Street Scene: Photoshop crashing

So recently I've run into a slight problem. By slight I mean huge. I updated my drivers, as you do when there's a new update, and thought nothing else about it. When I next went to use Photoshop however, I experienced some unusual crashes. It started off when I tried to offset an image so that it would tile nicely, when just clicking offset crashed the program. So I restarted Photoshop, opened my image again, pressed offset, and it crashed. This happened once more before actually working.

Now that I had finally offset the image I wanted to edit it. Clicking the clone stamp tool crashed the program. It was very clear now that something was wrong so I headed in to university to ask my module leader what the issue could be. After explaining the situation he suggested it could be my GPU settings in Photoshop which when I got home and checked, I found out the latest updates had caused an error and would no longer allow my graphics card to interact with Photoshop.

I've tried to update the drivers and reset everything but so far there isn't any new developments. This means my only current solution is to do all of my texturing and artwork in the labs at my university, which isn't too bad an option considering the circumstances. The only other thing I can think of is completely uninstall then reinstall the program, which I'll try at some point soon.

Street Scene: Audio & Story

For my game to be an actual game, I need the player to be told part of the story each time they trigger a point. This meant I needed to use Audacity for some voice and sound recording, which I was really looking forward too after how much I enjoyed doing the sound work in sessions. Before I could do any voice acting, I needed to come up with a story concept. My story is about a man who has lost everything and each story point is a memory. The character had a wife and 2 children, but lost all of them to accidents/illness. Following this, his farm is destroyed in a storm and he slips into depression. The ending is the player leaving town on a train from the train station.

 I broke the story and points down into 6 sections:
1) Characters wedding day
2) Loss of characters wife
3) Loss of characters daughter
4) Loss of characters son
5) Farm is destroyed
6) Depression takes over the man

Once I had the story concept I could write a small script for each story point and detail what background affects/noises I wanted to accompany the voice acting.

Street Scene: Day/Night & prototyping

Using what I was taught this week, I added a day/night cycle into my street scene. My game involves the player triggering a series of story points, so I came up with the idea to change the time of day each time they made progress by getting one of the points. I created a script and added it to the light which, when a point is triggered, rotates the entire object slightly on a single axis for a few seconds.

Unfortunately it's a little difficult to tell that the sun is moving unless you focus on the shadows on the ground, so if it's possible, adding some form of colour affect to the light at different stages would make it a more effective mechanic.

Code activated each time a point is triggered

Street Scene: Modelling the street & Mood Boards

With the buildings of my street scene in place, it was time to add some more detail to them. I was considering working on some of the smaller buildings first in order to fill the scene out quickly, but in the end thought that constructing the interior of my saloon would be a better idea. Each of the buildings in the street is designed to be looked at and admired by the saloon is a key focal point as it's the only building players can enter. So I made this my starting point and started planning out what would be in a Western saloon.

I wanted to have two floors so players would have even more to explore, so put in some stairs and a landing to start with. What to fill the actual floor space with took a little more planning, so after a short bit of research online and in games, I decided on having 3 main things: seating, a bar and a piano. I started by allocating the space for the bar and putting that in first, seeing as it would take up the most room. I followed on from the bar with tables and chairs in the main space of the room, leaving a wall free by the stairs for the piano.

When I was done with the ground floor, I planned out what could be done upstairs, with my conclusion being a single room that would tie in with the game aspect of the project.

Finished saloon interior modelling in 3DS Max

Finished saloon interior modelling in Unity

Street Scene: Initial Street Building & Mind map

After the first week working on my street scene, I've planned out the layout and done some basic work an a few buildings. I decided on the five major buildings I was going to make and also wanted to add a few extra filler buildings to flesh out the scene. The smaller teal coloured buildings are the filler buildings that will have the same generic size and shape but a slightly different decorative roof board and decals. The far left building is going to become a church with a bell tower and stained glass windows. The light pink building will become a general store, the yellow one is the train station, deep purple will be a doctors and the big darker pink building is the saloon. I have plans for different props, to add more detail to the scene, such as barrels, crates, shacks and foliage.

