Stage 2 - Environment
by coxosclassic · 03/05/2007 (6:48 pm) · 7 comments
Environment
I got a bit confused at the beggining of this stage, to get used to play arround in Quark wasnt easy at all. Although the program is quit simple I found it more difficult to use than GTKRadiant (dont ask me why..??).
But after a while I got in to it and stuff started to come out...
After downloading Quark I went through several tutorials (Documentation and Mapping) and after I learned how to move arround I started to sketch a map based on the idea i had for the game:
Birdseye view and topography for terrain.
This is actually a map of a place I used to live
in.(Portalegre)
My old neighborhood will be the map itself[ (image from google earth)
The main reason that I decided to give Quark a try was because of its map2dif converter and its documentation, which I think is a significant advantage over GTKRadiant (although I still perfer GtK!).
The first problem I faced was a lack of size reference in Quark. Basicly I modeled everything without knowing on which scale I was working on... Somewhere in GG foruns there is something about this topic (something like 32 Quark Units = 1 Torque Unit) but I wasnt shure about it and developed the whole map without a proper size reference.
I ended up getting this for a start:
Torque birdseye view
LOD at work: Church0.dif and Church1.dif
Map details: Church and street...
Map detail: Roof tops...
Another map detail: Church...
reference picture of the place...
Another reference pic...
Real church (detail)
This is the map I will use for now on. Its still in a 'raw' shape, the textures are temporary (I dont need them for now)and the overall lighting is really primitive. I made this base map a single .dif file, and later on the project I will add a lot of .dts shapes for the details and texture the whole thing properly.
I made LODS for the church because I want to use this building (along with a couple of others) part of the story for the game.
Im still considering to use some .dts shapes as buildings But I will decide that matter later in Stage 5.
Im happy for now about the environment stage. I learned how to bring bulidings to torque and this is what most of this stage was all about. There are a lot of other things I want to include in this scenario like particles but to start think about that I really need to go into torque script...
Next step: Stage 3 - Torque Script
I got a bit confused at the beggining of this stage, to get used to play arround in Quark wasnt easy at all. Although the program is quit simple I found it more difficult to use than GTKRadiant (dont ask me why..??).
But after a while I got in to it and stuff started to come out...
After downloading Quark I went through several tutorials (Documentation and Mapping) and after I learned how to move arround I started to sketch a map based on the idea i had for the game:
Birdseye view and topography for terrain.This is actually a map of a place I used to live
in.(Portalegre)
My old neighborhood will be the map itself[ (image from google earth)The main reason that I decided to give Quark a try was because of its map2dif converter and its documentation, which I think is a significant advantage over GTKRadiant (although I still perfer GtK!).
The first problem I faced was a lack of size reference in Quark. Basicly I modeled everything without knowing on which scale I was working on... Somewhere in GG foruns there is something about this topic (something like 32 Quark Units = 1 Torque Unit) but I wasnt shure about it and developed the whole map without a proper size reference.
I ended up getting this for a start:
Torque birdseye viewLOD at work: Church0.dif and Church1.difMap details: Church and street...Map detail: Roof tops...Another map detail: Church...reference picture of the place...Another reference pic...Real church (detail)This is the map I will use for now on. Its still in a 'raw' shape, the textures are temporary (I dont need them for now)and the overall lighting is really primitive. I made this base map a single .dif file, and later on the project I will add a lot of .dts shapes for the details and texture the whole thing properly.
I made LODS for the church because I want to use this building (along with a couple of others) part of the story for the game.
Im still considering to use some .dts shapes as buildings But I will decide that matter later in Stage 5.
Im happy for now about the environment stage. I learned how to bring bulidings to torque and this is what most of this stage was all about. There are a lot of other things I want to include in this scenario like particles but to start think about that I really need to go into torque script...
Next step: Stage 3 - Torque Script
About the author
#2
You should have made a scaling block first :) (we teach doing exactly that so our students dont get this exact same problem, even if they bloody well ignore us and still make the same mistake!).
03/06/2007 (1:12 am)
Nice summary. I like how you've laid out the initial layout using reference from google earth/maps.You should have made a scaling block first :) (we teach doing exactly that so our students dont get this exact same problem, even if they bloody well ignore us and still make the same mistake!).
#3
03/06/2007 (3:27 am)
32 QU = 1 meter in game. Doors are about 96 QU high, interior walls are 128. A texture that is 128x128 and UVed at a scale of 1 is a good start.
#4
@Erik: what? 96 QU high doors (3 meters)? are you all NBA players? ;-)
03/06/2007 (3:58 am)
Nice beginning.@Erik: what? 96 QU high doors (3 meters)? are you all NBA players? ;-)
#5
Man, I used to live in Lisbon, PT - I love that city, and I was in that place you are talking about ;)
I used to live on Rato and then moved actross Tejo to Almada... Old good times - portugues wine and cold ocean :D
I love Europe.
03/06/2007 (9:37 am)
@coxosclassicMan, I used to live in Lisbon, PT - I love that city, and I was in that place you are talking about ;)
I used to live on Rato and then moved actross Tejo to Almada... Old good times - portugues wine and cold ocean :D
I love Europe.
#6
03/06/2007 (4:36 pm)
Bear in mind the quark units can vary depending on what scale you use in the world settings.
#7
I cant wait to get my hands on Constructor! It will definitly make the dif development a lot easier, but since there is not even a release date, I just have to use the tools at hand...
@Chris \"C2\" Byars - Im with you on that one!
@Phil Carlisle - I realize that halfway to finish the map...:(
@Alexander "taualex" Gaevoy - "portugues wine and cold ocean" You defenitly got the vibe of the place! hehehe
03/06/2007 (5:44 pm)
Yep, I guess Quark scale references are not an easy thing to get! I had to scale the .dif file (0.5 0.5 0.5) in the engine so it would match with the character size. It works fine this way, but if you want to be a perfeccionist...I cant wait to get my hands on Constructor! It will definitly make the dif development a lot easier, but since there is not even a release date, I just have to use the tools at hand...
@Chris \"C2\" Byars - Im with you on that one!
@Phil Carlisle - I realize that halfway to finish the map...:(
@Alexander "taualex" Gaevoy - "portugues wine and cold ocean" You defenitly got the vibe of the place! hehehe
Torque Owner Chris "C2" Byars
Ion Productions