Konras, I switched to centimetres and both the scaled and x-formed versions come out the same. I'm assuming you mean wunderboy's SMD exporter? If so, it only works up to 2012. You ought to get all previous Max versions with a subscription imo, but oh well.
kite212, I did try and do a decompile with a different model, but for some reason they come through wallworm importer rotated onto their backs, which makes it a little awkward to skin. I'll have another bash at it, but do you know of any way to get a successful SMD export to Dota with wallworm? Whenever I've tried they always come through tiny and un-skinned.
Thanks for all the help chaps. The source of my derpage will reveal itself soon I'm sure.
Konras, I switched to centimetres and both the scaled and x-formed versions come out the same. I'm assuming you mean wunderboy's SMD exporter? If so, it only works up to 2012. You ought to get all previous Max versions with a subscription imo, but oh well.
kite212, I did try and do a decompile with a different model, but for some reason they come through wallworm importer rotated onto their backs, which makes it a little awkward to skin. I'll have another bash at it, but do you know of any way to get a successful SMD export to Dota with wallworm? Whenever I've tried they always come through tiny and un-skinned.
Thanks for all the help chaps. The source of my derpage will reveal itself soon I'm sure.
I don't use wallworm myself, cannonfodder ftw, but the smd will be imported y-up, so on it's back. You could import the smd and for the modeling just model off a copy of the mesh rotated z-up to make it easier, and when you are ready to export it just rotate it to match the y-up rig, skin, and export.
kite212, I just tried Cannonfodder's 2012 plugins and literally no cigars or tobacco products of any kind. Were individuals in the source development scene systematically offed in late 2012 or what?
I'll try that skinning method you mentioned and see how it goes. Perhaps I ought to bother that Olson guy.
P.S. You know something odd? The meshes and rigs come through Wallworm on their backs, but the animations are all upright. I don't think I can handle the truth.
P.P.S. Bafflingly, when I unpack the mesh that displays incorrectly in Dota, it comes through wallworm the right size exactly. Perhaps It has more to do with the skin modifier or something.
@Insaneophobia: Thanks man! I know what you mean, I'll see what I can do to make her expression look better @Konras: Thank you! Yeah, you are right about that! I'll try to fix those parts @kite212: Thaaanks dude! That gif made me laugh
I'm working on a sword for Legion Commander and I need some crits. I still consider myself lost when it comes to details/battle damage and I want to know how I can improve on that front.
Is this too much? Are the details not big enough? How can I improve in this area and does anyone have any general tips or brushes or anything like that for making realistic grit/battle damage?
Keep in mind this sword is about 20-25% longer than her stock sword so imagine the details at the appropriate ratio in-game...
Yeah you should try for 2-3 larger cuts to make them stand out more, especially considering the final size. Some other crits. The handles looks too thin, what material is it made of? Looks like it could be cloth but I feel you could push that definition further. Secondly that gem needs to be "seated" somehow into the design, it looks odd just king of plonked there on the hilt.
I'm working on a sword for Legion Commander and I need some crits. I still consider myself lost when it comes to details/battle damage and I want to know how I can improve on that front.
Is this too much? Are the details not big enough? How can I improve in this area and does anyone have any general tips or brushes or anything like that for making realistic grit/battle damage?
Keep in mind this sword is about 20-25% longer than her stock sword so imagine the details at the appropriate ratio in-game...
For damage I like to cut it deep so it bakes nice. I find using the orbscrak brush gives the best results. I like to start big and get the rough detail, then once its good enough I take a smaller brush and rough up the edges of my battle wear a little more. Motenai has shown their technique for damage to items, and battle damage and wear does not get much better than Motenai :thumbup:
Yeah you should try for 2-3 larger cuts to make them stand out more, especially considering the final size. Some other crits. The handles looks too thin, what material is it made of? Looks like it could be cloth but I feel you could push that definition further. Secondly that gem needs to be "seated" somehow into the design, it looks odd just king of plonked there on the hilt.
