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Geek Culture / 'Seventh Crystal Of Theia', on IndieDB - developed in Unity 5.

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The Slayer
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Posted: 31st Aug 2014 06:25
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Hmm yeah, i see. That's rather strange. The original images are not as banded and yucky as on the images you shown above.

Maybe it's something on photobucket (i uploaded them as .png, but i think they get converted to .jpg, but i'm not sure).

Do they show up fine on these forums? Could be Chrome or something.

Cheers!

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Clonkex
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Posted: 31st Aug 2014 06:34 Edited at: 31st Aug 2014 06:35
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Quote: "The original images are not as banded and yucky as on the images you shown above.

Maybe it's something on photobucket (i uploaded them as .png, but i think they get converted to .jpg, but i'm not sure).

Do they show up fine on these forums? Could be Chrome or something."


It's not Photobucket that does it (because I thought that a while back when my signature picture, hosted on PB, suddenly became or yucky like your pictures). It's actually Chrome or my computer or something. The fix is to upload them as JPG, then they look fine.

Also, Photobucket doesn't convert the photos to any other format AFAIK.


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budokaiman
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Posted: 31st Aug 2014 12:40
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The screenshots don't look like that to me. Weird that you're seeing that, are you on some sort of power saving mode?


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Clonkex
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Posted: 31st Aug 2014 15:42
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Quote: "Weird that you're seeing that, are you on some sort of power saving mode?"


No, I don't know what does it. It may be some weird codec I have installed, but I think it's Chrome doing it. Wait, no, Explorer (ugh) does it too, and when I save them to my PC they look the same. It's annoying because all PNGs look that way.

Wait.

I know what it is.

It's my ISP!! Freakin' heck! No ISP should reduce the colours of images for faster page loading! That's just ridiculous!

We have two internet connections. Our main one is our satellite NBN connection, which is very fast (up to 2MB/s down and about 150KB/s up) but also very laggy because of the time it takes for the radio waves to fly into space and back. Our more recent connection is a tethered 3G connection, with an external antenna connected to a $70 S2 which is USB tethered to a Raspberry Pi. That gives us responsive internet for better browsing and online multiplayer games, but small bandwidth.

It just occurred to me that I should try switching connections, and... the Skymesh satellite internet displays the PNGs in smooooth gorgeousness, but the Optus 3G internet displays them with big ugly bands of colour.

I wonder if I can change some settings on the phone...


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Wolf
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Posted: 31st Aug 2014 17:55
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I never expected this to become a shooter. Or at least: have shooter elements.

I'm looking forward to seeing more!



-Wolf

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The Slayer
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Posted: 1st Sep 2014 02:01 Edited at: 1st Sep 2014 02:01
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Quote: "No ISP should reduce the colours of images for faster page loading! That's just ridiculous!"

Well, at least you now know what causes it.

Quote: "I never expected this to become a shooter. Or at least: have shooter elements.

I'm looking forward to seeing more!"

Yeah, this initially started as an adventure/puzzle game with magic and action, but the magic has been replaced by a more 'modern' weapon version. The rest of the ingredients are more or less the same...an adventure/puzzle/action game, with shooter elements.
A bit like Tomb Raider and Uncharted games, but in first person mode.

Actually, there are still some fantasy elements in the game. Right now, i'm working on a skeleton enemy, giving him his A.I. The skeleton is one of Chronos' army, helping the bad guys to conquer the world.

When his artificial intelligence is done, we'll record a vid/trailer.

We recently got a couple of publishing proposals for our game (Steam, EA/Origin, Microsoft, Humble, etc...). !

There's still lots to be done before final release, but we keep working on it.

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Ortu
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Posted: 1st Sep 2014 21:44 Edited at: 1st Sep 2014 21:48
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The screen shots don't look like that for me at all Clonkex, viewing in Firefox here with no banding. -> edit: oops didn't see second page, glad you have it sorted.

Quote: "After quite some frustration and 'problems', we decided to get rid of these 'problems' once and for all, and go for a complete first person view/gameplay for our game. No panic, we don't intend to turn this game into a first person shooter. The only thing that really changes, is the camera view. Instead of having a third person view, all is done in first person mode."


Have to admit, I am somewhat curious as to what these problems were exactly and how first person fixes them over third?

