mediaho
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Posts posted by mediaho
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I saw the new Unreal engine running at GDC. Holy crap. It looked nearly as good as the Final Fantasy (Spirits Within) movie in real time.
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Beautiful work!
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No way I'm going to that madhouse until they ban all the outsiders, kiddies and fanboys.
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Wasn't someone working on this for A:M? I haven't heard anything in a while. I remember a few people have picked up the task only to abandon it.
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Magnificent image. I thought it was a CG/real life composite at first.
As for animation, you could use a hybrid solution like they did in "Bunny." Use radiosity to render the image maps of the room and then composite the character. You would have to fake the bounce lights and shadows. Not impossible with light lists.
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Great idea. I'd be interested. It would be cool if it could import USGS topo maps.
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I'd like to vote against wrylies at this point. Maybe if there's a gag that absolutely can't work any other way, I'd say they're appropriate. Otherwise, I'd say it's far too early to include them. It seriously impedes interpretation (which is why writers love them). They're very important for the "shooting script" but should be written by the actors and director on their own script. IMO. If they have to be in before recording (and I can't imagine why they would with good voice actors/direction) it should be a final step.
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Welcome back to the Babbage Patch!
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Awesome stuff. I found the jittering of the trees in the second and third shots distracting but, all in all, loved it.
Edit: Just noticed you pointed the trees out in the OP.
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To give video/CG a film look, there's an excellent After Effects plugin called CineLook. It has some great presets and can be tweaked infinitely. I used it on an old animation - Freeway. (14MB QT)
Edit: One of the reasons the file is so big is because when you add lots of randomness to your frames (dust, scratches, blotches, flicker, etc.) it becomes harder to compress since each frame is more different than the last.
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It's all done in the choreography. The cloth just sticks straight out of his back (as in the first frame) until the simulation. This was mocap, but if I hand-animated, I would have just hid it until it was ready to go.
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Try that in 12........
Ditto. I haven't played with cloth since the earlier betas but I got nice results with it. It didn't cast shadows tho. I don't know if that's been fixed yet.
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Any explanation I could give about what happened with/to that production and the folks involved wouldn't do it justice and would probably lead me on a long rant, so I won't get into that aspect at all. I was always paid for my work on time, for whatever that's worth.
I was kinda surprized how long ago it was too when I saw the file dates.
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It's not my story - it was from "Noz and Schrak (nee Grakk): Alien Abductors" (the links to the production and the studio seem to be down now). In short, aliens land at an old gas station to fill their spaceship tank and a cop pulls up. They talk for a bit, the cop pulls out his gun and then this scene. He blows up and then it goes to this scene -- http://hash.com/users/ed/clips/ns_clip2.mov. I cut some of the dialog out 'cause it was boring (IMO).
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I dug up an old shot from a project that eventually moved production overseas. It was only half finished but I liked where it was going (though the director disagreed). Anyway, I wanted to take it to completion. It'll give me a chance to get up to speed on the post 8.5 interface since the last big production I worked on (Day Off the Dead) was all 8.5. I figure I'll document the improvements as I go here. Any and all suggestions, no matter how brutal are welcome.
Here's where it was left in Dec. 1999: shot40c (1.81MB QuickTime)
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Scanned pages:
http://www.hash.com/users/ed/temp/oz/1.jpg
http://www.hash.com/users/ed/temp/oz/2.jpg
http://www.hash.com/users/ed/temp/oz/3.jpg
http://www.hash.com/users/ed/temp/oz/4.jpg
http://www.hash.com/users/ed/temp/oz/5.jpg
text (OCR'd)
OZ. a large rectangular country divided into four small countries: Munchkin Country to the east, Winkie Country to the west . Quadling Country to the south and Gillikin Country to the north. The four smaller countries are largely autonomous but all owe allegiance to the ruler of Oz. Princess Ozrna. She resides in the capital, Emerald City which stands in the exact centre of Oz at the point where the four lands meet. As a famous visitor once remarked, Oz is not Kansas.
