Holding pattern
by Kirby Webber · 11/08/2005 (7:52 am) · 3 comments
Well, another boring blog with nothing much to report - though I am trying my best to stay on a steady diet of once a month posting.
As a quick aside, for those of you who are more visually inclined and may have missed it, there is a screenshot of the current prototype (albeit everything looks pretty basic) in my October .plan.
Josh (who has contracted to do my art - for those who've not read any previous .plans by me) is still in limbo when it comes to Internet connectivity as I understand, which has pretty much put the kibosh on any artistic collaboration for the time being.
In the meantime, as stated previously, I'm also unable to make any *truly* meaningful strides beyond the core prototype that I've currently got running because of the lack of a working second PC.
The area in which my desktop resides was struck by lightening (nearly a year ago) and, having a beefy laptop worthy of graphics development has afforded me the luxury of being lazy and not rushing to get my PC repaired - I believe that only the power supply was damaged, or so my initial diagnostics have led me to believe.
This has changed of course, particularly with the addition of Josh and my anticipation of the glorious aesthetic level I expect his work to bring this project to. As soon as I can spare the cash for a decent power supply (which is easier said than done considering the thousands I've spent on unexpected vehicle maintenance in the last two months) I plan to get that desktop up and running again so I can start developing in earnest, after all, it's a multiplayer-centric design, although there will be a single player mode. (C;
At any rate, I've recently begun earnest forays into new artistic territory myself - specifically, learning the workflow and specific toolsets of ZBrush 2. I've been a proponent of ZBrush since I discovered the demo version of 1.5 and I have to say that, although I've not been able to afford the retail version yet, it is at the top of my artistic "must have" list.
For any practicing or aspiring modelers or game artists out there who've not yet tried, or are unaware of this product, you must immediately and without delay go to the ZBrush Website and download the demo - it will change your outlook on modeling in ways you can't begin to imagine!
UV mapping, normal mapping, multi-res and LoD's... it's all there, although if my suspicions are correct, you'll have to a bit creative in creating a pipeline into Torque... though Max, Milkshape or Blender should be a sufficient avenue, though I expect a quick run through progmesh or a similar application certainly wouldn't hurt.
In the meantime, I hope next month sees a renewal in activity with Afterburn as I'm just dying to get some concepts finalized and translated into 3D. I still regularly go to Josh's site to drool over his work and imagine what his stuff will look like in-game. I'll post screens when that day finally arrives, 'till then, thanks for reading. =)
P.S.
I'll be sure and post a screenshot of my current ZBrush WIP when I get home this evening... should be around 7:00PM CST.
If it's of interest to you, be sure to check back to see what a moderately talented individual can do with this incredible tool - check the galleries at Zbrush Central to see some top notch professional work.
~Cheers
P.S.S.
I just realized, while perusing one of my previous plans, that I have sold myself a bit short in the last two months.
For anyone keeping score, the targeting routine I described in my July .plan is not only prototyped, but about 45% done!
I won't go into the specifics just yet, the what, who how or why... well, the why was explained in the July post, but when it's fully fleshed out, I may release it as a resource if there seems to be enough interest in it.
Okay... seriously... I'm done this time. Really.
[EDIT]
I promised that WIP - here it is:
As a quick aside, for those of you who are more visually inclined and may have missed it, there is a screenshot of the current prototype (albeit everything looks pretty basic) in my October .plan.
Josh (who has contracted to do my art - for those who've not read any previous .plans by me) is still in limbo when it comes to Internet connectivity as I understand, which has pretty much put the kibosh on any artistic collaboration for the time being.
In the meantime, as stated previously, I'm also unable to make any *truly* meaningful strides beyond the core prototype that I've currently got running because of the lack of a working second PC.
The area in which my desktop resides was struck by lightening (nearly a year ago) and, having a beefy laptop worthy of graphics development has afforded me the luxury of being lazy and not rushing to get my PC repaired - I believe that only the power supply was damaged, or so my initial diagnostics have led me to believe.
