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Squish - 3rd Person Shooter

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S2Engine polycounter lvl 10
Hey all, first real post here on Polycount so bear with me. Been working over the past few months in spare time on a little game project that I hope to dedicate some real time to now. Seeing some win-spiring artwork in a similar vein by Minotaur0 and Adam & Virtuosic has reinvigorated my passion for the project. Fairly simple game design; it's a top-down arcade style shooter inspired by Crusader: No Remorse to SyaPed's Junkers. As an artist, I've primarily focused myself on working out a visual direction. I'm trying to come up with something distinct and interesting, and am hoping the community here can help me out with that.

Thus far I've been working with a coder friend in Unity, and we've been developing a custom shader to try to achieve a "watercolor" look, heavily influenced by Valkyria Chronicles. Here's an early test with some first assets.

squish_shadertest_v002_6.jpg
squish_shadertest_v002_4.jpg
Sorry about the aliasing. If anyone knows how to cut that down I'd be delighted to hear.

In the past few days I've been playing with the idea of changing the texturing style; up til now I've been trying out highpoly > modular ala Philip K (massive props and thanks by the way). While I like the results I'm getting, I was toying with going more of an Auto Modellista-inspired route, with simplified shading and emphasis on bold color. Eager to hear thoughts!

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  • Ninjas
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    Ninjas polycounter lvl 18
    I dig it. Looks cool-- the main thing is to focus and finish the game!
  • S2Engine
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    S2Engine polycounter lvl 10
    natarajascre.jpg
    natarajahyh.jpg
    natarajasis.jpg

    Mmm thread necromancy. Due to time constraints and other similarly limiting issues, I am currently working on this strictly as an environment for my portfolio. Hopefully in the near future I can return to game development, but for the time being I think art needs to take precedence. I'd like to think I'm about to wrap it up, but I would really love to hear any critiques and/or suggestions for polish. Unity is an awesome platform for web deployment, so to that end, the environment can actually be interactively explored here:

    http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1103399/Nataraja_WebPlayer.html

    You'll need to install the Unity Web Player, and the environment itself is about 10 megs so it may take a minute to load, but the process is relatively painless.
  • BradleyWascher
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    BradleyWascher polycounter lvl 13
    I have to say i tried out your scene and i actually enjoyed it a lot. The size of the environment from a level design stand point was nice, a little small in some areas ( ceiling is a tiny bit low) but not bad really. I think your props are all working together very well, the leaves/planets are the only thing that seem a little weird, there just really big in size leaf wise. I think you could push your spec a little more to define the materials a little more but that may be just a limit of unity, Ive never working in that engine. Nice job Keep of the good work i want to see more from this environment.
  • Sean VanGorder
    I like it. It has a Mirror's Edge/Brink type of feel to it.
  • HughieDM
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    HughieDM polycounter lvl 7
    I actually think the leaf size is fine there just flat now shape geo wise. The thing that bothers me is the mip mapping and the windows in the ceiling the refract way to much. The windows look like water its a little strange other then that I like the scene alot. good work
    Keep it up
    Hugh
  • S2Engine
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    S2Engine polycounter lvl 10
    Hey thanks a lot to everyone checking it out so far. I've been working on it pretty nonstop for awhile now and though I show it to friends to get general feedback, it's great to get really pointed direction about what's working and what's not.

    Ninjas - Sorry for the delayed reply, thanks for taking a look way back when. You are right about focusing and finishing, and that's what I aim to do (at least in terms of art for now).

    BradleyWascher - About the ceiling, do you mean on the second floor or just all around? The second floor is only 3 units high whereas the first is 4, but that's an easy fix since I have a 1 unit filler piece for the walls. If overall the height needs fixing, I may have to look into a broader change. I also sometimes feel like it might be the output resolution which makes it feel squished (pun fully intended); depending on which monitor I'm using sometimes it feels a little vertically challenged. I'll play with that more. And I agree about the leaves for the most part, that's an unfortunate byproduct of scaling them up too much for coverage. I think I should instead play with leaf placement to make sure it looks "full" from all angles without needing to scale. As for the spec push, again you're very right. Part of that I think comes from not knowing Beast lightmapping well enough, as it tends to wash a lot of things out, but I can still see spec working on certain objects so I may just need to go in and do some fine tuning on the spec/gloss multipliers and maps.

    Sean_EG - Thanks! Mirror's Edge had a huge impact on me, I think because it represents a lot of what I naturally gravitate toward in terms of design and aesthetics. I reference that game for style all the time, in my 3D art down to how I decorate my apartment :P What I've seen of Brink looks amazing thus far, very excited to see where that goes as well.

