Environment Model specifics for WoW??

obeyjohnny

Hey all you polycounters...

I hope this thread is in the correct area, if not I will move it.

Anyhow, I have talked with a recruiter for Blizzard recently and was told that to be considered for a job you basically have to make a Blizzard specific portfolio...

Now whether or not I ever end up working at Blizz, I was wondering if any of you knew off hand what types of constraints are placed on an average environment model in WoW?

Poly-Count? TextureMap size? Etc...

I'm pretty sure all they want map wise is a nice hand painted texture map, no normal or bump maps. I'd just like to make a portfolio piece as close to game ready as possible if I do decided to submit anything to Blizzard.

Thanks for reading this!

Justin Meisse

Just make some stuff that fits the style, don't have a portfolio that's full of realistic WWII environments. You could model some Warhammer Online concepts, that's what all the cool kids do.

obeyjohnny

Yeah that's what I was planning on doing. I was just wondering if anyone knew specific restrictions on map sizes and poly counts.

Those monthly Warhammer newsletters sure do supply us with handy concept art samples!

Rhinokey

just that that program that strips models from games.. do a search on the forums you may find it.. or someone else will be able to point you to it.. then strip some envirometns from the game and check out the specs on them.

Jeremy Lindstrom

then remember that game was released years ago and you'll most likely need next gen skills as well.

jpgourley

If you have wow installed you can use WoW model viewer to look at all of the art assets in the game. You're able to view them with or without the textures, as well as just the wireframe.

You're correct in your assumptions on textures. They need to all be hand painted, no normal or bump maps. I can't remember if you can view the textures alone through model viewer or not. It is a game that is several years old and is optimized to run with fairly low system requirements, so the textures will need to be fairly small. It's hard to say specifics on poly counts but with WoW model viewer you'll be able to easily gauge the ball park you should be in.

As you're thinking of projects to work on for your portfolio keep in mind not so much what they have done with their games, but where they are going. You're not going to want to make models that look like they would fit in the original release of WoW. Always look to their latest concepts and screenshots when looking for inspiration. Make sure that what you're working on will fit with Wrath of the Liche King, or Starcraft II, that's what they'll be looking for.

A word of advice along with what Dekard is saying, make sure to work on your "next gen" skills. Blizzard will want to see a very specific portfolio, most other developers however will want to see next gen techniques used. Make sure that you do keep a fairly well balanced portfolio.