UFO:Alien Invasion
Development => Artwork => Topic started by: Origin on June 23, 2010, 05:48:38 am
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Hey guys.
Looks like a cool project you have going on, and i would love to see a new game in the
spirit of x-com.
Anyways I though i would help you out, and hopefully bring the games graphics up to par
with your new engine capabilities. If you will let me :)
I took the liberty to do some models and sketches.
Models:
(http://img695.imageshack.us/img695/9002/armorsrender01.jpg) (http://img695.imageshack.us/i/armorsrender01.jpg/)
Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)
The models were done fairly quick and dirty and are not 100% complete, as i thought i
would hear what you thought before i spent too much time on them.
The Armor on the left in the model renders is the default "unarmored" BDU.
Its basically a jumpsuit with some light padding and minimal armor coverage.
I chose to add a little bit of armor to the suit, as to me it would seem kind of silly
to send elite troops into the field against an unknown threat, without any kind of
protection.
The model on the right is the combat armor. Its basically supposed to be a Vest, pads
and helmet, made of Kevlar/ceramic equivalents relevant to the time of the game
(spider-silk was mentioned on the wiki though that sounded more like it would be used in
fabrics?). And a heavy undersuit.
Partially inspired by sketches posted by user "Josh".
Sketches:
(http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/9825/techarmors800x600.jpg) (http://img163.imageshack.us/i/techarmors800x600.jpg/)
Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)
The Nano composite armor, from the wiki sounded to me like a early attempt at replicating
the plating and exoskeleton used i alien armors, but falling a little short if its goal.
The suit consists of a tight under-suit, partially covered with nanosteel plating, and the whole
thing being supported by a light exoskeleton, enhancing the speed and firing stability
of the soldier.
I couldn't find any information on The Power armor, but i assumed it was based on the
same materials as the nano armor, but in a super-heavy version.
Complete closed-environment suit, with its massive weight supported by a heavy
exoskeleton.
Obviously very bulky.
Hope you like, but if not, feedback is always helpful :)
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Nice!
Looking at your pics, we could certainly use your talent.
Welcome to the forum!
Edit: Just curious, what software do you use to make models?
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omg, it kick ass!
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Thanks guys :)
I use 3dsMax and zbrush
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really nice work. if you decide to join us, you are more than welcome ;)
especially at character models we are low on manpower - we could need a lot more of them in all places (aliens, soldiers, civilians, pilots)
do you also animate them yourself? we have bip and fig files for 3dsmax in our repository.
see http://ufoai.svn.sourceforge.net/viewvc/ufoai/ufoai/data_source/models/characters/
you should maybe install TortoiseSVN and check out the data_source repository. Do you know SVN and how to work with it?
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thanks for the link, gonna check it out right away.
I do know how to animate, but i have very little experience with character animation. I do intend to try though, and learn as i go.
Also a question. Do you know if using the newer "skin" modifier insted of "physique" for skinning models? i dont have any experience with the md2 format, but since its quite old i guess probably not?
about SVN i have used tortoise before, though it has been a couple of years since and i dont remember tbh :P
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Very impressive. That's exactly the sort of stuff we need.
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Just wow. I really hope to see some of that shapes and images in the game. :-)
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Welcome to the forums, your models look great!
If you find that the MD2 format is limiting, the game also reads MD3 and OBJ models (at least in theory; I'm unsure if we actually have any in use at the moment). I'm not that familiar with the advantages of the various formats myself, but if you run into issues with content you can't figure out how to get into the game, let me know. I'm still in the process of improving the rendering system, so if there are features that you'd like to see, I can try to add them for you.
We definitely need talent like yours; as I'm sure you've noticed, the models we're using now are pretty low poly-count and lack normal-maps, as well as having a visual style that is sometimes a bit more cartoon-ish than the look-and-feel of the rest of the game (e.g. things like the soldiers with cigars in their mouths).
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Grade A work man!
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Awesome! I guess i'm gonna go ahead and continue these then. Will post updates as i go.
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I do know how to animate, but i have very little experience with character animation. I do intend to try though, and learn as i go.
