-but this really is confusing:
"Races and Character Classes: (choose only one. No combinations of any sort are allowed. Any forum is allowed to choose any race and class)"
Any forum is not the same as any entrant. This to me seems to imply that each forum will be picking a race.. I'd like to be wrong, but this really isn't clear.
Just a pet peeve of mine and this isn’t directed at anyone in particular but is just my personal thoughts. Posting an image in someone’s thread to say that it reminds you of something else instantly taints anyone skimming the thread. Posting a url says the same thing you wanted to say but requires me (the viewer) to make a choice of looking at the image.
Helpful paintovers or suggestions are completely different!
We are not stuck to one class or race as a forum (Polycount) It was worded kind of weird but you are allowed to choose whatever race or class you want as an individual. Polycount can do demons, norms, machines, etc. It's wide open.
"Hey that looks like this" image post ... Posting an image in someones thread to say that it reminds you of something else instantly taints ... the thread.
I totally agree! This should be discouraged, imho. Just drop a link or a paintover nubs.
Are non-machine classes allowed to have partially mechanical parts or equipment? Like can a Norm or a Demon have a robotic limb, powered armor, or high-tech weaponry as long as it's still clearly an organic creature?
And, when it says the Demon Lords "do not possess any human characteristics", how tight is the definition of what's considered a human characteristic? Does it just mean it's not generally humanoid-shaped, or does that mean none of its parts can follow a humanoid framework at all (like human-structured hands or facial features)?
fly_soup, for the first question, I'm pretty sure yes.
For the demon lords, it was pretty clear with the "do not possess any human characteristics", so if you want human characteristics, do a demon prince or abomination.
"...when it says the Demon Lords "do not possess any human characteristics", how tight is the definition of what's considered a human characteristic? Does it just mean it's not generally humanoid-shaped, or does that mean none of its parts can follow a humanoid framework at all (like human-structured hands or facial features)?"
Actually, I was wondering that as well. "any human characteristics" could be interpreted a number of different ways. What if you had a demon who was shaped like a meatball, covered in hair but sported a Greco-Roman nose? You might very well say "abomination!" but what if you wanted him to be a Death Dealing Demon Lord, not some random abomination. Surely he wouldn't be discriminated against for his nose? Or what about just being a straight spined biped? I'd love some clarification on this one.
Just one little question so far:
The textures say 2048, and as much as I'd love to do that, my poor old computer might not be so happy with me. Would there be any problems with my entry if I went with 1024 instead?
Just one little question so far:
The textures say 2048, and as much as I'd love to do that, my poor old computer might not be so happy with me. Would there be any problems with my entry if I went with 1024 instead?
2048 is the maximuim, there isnt any problem using less than that. Hell you can size the thing up to 2048 when you're done if anyone complains(they wont).
1 x 2048 Color Map
*1 x 2048 Reflection Map
*1 x 2048 Specular Map
*1 x 2048 Specular Color Map
*1 x 2048 Normal Map
*1 x 2048 Bump Map
*1 x 2048 Opacity(transparency) Map
*1 x 2048 Glow map
*1 x 2048 Glossiness map
*Optional
No Translucency/SSS maps or Ambient Occlusion maps allowed?
Concepting has always just been as much as YOU Need to get your creation done, but there must be something.
Deamon Lords: Great insane horror things. Couldn't pass for human if you managed to get them an armani suit that would fit. Cthulu, other crazy pit horror things, the Greater Deamons from Warhammer 40k, etc.
And the any forum can make any class thing was to circumvent some of the events from the first two dom wars where people would enter for a different forum than the one they wanted to represent because their inspiration was for a different class or theme.
Thanks for the info, I thought it would be silly for me to have to go all out on a concept if it wouldn't help me get anything done.. So I'm just going to show some references and any paint-overs I do.
So do the norms really have to go with magic or is it OK to have a soldier like guy with a magic rocketlauncher? I mean i know there are no limits to technology just having a bit of trouble with the magic component.
Use your imagination here, if you really want a chaingun wielding warlord, then what is the magical equivalent for a chaingun? Design it. I mean there is the basic spell of "magic missile" in D&D. And most spells can be placed into a wand, so if you take multiple wands of magic missile, mount them on a rotating wheel, powered by a hand crank or a small summoned imp running in a hamster wheel like apparatus, then rig that to a handle/control system that clicks the invocation for the wand every time it comes to the top position, then you've got a magical chaingun. OR have the wands be fairly small in size, just enough for one use, and place them in a long belt that feeds through a chamber with a blade that cracks open an end of the wand, releasing the spell inside it, which is then ducted in a direction by a magical resistance barrier. Now you have a magic missile machine gun. Think outside the box. Magic is a method. Fantasy settings with "magic" typically use medieval tech and setting by choice, not by necessity.
