Blog for Francis at GarageGames.com

It's been a while and there have been changes.

Francis — 2008-07-29T19:41:55+00:00

it's been a while since I was last posting here and while my concept for the game I wanted to create hsn't gone out of the window, I have put it nearly on hold for a while. This was becuase I wasn't getting anywhere, due to lack of my ability to stay on one subject or anything for too long, and my general lack of resources, or rather my lack of ability to use the resources at my fingertips to their required ability.

So I'm a 2D, 3D artist and I was having hell loads of trouble getting DTS's into torque (oh most unweildy of file types!), and mostly focused at the time on getting the models down and also using constructor, also making a bunch of ground textures etc. Doing various odd job and not really getting anywhere fast and having sod all to show for myself. So i kinda put it al to the side for a while, still thought about it, visited Garagegames and check up on things. So lately I have been all "wheeeee" witht he arival of a solid houdini build for OS X, downloaded the beta, played aorund with it and so far I really like it. Spent several hours just watching tutorials before I went ahead and modeled the easiest thing in the world I could think of - a sword. It turned out all right. I love the little hair effect and also the 'flames' texture that comes in it. So far Apprentice has been a giant step up from what I'm used to, and much esier to use. I was always loathe to use Blender because I generally found it annoying. it's possible that that's just a mental thing, but whatever. I did my modeling in Wings and exported via Obj - and from there attempted to export to dts. While I don't like blender I do respect it as a considerably capable modeling program with a lot of features which make it viable.
The final point being however - that I now really like Houdini and as soon as the Mac version is exporter happy and all set to go and pleasure the masses, then it's all mine buy wise.

I notice though that - if anyone buys something in a box or package etc - if there is polystyrene packaging in there, then it can be an amazing source of inspiration for kinda neo-gothic/industrial architecture. it's just got all the right shapes. It's kinda like something from Warhammer 40K.. you've just gotta imagine it in a gritty grey colour, heh.

Either way - I haven't been focusing on modeling much lately until I saw Houdini apprentice, for such a lovely

Textureing wise, I'm screwed

Francis — 2008-01-20T20:26:21+00:00

I have a shiny new dual core 2.4 GHz intel iMac and it rocks.
What doesn't rock is the fact that photoshop 7 wasn't made as a universal binary. So - that's easy enough to fix right?
i'll jus use this "gimp" program I've run into few times. HA! I download the intel gimp and make myself a nice new document, get my paint brush out for a little test run. Paint brush is lagging behind my cursor like a decrepit limpet on Opium. I click down to make a bit of a paint mark and the application crashes. Bugger that mate.

Searching the internet later on I find that HUZZAH there is a program that transfers PowerPC programs and runs them on intel. Except according to Apple it doesn't work for a bunch of programs, among the list is photoshop. How lovely.

Basically I have to get around this by sending files between an old mac with photoshop on it, and this mac with the power. Makes the whole process bloody long winded.

It's actually funny cause I havn't done some work on my little project ina while, it's been there at the side of my head, and I've been sketching kinda concept's and stuff for various models, but it's all quite pushed to the side line by college and let's face it, I've been playing Shadowbane a hell of alot.....

Nevertheless, Now I am kinda out of luck for a while. I guess I'll get back into consturctor and make that second tower model I've been meaning to make for quite a while....

Back to square one?

Francis — 2007-11-25T11:11:18+00:00

Well it's been "back to square ne" for a while now actually.

Simply put I'm not sure that Fred Kask - the guy who wanted to help out and do the programming for my game - is even alive anymore. he seemed a bit down about getting old, havn't heard from im. So I guess I'm back looking for at least a programmer hehe. SO far I've had no more takers. Probably because (i'd guess) that most of GG inhabitants are using a PC and I want to develope this on a Mac and then port it to PC.

On the other hand My little niche in the development of this game has progressed. I've been making a few more buildings - redesigned the fort, it looks alot more like a fort now as opposed to a kind of stylised aztec temple, but without the pyramid deal. Not a good explanation of the original, but it'll have to do. Also made a couple of other models. Again kinda drifted off course with the colour design of the Rak-Pur a bit. but I'm gettig it done little by little. Overall my section is plodding along at a slow but decently steady pace.

I'm working on a character model, got the bsic human shape down, but Once i've done the face and hands I'm going to have to edit it and pull it about a bit and turn it into an Ur'Tesk. And also I REALLY have to get my arse in gear and sort out that Blender DTS exporter. All the models I've made so far have been difs. Speaking of Models I went and downloaded that huge free tree pack. It's amazing! You'd think that soeone would have to have had obsessive compulsive in order not to go stark raving mad with modelling and skinning endless legions of trees! Oh well.

I also shoved a couple of pieces of paper with plans - lists in order of the things Ineed to model, design etc. In comparison to what people who are looking to make entire MMORPG's, I'd say my first milestone techdemo is looking pretty small sometimes.

I think I should also do some research into random or procedual placement of objects. So much of this game depends on procedual and random generation. I like random things, keeps me on my toes.

