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Re: Where do we go from here

Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2010 9:51 am
by DarthD.U.C.K.
in case anybody wants to hera my 2 cents: aside form the awesome buildings the map looks very empty/bland, i think it will be very hard to get rid of this feeling with so many many-storys-buildings, if the map wouldnt have progressed so far id suggest to only use close-to-eachother one-story buildings to get rid of all this empty space

Re: Where do we go from here

Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2010 3:57 pm
by Eggman
RepSharpshooter wrote:@lucasfart - if some one wants to make it that'd be fine, I'm kinda strained myself with everything else though! Eggman if you want to go ahead and do this, that's fine, but consider that every task is a larger undertaking than it seems.
What I have in mind should actually be pretty simple to put together: some trees and shrubs scattered around the lot and a path with benches running through the area. Foliage and benches are readily available in the stock assets, so they would take next to no time to get in-world. I like what you did with the courtyard for your lot, so I could do something similar for the terrain and path - even my limited modeling experience should be enough to make a couple of mostly flat squares. I'll tinker around a bit and maybe post some screenshots to see what people think.

Re: Where do we go from here

Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2010 5:03 pm
by Teancum
Maybe some scripted traffic would help things out. "Cars" or flyers following paths would liven things up a bit on the roads and in the sky, especially if they can be blown up and will respawn. :mrgreen:

Re: Where do we go from here

Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2010 8:02 pm
by RED51
But... what about the AI controlling them??? Doesn't anyone care about them anymore? They have feelings ya know...coughkillthemall,theiruselesscough

Re: Where do we go from here

Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2010 10:51 pm
by CressAlbane
Just make them selfpiloted.

Re: Where do we go from here

Posted: Fri Jun 11, 2010 12:57 pm
by General_Nate
Or ZE animation. I really think there should be flying ship things in the sky.

And, as for the empty-ness, I think there should be just random buildings w/o interiors lying around.

Re: Where do we go from here

Posted: Fri Jun 11, 2010 2:24 pm
by Twilight_Warrior
I think the fact that the outskirts are just a big open field might also be a cause to the empty feeling. Maybe the coruscant cityscape might add to it? Just a suggestion.

Re: Where do we go from here

Posted: Sat Jun 12, 2010 2:32 pm
by RepSharpshooter
That may be right, and we may want to put something there.

But the Coruscant skyline is a cheap cardboard cutout, if you are referencing the shipped one.

Re: Where do we go from here

Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2010 8:34 am
by hunting shadow
Is there some space left? my school year ends this week(ok, we only write the last classtest, but that's similar to the end) and i wouldd've got enough time to make a small lot, and get it ready in time. So, if there's some empty space tell me.

Re: Where do we go from here

Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2010 9:18 am
by DarthD.U.C.K.
well, what does it look like now? as far as i see there's lots of empty space left :wink:

Re: Where do we go from here

Posted: Tue Jun 15, 2010 8:00 pm
by Darth_Squoobus
Given the enormous wilderness outside of Diamai, I think for the modes that involve killing, we could add "Gods", or giant versions of the animals that do extremely high damage. And you could go on a sidequest for more powerful weapons to slay them with. That would spice it up.

Re: Where do we go from here

Posted: Tue Jun 15, 2010 8:55 pm
by Master_Ben
Hey guys.
So I've made several buildings for DMI, which I'll spice up for showcase soon(improved donut-mobile anyone? :P ), and then submit ', but it occurred to me I really want to contribute more to the project. I had planned out a script to write for the Unreal Engine once my knowledge of it becomes great enough, and it occurred to me that a simplified version of this would go quite well with it, so a few days ago I began typing it up. I'm fairly well along in it at this point, enough to post about it here.
That's all good and jolly of course, but what does it do? Well, I was thinking of how empty the city seemed to be, or, once it's filled up, how abruptly it'll stop, leaving sprawling grass beyond. The script, and what it does is the solution:
  • 1) Max and min x, y, and z values are inputted in the lua.
    2)The computer generates an exact, random value in between these values.
    3)With a point of origin at a path point you place in ZE, it creates a building, with those generated dimensions, by piecing together some meshes you input, like Legos.
    4)You have a building whose size is dynamic from play to play.
Basically, you input a side piece, an edge piece, and a corner piece, and it gives you a building.

Advantages
  • Does not affect object count (Pieces made with CreateEntity)
    Dimensions change each time, changing gameplay
    Fills up borders without restricting insides(again, no object count affects)
    Basically already scripted
Disadvantages
  • Cannot enter these buildings
    Not much variation in looks (This one's not a biggie)
I think, used throughout the city, It could help things out a lot.
Anyone think it should be implemented? Questions? Comments? Flames? Jawas?