Magic is a method, elemental powers are a method, technology is a method. There is nothing keeping any of these from having swords, fists, or projectile weapons, its just a matter of what form the specific implementation of the weapon takes.
Take "electrical sword" for example:
Deamons would have a summoned blade of pure darkness crackling with destructive energy.
Norms would have an enchanted storm blade, crafted by the artisans of the great forge of Thor.
Machines would have an XK-45 shock blade, surrounded by high voltage arcs ducted from a small onboard fusion reactor.
So have a magical rocket launcher, just make sure it LOOKS magical. Don't let it be easily mistaken for regular old tech. Heck you could have it be like a large slingshot/crossbow with winged imps holding small bombs, or a tube with a giant magical crystal fitted to it with archaic runes running down its length.
There is no need for an ao map, just use it in your diffuse...
That is like putting specular in your diffuse map. An ambient occlusion map controls the amount of ambient light there is on the model. Not saying you cant use an AO map to create your diffuse, but having them separate is better.
They want text in an image? that fucking insane. What sort of portability does that offer at all?
Hope the points are counted properly this time, last one was ridiculously unfair, in fact it was blatantly rigged when you looked at the overall points scored by each team.
thesplash - basically you can bake it in the texture, giving it the illusion of sss or AO, remember, they are seen in stills, so you can hardly see the difference. I know its better but its the rules, you will have to do with what is given.
Just a quick comment reguarding crits. Every year I get someone post "you need to get out of your comfort zone" or something along those lines which always spawns a string of "yeah what they said" comments. I appreciate people encouraging me to push myself but on the same token it is very demotivating, especially when you have spent 2-3 days workig on a concept you actually like. I am excited about my concept this year seeing as it is an idea I have had for a while now and it fitted the brief. I have added elements to push myself as it is, I really don't want or need to be told to go back to thumbnailing and make something more original or new. If my concept had gears proportions and some wikid mech like armor, I probably wouldn't get these comments but I seriously fail to see how that is any less generic these days.
Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the comments and crits I get but there is no need for "what he saids" which for the most part are posted by people who don't really even assess the entry for themselves. My whole point being, comments about comfort zones and the like tend to dicourage any further feedback untill you come up with a new more out there concept. Thats fine if you plan on doing so but if not it tends to kill your thread.
On another note I have noticed that when a vet posts something it tends to get parroted by most of the newer, less experienced members. This is not a beef with the vets, its a beef with sheep. Art is about creativity and origionality. I don't see why posting comments should be any different. Post what you feel guys, don't just parrot the MOPs (masters of polycount :P) out there unless you actually agree with them. Remember, people tend to take multiple crits about the same thing seriously and if half of those were only posted because "thats what the pro said, they must be right" it looses meaning.
Dude, don't stress it. I see it too. People are always pushing each other to go out there and go crazy, but in the end, the character is yours, not theirs. If you look at the top 20 or 50 from last year, there aren't that many "out there" characters. All the top entries were done solid and well. The execution and presentation wins out more than the design most of the time.
Not everyone is on the same level as well, so in the end it may be a good idea to work within your comfort zone. That way you will have a project that you're connected with and that you will want to work on for 2 months. In the end, take the crits with a grain of salt, because this is the internet after all.
Not sure if this is the place to post it or not...but an idea I stole from GA...and I believe that was in practice last year: What if we made a sticky for "PC Summary Thread" You get one post, link to your actual thread....you can update the summary thread with your latest image as a quick reference to your work and, also, a way for some entries to be "discovered." With so many entries this year for the ol' greentooth, it doesn't take any time to get lost in the shuffle I guess that is also what the help thread is for, if you feel you need the advice, post there, I'm just reporting what I have found on my scouting missions
Yes, a summary thread sounds like a good idea. How is it moderated though? I'm guessing one of the mods has to make sure people aren't commenting in there?
Hey GUYS! I wanted to know if I was just blind and missed it. But is there a place to actually enter into the contest? Or do we start one thread of our own on like last year on here?.... Then when the time comes to actually enter, we just put in our link to our thread when that time comes... Just wondering.
Hey GUYS! I wanted to know if I was just blind and missed it. But is there a place to actually enter into the contest? Or do we start one thread of our own on like last year on here?.... Then when the time comes to actually enter, we just put in our link to our thread when that time comes... Just wondering.
