Finished

Here is a link to the online version of my level: (It takes a while to load)

http://jeffreycochrane.com/385/Project2.html

Enjoy

Almost Almost

I have done quite a bit of tinkering around with settings and things like that. I have also created the new tower. Issues im haveing is trying to create a death box. I got Tom to give me a hand and we grabbed the code from the tutorial but it wont work. I think that it is because the code is not complete. I need to go through the tutorial and finish off the code, then it will work. Here are some images of what i have been doing:


My character in unity was a good idea at the start but after having some issues with unity glitching out and fragging and running super slow i just went for the simple first person shooter. This way seems to run better and not use up as much processing stuff. But i can make a character work in unity. Like i helped Tania on her level and because her level is just one blender mesh it didn't glitch out at all compared to mine so hers worked.


Here is an image of what skybox i am using. Its the blue sky one. The reason i chose that one is because of the angle of my light and the look that i wanted to achieve. I had created my own skybox texture but it just looked cheep and nasty.


So the theory of my level is that from the front it look like a "normal" cartoon like world and when you get behind the trees or rocks it becomes a "model" like level. I wanted it o be like i was building a model of a castle. Then to accentuate the castle the "2d" trees and rocks would stand and make the terrain for where the castle sits. And this is a top down view of the level. I was just being cheeky and put a J island in. You cant really notice it but i like it. He he he.

Jeff Logging out . . .

The new castle is sweet

I have now redesigned the castle and the outer wall. They are 3d so they will stand out in the level. At the moment i have created a lift that goes up and down the castle but if a have time and can be bothered i will change the lift to a spiral staircase. Its pretty easy but i need to be at school to do it so that i get the staircase steps the right size, and the only way i can test it is in unity. Then back to blender and so on.

Jeff logging out . . .

Progress with new meshs

OK after some thought into the matter of my level i have decided that i need more meshes to populate the new level rather than the ones i have at the moment. Also my castle at the end was nothing to spectacular so i am completely re designing it. I have decided t make the castle 3d so its a center point of the level and the other meshes 2d like cardboard. This is so that when you get to the top of the hill it is more of an accomplishment and isn't just another cardboard cut out.

This will take time but i think that it will be worth it in the end. So here is a list of the new things that i want to create:

Castle
Small and large statues
Grass
Shrubs
Posts
Animals (Possibly sheep)

Why did i change? Well it was glitching up unity and getting the level to move with all of my custom meshes was a nightmare with the processing speeds, and the computer was having a heart attack.

Other things that are worth mentioning are the styles of things that i wanted to put in. For example i asked jess for some grass. The grass she gave me was 3d and just didn't go with the theme or style of the level. I am actually quite disappointed with not getting my original idea to work. As i think that, that level would have been awesome and super cool. Why don't i like it? because of the terrain and the style that it makes me take. Rather than my own vision of the land or terrain i have to make it to what unity wants me to make it like. I feel like i have just been stone walled at every turn. Oh well, what ever. Its not worth complaining about really. I just have to get ion with it!

Jeff Logging out . . .

Unity on my laptop BAD IDEA

Ok my sister is coming down today and is staying until Sunday and i haven't seen her in ages so i thought id install the trial version of unity on my computer so that i could at least place all of my meshes on the terrain and do some stuff while she is here. Bad idea. I have crashed my computer 3 times now. It starts to runs then just crashes. GUTTED FOR ME!!!

So i guess i will have to head into school. But thats ok i guess.

Jeff logging out . . .

The new Level

Here is the new level. Its now with terrain and im unsure about it now. Here are a few pictures:

Jeff logging out . . .

Unity Development Images

Here's a few images that i have captured from unity. So i think that i will now just try and make some changes to it. Or put it all on a flat plane and make it run that way. Oh well.

Jeff Logging out . . .

Issues with unity

Ok i have imported all of my meshes and placed them in unity, but... BUT. I cant get the level to move. Im also having trouble with the pace of the game. Its all glitchy and takes ages to load. So i think that my meshes are too large or there are to many of them. I know that my meshes are small as they don't have many polygons.

I think that i just have to many!

Issues are as follows:
Coding the level to move (Or creating gravity in the world)
Making the level not glitch out

Unity Trees

I have started to put my objects into unity. I have done all / most of the trees and most of the rocks. I still need to texture the terrain but that will be easy. I also just need to finish off the castle and castle walls meshes then i will be able to make the castle and the other components to the level. I like the trees and the way that the lights are reacting to them but the lights still need abit of work.

By early tomorrow i want to habe the basic layout and most of the other small details done on the level. Then i will be able to work on the code behind the rotation of the level and the character movement through the level.

Jeff logging out . . .

Some Unity Forced Decisions

So after some thought and some unity experimentation. I have had to make a decision about the level design. What wanted to do was make a sphere like shape the centre of gravity and then have all of the mesh pull towards that. But i cant figure out how to move the centre of gravity.

So if i cant move the point of gravity, i will have to move the way that i navigate the space. Instead of moving the character through the space move the space around the character. So a fixed camera and when the user moves in the space the level moves rather than the character.

And if this doesn't work i think i will just make my level on a flat plane or box.

Jeff Logging out . . .

The progress

So after making the trees and rocks and houses and characters i have decided its about time to get into unity with the meshs and start playing around in there with them and actually starting to place them where i want them. I have also just completed the castle i wanted. It has a tower and is large with an exterior wall. But you will have to wait until i gt into unity to see it.(why because it is in peices at the moment. With stairs and walls and landings all separate, thus allowing me to manipulate the over all design of the castle easier.)