The original inhabitants of Oz resemble one another physically, no matter which area they come from. They are small - no taller than a wellgrown child. The usual dress includes round hats that rise to about a foot above the head, with bells around the brim . Women wear long gowns, often decorated with glistening stars, and men long jackets and high boots. The main distinguishing mark between the people of the different regions is the colour of their skin, which is matched by that of their clothes and of the country itself , In Munchkin country blue is the dominant colour; the grass, trees and houses are all blue and the men wear blue clothes. The dominant colour in Winkie Country is yellow; Quadling Country is red and Gillikin Country Purple. All four colours appear on the flag of Oz, on which Emerald City is represented by a green star embroidered in the middle.
The countryside of Oz is mainly rich farming land. The fields are neatly cultivated and yield good crops of grain and vegetables. Wooded and mountainous areas farther away are inhabited by different peoples, like the strange race of the TOTTENHOTLAND desert or of HAMMERHEAD HlLLs. The mountains in north-west Quadling Country shelter the subterranean realms of the Country of the Hoppers and HORNER COUNTRY. There are also small autonomous areas within the borders of Oz, some of which, like UTENSIA do not recognize the central authority. The people of CHINA count, BUNNYBURY and the village of Cuttenclip even though they recognize Ozma, live in their separate communities for specific reasons. Two cities are regarded as the defensive settlements of Oz: Flutterbudget Centre and Rigmarole. People always worried by imaginary fears are sent to the former and people incapable of expressing themselves clearly and to the point are sent to the latter. The two communities are not penal settlements and the people sent there live happily with others like themselves.
There is no sickness, poverty or death in Oz. Money does not exist and all property belongs to the Princess who regards her subjects as her children. Each person is given all he requires for his use. Farming is very productive and enough grain is grown to feed the entire population; the total crop is distributed equally among the people. Tailors, dressmakers, jewellers and other tradesmen produce goods which are given to all who ask for them. In return they are supported by all their neighbours. If there is a short- age of any commodity, supplies are made available from the great ware- houses of the capital. These are then restocked when there is a surplus of the commodity in question. Everyone works half the time and plays half the time. Working conditions in Oz are such that work is regarded as a source of pleasure and pride, and not as an imposition.
The country is peaceful and calm, although strange and sometimes dangerous creatures are found in the dense forests of some areas. One forest in the east of Munchkin Country is the haunt of the kalidah, an animal with the body of a bear and the head of a tiger. In the past, kalidahs were a serious danger to travellers, but most of them have now been tamed. Kalidahs are, however, unpredictable and should not be trusted. The fighting trees of the south and the man-eating plants of the north-east of Munchkin Country still present a threat to strangers. The trees bend down when anyone approaches, twine their branches around him and fling him away. The man-eating plants grow along the roadside, and travellers are often attracted to them by their leaves, which appear to have a blue groundwork shot through with glints of other colours. Bright colours appear and then vanish again as the leaf sways in the wind. When the curious traveller has come close enough, the leaves bend down and. Fold tightly around him. Whistling seems to charm the plants and travellers who whistle are not attacked by them. Fortunately the few dangerous plants and animals still found in Oz are usually in remote areas and present no serious threat to the inhabitants, although they can make travelling hazardous for the unwary.
Most animals in Oz are tame and friendly. The field-mice, for instance, are ruled by their own queen, and have helped Ozma and her friends on several occasions. The far north is the home of the winged monkeys, once a free but mischievous species who lived in the forest. Their mischief led to their downfall; they angered Gayalette, a princess and sorceress who lived in a ruby palace in the north, and in her anger she deprived them of their liberty and bound their wings. A spell was laid on them and they were forced to fulfill three wishes made by anyone who possessed a certain magic cap now in the hands of Princess Ozma.
Little is known of the early history of Oz. In the distant past the land was ruled as one country by a succession of monarchs called Oz or Ozma. After a series of complex events, much of the country came under the domination of good and wicked witches. In the north and south the wicked witches were defeated by the good witches, but in the east and west they continued to hold their evil domain. Glinda the Good won over the south of Oz and still rules that area.
During this period Oz received its first visitor from abroad a balloonist from a circus in Omaha, In the United States, who had painted by coincidence the initials O.Z. On his balloon. Because of a misunderstanding, the people accepted him as their ruler and saw him as a great wizard. He had them build the Emerald City and ruled there as the Wizard of Oz, though his magical abilities extended little beyond sleight-of-hand tricks. Despite this, he soon established a reputation for him- self as a great magician.
