Corrupted whitebox..

I want a bit of a break from birds and try and get my 'half finished' udk whitebox done, opening it up.. it seems that It had corrupted so it looks like ill have to do it again.. Oh well I do know what I had and to be honest I didn't have any intention to use that whitebox for my final thing anyway.
As I now understand how the terrain generator works im confident enough to get it back to where it was and more.

Quickly managed to get the start of the level done.



What im thinking is a little hard to explain in my head and with a lack of assets but what you see here. The player starts up the hill (from a road)and slopes down into this bit. The terrain will be quite rockey and from the players perspective the section on the right is part of a cliff face. Very close to the house there will be quite a sheer drop (player protected by fencing) where a river will be seen quite low surrounded by trees.
The player is directed to the left by this natural obstacle leading directly into the village.



More progress going down into the town, I want the town to be quite compact in shape sort of enclosing the player a little while retaining the open area.





This is pretty close to what I had before it corrupted now, I am pleased with redoing it and I am happier with what im going for. The terrain will be quite rigid in places made out of rock and grass sloping down into the final boat section.

what the.. DUCK?!

Well this is my duck ready for testing in udk, its going to be more of a background animal so the worries about the texture not quite matching probably dont matter.

I have a little loop animation for the duck swimming.

After some searching and experimenting i got the animation to work

my tut for getting animations to work in udk (for future reference)
'ok so for an animation to work in udk

sO basically model your character in max and then export as a fbx, tick 'animation' 'Bake Animation' and deformations

Open udk and import the mesh as usual in the content browser, it should also make an anim set of the same name.
Double click the anim set and pres the play button to make sure it animates.

Drag the asset into the udk scene then open kistmet.

rightclick, new event, level loaded
right click, new matinee

Link loaded and visible from 'level loaded' to Play in the 'matinee'

click level loaded
Max triggercount1 (for it to loop)
click matinee tick looping

Open the matinee, right click in the black and choose add new skeletalmesh group.
Select the name of that skeletal mesh group and in group anim sets, 'add new item' select the anim set in the content browser.
There you go.
'

CHICKEN

Right I now have a textured chicken for use as a test for this animation.
This is it below (I think ill make a couple of variations of chickens to walk around just by adjusting the texture)



447 triangles mind you..I didnt think it would be that much but I think that is the lowest I can go for them to look any good.

Right erm after it was textured I rigged with bones but rigging in 2012 is a bit retarded in comparison to 2011 I though.
None the less it managed to get rigged and I was trying to get it to animate - its pretty hard to get it to look realistic. I was trying to emphasize the quick head movements chickens have but everything was looking so fake when I was trying. I appreciate that im not an animation student but I think i need more practice before I work on the chicken. In my level the chicken is going to be the main thing that will animate , Herrons don't need rigged and ducks the only thing which moves really is the head.

For my UDK test it may be better to try simpler animations to import than big complex chickens (which may not work!)

For the ducks I will only model the body and the head - no legs are unnecessary. These will be more in the distance compared to the chicken

Progress

Right well this is progress on the models
Iv started with the smaller assets and also made an effort to unwrap as I was doing them. While trying to make as low poly as I could Iv noticed that more triangles are going into things which I think is due to the fact that there are a few cylinders used for many of the objects, these models presented here in total have come to over 1000 tris which normally I wouldn't think was a good number. If I reduced the quality even more it simply wouldn't look that great.

Ok so my progress:
Iv got about half of my whitebox done, modeled a couple of plant tests which ill use and modeled a few of the smaller assets. These past 2 weeks Iv had trouble getting into the project and although iv been working I don't feel like im deep in the project.
Im not entirely sure what to do next, im trying to lay off the bigger assets until later but im starting to run out of the smaller assets!
I still need to look at how to make water in udk and how to get imported models from max to animate (The chickens and wildlife). I have never modeled any birds before so I could try on that, for the chickens what I was planning was for them to just walk around pecking, no wing motions. This is quite crucial really So I think that will be my next step.

