes like height, color, general look are derived from your description. Then you change bits here and there to make him to look like a Stormtrooper, Replica, Overwatch etc.
This is nothing; take a look at this for what you can achieve when you invest some serious time into it.I had no idea procedural mesh and texture generation was so advanced !
I'm using it on the birds and enemies for two reasons; because I'm not a very good 3D modeller (it really is easier for me to define cubic patches by hand than to use a 3D program to make them) and to keep the download size down. For the landscape it is a time saver even if you are a good 3D modeller, but I can only get away with it because the landscape details aren't critical to gameplay the way they are in an FPS or driving game.Sarevok wrote:Why don't the game industry use same techniques as you do to cut down time and costs ?
Character customisation is usually implemented by a combination of two techniques; combining pre-made pieces (e.g. equipment) into a single character mesh at runtime, and extending the bones animation system to do things like facial feature customisation.Sarevok wrote:Basic attributes like height, color, general look are derived from your description. Then you change bits here and there to make him to look like a Stormtrooper, Replica, Overwatch etc.
Procedural generation of humans is an active research area. It's been used in movie CGI rendering applications, for large battle scenes. I'm not aware of any games that use a fully procedural approach, though several use animation bones to alter proportions and facial features (hence creating multiple characters from one mesh).Hmm... is there a way to procedurally create meshes as complex as characters with the properties required for a gaming character?
Vendetta wrote:Richard Gatling was a pioneer in US national healthcare. On discovering that most soldiers during the American Civil War were dying of disease rather than gunshots, he turned his mind to, rather than providing better sanitary conditions and medical care for troops, creating a machine to make sure they got shot faster.
Unfortunately, no, for two reasons. Firstly the physics required to do it realistically are very complex, on a par with the main flight physics. Secondly it would be an immense control challenge in a game that already has challenging controls. I'd have to put in some special stabilisation and lock-on AI to make it work, and it's a lot of work for very little benefit.Hawkwings wrote:Are you going to have some sort of melee attack?
I have gone with human characters whose magic is based on changing into birds (which you will see in the cutscenes only - you can't turn back in gameplay) because that makes it easy to characterise them and relate them to the environment features (villages to defend, magic structures to use). Having actual sentient birds is a whole barrel of writing issues, especially since this is now supposed to be accessible to average gamers. Kind of a cop out I know but as a time-limited personal project I'm on a bit of a complexity and innovation budget.Would be fitting for the first level, when you're just some normal bird and have to face down these supernatural beings.
I am planning to add a swan maiden character, whose special attacks are 'monsoon' and 'typhoon'. The first one removes toxic sludge (dropped by the rays), kills grounded shadow slugs (by dissolving them) and also puts out fires. The second one will create a persistent tornado like effect that sucks in and kills any enemies that get close (though it only works over water).salm wrote:In the beginning of the thread you said something about eneimies burning the trees. Does the player have a way to extinguish the trees if too many of them catch fire?
That's rather awesome. Initially, I was, but it was just so easy and pleasant to program (compared to AI stuff) that I got kind of carried away. Then various people who saw it started making suggestions as to features and characters...Here I thought you were just making an amusing gadget side-project about how one can fly an owl and wanted input from other people.
Well, if it turns out good enough (e.g. 10 hours plus of decent gameplay, adequate production values), I may put it on Xbox Live for $5. Even if I do that I will make the basic 'free flight' mode a free PC download.Instead, you're making a full-fledged (if freeware) indie game.
While 2D images would be cool (see: Ace Combat 4's awesome painting-based cutscenes),Zixinus wrote:How do you plan to make a cutscene? Drawn still images or just hastily-assembled 3D models talking.
From past experience, collaboration on a project of this type is something you have to take seriously if you want it to work. If you're asking people to work for free, then if they don't share your enthusiasm or vision for the project, it'll likely end in tears. There are a lot of people posting in 'services offered' on the XNA forums, but I'm reluctant to get in touch with any for this reason.Lusankya wrote:You could always make a post in AMP asking someone with talent to make some acceptable drawings for you.
Vendetta wrote:Richard Gatling was a pioneer in US national healthcare. On discovering that most soldiers during the American Civil War were dying of disease rather than gunshots, he turned his mind to, rather than providing better sanitary conditions and medical care for troops, creating a machine to make sure they got shot faster.
An oval would be problematic because the radar is based on a relative compass heading and an absolute pitch angle; it considers your absolute yaw only when projecting enemy positions (IMHO this is the most intuitive layout). Instead I've added a couple of lines showing where your horizontal view angle ends; this also minimises clutter.Hawkwings wrote:I'd suggest putting an oval-shaped overlay on the radar, to mark the point where things cease being in front of you and start being behind you.
