Month: March 2012

Working towards building levels totally on iPad…

Ok getting there this morning I will be trying to build a level JUST on the ipad including scripting and the like. I will also be making the game more flashy all the way along.. We are getting close to “alpha” which to me means something totally different. It means a very tight small team of people playing and improving a level until the feel is just right and the I go back and create the rest… of course with this new engine the alpha team maybe also able to create levels ;)…. pretty awesome stuff I am really getting excited =)…BTW it feels so good to finally be at the stage of going in game making a list and then fixing… the final stages before testing and level making with the crew =)…

Getting close to aplayable level 1 really close!

TGIF!
About to head out of the day job soon for an early friday. Been a heck of a week I should get a decent amount of work time tonight and this weekend we shall see!..

What I wasted 20 minutes drooling over today..but cannot afford ;P (RIPP Supercharger)
http://www.rippmods.com/2007_2010_Jeep_Wrangler_JK_V_3_Si_Trim_Stage_2_p/0710jkgen2-sds-stg2.htm

Working towards an alpha soon =) No timeline yet as I want it to be the best it can be at that point =)…
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Here is a shot of me building the player starting area… pretty awesome how easy it finally is =)

More when I get time…Day job is kicking my butt today…

Here is where I got to last night. .. I need to animate him next.

Update!: Say hello to the cast of LEVEL 1!!! Getting ready to roll!

Update: Here is Pus Buckets walk then idle. =)

Update: At home now and about to get er going. I want to get the big guy below animated into his walk, attack, and idle. When I am done I will upload a video of it. After that I need to get the imp back in the game. There have bee so many changes I plan on just reexporting and putting him into the new dictionary. Time to get busy! =)

More when I get it… =)

Really getting happy with the Dev Tool set.

Here is a shot in the ipad game creator.

Top right is the data window for the selected object. Below that is the command line to send commands. Below that is the current level in the scene graph. double tap to go to a nodes children. Below that is the dictionary of items or props that can be placed in the graph. You can find the scripts in the scene graph to edit. On the bottom are the floor types, AI blockers or path markers, and selected item manipulators. All items automatically goto their vis culling nodes as you move them or they walk. And the KD-collision tree is auto updated on a change in transform of anything =)… good stuff really getting there. soon I will be cooking with gasoline and really get to concentrate on some awesome art assets…in fact I am thking of starting the pus bucket today =).. Another user that doom suggested. =).. More when I get to it.

Here is where pus bucket was after 30 minutes =)..Hopefully i get time to get to stage 2 tonight. texture mapping and then stage 3 sculpting the high rez version. I go that direction as it is just me and it is a faster method to a high rez normal map / height map / ambient occlusion. I also like knowing the base model is perfect and building up not starting high rez and trying to squeeze a no so perfect low rez out of it.

O and the sculpt i had… =).. I amliking it.. just pants on and all rotten from the drug use…

And with the ambient occlusion… tonight I sure hope to finish the texturing as i am sure liking this guy =)

Here he was when he was JUST painted in Blender.. He still has to go through gimp and of course normal mapps are not on him yet.

Tonight. ..

I hope to move farther to building the game completely on my iPad (beyond base art assets). I also am looking at some memory issues also. I am just trying to keep it as high and tight as possible as I go to avoid pitfalls down the road. More when I get back to the game =)..for now day job…;(

After a baseball game and getting dinner for the kids last night I ran out of time. I did get to fix a restart issue when minimized. I also worked on level 1 and made a list of things that need to be added or fixed that will be the target for tonight which is free and clear. 😉

iPad 3 Visuals are JAW DROPPING….

NIAGRA FALLS!

Ok I finally just ran Cursed Realms on my new iPad Gen 3. HOLLY CRAP! I have never seen a game displayed in that clarity or that dense of a pixel pattern on a display that size. WOW… unbelievable. And it runs like a freaking dream. I really cannot wait to get to level 1 and get it done now. I will definately have to upgrade the textures even more. Currently they are HUGE but with this display I will need even more. Wow….

Yup going to have to increase texture size. ALTHOUGH you never should get this close to a model =)… I just wanted to do an EXTREME CLOSE UP… =)

Wohoo Satruday Work time

NO DAY JOB TO GET IN THE WAY!!!!!!

