25th March 2011

Yo!

Today didn't start off good. My project package had become a TMP instead of the UPK file and so my project wouldn't load, meaning I had to create a new project. Luckily for me all my assets are available and I can re import them into my package and recreate the materials again.

Upon recreating my materials, decals and static meshes I had to re import them into the level.

I decided to try and make a sky dome for a city scape. I found a tutorial on you tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldhsrIhL7kE&feature=related. The creator is 3dmotiveLLC and was creating a sky dome from a panoramic photograph. Following his tutorial I had to change my image size to 1024 by 1024 . This stretches the image, then we have to go to filter - distort - Polar Coordinates before saving the file as a Targa 24bit/pixel, creating this image below.

After creating the targa, I had to create the dome. I did try following the 3Ds Max way of creating the dome, but it wouldn't work, so I had to use Maya instead, making it much easier.

In Max, I was suppose to create a sphere, cut off half the sphere, before adding a texture of the scape before wrapping the UVs. I got really really lost, and my advice, DON'T USE MAX!!! Unless you can! So, following this technique in Maya, it was easier to understand, create a sphere, cut half the faces, then UV map it on the Y axis, before adding a phong and adding the texture onto the sphere before reversing the texture and
saving it as ase using the axmesh mel command.

After creating the sky dome, I went ahead and created a better sky dome design, using the same buildings, but also a sky I found on Google. I selected and deleted the old sky from the New York City scape, and place it over the sky. From there I followed the same properties of a 1024x1024 pixel image before, before adding the Polar Coordinates to create the circular imagery. From there I saved as a Targa and imported it into UDK. At first I loaded the new texture into the material I made, but then it was too dark, so I used one of UDK's default, saved it as a copy, before adding my new texture in, making the image below.

Assets

Yo!
Today I will be continuing my assets by using my crazy bump maps to add texture and depth to my models.
I've completed adding better textures to my assets and have now started to create my kismet door using the guide from last week. I still have problems with the door opening as it still doesn't. I've tried looking at the different properties settings, but can't find anything that works.
After talking to Dave, I still can't work my door and have decided to go onto my water.

I created the water by creating a box brush and positioning it on my level. After that, I went into the content browsers, under the actor classes and found a FluidSurfaceActor, before adding it to the brush. Then I had to scale it to the size of my swimming pool before adding a water material from the UDK Content Browser. I used You Tube to find a tutorial from Raven

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iryqaziFgE) and followed his tutorial.


My level with my swimming pool with material, plain and volume.











This is the properties to add the water material to the fluid surface actor.











To my water volume, I added a damage properties with the player will lose health by drowning.

For my swimming pool, the water did over flow onto the map, which looked really out of place and didn't work as well as it should, so I replaced my fluid surface actor down so it looks as if the water is in the pool.

After testing my level out with the swimming pool. I decided to change around the actors and add actors for pick-ups. To do this, I went onto the content browser before changing the tab to actors and searched pick-ups. From there I found weapon, armour and health. Selecting one of the pick-ups, I pressed A and clicked on a location to place the pick-up. For the weapons, I needed to change the properties and select the weapon I needed.

In regards to my project schedule, I'm still working on my visual target and am still improving them. I said last week I will be creating my assets materials and make them better using the maps I created from Crazy Bump and continue to create my visual target. In regards, I have completed creating my materials with my crazy bump maps and have continued to make my visual target. Next week I'm still planning on creating my visual target and making them better.
Chow!

Level Design

Yo!

Today I loaded up my level, for all the textures and static meshes to disappear! Meaning I spent around a hour reloaded all my textures and decals. The decals was easy to reload, as all I had to do was use F4 to bring up the properties and reload the decal material. I managed to place my driving board into my level. I had to go into Maya, got to windows - settings - plug-in manager and auto load and load the ActorX plug-in to use the axmesh. With the diving board in my level, I'm now watching a video tutorial of Kismet. I'm using the tutorial to learn to create a moving door, I'm placing in my level. At the moment the video shows how to create a sliding door in the level, but I'm planing to change a few setting so the door rotates.

Creating my kismet door

I had to place a InteractiveFoliageActor on the floor where my door was going to be, while having the door selected in the Content Browser. After that, I had to place a trigger on the floor in front of my door. Then I had to scale my trigger to a collision height of 60 and a collision radius of 30, before placing the bottom of the collision on the floor and centred the trigger in the middle of the door. Once I created the set up, I then opened Kismet.

