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Amd2000 -- Lightgem


Springheel

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Glad you like it Domarius. Although you were so vehement I wonder if you were being facetious...

No, I actually do like it that much :) All the previous ones are just plain ugly compared to it. I like the clean metal look of the points, and the beautiful translucent effect of the gem itself. And to think it will be in real time 3D. I can't wait to see it in action.

 

It's a perfect combination of functionality and aesthetics.

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Best. Lightgem. Ever.

 

That looks great! Is it possible to use D3's glass/haze shader so that you can see through the lightgem to the other side, but have what ever outputs through the gem to increase or decrease in brightness depending on how much light the player is in? And also, is it possible to have the reflective glass of the gem react to actual lights in the game world? If so, that would be totally awesome!

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And also, is it possible to have the reflective glass of the gem react to actual lights in the game world? If so, that would be totally awesome!

 

I thought about that too at first, but upon further thought I don't think it would be a good idea. It would be distracting, first of all, since the HUD isn't supposed to be in the 'game world', so it would be weird to have it be affected by the game lights. Secondly, it makes it more difficult for the player to read it effectively. Is it light because the character is in the light or just because a game light is hitting it?

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Is it light because the character is in the light or just because a game light is hitting it?

The glassy-ness of the gem is reflecting the lights of the game world when a player stands near lights. It would be purely for asthetic purposes, I figure, if there are enough lights to make the gem difficult to read, you already know that you're in a lot of light.

Edited by Kappow
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It would be distracting, first of all, since the HUD isn't supposed to be in the 'game world', so it would be weird to have it be affected by the game lights.

Most of the HUD isn't supposed to be in the game world, but I always thought the light gem as part of the game world. In retrospect, though, I don't know why I thought this, since if you're actually Garrett in real life you wouldn't really need a light gem... but it just seemed like a tool he used in the game world. Even though I sometimes wondered why it didn't pick up the surrounding light colors of the environment, I think it makes more sense for it not to, too. There's predictability and consistency in it always using the same colors, allowing for more informed responses to situations.

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Oofnish, what's the status on this project? I'd like to get this one posted as soon as you're settled on the final version.

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As I mentioned in another thread, I was extremely busy last week and I didn't get back to this just yet.

 

Just to clarify, should I leave the model as is or add detail to it in the form of nicks scratches, workings on the tips?

 

Initially I thought a couple people wanted extra detail, but since then most people seem to really like it the way it is. Let me know which way to go with it.

 

If the model is good, Then all I need to do is drop the poly levels to a respectable number and send it to you. I will post a high-poly model first though if people want to play with it.

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I suggested darkening three of the four main points, leaving the North one brighter. I don't think it needs anything else.

 

I'll create a place on the ftp site to store our models. We'll need to come up with some kind of naming conventions. I don't know anything about 3d modelling...how many files will you be uploading for each object?

Edited by Springheel
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Alright, I'll try to set that up for what we've already got.

 

While we're at it, does anyone know a good 'skinning for beginners' site? I've made simple skins before, but usually just by working with a precreated shape. With a little bit of information I might be able to help out in that area with simple objects like coins and plates.

Edited by Springheel
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  • 2 weeks later...

I've uploaded three versions of the Lightgem model (.lwo files) to the FTP site. They are in /models/lightgem. The whatis.txt file gives a basic description of what each file is.

 

The lightgem.lwo file is the high detail model that we probably don't want to use. 2.5 k polys

The lightgemr2.lwo file is a medium detail model that renders nearly as well as the high detail model, at 1024 polys. Still probably too high, plus there are some non-planar quads that may cause problems.

The lightgemr3.lwo file is a lower res model that looses some visual detail and has 770 polys. Still might be too high, and the nonplanars are still there...

The lightgemr4.lwo file is a algorithmically reduced object with 692 polys. These are all tris. The mesh is quite messy in comparison, but the model doesn't render too badly. We may want to use this.

 

The reason I provide all these models is so we can choose which model is the best size and complexity. Also if someone is better at reducing models than I am, they can give it a crack and perhaps come up with a better result.

 

Material definitions are all procedural and stored within the lwo files.

 

I also changed the point colors a bit. Here is a new sample:

 

lightgem02.jpg

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And also, I was figuring that it was making up the most of your poly count.

 

And also requires a lot of cool lighting to look good. Since it's always going to look pretty much the same, it should be saved as an image with the perfect lighting on it that looks good, and not continually bothering the computer by doing all that cool lighting in real-time.

 

I noticed the light passing through the gem is coloured, and falling onto the compass, changing the colour of the metal. Surely you could still get this effect some other way when converting the gem into an image?

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Actually, the gem isn't translucent at all so there should be no light transmission of any kind, and I didn't have radiosity on, so I think the color you're seeing is just an illusion. The compass texture is a few different rusty type noise patterns and the combination may be causing that.

 

But yes, I think the compass ring can be placed on the gui, and the overlay can be a more static image. We'll see if the image qualities clash. :)

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