Oz’s second visitor from the outside world was perhaps even more important. A girl from Kansas named Dorothy Gale-famous for her envy of flying bluebirds and her non- meteorological interest in rainbows- and her dog Toto were carried away, together with her house, by a violent tornado. The house came down in the east of Munchkin Country, landing on the Wicked Witch of the East and killing her. Dorothy then travelled to the Emerald City down the famous Yellow Brick Road, and on to Winkie Country where she was able to defeat the Witch of the East’s sister, the Wicked Witch of the West, with the help of several friends. Those who went with her on this journey were to become prominent people in Oz. One was a cowardly lion, who eventually found his courage and became King of the Beasts. Another, the Tin Woodman, was originally a Munchkin but cut himself so often (after a spell was cast on his axe by the Witch of the East) that one by one his limbs had to be replaced by artificial ones and his whole body ended up being tin. In later life the Woodman became Emperor of the Winkies, and he still lives in a magnificent palace in their country. After his rise to fame he had himself tin-plated and is now regularly polished and scoured. Dorothy’s third ally was a scarecrow whose one complaint was that he thought he had no brains; the trip with Dorothy allowed him to prove that he had. Following the defeat of the Witch of the West, Dorothy decided to return to Kansas and the Wizard agreed to leave with her. Unfortunately they were separated when his balloon drifted off without Dorothy, and she had to leave by making use of a pair of magic shoes taken from the Witch of the East. However, Dorothy returned on several occasions and was finally made a Princess of Oz; the Wizard returned after meeting Dorothy in the Land of the Mangaboos and has remained in Oz ever since.
During the Wizard’s absence, Emerald City was ruled by the scarecrow. Although he seems to have ruled well he was overthrown by a rebellion led by a girl called Jinjur, who led an army against the city. Her motive was largely the desire to possess the jewels of Oz. After a complicated series of events, Jinjur was in turn overthrown by Glinda the Good. Not a drop of blood was spilt during the rebellion, though the girls attacked Emerald City armed with knitting needles. The revolt led by Jinjur was the last upheaval in Oz itself. After her down- fall the legitimate ruler of Oz was found, Princess Ozma, who had been taken from her home as a child and transformed into a boy by a witch named Mombi. She was returned to her natural form by Glinda and has ruled Oz ever since.
Magic is officially forbidden in Oz and can only be practised with a licence. The ban on magic was imposed mainly to prevent the wicked witches of the past regaining their ewer, but it also has the advantage of preventing accidents. One of the last practitioners of magic caused a terrible row when he inadvertently turned someone into a marble statue. Turning the man back into a human being involved an arduous quest for special ingredients. The same magician created two of the last creatures to be brought to life by magic in Oz; a delicate glass cat and the Patchwork Girl known as Scraps. In earlier days, several creatures now famous were created in this way. The Sawhorse, for instance, was brought to life by Ozma herself when she was still a boy. Although made of wood, the Sawhorse can outrun any normal horse and is greatly loved and respected by those who meet it. To prevent its wooden legs being worn down, it has been shod with gold. Before making the Sawhorse come to life, Tip – as Ozma was then known -had already made a man from lengths of wood and a pumpkin, largely as a trick to frighten the witch Mombi. Tim Pumpkinhead was brought to life when magic powder was sprinkled on him, and he still lives in the Winkie Country, just outside the boundary of the capital itself. Tim Pumpkinhead cannot die, but his pumpkin heads have a tendency to go off. When this happens they are buried in his private graveyard and a new head is carved for him by Ozma.