Model the chicken
Animate the chicken
Import and make work in UDK.

Would probably be wise to look at a tutorial before I go ahead of modelling.
The chicken may not be the final one I will use as this would be for testing purposes.


So far iv modelled the head, Using alphas for the "comb" on the head and also leaving it open at the bottom which can be alphad AND to make it easier to rig.





So the majority modelled, ill use alphas for the chickens feet. One thing im thinking about - should I have the Head more or less separate to the body and rig it that way ORR have it all connected. If its all 1 thing It would look more realistic but it greatly depends on how well it deforms.
I will have the head moving, the feet moving and the tail - it may be alright.



Right ill leave it there for now, my next step is to finish the texturing, rig it and then try to get it into UDK. Im hoping its straightforward - I have seen 1 tutorial but its for humanoid characters - its probably going to be a matter of trial and error.



(things I can look at)
Reference

Beowolf
Legion
game of thrones
skyrim
centurian
king arthur - clive owen
Pathfinder - viking camps
Asterix
braveheart
Kingdom of heaven

Plants Continueeeee + other assets

Ok so I have a few plants, some of the texturing will need work but none the less I was able to model a couple. Now as I said before I only wanted a few actual modeled plants as the rest will be alphas, perhaps some flowerheads poking out. Strictly speaking these sorts of things shouldn't be modeled as its an inefficient use of triangles and I do appreciate that. I will be wanting a few plants near the fence areas which the player will see while walking around (more than others) and also I will be placing a few in places that need a bit of colour.

Im leaving plants just for now and ill model some other smaller assets from my reference. I will unwrap as I go along also so its not a bit stress at the end.

Plants..

Ok so i got up this morning and tried to finish my "autumn hawkbit", for this I decided to only have 1 head rather than a big bunch of them to save on tris, I can easily make a couple of planes to give the effect of more heads.
I think it works quite well but the head is a bit of a letdown on this one, that is more of a texturing issue more than anything, this was mainly a test and its sucessfull.

This itself is not going to be a major asset and it wont be that large to the player.



Testing in Udk they are actually alright, that is roughly the size they will be, maybe a little smaller. I think their soul purpose is to add a little bit of colour to certain areas. Ill try some mayweed next (the white flowers).



They're alright I suppose, these would be smaller than the hawkbits but it still reached 224 triangles.

I started on the rosebay willowherb


It was going well, apart from the triangle count. Just these flowers got up to 414 tris which I dont think is reasonable for a plant like this. Only the small flowers I think should be modeled. For plants like that rosebay as they are usually in large bushes it may be wiser to make alphas. I could however continue modelling them and take snaps of them for lod's.

as obvious and as cliche as they sound I could model some poppies to throw some colour around, particularly around the little fields I am planning as they seem to go for more for that sort of ground. According to websites they bloom early-mid summer, as my season is more mid/late summer I will have to be careful with this.

Few more plants I may do.
Poppies



Pennywort
Milkthistle
Veronica


My Pennywort


Thistlewip


Well thats me for today I think, its been quite slow going really taking a look back but im slowly getting there. Tomorrow I think ill try and finish this thistle then maybe look at modelling some other small assets (take a break from flowers for a bit)

Bradgate n Plants

Right, yesterday I went down to Bradgate in the hope to get reference snaps of the rockey terrain and how it interacts with the surrounding foliage and ground. Now obviously it still is winter at the moment (in photos it looked more like autumn) so it wouldnt technically be what I would use for my project but even so I thought it would help my design processes. Also popped over to Milton Mowbrey which had a little park but to be honest It wasnt all that useful.



Also went to a spot called Borrough Hill which was originally a hill fort, now only seen as the highest point in Leicestershire. Only the terrain remained.



Interesting imagery which ill no doubt use later on.
Today my plan was to try and model a few plants as i had never done them before. I will explore different ways of doing them. While in games you mainly see them as alpha planes but I would like to experiment with other ways.

