Builder Haunts?

[Ishtvan]

I think first person games have a distorted perspective because they compress a wide FOV down to the visible space of the monitor. Consequently, things along the edges look kind've compressed (like where AI feet would be if you were looking around at eye level). I don't personally know this though, just regurgitating stuff I heard from people who know a lot more about graphics than me.

[Macsen]

..and considering there are 70 character models to do (and I'll be doing the most of those) I haven't got time for nitpicking over little details.

Well since most of those 70 are left to do, it's probably worth sorting out the little details now.

[god_is_my_goldfish]

well..we wont really come across that model in light so in the dark these minor things wont really matter;)

And even if it is put in the light, it looks amazing enough to still stand on it's own, also players are rarely likely to get a really good glimpse of the revnant, as it dissolves when it dies.

[oDDity]

I think first person games have a distorted perspective because they compress a wide FOV down to the visible space of the monitor.  Consequently, things along the edges look kind've compressed (like where AI feet would be if you were looking around at eye level).  I don't personally know this though, just regurgitating stuff I heard from people who know a lot more about graphics than me.

Yes, modeling the feet a little larger to compensate for perspective distortion is a little trick I picked up form a Wtusi tribesman in the Sudan. He knew a surprising amount about fish as well.

Well since most of those 70 are left to do, it's probably worth sorting out the little details now

Spending enough time to get each model perfect will result in virtually none of them ever being completed at all. I'm not sure how aware you are of how much time it takes to get one from concept to in-game, but I can tell you that it's quite a bit - especially like this one, when you're doing everything form concept to animation by yourself.

[Darkness_Falls]

Yeah, not sure if there's room or time to nitpick over things like the boots for now. oDDity has his work cut out for him, that's for sure. However, *if* they are slightly too large in that screen, it is good to note now so it can maybe be avoided in future models; like someone else said.

 

Since I haven't seen the revenant in-game and walked around one, crouched beside it, etc., I can't really comment on if it looks awkward. At this point, I trust oDDity's judgment.

 

I'm curious: Can the model (boots) be easily 'tweaked' much later on in the project, if need be? Or would doing that force us (oDD) to re-texture and re-animate the dude?

[Macsen]

Spending enough time to get each model perfect will result in virtually none of them ever being completed at all.

This has nothing to do with individual tweaking to get each model perfect. Making sure the boot size is right on this model will give you a quick and easy reference for the other 70 that will soon follow.

[Springheel]

People aren't quite getting it. The boots look large in that shot for two reasons. One is perspective, and the other is that, lacking any flesh, the rest of the limbs look thin by comparison. The boots look fine on the builder guards, if you look at Cory's shots.

[Fingernail]

Just don't listen Oddity, it looks great.

[oDDity]

This has nothing to do with individual tweaking to get each model perfect. Making sure the boot size is right on this model will give you a quick and easy reference for the other 70 that will soon follow.

I intend to take the revolutionary step of not putting the same pair of boots on all 70 models:/ In fact, none of them will share anything except hands.

[_Atti_]

well Oddity obviously saw the model when he took that screen..so if there was something wasnt allright about it he would have noticed it..

 

but Oddity,calm down

it wasnt nitpicking,and even if the boots were big they could be scaled in no time..(by that i do not claim the boots big, just remembering you to be open to constructive critism;)

[oDDity]

I'm curious: Can the model (boots) be easily 'tweaked' much later on in the project, if need be? Or would doing that force us (oDD) to re-texture and re-animate the dude?

No. I'd just have to the tweak the model and then re-rig and weight it. Hopefully undertow will be doing that job soon.

[oDDity]

(by that i do not claim the boots big, just remembering you to be open to constructive critism;)

Only when I agree with it)

[oDDity]

For anyone who wants to see these guys running around in the game, I put a zip file on the FTP called RevenantMap.zip in the misc. directory. You just have to unzip it to the darkmod directory and load up 'map guard' and it should work fine.

You do have to overwrite the doom_main script, but it's just adding

// darkmod ai
#include "script/ai_darkmod_guard_base.script"
#include "script/ai_darkmod_guard_elite.script"

to it.

[sparhawk]

I take it this script change will be needed permantly. Or is this only a quick hack to make your demo run? In that case I will not put it in CVS, but if it will be always needed we can put it in.

[oDDity]

You'd have to confirm that with cory, but I'd guess these are going to be the permenant file names of the guard scripts.

[Ishtvan]

Don't we have a "darkmod includes" file already that we can just add stuff to, so that we don't have to modify doom_main?

[sparhawk]

Yes. That was the point of it.

[sparhawk]

Just tried to load your map, but it leaks.

[oDDity]

I just dragged a cube out and hit the hollow button. How can it leak on your system and not on mine?

ANyway, just load it up in the editor, drag a big cube around my room it and hollow it out. That should stop the leak.

Edited March 29, 2005 by oDDity

[sparhawk]

There were also textures missing. I guess this is why it leaks. But how this leaking detection works is beyond me. When I use the pointfile to see where it is leaking (what a stupid concept this is), it points right to one of the walls. I can't understand how there can be a leak in the middle of a brush.

[oDDity]

I don't think doom leaks because of missing textures.

Just make your own map with a basic room and drop the Revenant into it. It's under darkmod/darkmod_guatd_elite

(I just swapped the old hammer meshes and replaced them with the new revenant ones)

[Fingernail]

yes, if there's no texture on a brush, then it doesn't have a surface -> LEAKAGE.

 

Seriously.

[sparhawk]

Well, I assigned textures and it still leaks. No problem in this case because I can wrap it in a big box.

[Fingernail]

strange.

[oDDity]

MISSING texture file = no leak, but black surfaces

NO texture at all = leak.

tasty VEGETABLE related to the onion family = leek.