This has changed of course, particularly with the addition of Josh and my anticipation of the glorious aesthetic level I expect his work to bring this project to. As soon as I can spare the cash for a decent power supply (which is easier said than done considering the thousands I've spent on unexpected vehicle maintenance in the last two months) I plan to get that desktop up and running again so I can start developing in earnest, after all, it's a multiplayer-centric design, although there will be a single player mode. (C;
At any rate, I've recently begun earnest forays into new artistic territory myself - specifically, learning the workflow and specific toolsets of ZBrush 2. I've been a proponent of ZBrush since I discovered the demo version of 1.5 and I have to say that, although I've not been able to afford the retail version yet, it is at the top of my artistic "must have" list.
For any practicing or aspiring modelers or game artists out there who've not yet tried, or are unaware of this product, you must immediately and without delay go to the ZBrush Website and download the demo - it will change your outlook on modeling in ways you can't begin to imagine!
UV mapping, normal mapping, multi-res and LoD's... it's all there, although if my suspicions are correct, you'll have to a bit creative in creating a pipeline into Torque... though Max, Milkshape or Blender should be a sufficient avenue, though I expect a quick run through progmesh or a similar application certainly wouldn't hurt.
In the meantime, I hope next month sees a renewal in activity with Afterburn as I'm just dying to get some concepts finalized and translated into 3D. I still regularly go to Josh's site to drool over his work and imagine what his stuff will look like in-game. I'll post screens when that day finally arrives, 'till then, thanks for reading. =)
P.S.
I'll be sure and post a screenshot of my current ZBrush WIP when I get home this evening... should be around 7:00PM CST.
If it's of interest to you, be sure to check back to see what a moderately talented individual can do with this incredible tool - check the galleries at Zbrush Central to see some top notch professional work.
~Cheers
P.S.S.
I just realized, while perusing one of my previous plans, that I have sold myself a bit short in the last two months.
For anyone keeping score, the targeting routine I described in my July .plan is not only prototyped, but about 45% done!
I won't go into the specifics just yet, the what, who how or why... well, the why was explained in the July post, but when it's fully fleshed out, I may release it as a resource if there seems to be enough interest in it.
Okay... seriously... I'm done this time. Really.
[EDIT]
I promised that WIP - here it is:
About the author
#2
A tool to move zbrush generated .obj files to TGE/TSE:
http://www.garagegames.com/index.php?sec=mg&mod=resource&page=view&qid=7541
I cannot get enough of Zbrush and have been using it almost daily to doodle/draw/sculpt in. The features slated for the upcoming 2.5 release will cut most other apps out of the modeling/texturing pipeline completely. It's great to see others in the community running with this product.
11/08/2005 (5:16 pm)
A little Zbrush -> TSE action: http://www.garagegames.com/mg/forums/result.thread.php?qt=28938A tool to move zbrush generated .obj files to TGE/TSE:
http://www.garagegames.com/index.php?sec=mg&mod=resource&page=view&qid=7541
I cannot get enough of Zbrush and have been using it almost daily to doodle/draw/sculpt in. The features slated for the upcoming 2.5 release will cut most other apps out of the modeling/texturing pipeline completely. It's great to see others in the community running with this product.
#3
ZBrush in simply a godsend from an artistic perspective - the ability to model with complete disregard for transforms and vertex locations is unbelievably freeing IMO... which is why I'm encouraging everyone I know to try the demo.
I also want to add, if you're reading this and had tried the 1.5 demo, do yourself a favor and try 2.0 - WORLDS of difference in the interface.
1.5's interface was a bit different and, in all honesty, I had a hard time wrapping my head around it. 2.0 feels much more intuitive and well thought - I find myself reaching for ZBrush canvas tools in my other graphics apps now because the placement just makes sense to me now,. =)
~ Cheers all!
11/08/2005 (6:14 pm)
Cool stuff Jameson, and thanks for sharing the info! =)ZBrush in simply a godsend from an artistic perspective - the ability to model with complete disregard for transforms and vertex locations is unbelievably freeing IMO... which is why I'm encouraging everyone I know to try the demo.
I also want to add, if you're reading this and had tried the 1.5 demo, do yourself a favor and try 2.0 - WORLDS of difference in the interface.
1.5's interface was a bit different and, in all honesty, I had a hard time wrapping my head around it. 2.0 feels much more intuitive and well thought - I find myself reaching for ZBrush canvas tools in my other graphics apps now because the placement just makes sense to me now,. =)
~ Cheers all!
Torque Owner Andrew Nicholson
Good luck with it...