Messages

1

Team Avalanche / Re: [HD Remake] WIP Sector 5 slums

« on: 2014-05-27 18:27:26 »

So I'm really wondering about how to turn that environment into something believable.

Switch off your brain. Making sense out of FFVII's physically impossible BGs is a waste of time. The stairwell in upper Shinra Building, for example, is impossible. The way the stairwell goes up would cause the each subsequent floor to have an overbite. I know because I tried to model it as a continuous model for the Mako Dawn mod. You don't notice because you never compare the BGs side by side. No one besides developers will notice — you're just hyper concious of it because you're making it.

Unless you're planning on solving all continuity issues, my suggestion would be not to worry about it and focus on making it look nice, not logical. Unfortunately, that'll occasionally mean recreating tweaking / things even when they're supposed to be part of the same object.

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Team Avalanche / Re: [HD Remake] WIP Sector 5 slums

« on: 2014-03-30 06:08:57 »

Ah, neat console (and backgrounds too!) Looks like you guys are making good progress on the early Midgar area.

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Team Avalanche / Re: [HD Remake] Mission B Fields, Midgar details

« on: 2014-03-30 06:04:52 »

Nice job with that train animation. I would even know where to begin with something like that.

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Team Avalanche / Re: Sharing / Donating Resources - models, textures, audio

« on: 2013-09-24 21:29:42 »

Ah, thanks for posting that, neo! As can be seen under the downloads section, I also released a music pack of FFVII arrangements.

For anyone who has questions / wants to chat about this (or other stuff), I'm usually on IRC sitting in the #waver channel on the Rizon server. I can't guarantee I'll have answers to your questions, but it's a point of contact at least. I don't sign into AIM / MSN anymore, though I do check my gmail emails somewhat regularly.

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Completely Unrelated / Re: Favorite FF quotes

« on: 2013-04-30 13:16:10 »

BAKU : So, this Tootsie's gonna give us Supersoft?
MARCUS : It's Tot.
BAKU : ACHOO! Whatever. I can't believe Tantalus is at the mercy of some old man. Hmph. I guess we gotta keep babysittin' the princess.
MARCUS : Still?
BAKU : He ain't gonna give you the Supersoft unless you're with the princess. That's the deal, Princess. I'm askin' you to take Marcus to this Toot.
MARCUS : ...It's Tot.
GARNET : I was going to anyway.
BAKU : Well, go get some rest before you go. I'm sure Ted needs time to prepare.

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Team Avalanche / Re: enemy models

« on: 2012-10-26 15:45:22 »

Not unless you're going to be using it in another situation where you'll be zooming in very close and rotating around an individual limb. 'Downgrading' isn't as simple as you may think.
It's like building a huge rocket for the sole purpose of heating some milk in your kitchen occasionally. Or something.

I second this. Not that my opinion matters or anything

There's two purposes that I can think of for having a high and low poly version of a given model. The first, like BlitzNCS noted, is if you're using it in another situation where the extra detail will be noticed such as an ultra-zoom in or in an FMV. The second is if you plan to bake the detail from the high poly onto the low poly. FFVII doesn't support normal maps to my knowledge, but you could potentially bake ambient occlusion from the high poly and blend it into the diffuse. But you really don't even need a high poly model for that; you could just bake the AO from the low poly I doubt there'd be a noticeable difference. And this is really at the heart of the matter: is the difference noticeable?

I also agree making low poly versions from high poly is more difficult than some think. Yes, you can use something like the decimate modifier in Blender, but it can't be controlled (besides changing raw face count) and going from 100,000 tris to 500 tris can produce unpredictable and undesirable results (such as long, thin triangles that need to be manually edited later anyway). You get the best results from retopologising (i.e., creating the low poly on top of the high poly)... which also happens to be the slowest process!

Ideally, a project's workflow is decided beforehand - either high polys are needed or they aren't (or certain predetermined models will be featured in situation X where a high poly is needed). Making them when they won't be used or noticed wastes dev time.