Also a question. Do you know if using the newer "skin" modifier insted of "physique" for skinning models? i dont have any experience with the md2 format, but since its quite old i guess probably not?
you can add the maxscripts to your script folder and export any editable mesh to md2.
see the *.ms files at http://ufoai.svn.sourceforge.net/viewvc/ufoai/ufoai/trunk/src/tools/
about SVN i have used tortoise before, though it has been a couple of years since and i dont remember tbh :P
if you plan to contribute more, you should probably install it and fetch the svn - to be able to commit your work.
see http://ufoai.ninex.info/wiki/index.php/TortoiseSVN as a reference
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I do know how to animate, but i have very little experience with character animation. I do intend to try though, and learn as i go.
Dont worry too much about it. Between me and Destructavator, we can get animating done, especially considering how compatible 3DSMax is with Maya (My forte)
On that note: I have been working on learning how to do rigging, which makes animating easier.
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Simply top notch. I hope you find the time to redo all of the human armor variants.
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I should really start using Z-brush. Would make texture making easier.
Anyway, I have a few more interesting concept images to serve as inspiration:
(http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/8868/soldier2z.jpg)
(http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/7160/t005bc2.th.jpg) (http://img177.imageshack.us/my.php?image=t005bc2.jpg)
http://i.neoseeker.com/ca/tom_clancys_endwar_conceptart_pCRad.jpg
http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2009/358/e/9/Contact___Power_Armor_by_Shimmering_Sword.jpg
http://blig.ig.com.br/mulasemcabeca/files/20050919141217_future_dessert_soldier.jpg
Real military armors in development:
http://media.militaryphotos.net/photos/albums/album112/adj.jpg
http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/ffw-9.jpg
http://de.academic.ru/pictures/dewiki/85/US_Army_powered_armor.jpg
http://tech.blorge.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/future-soldier-2030.jpg
http://i43.tinypic.com/1z172io.png
Also, my (unfinished) armor models are on SVN now, so you can use them as reference, modify them, finish them..whatever. Make use of anything you can.
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@Origin and Trashman: Awesome phenomenal art!
Question though: Will the 3d animators be able to integrate the designs into the game? Last time I presented a concept art for the Ortnok, I had the impression it was going to be difficult.
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Cool thanks for the references.
As for actually getting the models into the game i dont know enough yet to comment.
Just going to focus on getting the 4 basic human male and female armor models done, and then focus in implementation after.
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Origin, I don't often say this, but I actually really like all your models and concepts. You would make a great addition to the team.
About the power armour, it's actually a little bit more complicated. What we want is both a heavy alien suit like you've drawn (what we've termed the Heavy Nanoplate Suit) and an early-game human-technology-only suit (what we call the Powered Armour). Do you think there's anything you can do with that?
Regards,
Winter
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As for actually getting the models into the game i dont know enough yet to comment.
I can help you with that.
One big task will be to make all of the needed animations.
Also do not forget that we need several different heads, but I would say that we could & maybe should make those with makehuman (makehuman.org), which will enable us to design them in a very efficient & easy way...
So if you need high-quality heads, I am volunteering in making those...
Great concepts btw. !
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@Winter
Could you list all the armors that are needed for phalanx? I was under the impression that it was only:
Combat armor (+Advanced version)
Nano composite (+Advanced version)
Power armor (+Advanced version)
Jump armor
Or do you mean that my concept sketch should rather represent the Advanced version?
Regardless i'm gonna try working out a lower tech powered armor.
Could you make a list of the armors with info on how early they are available, their strengths/weaknesses and if you can, story related info (advanced materials used in production and such)? I guess the lower tier powered armor would be available before the nano composite?
@MCR
I was planning just modelling new heads. Just finished a Basic head that i was planning on tweaking, adjusting and retexturing for variations.
Anyways thanks for the replies, the basic suit and combat armor are pretty much done now, will probably post updates tomorrow or sometime this weekend.