Now I am by no means an expert on the various flowers that ill be doing in this level, my mother on the other hand is so I asked her to write down species which I could then look at and see how they are. (species present at summer/autumn).
Before I begin I will look around on the net and see what they look like! Flowers are not going to be my main focus in my level but little clumps of them with the various colours will aid artistically as well as realistically.

Dog Roses (ref from google search)

Managed to get a couple of shots of the leaves and the stem, didn't realize these had thorns also but.. they are roses after all.

Rosebay Willowherb


Codlins and cream

Bulrush/Typha


Oki ill leave it there for the time being, I think for modelling ill try the codlins and cream (stand alone flowers). I have got 1 theory for more complex plants for maybe ,modelling them straight then with bones rig them so I can vary the shapes and directions.

I think for the grass I will use alphas definatly but for the little plants an actual model may be good practise.





Experiment 1, using the lofting technique. This would work for the smaller of the flowers, not for a huge bush. The tricount is quite high here but that plant is seen more in clumps, if i was doing a small plant this would be fine.
Perhaps if i try a bush I could still have a couple of stems with heads on I can place. The head of the plant im pleased with, it instantly looked good. The texturing for the stem doesnt look realistic though, not entirely sure why.
Anyway Ill try another test using the same plant this time I think using 2 sided planes.



This is using that technique.. Hmm my thoughts on this.. It doesn't really work in my oppinion. It looks very fake to me compaired to cylinders. Still it was worth trying even if for background LOD plants, or plants which you cannot reach.

Anyway yeah, I had a quick look around for more weed plants (sort of low to the ground ones) Things like Dandelions.

(some sourcing)
http://www.british-wild-flowers.co.uk/H-Flowers/Hawkbit,%20Autumn.htm

http://www.british-wild-flowers.co.uk/G-Flowers/Groundsel,%20Heath.htm



So next step will be to try and modelling specific plants

More

This is a continuation of yesterdays work
Right, today iv started by working on the terrain around the workshop logging area.
Also just changed the environment slightly so its easier to see.





Inserting my log temp asset as well as the fences but also a little hut I made where wood would be stored. Im quite liking how this is going and with proper terrain and texturing it should look quite good.
The sides of the level im picturing being quite rockey with few bits of foliage added while I don't have proper reference at the moment this is loosely based on the fable oakfield village. I will be going to Bradgate tomorrow though as I recall that sort of terrain, also ill get some snaps of plantlife and other things that may be helpfull.

I also just quickly placed my 'chicken pen' and Teapots.. (thought the teapots could represent the chickens)


Next ill place a few of my market stalls.



I did place a few at the start of the level but i decided in the end that I wanted the stalls more in the center of the settlement than crammed at the start. I mentioned in a previous post that i wanted a transition between nature and human elements, at the start will be right from the road to the settlement which will be the natural element.




Im liking how this is going, quite a lumpy terrain.



Right while testing i looked back at the start and it made me think (as I liked the view element) that after the main settlement to have a path with houses on 1 side with trees/view on the other to reinforce this. Perhaps I could have a field as part of the view.. hmm..



This is a little test based on what I thought, changed the terrain slightly and added a few more buildings and trees.

Whitebox continued

Ok well I was continue to whitebox but I was still having the problem of not really knowing what the layout would be.

This is my most recent 'completed' one



Out of the others iv done this one seems the most advanced.. BUT im still not feeling it. I seem to be in a bit of a rut, it keeps looking too big and its not really matching what I was after. I dont feel like 3dsmax is the best thing to use for terrain testing. I think now ill export each test asset and arrange in UDK as its terrain editor was friendlier to use.

Now Rather than importing each asset straight away I made myself another little whitebox but without and ground with just a few buildings.



As shown, in my head this was more the sort of thing I was going for.
And below is taking it into UDK and trying just importing and moving the terrain around.