I wasn't done sculpting at all, I have a couple variations on hand of the gem seat that aren't seen here... but you're definitely right about that. The handle is indeed cloth so I will push it further to look like that(even though at that size you'll barely be able to see folds/details). The handle is actually the correct size as her cylindrical stock sword handle. I may even end up scaling the rest of the blade down a little bit so the handle appears bigger. Thank you for the tips!
For damage I like to cut it deep so it bakes nice. I find using the orbscrak brush gives the best results. I like to start big and get the rough detail, then once its good enough I take a smaller brush and rough up the edges of my battle wear a little more. Motenai has shown their technique for damage to items, and battle damage and wear does not get much better than Motenai :thumbup:
Thanks for the advice! I'll find that brush and see what I can do, and I'll definitely check out Motenai's stuff.
So many cool stuff this update! Hope we get more 'official' support for things like the particles on Windranger's cape, and also the ability to make items for DK and Tinker! (BTW, I need that dragon so bad! Only immortal left for me )
So many cool stuff this update! Hope we get more 'official' support for things like the particles on Windranger's cape, and also the ability to make items for DK and Tinker! (BTW, I need that dragon so bad! Only immortal left for me )
Hopefully we will get the sdk bits to properly make dota particles ;D I am in love with the death prophet skirt, so many cool new particles
Andrew, do you rec video-references for animating, before starting of work? or take all while working from imagination? i can imagine how you holding a cleaver and go around the room like this Pudge
here's a new set by Crowntail (who did the modelling), Yakonusuke (who did an amazing loading screen) and me (who did the particles) for Sandking:
Aaaand here is a video of the particle overhaul I created for the set. Looks like I've once again forgotten how to embed videos here. Ah well.
Qualdin's Ambassador
And for those who are too lazy to check the video I've got a crappy, slightly too fast .gif of the epicenter effect. Everyone loves .gifs.
@Vovosunt For description use same BBCode as here so [ img ] [ /img ] with no spaces.
Images in descriptions work on on item pages. They dont work on collection page.
@Automedic/ Particles are just 2x more brown. Doesn't really look like an overhaul or noticeable difference to me.
Nope, it does use different materials and different effects - most of the effects have been recreated from scratch, actually. Check a video of the normal effect for comparison. Of course it retains some similarity to the default effect - that's because it was intended.
Sand King's particles aren't "magical" like e.g. Puck or Shadow Demon, so the colour and behaviour range you have for recreating it without just slapping fire/acid/ice/etc on to it is fairly small. That's a pretty lazy solution, so I settled for a different approach. The particles for Sandstorm or Caustic Finale for example behave completely different than the default effect. That's what we wanted to change, and that's what we got.
Just because the colours didn't jump to the other side of the spectrum doesn't mean there are no changes.
And yeah - are you even the Real Horse Strangler? The real one should actually know better :icon15:
The effects are too brown. And there's nothing that acts as a natural contrast in any of those effects. Caustic finale really suffers the most, it's pretty much a large cloud of dark colors. I understand wanting to stay within the same color scheme, and that makes sense for the most part. However I don't feel like adding chunks of dirt and rocks really justify going browner than brown. The effects just come off really dark and you end up losing a lot of nice detail that you have to make up for in complexity versus variety and "fullness".
In no way do I mean for you to splash some orange or green in there, but as an example, nikey's take on his sand king particles had an interesting color change.
To iterate my point better: I think you played it safe on the effects. I feel like you could have expanded on the characteristics of the effects more versus making them darker and adding some large fleks and dirt sprites. The thing to look at here is that not every hero is going to be automatically receptive to new particle effects, as you pointed out in your post. If particle based sets are going to get in game they have to be REALLY SPECIAL. You have to ask yourself: Is there room for creativity here? Does creating custom effects make a large, noticable and visually pleasing result?
I haven't played it safe, I think our priorities are set a bit different. In my opinion natural contrasts or flashy effects are not the right choice for SK because his abilities are not supposed to be dominant (for example as opposed to Wisp). Caustic Finale lasts only roughly two seconds, Burrow Strike roughly one second. While short effects are usually predestined to be flashy especially Caustic Finale can easily create a complete clusterfuck because it can be triggered very fast and very often. Hence a more unobtrusive effect is the way to go. Sandstorm and Epicenter on the other hand last longer but have to be discreet enough that they don't occlude or distract from what's happening inside/around their AoE. So to sum it up: From the gameplay perspective it's important that the effect remains moderate.