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Could you list all the armors that are needed for phalanx? I was under the impression that it was only:
Combat armor (+Advanced version)
Nano composite (+Advanced version)
Power armor (+Advanced version)
Jump armor
That's correct.
Or do you mean that my concept sketch should rather represent the Advanced version?
I do believe that's what he meant, yes.
Could you make a list of the armors with info on how early they are available, their strengths/weaknesses and if you can, story related info (advanced materials used in production and such)? I guess the lower tier powered armor would be available before the nano composite?
The Combat Armour is available from the get-go. Then the Power Armour is researchable right away too, but the Nanocomposite one needs some initial alien research first. The advanced versions will need further research and should appear somewhere halfway through the game with the jumpsuit appearing last. There is no detailed info available for the armours, but you can assume they are all based on alien designs.
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thanks that clears things up a bit :)
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@Winter
Could you list all the armors that are needed for phalanx?
Actually, BTAxis has got it wrong. It's like so:
HUMAN ARMOURS
Combat Armour (+ Advanced) -- Available at gamestart, Advanced in mid-game
Powered Armour (No advanced version) -- Available in early-game
HUMAN-ALIEN ARMOURS
Nanocomposite Armour (+ Advanced) -- Available early-to-mid-game, Advanced in mid-to-late-game
Heavy Nanoplate Suit (+ Advanced) -- Available mid-game, Advanced in late-game
Jump Armour (No advanced version) -- Available late-game
Regards,
Winter
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Wait, when did the advanced version of power armor got scrapped?
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Thanks
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But how could BTAxis have it wrong, if what he just said is exactly the same thing he's had stickied at the top of this forum for the last 3 years?
http://ufoai.ninex.info/forum/index.php?topic=1894.0
Is this a very recent change then, or has 'advanced powered armor' just been renamed and still functions the same way?
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Lower tech powered armor concept.
(http://img651.imageshack.us/img651/7820/lowtierpowerarmor02.jpg) (http://img651.imageshack.us/i/lowtierpowerarmor02.jpg/)
Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)
Oppinions?
edit: udated pic
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But how could BTAxis have it wrong, if what he just said is exactly the same thing he's had stickied at the top of this forum for the last 3 years?
That thread has always been a preliminary list. The powered armour line is supposed to be integrated into the heavy nanoplate suit. The reason why it's stayed the same is that it was edited without my knowledge, and I've not really had a reason to look at it again since we have had no one really working on new armour for the last 3 years.
Origin: That looks pretty good, although maybe a touch too Fallout-y? It'd be good if we could get just a little bit of colour in there.
Regards,
Winter
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The reason why it's stayed the same is that it was edited without my knowledge, and I've not really had a reason to look at it again since we have had no one really working on new armour for the last 3 years.
The list itself was never edited. The only edits have been about status and info links.
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Update (also updated the power armor concept in my previous post)
(http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/3549/render05i.jpg) (http://img149.imageshack.us/i/render05i.jpg/)
Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)
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You're fast :)
Some leg protectors on the combat armor might be nice. Legs look a bit exposed.
Power armor mesh looks amazing.
Gotta look into Z-brush myself a bit.
Also, could you put the 3D Max scene (or armor mesh) up for download? I want to use it as reference.
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wow - very nice job.
btw. keep in mind that the meshes must be splitted into head and body part and that we need tags (see the existing max files in the data_source/models folder)
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...which reminds me - please upload the textures and the source max file
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Lower tech powered armor concept.
(http://img651.imageshack.us/img651/7820/lowtierpowerarmor02.jpg) (http://img651.imageshack.us/i/lowtierpowerarmor02.jpg/)
Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)
Oppinions?
edit: udated pic
Looking good, just a few small points:
1. Having open eyes seems a little too primitive, the game being set in 2084. Can you close them up with some kind of visor arrangement?
2. Can you create some kind of servo framework to connect the suit's legs and arms to its torso?
The nanocomposite looks fantastic, by the way!
Regards,
Winter
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The 3 3d models look phantastic. Top Job there ! I cannot find anything I do not like there ;) Would really like to test those on the battlefield soon ;)
The 'Lower Tech Powered Armor' concept however somehow does not look like it would follow the golden ratio proportions...
