FPS Environment Pack free Update, or...
by Todd Pickens · 09/01/2008 (11:15 am) · 31 comments
...The Odyssey...sans Penelope
It's a long time in coming, but I recently submitted an updated build of my FPS Environment Pack to Derek at Garage Games.
It may not have taken me the ten years it took Ulysses to reach home after the fall of Troy, but it has been a bit of an Odyssey.
I started on this Free Update over a year ago, while a lot of folks waited patiently. Not unlike Ulysses, chance and circumstance turned my undertaking into an unexpected journey. But at long last it is done, and I hope that all of you who purchased the pack enjoy the result and put it to good use.
The update started as the addition of a summer time theme inspired by a Asher Brown Durand painting.
...Along the way it sort of snowballed into over a dozen different demo maps with Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, and day and night settings. And a full TGEA port. Ultimately I cut that back to nine maps covering various takes on Spring, Summer, mid and late Autumn.
The TGEA port also got cut from this update, because TGEA went through some major changes which requires a good amount of rework to the content pack's port. That will be getting my attention soon.
What's In The Update?
The pack is now based on TGE 1.5.2. The original TGE Water upgrade by Manoel Neto that I started with, was replaced by Alex Scarborough's Modernization Kit.
I redesigned the interface and menu system to support a better end user experience.
A really cool animated Butterflies shape resource was donated by Tom Feni.
Andy "International Man of Leisure" Maloney supported me with a load of resource integration, fixes, tweaks, and tunes for the playable Demo.
Adam Larson, of "Legions Lead Coder" fame, recently developed an Object Fading resource that enabled me to have objects and particles fade out at specified distances.
Adam also developed a Particle Alignment resource that allowed me to do some really simple, but really cool particle emitter stuff in conjunction with Alex's shiny shader water.
All of that coupled with Jon Jorajuria's Kick @$$ audio, and his original Square Foliage Replicator, Shapebase Animation Triggered Sounds, and Embedded DTS Sound resource, make for a sand box that was hard to stop playing in.
I owe those guys a REALLY BIG Thank You for all of their assistance, support, and awesome resources. I could not have done it without you, and I am in your debt.
...Not that it needs saying, but YOU ROCK!
You can see the Video HERE.
The update should be available on GG site very soon. When it is, you will find it HERE.
It's a long time in coming, but I recently submitted an updated build of my FPS Environment Pack to Derek at Garage Games.
It may not have taken me the ten years it took Ulysses to reach home after the fall of Troy, but it has been a bit of an Odyssey.
I started on this Free Update over a year ago, while a lot of folks waited patiently. Not unlike Ulysses, chance and circumstance turned my undertaking into an unexpected journey. But at long last it is done, and I hope that all of you who purchased the pack enjoy the result and put it to good use.
The update started as the addition of a summer time theme inspired by a Asher Brown Durand painting.
...Along the way it sort of snowballed into over a dozen different demo maps with Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, and day and night settings. And a full TGEA port. Ultimately I cut that back to nine maps covering various takes on Spring, Summer, mid and late Autumn.
The TGEA port also got cut from this update, because TGEA went through some major changes which requires a good amount of rework to the content pack's port. That will be getting my attention soon.
What's In The Update?
The pack is now based on TGE 1.5.2. The original TGE Water upgrade by Manoel Neto that I started with, was replaced by Alex Scarborough's Modernization Kit.
I redesigned the interface and menu system to support a better end user experience.
A really cool animated Butterflies shape resource was donated by Tom Feni.
Andy "International Man of Leisure" Maloney supported me with a load of resource integration, fixes, tweaks, and tunes for the playable Demo.
Adam Larson, of "Legions Lead Coder" fame, recently developed an Object Fading resource that enabled me to have objects and particles fade out at specified distances.
Adam also developed a Particle Alignment resource that allowed me to do some really simple, but really cool particle emitter stuff in conjunction with Alex's shiny shader water.