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The Slayer
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Posted: 2nd Sep 2014 18:24
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Quote: "Have to admit, I am somewhat curious as to what these problems were exactly and how first person fixes them over third?"

Well, for one: animations and the fact that we're only a small team (programmer, artist (me), music composer).
Third person needs a bunch more animations (for the main character), and creating (good) animations isn't easy. I'm not an expert at animation, but i am getting better at it, though. Especially since i can now create the character animations right inside Unity.

To solve the animation problem, we started searching for a good animator/3D modeler, but that turned out bad.
So, that's one of the reasons we're now going first person game mode...to minimize the amount of animations, and speed up some of the game development process.

Also, the camera and interaction for a third person game is more difficult to do than in first person game mode.

So yeah, those are the most important reasons for us changing from third to first person.

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Clonkex
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Posted: 3rd Sep 2014 04:13
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Quote: "So yeah, those are the most important reasons for us changing from third to first person."


I prefer 1st-person anyway, generally.


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baxslash
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Posted: 9th Sep 2014 17:09
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I think it looks great The Slayer! Wish I had time to get some practice in on Unity and help with the project but I'm snowed under... Also not sure if / when a Wii-U dev license for Unity runs out anyway! It works for the full pro version but not sure if it will be revoked when I don't purchase a full dev kit for Wii-U.
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The Slayer
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Posted: 24th Sep 2014 17:07
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Quote: "I think it looks great The Slayer! Wish I had time to get some practice in on Unity and help with the project but I'm snowed under..."

Thanks for the kind words, bax!
A shame you can't join. You'd be a valuable member and we'd welcome you with open arms in our team.

Maybe one day, aye?

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baxslash
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Posted: 25th Sep 2014 18:29
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Maybe one day
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The Slayer
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Posted: 25th Nov 2014 19:30
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Hello all!

It's time for another update!

Firstly, hmm...we're kinda dissapointed that no one has entered any puzzle idea for our game! I mean, common guys! You can do better than that, aye?
We will still accept any puzzle idea you might throw at us, though. Also, if you have no idea what kinda puzzle it 'can' be, don't hesitate to ask us!

On with the other news then...as some of might already know...Unity has a new (it's still in beta) version out, Unity 5 beta to be more precise. And...we have it!!
We've been converting our project to the new Unity version, and ooooh my...it has been a PLEASURE to do so!!

The visuals have gotten a tremendous upgrade, the lighting system in Unity is now powered by Enlighten, a global illumination system used in many AAA games, the standard shader in Unity now uses PBR/IBL and the much improved audio system in Unity really allows for outstanding sound mixing and quality.

There are many more improvements, such as performance and other cool features. Basically, it's a joy to work with Unity 5 beta so far!!

We have been making the levels smaller, but better manageable, thus increasing the development speed. We are working very hard to get some small demo and trailer out asap. While the levels will be smaller, we are going to create more of them, and keep in mind...the levels are still big enough to allow exploration here and there.

I've been working on the Artificial Intelligence, puzzle interaction and level creation, while Roland has been working on the compass system, inventory and menu system, and Julian (our music composer) has worked very hard to create some music songs to fit with the game.
In a next update, we'll let you hear some of his awesome work!

We also had contact with a very talented concept artist!! Next update might even have some awesome drawings by his hand!

A couple of distribution companies have contacted us, so things are really looking good!

That's it for now. If you have any puzzle/gameplay ideas to share, please do! Thanks!!

Till later,

The Rimfrost Team.

And, last but not least, a couple of awesome screenshots for you all to enjoy!!







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gwheycs62egydws
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Posted: 25th Nov 2014 20:34
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@The Slayer

exactly how complex a puzzle would be a option to do ?

