Over the Hills Episode 1

[Bboy Moose]

Talavaj and Tobyfat you guys are working so hard on this lighting and stuff, you're inspiring me to do better and make mine look shit D

You two are awesome.
Also i can't wait to see the 2nd episode, though i'm sure it'll be DC worthy.

 

[tobyfat50]

That looks nuts man, what is the render time and texture size of the shadow maps in the scene ?
I'm slightly confused though, do you render with radiosity then bake the shadow maps ?
I have been using mental ray with global illumination and photometric lighting for bakes but the render times are horrendous.

Well to be honest I used radiosity with regular light, it reduces the render time I haven't tried mental ray out yet but I know it takes longer to render. The shadow texture size is 128 px for almost all the objects. Had 7 to 8 frames per object so I had to recalculate the radiosity at every frame because the light source changed. For one object it doesn't take too long, a few minutes at most 2 or 3. The whole room take more than one day of my time excluding the time I wasn't on the computer that means some good hours of rendering. Yes I baked the shadow textures for every frame. I'll Try to give you the video to see a example how it looks like.
I also made animated ads on a tv using the animated textures technique.

Download
Here is the room scene http://www.hiveworkshop.com/forums/pastebin.php?id=1wq4ty

 

[Talavaj]

Hmm, dunno it looks pretty good actually just that the movement is really really subtle maybe in scenes with more moving shadows it might be more worth animating them.
The occlusion looks better and more accurate than most real time lighting engines though.
I'm still thinking of using animated shadows, at least for big objects such as trees but instead of frames I'll simply move it back and forth with linear texture animation.

That being said the shadows and light add incredible plasticity !

 

[tobyfat50]

Yes that's true and it won't kill my map since its a large cinematic anyhow. The linear texture animation seems to be the right thing for a playable map.

 

[Master_Of_WaR]

Cant wait for this man! you hear me i cant wait omg! your work is outstanding

 

[tobyfat50]

For now I'm trying to make animated characters using bipeds. This will be the last update then i'll keep the whole thing silent till I uploade the map.

 

[StoPCampinGn00b]

Review

Gameplay 40% [] Really fun game to play against NPCs. It's really fun to fight against the Orcs while special events are in action. You put a lot of time and effort into the number category of rating. Great job here.

Terrain 25% [] The terrain is based on cliffs, but it make the whole one castle/fort look bold and cool. Terrain south is a little simple, but the simple is the good type. Good job here.

Description 10% [] Very detailed description of the changes, but you should have a better description of the map itself instead of "Fortress Siege Reworked. The = screenshots are useful. Its good here.

Structure 15% [] The game works the way its supposed to work, the triggers work properly and balanced. Units are balanced and its not to laggy. Great job here.

Mistakes 5% [] Other than heroes/units being dumb and rarely getting stuck, no mistakes that I've seen. Great job here.

Gameplay: 39/40
Terrain: 24/25
Description: 8/10
Structure: 15/15
Mistakes: 5/5
96/100 1=0-40 2=40-65 3=66-85 4=86-95 5=96-100

Great Map overall, 5 Stars!

 

[RED BARON]

Show

Review

Gameplay 40% [] Really fun game to play against NPCs. It's really fun to fight against the Orcs while special events are in action. You put a lot of time and effort into the number category of rating. Great job here.

Terrain 25% [] The terrain is based on cliffs, but it make the whole one castle/fort look bold and cool. Terrain south is a little simple, but the simple is the good type. Good job here.

Description 10% [] Very detailed description of the changes, but you should have a better description of the map itself instead of "Fortress Siege Reworked. The = screenshots are useful. Its good here.

Structure 15% [] The game works the way its supposed to work, the triggers work properly and balanced. Units are balanced and its not to laggy. Great job here.

Mistakes 5% [] Other than heroes/units being dumb and rarely getting stuck, no mistakes that I've seen. Great job here.

Gameplay: 39/40
Terrain: 24/25
Description: 8/10
Structure: 15/15
Mistakes: 5/5
96/100 1=0-40 2=40-65 3=66-85 4=86-95 5=96-100

Great Map overall, 5 Stars!

What are you reviewing? I am pretty damn certain not this map - since this is a cinematic hence you don't control anything? Nor has it anything to do with a fortress map..

 

[Dr. House]

Looks awesome, very very very very nice.

 

[tobyfat50]

Show

What are you reviewing? I am pretty damn certain not this map - since this is a cinematic hence you don't control anything? Nor has it anything to do with a fortress map..

