The art of doing something (1)
by Apparatus · 03/20/2009 (12:25 am) · 25 comments
A while ago someone approached me with a project that require realtime rendering and interaction with 3d models. Obviously, he needed a game engine even though the project was not an actual game and so we started talking about it. After a couple of meetings a few things became clear: the market offers enough alternatives for such a project, the problem was how to actually kick start the development considering that many of the team members have different or even opposite ideas about the software choice.
I noticed that the votes were never considering the project itself or the goal, but the personal perspective. Almost nobody was willing to learn a new tool and, what frightened me, this stance was quite solid. Right from the start the project was going to use dependencies other than those appropriate for its successful development.
I can't really understand why so many people accept 3ds Max over something a lot cheaper (sometimes free) and with a lot more advanced features. Its vintage UV editor would be laughable if the software would've had a 5$ tag; People simply refuse to give up what they know and learn something new. And that's just one example.
We had some interesting talks about game engines as well, since there are quite a few choices. Torque was one of the obvious choices because 3 members of the team have prior development knowledge with TGE and TGEA. Deployment for web is a must for the project and that switched the option, for the time being, towards Unity3d which just released a Windows version.
What came on top was that the rendering capabilities of all engines were just fine for the project, out of the box or with little development. Right now we have some talks about the interactivity issues and we are going through each option again to see which engine gives more flexibility.
My lesson here, though these things were in my face all the time, is that the tools, regardless their difficulty bar, can do the job. It's the people who use the tools that make the difference. Both users and developers. For the moment the chatter between these two camps seem week, because everybody's paying more attention to the bling and nobody's really willing to make a change for the better. It's a wild world out there but this fatal flaw (I am not socialist or whatever) of the capital society will blow in its face one day. Where is the pride in doing something right?
(to be continued)
I noticed that the votes were never considering the project itself or the goal, but the personal perspective. Almost nobody was willing to learn a new tool and, what frightened me, this stance was quite solid. Right from the start the project was going to use dependencies other than those appropriate for its successful development.
I can't really understand why so many people accept 3ds Max over something a lot cheaper (sometimes free) and with a lot more advanced features. Its vintage UV editor would be laughable if the software would've had a 5$ tag; People simply refuse to give up what they know and learn something new. And that's just one example.
We had some interesting talks about game engines as well, since there are quite a few choices. Torque was one of the obvious choices because 3 members of the team have prior development knowledge with TGE and TGEA. Deployment for web is a must for the project and that switched the option, for the time being, towards Unity3d which just released a Windows version.
What came on top was that the rendering capabilities of all engines were just fine for the project, out of the box or with little development. Right now we have some talks about the interactivity issues and we are going through each option again to see which engine gives more flexibility.
My lesson here, though these things were in my face all the time, is that the tools, regardless their difficulty bar, can do the job. It's the people who use the tools that make the difference. Both users and developers. For the moment the chatter between these two camps seem week, because everybody's paying more attention to the bling and nobody's really willing to make a change for the better. It's a wild world out there but this fatal flaw (I am not socialist or whatever) of the capital society will blow in its face one day. Where is the pride in doing something right?
(to be continued)
About the author
Tarakibu Studio
#22
In the long run it's really not that expensive, as long as you don't have to have every new version that comes out. Personally I *have* to have every version of Max because part of my core business that helps fund my game dev is developing plugins for Max. But consider one of my artists that has been using Max 7 for over 4 years. That comes out to about $80 a month, which is about what I spend on cable TV that I don't watch. And much less than what he spent on school to learn how to use it :P
03/21/2009 (3:14 am)
@Jondo, well mechanics usually buy their tools over time, and we've had credit cards for years ;)In the long run it's really not that expensive, as long as you don't have to have every new version that comes out. Personally I *have* to have every version of Max because part of my core business that helps fund my game dev is developing plugins for Max. But consider one of my artists that has been using Max 7 for over 4 years. That comes out to about $80 a month, which is about what I spend on cable TV that I don't watch. And much less than what he spent on school to learn how to use it :P
#23
An Example: Mr. David Blake is another avid engine user.
03/21/2009 (6:51 am)
I would also like to add that there are many of us that own multiple game licenses. It does not stop at Garagegames.An Example: Mr. David Blake is another avid engine user.
#24
no email yet... Be sure to remove the null character when you click on the link:)
03/21/2009 (8:58 am)
@jondono email yet... Be sure to remove the null character when you click on the link:)
#25
Doesn't sound so bad when you break it down that way. Do you work for Autodesk? Can you send me a brochure? Heheh, well to recap... There are many tools, many price points...but not so many engine options.
Yay for capitalism, or we'd all be using 3DSMAX!
@Randy
Yeah I caught the nifty 'null's the site has been adding, that is slick!
The email never came back to me, strange. I just outlined a few of the basic ways we've been able to use ZB in production so far. I just pasted the meat below, cheers!
Projection master
Great way to do seamless photo-realistic textures for your models
Normals maps from High poly divides projected onto low poly figures.
Mesh extraction for making fitted clothing meshes for characters
Zspheres
Volumetric skeleton method for generating low poly base art.
Re-Topology
Can be used to redo the outside shell of a mesh giving it new polyflow. Also used for things like ropes, straps, etc.
Alot of these can be seen on the Zclassroom video tutorials
Hope that helps,
Jondo
03/21/2009 (9:17 am)
@GeraldDoesn't sound so bad when you break it down that way. Do you work for Autodesk? Can you send me a brochure? Heheh, well to recap... There are many tools, many price points...but not so many engine options.
Yay for capitalism, or we'd all be using 3DSMAX!
@Randy
Yeah I caught the nifty 'null's the site has been adding, that is slick!
The email never came back to me, strange. I just outlined a few of the basic ways we've been able to use ZB in production so far. I just pasted the meat below, cheers!
Projection master
Great way to do seamless photo-realistic textures for your models
Normals maps from High poly divides projected onto low poly figures.
Mesh extraction for making fitted clothing meshes for characters
Zspheres
Volumetric skeleton method for generating low poly base art.
Re-Topology
Can be used to redo the outside shell of a mesh giving it new polyflow. Also used for things like ropes, straps, etc.
Alot of these can be seen on the Zclassroom video tutorials
Hope that helps,
Jondo
Jondo
BrokeAss Games
Email sent.
@Gerald
Unless someone has a year's salary lying around, they have to take out a loan to make those kinds of purchases - mechanics or indie game devs, alike.
I think you're right about the cost gap on engines, that's a good point. I don't mean to take anything from folks that can afford to license the most expensive tools, especially those that know how to use them. Respect!
It just doesn't feel as indie...
This thread is leaving a cost-prohibitive taste in my mouth...guess I'll go read the T3D pricing announcement.