OH and college. That also keeps me on my toes.

Finally!

Francis — 2007-10-20T18:28:23+00:00

I'll be honest. it's a shocking amount of time since I should have competed this little picture. But oh no, I'm a lazy sod and so several months after starting it and leaving it half done it's complete. Party anyone?

Edit: Oh and for clarification (and my own lack of foresight or plain stupidity) it's an Ur'Tesk.

Oh so much going on.

Francis — 2007-08-20T11:53:45+00:00

SO I went and screwed up my AS levels, and I'm gonna retake. Aah well, life goes on.

I have a problem that I find it hard to stick to ne thing at a time, and I NEED too jump from one thing to another, otherwise I lose my passion for it. Uhm, some sort of artists curse thing? No just a personal defect methinks.

SO what am I doing now?
What am I not doing now.

I am still drawing out all thecharacter concepts (from the back, all fronts done)
I;m drawing out the various building designs for the buildings I am makeing.
I'm modeling and texturing buildings.
I'm makeing finalised ground textures.
I've also taken a look at some of the weapons textures (actually most of them) and I want to redo the metal textures on them to be up to standard with my mace model. Honestly, the original textures where alright, but come to think of it, dont look anything like metal to be honest apart from being a dull grey iron textured colour. Not what I think is good.
I'm photoshopping a finalised colour version of the Ur'Tesk.

I should also make a team, but I really want something to show before I start drawing people in.

SO I figure some picturs might go well with this thread, to give some idea of progress. Small though it be.

OK imageshack is being a complete ponce, so I'll have to edit and update a bit later when it decides to actually work.

[image] [/image]
[image][/image]
[image][/image]
[image][/image]

Most of the building models I have made are pretty small, but then again, with the set up of this game, I'm guessing that I'm not going to want too many buildings in a single space. having everything in the scenery randomly generated means that I'll be wanting more vegetation or open space, and buildings to be a bit more scattered, or have a few tight clusters, but hope that they dont all intersect and crush up against one another.

I;m also still wandering how I go about cutting off the players landscape roaming, I'm loathe to go wit the "everythings an island" take, which I firstly dont want to do, and secondly would be stealing the TribalTrouble way. Secondly I hate running into invisible barriers, so dont want to do that either.

I made a breif attempt to install a compass system, but decided to leave it for another day after a while.

The story

Francis — 2007-03-30T10:56:49+00:00

I dont like walking into a game and just blowing the crap out of stuff without any real reason, and no background on whats going on. As my game is supposed to be in a fantasy setting, it demands a story and justification for the war thats going on. Somthing that happens with the story creation is that the original races get changed slightly, motive wise. At some later stage I'll change and update them all. For now here is the opening story.

*************************************

For years now the Ur'Tesk and the Rak-Pur had been fighting. Out of tribal skirmishes grew a bloody war involving all tribes on both sides across the lands. As the war spread, the Reptilian Sliz would be the first to become involved. The battles progressed into the mountainous homeland regions of the Sliz, Who became enraged at the unwelcome destruction of their homeland, and fought back against the both sides, attacking them where they found them. As both sides retaliated the Sliz found themselves wrapped up in the growing conflict.

The wars growing population now attracted a new race. From the woodlands they dominated, the Snus emerged, bloodthirsty and cruel, they sought to wipe out life wherever they found it. Their lust for carnage driving them on, the Snus joined the wars and the bloodshed grew ever more violent and expansive.

The barbaric Ultoore crept in at this stage, seeking slaves for their use, they attacked small parties, survivors of battles, enslaving them and using them as workers to build for their nation. However when the races became aware of their ways, they struck back, and it was then that the Ultoore had no choice but to use their tusks and fight the war to the bitter end and the mass enslavement of all survivors.

In time the wars spread to the underground caverns of the vesusk, the races begun to seek shelter or refuge in the underground complexes and when met with the fierce resistance of the Vesusk, where cut down. As each race saw these underground mazes as a stronghold for themselves they begun to battle for them, and ultimately against the Vesusk who now where also involved in the war. For the first time in many years they rose to the sunlight and attacked whoever they came across, in an attempt to secure their land for their own.

The small jungle dwelling race of humanoids also known as the Quan took the war as an opportunity to hit out at the Ultoore. For years they had watched as the towering beings ravaged and enslaved their tribes, for years they had been in conflict with the Ultoore. Now with their enemies numbers divided they had the perfect opportunity to strike and release their slaves. But as luck would have it, the mass conflicts had grown numerous and they soon found themselves raiding Ultoore camps, which had long sice turned into battlegrounds and sieges. They where unwittingly drawn into the war to fight with everyone else as well as the Ultoore.

With each race now battling for survival and their own specific purposes the realm became a bloodbath, the lands became vicious and wild. In a word: Savage.

******************************************************

I'll probably shove that up when the game opens and such, before you get to the opening menu.