It's interesting to see a different approach to particles. In my opinion (colour) variety definitely has its right to exist, but only if the concept demands it and gameplay remains unaffected. I think Nikey's particles are a good example. His effects are pretty basic and hence their uniqueness mainly derives from the colour swap. That's not necessarily a bad thing - it's just a path I didn't want to take for the reasons stated above.
I think you actually summed it up quite nicely. Variety is what particles are about. Wether you use complexity or colour variety to achieve that goal is just a matter of taste.
Andumy
Ogre Magi Looks good. Handle is great. Will look better with custom particle effects for the lava part. Particle effect that makes the lava pulse glow.
u=73668"]Kramolnik[/URL][/B]
PA
Good change, people didn't need to go aggressive about it (imo). Any in game shots? They look a bit bright for PA in these pictures.
Replies
Wallworm might be compatible. I would do a decompile of Alch and use that instead.
kite212, I did try and do a decompile with a different model, but for some reason they come through wallworm importer rotated onto their backs, which makes it a little awkward to skin. I'll have another bash at it, but do you know of any way to get a successful SMD export to Dota with wallworm? Whenever I've tried they always come through tiny and un-skinned.
Thanks for all the help chaps. The source of my derpage will reveal itself soon I'm sure.
I don't use wallworm myself, cannonfodder ftw, but the smd will be imported y-up, so on it's back. You could import the smd and for the modeling just model off a copy of the mesh rotated z-up to make it easier, and when you are ready to export it just rotate it to match the y-up rig, skin, and export.
I'll try that skinning method you mentioned and see how it goes. Perhaps I ought to bother that Olson guy.
P.S. You know something odd? The meshes and rigs come through Wallworm on their backs, but the animations are all upright. I don't think I can handle the truth.
P.P.S. Bafflingly, when I unpack the mesh that displays incorrectly in Dota, it comes through wallworm the right size exactly. Perhaps It has more to do with the skin modifier or something.
@Konras: Thank you! Yeah, you are right about that! I'll try to fix those parts
@kite212: Thaaanks dude! That gif made me laugh
Is this too much? Are the details not big enough? How can I improve in this area and does anyone have any general tips or brushes or anything like that for making realistic grit/battle damage?
Keep in mind this sword is about 20-25% longer than her stock sword so imagine the details at the appropriate ratio in-game...
For damage I like to cut it deep so it bakes nice. I find using the orbscrak brush gives the best results. I like to start big and get the rough detail, then once its good enough I take a smaller brush and rough up the edges of my battle wear a little more. Motenai has shown their technique for damage to items, and battle damage and wear does not get much better than Motenai :thumbup:
I wasn't done sculpting at all, I have a couple variations on hand of the gem seat that aren't seen here... but you're definitely right about that. The handle is indeed cloth so I will push it further to look like that(even though at that size you'll barely be able to see folds/details). The handle is actually the correct size as her cylindrical stock sword handle. I may even end up scaling the rest of the blade down a little bit so the handle appears bigger. Thank you for the tips!
Thanks for the advice! I'll find that brush and see what I can do, and I'll definitely check out Motenai's stuff.
Will do! Seems like the consensus is less scratches but deeper/thicker ones.
If you have a few hours, Bobo had some really cool demos for the darksiders weapon contest a few years ago, he had some really cool tips to doing damage on weapons. http://www.livestream.com/vigilnights/video?clipId=pla_69d386b0-0c57-444a-a1e5-4c820a55e9d2
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=265334082
I think you improved the design a bunch from the last shown shot, great job :thumbup:
LINKS
Hopefully we will get the sdk bits to properly make dota particles ;D I am in love with the death prophet skirt, so many cool new particles
Solved! Thanks kite, I compared the fbx and the smd import from the game and there are subtle differences, turns out the fbx is a lie.