The main educational institution in Oz is the Royal Athletic College, also known as Wogglebug College. It is named arteries founder Professor H.M. Wogglebug, T.E. - “T.E.’’ stands for thoroughly educated’’ and refers to the days Wogglebug spent listening to Professor Nowitall in a country school. The initials “H.M.’’ mean “Highly Magnified’’ and reverts a vital incident in the professor’s life. Caught by Professor Nowitall, the Wogglebug was highly magnified on a screen for the instruction of the students and escaped from the school in a Highly Magnified State. He has remained that size ever since, and is at least as tall as the aver- age inhabitant. The Wogglebug is brown, with alternating stripes of light brown and white on his front. Most of his body is covered by his clothes; a dark blue swallow-tail coat with yellow lining, and fawn plush knickerbockers; he habitually wears a tall silk hat. The educational system introduced by Professor Wogglebug is unlike any other in the world. The pupils spend their days in athletic pursuits and do not study in the normal sense of the word. They “learn’’ by taking School Pills made by the Wizard. An Algebra pill taken on retiring is equivalent to four hours of study; geography and other pills are taken at specified intervals. The result is that pupils learn extremely fast and become conversant pitfall the major subjects. The pills are sugar-coated and easy to swallow, and it seems that birds and animals can also be educated in this way.
Access to Oz has never been easy. The country is surrounded on all sides by desert and anyone who sets foot on the sand is immediately turned to dust. In the past it was possible to fly across the desert, which was how Dorothy and the Wizard arrived on their first journey together. Another visitor, though not friendly, was the King of NOMELAND, who tunnelled beneath the sands in his attempt to invade Oz. As a result Ozma decided that her country should be made invisible and that all communication with the outside world should be broken off. On Ozma’s request, Glinda the Good cast a number of spells on Oz. Now the country can no longer be seen from the air and it is impossible for any traveller crossing over the desert to guess the direction in which it lies.
Even when Oz was visible, leaving was an arduous task. On different occasions Dorothy left by using various magic objects, such as the shoes of the Witch of the East ortho belt taken from the Nome King. In both cases the objects disappeared as soon as she returned to Kansas, where they had no power. Both Ozma and Glinda can bring someone to Oz by using magic, but this does not happen frequently.
(L. Frank Baum, Thc Wonderful Wizard of Oz Chicago, 1900; L. Frank Baum, The Marvelous Land of Oz, Chicago, 1904; L. Frank Baum, Ozma of Oz, Chicago, 1907; L. Frank Baum, Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz, Chicago, 1908; L. Frank Baum, The Road to Oz, Chicago, 1909; L. Frank Baum, The Emerald City of Oz, Chicago, 19109 L. Frank Baum, The Patchwork Girl of Oz , Chicago, 1913)
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The work you've been doing to open up homebrew game development to A:M users is excellent. Thank you so much for all of your hard work.
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Awesome stuff! That highway chase scene blew me away. i can't wait to see this when you've finished.
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Awesome model. I love that overgrown scrap pile.
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Particle effects are extremely computationally expensive, especially if they have dynamics and react to their surroundings. Most of the time what you see in-game is similar to A:M's image-based particles. They rarely have dynamics unless it's sparks or something basic like that.
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What are you trying to do? What kind of game? There are a lot of factors involved with making interactive entertainment and many of the answers you're looking for rely on what it is that you want to accomplish. 2-D platformer? 3-D RPG? puzzle game? MMORPG? Sorry if you answered this in another thread that I didn't see.
As far as engines go, we use a heavily modified version of Gamebryo.
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Damn. So I have to model and texture hair? That kinda sucks.
Thank you anyway.
Yea. Making any 3-D is a series of compromises. Making 3-D games, even moreso. It's the nature of the beast.
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Looks really nice! Awesome job with the ladder. Was that hand-animated or did you use dynamics? It sounds like an amusing premise you can have a lot of fun with. Here are a couple suggestions:
The first shot of the ship moving in between the lamp posts, the camera looks like it has an "aim at" constraint to the space ship - it's always dead-center in the middle of the screen - like the cameraman knows what the ship is doing before it happens. I would suggest hand-animating the camera.
There is a long pause (~12 seconds) before the ship's hatch opens. One or two seconds is probably all you need there.
Right before the hatch opens (:53-:54), you fade to a further view of the ship and then back in to the hatch. I think that middle shot is confusing.
Translation: "With a lot of probability him" should be replaced with just "Probably."
Looking forward to seeing more!
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Delete *all* of the lights in your scene. If anything is still lit then you may have either ambience on your models/materials or lights embedded somewhere.
3-D model painting?
in General Discussion / Archives
Posted
nyahkitty, did you follow Stephen Milligan's (pequod) link above? Looks like it's already in the works.