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Archived Boards => Machina Terra => The Archive => Archived Machina Terra Threads => Topic started by: Styxx on October 29, 2003, 06:54:36 pm

Title: More updates: Cutscene previews
Post by: Styxx on October 29, 2003, 06:54:36 pm: Ok, I said I would post more updates that were not necessarily in-game shots, so here they are - screenshots from the MT cutscenes!

(http://www.3dap.com/hlp/staff/sticks/mt/cscreen01.jpg)

(http://www.3dap.com/hlp/staff/sticks/mt/cscreen02.jpg)

(http://www.3dap.com/hlp/staff/sticks/mt/cscreen03.jpg)

(http://www.3dap.com/hlp/staff/sticks/mt/cscreen04.jpg)

(http://www.3dap.com/hlp/staff/sticks/mt/cscreen05.jpg)

(http://www.3dap.com/hlp/staff/sticks/mt/cscreen06.jpg)
Title: More updates: Cutscene previews
Post by: Styxx on October 29, 2003, 06:55:16 pm: I'll try to post more as the cutscenes I'm currently working on are finished. :)
Title: More updates: Cutscene previews
Post by: Taristin on October 29, 2003, 06:57:21 pm: :jaw:
Title: More updates: Cutscene previews
Post by: Knight Templar on October 29, 2003, 10:35:09 pm: err.. woa.
Title: More updates: Cutscene previews
Post by: Setekh on October 30, 2003, 02:45:08 am: You're not allowed to p1mp your own project in the highlights because that would be shameless... but the MT site says I'm a retired staffer. ;)

Real nice one, S. :yes:
Title: More updates: Cutscene previews
Post by: Turnsky on October 30, 2003, 03:37:03 am: *dons sunglasses*

Woah
Title: More updates: Cutscene previews
Post by: Ashrak on October 30, 2003, 03:47:52 am: that lightning is schweeet
Title: More updates: Cutscene previews
Post by: Skippy on October 30, 2003, 04:47:26 am: :yes: , as usual ;)
Title: More updates: Cutscene previews
Post by: Lt.Cannonfodder on October 30, 2003, 05:21:03 am: :eek: Puts my feeble attempts to shame!
Title: More updates: Cutscene previews
Post by: Styxx on October 30, 2003, 05:24:40 am: I made it to the header! Yay! :D
Title: More updates: Cutscene previews
Post by: Gloriano on October 30, 2003, 07:11:06 am: Quote
Originally posted by Lt.Cannonfodder
:eek: Puts my feeble attempts to shame!

what can say he is Styxx;)
Title: More updates: Cutscene previews
Post by: Levyathan on October 30, 2003, 08:17:24 am: Hmm. I wonder how that asteroid ring works out in motion.
Title: More updates: Cutscene previews
Post by: gevatter Lars on October 30, 2003, 08:21:02 am: Ah can't wait to see that complete scene moving....
Title: More updates: Cutscene previews
Post by: IceFire on October 30, 2003, 08:33:46 am: WOW!
Title: More updates: Cutscene previews
Post by: Liberator on October 30, 2003, 09:59:38 am: Really looking forward to the campaign. Moreso now than ever.
Title: More updates: Cutscene previews
Post by: ZylonBane on October 30, 2003, 01:01:42 pm: (http://www.mudmystic.com/whoa_small.jpg)
Title: More updates: Cutscene previews
Post by: Fineus on October 30, 2003, 03:55:49 pm: Erm... not bad! Not bad at all! :eek:
Title: More updates: Cutscene previews
Post by: Kosh on October 30, 2003, 05:30:49 pm: Quote
Originally posted by Liberator
Really looking forward to the campaign. Moreso now than ever.

Same here.
Title: More updates: Cutscene previews
Post by: DragonClaw on October 30, 2003, 09:42:13 pm: Mark this date in your calendars everyone! Zylonbane actually made a post with NO criticism!