Now... to submit my blue and yellow boxes to the workshop...
Andrew, do you rec video-references for animating, before starting of work? or take all while working from imagination? i can imagine how you holding a cleaver and go around the room like this Pudge
some wip
no masks
here's a new set by Crowntail (who did the modelling), Yakonusuke (who did an amazing loading screen) and me (who did the particles) for Sandking:
Aaaand here is a video of the particle overhaul I created for the set. Looks like I've once again forgotten how to embed videos here. Ah well.
Qualdin's Ambassador
And for those who are too lazy to check the video I've got a crappy, slightly too fast .gif of the epicenter effect. Everyone loves .gifs.
Couldn't have done it without your help guys!
BTW: does anyone know how to add images in the description? I want to stick the turntable in there.
P.S.: yeah promo image is kind of lame, but I've spent too much time on this set already =_="
Images in descriptions work on on item pages. They dont work on collection page.
@The Horse Strangler I see you surfed the account before real The Horse Strangler took it and now you attack other particle artists... not nice
Nope, it does use different materials and different effects - most of the effects have been recreated from scratch, actually. Check a video of the normal effect for comparison. Of course it retains some similarity to the default effect - that's because it was intended.
Sand King's particles aren't "magical" like e.g. Puck or Shadow Demon, so the colour and behaviour range you have for recreating it without just slapping fire/acid/ice/etc on to it is fairly small. That's a pretty lazy solution, so I settled for a different approach. The particles for Sandstorm or Caustic Finale for example behave completely different than the default effect. That's what we wanted to change, and that's what we got.
Just because the colours didn't jump to the other side of the spectrum doesn't mean there are no changes.
And yeah - are you even the Real Horse Strangler? The real one should actually know better :icon15:
@The Horse Strangler you are not horsy arent you ?
@Automedic
The effects are too brown. And there's nothing that acts as a natural contrast in any of those effects. Caustic finale really suffers the most, it's pretty much a large cloud of dark colors. I understand wanting to stay within the same color scheme, and that makes sense for the most part. However I don't feel like adding chunks of dirt and rocks really justify going browner than brown. The effects just come off really dark and you end up losing a lot of nice detail that you have to make up for in complexity versus variety and "fullness".
In no way do I mean for you to splash some orange or green in there, but as an example, nikey's take on his sand king particles had an interesting color change.
To iterate my point better: I think you played it safe on the effects. I feel like you could have expanded on the characteristics of the effects more versus making them darker and adding some large fleks and dirt sprites. The thing to look at here is that not every hero is going to be automatically receptive to new particle effects, as you pointed out in your post. If particle based sets are going to get in game they have to be REALLY SPECIAL. You have to ask yourself: Is there room for creativity here? Does creating custom effects make a large, noticable and visually pleasing result?
It's interesting to see a different approach to particles. In my opinion (colour) variety definitely has its right to exist, but only if the concept demands it and gameplay remains unaffected. I think Nikey's particles are a good example. His effects are pretty basic and hence their uniqueness mainly derives from the colour swap. That's not necessarily a bad thing - it's just a path I didn't want to take for the reasons stated above.
I think you actually summed it up quite nicely. Variety is what particles are about. Wether you use complexity or colour variety to achieve that goal is just a matter of taste.
Gear of Golden Gadgets Set:
Finishing a set for ET:
Sniper set
Maybe try something other than Green in the textures.
OniLolz
Elder titan
Looks good
Andumy
Ogre Magi
Looks good. Handle is great. Will look better with custom particle effects for the lava part. Particle effect that makes the lava pulse glow.
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=265678842
Would be nice if some of you could like my newest set on the Steam Workshop!
Click the icons to visit the workshop or watch the video on youtube!
so test...
How blade looks on your view?
Abaddon sword looks good!
danpaz3d
Tree
I prefer autumn one, green one is ok but don't like pink one.
@katzeimsack
Timbersaw
Awesome set, hope to see it in game soon. I think I would get it.
Kramolnik
PA
Good change, people didn't need to go aggressive about it (imo). Any in game shots? They look a bit bright for PA in these pictures.
at...