He probably is reviewing his own project?
----------------------------------------------

Updates for Today

I've been busy with my personal life so I had little time to work on the map but it just so happens I made a lot of progress on the map with the limited time I had.
I`am hoping to finish the episode this year instead of next so I`l do my best to post as soon as I can. Not to mention that I really need to make a decent thread for my project.
Map Status 94%
Here it is the last update I'll be spoiling you with, No more spoilers till I finish!
Here are some examples of biped animation using max + the havok reactor. Rather than using index animation a part of the cinematic will contain My personal animated model action scenes.
The Karate villagers is a pre made biped movement which I transferred, the rest is made by me, remember this are just tests.
------------

image1

image2

Additional there's a falling bear download.
The Dex script was problematic on exporting the bone animations, was getting messed up, especially in the torso area and no matter how hard I tried to fix it I failed. Fortunately 3ds max 5 came to the rescue, all I had to do was to convert the bones in to mesh and link it to the current bones.
My revolutionary camera system is giving me a real hell of a hard time. Yes the camera movement looks better interesting than the usual wc3 cameras but It gets messed up all the time, as in the camera changes position after it was played more than once. I don`t see any way of fixing it, I'll just have to remake the cameras till I go nuts, OMG~!!!
One more thing I`l be using for some models 1024px textures wich I`l chop in 4 - 512px images. Here is one of the textures I`l be using for one of those mountains I showed you earlier. And please don't tell me that it looks like Ice cream!

Mountain 1024

Also still working on those darn terrains

 

[Bboy Moose]

Oh damn, i've fallen in love with that last image

This is going to be the best cinematic the whole 2013-2014

 

[maddeem]

This was spectacular. I'm at a loss for words.
You are by far, the best terrainer I have EVER seen. EVER.

 

[DVendetta]

This was spectacular. I'm at a loss for words.
You are by far, the best terrainer I have EVER seen. EVER.

I agree with you. He's one of the best terrainer that we will see.

 

[tobyfat50]

Thank you guys for the feedback and for watching my cinematic. I still have lots of work to do on the sec episode and it seems like i'm still a long way but I'm getting there.

 

[Hellsing_Alucard]

damn it man,you know how much i've been waiting for it?seems like eternety + another eternety,but it must be epic since it takes you so long time to make it?

 

[tobyfat50]

Over the hills Release date + more information coming soon!!!

 

[tobyfat50]

I approximate a release date for the episode. Depending on my work programs I` release it sooner or later.
Above image is the loading screen. The scene looks just like that with moving clouds and flare effects.

Spoiler

Here is how a finished render scene actually looks like. No photoshop, all systems developed and combined with other working systems and it all works in game. (No ENB series used!!) The map will lok greate as it is. Not all scene are quality, some might look like crap,but
nothing is perfect. If I wanted it perfect than I would be working on it 2 more years. This wont be just a simple terrain showcase, be prepared for some cutting edge special efx and never before fighting scene.
I know that you guys want a playable map really bad, as I received some hate for it. That`s up to other skilled people on this site who are already doing it ; people like Travaj etc...

 

[sonofjay]

Bout damn time for the sequel. Will keep track on it.

 

[tobyfat50]

I have further improved my terrains in quality by adding a camera filter to the simple terrain scene. By doing so the lighting is better amplified giving the effect of bloom. It works best for still scenes but also for moving ones by adding 2 overlay filters, timed. The image is just one of my simple terrains with no teapot wvu`s.

Spoiler

I learned how to use cat rigs for animations. It works better than biped animation because it can be directly export from max to wc3 while the character studio biped needs to go to multiple converters to work properly + it`s a more complex system and a lot harder to use. This was the final missing link to my cinematic the only problem remaining with the cinematic camera model sistem that is just sucking the life outta me!
----------------------------------------------------

Don't hate the Santa, he`is mentally insane.

Spoiler

Another scene...

Spoiler

 

[sonofjay]

First pic:

That was just a beautiful scenery but you might want to make a better grass.

Second pic:

Oh my god, Santa went totally insane.

Third pic:

Oh god, what kind of sorcery is this? Great job man.

 

[tobyfat50]

Since I use that grass model for more scenes I won't` change it. I am sure that there are other things that will impress you so that you will forget about the grass, and that is not the only grass model I am using.
Map size 150 mb now and more than 20 min running.

 

[sonofjay]

Since I use that grass model for more scenes I won't` change it. I am sure that there are other things that will impress you so that you will forget about the grass, and that is not the only grass model I am using.

Makes sense. The first episode really impressed me so I really can't wait for the second episode.

Map size 150 mb now and more than 20 min running.

Lovely filesize. I think I can spare a little of my 8.84gb remaining space on my HD I know its worth it.

 

[tobyfat50]

Thank you very much you won't be disappointed.
I am also sorry for the fact that i am unable to reply to everyone's messages here because of my busy agenda.

 

[RED BARON]

Thank you very much you won't be disappointed.
I am also sorry for the fact that i am unable to reply to everyone's messages here because of my busy agenda.

Don't worry - You do reply - with your work

 

[sonofjay]

Don't worry - You do reply - with your work

True.

 

[tobyfat50]

Researching Bump!