All of that coupled with Jon Jorajuria's Kick @$$ audio, and his original Square Foliage Replicator, Shapebase Animation Triggered Sounds, and Embedded DTS Sound resource, make for a sand box that was hard to stop playing in.
I owe those guys a REALLY BIG Thank You for all of their assistance, support, and awesome resources. I could not have done it without you, and I am in your debt.
...Not that it needs saying, but YOU ROCK!
You can see the Video HERE.
The update should be available on GG site very soon. When it is, you will find it HERE.
About the author
#22
Would love something like this for TGEA.
09/02/2008 (11:26 am)
I second that request for a TGEA version :/Would love something like this for TGEA.
#23
All seriousness aside.. AWESOME package. When you make a TGEA version I'm all over it!
09/02/2008 (11:29 am)
Holy smokes you guys keep coming up with these awesome resources for 1.5.2, I'm starting to second-guess my decision to jump to TGEA! Cut it out! ;) All seriousness aside.. AWESOME package. When you make a TGEA version I'm all over it!
#24
Awesome and Thank you! I would love to see some screens when you start using it.
@ Alex Scarborough,
Thanks very much Alex! I really appreciate all of the effort you put into the Modernization Kit. I hope this gets the kit even more attention.
@ Barry and Devon,
Thanks very much guys. Hang in there, the TGEA version is coming!
09/02/2008 (3:10 pm)
@ Trenton,Awesome and Thank you! I would love to see some screens when you start using it.
@ Alex Scarborough,
Thanks very much Alex! I really appreciate all of the effort you put into the Modernization Kit. I hope this gets the kit even more attention.
@ Barry and Devon,
Thanks very much guys. Hang in there, the TGEA version is coming!
#25
09/02/2008 (11:22 pm)
Doesn't look like its appeared yet in the downloads section for GG. Just re-snagged a copy of the source art and demo and its still the old version.
#26
Sorry for the delay, I imagine that the guys at Garage Games are doing a bit of catching after the extended holiday weekend and returning from PAX. I am sure it will be up soon.
09/03/2008 (8:56 am)
J.C,Sorry for the delay, I imagine that the guys at Garage Games are doing a bit of catching after the extended holiday weekend and returning from PAX. I am sure it will be up soon.
#27
very nice looking pack. Has a very good ambiance to it, and a great color scheme.
I like the fact that the pack is very complete, including sounds etc.
Also, your foliage and trees really look very convincing.
One thing I was kinda asking myself on this pack is, what part of the pack is actually First Person Shooter?
I mean, you have an envieroment pack, and it looks really cool, but I don't really see any FPS elements in it.
Actually, to be honest, I don't even see any First person elements in the pack.
This could be an RPG, Adventure, Action, Farming, or any other type of gerne game. And the way i see it, those could be third and/or first person.
09/03/2008 (11:38 am)
Hey Todd,very nice looking pack. Has a very good ambiance to it, and a great color scheme.
I like the fact that the pack is very complete, including sounds etc.
Also, your foliage and trees really look very convincing.
One thing I was kinda asking myself on this pack is, what part of the pack is actually First Person Shooter?
I mean, you have an envieroment pack, and it looks really cool, but I don't really see any FPS elements in it.
Actually, to be honest, I don't even see any First person elements in the pack.
This could be an RPG, Adventure, Action, Farming, or any other type of gerne game. And the way i see it, those could be third and/or first person.
#28
So of course, I'm as jealous as ever.
Keep being a criterion for art in the GG community.
09/03/2008 (3:20 pm)
I don't always find the time to comment in the forums as much as I'd like/should, but I wanted to let you know that your work is always an inspiration - consistent quality and distinct in style. So of course, I'm as jealous as ever.
Keep being a criterion for art in the GG community.
#29
Thanks very much.
Regarding the "FPS". When I first got involved with Torque, I made an "RTS" Environment Pack first. Then I started on this one because for a long time there was not GG support for the RTS kit and so me people who were interested in the RTS pack ask if the RTS Environment Pack would work in an FPS. I told them it would work, but was not particularly designed an FPS camera etc. There was so much interest that I ended up releasing the RTS Environment Pack with an FPS demo build just ike in this pack.