Oh ... and... :jaw:
Title: More updates: Cutscene previews
Post by: Knight Templar on October 30, 2003, 10:11:40 pm: Bah. It's good enough for me. ;)
Title: More updates: Cutscene previews
Post by: Darkage on October 31, 2003, 01:03:00 am: He didn't use words. Thats wat matters:D

These shots look damn cool!:yes:
Title: More updates: Cutscene previews
Post by: Bobboau on October 31, 2003, 01:41:49 am: /*does Machina Terra danece of coolness*/
Title: More updates: Cutscene previews
Post by: Setekh on October 31, 2003, 03:29:04 am: Quote
Originally posted by Styxx
I made it to the header! Yay! :D

Only the best stuff, of course. ;) And the system works, too.
Title: More updates: Cutscene previews
Post by: AqueousShadow on October 31, 2003, 08:38:46 pm: :eek:
Title: More updates: Cutscene previews
Post by: Taristin on October 31, 2003, 08:55:44 pm: ...who you be? :p
Title: More updates: Cutscene previews
Post by: phreak on October 31, 2003, 10:55:47 pm: just reinforces the fact that we wants to play this

what codec does the cutscene use?
Title: More updates: Cutscene previews
Post by: Kazan on November 01, 2003, 01:44:53 am: anything high quality in AVI :D
Title: More updates: Cutscene previews
Post by: Setekh on November 01, 2003, 03:43:56 am: Quote
Originally posted by PhReAk
what codec does the cutscene use?

XviD, I think. I hope I was allowed to say that. :nervous:
Title: More updates: Cutscene previews
Post by: Levyathan on November 01, 2003, 10:23:37 am: Yep, it's XviD.
Title: More updates: Cutscene previews
Post by: Kazan on November 01, 2003, 04:15:07 pm: Xvid ... nice

/me wishes to get back into playing around with TS some more

how to you make asteroid belts without taking nine years

(and is there a way to make plantary rings so that if you're really up close it shows individual particles, but if you're far away it auoamtically just makes it' a textured solid)
Title: More updates: Cutscene previews
Post by: DragonClaw on November 01, 2003, 05:30:24 pm: Quote
Originally posted by Kazan
(and is there a way to make plantary rings so that if you're really up close it shows individual particles, but if you're far away it auoamtically just makes it' a textured solid)

in LW I know there is, just set it to morph to a object when it reaches to a certain distance.
Title: More updates: Cutscene previews
Post by: Ashrak on November 01, 2003, 05:38:19 pm: wait a sec are those ANIMATIONS?
Title: More updates: Cutscene previews
Post by: Taristin on November 01, 2003, 06:30:17 pm: Cutscenes! Read boi!
Title: More updates: Cutscene previews
Post by: Levyathan on November 01, 2003, 06:51:56 pm: What, you expected the game engine to handle all those polygons?
Title: More updates: Cutscene previews
Post by: Setekh on November 01, 2003, 10:44:37 pm: Quote
Originally posted by Ashrak
wait a sec are those ANIMATIONS?

You got competition, Ashrak. :D
Title: More updates: Cutscene previews
Post by: Ashrak on November 02, 2003, 04:50:06 am: Quote
Originally posted by Setekh

You got competition, Ashrak. :D

yargh!!! *goes to make something ultracool in lightwave* :p
Title: More updates: Cutscene previews
Post by: Styxx on November 02, 2003, 06:57:35 pm: Yes, it's XviD, yes, those are animations, and I've used real models for the asteroids up close and particles for the rest. Lots and lots and lots of particles.
Title: More updates: Cutscene previews
Post by: Taristin on November 02, 2003, 07:06:14 pm: I would loooove to see just one of those anims. Or maybe just a few seconds of one. :D
Title: More updates: Cutscene previews
Post by: Kazan on November 04, 2003, 12:05:41 am: styxx: did you have a program that you could give geometry data to and have it generate the asteroid belt - or did you have to do it manually
Title: More updates: Cutscene previews
Post by: Setekh on November 04, 2003, 12:46:23 am: Quote
Originally posted by Raa Tor'h
I would loooove to see just one of those anims. Or maybe just a few seconds of one. :D