Tomb Raider had a few puzzles that kept me interested

even Blake stone from way back and the original Wolfinstine 3-D
and very least i forget Duke Nukem 3d

they had a few things that made them a bit hard in places
but thinking about it now they could have dun a few more odd's and
end to test the player

a puzzle can be a simple thing or a bit of doing things
to make some thing happen

please give a pointer as to what would be possible ?

it would be nice to be able to make levels it
increases the life of the game

Duke Nukem 3d and i think Wolfinstine 3-D
had level building program for it

i had a chance to play a few years back
but found since i had got use to higher guilty games
i would start to feel sick .. but after a week it was not a problem
i had readjusted

i like what you have dun and hope this project can continue

you might want to consider https://www.kickstarter.com/

I'd be willing to kick in some money to keep this project going
even it's for a full license

i know unity is a low priced item
but it's much farther along than DBP seems to have the ability
make android apps with out much of change

to move side ways - is to move forward
Since a Strait line gets thin fast
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The Slayer
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Posted: 26th Nov 2014 17:47
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Thanks for the comments, Resourceful!

Regarding the puzzle ideas and what is possible, here are some pointers.

- Puzzles must be doable in first person mode. We might add a third person mode later on, but that's uncertain at this point.
- A puzzle can be a single action, or multiple actions.
- Inventory puzzles are possible, also combining of inventory items is an option.
- We can also do time based puzzles, environment puzzles, logic puzzles, 'order of operations'- puzzles, or a combination of them.
- The puzzles can be based around a theme, or the environment. 'Ancient (Greek) mythology', 'Modern times', 'Satanic Sect', are a few of the themes we have in the game, and the environment in the first levels is Middle-Eastern Desert. Plus we'll also have a laboratory/building where the bad guys create mutants.
- Tomb Raider or Uncharted type of puzzles are a good example of what we're looking for. Think of 'Indiana Jones' type of puzzles/obstacles as a reference.

Basically...if your idea is doable and fits the story/gameplay, then it'll get implemented.

So, any ideas you or anyone else might have, contact us and we'll see what can be done!

As for the level builder, hmm...it's a good idea, because i don't think that adventure games have this option, but i wonder how this could be done so that the storyline still fits.
We do try to think of ways to make the game re-playable, which isn't easy to do for adventure type of games.

The Kickstarter suggestion we like also. Unfortunaly, Kickstarter is not for European countries, or at least not when i last read about it. Maybe it has changed since. We do have another option, called 'IndieGoGo', though.
It's great to hear you'd be willing to kick in some money to keep the game project going! Thanks in advance!

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Clonkex
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Posted: 27th Nov 2014 00:22 Edited at: 27th Nov 2014 01:28
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Quote: "we're kinda dissapointed that no one has entered any puzzle idea for our game"


That's because we didn't really know what the puzzles could be until now. Coming up with interesting puzzles is difficult enough when you know what the game is like, let alone when you've only ever seen static screenshots.

Unfortunately I can't help you. I'm useless at coming up with puzzles.


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The Slayer
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Posted: 27th Nov 2014 05:53
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Quote: "That's because we didn't really know what the puzzles could be until now."

We did mention some pointers HERE, though.

Quote: "Coming up with interesting puzzles is difficult enough when you know what the game is like, let alone when you've only ever seen static screenshots."

Hmm, maybe true...but...you have to admit that those screenshots do look awesome, aye?

Quote: "Unfortunately I can't help you. I'm useless at coming up with puzzles."

Who knows, you could surprise us and yourself. We don't expect all puzzle ideas to be brilliant. Your ideas might look useless to you, but those ideas could be helpfull and modified to create something usefull.

Furthermore, we're working really hard to get some demo level out, and a trailer.

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Clonkex
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Posted: 27th Nov 2014 12:27
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Quote: "We did mention some pointers HERE, though."


Oh, my apologies, you did too.

Quote: "Who knows, you could surprise us and yourself. We don't expect all puzzle ideas to be brilliant. Your ideas might look useless to you, but those ideas could be helpfull and modified to create something usefull."


To be honest, that was just an excuse for not coming up with puzzles for you. I'm really lazy and just didn't feel like it. I probably could actually come up with some really good ideas, but I don't have the time right now to do it. And as I said I'm lazy and don't want to. Sorry to be so blunt.

Quote: "Furthermore, we're working really hard to get some demo level out, and a trailer."


That... would motivate me


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Wolf
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Posted: 29th Nov 2014 16:49
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This looks really cool. Thats the kind of shooter I like, more fantasy and monsters and less bleak military killing-sims.

Here I will upload a lot more fantasy elements before christmas, in case you are interested.

Best luck and keep being creative.

