If we got a new, good, modeller - what would we get him to do?

[Domarius]

One of the guys at work approached me asking about modelling for us. He's a great "next gen" modeller, definitely in oDDity's rank... But at work we've been making casual games, low poly or 2D stuff. And he's dying for an excuse to do some high detail stuff again. I warned him about how it would be hard to find time, but he's still enthusiastic. So no promises of course, but here's hoping!

 

Anyway Spring - was just collecting together some of the pictures you've posted, to show him what our existing style is like, and realised you've already done quite a few models for us. So much that I'm not sure what is left to do, even after looking at the sticky concept art thread.

 

So what would you say would be the most urgent modelling tasks if we got a really good modeller?

 

New head varieties? Are there characters that need doing still?

[greebo]

What about cats or dogs? Or is he more at home in the human modelling department? Some mage or more heads for commoners surely would be cool. Can he do textures too? Because untextured models are only 30% done.

[Domarius]

He can do anything haha. Cats, dogs, textures, you name it. Even animation. He's an artist in a video game company that commonly has 6 people per team, being able to do anything is a pre-requisite for the job...

[Tels]

He can do anything haha. Cats, dogs, textures, you name it. Even animation. He's an artist in a video game company that commonly has 6 people per team, being able to do anything is a pre-requisite for the job...

 

Hm, instead of doing new models like cats/dogs (that need more texture work, and more code support, and new sounds, and then have the risk only getting 90% finished, e.g end up unusable) I'd rather see our current models getting finished.

 

More, better animation's are thing we really could use (generic ones like "open door", "open bottle", "eat food", etc), but also things like a scurry animation for our rat (it hops along, which is absolutely wrong for a rodent). If he wants, he could model a mouse, it can share the code for a rat, mostly, so that would be easier.

 

We also have an unfinished raven model. Plus, Arcturus has some problems with his horse model (which, after I think 2 years, is still not quite release-ready just to give you an indication of the timescales that are sometimes involved here

[greebo]

Domarius' description sounded like the guy wants to do some high-poly modeling, so I doubt that he is willing to help us with our existing stuff.

[Sotha]

Female guards with proper armor?

Mages?

More heads?

Variety of undead models, ghouls, vampires?

 

As a mapper I'd like to see a better variety of humans than decorative household creatures. I don't see how a cat would add in terms of gameplay. Dogs are a different matter, but like Tels said, they add a lot of work.

[Domarius]

Geez Greebo, why are you such a Negative Nancy today??

 

Okay I think Sotha's opinion as a mapper counts for a lot, not surprising to hear we need more varieties of characters.

[Springheel]

So what would you say would be the most urgent modelling tasks if we got a really good modeller?

 

It depends what he's most interested in. Does he want to do props or animated meshes?

 

Characters are fine, but unless they're rigged (and to our skeleton) they're not going to be much use. I've already got a backlog of six or seven characters that still need to be rigged as it is.

 

New heads are always useful, particularly ones with longer hair. I can rig those myself quite easily.

 

If he wants to do some animating as well, we could certainly use some more "creature" adversaries--ghouls come to mind. I also thought some kind of giant sewer rat might be appropriate.

 

A chained dog would also be cool to have, though again it would need animating. We discussed this idea elsewhere:

 

One somewhat easier scenario I thought of was having dogs act as a "stationary alert system". Have the dog on a leash, tied to a post or something. The player has to sneak by without alerting the dog; if he fails, the dog starts barking and draws all kinds of guards to the area (though the dog can't attack or chase the player himself due to the leash). That would require only a limited number of animations--a couple idles, a suspicious alert, and an all out barking, while straining at the leash. I guess an attack would be needed too in case the player decided to move in and attack. But it removes a lot of the tricky issues of dogs that can go wherever they want.

[greebo]

Geez Greebo, why are you such a Negative Nancy today??

Huh?

[Domarius]

@greebo well he's seen our stuff so he knows what he's in for. It's just seeing whether he can put in the hours.

 

@Springheel - Hm, not sure if he wants to just get in and model or is willing to learn Maya and rig and animate. He can animate really well, but would have to learn Maya cause only knows Max and Mudbox. I'll let him know.

[HappyCheeze]

Does he have a portfolio of his work? Sounds like a cool guy

[Domarius]

Yep I'll direct him to the applicant's forum where he can post his pics and stuff.

[Serpentine]

There's also the model wishlist

 

But I think it would be best to start with what he knows best and go for something like a monster to replace the role of a

or some other more pagan critter (tho I do like the sounds of a larger rat). Tho I really don't see it as vital or important to TDM I think it might be good for getting him interested in contributing? But that would require animating and the rest of it...

[Domarius]

Yep I pretty much told him what Spring said and also added that if he just wants to make a completely new character, no one's going to complain

[Baddcog]

As far as the rat anims I can do more... The hop wasn't really meant as a scurry anim, just something to be thrown in randomly. Unfortunately with only 4 random anims is shows up alot and plays multiple times in a row alot of times. (the anim is only one hop).

But this has come up before, how many anims can a rat have. right now he has a walk, sand up, look around, and hop. technically I'd like them to be weighted in code and have the stand up and hop be low priority. But I can't do that..

 

The best I can do is make more look around/run anims which won't look much different anyway because he's got a minimal bone structure, and there are only so many ways I can have him run/stop/look around.

 

Probably the best option is to just remove the hop anim from the mix, but then he's gonna stand more....

[Baddcog]

^Just to keep the rant seperate:

 

There are tons of objects we can use still, but I think we've got the basics covered pretty well. The hard part is deciding what to add. At the moment I can't really think of anything. lol

[Serpentine]

Something we really could use is "machines", both in complete and parts so that a mapper can throw together a different machine which similar parts.

 

A few animated ones wouldn't hurt, at the moment we're sitting with 2-3 humming boxes that could do with some friends, animation should be 'simple' some stuff turning, cranks or arms moving. Less boxy would be a big plus

 

Desks, benches and smaller tables (i.e the most used is the small round one) are always popular.

[Fidcal]

If he is especially good then I think he would be wasted on simpler tasks like furniture. A table can be 25% too long and it's still a table - just a longer one. But a face has to be precise or even a non-artist senses something is wrong.

 

So I'd put emphasis on new heads - in fact any new work or mods to existing to do with AI. In addition, what has not been mentioned here and as far as the modelling goes is probably as difficult as AI are good statues. The recent one of aphrodite (or venus?) by (was it by Arcturus) is excellent. Prior to that most of the statues are fine out of doors or down in crypts where they might be supposed to be heavily aged or weathered - but they are out of place in a fine mansion. The gargoyles are good but not indoors. There are some good useful busts. In Thief 2 I had a choice of statues (crude by our standards now of course.) In TDM I feel the lack when I am decorating and furnishing. The one in Chalice never felt right in that situation. The bottom line is that not many can produce really good AI heads or statues. Maybe one statue would be a good test piece to sound him out?