2D models for warcraft 3

[HorizonTal]

how can I create flat models, like the "silence" buff (the ballon with exclamation mark) or the blood mage's bullets?
Can I make animated 2d models?
what programs do I need?

 

[JetFangInferno]

2d models are still 3d models except they use 2d looking textures as opposed to the commonly used 3d textures in most models.

 

[frostwhisper]

As far as I know, there are no 2D models in wc3.
A two dimensional animated unit would simply be a sequence of pictures like in StarCraft. I don't think you can use that kind of technique with wc3's game engine.

 

[Darkholme]

you can have animated textures, I've seen it in various elemental looking things. so he could use planes that have animated textures, and only show a certain plane when a given animation is playing.

it would be much easier than making a 3d model, but I don't think I'd have a use for flat models. I hate paper mario.

Perhaps if he's tryign to make a fighting game like a marvel vs capcom thing.

 

[frostwhisper]

Well, yeah, flat 3D models would work (just the third dimension would be made to be insignificant), but they are still considered 3D.

 

[Darkholme]

well if he keept the camera locked, it would be 2 dimensional. he asked about 2 dimensional models, and if a model is 2d then it has no 3rd dimension. hence planes with animated textures.

You'd still need to animate everything 2dly though. unless you plan on ripping mario sprites or something.

 

[frostwhisper]

The point is, 2D plains are not models. They're pictures. And animated planes are just a swift sequence of pictures.

And this technology, although used for texturing 3d models, may be quite hard to implement as a stand-alone feature in the game.

 

[Darkholme]

i doubt it would be much more difficult than drawing sprites, particularly if they're detailed (which is really time consuming if you've never tried it).

And he said he wanted models which were flat. planes would be the only way I can think of to do that, and using animated textures in conjunction with strategically switching which planes are visible would be the best way to do it.

It wouldn't be "easy", but its the only way to do what he asked for that I can think of.

 

[Saishy]

Just do a plane, put the texture and make always look at the camera. (I forgot how to do this, have some thing with pivot points...)

This is a sprite, and almost all 3D games use it. (Because saves a lot of polygons )

 

[HorizonTal]

ok I'm discouraged enough, I'll let 2d animated models (someone in the chat told me they're called "billboarded planes") to those who are more expert than me. Thanks everybody!

 

[Darkholme]

what 3d games use sprites? I can't think of too many.

 

[ElectricSaiyan]

A billboarded plane would be more like if you wanted say, a basketball, you'd have a square (not cube), or what people call planes.

Then you'd have an alphaed texture of an orange ball. The billboarded planes part makes the plane always face the camera, so it creates the illusion that the plane is actually a sphere.

 

[Saishy]

what 3d games use sprites? I can't think of too many.

Super Mario 64
The Legend of Zelda (All 3d ones)
Grand Theft Auto (All 3d ones)
Warcraft 3 =O
World of Warcraft

All games, since world of warcraft to super mario 46 uses sprites.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprite_(computer_graphics)

A important part:

"More often sprite now refers to a partially transparent two dimensional animation that is mapped onto a special plane in a 3D scene. Unlike a texture map, the sprite plane is always perpendicular to the axis emanating from the camera. The image can be scaled to simulate perspective, rotated two dimensionally, overlapped with other objects, and be occluded, but it can only be viewed from the same angle. This rendering method is also referred to as billboarding."

 

[JetFangInferno]

having a billboard plane with an animated sprite texture to replicate paper mario is fail.

 

[Darkholme]

I had no idea they used sprites in all those games, and I was totally referring to oldschool sprites, though I can see your point if that counts as a sprite too.

well jetfang, how would you emulate paper mario? He seems pretty flat+ animated texture to me. Personally I was always more a fan of mario rpg than paper mario, the paper effect just made me not want to play it. (like gamecube zelda's poorly done celshading).

 

[Saishy]

Lol, Paper Mario and Zelda Wind Waker are two of the most famous gamecube games. o.o
Its perfect!

And not, he don't want to simulate paper mario, paper mario looks like paper, the game was made to be like that, he wants a sprite.
A example of sprite that I think everyone saw, its the Zelda Ocarina of Time Jars, they aren't really 3D, they are flat models with a jar texture that always look to camera, so you think the jar is 3D.

Sorry, but I forgot where I saw that tuto, If I see it again, I will post here.

 

[Kanaru]

what 3d games use sprites? I can't think of too many.

Many games. For instance, if there's a large crowd in the background, they may use an animated sprite of people cheering.

It's much better than modeling each person in the audience, especially that it is likely no one pays attention to it anyway.

Particle effects in many games are sprites as well.

Lots of things.

 

[HorizonTal]

even the balls on the witchdoctor's back are sprites

 

[ike_ike]

In Warcraft, basically all rounded objects are billboarded sprites to reduce size >_>

I once experimented with a flat model. I just made a skeleton and billboarded it.
Unfortunately, it failed rather badly.

 

[JetFangInferno]

If the skeleton was one plane with a sprite texture then yeah lol.

 

[AirHead]

I can think of a game that uses sprites that you didnt say
The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, if you look closely at the trees every grouping of leaves is a flat polygon that always faces the screen sounds terrible looks AMAZING i was wondering how to make a polygon that always faces the screen (billboard model sprite whatever) becouse i wanted to make a similer tree with MUCH less polys for my RPG.