Quote: "Firstly, hmm...we're kinda dissapointed that no one has entered any puzzle idea for our game! I mean, common guys! You can do better than that, aye?"


Aye! I'd just need more context and level layouts aswell as story-backgrounds.



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gwheycs62egydws
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Posted: 29th Nov 2014 21:06 Edited at: 29th Nov 2014 22:09
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@The Slayer

i started work on putting together a Scenario

right now i am working on one for "Middle-Eastern Desert "

wring such is a bit confusing as to ware to what will happen next

what i got so far will get the person inserted and
i hope to make it even more of a challenge as things progress

the one thing i have to keep in mind is not to make it too complicated
and it should not be over in only a few steps

I've played a few of them and was disappointed it was over so
quickly

what every i come up with i have no problem making changes too and welcome changes or switch around

I've got a few of my own game idea for games i want to build

i think helping others now will help me get a better understanding
of the hole process

i will try over the next week to get the first scenario figured out

i think until a few levels for each scenario ware made
people will not consider funding

screen shots only cover so much

a video helps but at least one playable level will have people talking

unlike the old days tv,radio, or news paper would be only way to get the word out about something, now we have a lot more choices

to move side ways - is to move forward
Since a Strait line gets thin fast
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The Slayer
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Posted: 10th Dec 2014 16:10 Edited at: 10th Dec 2014 16:11
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Quote: "This looks really cool. Thats the kind of shooter I like, more fantasy and monsters and less bleak military killing-sims. "

Thanks, Wolf!
We want to have a mix between fantasy and reality. For example, we have this golden knight that has been brought back to life by the bad guys (humans). The bad guys are members of a Satanic Sect, using ancient magic powers to achieve their dark goals.

You got some pretty nice model packs there, btw! Do you also create animated characters?

Quote: "Aye! I'd just need more context and level layouts aswell as story-backgrounds."

We work hard to get a small demo level out asap. To give the audience an idea of what to expect, and to use as a trailer for the game. The puzzles/obstacles in this demo level will be easy to begin with, sorta like an intro/tutorial level.

If you'd like, we could chat (Skype) or use email to share ideas/information?

@Resourceful

Really looking forward to what you have in mind! I know it's not that easy to come up with a puzzle/obstacle for a game you know little about. Maybe it would help if we'd chat using Skype, or email? This way you'd have plenty more information to go on?
Let me know what you think about that. Thanks!

Oooh, btw...currently, there's a 'best Indie game of the year' contest going on IndieDB. We'd really appreciate it if you guys could vote for 'Seventh Crystal Of Theia'! It would be awesome to have our game in the top 100. So, every vote is more than welcome! Thanks!

You can vote for it HERE.

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gwheycs62egydws
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Posted: 12th Dec 2014 21:16
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@The Slayer

i sent you a e-mail

I'm waiting on a response from you ;o)

i think in the first of what i hope will be many

that people who play it
will like how many things they have to do

I have played a few games ware you were not allowed to go some place
and it was a place that should have been in the zone to goto

to move side ways - is to move forward
Since a Strait line gets thin fast
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The Slayer
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Posted: 13th Dec 2014 06:32
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@Resourceful

Got it, thanks! Wrote you back just a couple of minutes ago.

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The Slayer
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Posted: 29th Jan 2015 05:55
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Just letting you all know we are still working on Seventh Crystal Of Theia. Soon we'll update with lots of new information we'd like to share with you all. So, stay tuned. Thanks!

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Posted: 24th Feb 2015 05:59 Edited at: 24th Feb 2015 06:00
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Hello All,

We have some important news to share with you. This might come as a big surprise, but we think you'll like what we have to say.

We've decided to develop 'Seventh Crystal Of Theia' in Unreal Engine 4 from now on, instead of Unity 5.
Unity 5 is undoubtedly a great engine, but for our project we believe that Unreal Engine has to offer more and give us the tools we need to really create what we wanted in the first place. It took us quite some time to realize that. We also came to the conclusion that we struggled for too long to get some progress done quickly.

That's one of the reasons for us changing engines. But also, we will now be able to publish our game on PS4 and XBox One!

