At this point my main goal is to get the map populated with structures. After that, I will go back in and edit the ground color/texture/foliage/rocks so that it all fits together, as opposed to wrongly having arbitrarily placed structures. Before exporting the models into the sandbox editor I need to make sure they have textures, of course, but I also need to bake an ambient occlusion map. What this means is that dark areas around object details, where light has mostly dissipated or reflected away, will be rendered as a texture according to UV coordinates. I then take that texture, put it on top of the original texture in Photoshop, in Multiply blending mode, flatten it and save it, then reapply it in Maya, write those material files and then update them in the sandbox. The reason for baking occlusion is that it saves processor and system resources compared with rendering that aspect of lighting in real time. This is good for games and simulations where such lighting might be too expensive on a processor.
The shading you see above is not part of rendered light and shadow, as this scene has no lights, rather it is baked ambient occlusion. The floating window to the right are the UVs generated in Maya. When I layer the original texture with the baked occlusion and then bring it back into Maya, everything fits right into place, in spite of the insane complexity you see in the UVs. Below are some screen captures of Area 1:
Translucent concrete, anyone?
In the image below I added grain, which looks amazing in real time. I also desaturated the image, but it is sepia due to the color balance.
I’ve been sick for a week, back at it. I have added to area 1 and Area 3. What I add to Area 2, between the cliffs, will be minimal just because I want the middle environment to contrast with the others. I need to finish up Area 1, get the final structures in the far-off part of Area 3, the final bit, and then I am going to start focusing on the video production. Below you can see part of the research center at Area 1.
The image above uses depth of field. I can change these settings as well as noise and tonality as needed before rendering clips for the final video production. While these structures look good, I don’t want them to be any more than what we see here, just by virtue of the fact that this is the initial area that people see. When seeing this area first, followed by a narrow canyon with not much in it, the effect at the end should be large and surprising. Three more of the research center:
In the canyon:
Coming to the exit of the canyon, to Area 3:
As you move towards the exit of the canyon your attention will be to the left side, where the skyscraper is. The right side of the canyon is designed to taper down in such a fashion that, as you are looking to the left, you will not notice what is on the right. Only after examining the structure on the left will you turn around and see the interdimensional structures that make up the final view. Area 3 first structure:
Below, another shot from Area 3 on the ground. Area 1 has foliage and other vegetation, matching the environment, but the environment of Area 3 is stark, white and barren, as this is the region of the intersecting dimensions and exchange of energy.
10-30 UPDATE
I have been looking at how to import animated objects for Area 3, and based on what I’ve seen it shouldn’t be a problem. Keeping my fingers crossed, though, as this exercise has given lots of bumps in the road. The models I have created for Area 3 are crashing the exporter, even without the Physicalize material option, so, once again, I will have to come up with a solution. At this point I don’t have any time to waste so I will most likely need to make simpler models with a similar organic style. If that works then I’ll run with that, as I need to wrap up as much as I can by the end of this weekend and then move on to the video stage, for the final three weeks or so. I am going to test some organic forms created with ZBrush over the weekend and see if there are any issues with Maya and then exporting to the sandbox.
10-31 UPDATE
Boo!
Not much time today before the meeting at the ARTS Lab but here is an aerial shot I will be using to construct the elevated walkways (in red) between the facilities built into the rock face on either side. The larger platform will hold a structure that monitors the energy that flows through the canyon from Area 3.
Below is the walkway in place. It still needs the monitoring structure which I’ll add later today.
Eric Chamberlain 