IMHO he looks a bit too fat & the thighs seem to be too short compared to the lower legs ?! His head seams to be to small compared to the rest of the body & his shoulders could be wider, but this is just personal opinion...
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thanks for the feedback. Glad you like the models.
@Winter
About the visor: Yes no problem.
About Exoskeleton: Yes seems i forgot that part :P
@MCR You are correct, i managed to fuck those legs up good. I think the proportion problems are mainly due to his "Gut" armor and massive armored diaper :P.
He is basically a paintover of the nanocomposite sketch so proportions are more or less the same, +/- armor.
That being said the other sketches probably arent accurate either.
the sketches are mainly to give myself a sense of direction, and finding out what you guys are looking for.
I feel i have a pretty good idea now where im going with the powered armor, so im going to start modelling soon(ish).
@Trashman & Mattn
Will upload what i have when the power armor and composite are done. Where should i upload them to?
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The models look amazing.
The only thing I'd change is the should pad on the powered armor (the one on the right). It looks like it's almost in two pieces, with a gap between these two sections, but they are still connected by a thin piece of continuous material, instead of a hinge or such. I guess they could only be connected by flexible fabric, but that seems weird given there appears to be a solid exoskeleton, hard joint and motor around the elbow, while the shoulder is left unaugmented and forced to support that extra weight.
Just a thought anyway.
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Thanks for understanding my critique, I just wanted to point that out, before you start using those concept-proportions for designing the real model ;)
btw, Origin, it seems that those are not your first models ;), so if you also have some old models of yours we could use as civilians, those could also help us a lot. There are ambitious plans regarding the civilian population, but those are lacking a big variety of civilian models of all kinds of different ethnic groups in the first place.
Also, Origin, please check out this link & try this tool, if you do not know it, I gurantee you WILL be amazed at least (if not euphoric):
www.makehuman.org
This tool will allow us to create a big variety of high quality models from all kinds of ethnic groups in a very short time (see attached screenies of some heads I made [all credits go to makehuman, as using this tool is no art & everyone can produce hq (naked) models with it]). It is open source software & seems to be like 'designed for our project' ;)
So here is the link to check out the latest ready-to-install versions for you: http://mh.jwp.se/builds.php
Check out the nightly builds as those are most advanced, do not fear the alpha version as it is VERY stable (never had a crash with it).
Greetinx.
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btw. did you upload the sources somewhere already (the max files and the texture sources)? i would like to add them to the data_source svn already. even if not yet 100% finished. you can also send them via mail to me or upload them somewhere like rapidshare or some other hoster. thanks a lot.
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Wow, really nice work. Nothing to add, just looking forward to seeing the final products.
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@Origin: I don't know what your email notifications are set to for this forum, but I've sent you a PM. I forgot to mention in that message though - if you do choose to email the models (out of the options I listed in that message on where to upload), please also send a CC to Mattn - his email address is listed in his profile IIRC.
Once I get anything you send, I'll gladly add it to the project SVN data_source.
Thanks,
-Destructavator
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For anyone who's wondering, the first batch of files are now in the SVN:
http://ufoai.svn.sourceforge.net/viewvc/ufoai?view=revision&revision=31000
@Origin: I'll check the upload FTP folder I provided periodically, and transfer files to the SVN as they come in. BTW, When you make new stuff and have screenshots and previews, just post them in the forum openly, so all of the team can see them. To clarify (since you're new): Mattn is the boss in charge of UFO: AI, Winter is in charge of Artwork (You can certainly expect to hear more from him), Vedrit does animation work with models, and I myself do various things ranging from music to modeling to animation to other stuff (Jack of all trades, master of none). We also have plenty of other developers here who you may hear from (quite a list, I couldn't think of all of them off the top of my head).
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Thanks for the rundown. I will definately be posting images when new models get done.
Will be af few weeks before anything gets done though :)
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Thanks for the rundown. I will definately be posting images when new models get done.
Will be af few weeks before anything gets done though :)
No problem - UFO: AI is, after all, a spare time project for most of us.
