Alien Space Station- UV set 22

I haven't posted much of my 3D work lately, partly because I've been busy with other projects. Here is a little snippet of the work I've been doing lately. This is a living artery of sorts in the alien space station.

Ascension Cube Maps

I've added several renders of the cube maps that I have in progress. Check em out here.

Ascension update

So I've just finished putting some final touches on a couple posters for Ascension. Zach, our creative director has a meeting later this month, so these 5' posters will accompany him, along with a few of our Media Kits. The Mars faction pilot and the Kj'Hal Queen were produced by another talented member of our team, here are the posters:



We've recently set some major benchmarks and have locked down a schedule, and are planning for a beta release during the summer of next year. It's so awesome seeing how far we've come on the game to this point, but also, looking forward we realize just how much is left to go. It's exhilarating and scary at the same time!

We're lucky to have the team members we do- everyone is so enthusiastic and they're all giving it so much attention. Keep your eyes peeled, we'll have more to update as time pushes ever on.

Ascension Media Kit released

We've just covered a major benchmark for Ascension with the release of our Media Kit. Members of our dedicated team have been busy with all manner of tasks related to the production of this game.

We're proud to call the Media Kit complete, in its capacity to showcase Digital Roar's vision for the future of this game. Complete with market data, a world overview, game play styles, and a whole section devoted to the artwork of Ascension, our Media Kit speaks volumes to the dedication and outstanding effort put into this project thus far.

Zach Inks, our Creative Director recently visited GDC in Austin, and was busy showing off the kit, and other promotional items related to the game. So far we've received a lot of positive feedback, and several parties are interested in seeing more. Our next goal is to produce a playable demo, which we hope to have available before the new year.

So feel free to take a look at our Media Kit.

Ascension: YouTube videos

We've posted a few videos on YouTube lately. The Mars station pieces are finished and we're currently working on getting them light mapped and in the game engine in full glory. Below the station/in game preview, you'll find another video showcasing our audio talent- the soundtrack teaser.

Ascension: Site Lovin

Our site has had a little lovin recently. The splash images have been updated and we're working on some larger content/framing issues. Hopefully we'll have a forum online soon as well. As usual, I'll note it here when it happens.

Ascension: Concept Art Preview

A sample of our concept art was shown off on GameTrailers.com recently. We were fortunate to make the first page for a couple days. So far, it looks like there has been over 5000 views, 121 votes and an average rating of 8.1 out of 10.

Check it out here...

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/usermovies/235704.html

heres another video...

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/usermovies/239325.html

Ascension: Light Map UV Sets

Creating a 2nd UV set for a Models Light Map

This tutorial assumes the reader has intermediate knowledge on how to UV polygonal models using Maya. In it I will show how I create and layout a 2nd UV set for use as the model's Light map.

Step 1: Select the model you’d like to create a new Light Map for. I've chosen this wall section for the Mars Colony Space Station.

Step 2: Create a new UV set for your model using an Automatic Map

Polygons – Create UVs – Automatic Mapping Options

Select the following options:

• Planes: 6
• Optimize for: Less Distortion
• Shell Layout: Into Square
• Scale Mode: Uniform
• Shell Stacking: Bounding Box
• Spacing Presets: Change this to the size map you’re going to use
• Create New UV Set: Yes
• UV Set Name: LightSet

Step 3: Navigate to the UV Texture Editor, and select all edges, then Cut UV Edges

UV Texture Editor - Cut UV Edges

Step 4: Select all edges, then use the Layout Options

UV Texture Editor - Layout

Select the following options:

• Layout multiple objects: Non-overlapping
• Shell Layout: Into Square
• Scale Mode: Stretch to Square
• Shell Stacking: Shape (Note that when I took the screenshot, I still had bounding box selected. Using Shape as opposed to Bounding Box appears to produce better results)
  
• Rotate: None
• Spacing Presets: Change this to the size map you’re going to use

My finished product is shown below, yours should appear similar. Unlike a color or normal map, our UV edges don't necessarily need to lay out together. This is because we will be using a Batch process to generate the lighting. To create your new light map, add lights and do a Batch Bake using Mental Ray. Hope this is helpful!

Ascension: Sky Boxes

I wrote this blog for Ascension- originally posted Tuesday, July 1, 2008 @ 9:00 pm

Greetings and salutations! My last blog was devoted to Battle Front concept art and our core element in letting our environments act as story tellers. This entry is about Sky boxes: what are they, and how do we get them to work in our game.