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Team Avalanche / Re: Field Scene Screens (non bombing mission) Gallery

« on: 2012-10-11 13:25:12 »

One thing that I keep noticing is that the blanket looks as though it's slightly folded over itself on the end near the TV, whereas in the original it's more smooth. That, to me, is more noticeable than the dirtiness (or lack thereof) of the blanket. But since no one else mentioned it, perhaps I'm in the minority

8

Team Avalanche / Re: Sector 6 Slums [HD Remake]

« on: 2012-10-08 06:44:40 »

That looks nice. I second the points about the bump/normal maps on the road and the higher saturation. Also, is it just me or does the render look a little noisy? What 3D app was this modelled and rendered in? For someone who says they're not much of an artist you did a pretty good job!

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Team Avalanche / Re: 3D modelling of field scene screens - Tasklist

« on: 2012-09-26 18:13:14 »

Try changing the OP to a monospaced (i.e., fixed-width) font face like Courier. That way all the characters occupy an even space and it'll make formatting possible. You could also bold the headings to distinguish them. But yeah, I second the Google Docs suggestion. Makes future collaboration easy too. From memory Google Docs doesn't support some of the more fancy formatting of Excel, so keeping it relatively basic might help.

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Team Avalanche / Re: Midgar Remake

« on: 2012-09-23 15:11:27 »

The main issue you will encounter is scope. We have thought about most of the issues you have mentioned, such as sector purpose zoning, *had a nice graphic we made, can't find it atm*.

Were you thinking of this:



For anyone wondering, it's based off the Hoyt model modified to account for Midgar's layout. (In hindsight it doesn't make a whole lot of sense for industry to be concentrated on sector 7...)

Even at that we were limited in what was achieved, which was in part due to actually getting work done, due to limited numbers of actual developers. This would be a major hurdle for any project to overcome, and our Lead Dev Tempus was basically a one man army. Getting all the ideas concreted is one thing, but realising them is a whole other ball game. Just because there are ideas, expect yourself to get your hands dirty.

Yeah... looking back a lot of my development time was spent learning stuff on the side outside of school / work. Often times I'd think "ok, I'll just do this" and then realise that I need to learn a bunch of stuff before it can be done, haha.

...and our Lead Dev Tempus was basically a one man army

Not yet... I still need to learn to animate! (I've just finished learning how to rig - more or less)

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Team Avalanche / Re: New Project: Bombing Mission!

« on: 2012-09-02 04:55:50 »

This might be helpful:



It's different from the Crisis Core artwork for the infantry, so I assume it was for the original FFVII.

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General Discussion / Re: FF7 overview - This game are sick

« on: 2012-08-21 10:35:21 »

Interesting and funny read. Thanks for sharing.

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General Discussion / Re: Planning an open-source Final Fantasy based game, what are the legal concerns?

« on: 2012-08-21 06:38:58 »

But you just so happened to join the one community (mostly coming from Halkun) that thinks Square is out to get them. In-fact there is not even a single case where Square interfered at all in anything related to it's Final Fantasy IP.

That may be true. Perhaps it's also true that Square(-Enix) has a worse reputation than deserved when it comes to shutting down projects. However, I'm not aware of any Final Fantasy equivalent of Chrono Resurrection. That is, a project based on Square's IP that looks better than its source material. When Chrono Resurrection and Chrono Trigger: Crimson Echoes received their C&D orders, they were 4 months away from release and "98% complete" respectively. This, to me, indicates that Square(-Enix) doesn't worry about projects based on its IP because many of them fail, are sh*t, or don't get released. When it's a good project that looks like it's going to be released though, they pay attention.

Course it could happen. But so could getting stuck by a meteor. Cept' getting stuck by a meteor has actually happened, Square sending a C&D to a Final Fantasy project has not. So odds are much much lower.

That's not how probability works Calculating odds is difficult without relevant data. I mean, how many decent, cohesive and fully playable Final Fantasy projects (not mods of the original game) that look better than the source material are there? None that I know of... Most of them are bits and pieces, low quality, etc. (again, that's only what I know of though). You would need a FF project that has the same relationship with its base game as Chrono Resurrection did to its base game to be able to know whether Square's shutting down of that project was a one-off thing or a consistent policy it intends to enforce.