Street scene in 3DS Max

I've imported the street model into Unity and edit it from there, so any changes I make in 3DS Max instantly appear for me to explore in-game. This way I can check scaling and the feel of things with ease as soon as I've made them. This also allows me to easily integrate my game mechanics with the street scene such as moving doors and interactive pieces when I get to that stage.

Street scene in Unity

This was also the stage where I turned my brainstorm into a mind map. This wasn't very difficult seeing as my brainstorm for this project was relatively clear in the first place, but it still gives me a well laid out feel for my whole plan.

Mind map

Transparency and Decals

Transparency is used on textures to make parts of textures see through to make them more realistic. The degree of transparency goes from 1-0 where 1 is fully opaque and 0 is fully transparent. To make use of transparency you have to create an alpha source for the texture. Anything you want the player to see should be white, whilst anything you want to disappear and be see-through should be in black. Transparency is used mainly for fences, windows and even foliage.

To test it out we had to find a chain link texture and take it into Photoshop. The actual fence part needed to be made white with the space around the edge and inside made black so it becomes see through.

Chain link alpha source

We then added the original texture to the diffuse section in the material editor in 3DS and applied the alpha source to the opacity setting. This then applies the texture and the opacity meaning you get the effect of a chain link fence that you can see through.

Added texture and alpha source into 3DS Max

I then decided to add it into a scene in Unity to see if it looked the same and the effect works exactly as it did in 3DS Max.

My fence in Unity with transparency still working

We were then taught that transparency can be used for decals. This is the process of adding a texture to an object that already has a texture, in order to give it some more detail. The decal won't cover up the entirety of the original texture, it simply adds something more on top of it. Examples would be stains, dirt and graffiti on surfaces. I made a graffiti decal and then created the alpha source for it which was more difficult seeing as it was multiple lines for text rather than an overall shape. Eventually I managed to do it and applied both in the material editor, exactly how I did for the fence texture.

Graffiti on wall in 3DS Max

As I said earlier, foliage can be created by using alpha sources to make the space between and around leaves/plants transparent. We were shown how to create a leaf and then curve it slightly for realism and adding a lot of these leaves together gives the appearance of a small tropical plant. Another way to create foliage is to use the same texture multiple times with them at different sizes/angles and we used this to create a bush. The final piece of foliage made was a tree that I rotated multiple times to give a more 3D effect.

Foliage textures with alpha source

For home study I was tasked with creating some particle effects in Unity which is a something I've never tried before. In order to make a particle effect I had to add a particle system to my scene. This is a default effect producing white orbs at a steady state, in which a huge amount of settings can be changed. The 3 particle effects I created were: an explosion, exhaust fumes and a glowing golden ball of light. These 3 effects varied in size, speed, emission shape, lifetime and textures.
The explosion needed to be fast expanding and quick to end with the particle size decreasing as it blasts out. The exhaust fumes puffed out at a steady speed both rising and disappearing over time. The golden orb is quick and compact in a spherical shape with the particles fading quickly.

My particles in a GIF

Street Scene Project & Brainstorm

All of the game design work in recent weeks has been building up to be put in a GDD, where somebody can look through it and get an idea of exactly what my game is and how it should look. That section has been finished now and in it's place I have a new project. This is to construct an interactive street scene that is created in 3DS Max, then has a game created around it in Unity. Straight away my idea was to make the western high street I had planned for my game design process. I had already put plenty of thought and planning into how everything would look, so adjusting it slightly into a more open street would be no trouble and I'd love to see how it turns out. My inspiration for the design is going to follow the town of Armadillo from Red Dead Redemption, therefore this is almost going to be the guide I try to recreate. I won't be making the buildings look identical and will have my own take on them, the town layout is simply my aim.

The town of Armadillo from Red Dead Redemption

As for the game aspect, I'd like to have a story based, walking simulator. As the entire point of the street scene is to make it look great, I'd much rather have the character explore the area and appreciate the scene rather than run around ignoring everything because they're too focused on a crazy objective of some form. I've planned out the story of a middle aged man who lost his wife and children along with his farm and home. With nothing left in the town he heads down the street towards the train station but along the way players will encounter glowing orbs of light. Upon walking into them, they will hear a voice recording where parts of the characters tragic backstory is revealed. The player needs to find every glowing light before they can head to the train station and leave town. The glowing light look that I'm aiming for is similar to the ones that appear in 'Everybody's gone to the Rapture'.

