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Flower Power

Name:	Todd Pickens
Date Posted:	Mar 24, 2007
Rating:	5.0 out of 5
Public:	YES
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Blog post

Just thought I would post a quick update since the free expansion is taking longer to finish up than planned.

As you can see in my previous post here, the art style has changed a bit. Originally I was developing the summer/spring setting with a much brighter and slightly over saturated look for the sake of pushing the contrast between it and the original demo environment included in the pack, see below, but realized that I was drifting too far from the original style.

So I tweaked it a bit, mostly by changing the lighting set up, and have arrived at this.

I have taken a few days off to rest and recover (broken toe among other things), but will be finishing this up very soon. Just a few things left to work.

Aside from the additional content for the summer setting (trees, flowers, ground textures, etc), A TGE 1.5 port of the pack will be included. There will be a few surprises as well, but I will save the details on that until everything is ready.

I hope every one enjoys it.

Recent Blog Posts

List:	09/01/08 - FPS Environment Pack free Update, or... 07/03/08 - Someone once said... 06/24/07 - I think I saw Bigfoot... 03/31/07 - There's a Surprise Inside! 03/24/07 - Flower Power 02/08/07 - Road Work 01/31/07 - Marathon Man... 11/01/06 - How is a Mini Pack like Bag of Holding?

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Jon Jorajuria (Mar 24, 2007 at 16:40 GMT) Resource Rating: 5

Wow...My eyes are itchy and nose is running already, I really dig the spring artwork and sunbeams.

Tom Feni (Mar 24, 2007 at 16:41 GMT) Resource Rating: 5

now you just need some butterflies :)

looks great, I ahve been looking for flowers for my game and havent had much luck.. :)

TomFeni

Christian S (Mar 24, 2007 at 16:41 GMT)

Those look really nice, and they reminds me so much of the SpeedTRee shots Gabor posted long agon.

Really nice work ;)

Todd Pickens (Mar 24, 2007 at 16:58 GMT)

Thank very much!

@ Jon, I worked hard to create a strong sense of atmosphere in this setting. The sun beams help that a lot, but the sounds of singing birds that you provided really does the trick.

@ Tom, No butterflies I am afraid, not yet anyway, but that is on my list of possible additions.

@ Christian, thanks much. I played with completely redesigning the trees, but decided to just keep it simple, the end result was pretty good.

Tom Feni (Mar 24, 2007 at 17:04 GMT) Resource Rating: 5

Well let me know and I could give a few I made already.. just simple ones with a basic flutter animation.. :)

TomFeni

Stephan (viKKing) Bondier (Mar 24, 2007 at 17:43 GMT)

@Todd: Gorgeous
Far different from the bad weather we are experiencing those days.
That sunny touch is welcome.

Broken toe: computer work is a risky occupation ;-)

Matt Vitelli (Mar 24, 2007 at 17:51 GMT)

Are the godrays actually ingame or photoshopped in? They really add to the illusion of realism.

Ed Johnson (Mar 24, 2007 at 17:56 GMT)

Gorgeous !

Are those flowers polygonal?? (3d, not billboards)

Clifford Brock (Mar 24, 2007 at 17:56 GMT)

Good Lord!

This is a Game picture?

OMG! Incredible work.

Tarly

ps. free upgrade to what ?

Kenneth Holst (Mar 24, 2007 at 17:59 GMT)

Wow that looks awesome! I would love to see it in action

Thak (Mar 24, 2007 at 19:19 GMT)

Sweet Todd, I was just wondering yesterday if I would be a nuisance sending you an email to ask how things proceeded. Marvellous!
So Ill ask the second question here hows that "next" pack coming along? ;)

Cheers and best wishes on yer recovery

ando (Mar 24, 2007 at 19:25 GMT)

Great work Todd, love the deep dark greens, the colours really wake things up

Russell Fincher (Mar 24, 2007 at 19:49 GMT)

Holy smokes, looking good, man!

Tom Bentz (Mar 24, 2007 at 21:00 GMT)

Nice work!

Todd Pickens (Mar 24, 2007 at 22:40 GMT)

Sorry for the delayed response everyone, been busy looking at apartments. Its time to move because they are going to charge too much here, and here sucks.

@ Tom, That would rock, and I am sure the user would appreciate the bonus. I will email you.

@ Stephan, Thanks very much. I figured it would be timely with spring springing and all.

And yup, I should be getting hazard pay ;O)

@ Matt, Yes, the rays are in game, very simple to do, challenging to do right. But thats true of most game art. The real trick with any of it is to make sure it all fits together, otherwise the eye will immediately catch whatever does not.

@ Ed, Thanks very much, really glad you like it.

The flowers are simple billboards created with the fxFoliageReplicator that exist in TGE. The trick was creating them with the right perspective. I have done a number of others previously, but never really took the time to focus on them. I hope this work well for everyone.

@ Clifford, It is that kind of reaction that keeps me motivated! Thanks very much! Yes, it's in game with standard TGE, nothing special in that screen shot. However, the Environment Pack comes with a shader enabled build that has shiny water. And the free update will include some additional goodies.

And yes, its a free upgrade.

@ Kenneth, Thanks much. I will be making a new video to promote the pack and the excellent environmental audio work Jon Jorajuria has done for it.

@ Thak, Thank you :O)

Emails are always welcome. I actually have a number of things in the works, but had to take a little time off. I will be posting about other projects in the near future, but all goes well.

And the toe seems to be healing well. It no longer looks like a little purple sausage....Mmmm sausage.

@ Ando, Thanks a million! I could spend month tweaking and playing with this environment and adding little details, you know how that goes, but I figured it was time to get it done and in the communities hands.

@ Russell, Thank you very much.

