Hey guys,
Quick update for the forum fans/followers :-) I'm working on many aspects of the AI navigation/gameplay and user-interface/etc that can't really be shown in screenshots - I do have some new images of one thing I've just finished - which is a 3D road mesh on top of the standard dirt roads that can be painted onto the terrain.
I can apply any texture to these roads - right now it has a modern look to it - but I can do cobblestone, dirt roads, tire track ruts, alien stones, etc. etc. I've also added specularity onto the roads, which really makes it stand out from the terrain.
I'm also playing with a few atmosphere settings - The first one is the 100% dynamic martian atmosphere - the last 2 images are static skybox images, I think I'll use the blue one for the Grassland themed level which I'll be prototyping soon.
The last thing missing from these scenes are large procedural rock formations to tie the small rock models + large terrain mountains together. Then obviously for the grassland levels I have dense waist-high grass fields I will render - also bushes and tree foliage models counting in the millions-per-scene ... it will be quite impressive. Also I have full water rendering support, etc. and tons of great new features I can't wait to show off!!
//* No road specularity here ...
//This is the 100% dynamic time of day, in the martian landscape/setting that will be in the prototype release.
//Future grassland atmosphere
//This one looks purdy :-]
- Dan
Yes ... I did typo in the title 'Geometry' :-] lol, I need to re-read the titles MORE BETTAR.
Really nice! and yes, unless you add some factories and buildings, concrete roads in a wasteland/desert environment doesn't fit at all. but, thats pretty cool stuff. (you can edit roads width too? )
Some examples:
http://www.gomultiplayer.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Dust-514-21.jpg
http://dust.ccpgamescdn.com/Dust514/media/news.control/2185/2374/DUST514...
http://www.technologytell.com/gaming/files/2012/06/Dust-514-concept.jpg
http://www.cinemablend.com/images/gallery/s20354/dust_514_12551307979328...
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ngjIABxyrvs/T2C_VyYidHI/AAAAAAAAAPM/WyJYwru3qW...
http://s.pro-gmedia.com/videogamer/media/images/ps3/dust_514/screens/dus...
http://dust.ccpgamescdn.com/Dust514/media/news.control/2185/2374/DUST514...
This way everything looks less empty, and a bit more futuristic.
i suppose this full detail scale is imposible in a 9 x 9 km square map, and even if it was, to make a city map would take a lot of time:
http://images.vg247.com/current//2013/02/1359775528-4.jpg
http://www.stayinwonderland.com/wp-content/uploads/Apocalyptic-City_by_s...
unless it only was a small urban area.
http://universumwar.com/TheGame/ActionGameplay.jpg
http://www.eldojogamer.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/stormrise_03.jpg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30FVg5NoF2U
"Instead of making a game you hope many people will like, it's sometimes better to create a game you know a few people will love"
''My intention is not to create something that won't be hated; it's to create something that will be passionately loved''
Yup... Will replace w a dirt road ASAP. Thanks for the great ref images as usual! Yes of course I can edit road width and anything else, place random objects/lighting down the side of the road, etc. totally custom system.
Also funny you mention cities, I had a bunch of ideas regarding procedural cities and spline networks...I was really going to prototype an alien city, but I don't have the time now....that tech will surely be done for my gangster game though, and it can use these outer curvy roads for the countryside where you have to bury the guys you "whack off" lol.
But yea man, this is just a tech demo of the roads working - I'm also working on procedural stones/boulders/rock formations for supplement the mountains and random small rocks on the Martian landscape scenes.
Also obviously once I do a grassland themed world, the terrain will fill out nicely when I add a few million trees and bushes and dense grass to each scene!!
- Dan
Also one thing that makes their terrain really pop is specular lighting/ mask on their rocks... My ROADS have it, my procedural rock formations will have it, and now I'll probably add it to my entire terrain ... it's just a few extra instructions and a new texture sample per pixel. Should take a few minutes since roads/terrain actually use the same shader :-)
- Dan
Regarding cities, well you could make some structures and walls , that when you combine them together, you can create big buildings. this way you can create some high buildings and walls at will. And people could take advantage of this to make quite unique maps.
http://misc.axiom.ky/Alien%20Landscapes/futurecity.jpg
http://www.thatgamingsite.com/images/halowars2.jpg
http://0.tqn.com/d/xbox/1/0/A/U/hwconcept8.jpg
since your waypoint system is not 2D (Units can move above multiple levels) it would be nice to see units battling in different levels/floors, even vertical fire and tactics.
Another thing it could be very useful would be a wreckage texture for the ground, rocks and ruins. Using terrain elevations and this, would make easy to simulate destruction. It would be interesting to see the results.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PLmmkkujj1U/T2I5COQc8SI/AAAAAAAAGDk/aHp8_xO5Ph...
When it comes to grasslands, since i suppose its going to be in a alien planet, a bit of sci-fi fantasy would be interesting:
http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2011/126/8/8/bridges_by_m_hugo-d3fpoib...
Maybe you could leave it to one of your concept artists, I'm pretty sure they could create a pretty unique environment.
Yeah specular masks improve the visuals, everything you can improve of graphycs is welcome.
"Instead of making a game you hope many people will like, it's sometimes better to create a game you know a few people will love"
''My intention is not to create something that won't be hated; it's to create something that will be passionately loved''