Lights from Everybody's Gone to the Rapture

3D Materials

For design work this week we focused on improving texturing and the appearance of objects when they are imported from 3DS Max into Unity. Setting a block of colour to an object gives it a very unrealistic appearance so effects can be used to make them look much nicer. In real life, objects like walls are slightly bumpy and never completely smooth, therefore adding a single sheet of colour will make it look strange. This can be helped by adding a layer of noise, which will create a form of static and make the wall look slightly bumpy, giving it an overall more realistic feel.

To practice to texturing we did last week, we were tasked with creating a cube and adding a different texture to each side. The six different textures were: brick, gravel, window, carpet, clean wall and dirty wall.

Carpet, clean wall and dirty wall

Gravel, brick and window

We then went into Unity and learnt about editing materials to change their appearance and tailor them to specific objects. The two settings we focused on were metallic and smoothness. The metallic setting determines how light is reflected off the object; the higher the setting, the more reflective the object is and the less colour is visible. Smoothness increases the objects micro surface detail and makes things look more or less glossy. For example, a wooden or stone object will have very little, if any, of either of these settings. Whilst a plastic or metal object will have larger values of each.

Stone(left), plastic(centre) and metal(right) materials

The final thing we were taught was that when an object from 3DS Max is imported into Unity, it's textures can be edited to change the materials appearance. This is very useful when you import an object and want to make the separate components look like different materials. To practice this I created a table in 3DS Max and imported it, then changed the settings to make the legs look metallic and the actual table top look like varnished wood with a plastic edging.

Render in 3DS Max

Changed materials in Unity

UVW Mapping and Texturing

Practically every game contains objects and those objects need to have a texture. Applying a texture is a multi step process starting from the creation of the primitive object. Before we could create anything ourselves we were tasked with unwrapping a few objects that had been created to awkward scales and angles. Applying a checkered material to the object allows you to get a feel for how the texture will apply to the object and gives you a chance to change things round. Each polygon must be using the same scale as all others, else when the texture is applied it will become distorted and look wrong. Objects like cubes and cylinders are simple to unwrap and re-size, however objects like cones are a little trickier to sort out.

Re-sized objects from challenge

Once I had finished with the practice challenges, I was tasked with creating a few objects myself, then unwrapping and texturing them. The objects were: Coke can, dice, wine bottle and a crate. I started with the can as it seemed more interesting than the dice or crate but not as complex as the wine bottle. I started by making a cylinder and to make it seem more realistic I inset the top face and extruded it slightly, then chamfered the edges to round them off. When I was pleased with the shape I added the UVW Unwrap modifier and opened up the UV Editor to see how the object would look when unwrapped. Initially the mapping was confusing and messy so I used the unfold tool to make everything neater and easier to understand. The UVW template was then rendered and saved.

UVW template rendered and ready for texture to be added

The template was then imported into Photoshop so I could place the textures on it. The template works as a placement guide, allowing me to see where colours and pictures will appear on my objects once imported back into 3DS Max. I found a Coke can label and fitted it over the unfolded cylinder section of the UV, then proceeded to find a metallic texture which went over the can ends. For a little detail I looked up ring pulls and added it to the top face of the can.

Finished textures placed onto UVW template

When I was happy with the placement of each texture, I saved the image and placed it onto the object back in 3DS Max. The UVW was mapped back onto my can putting everything exactly where it was set in Photoshop. The result was a nicely textured can that can be used as a prop in game scenes.

Can with texture applied and finished

With the can complete, I set to work doing the same for the other 3 objects. The crate and dice were simple cubes so unwrapping them and adding the textures was no trouble.