So first, many of you might be asking what a Sky box is. Many games make use of these to give the illusion that the game level exists beyond what the player can interact with. Laymans terms, the Sky box is the background you see when you play the game. Technically, it is a 6 sided box that surrounds the entire game level. By placing the player at the center of this box the player perceives an extension of the 3d world.
You can also think of it in these terms: You’re standing on a mountain looking out at another mountain range… First take a picture facing (1) north, then (2) east, (3) south, and (4) west, and line up your edges so that they match between pictures. This accounts for 4 sides to your Sky box, to complete it you’ll also need to take a photo (5) above and (6) below you. You might ask how to stitch these all together properly, or how would you make it appear not so “square-like” from the inside.
This is done using our modeling and texturing programs. By creating a special distortion on our cameras, you can “bend” the seams of your environment. Take a look at this Sky box texture. Each of these six squares makes up one side of the sky box. Their seams match up perfectly, but distort the edges. This is best seen when looking at the planet. At perfect center, this planet appears spherical in game. Outside of the Sky Box, it would appear like the image below.

Hope you enjoyed this entry, till next time!

Ascension: SkyBox Concept Creation

I wrote this blog for Ascension- originally posted Tuesday, July 1, 2008 @ 9:00 pm

Hi all! I’m the Lead Environment Head working on Ascension: Triumvirate. Tonight’s first blurb will be on the Battle Front concept material I was tasked with creating for Ascension, and perhaps more so on story-telling. You’ll have to forgive me as I’m more prone towards rambling when I’m not creating art. So just slap me around a little if I tend to get side-tracked.

So! A common element to nearly every game currently on the market is a game’s story, and its story-tellers. These story-tellers needn’t always be people or non-player characters, but can be props, scenery, sounds, triggers and lighting. The best story telling is done when the player doesn’t consciously perceive it. It’s also called immersion.

For me, the background scenery required for Ascension is important, vitally so, as it accounts for much of what the player sees. It then should help to tell the player our story, and act as its own story teller; we wanted the scenery to give the player a feeling of complete immersion.

There are twenty-two locations in the Ascension: Triumvirate game world and each has its own concept piece, laying the foundation for each levels development. These concept images are only slivers of what will eventually be designed, but they’re meant to stir the imagination, and to get your mind trained to look for the story in each.

For starters, when I sit down and begin a drawing for t he environment concepts, I ask myself:

• What is happening here?
• What should the player know about each location?
• Where is the sun, and which major celestial bodies are visible?
• How near is the battle front to the celestial body that is closest, is it near a planet or moon, how vast does the planet appear?
• How dark is the level, and is the sun the only source of light?
• How much cosmic dust surrounds this place, is it thick, hard to see through?
• What is the predominant color here, and how saturated should it be?
• How far away is this location, should the players feel alone- deserted, or are they near their power base?

All these questions tend to lead toward elements of t he larger story. Once I have answered these questions, I tend to draw focal points tying them into the art, and I try to answer each question not in words, but in the art itself.

The Battle Front concept art is designed to be the springboard for the eventual realization of the Sky Box in each level (or the 3D background the player perceives). For those of you interested in learning more about Sky Boxes, I’ll post another blog shortly devoted just to them.

Well thanks for taking the time to read thru my notes, I know I tend to ramble, by the way it’d be worse if I were talking in person, as I have no delete button to go back and edit.

Feel free to check out my SkyBox Concept pieces for the upcoming game Ascension: Triumvirate here.

Ascension: Introduction

As some of you already know, my colleagues and I have been hard at work developing a new and upcoming game. I've spent countless hours on it and will probably spend countless more. The game is called "Ascension- Triumvirate" and we currently have several people working hard to see it bud into the title we have envisioned.

Now over the years, I've been involved with the core group of guys on our Ascension team, close individuals I call friends who I've come to know and respect. We've come up with several ideas for games, some based off of other works- like Rifts and Redwall Abbey, and others of our own creation, like The Maelstrom. As exciting as these projects were, none of them compare to the amount of energy and excitement I see in this game.

I'm proud when I say that we really have something here, and in less than five years time, I'd wager you see a version on shelves. We're blessed to have a team of devoted individuals who understand that at least in the short run- its all on us. From our audio-designer, modelers, concept and texture artists, to our coders and business guru's- I'm inspired by all of them.

/me holds up a pint

For those of you who would like to know more about the game, here is our web address:

www.ascensionwar.com