Posts by Izuno

  • Unreal Pipeline

    This is a classic pipeline problem as you've so clearly communicated. Tom, Kosmo and Kedhrin all gave great advice and I would do what you can to follow it.

    So it sounds like the critical issue is time. So here's a short primer on project management that is sort of basic that any good designer/producer will already know....but I mention here for anyone completely new to this stuff who happens to be reading. In any project, there are 3 major factors to balance: scope, resources and deadline. If your deadline is fixed, then you'll have to make compromises on your scope or resources (meaning "less scope" or add more resources/people). If your resources are fixed, then you have people work longer hours but that can often backfire on scope (a.k.a quality...read up on the EA labor controversy for some example stories).

    So back to von*ferret's specific problem:

    Your issue is making sure that your teammates always have something productive to do and aren't wasting time on work that will have to get thrown away because sizing/scaling is not accurate. If that's so much of an issue, you try exporting bits of your BSP to max for them to build the required models as you go, rather than have to wait for the entire BSP to be finished. That way they can get working on the meshes and get the sizing/geometry nailed and move on...handing the mesh to the skinner.

    For that major indoor scene, are there any models that you can have leeway on size? Say there is some statue or light fixture whose size may not matter if it's just a bit off? If so, have them work on that like the foliage as you discussed. (I'm sure you've already come to that conclusion)

    In general, do you have a priority list of what models that absolutely must be sized exactly? If it is not possible to get proper BSP layout to them for sizing, have them work on other things that will need to get done eventually.

    Anyway, I'm not sure I can suggest much more than that, as I'm not very experienced in unreal2 engine. One thing to keep in mind, if nailing down the mesh sizes is a critical bottleneck, then you should immediately test them asap once a mesh is complete so that your mesher knows if they are correct. The faster turnaround on that part of testing will enable faster corrections and keep your mesher working on getting it to fit and waste as little time as possible. (Again you probably know that)

    4 weeks is not a lot of time. I suggest your work your ass off this week just as long as you don't burn out or burn out your team. The more time you spend now the easier the final week will be.

    Good luck and keep us posted. Listen to the other guys here, they gave really good advice.

    Additional:

    I think this is a "bite the bullet" type of problem. You're just going to have to suck it up and test meshes as you go...but to enable that you must hav those portions of the BSP they're fitting into completed. That's a bitch of a process given the short deadline, but you may not have any other choice, assuming the meshing/skinning is so time consuming and corrections so costly to schedule.

    Can someone make a "bite the bullet" emoticon?

  • Stage 2 STALKER MP beta coming...sign up here space limited

    Quote from DD

    More like a better timeslot to get more sales OR to help sells with other titles that were being published by THQ at the time. I woudln't be surprised if they cut funding for the stalker project some time ago, and they're working on a different project.

    DD...sorry but that's just not true. GSC needs more time and THQ agreed. This is one of those "when it's done" products.

    I understand your cynicism, but that's simply the truth.

  • New Unreal 3 Screenshot O_O

    guess i'll just quit my job now as an Art Director...wait a second, i'm not an Art Director. i'm not even a 2d or 3d artist...i designed a few levels then got into product/project management. that's right...whew! glad i don't make a living creating art for games.

    anyway, it was a doctored photo...nice job.

  • New Unreal 3 Screenshot O_O

    looks like a nice scene from Max or something. definitely does not look like a photo...

    look at the metal square in the lower right hand corner. it has that "unreal soul glow" effect we've seen in past shots from Unreal3 techdemo. Similarly, the bricks on the left wall seem like they're reflecting a lot of light in that "unreal brick-soul-glow" sort of way as well. And then there's the lamp post lights as mentioned...

    Look at the building in the background behind the trees...that feels a little artificial looking, like a background painting on a big budget movie (um...like in an Indiana Jones or Star Wars film) even though i'm sure it's 3d. Finally, does the sky ever really look that blah vomit pink?

    looks like Unreal3 to me, else some Max scene or something. way prettier than anything i could ever produce.

  • Dawn of War

    Dawn of War multiplayer is probably a better game than the single player. THe single player is still great IMHO, but of course I am biased.

    Multiplayer, especially team based like 4 v 4 on a LAN is friggin out of this world, assuming multiplay RTS games is your bag. Even if not, it's probably the best aspect of DoW.

    Relic is putting out an expansion pack to DoW called "Winter Assault". I think it's going to release this fall but not sure of the exact date yet.

    If you want to look at that intro movie, you can watch it on Blur's site (Blur is the studio that did it). http://www.blur.com Click on animations then game cinematics and then on the space marine image on the left of the collage (he's the dood with the 2 iron bolts in his forehead and he's yelling or something). You'll see a little Q in the lower right. click on that to watch a quicktime of it. This cinematic represents the flavor of the game pretty well.

  • Would you join a MOD advertised in the CLASSIFIEDS forum?

    Quote from kleinluka

    I like doing small projects. Like a map. With people I know and trust. When you do small projects you can be pretty sure they actually get done and you don't depend on a group of 40 people spread out across the globe.

    you speak truth.

    the most important factor in joining a mod or not is the leadership.

    would i join on a mod? no. at this point i have enough to do with my full time job and my other projects. would i consult for a mod? perhaps....dunno depends on the mod and the leadership of the team.

  • PSP

    quite a few people at the office got one already. it looks very cool and the screen is great. I think if you have the cash, getting it would be a great way to watch movies on the go. I know Sony is releasing some of Sony Pictures movies direct to PSP, but other movies would be watchable in a variety of ways (read PSM's PSP guide this month for details).

    I don't think many of the launch games have caught my interest. I'd like to play SSX3 or MX vs ATV on it. The ATV game launching with PSP is made by Climax and not Rainbow so I'll hold out for a better game. I might have a PSP game to launch sometime later this year, so if that happens I'll get one but I probably won't spend the cash now....

  • to game developers

    Quote from DaanO

    Werd. During every single player game i've played i was like hmmmmmmm would be cool to have someone else playing with me.

    Just wait till next gen consoles come out, like Xbox2. There should be a new wave of co-op enabled shooter/action games. Then hopefully PC shooters will start taking co-op as seriously as vs. multiplayer.

    Keep in mind, co-op modes are not always that simple. Think about Half-Life 2...you could probably put in functionality to have a second player spawn, but the gameplay experience would be a little artificial with 2 players...think of the vehicle sequence. You'd have to enable two people to get into the car...the airboat...which requires additional coding and art design/3d design. Then what about gameplay?

    THen think about the story. It revolves's around one guy's first-person perspective of it. Would the story/ dialogue have to be adapted? You could just throw in the second player for fun and have him be sort of a sidekick the other NPCs ignore. But tell that to a game developer? Developers now want everything to make sense in their games, and if they're doing a co-op mode they want the experience to be believable with in the game's story and have the sequences specifically designed to be solveable by two people instead of one. That's a huge amount of work, almost to the point of designing a second set of gameplay and story content for every single level. But of course this is assuming the developer wants co-op to feel like it was designed for 2 people and not a solo campaign with an extra dood as a sidekick....like in Halo or Halo2.

    Interestingly, I wonder how co-op in Doom3 Xbox will play.

    Anyway, bravo to UbiSoft for putting compelling co-op levels in Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory. Can't wait to play it.

  • dod_advance

    We were very impressed with this map from playtesting, and it looks great, too. Sure, it's old engine HL based, but it was a great amount of fun. I really hope Valve makes it official, even if it has to be ported to Source engine.

    Great job, Insta!