Completed dice

Completed crate

The wine bottle was slightly more difficult to do and came out looking a little strange at first. To begin with I feel like I made the bottle slightly plump at the base rather than thin like it should really be. I do like the shape though and it could be used in a game for an alcohol bottle of many sorts. Secondly, I forgot the cork at the neck of the bottle, which I feel makes it more realistic, and the textures I applied didn't look very good. Therefore after I made the initial version, I copied it to try again. My second attempt looks far better and overall more realistic.

Improved wine bottle (left) and initial version (right)

Once each object was textured and I was satisfied, I set them up together and rendered the scene in it's entirety. I'm very pleased with the look and feel of each object, but it's definitely something I'll need to practice and work on if I hope to produce more detailed and higher quality objects/textures in the future. Unwrapping and texturing objects like this and even more complicated ones is quite daunting for me but it's a skill that will come in very useful so I'll spend some spare time practicing it and seeing what I can create for any games I produce.

Completed scene

Polygon Modelling

In the second weeks design session, I learnt to how model polygons into something more than just a primitive object. I learnt about tools such as: extrude, inset, bridge, chamfer and connect. Extrude allows you to move a polygon within or out of the rest of the object, creating an extrusion. Inset creates a smaller polygon within the selected one, using the selected polygons vertices as a shrinking point. Bridge takes two selected edges and bridges the gap in between with a new polygon. Chamfer creates new edges on the selected area and can be used to smooth edges. Connect will create a new edge from one edge to another, splitting the polygon they're part of in two.

I was tasked with using all of these new tools to create a house model from a single box object. In order to have a plan to work from, I was provided with a house model sheet that had perspectives of each side of the house on. I attached it to a plane and then duplicated the plane at a 90 degree angle, creating a cross shape. I could then build my house to the correct dimensions using the pictures on the planes as a template. Something else I learnt to do was how to make an object see-through, effectively like a ghost. This was necessary to allow me to see the image through the object and use it as a template.

Finished house model with template in place

Once the house was finished, the next objective was to add more objects to our scene. Since the template had a wall on it, that was my next plan of action, with a gate, pavement, road and lamppost to follow after. Each of these were new objects rather than extensions from the house object since they were more for detail and filling out the scene.

Completed scene with all objects added

Now that everything was finished I could add lighting in order to create renders of my scene. I wanted to use the lamppost as a light source rather than simply have it as scenery. I remembered the use of the spotlight in my work the week before and thought this would work excellently for a lamppost. However when I rendered the scene for the first time, the spotlight was far too pinpoint for my liking, so I changed the spotlight parameters to increase the falloff. This gave a much wider spread of light and made the scene look more realistic. An omni light was added to slightly brighten the scene in general for aesthetic purposes.

Night scene using spotlight on lamppost

Finally I was taught by a friend on how to use a daylight system, which allows me to set the light on my scene as it would be at a specific time of day and month. This allowed for much easier control of making the scene appear as I liked it and I'll definitely use it again in the future.

Shot of back of house during daytime

First Design Session - 3D Modelling

For our first session we were taught about the basics of using the 3D modelling software 3DS Max. We were walked through the interface and shown how to create primitive objects as well as manipulate them in the 3D space. Initially we were tasked with adding random objects and moving them about or changing properties but after we were happy with it, we set to creating a scene. The brief was to build a snowman and then add other objects once that was complete. For independent study I had to add different lighting to the scene and take renders to show what could be created.

I took an initial screen cap to show how the scene looked with no extra lighting.

Original scene

My first lighting choice was a simple omni light was produces light in all directions from it's position, drastically reducing the amount of shadows.

Addition of the omni light

After seeing the initial outcome I changed the colour and saturation to create a scene that looked more night based.

Omni light night time scene

When I was satisfied with the outcome of the omni light I swapped to a skylight which replicates daylight as if there is a dome above the scene, giving more realistic shadowing.

Skylight in action

Again, after I saw how the light made the scene look normally, I played around with some of the settings to make a night time scene. In this one I set the colour to a little darker than before and it came out very purple, so in the future I'll use lighter shades to make a more realistic appearance.

Skylight night scene

The final type of light I used was a spotlight which was interesting. It could be used to create scenes were a certain area is highlighted to attract the users attention or even to create street lights.

Spotlight shining from right