There are more reasons why we changed engine. For me personnaly, Unreal Engine 4 has become hundred times better and more user friendly than UDK. The blueprint system is sooo easy and powerfull, that even an artist like me can use it. I know a bit of programming too, but i'm more of an artist. And, the material editor in Unreal is beyond words!! Really amazing materials can be achieved!

Another reason why we changed engines, is the fact that we met a couple of very talented people that also use the awesome Unreal Engine, and they are very interested in joining our team. We already work together on Phobia (a great psychological horror game), and we've also been discussing team merging.

Which brings me to the next important fact: we have a new member in our team!! He's a talented concept artist by the name of Martin Dubravický!
Martin has already shown his talent by creating a concept art for Durok, the Satanic leader of the evil organization that wants to conquer the world in 'Seventh Crystal Of Theia'. You can see his piece of art on this page (image below).
Martin will also paint his talented skills on a concept art for Tom, our main character.

Furthermore, the storyline has changed a bit. Main reason for that: we're a small team working on this game in our spare time (after work and family matters), trying to simplify things for ourselves, making it easier on ourselves to produce and develop this game as quickly as possible.

Time is something we never have enough. That's one of the reasons we've changed SCOT so often. I think people seem to assume that game making is a piece of cake. Well...it isn't. So for those who think they know better and think that we changed things in SCOT for no apparant reason...think again. We're not pros, we're not a big game company with plenty of resources or talented people. We're JUST a small indie game dev team, trying to build something worth your while. Something that YOU'll enjoy playing. We can only do our very very very best to try and accomplish that...using our blood, sweat and tears...and...a loooooot of free time. Hahahhaaa!

This is just an estimated guess, but...we hope to have a fair bit of the first level done in say...two (or three) months from now.

That's all for now. Enjoy the great talent of our newest member Martin and his concept art of Durok!

BTW, could a MOD please change the title of this thread to 'Seventh Crystal Of Theia', on IndieDB - developed in Unreal Engine 4 ?? Thanks!!!



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Clonkex
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Posted: 25th Feb 2015 00:44
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Huh, cool. You gotta do what you gotta do, eh?

Quote: "BTW, could a MOD please change the title of this thread to 'Seventh Crystal Of Theia', on IndieDB - developed in Unreal Engine 4 ?? Thanks!!!"


Done

And: That is seriously cool concept art! I've always wanted to be a concept artist but I'm not great at drawing. Although, when I stole my sister's cheapo drawing tablet and tried drawing with that instead of actual paper or using a mouse, I was instantly a tonne better than I thought I was, so maybe with some practice... and enough money to buy my own tablet...


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Dark Java Dude 64
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Posted: 25th Feb 2015 01:21
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Quote: "Done"
Blarphghghghg, you put a period on the end! Us OCD folks will go crazy and start a riot.

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Clonkex
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Posted: 25th Feb 2015 05:50
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I use smilies as punctuation. I had to make the decision ages ago and decided it wasn't worth having smilies AND punctuation.

And if I'm gonna put a period on the end, I'll have to go find a female...


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Dark Java Dude 64
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Posted: 25th Feb 2015 06:05
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Oh, no, I meant the title of this thread.

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The Slayer
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Posted: 25th Feb 2015 06:32
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Quote: "Done "

Thanks, mate!

Quote: "You gotta do what you gotta do, eh? "

Yeah, i guess so.
Finding the right engine for the job is a big plus. When Leadwerks 2.5 was no longer supported, we had no choice to look for another engine, because the new Leadwerks version (3) had no terrain, no vegetation, no water yet...things we really really needed for our project. We tried out Unity, which is imo a great engine, and the new Unity 5 is a great improvement, but there were also things missing or outdated or incomplete. You had to buy addons to 'fix' missing features that should have been standard integrated. They will undoubtedly improve and update their engine, but when we tried out Unreal Engine, we soon realized that this engine has absolutely ALL (and more) we'll ever need to develop 'Seventh Crystal Of Theia' as we wanted in the first place, and make it simply awesome!!

We already have a pretty solid climb system. The character can wall climb, ledge hang, wall jump, and do plenty of more cool things you'd normally see in games like Tomb Raider, Uncharted and others. Also rope sliding is a feature we're working on.

Quote: "And: That is seriously cool concept art!"

Yeah, it is, aye?
Our newest member Martin has done an excellent job. Even though he thinks otherwise. Hehehhehe. But, i think every artist always thinks less good of his own work.