@ Tom, Thank you.

Tom Feni (Mar 24, 2007 at 23:50 GMT) Resource Rating: 5

A little video of the butterflies
home.comcast.net/~toons_project/butterflies.avi

TomFeni

Mike Rowley (Mar 25, 2007 at 00:00 GMT)

That looks so cool. Let me know when it's finished and I'll be sure to buy it. I love realism that I can't make myself. (I aint no artist. ;) )

Todd Pickens (Mar 25, 2007 at 00:06 GMT)

@ Tom, Very nice! do you set up a path or do they have some sort of A.I. behind them?

@ Mike, Thanks much. It will be done soon, I'll be sure to make an official post when its reayd.

Andy Hawkins (Mar 25, 2007 at 00:12 GMT)

Looks great Todd. There's a great spot to set up a picnic spread under that tree :)

So how are you doing the god-rays?

Todd Pickens (Mar 25, 2007 at 00:21 GMT)

@ Andy, It looks nice, but I would watch out for the ravenous flesh eating butterflies if I were you, they go for the face ...and thats not to mention the randomly exploding bunnies.

The god-rays? ...magic!

Tom Feni (Mar 25, 2007 at 00:30 GMT) Resource Rating: 5

They just have a ambient animation which I call thru script..

TomFeni

T Squared (Thanhda Tie) (Mar 25, 2007 at 01:09 GMT)

That looks great todd, much brighter enviroment. You plan to make any new enviroment packs with this, but in a different enviroment? i mean new meshes.

Todd Pickens (Mar 25, 2007 at 01:13 GMT)

@ Tom, ok cool, simple is good.

@ T Squared, Thanks very much. If you mean a new demo map, no, not for this update. I want to get it done so I can get my other projects done as well :O)

Daz (Mar 25, 2007 at 08:07 GMT)

That's magic! You're like father nature! Fantastic!

BTW, I hope your toe feels better. I cracked a rib 2 weeks ago, smashing into a light pole on my mountain bike at great speed while skillfully avoiding being hit by a car. Actually, as it turned out, it wasn't really that skillful!

Anyway, keep up the good work Todd. Your skills are much appreciated within this community. You am 1337!
Edited on Mar 25, 2007 12:11 GMT

Andy Hawkins (Mar 25, 2007 at 10:23 GMT)

I hurt my knee. It burns to kneal on it... but uh hum... maybe I shouldn't have mentioned that here...

Todd Pickens (Mar 25, 2007 at 15:18 GMT)

@ Daz, HA ha ha LOL Thank you very much Daz! ..."Father Nature" not bad...not very super villain like, but its a start.

@ Andy, So don't kneal on it. Or do what my brothers always did to me growing up, have someone whack you with a stick in the other leg and you will forget about your knee.

Canon (Mar 25, 2007 at 17:24 GMT)

Fantastic Todd!

Vashner (Mar 25, 2007 at 18:13 GMT) Resource Rating: 5

Nice eye candy and get well soon on your Toe.

Andy Hawkins (Mar 25, 2007 at 22:11 GMT)

@Todd - yeah that's so not going to happen. I have kids, so I spend most of my life on my knees, kinda like working for my last employer :) Actually - just wanted to boast that I am now working for a video game company - whoo hoo!!!

Todd Pickens (Mar 25, 2007 at 22:55 GMT)

HA ha ha Congratulations on that by the way! I wish all of the best for you with the new job.

T Squared (Thanhda Tie) (Mar 26, 2007 at 02:47 GMT)

on your next patch, or launch, are you planning to scale the terrain down a bit, to make it look a bit nicer. because i found in your last env pack, you didnt use all the terrain, and could have easily scaled it down to 4~3.

Todd Pickens (Mar 26, 2007 at 03:20 GMT)

@ T Squared, Nope, no plans to scale the terrain down. What ships with the pack is a demo environment, so I am trying to show off TGE, but also represent things in the way I "think" most users utilize TGE.

T Squared (Thanhda Tie) (Mar 26, 2007 at 04:16 GMT)

You'll be surprise how many people dont know that you can scale down the terrain size. also you will also be surprised on how many people dont know that you can actually have mutiple terrains datablocks in one mission. ;) I'm really not a fan of the detail textures. makes all the terrain look the same, but difference in color.

Todd Pickens (Mar 26, 2007 at 05:54 GMT)

@ T Squared, What we need is a per texture detail texture in TGE. I have been wishing for that one for a long time now.

T Squared (Thanhda Tie) (Mar 26, 2007 at 13:57 GMT)

@Todd
Yeah, that would be great, but we all know thats not going to happen. But on thing i manage to do was, to change the detail texture on the fly, depending on what part of terrain you were walking over. it sorta simulated mutiple detail textures. but it wasnt a smooth transaction. For this reason, i just scale down the terrain. and use mutiple terrain datablocks.

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p117/seijisota/ter/screenshot_004-00004.png
Edited on Mar 26, 2007 13:59 GMT

Todd Pickens (Mar 26, 2007 at 15:30 GMT)

@ T Squared, You never know. I wouldn't get my hopes up, but a per texture detail texture would not be impossible.

Gary Patterson (Mar 28, 2007 at 11:39 GMT) Resource Rating: 5

I've been buying a few content packs even though my development is not progressing much (waiting on a new MacBook Pro release, this iBook just hasn't got the stuff), and this is definitely looks worth purchasing. It looks absolutely beautiful!

My game concept is a huge single-player RPG, with some innovative-ish concepts in AI and exploration. Artwork for a huge world is everything.

Todd Pickens (Mar 28, 2007 at 14:47 GMT)

@Gary, Thanks very much, I'm glad you like it.

And best of luck with your game.

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