Mwahahah, MT has you now! ;)
Title: More updates: Cutscene previews
Post by: Styxx on November 04, 2003, 05:22:22 am: Quote
Originally posted by Kazan
styxx: did you have a program that you could give geometry data to and have it generate the asteroid belt - or did you have to do it manually

I used both particle systems and the Scatter plugin for MAX - you give it a volume and an array of objects and it'll scatter the objects randomly throughout the volume. The particle system is for the far away objects, the scatter is for those closer to the camera, and I positioned some manually that are very close to the eye point.
Title: More updates: Cutscene previews
Post by: Raven2001 on November 04, 2003, 03:44:51 pm: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:
Title: More updates: Cutscene previews
Post by: Nico on November 04, 2003, 05:20:12 pm: Quote
Originally posted by Kazan
styxx: did you have a program that you could give geometry data to and have it generate the asteroid belt - or did you have to do it manually

You know, something like that in max isn't that difficult to make ;)
the real problem is: "Will my PC be able to handle all that?"
The answer to this, if you do it the hard way, is generally:"No, damnit!!!!". That's when you show skills, like Styxx, obviously, to simplify the whole thing w/o ruining the visuals.
Dunno how Styxx did, but I believe I'd use particles, with a planar particle, with random asteroid pics applied to them ( with an alpha chanel of course, don't want a black square around the roids ), and all those particles aligned to the camera normals. I wouldn't even bother with high poly asteroids, in fact, unless there's one coming REAL close to the camera ( if the camera moves slowly ), with motion blur, you won't see the difference anyway.
If you want them to rotate, replace the pic with an avi, et voila ( yes, you can use avi as maps ).
Title: More updates: Cutscene previews
Post by: Kazan on November 04, 2003, 07:52:35 pm: Nico: i don't use Max or LW (or even have them)
Title: More updates: Cutscene previews
Post by: Styxx on November 04, 2003, 08:11:26 pm: Quote
Originally posted by Kazan
Nico: i don't use Max or LW (or even have them)

If you want to get that effect on an engine, it's quite simple too, just make the usual LODs for the asteroids, but set the lowest LOD to a sprite that replaces the whole model. Of course you won't ever be able to handle that many asteroids in one scene in real time with current hardware - there are hundreds of thousands of asteroids there - but you'll get a nice approximation on the local scene.

Getting a smooth disk effect on an engine would be harder, though, as you'd have to slowly fade them into a textured tube (multiple tubes, if you want it to look good) with the distance. It's doable, but in any normal engine it would be a very special case... Unless you broke up the "disk" into many small sections (which would still be a LOT less poly intensive than the asteroids) and had the higher LODs almost transparent, gaining opacity as it decreased, so the fading effect would be built automatically for you.

Erm, no idea if this is what you were thinking about...
Title: More updates: Cutscene previews
Post by: Kazan on November 06, 2003, 11:51:36 am: i was talking about doing it in Truespace
Title: More updates: Cutscene previews
Post by: Styxx on November 06, 2003, 11:55:55 am: Ah. Ops. No idea. :p
Title: More updates: Cutscene previews
Post by: Zuljin on November 14, 2003, 06:21:55 am: yet again two thumbs up for Styxx :) :yes: :yes:
those pics looks just awesome :)

...I want that campaign!!!! :p
*goes around the room getting shaky while muttering*
need....machina...terra....:D

ok, but seriously....I just can't wait until it's done :)
Title: More updates: Cutscene previews
Post by: Crazy_Ivan80 on November 14, 2003, 12:42:55 pm: Quote
Originally posted by Setekh

Mwahahah, MT has you now! ;)

Too bad no one has MT at the moment (and no, the creators are not included in this asssssessssssment (so what, I didn't know how many 's' were needed :p)
Title: More updates: Cutscene previews
Post by: Bobboau on November 18, 2003, 02:05:24 am: to do that in TS you would need to place each of the 150,000 asteriods by hand, particles is the thing that TS doesn't even try to do, the very concept of a particle system is alien to it