Summer Begins. Work Continues.
I have about four months off University, and I intend to be productive in that time. I’m starting by learning the new Unreal engine, using the 3D Buzz video tutorials that come with the Collectors edition of Unreal Tournament 3. I’ve worked my way through chapter 1, and I’m happy to say it’s all very recognizable to me. Learning Unreal 2004 was definitely a good place to start. There’s a bunch of new features, namely the very impressive lighting and material options. All the current bells and whistles are supported, so in preparation for year 3 of University I intend to master this software. My ultimate aim is to make my own level this summer, and distribute it via the Unreal Community. I want to build up a library of materials and meshes so I can produce my artifact work really quickly.
I’ve been playing Unreal 3 pretty intensely since I got it. I’m blown away by the visuals and the overall polish of the engine, it runs smooth as butter. As of right now I have no work to show, so I’ll leave you with a few screens from the game. I’ll also leave my aims for this summer, and let’s see in 4 months time how much of it I’ve achieved…
AIMS
1. Update my portfolio with second year work
2. Work through 3D Buzz Unreal 3 tutorials
3. Create my own map in Unreal 3, with a view to producing textures and meshes library in preparation for year 3
4. Work through gnomon workshop tutorials for ZBrush
5. Write a CV
6. Read ‘The Art of Level Design’ and ‘The Rules of Play’
Animation Complete
Do you know what? The years over and it’s sunny outside. Watch this, hate it or love it. Much love. Enjoy summer. <3
Unreal 2004 Map Complete
The Level Design 101 project was easily my most enjoyable project of year 2, so much so it never felt like I was doing work. I’m actually living the dream, learning how to make games! I found UnrealEd to be a breeze to pick up, especially with the help of the Unreal Tech book. Having played games for as long as I can remember I feel I have a good foundation to build upon. I’ve played enough games to know what’s good and what doesn’t. This project gave me the chance to show my skills.
Visualisation Complete
The end is in sight! I’m starting to wrap my projects up now, starting with Visualisation. Recreating the Gold room has been an interesting task, one which has improved my understanding of lighting infinitely. I’m beginning to work with real confidence during the modeling stage of projects now, and the speed at which I work has come on leaps and bounds. Some sacrifices had to be made when it came to rendering the video for this project, otherwise I’d be rendering for the next few months. You can see the clear difference between standard lights and the daylight system when comparing the stills and video. I’m proud with the outcome and feel this could turn in to a portfolio piece.
This project has also made me more confident in my Third Year pathway choice. Specialising in games is definitely the right choice for me, as I find myself wanting to work in unrealED all the time. I’ll update later with my final map for that project.
The Gold Room from Philip Howlett on Vimeo.
A 3D visualisation of The Gold Room from The Shining, made as part of a Nottingham Trent University second year project.
Animation Latest
This will probably be my last update for a while as I’ll be working solidly on projects to get them finished for the May 25th deadline. Take a look at this and let me know your thoughts.
Visualising ‘The Gold Room’
The Gold Room is the famous ballroom from the shining. As deadlines near I felt I should start on this project and get it to a point where I feel comfortable that I can meet the deadline. The majority of it is modeled, and now it’s a case of texturing and lighting. I’m not sure how I’m going to light it yet, and while these renders might look cool they don’t suit the feel of the book or the film.
Animation Rough Cuts
Animation early rough cuts from Philip Howlett on Vimeo.
Although narrative isn’t a must for this project, I find it helps me to structure my work. The story here is that the alien’s waiting for the phone to ring. He’s the one remaining detective on his planet…a planet where crime is virtually zero. This opening scene should hopefully display his frustration and boredom. Later in the story when the phone rings he’ll spring in to action. You’ll see him run to the robot, who helps him his crime solving escapades. The problem with that robot is how useless he is. The scenes from that point on will contain interaction between the characters.
Unreal Level Test v2
I suppose I’ve reached the ‘Beta’ stage with this version of the map. I feel that the layout is complete, the lightings polished and the weapons are in place. What I need feedback on at this point is how balanced my placement of weapons and other pick ups are. The bot paths need refinining as well, as currently some areas of the map are quiet. That will come as I improve the path nodes over the course of next term. One I feel I have these issues nailed, then I can go about incorporating more of my own meshes. Please download the map at the link below, and leave your thoughts in the comments section.
Unreal Level With Bots from Philip Howlett on Vimeo.
Testing weapon and health placement, as well as coverage of bot paths.
Unreal Level Test v1
After reading Johnathan’s latest blog entry I thought I’d get involved. I need feedback on my map too, so here’s the UT file for people to have a go with it. Bare in mind that most of it’s place holder right now, and some areas are inaccessible. The bots aren’t set up so when you spawn get ready to run! Or you’re going to have 10 enemies spawn right on top of you. Give it a play and leave me a comment. I won’t be offended by any criticisms.
The Useless Robot
After the mistakes I made in creating my alien character I began to loose faith! With my robot however, I had the chance to put things right. I know how to get envelopes right now, and most of the problems I had were to do with the size of bones. Adding fins to the bones, and adjusting them to fit the skin makes the envelope process much smoother. The challenging part was making the ‘useless’ robot, look useless. In this walk cycle he’s got a bit of limp, and a sad look on his face. Making his face expressive was difficult without a mouth, but by making the eyes huge I had more room to play around. He can look sad or happy, angry or cute just by adjusting the eye sockets.
The useless robot from Philip Howlett on Vimeo.
He’s sad and he walks with a limp. He’s bloody useless.
This is an early walk cycle for my new character. The rig is finally complete (or I think it is) so I wanted to have a play around.
I’ve been building the opening scene for my animation. I want to create a dark and dramatic office space for the alien to be sat with in. It’s an empty space, with only his work desk and a few pictures hanging on the walls. He’s a detective with very little work to do. The opening scene will be him walking around his office space, bored, tapping his fingers, falling asleep. Anything to show his mind numbing boredom. That’s when the phone rings…
