Graphics:Workflow

From Post-Apocalyptic RPG wiki

This page is intended for stuff about the workflow for creating visual assets. It's a Work In Progress and a collection of random thoughts, so not really usable yet.

Contents 1 Random thoughts 2 Links to future articles 3 Rendering setup 3.1 Download 3.2 3ds Max process 4 Manually creating the rendering setup for your preferred 3D modelling environment 5 Notes on the blender setup

Random thoughts

• Should we rather use one specific 3d modeling software? We'll need to consider the amount of work it takes to create and update lighting templates and render scripts for each supported modeling environment.
  • Blender should be the preferred 3d modeling software, since we only have people with Blender experience. Rendering setups for other 3d applications can be made once the actual users of these 3d apps come and show interest in contributing to pargp. They would have to create the rendering setup in their 3d app, which should produce as similar results as possible as the original. We could of course give useful info how the blender rendering setup is created.
  • How about Verse-server?
• Trying to avoid too clean, sterile look (like found in Fallout: Tactics).
• A good balance between polished graphics but yet not sterile look can be seen in the Troika game Arcanum. This could serve as inspiration for the right balance between grittyness and graphical beauty.
  • Arcanum had its "renders" done in 2D partialy. This is why everything looks so good there.
• Ask the Author of Eschalon Book 1 how does his engine handle tiles and sprites in general.

Links to future articles

• Graphics:Workflow Managing Files - How to manage files for PARPG (submit graphics, submit source files)
• Graphics:Workflow Simple Tile - How to create simple ground tiles
• Graphics:Workflow Snow Material - How to create a cool snow material
• Graphics:Workflow Transitional Tile - How to create transitional ground tiles
• Graphics:Workflow Wall tutorial - Blender basics tutorial - creating a wall
• How to create generic map objects (not animated)
• How to create generic map objects (animated
• How to create fake cliffs
• How to create inventory items
• How to create animated agents
• Using PARPG material and texture library and how to make new assets for it
• How do other 3d applications fit into PARPG pipeline

Rendering setup

Sprites will come in many different forms and the rendering setup should take all of these into account and be universally useful for all of them:

• Objects, animated and non-animated (trees, cliffs, items on ground, bushes, scenery)
• Agents (Humans, animals), an average human sprite will be 80px tall.
• Walls, Doors
• Ground tiles (simple, transitional)

Download

• Blender rendering setup
• 3ds Max rendering setup

3ds Max process

Note: the 3ds Max rendering setup was created in 3ds Max 2010. It should work with earlier releases nevertheless.

Workflow:

1. Press Render Object and select the object to render. Ideally the Object should be Centered
2. Press 4 sect square
3. Make sure your animation range is set to 4 frame
4. Press Create Camera: tadamm

Manually creating the rendering setup for your preferred 3D modelling environment

Plane Start by adding a plane at X=0, Y=0, Z=0 with 1Unit x 1Unit in size. We use this plane later on to verify that all is setup correctly and the rendered graphics have the correct dimensions.

Camera

• Location: X=5.970, Y=-5.970, Z=4.875
• Rotation: RotX: 60°, RotY: 0°, RotZ: 45°
• Lens scale=1.45, ortographic projection

Light:Sun

• Location: X=4.417, Y=-1.444, Z=9.946
• Rotation: RotX: -25.049°, RotY: -4.874°, RotZ: 244.351°
• Type: Sun
• Energy: 1.3

(I think you need to experiment with this depending what program you use. In blender the energy ranges from 0.0 to 10.0)

• Color: R0.998, G:1.0, B:0.957

Light:Shadow

• Location: X=4.417, Y=-1.444, Z=9.9544
• Rotation: RotX: -25.049°, RotY: -4.874°, RotZ: 244.351°
• Type: Spot
• Energy: 1.5

(I think you need to experiment with this depending what program you use. In blender the energy ranges from 0.0 to 10.0)

• Color: R0.998, G:1.0, B:0.957
• Angle of spotlight beam: 70.25
• Softness of spotlight edge: 0.15 ( Maybe blender specific. Ranges from 0.0-1.0)
• Raycasting shadow with 1 sample

Light:Ambient

• Location: X=9.963, Y=-4.109, Z=-3.652
• Rotation: RotX: -146.103°, RotY: -64.931°, RotZ: 180.728°
• Type: Hemi
• Energy: 0.15

(I think you need to experiment with this depending what program you use. In blender the energy ranges from 0.0 to 10.0)

• Color: R1.0, G:1.0, B:1.0
• no specular shading

Ambient occlusion

• 10 samples
• energy 0.6

render test

Turn on ambient occlusion. Set your render size to something like 70x70 pixel. Depending on the programm and sampling filter you use you may need to adjust this size a little. What we want is a diamond shaped tile which meassures 70x36px and has 2px at the top and bottom row and 2x2px to the left and right:

Notes on the blender setup

• Use Camera 1x1
• Object size vs camera&render size with Mitch sampling filter:
  • 1.414 camera 70x70 pixels
  • 2.828 camera 140x140 pixels
  • 5.657 camera 280x280 pixels
  • 11.314 camera 560x560 pixels
  • etc.
• Object size vs camera&render size with CatRom sampling filter:
  • 1.414 camera 70x72 pixels
  • 2.828 camera 140x142 pixels
  • etc.