Cheers!

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Clonkex
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Posted: 25th Feb 2015 13:09
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Quote: "Oh, no, I meant the title of this thread."


OOooooh....

Quote: "but when we tried out Unreal Engine, we soon realized that this engine has absolutely ALL (and more) we'll ever need to develop 'Seventh Crystal Of Theia' as we wanted in the first place, and make it simply awesome!"


Yeah, that's what you get when the engine is developed for a specific game rather than just as an engine. I mean, the Unity guys have never really made a AAA game with their engine so it's missing a few features that should be standard (like the ability to position the mouse cursor). The Blender guys made Blender heaps better by actually using it in several very specific projects.

Quote: "Yeah, it is, aye?"


"Aye" is pronounced the same as "I", as in "aye-aye, captain". "Eh" is pronounced the same as in "mate" or "say", and I think it's what you're looking for


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The Slayer
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Posted: 25th Feb 2015 16:16
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Quote: ""Aye" is pronounced the same as "I", as in "aye-aye, captain". "Eh" is pronounced the same as in "mate" or "say", and I think it's what you're looking for "

Oh right, i see! Thanks for telling me. I really thought it was 'aye', but i guess we learn something new every day, eh?

Quote: "I mean, the Unity guys have never really made a AAA game with their engine so it's missing a few features that should be standard (like the ability to position the mouse cursor). The Blender guys made Blender heaps better by actually using it in several very specific projects."

Yeah, very true. I think every game engine creator should first develop any kinda game with his engine and really test/experience what needs to be added or changed. That's the best way to really finetune an engine and make it complete.

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Wolf
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Posted: 26th Feb 2015 17:28
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Glad to see you use UE4 instead of unity! I can understand that decision.

"If the mods didn’t see it, I didn’t do it!" - Rick Bamber
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The Slayer
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Posted: 27th Feb 2015 06:46 Edited at: 27th Feb 2015 06:47
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Quote: "Glad to see you use UE4 instead of unity! I can understand that decision."

Thanks, Wolf! Been only working with UE 4.7 (latest version) for a few weeks, and i'm loving UE more and more, and i'm more and more confident that we made the right decision.

Btw, aren't you also a UDK (and/or) an Unreal Engine user? Or am i mistaken ?

While i'm writing this, i have more recent news to share with you all. Another new member has joined our team, by the name of Patrick Griffiths, 3D artist/animator/Pixel Artist/Front-End Web Developer. Patrick was already sort of a member, because he is a member of the Phobia-team called 'Narcoleptic Studios'.

Which brings me to the fact that the merge of our team Rimfrost Software and the team Narcoleptic Studios is 99% certain!
We just need to decide which name our new (and bigger) team will have.
After the merge, our team will consist of seven members! And, we have quite some talent, i must say.

Once the concept art finished, Patrick will sculpt his talent into the 3D model that will represent Tom Reed, the main character for 'Seventh Crystal Of Theia'.

I'll concentrate on sculpting Durok, the badass bad guy for our game.
And, i'm also working on adding gameplay and new models to the scene.

Dave, one of the other 'new' members of our merged team, will help on 3D art, while he follows a three year game design course to develop his skills even more. He's also very talented at music composing.

There's also Danny, who's a master at level design, and he's learning 3D art very quickly.


Here's the WIP concept art drawing by Patrick! Enjoy!



Cheers!

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gwheycs62egydws
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Posted: 27th Feb 2015 18:13
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@The Slayer

it's still got to be a pain to keep switching game creation engines ?

I'm glad the work continues and would like to see what the final product


i know the more people you have to work on project the more
gets dun but also at the same time if people are not
completely on the same page it can get a bit confusing as
to how things look and work

to move side ways - is to move forward
Since a Strait line gets thin fast
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Wolf
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Posted: 27th Feb 2015 22:55
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Quote: "Btw, aren't you also a UDK (and/or) an Unreal Engine user? Or am i mistaken ?"


Used to be. Now I only make the occasional asset for a client that uses that engine.

Quote: "We just need to decide which name our new (and bigger) team will have."


The Narcoleptic Rimmers and the funky bunch. No?

