Walk like a Zombie!

#1 Nice - although I probably won't NEED zombies in my game...but I do have a question: What did you use to make that?

#2 @Laura - You don't NEED zombies...go on you..with your silly statements ;)

#3 Question:

How many polys will these models have?

Just curious because...

Isn't the T3D poly limit per character 5k triangles (highest lod) if you're thinking say 15 characters on screen at a time (of course it depends on the game as well, like I understand rts are usally a ton lower, but think of say like a Tribes or Resident Evil style game).

#4 @Laura: ZBrush and 3dstudio max by the look of it. Maybe also Crazybump for normalmaps and such.

ZBrush: http://www.pixologic.com/home.php
3Dstudio: http://usa.autodesk.com/3ds-max/
CrazyBump: http://www.crazybump.com/

Pixologic offers a free tool called sculptris, try it out. It's a lot of fun.

http://www.pixologic.com/sculptris/

#5 Hey I look just like that coming back from the pub ... only my lower jaw is still attatched.

#6 I like the tongue action.

The walking seems too stable, though. Only recently dead and lost the jaw in a fight?

#7 I notice that the zombie actually traverses 3d space. How will the programmer handle this movement of the root when your animation loops and always snaps back to the first frame? I assume that this is just a test walk and not the final? Im certain that T3D doesnt not have accumulation so this walk wouldnt work as far as I know.

#8

Quote:
Isn't the T3D poly limit per character 5k triangles (highest lod)

There are no "limits" per se. Each mesh has a vertex limit but you can have multiple meshes.

"Soldier" has 12,818 tris in the main model/mesh.

#9 We are also going to provide LODs for all of the parts fully rigged and skinned. This pack is much more than one Zombie... stay tuned for more info.

#10 @Laura: Michael T is correct. Zbrush and 3ds Max. I believe John is baking the normal maps straight out of Zbrush.

@Sidikian: This particular Zombie is sitting at just over 11,000 triangles. He is roughly equal to the soldier in terms of poly count.

@DarqueLord: The movement of the character is essentially a technique to ensure the feet do not slide in engine. The root is determined by the bounding box. As long as the bounds animates with the character in your 3d app, the character will always remain at zero relative to the bounding box ( which acts as your root in torque ) There are specific areas of the player script that handle how far the character traverses 3d space in a single loop, and the speed at which the animation plays back. If he moves 3 meters in max, you can set his translation to 3 meters in the player script which will ensure that the feet stick to the gound. Scale the distance he travels in script and his animation speed should scale accordingly.

#11
This guy is my favorite so far!

#12 Eric - have you been playing dress up... again?

#13 Are you using Biped or the new CAT tools in 3DS Max? Biped is a bit old now and isn't as flexible as the new CAT tools.

#14 yes there is no limit on polys there used to be a poly limit when the engine was called torque advanced once t3d came out that all changed. i have tested it first hand with mine without LOD and stuff which is over 4mill polys worked just fine.

#15 Zooombite!!!

#16 Glen Bermingham:

Quote:Are you using Biped or the new CAT tools in 3DS Max? Biped is a bit old now and isn't as flexible as the new CAT tools.

-sigh-.. biped.. I keep telling Jesse he is an old man. :D

Biped or not though.. He is making some kick ass animations.

#17 @Jesse James... The modeling and zbrush work are very well done.. So if you animated in place would this create sliding in game? Is the technique you used necessary in T3D?

#18 @DarqueLord: You can still use loops that remain at zero in your 3d app, but you'll have a harder time lining up the foot plants in engine. If you like the models you should see them textured! I can't take credit for the models or textures, I just make 'em move. I'll let John know you like his zombies though :)

@Glen: I used biped for the sake of simplicity. While CAT is a neat tool, it's still in its infancy so ( as much as it pains me to say it ) Biped is actually slightly more stable and reliable. CAT really comes in handy when you've got a character that breaks the normal humanoid format as it's really easy to set up weird skeletons with extra appendages and crazy anatomy. For our purposes biped was sufficient, and it's been around long enough that in the end I think people are probably a little more comfortable with it than CAT. If you like CAT you can always transfer the bip data onto a CAT rig. You may also want to check out Puppet Shop:

http://www.lumonix.net/puppetshop.html

It's similar to CAT in terms of rig creation and it has a pretty nice FK/IK switch built in.... and it's free :)

@Matt: Quiet you! :P

#19 @Jesse Touche!

#20 The head needs more of a "snap" at the end, I feel. It seems as if it's not extreme enough; as if it still has some conscious control. As a zombie I imagine you'd kind of just be shambling along, groggy, weak, dazed; you would be confused if you weren't so hungry. Your head swings down and snaps, a loud pop, possible even in an extreme case bone tearing through disintegrating tissue. Possibly even no pain though; just a sort of dull pickup of the head, as if the control had long since left that organ.

:)