Personally, as someone who's worked (technically still working) on a project based on Square(-Enix)'s IP, I'd rather not take the chance of investing many hours of work into a project only to have it shut down. I don't know what the likelihood of that happening to Mako Dawn would've been, but I did plan on making a high quality product. As Bloodshot mentioned above, I don't have the resources to fight a C&D even if I weren't doing anything wrong. Besides, it's so much more flexible to have your own IP to work with, which is the biggest selling point for me. You get to take the elements you like and change the ones you don't.


PS: I may be wrong about some or all of the things I've said. I reserve the right to not stand by anything I've said.

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Team Avalanche / Re: Sharing / Donating Resources - models, textures, audio

« on: 2012-08-21 06:09:34 »

Minor updates to the station:



I'm hoping to do the final release by the end of this month, but I'm having trouble getting the top of the Shinra Building visible! The draw distance cuts out abruptly. I've been tweaking the .ini settings and have got it this far, but I confess my ignorance: I don't really know what the hell I'm doing Below is a shot of the (partly visible!) Shinra Building as seen from the Sector 8 reactor train station. I'll fix the UV mapping on the building later.



Also, this needs to be re-integrated:
http://i365.photobucket.com/albums/oo94/JigsawPieces/My%20Models/ClockArchBuildingRender24.png
http://i365.photobucket.com/albums/oo94/JigsawPieces/My%20Models/ClockArchBuildingRender10.png

I've converted a lot of old content into blend files along the way, so that should be helpful when compiling my resource pack.

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Completely Unrelated / Re: Anime Suggestions for Everyone :)

« on: 2012-08-20 03:09:33 »

I liked Ghost in the Shell (the movies are the best, in my opinion - I recall loving 'Innocence' when I watched it), Code Geass, Death Note and Ergo Proxy. I'm really not sure what I'm going to watch next... I always take a long time to choose my next series. I'm thinking about Neon Genesis Evangelion, Cowboy Bebop or Haruhi Suzumiya. I've also got an interactive visual novel I've yet to play through, 'Katawa Shoujo'. I have no idea what it's about for now though

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General Discussion / Re: FF7 Staffer Comments on Unused Travelling Salesman Sidequest

« on: 2012-08-19 23:18:26 »

Just a heads up: your link is broken. Easily editable though. Sounds like it'll be an interesting read.

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Team Avalanche / Re: Sharing / Donating Resources - models, textures, audio

« on: 2012-08-14 08:58:21 »

Made a little video showing some of the content that will be released in v0.3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDQJKZ9wBbk

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Team Avalanche / Re: Midgar Remake

« on: 2012-08-12 03:49:00 »

Using GECK?

There are a few FF7 models lingering on TESNEXUS including materia (you probably already new that but just in case).

They terminated the mako dawn project a while back I believe (oh well).

I have Fallout 3 and Oblivion I suppose I should get Skyrim but I don't have windows any-more to run the stuff (PS3 only for now I guess).

Erstwhile, interesting stuff.

I undetstand Fallout's engine is a bit less mod friendly than Oblivion was. I can't even use the one for Skyrim as it appears to require steam which I haven't used for years after Valve got so weird.

Back to what it was I was doing.

I'm not sure which part you're referring to when you say "Using GECK?" I know there's a few FF7 models on the nexus, I was planning on making my own. I've often found that by the time I've assimilated other's work into my project it would've just been quicker to make it myself (unless their work was intended for my project, of course). Also, I already have a materia model I made: http://i365.photobucket.com/albums/oo94/JigsawPieces/shinraBldgMod/materiaRaw_02.jpg The other orb-like materia would've been easy enough to make, I expect.

And yeah, the Mako Dawn mod for Fallout 3 is currently not under development. I was the developer I'm working on releasing the project's files so that if anyone wants to continue it or use the resources they can.

FO3 and Oblivion used different versions of the same engine, Gamebryo. I'm pretty sure they built FO3's functions on top of Oblivion. I can't speak for Oblivion modding since I never did any but I found FO3 modding to be relatively easy once I figured out what I was doing. It was actually the first game I ever modded.

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Team Avalanche / Re: Sharing / Donating Resources - models, textures, audio

« on: 2012-08-12 03:20:04 »

Haven't seen you on msn for a looooong time D;<

I don't sign into msn very often and I when I do I don't see you online. I'll leave myself signed in this week. Oh, and I don't know if you're aware, but I replied to your moddb comment But yeah, if you want to chat I'll be on.