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Another point, we need to know the license you want to release your work. The project need open source license, like CC-by-SA or GPL... i think most of the content now is "CC-by-SA 3.0" and "GPL 2.0 or later" (http://static.ufo.ludwigf.org/html/index.html). With it, we can use your work on the game, but more than that, people from the project can rework your content without problem. If you need more info, sure, you can send me a PM.
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Another point, we need to know the license you want to release your work. The project need open source license, like CC-by-SA or GPL... i think most of the content now is "CC-by-SA 3.0" and "GPL 2.0 or later" (http://static.ufo.ludwigf.org/html/index.html). With it, we can use your work on the game, but more than that, people from the project can rework your content without problem. If you need more info, sure, you can send me a PM.
I believe Origin agreed that (Origin, please correct me if I'm wrong) the new models can be under almost any license, as long as Origin can still display them in his own portfolio. Sorry, I should have shared that openly in the thread so the rest would see it, my bad.
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That is correct. Just tag it however you feel is best, as long as i can still use it. :)
Edit:
Btw. I have been making some normal maps for various textures within the game.
However i have been having some problems when viewed ingame, sometimes the textures will look to have an extremely high specular value.
I cant figure out why since even when i make a all black "_sm" for the texture, the problem still persists.
It seems the specular values are also sometimes diffrerent in different sections of a randomly generated map, (for example in the africa maps some segments will have extremely high specularity sand, while others have none.)
I guess it might be because the individual segments are lit differently or something?
Sorry for large images.
some screenshots:
(http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/1746/ufo47.jpg) (http://img17.imageshack.us/i/ufo47.jpg/)
Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)
The normals seem to not get rendered when the map segment gets mostly offscreen:
(http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/7776/ufo48.jpg) (http://img8.imageshack.us/i/ufo48.jpg/)
Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)
The ground under the landing craft also displays the normals briefly when the map load up.
im not sure if this is a issue with specularity or if the normals simply arent showing up. :s
file formats for my normal maps are .tga
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That is correct. Just tag it however you feel is best, as long as i can still use it.
We can't release for you content you make. That's too much ambiguous. Anyway open source license do not remove you any rights. You can continue to use your work every where you want (including commercial closed source game) as long as you are the only one owner/contributor (else you need contributor agreements). It only add some rights to other people (everybody).
I think CC-by-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ people must quote you, derivative work must reuse the same license) is the best, but it must be your choice, not mine.
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@Origin: I am having some troubles with creation of normalmaps (for our models), they do not look like intended to in-game, so...
Please post bug-reports on sourceforge ( https://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=157793&atid=805242 ), as those bugs might be forgotten, when just posted here in the forum...
Sourceforge only accepts small attachments, so the best way to describe things is to doublepost the descriptions, but attach screenshots here (1024kb, 4 per post) & post/add a link to the bug-report screenies on sourceforge...
@ least that is the way I experienced to be the best & most efficient...
The coders most up-to-date regarding this part of the code are ofc. Mattn, who is on holidays @ the moment, or our OpenGL coding genious Arisian, who for example introduced & implemented many of the new features & enhancements of the OpenGL codebase like post-processing shader fx or normalmapping of the geoscape & our models.
You can assign this bug to one of them (probably Arisian is the expert & wizard needed here)...
Question: Are you working on the animations of the new models ?
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@bayo: Thanks. As you can probably tell i havent worked on open source projects before so i dont know the legal ins and outs. The licence you linked seems reasonable indeed.
@MCR: Alright maybe when Mattn or Arisian stops by (im not going to post a bug report just yet as it might just be an error on my end)
I am not currently doing much, I have been working on the powered armor but its still in early stages (lowpoly model pretty much done, still needs normalmaps and textures.), and was planning on finishing the entire "basic" lineup for both male and females (meaning no advanced versions for a little while) before looking at animations.
If anyone feels like starting on the animations, please feel free. Otherwise i will give it a shot when the models are done (I am primarily a modelling/texturing guy though, and i have very little actual experience with character animation.)