I think that a large part of my project is the materials and maps. This i think will make or break my design. And i trying to work on them.

Jeff logging out . . .

Development Images

Here are some simple renders of the three rocks and the house i built. Also a drawing of my idea of the stand. I want to do it but i'm still thinking about it .

Rocks and a Hard Decision

Ha ha ha im such a douche. Rocks, ha ha ha, hard, hahaha,

Arhhh. That was funny and dumb at the same time. Ok i have made 3 rocks also that match the style of the trees i created. Ok i have an idea about my rocks and trees and im not sure what i want to do. I was thinking about putting "braces" on the rocks and trees so they look like a tree from the front but from the back they look like cardboard cut outs. that are placed in a 3d world. I think that this could be a cool aesthetic and go with Alex the kid.

Im not sure weather i want to go back through the meshes and make each of them have a stand or make a separate mesh that i will clip on when in untiy. I think that if i make the stand n blender it will work out better when im duplicating the meshes over the landscape which i am yet to create in unity. Which sucks because i will have to redo all of the meshes so far and their textures and bump maps. Gutted for me. But i think that it will make it easyer in the long run.

Or maybe i could make the stand in blender and copy and past it through the meshes. They will all have the same stand but it will take me less time to do it. And its Saturday and i should be playing playstation or xbox. But this is a sacrifice that i am willing to make for my project (and Kah and Doug)!

Jeff Logging out. . .

3 trees so far

So after creating the first tree i wanted more variety through-out the level so i have created 2 more trees. The first image is the texture i will be using on the back of the trees. Its a carboard texture .

Here are the other two tree types. After the first tree was created it was really easy to bang out a couple more. Each has their own textures and bump maps so they should be easy to manipulate if i need to.


Jeff Logging out . . .

More trees

Here is just a small sequence of the development of the bump map on my trees. It looks pretty cool. And its a very small polygon count. Im quite happy with the end tree. As it looks toony but still quite complex and neat.





Jeff logging out . . .

My sweet 2d / 3d trees

After emailing Kah and asking him about making separate meshes or one big one i have decided to make multipul meshes. This will allow me to manipulate them individually and will give me more control over things.

So here is an render of what i have been working on so far. Its a 3d but really 2d tree. I am going with the toon style of textures and am working with bumps, normals and other mapping things to get the textures to pop and be cool. I am going to make three types of trees and three dirrerent types of rocks. Then after that i mite make some other things that would populate the rest of the level.

I said i would show you the basic character that would be exploring the world so here he is:


Like i said he is very basic and i don't think i will do much more to him. Maybe a bump map or something fancy if i can be bothered. He will just roll around the world. Hes a happy little fellow.

Jeff Logging Out . . .

Blender issues

Well not really! Its more me getting used to blender again after a short break. Ha ha ha im finding it quite tricky to navigate and make the things i want. But am slowly getting my blender groove back. Like i want to find the unwrap menu. I had to watch a few videos to find the key. Its "U" by the way.

A few other issues i am having in my head. With the design of my level i'm unsure whether to make it one blender object or multiple objects that i would then combine in unity? I think i mite email Doug or Kah before going to far with the blender.

I hava also created a really basic character that will navigate the world i am creating. He is just an orange rounded cube with stubbly little arms. When i get a chance to do a render i will upload a picture to my blog.

Jeff logging out . . .

Sweet Holidays

Its now the holidays but i dont want to fall off the band wagon as i will prob not get back on! So here is a sketch of what my level will look like:

Its based on a tube or cylinder, that turns around. On the tube are trees and rocks and other outdoor things. These are all going to be 2d (well look like 2d). Using textures and other forms of mapping the trees will look like they are 3d until you get closer or past them.

Jeff logging out . . .

Project Two Ideas:

Project two Ideas:

After looking into Alex the kids and other old school Sega games. I have decided to make a 3d world out of cardboard. So the trees look sweet front on but as soon as you walk past the tree the side of it looks like cardboard. So its still a 3d world but with almost 2d objects and terrain.

How I want the level to look: The general style of the level will be toon like. With trees building and other game terrain made in a toon style. For example a roof of a building would be larger and on a lean.

Over-size and bright!

Other:
I was going to use my character from project one but I have decided to make a very simple character that I know will work and be very quick to make. Because of all the problems i was having with project one character.

Two Amigos

Hey here is my game idea for project three. Its in a PDF so you will have to download it.

Link

Jeff Logging out . . .

Alex the Kid: In Miracle World

Alex the Kid: In Miracle World:


This is a game from my childhood and just recently I have found and downloaded an emulator and a copy of the game to play. This has brought back the memories and the good times.

The basic game play and interaction: You are Alex the Kid and you fight your way through Miracle world to get food. The game was on the Sega Master System. So the levels are all 2D. But I think that the level design is awesome. Much like sonic the hedgehog and other games of the time, its basically tile based system. The levels are generally very colourful and simple. There is a way through the level and enemies or breakable walls usually block the way.

The things that are able to be interacted with are generally very distinctive. A different colour or a symbol.

As you the player make your way through the levels they change and evolve. For example the first level starts with you up the top of a cliff, I guess. Then as you descend you get to the bottom and enter the water. This changes the level.



The user also has to break parts of the level to progress. These are the things that I would like to incorporate into my level. I also think that this style of bright colours and the general aesthetic of the game, is great and I am looking forward to incorporating some of these ideas into my level.