The concept art looks fairly alright, altough I don't see why you'd need a concept art for a regular looking man yet alone your typical videogame character. I suppose he can always use the drawing practice! looking forward to that sculpt.



-Wolf

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Clonkex
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Posted: 28th Feb 2015 01:28
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Quote: "The Narcoleptic Rimmers and the funky bunch. No?"


lol

Quote: "The concept art looks fairly alright, altough I don't see why you'd need a concept art for a regular looking man yet alone your typical videogame character."


My thoughts exactly. Bit weird to concept out a very average-looking man. Maybe their 3D artist can't work without a concept?


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Wolf
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Posted: 28th Feb 2015 01:50
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Quote: "Maybe their 3D artist can't work without a concept?"


Plenty of similar ones on the web. Good ol' google will give you plenty of results. Or screenshots...or photos..or a mirror (in case you are part of this species) #yesallxenomorphs #nomoreextraterrestrialoppression



-Wolf

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Ortu
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Posted: 28th Feb 2015 08:31
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3D artist should never work without a concept / reference

That is more of an anatomy study though than an actual character concept. Being WIP, I'd assume they will layer over clothing / gear / the game's artistic vision before taking it to 3d.

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Mystra
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Posted: 28th Feb 2015 12:23
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Looks good, but I don't understand why everyone is using UE4 since UE3 was really underexploited because of consoles. I mean, look at "The Samaritan" tech demo. take at the The Samaritan tech demo, there's no game using UE3 that looks as good as this, even on PC.
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The Slayer
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Posted: 28th Feb 2015 15:23
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Quote: "@The Slayer

it's still got to be a pain to keep switching game creation engines ?"

Switching to Unreal wasn't that hard. Of course, the coding part needed some re-write, but many things can easily be done using blueprints, and Roland (our programmer) is much more experienced with C++ than C#, so there aren't much problems there.
The art pipeline in Unreal is pretty darn good. I'm having no trouble at that, so basically, the conversion doesn't cause too much problems.

Quote: "The Narcoleptic Rimmers and the funky bunch. No?"

Nah thanks, the name is too 'dark'!
You're free to use it if you want, though.

Quote: "The concept art looks fairly alright, altough I don't see why you'd need a concept art for a regular looking man yet alone your typical videogame character. I suppose he can always use the drawing practice! looking forward to that sculpt."

Quote: "My thoughts exactly. Bit weird to concept out a very average-looking man. Maybe their 3D artist can't work without a concept?"

As Ortu very well said , a good 3D artist should never work without a concept/reference. You as an artist, should know that, Wolf. And, if you can top him, by any means...i'd like to see that too.

The last concept art image is indeed WIP, more of an anatomy and facial study, not a finished concept drawing. Clothing and gear and any other characteristics are being worked on.

Also, 'an average-looking male' is exactly what we're going for. The main character is a normal person, an archeologist and (artefact) thief now and then, not some superhero.

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Wolf
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Posted: 28th Feb 2015 16:22 Edited at: 28th Feb 2015 16:24
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Didn't say that he didn't need a concept, just said that he didn't need to do it from scratch as that kind of concept is found throughout the web and he could work off of that.

Quote: "3D artist should never work without a concept / reference"


I do a lot of things I shouldn't be doing.

Quote: "a good 3D artist should never work without a concept/reference. You as an artist, should know that, Wolf."


To be fair, I do a lot of improvised modeling. Then again, I don't know if I count as a good 3D artist but I like to think so.

Quote: "And, if you can top him, by any means...i'd like to see that too. "


Hey! I like a challenge, what would you like me to do? Not that I want to somehow top your 3d artist, he probably does a good job and I don't know him but I'd still like to know what you had in mind!



-Wolf

Quote: "UE3 was really underexploited because of consoles"


Most engines are way too underexploited. UE3 had its fair share of great games and indie projects though.



-Wolf

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The Slayer
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Posted: 28th Feb 2015 17:43
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Quote: "Didn't say that he didn't need a concept, just said that he didn't need to do it from scratch as that kind of concept is found throughout the web and he could work off of that."

Yeah, but that's just his way of working...starting from scratch. He has some professional game design experience and also as a freelancer.

And i was just teasing you a bit, don't worry about it.