Today I need to clean up some more combat and make it more action packed. After I tighten up the to code types of melee and ranged I will be able to quickly pump out different attacks and monsters into the database -)… At some point I will have to get back to the model caching system and do a general bug hunt. I have been trying to download lion for 2 days. Not sure what the deal is. Until then I will not be able to test on my shiny new iPad 3. I will be upgrading my 512×512 textures to 1024×1024 most probably after some testing. The LOD system I have will automatically accept and adjust to the new level of detail. I also want to finisht the idle animation with some more pauses in between actions. Anyway enough blabbing time to get busy!…

My sons team won 1/2 baseball tournament games last night in a thriller amazing how fun an 8 year olds baseball game can get and how good they can get…. 😉 More later I am sure…HAPPY WEEKEND TO YALL =)

xcode 4.3xcode 4.3 for snow leapord

Update: Better Video.. I decided to throw some props in to spruce it up =)

BTW now that I have an iPad 3 that has more ram then my XBOX or PS3! I cannot wait to add an extra layer of super high res textures! =)… the system will auto adapt to your device. Basically on shader load the level of details are cranked down for slower or less memory laden devices =)… before that happens I have to upgrade all devices to lion os sadly as apple is VERY pushy in their os upgrades. although it is cheap it just stinks to have to do it =/

Medic now idles…as all will.. I am going to work on the anim a little later and stretch it out to about a 10 – 30 second animation.

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I am still working on combat. I want this puppy to be more open ended then I have ever seen. IE any kind of attack or method of combat. So fr so good. Now I need to make it look more exciting. I want to add an idle animation also. I had one in there but the cycles it takes to run a Walk, Attack, Random, and IDLE times 4 user character types and 4+ computer types made me not go that way. It is easy to add into the system I just need to animate one =).. no big deal. I woudl rather loose a few character types then not have it now. More when I get to it =)

1000% better feeling today!

Today work will happen =). I did get some AI squared away last night.. I want to accelerate the combat to be more active and crazy when its going on. I have to balance performance though with all that going on. Pushing the edge of graphics and game-play performance is much easier with my own engine but every step of the way I have to make my own inventions to complete the task. I will post some shots of the AI running the mouse mazes and doing the combat when I get some =)…

AI in wander around mode: (I post these so others can see how I solved the problems =) )

The green lines are flood fills that say where the AI can go and in this mode are limited to a close range around the AI. Then the red lines are where his path tells him to go when he reaches the last node he then rethinks where to go next randomly. I want to add in code that weights travelling forward against turning a 180 so the explore more then wander back and forth… =)

Now by simply adding a Dot Product (Subtract AI position from Node position and if it is > -0.25 OR if 0.5 < random number < 0.99 then add that node to the path search ) you can see he tends to go forward and not back and forth =). This will tend this little mouse to explore and not walk back and forth =). Players will use doors to keep their minion marines contained.

Add a little vertex color to your base tiles and WHAMMO quick increase in appeal =)

Now since these AI are ranged attackers they want to stay away from each other and take plasma shots at range. Watch as they choose their paths and strafe paths.

I need to make the melee AI next. They will want to close on your minnions ios. Also notice the new Vertex painting towards the bottom of the walls. It helps to pop them and fake an ambient occlusion map. I did not want to expend the extra map on the walls. The flower looking arrows are flood searches testing the direction of the node if it is blue the AI can escape that direction if red that is the wrong way.

Working!

The new waterfall… What is cool is it takes the color of that region thus the green in one of them.. if the ground has a red tint it will take that.

AI husk upgrade:

Guarding his precious AI.. YO -=)

Looks better with the computer lights moving..I need to scale up the inner cube texture..LOTS of bug fixes and tool enhancements tonight. Still working towards level 1 completion and after that the levels will ROLL… I am very happy with the tool set now if I only had more time available =)

Asthetics PASS!

I like the new rock and variation in color. The color is a level setting so I can turn it any color I want =)… I am pretty happy with it. Tonight I have to find a crash bug from a modified piece of memory after a destruction. Then I will get back to trying to script and build level 1. A lot closer then I was a month ago. Even with life being really difficult lately time wise. More when I get the chance…

Tired of ugly time to increase pretty =)…I am adding in some variations in the lighting levels to break the flat look and I am going to finally improve the rock wall and dirt wall textures they look pretty bad. =).. More when I get it done =)…

Ok what imp spilled the paint!
yea.. thats wrong looking.. =)

Easy Enough =).. Now there is variation in the coloration of the level floor to ceiling whatever is batch collapsed…
Love it.. The green really goes with the Users and their mutant lives =)

Getting close to a fully playable game! =)…

I am getting to where I am able to fully create the game on my iPad… and hopefully next week my iPad3 =)… I really think that will be a beast for gaming. It is supposedly 4x more powerful (which it needs for the resolution). I know I could use that and put it to work on far better animation capabilities.

Check it out… the beggining of level one saved to and from the web between my devices so I can edit it!