Yeah just start a thread, and when the time comes you can upload your final images to GameArtisans... i think. :poly121:
Invoker
This character type harvests powerful magic to destroy and/or manipulate his surroundings or enemies.
but what about summoning stuff ? does that fall under invoker? and what about this "magical weapon" .. does an invoker need one? and if so, cant that summon stuff if that is the power of the chosen weapon?
I'm moving forward with my Demon Lord (fire/lava). In the rules it states that Demon Lords are unable to use magic but they can manipulate their inborn fusion power. Teleport from fire to fire, create fire weapons out of thin air, blah blah blah.
It seems like Demon Lords are able to use magic, just magic that is in the same category as their inborn power... Right? So does this mean I can have my Demon Lord do anything my imagination can think of as long as it has to do with fire or lava???
how the heck do you get to the rules through the dom war website? it seems insane that I have to come to polycount, this thread, click a link to be able to find em..
there's every conceivable piece of information about the dominance war except the rules??
hey! one little question about greentooth:
Do we have to place the exact logo on our models or i am allowed to tweak him a bit to place him on the armour or smth?
Roo - it's carefully hidden under the DW Latest News tab, pretty much in the middle of your screen once you load up the page. Took me until yesterday to find it too .
thesplash - basically you can bake it in the texture, giving it the illusion of sss or AO, remember, they are seen in stills, so you can hardly see the difference. I know its better but its the rules, you will have to do with what is given.
Back to the SSS ... because I'd like to use it maybe... rules say:
Shaders: All shaders from any game engine or 3d software package on planet earth, is allowed.
So It's cool?! But it's not listed with the maps, so can we use the shader but just without a map - at least a b&w weightmap would do ?!
Sure, I'd even say they are a big plus. This is after all a game art contest and optimising your texture space is a great plus in game art...
See Imrod (Last years champ) 4 exsample. He had an excellent usage of the texture space...
---
So what's the update on sub surface scattering ?! ... I somehow seem to kill threads, noone whant's to talk to me *whine*
Do we need to bake it? Because rules say we can use any shaders, but not allowed to use a map for it ??
Replies
-but this really is confusing:
"Races and Character Classes: (choose only one. No combinations of any sort are allowed. Any forum is allowed to choose any race and class)"
Any forum is not the same as any entrant. This to me seems to imply that each forum will be picking a race.. I'd like to be wrong, but this really isn't clear.
Just a pet peeve of mine and this isn’t directed at anyone in particular but is just my personal thoughts. Posting an image in someone’s thread to say that it reminds you of something else instantly taints anyone skimming the thread. Posting a url says the same thing you wanted to say but requires me (the viewer) to make a choice of looking at the image.
Helpful paintovers or suggestions are completely different!
Heh just a suggestion
Enjoy...
I totally agree! This should be discouraged, imho. Just drop a link or a paintover nubs.
Sounds like this is going to be one helluva event!
Are non-machine classes allowed to have partially mechanical parts or equipment? Like can a Norm or a Demon have a robotic limb, powered armor, or high-tech weaponry as long as it's still clearly an organic creature?
And, when it says the Demon Lords "do not possess any human characteristics", how tight is the definition of what's considered a human characteristic? Does it just mean it's not generally humanoid-shaped, or does that mean none of its parts can follow a humanoid framework at all (like human-structured hands or facial features)?
For the demon lords, it was pretty clear with the "do not possess any human characteristics", so if you want human characteristics, do a demon prince or abomination.
Actually, I was wondering that as well. "any human characteristics" could be interpreted a number of different ways. What if you had a demon who was shaped like a meatball, covered in hair but sported a Greco-Roman nose? You might very well say "abomination!" but what if you wanted him to be a Death Dealing Demon Lord, not some random abomination. Surely he wouldn't be discriminated against for his nose? Or what about just being a straight spined biped? I'd love some clarification on this one.
Just one little question so far:
The textures say 2048, and as much as I'd love to do that, my poor old computer might not be so happy with me. Would there be any problems with my entry if I went with 1024 instead?
2048 is the maximuim, there isnt any problem using less than that. Hell you can size the thing up to 2048 when you're done if anyone complains(they wont).
Or do we have to literally draw everything up?
Deamon Lords: Great insane horror things. Couldn't pass for human if you managed to get them an armani suit that would fit. Cthulu, other crazy pit horror things, the Greater Deamons from Warhammer 40k, etc.
And the any forum can make any class thing was to circumvent some of the events from the first two dom wars where people would enter for a different forum than the one they wanted to represent because their inspiration was for a different class or theme.