...Anyway, the reason this one has the "FPS" is because it seemed a natural way to clearly separate it for the RTS Environment Pack. And because I designed the art with a first person camera or a tight third person camera in mind. As opposed to a pulled out RTS style camera.
Old Shot From The RTS Environment Pack
The difference in the two, aside form the RTS demo build, was that the RTS pack art was specifically design for a more pulled out traditional RTS camera view. The terrain texture were more explicit in what the represented, because the camera was too far away to render the detail texture, and because it allowed me to do things like depict clearly defined features with heavy pained highlights and shadows. If you do that in a texture the you are going to see up close (without the benefit of displacement maps, bump maps, or the like) the texture ends up looking like big blurry splotches. That is, if you are limited in the resolution per meter that you have in TGE. The latest version of TGEA has some greater versatility for handling that sort of thing now, but still does not have bump or displacement on the terrain.
Any way, since we are on the subject, I have ported the RTS kit to the latest version of TGE with all of the same resources that i used in this update to the FPS Environment Pack. However, I may hold off on releasing that until I can sort of re imagine it in a more robust and polished fashion for TGEA. not sure, but it's a thought.
That was more winded that I intended, but i hope it answers your question?
@ Alan James,
Dude! thank you! That is very generous.
I have been absent for a long time and you are rocking the house with the kick butt stuff you have been putting out. Great job buy the way!
09/03/2008 (11:34 pm)
@ Florian,Thanks very much.
Regarding the "FPS". When I first got involved with Torque, I made an "RTS" Environment Pack first. Then I started on this one because for a long time there was not GG support for the RTS kit and so me people who were interested in the RTS pack ask if the RTS Environment Pack would work in an FPS. I told them it would work, but was not particularly designed an FPS camera etc. There was so much interest that I ended up releasing the RTS Environment Pack with an FPS demo build just ike in this pack.
...Anyway, the reason this one has the "FPS" is because it seemed a natural way to clearly separate it for the RTS Environment Pack. And because I designed the art with a first person camera or a tight third person camera in mind. As opposed to a pulled out RTS style camera.
Old Shot From The RTS Environment Pack
The difference in the two, aside form the RTS demo build, was that the RTS pack art was specifically design for a more pulled out traditional RTS camera view. The terrain texture were more explicit in what the represented, because the camera was too far away to render the detail texture, and because it allowed me to do things like depict clearly defined features with heavy pained highlights and shadows. If you do that in a texture the you are going to see up close (without the benefit of displacement maps, bump maps, or the like) the texture ends up looking like big blurry splotches. That is, if you are limited in the resolution per meter that you have in TGE. The latest version of TGEA has some greater versatility for handling that sort of thing now, but still does not have bump or displacement on the terrain.
Any way, since we are on the subject, I have ported the RTS kit to the latest version of TGE with all of the same resources that i used in this update to the FPS Environment Pack. However, I may hold off on releasing that until I can sort of re imagine it in a more robust and polished fashion for TGEA. not sure, but it's a thought.
That was more winded that I intended, but i hope it answers your question?
@ Alan James,
Dude! thank you! That is very generous.
I have been absent for a long time and you are rocking the house with the kick butt stuff you have been putting out. Great job buy the way!
#31
I will make an official announcement once it is live.
Sorry for the delay folks, but it had to take a backseat to life and other obligations. Thank you for your support, enthusiasm, and encouragement.
10/16/2008 (10:53 am)
Just a quick note for anyone who is following this thread before I forget. I recently submitted my TGEA port of the FPS Environment Pack to Garage Games, so it should be available for download soon.I will make an official announcement once it is live.
Sorry for the delay folks, but it had to take a backseat to life and other obligations. Thank you for your support, enthusiasm, and encouragement.
Associate Alex Scarborough