ON a differant note, I have modeled nearly all of the weapons I want in game, except for the crossbow, and its debatabe weather i should just leave the original crossbow in game. I have textured the Bow, the Greatsword and the Hammer. I'm going to redo the texture on the sword, It was made on a differant computer on an older version of Wings and therfore needs a little going over and such. Now I just have to actually get all those files to this computer. I'm a lazy sod and can never be bothered. I figure I'll do it
Once I have textured everything in my models folder. Which ammounts to about 17 models left to be textured. Excluding the unfinished Snus Model, 16.

So what have we learnt?

Francis — 2007-03-18T08:29:26+00:00

So using the "KIller Kork" resource I got a few pretty impressive good bots in game. Right now they all just shoot everyone, later on I'll need to figure out a factions things. But not until I have at atleast two character models in game, and hell its just good to do somthing other than run around on my own.

But I'm learning that It doesnt take much to open your eyes wide. My test terrain is normal size, but with the game boundries at the far limits. Also its not tiled not that that makes much differance but anyway. But two things really stand out. My initial idea of having up to ten spawn points per map is too low I think. You can wander around for quite a while and not meet anyone. I need to see if I can find a way to increase or decrease the amount of spawns etc.

Secondly I'm definatly going to need a map on the GUI. Its too easy to get quite lost when you first lose sight of the bots, your left wandering around these pretty big landscapes without a clue where you are until you can sicern some landmarks and work your way from there. Being as I plan to have randomly generated maps and therefore every map is differant, Its going to be very frustrating to players not having a blind friggin clue as to where the objectives are ending up in perpetual confusion as to "Where the hell am I!?"

What else am I doing right now. Well I have made alot of the weapons models I want in game, and I am texturing everything in my models folder, seeing as its kinda incomplete. When all the weapons models are done and textured I'll let everybody see.

But for now I'm gonna have to concentrate on getting my A level coursework in over the next week or so. Urgh, I hate deadlines.

Several things

Francis — 2007-02-25T09:51:25+00:00

So. I can tick off a couple of things on my list, and then actually get some school work done, cause I've been a lazy sod and havnt done my English coursework essay draft yet. Half term goes so fast, too fast. Good thing I like writing then isnt it?

So anyway, back on track.

I have got the final image for the Rak-Pur, back and front. And I have a model for the snus. Which I'll probably edit later on, but for now its decent.

So As my images are all too big for Imageshack, apart from the render, I'll just give you some links.

The Rak-Pur from the back

The Rak-Pur from the front

Snus Model

Ok, time to refocus on what I'm doing at the moment.

Francis — 2007-02-21T16:31:19+00:00

Which is [u]design work[/u].
its all very well to come up with a million idea's and think "wow this would be great!", and then try and get all the content done, but never actually know where to start under the heaps of stuff you've drawn and written and whatever. So I have alot of idea's and stuff, which no doubt will come back later, and some of them really are too big to think about right now.

So I need to organise and prioratise and keep that basic idea's and bare bones of what I want in mind. Once this is done I can then start to expand. Never before. I would really hate to get sucked into the dream state that so many start off in, but soon realise that it isnt so simple.

So I just to keep this in mind here is what I need to do as bare basics of design:

- An overal Idea (done)
- Player race sketches and story (basic look and story outline)
- Player Models (None)
- NPC race sketches and story (stories yes, some sketches)
- NPC models (Very basic WIP "Snus" Model)
- weapons design (Some sketches and early designs)
- Weapon models (A few basic models, some textured.)
- World texture design (Still being worked on with a fair few textures having been created.)
- Foliage (A few basic images)
- Basic scenery model design (Several pages of idea's ahave been drawn up for simple models.)
- Basic models (I have a crate and rock, both textured. Thats about it...)
- Standard building design (None)
- Standard building models (None)
- Important building design (None)
- Important building models (None)
- Animation idea's (Working on it)
- GUI (Front page background done, nothing else.)

Why has so much of it been half done? because I cant focus on one thing constantly, it does my head in and I lose the drive for it. So I move onto other parts of the project. I also realise that this is all graphical stuff. I cant program. I plan on getting some very basic things done, and then trying to gather a team of hobbyist developers to help me.

Why I loathe Blender

Francis — 2007-02-18T10:45:20+00:00

Because nothing is ever simple in that bloody program. Thats the reason i use wings, cause everything in blender is a longwinded and annoying process. The interface sucks too. SO i went to put my .dts exporter script into blender.
But blender was like "Y halo thar! Whats this nu stuffz, no thx, bundled see?"

So I went to the forums and tried there, and people were helpful. But blender wasnt. I was told to use a second script directory which i could make through the user preferances window. So I reopened blender and got my user referances tab out and It gave me language prefrances. Expected. What isnt expected is the complete lack of obviouse ways to switch this to setting script paths. "blender once again is all like "Y halo thar, look a million buttons and not one of them is worth anything!" And grins like a mad pygmy with a hardon....

Oh god I want the next wings installment to have a .dts exporter hehehe...
I absolutly hate blender.