Use your imagination here, if you really want a chaingun wielding warlord, then what is the magical equivalent for a chaingun? Design it. I mean there is the basic spell of "magic missile" in D&D. And most spells can be placed into a wand, so if you take multiple wands of magic missile, mount them on a rotating wheel, powered by a hand crank or a small summoned imp running in a hamster wheel like apparatus, then rig that to a handle/control system that clicks the invocation for the wand every time it comes to the top position, then you've got a magical chaingun. OR have the wands be fairly small in size, just enough for one use, and place them in a long belt that feeds through a chamber with a blade that cracks open an end of the wand, releasing the spell inside it, which is then ducted in a direction by a magical resistance barrier. Now you have a magic missile machine gun. Think outside the box. Magic is a method. Fantasy settings with "magic" typically use medieval tech and setting by choice, not by necessity.
Magic is a method, elemental powers are a method, technology is a method. There is nothing keeping any of these from having swords, fists, or projectile weapons, its just a matter of what form the specific implementation of the weapon takes.
Take "electrical sword" for example:
Deamons would have a summoned blade of pure darkness crackling with destructive energy.
Norms would have an enchanted storm blade, crafted by the artisans of the great forge of Thor.
Machines would have an XK-45 shock blade, surrounded by high voltage arcs ducted from a small onboard fusion reactor.
So have a magical rocket launcher, just make sure it LOOKS magical. Don't let it be easily mistaken for regular old tech. Heck you could have it be like a large slingshot/crossbow with winged imps holding small bombs, or a tube with a giant magical crystal fitted to it with archaic runes running down its length.
i'm yet another noob entering in, i can't wait to see what comes out of this one, God are there alot of choices.
is there a deadline for when we need to say that we're in the comp? i'm new to this whole forum challenge ordeal.:(
Hope the points are counted properly this time, last one was ridiculously unfair, in fact it was blatantly rigged when you looked at the overall points scored by each team.
What exactly is our team logo? The rules mention it must be included...
Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the comments and crits I get but there is no need for "what he saids" which for the most part are posted by people who don't really even assess the entry for themselves. My whole point being, comments about comfort zones and the like tend to dicourage any further feedback untill you come up with a new more out there concept. Thats fine if you plan on doing so but if not it tends to kill your thread.
On another note I have noticed that when a vet posts something it tends to get parroted by most of the newer, less experienced members. This is not a beef with the vets, its a beef with sheep. Art is about creativity and origionality. I don't see why posting comments should be any different. Post what you feel guys, don't just parrot the MOPs (masters of polycount :P) out there unless you actually agree with them. Remember, people tend to take multiple crits about the same thing seriously and if half of those were only posted because "thats what the pro said, they must be right" it looses meaning.
Not everyone is on the same level as well, so in the end it may be a good idea to work within your comfort zone. That way you will have a project that you're connected with and that you will want to work on for 2 months. In the end, take the crits with a grain of salt, because this is the internet after all.
Yeah just start a thread, and when the time comes you can upload your final images to GameArtisans... i think. :poly121:
Invoker
This character type harvests powerful magic to destroy and/or manipulate his surroundings or enemies.
but what about summoning stuff ? does that fall under invoker? and what about this "magical weapon" .. does an invoker need one? and if so, cant that summon stuff if that is the power of the chosen weapon?
It seems like Demon Lords are able to use magic, just magic that is in the same category as their inborn power... Right? So does this mean I can have my Demon Lord do anything my imagination can think of as long as it has to do with fire or lava???
I have a question regarding this "dominance war" competition:
Is there a pure 2D section of the competition? It seems that 2D entries has to accompany 3D ones--idk, the rules page is a tad confusing.
Under the "2D Guidelines", it says:
The following images and text must be submitted to complete your 3D entry
so i need a 3D entry? I have seen the rules for "dominance war III", and they had a 2d section clearly.
I'll be really grateful if someone can clear this up for me
Wow, never really saw this. I'm sure it's a big typo. I think it should be 2D entry.
Wicked-J: yeah i think you're good as long as it's anything you can think of that's fire related.
thanks so much
there's every conceivable piece of information about the dominance war except the rules??
Do we have to place the exact logo on our models or i am allowed to tweak him a bit to place him on the armour or smth?
Back to the SSS ... because I'd like to use it maybe... rules say:
Shaders: All shaders from any game engine or 3d software package on planet earth, is allowed.
So It's cool?! But it's not listed with the maps, so can we use the shader but just without a map - at least a b&w weightmap would do ?!
Sure, I'd even say they are a big plus. This is after all a game art contest and optimising your texture space is a great plus in game art...
See Imrod (Last years champ) 4 exsample. He had an excellent usage of the texture space...
---
So what's the update on sub surface scattering ?! ... I somehow seem to kill threads, noone whant's to talk to me *whine*
Do we need to bake it? Because rules say we can use any shaders, but not allowed to use a map for it ??