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Team Avalanche / Re: Sharing / Donating Resources - models, textures, audio

« on: 2012-08-11 13:06:50 »

Seriously, that train car looks perfect

Thanks I still need to add / change some stuff. The pipes running along the side have a slight downward bend in the before they go over the middle in the original game (and they're darker, I think). Right now I'm working on getting it looking nice in Fallout 3. What looks good in Blender usually doesn't look good in Fallout This is how it looks in FO3 so far: http://i365.photobucket.com/albums/oo94/JigsawPieces/shinraBldgMod/fuelCar_07.jpg Still, I guess it's better than when it used to look like this: http://i365.photobucket.com/albums/oo94/JigsawPieces/shinraBldgMod/fuelCar_01.jpg

Well hello there Jake!

Hello

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Team Avalanche / Re: Sharing / Donating Resources - models, textures, audio

« on: 2012-08-07 08:02:44 »

Here's a recent render of the train car I've been working on. It's not finished yet. It was modelled rendered in Blender 2.6



One of the texture maps for the car:



As with my other stuff, anyone's welcome to use this for whatever they want when I release it.

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Team Avalanche / Re: Project Bombing Mission Gallery

« on: 2012-08-07 07:30:49 »

Nice work, SpooX. I love those reactor interiors

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General Discussion / Re: Final Fantasy 7/8/9: New sidequests

« on: 2012-08-06 21:21:21 »

It'd be neat to be able to explore Midgar more. Here's a potential hidden passage to a new area:

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Team Avalanche / Re: Midgar Remake

« on: 2012-08-01 04:52:13 »

Does your midgar model have the Shinra building as well?

Yes:





They're both ingame shots from Fallout 3. The model was still being worked on by me and a lot of stuff was just placeholders, most notably the top of the building (above the barrel) and the reactors. There's also quite a few things which aren't properly textured / uv mapped. There's a door you can take in the mod to view Midgar from a distance like this.

This might be of interest too:



It's a rough layout I made for placing buildings on the plate. I personally like the idea of a messy, early European city style layout rather than straight, non-interrupted roads. Basically you'd map this image onto a plane on the plate and model over it, which is what I was planning to do. Given that you're actually playing the mod rather than viewing a render of it I was going to try and fake a lot of the detail instead of modelling each building to ensure smooth performance.

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Team Avalanche / Re: Midgar Remake

« on: 2012-07-31 21:35:15 »

Since I've been mentioned a few time in this thread I thought I'd just post to hopefully clarify some things. For those of you who don't know, I was developing for the project Mako Dawn, a Fallout 3 total conversion. As SpooX noted, development has since ceased for the reasons outlined in the link he posted earlier in this thread. The mod is currently available from the moddb page. I'll be releasing an update to that mod which will include all content / areas ever made for the mod (or at least which I can find) which previously weren't released because I considered them too incomplete or just irrelevant to the project scope. These in include (but aren't limited to) train cars, subway tunnel, upper Shinra Building floors and a Midgar model. Following that, I'll then try and arrange a release of the work files (ie the Blender, Photoshop, midi files) so that it'll be almost as if the person who downloads it has the same stuff as the developer. The latter release's file size will probably be much bigger and take longer to organise since some of these models / textures are years old.

Although I'm no longer developing Mako Dawn and don't plan to again in the future, I am working on one of the train cars right now just for fun and to keep my modeling / texturing skills sharp. I've basically held off the release a little so I can include this model. It's not finished yet, but here's a render anyway:



Anyhow, I'll post somewhere on Qhimm again once each release is... released. As noted elsewhere, anyone who wishes to take over the project / use its resources for theirs is welcome to - no strings attached.

For reference, my Midgar model (it's actually not entirely created by me) has roughly 42,000 faces. A lot of those are probably quads, I don't know what the tri count is. The model is in a state of half completion and I had planned to replace a lot. Basically I wanted a model that would look nice that could also be rendered in FO3 without slow downs. The idea was to have parts of the model visible when you looked out the Shinra Building (and it is!), but it's not anywhere close to how nice I was going to make it... oh well!