Straight away I was happy with it as I could see it from the players perspective, I think using UDK in this fashion is the way to go but ill export each test asset individually and place them there rather than on max.

So this is a start, the skydome texture is wrong and isn't mine and I wont be using it, just needed a test so get rid of the blackbackground.

Very plain at the moment but its getting there as a whitebox!

Continueeeed..!

Thoughts for the Whitebox so far?
Well yes its going much better now but the only draw back is that its taking a bit longer than my initial tests. Terrain is difficult to work with and in my previous tests It was only along the lines of quickly place it rather than thinking of the entire thing as a whole.

Ill be working on the Whitebox again today but my thoughts at the moment are that what I have has a few too many trees. Ill continue though and see what happens, can always delete trees if im against them.

Again im thinking out loud even while trying to finish the one that I am on! But I think having the level so from the village you can see the river (or at least evidence of one)


Right my comments on this..

Right the docks at the bottom I do quite like and having a field just above it (influenced by Oakfield in Fable 2) about having it raised with a fence around it.
The level continues to go up hill into the village. As I mentioned before I think there may be too many trees, so much that they detract too much from what im trying to acomplish. Then gets to the village which is quite similar in style to my previous whitebox but.. After thinking about having the river visible from the village I think I want to stop this and try again.

What I want to acomplish:
Want to create a riverside settlement which has interesting aspecs to eventually lead the player down to the docks being the "Objective" not as a game but simply as an area to walk. I don't think it should be very forest orientated, The trees should be used to mark where the player cannot go but not done so obviously. A few should be able to be walked around.
I want the village to be self supporting for this market about having someone who works with chickens, fruit and vegetables and fish from the fishing ports. The actual village section I want quite populated with buildings and the like and have the docks quite quiet in comparison. Having it like a filter of Human,bit more natural, then completely natural (being the river at the end. I want it to be a pleasant area to walk through but not namby pamby, cuddely, cute, blegh - The main reason that I want a day/night cycle, also thought it would be quite interesting for the use of lighting and shadows.
For the most I want the buildings inaccessible though there may be a couple of exceptions. I do want a pub building somewhere in the center of town, I think that even small settlements should have a central building.

Continued

Towards the end of yesterday I was getting a bit frustrated with my progress, still the dilemma of not having much control over terrain in 3dsmax (even with that paint select tool) so I stopped and thought id try it again. Another attempt with a little more patience and to work on one specific area at a time.
In this case I started from the bottom going up.



I thought using the paint selection bit by bit is probably the way to go.
fairly quickly got it to this stage working on the dock area.



The idea of the boat house being connected from the ground going into the water area but rather than having the boathouse on 1 level, have some stairs going up to get to the proper level - might be quite interesting. Then the docks near by near a little beach where a couple of boats can be left (those not wealthy enough to have their own boathouse) As for trees around im not so sure about them but like iv seen in Fable I quite liked the idea for the area to be quite rockey with grass growing over it.



As before this will be ongoing throughout the day and hopefully ill get another whitebox made to aid in exactly what im wanting.



Bit further along..

Now While making this I decided that rather than having a huge open area to condence everything after placed, I tend to find from experience with the rooftop that more enclosed is better for the player to look around, has to have a balance between open and enclosed. While labeling this image actually I was playing with the idea of having an older unused pier and fishing hut away from the newer section. Having a difference of older and newer may be interesting to look around.

More progress..
Im still finding it difficult to control but bit by bit it shapes up.


Im trying to bear in mind to condense the area a bit, I moved the entire area forward a little distance. I want to get the sense of things being crammed in as its all they have got. In essance the boating area wont be very popular as it is mainly for the fishermen of the village but even so, trying to get the sense of them making something out of nothing.

More..more!..MORE!


For this progression I thought about having a small farm house which can own a little piece of land bringing in vegetables and fruit to the market each week. Im not sure if ill use this idea with the fruit bushes but its something to explore at least.