Took yet another break from working on the map because of a wonderful technique that I was introduced to by Travaj. The technique is called Scribble cell!. It can be used for anything from bump to specular to reflections. After lots of tests I came up with a bump that keeps its details in the dark. How does this work? It works by adding something called normal masks, by adding 2 identical diffuse textures with 2 different types of normal masks, one regular and the other inverted. It means you have to use the same texture twice which won't make some people happy if they want to use it. There are more ways to make bump but this would be the best way as I see it.
one other way would be by baking the light map with the bump, if you want accurate lighting and bump. Would like to mention that the bump layers work perfectly with shadow maps so there's another opens door for more detail.

Enjoy the test gallery, it's just the simple test for now. Won't spoil you guys too much with updates.

Scrible cell - courtesy of Travaj - Memento Mori

 

[RED BARON]

Damn, I love those pictures.

 

[tobyfat50]

I was planning to release this a lot sooner but the "new Tech"; bumping, filters and shadow maps drastically changed the look of the entire map so I'm basically reworking on it again the result being the current release date.
With all the stuff that needs to be done I hope I`l get it finished in a years time. I'll just have to work hard enough. To be honest I'd like to finish it as soon as possible as it is very difficult to reconcile the project with daily matters. I'm basically splitting time with daily life as top priority of course. However I'm doing this for the art and passion of what I do so it's basically a way to relax and disconnect.

 

[RED BARON]

Take your time, we love seeing it and we can perfectly understand why you prioritize as you do.

 

[tobyfat50]

I'm saying this because of the release date I set myself...
Because the project got huge I decided to make a project thread. I`l post a lot of stuff you guys haven't seen yet as for this place - one more (probably last) update coming up.
If project thread is done updates will move there.
--------------------------
Map size 200mb

 

[FUJI]

Nice Map Looks Cool!!!

 

[tobyfat50]

Last Update

Bump V1

Bump V1

Bump V2
To be completed....
I'm off for a little bit.
Just forget it I'm moving on to the thread creation!
You'll get a ton of updates ther.

 

[Bernkastel]

Hurray for bump maps.

 

[Talavaj]

Lovely ! I can't wait to see the episode 2.

 

[FUJI]

Looks promising and it looks interesting!! Brilliant Models!! It is like 3d and real HQ!. I have nothing to say except

Spoiler

AWESOME!!!!

 

[anby]

You AWESOME!!!
your scenes are pretty good,and the most NICE one is unbelievable distant views.
ah,and one more thing,i want to translate your description to Chinese then post on my blog to recommend for otherones.(will included original link)
Could i?

 

[Rheiko]

you should give him a proper credits for that..

 

[RED BARON]

you should give him a proper credits for that..

Given that he wants to translate it with a link to this, I assume credits is a given. But yea.

 

[Rheiko]

yeah, that is

 

[tobyfat50]

You AWESOME!!!
your scenes are pretty good,and the most NICE one is unbelievable distant views.
ah,and one more thing,i want to translate your description to Chinese then post on my blog to recommend for otherones.(will included original link)
Could i?

Yes you may!

 

[anby]

Yes you may!

Great!Thx man!!

 

[tobyfat50]

Today I want to inform you guys that I'm working on the project thread and I'm preparing some surprise along with its creation (Extra stuff maybe) however I will not post or make it public until I gain that special something I was waiting for to give me a green light on the launching of theread and its resources. So once the thread is posted you will find a lot more stuff to keep you entertained till you wait for episode 2.
On another note I am taking a break from episode 2 creation because I stumbled yet again over a huge wall that keeps me from moving forward and I have yet to find a solution to it so I'll stop here for the moment. Also keep in mind that there's still time till the release date expires so don't be down.
No time was wasted, everything that was done so far is for the benefit of the project; modeling, new tech, etc.
For the time being I encourage you to follow me on this thread ---> http://www.hiveworkshop.com/forums/terrain-board-267/picture-5-a-235844/index12.html#post2425751

 

[Arthas_the_Mad]

This is what happened when a skilled terrainer goes to work... a masterpiece.

 

[tobyfat50]

You must be to board to write a proper comment and you took the liberty to copy what that other guy sayd I take it?! Whateva thanks for commenting!

 

[Rheiko]

haha, just say you are happy with that comment

 

[tobyfat50]

Probably the happiest comment ever..

 

[sonofjay]

I'd been out of the loop for quite sometime.

Any news about the sequel?

 

[tobyfat50]

Might be launched in spring or later, at the moment I'm putting some effort in the ruined pack. Don't worry the sequel still in development but I've been busy channeling my energy to other threads Like Toby's Maps and such... I can't leave you without news so I'll start making the project thread this week with some new updates along!

 

[sonofjay]

Probably one of the better news I heard because a lot of the projects I'm following are either died or become really slow at the span of period I went inactive. Anyway I'll keep my eye on that project thread. Good luck!

 

[tobyfat50]

The project thread is in development but I just realized I have a little bit too much content so because of that I'm going to need another week or so (maybe even more), trust me ther is a ton load. So I'm going to spill a small sneak peek on the project's new look featuring bump for you hungry fans out there.

In game finished scene

Remember, the project was 70% complete! Now it's down to 60% because of the new changes and do to my busyness!