Quote: "I do a lot of things I shouldn't be doing."

Guess we all do, eh,

Quote: "To be fair, I do a lot of improvised modeling. Then again, I don't know if I count as a good 3D artist but I like to think so."

Honestly, i do too. Depends on what i'm modeling, i guess. For specific things, i do use references. I think you're a pretty good 3D artist.

Quote: "Hey! I like a challenge, what would you like me to do? Not that I want to somehow top your 3d artist, he probably does a good job and I don't know him but I'd still like to know what you had in mind!"

Hmm, let me think about that.
Not interested to join our team, btw? ?

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Clonkex
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Posted: 1st Mar 2015 03:13
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Quote: "3D artist should never work without a concept / reference"


*facepalm* Of course not, what was I thinking...

Quote: "Not interested to join our team, btw?"


I would be but I'd need pay lol


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The Slayer
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Posted: 1st Mar 2015 17:02
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Quote: "I would be but I'd need pay lol "

Sorry to dissapoint you, but that's not an option. We all do this for free, and work from dusk 'till dawn to make an awesome game, hoping it'll become a big success.

Also, what is your expertise in game development? ?

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Clonkex
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Posted: 2nd Mar 2015 15:27 Edited at: 4th Mar 2015 12:21
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Quote: "Sorry to dissapoint you, but that's not an option. We all do this for free, and work from dusk 'till dawn to make an awesome game, hoping it'll become a big success."


I wasn't really being serious because I had a feeling you weren't working for money

Quote: "Also, what is your expertise in game development?"


Well for starters, NeoParticle, but I've made many unfinished games over the years since I discovered DBPro and am now pretty much a jack-of-all-trades. Just because I like to show off, here's a list of my abilities as I would rate them:

- Programming - Skill: Excellent. Experience in many languages and game engines. My main area of expertise.
- 3D Modelling - Skill: Pretty good. Majority of experience is in Blender. Been making random models for years, but never made anything worthy of a portfolio.
- Texture Creation - Skill: Ok. Not much experience here, but enough to make do most of the time.
- UV Mapping - Skill: Terrible. I hate UV mapping. Gonna have to learn to do this for my own game.
- Sound Creation - Skill: Decent. Quite a lot of "fiddling around" experience, but never done anything serious. Pretty sure I could come up with good stuff.
- Music Creation - Skill: Depends. Some days I can create good tunes, other days my music doesn't deserve to be called music.
- Advertising and PR - Skill: Excellent. I have a very good natural understanding of the way people think, and very good English skills.
- Game Design - Skill: Good. Most people think game design is the easiest part of making games, but it can be one of the hardest. Over the years I've learned to make good decisions faster and forcefully come up with creative ideas on the spot.
- Concept Art - Skill: Not very good at the moment, but with practice could definitely improve.
- Animation - Skill: Depends. Sometimes I can create exceptionally fluid and realistic keyframed animation, other times I struggle. I've never been a fan of animating by hand so I've never tried to figure out why I'm sometimes good and sometimes bad.
- Level Design - Skill: Not sure. Never really done much level design and creation, but I'll have to do it for my own game in the not-too-distant future.

Right now I'm working on my own game. I don't want to give anything away just yet because it's too early, but I've got back in the game-making groove recently (the same groove I got into when I created NeoParticle) and I'm absolutely powering ahead! I'm really excited to see what people think when I start showing the game off and when the alpha is ready!


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Matty H
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Posted: 2nd Mar 2015 18:52
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UE4 in now FREE!!!

Okay it was almost free anyway but now it's totally free, no excuses we can now all help with 'Seventh Crystal Of Theia' ha ha.

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Wolf
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Posted: 2nd Mar 2015 19:07
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Quote: " I think you're a pretty good 3D artist."


Thanks!

Quote: "Not interested to join our team, btw? ?"


I don't have the time for that ATM, but thanks for the offer!



-Wolf

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Clonkex
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Posted: 2nd Mar 2015 23:40
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Quote: "UE4 in now FREE!!!"


My brother just told me. That's brilliant! It's like how the UDK was priced before, but better. Man, it's awesome how cheap (or free!) AAA engines are for indie devs now!


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Wolf
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Posted: 3rd Mar 2015 01:09
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Clonkex, you have a PM!

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