May 15th Diablo 3 =)

Updated Wiki design with what happens when you press on one of your aI

http://ryanmitchellgames.wikispaces.com/Click+on+AI

Now to implement it after I get level 1 created!.. I really feel this baby coming together finally!! The reason it has taken so long is anytime I hit a place I feel like I can accelerate later game production with a tool I made it. Thus when this baby does start rolling the levels in they will be completed VERY quickly. Tonight I hope to get back to creating level 1 =)…Whenever that is finally complete and playable I will start getting the tight alpha group together =)…

Heck I might be done with Cursed Realms by then =)…

I am really looking forward to diablo 3 even if they arre removing features faster then I can keep track. IE no pvp,runes, etc… I am still excited. 🙂

Stage 6

WOOT IN GAME! OFF TO THE GYM!

Attack anim first run..I wish I had all the time in the world to work on each character but it always comes down to bang for the buck in a one man show =/

Here is its walk animation in progress. I am about to do its attack anim then finally have it born into the cursed realms engine where its shaders will really make it look COOL! or atleast I hope so =) Currently this is all in blender so you only see the color texture not the normal mapping, specular, or lighting =/

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It has been rigged and now I am finishing the texture getting it in game will take just a few text entries in the database =)… I still cannot decide if it should be a close up melee character or a distance vomit machine… I like close up and nasty with tons of hit points… =) .. The story is this is the last stage of the addiction. The body has completely lost control of its flesh. The body is reverting to a fetal soup. =)

AI is fun stuff…

Dangit lost another hour of painting so I had t redo it… I saved it wrong in blender so here is the repaint…

Well I did not really stop there I took an art break and went into the code to create something I needed. I put in a flag on models where if they are batch collapsed then their texture coords can be generated from world space coords. (Mainly flat walls or floors really). I have not finished but will tonight. I take the normal and dot it to the X Y Z and figure out which world space coords to use for the new texture coords. Pretty simple and will REALLY help the floors and walls I bet.. not sure but when I test it tonight I will see =).. I also hope to animated and get the user baby in game.. I think it is coming out pretty close to what was in my head =)….which is a disturbing place to be =-P
Here is a shot of the new effect of scaling the texture by world coordinates.. MUCH better =)..Asthetics still have a long way to go =)

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OK stopping there.. a little mass effect and then beddy by time =).. more tomorrow hopefully I get some good game making time =)

And NEXT stage…. color texture painting started here and finished in gimp ….

Had a dang crash and did not save for 20 minutes,,, argh.. so here is resculpted baby morph

Stage 4 sculpt complete ,,, time to move to stage 5 =)

Sage 3 sculpt in the fine details for the normal map…. this is the increased res versin before sculpting… next versin soon…

Stage 2 using a checked texture map to be sure the texture is smooth and as straight as possible across the model and the age old technique of doing one side then mirroring the symmetrical other side =)…

Here we go…

Now turrets can use weapons -).

Being a one man band I need the most robust model I can find now off to make the slithering baby =).. THE REALLY FUN STUFF =)

Getting there! =)…

I really do like watching these guys figure things out and play around. I want to add a new bad guy for level one as I feel that if you do not grab a player QUICK in this app-verse you will loose them. The new creature will be the level 1 boss and it will be a baby/fetus looking thing. The story will be that it is a user on the last stages of addiction where his genetic structure itself has become so damaged his body is reverting to a large nasty fetal mass… they will spit toxins and slowly creep with huge amount of hit points. At the end of level one you will be required to hold it off long enough to upload to another area =)…fund stuff I plan on working really hard this week and stating to FINALLY target a alpha level soon =)…. more when I get it done.. for now DAY JOB! =(

Cursed realms! =)

Mission Europa patch out and so far reports are very good!

And we have life!…This is not the most exciting combat around but it is the starting point though =). I will be tweaking behavior from here. These are medics so they will not attack very well but will heal nearby allies if one is injured or attack if threatened. I agree their effects need to be scaled way down and they will be. Have a great Sunday! I will have more later I suspect after I change the oil in our cars.

LOL.. doing some work this rainy day and here is what we have … two medics going BALLISTIC on each other as I accidentally missed a state set… so Super Sayan Medics do exist! =P…I will post a video lately of these two in an arena fighting -)..

AI Utilizing weapons in! =)

Update:

With the new system I had this recolored effect for the User Medic created in 15 minutes. Not bad… That should make it easy to make a plethora of weapons. I will need to change the design doc a bit to have more weapons 😉

Finally knocked out the last bug. Now to build an arena and let a human medic take on a user medic and see if all is well there then back to the races =) More in the morning… sorry for the slow speed Mission Europa, Family, and the day job have been sucking every last ounce of time out of me =)…