I opened up kismet and created a Trigger_0 Touch. I then had to turn the Max Trigger Count to 0, this means my door will open and close each time. Once I set up the trigger, I had to create a Meatinee sequence in Kismet. I had to connect the touched box from the trigger to the play in matinee before double clicking on the matinee to open up the matinee. Then I had to select the door and Add New Empty Group. Once I named it OpeningDoor, I had to right click on the group and add new movement track, that automatically sets the first keyframe ready for animation. I then had to drag the time slider, located at the bottom of the matinee, and place it at one second before hitting enter. Once I hit enter I was in Adjust Key mode, where I can now open my door.

Here is the kismet, matinee and my door partly animated.

Once I cut the animation down from five seconds to one, I had to close down the matinee. Then I connected the untouch node to the reverse, this means when the player isn't anywhere near the door, the door will close by itself.

I tried the door in real time, but my door won't open at the current settings so I'm having to change the settings. After reading the warning, I changed the physic mode of the door to PHYS_Interpolating. Even changing the Physic mode the door still didn't open. I've tried the door several times but the door still doesn't work. I've added different start points in my level, one in each area, one ontop of the buildings, one inside my small building, one by my swimming pool and the other one inside my garden.

Project Schedule

For my project, I had to create a schedule with dates and tasks

The whitebox level must have been finished by the 28th January. I choose this date and task as they was the first task to be completed. I already created my whitebox level during my design process. The whiteboxed level is designed to test playability, scale and is made to be very basic. I managed to complete this before the date of the 28th January so I was ready to go onto the next stage.

Visual Target is the next stage of the production. The visual target is designed to test the look of one area of the map before completing the level. At the moment I am currently working on the Visual target (11th March), but I did state I would of completed the Visual target on the 18th February. On the 18th February I was creating my assets for my level, leaving me around three weeks behind on the visual target deadline.

Assets was going to be completed for the 1st April, but I'm completed making my assets on the 4th March, meaning I'm a month ahead of myself in terms of that deadline. I was working on my assets when I should of been working on my visual target, but now they're in my level, I can now work into creating my visual target and making it look better. I did write in my schedule I would of finished my assets by the 22nd April, but because I've manged to complete my assets before the deadline for my visual target, I've changed my schedule around with my visual target and my assets.

The deadline for my level is the 13th May. As of today (11th March) I have eight weeks left of the project with two of those weeks a half term. By the 13th May I need to complete the whole level.

Today I tried to create my kismet door which didn't work and I ended up deleting it, I will try again to create my kismet door, and because I had written down the instuctions so I can follow them for the next try. I also used Crazy Bump to create my normal, diffuse and specular maps. I did load the all into my package and place them in my materials to forget to save my package and level before UDK crashed, making me lose all the new materials. So, my task next week is to create the materials again and continue to create my visual target. I should be working on creating my assets, but because I have already completed them, I will have to backdate my work and work on my visual target for the next few weeks.

Next weeks tasks

Next week I will be making my materials better with the maps I created with Crazy Bump and place them onto my static meshes and continue to make my visual target.

Chow!

Adding the Assets

Yo!
Today I will be adding my assets into my level. I've finished creating my last model, a flower pot. I started with a cylinder, cut the faces around the base to create the ridge of the pot, before extruding them to create the ridge of the flower pot, before moving the top faces down into the pot to make it hallow. With that, I extruded the bottom faces down and scaled them in to make them smaller, before extruding again and scaling down. After I did that about three times, I selected the vertexes and moved them up to create a small indent on the bottom of the pot, and selected all the bottom vertexes and scaled them down to give the pot a small bottom. I then created a uv map of the model and texture it using a terracotta texture.

Once I created my flower pot, I decided to upload all my models into UDK.

For this I had to type axmesh in the MEL bar at the bottom, which then loads the Unreal export plug-in. I then saved them in a folder of my choice, before naming them. I then created a new package called KayB_Rooftop_Package, and uploaded all my models and their textures into my level. I have put my chair and table into their positions in the residential area, the flower pots have been set up in random positions with some random plants from the UDK content browsers in them and my water towers have been set up in position, but I can't seem to get the ladder volume to work on the ladders for the moment and every time I test them out UDK crashes, so for now, I'm not working on the ladders for now. I've also uploaded my decals into the level, and have tested one out. The only assets I'm missing the most is my textures for my level, but right now, I want all my assets to work first and can wait for my textures for now.

This image is of my garden furniture and flower pots

This image is of my water tower

This image is of one of my decals

I decided to create my diving board for my swimming pool. I started by creating a cube, from there I extruding one of the faces out to create the board. As the cube was thin for the board, I had to extrude the cube down, and scaling it smaller to create it's base.

At around 3.00, Our texture creator had finally uploaded the textures, so now I'm in the process of placing my textures in the level.

This is a shot of my level with the textures. I will be going into my level in more detail and try to improve the textures by using a mixture, adding different decals and working with the materials more, but for now, the materials are in a basic place, so I can now visualize my level more that the plain white box.