Thanks for reading. :)

Re: Where do we go from here

Posted: Tue Jun 15, 2010 9:00 pm
by Darth_Squoobus
Hidden/Spoiler:
[quote="Master_Ben"]Hey guys.
So I've made several buildings for DMI, which I'll spice up for showcase soon(improved donut-mobile anyone? :P ), and then submit ', but it occurred to me I really want to contribute more to the project. I had planned out a script to write for the Unreal Engine once my knowledge of it becomes great enough, and it occurred to me that a simplified version of this would go quite well with it, so a few days ago I began typing it up. I'm fairly well along in it at this point, enough to post about it here.
That's all good and jolly of course, but what does it do? Well, I was thinking of how empty the city seemed to be, or, once it's filled up, how abruptly it'll stop, leaving sprawling grass beyond. The script, and what it does is the solution:
[list]1) Max and min x, y, and z values are inputted in the lua.
2)The computer generates an exact, random value in between these values.
3)With a point of origin at a path point you place in ZE, it creates a building, with those generated dimensions, by piecing together some meshes you input, like Legos.
4)You have a building whose size is dynamic from play to play.[/list]

Basically, you input a side piece, an edge piece, and a corner piece, and it gives you a building.

Advantages
[list]Does not affect object count (Pieces made with CreateEntity)
Dimensions change each time, changing gameplay
Fills up borders without restricting insides(again, no object count affects)
Basically already scripted[/list]

Disadvantages
[list]Cannot enter these buildings
Not much variation in looks (This one's not a biggie)[/list]

I think, used throughout the city, It could help things out a lot.
Anyone think it should be implemented? Questions? Comments? Flames? Jawas?

Thanks for reading. :)[/quote]
Could they be used to create a wall?

Re: Where do we go from here

Posted: Tue Jun 15, 2010 9:01 pm
by Master_Ben
Quite easily, yes.

Re: Where do we go from here

Posted: Tue Jun 15, 2010 9:11 pm
by Darth_Squoobus
And that wall could keep animals out of the city, correct?

Re: Where do we go from here

Posted: Tue Jun 15, 2010 9:13 pm
by Master_Ben
Yeah, sure. Not an intended use and would take a small bit of modification, but yes.

Re: Where do we go from here

Posted: Tue Jun 15, 2010 9:36 pm
by Maveritchell
You can't just randomly generate geometry for an online match. At best, appearances would be completely inconsistent from player to player, and anyone without the exact same buildings as the host would have some strange issues. At worst it would just crash.

Ideas are great, but have you people even paid attention to this forum? It's comprised almost entirely of ideas and very little in the way of results. Get your contributions done - you know, something concrete and visible - and then spend the time on the ideas (if there is time to spend). It is unbelievable that Rep's given people about two years to do things for this and it's the same today as it was two years ago: "Oh I have a neat idea! My lot? Oh, I'll do it eventually. But idea!"

Re: Where do we go from here

Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2010 10:01 am
by Master_Ben
While I did completely forget about the online stuff from player to player, I think you may have misunderstood my post, or I with yours. I'm almost done with the script. I'm sure I'll have a few more setbacks in the process of getting the rotations right and whatnot, but for the most part, It's not just an idea at this point, it's more. I figured it might help out with more than just my lot, but others as well, so I gave it priority, and posted here because I felt it was close enough to being concrete... In any case, that doesn't matter now as it doesn't work with online, so back to my lot I guess.

Re: Where do we go from here

Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2010 10:28 am
by Maveritchell
Master_Ben wrote:While I did completely forget about the online stuff from player to player, I think you may have misunderstood my post, or I with yours.
Yeah, the back end of my post was more addressed at the compendium of "idea posts" here and less at one specific post.

I'd also point out that just because you use CreateEntity does not mean you somehow have a magic workaround to object count (which is really probably less # of objects and weighed based on complexity of the object, both in its definitions and polycount). If you're adding anything, through a script or not, it adds to the "object count." In addition (for your purposes only), I'd suggest using something a little less modular in exchange for something that looks a little better - use whole prefabs for your individual buildings and then just load whole buildings. It's more work on the (modeling) backend, but it'll look a lot better on the frontend.

Re: Where do we go from here

Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2010 10:41 am
by Master_Ben
Maveritchell wrote:
Master_Ben wrote:While I did completely forget about the online stuff from player to player, I think you may have misunderstood my post, or I with yours.
Yeah, the back end of my post was more addressed at the compendium of "idea posts" here and less at one specific post.

I'd also point out that just because you use CreateEntity does not mean you somehow have a magic workaround to object count (which is really probably less # of objects and weighed based on complexity of the object, both in its definitions and polycount). If you're adding anything, through a script or not, it adds to the "object count." In addition (for your purposes only), I'd suggest using something a little less modular in exchange for something that looks a little better - use whole prefabs for your individual buildings and then just load whole buildings. It's more work on the (modeling) backend, but it'll look a lot better on the frontend.
...And I most certainly am going to, and am in the process of, I mainly thought its application could be for the outskirts. And sorry about the object count mixup there, I was under the impression that you could create more objects with CreateEntity.