    HughieDM - Definitely agreed about the leaves being too flat as well. That's actually something a friend pointed out to me, but for whatever reason I completely forgot. Fixin' time. As for mip mapping, YES I completely agree. That's honestly been one of my least favorite things about the environment to date, and I have no idea how to fix it. I'm hoping it's something I can control in-engine, and I may need to ask around the Unity forums to see if anyone has any suggestions. Also agreed about the windows, I think it's bothered me subconsciously but I couldn't put words to it. Added to the to-do list.
  • HughieDM
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    HughieDM polycounter lvl 7
    In unity you can control the mip mapping under the texture it self in game you may want to tweak the mip mapping for frame rate, but for portfolio just turn it off and see how it looks. Only problem I have found with turning it of is sometime farther away it looks too sharp, but test it out and see what you think.
    gl
    Hugh
  • ajr2764
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    ajr2764 polycounter lvl 10
    Hi SF2Engine.

    You have a very nice environment, really dig the color scheme and overall clean nature of it. I havent had a chance to view it through the web player yet but will later. Whats the deal with the edges of the windows? Is the elevator sign suppose to be holographic, cant quite make out what its suppose to be, it appears to just be floating text?
  • S2Engine
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    S2Engine polycounter lvl 10
    natarajadpd.jpg
    natarajasls.jpg

    Turned off mipmapping, thanks HughieDM, it definitely helped sharpen everything up. But like you said it might now be a bit too sharp everywhere. Would adding a subtle Depth of Field to the game camera help? I might see where that gets me.

    ajr2764 - Thanks, glad you dig. About the edges of the windows, where do you mean? I have a couple window meshes, I'm just not clear where it is you're seeing issues? As for the elevator sign, yes it is supposed to be holographic. I know how I'd go about getting that look in UDK but it's been a challenge for me working in Unity with a slightly different setup. I'll try to get a better shader/material going for it though, as you're right it doesn't read too great.

    edit: About the window edges, I'm guessing you mean the ceiling windows, and how they seem to have ridges in the screenshots? That's the refraction that people were saying was coming out weird, and that does need some fixing.
  • vofff
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    vofff polycounter lvl 10
    hey man I tried your dropbox link, it doesnt work.
    Oops! (404)
    We can't find the page you're looking for. Check out our FAQ or forums for help. Or maybe you should try heading home.
  • Drakon
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    Drakon polycounter lvl 6
    Hey, liking your design, real fresh and clean :)
    But the leaves dont seem so fresh and clean as everything else, more old and withered, not sure if its been mentioned but have you considered increasing the saturation on them or even turning them green? I think that would go along better with the overall design :)
  • S2Engine
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    S2Engine polycounter lvl 10
    natarajascre.png
    natarajacxc.png

    Adjusted height of second floor, as recommended by BradleyWascher, as well as re-modeled most of the plants to have more defined shape, suggested by HughieDM. Also added a new wall texture to keep it from getting too repetitive in parts, and I think it added a nice touch of color. Speaking of color, made a number of tonal changes globally, but most pronounced I think is increasing saturation of the leaves, big thanks to Drakon for that. I think that helped a lot, bringing it more in line with the rest of the scene and making them feel "alive", rather than withered. I tried green but I think I prefer the contrast of the pink more.

    @vofff - That's really odd that you're getting a 404, I never changed the file so it should work. Anyway, here's the link once more, try it again mayhaps? http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1103399/Nataraja_WebPlayer.html

    Uploaded the latest version of the environ to the Dropbox at the link given above, give it a whirl if you've got a minute.

    TO DO:
    -Go through and really dial in on the specular for each material
    -Find some good reference of window glass and nail that look
    -Get the would-be holographic signage to look like holographic signage, rather than simply floating text
  • Andrew Mackie
    I really like this scene a lot. The color choices are great. They remind me of the Arc from the game Brink that is coming out next year. The particles inside the plant chambers are great looking as well.
    I am definitely going to be looking through that tutorial you posted from philipk.net.
    I'll be awaiting your next post eagerly :D
  • S2Engine
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    S2Engine polycounter lvl 10
    natarajasls.png

    Smaller update today, contract work's been keeping me busy. Managed to squeeze in a bit of time to start working on materials, beginning with the floor. I'm trying to add some "realistic" surface texture without over-doing it and ruining the cleaner aesthetic. I'll be relying on good critique from here to keep it balanced. I also spent some time considering a number of larger changes I'd like to make to hopefully progress this piece more, and will be working on that over the next few days.

    For starters, I've decided that the signage needs a design rethink, and I like the idea of going with solid physical signs rather than holographics primarily. In particular, I'm hoping to go a more graphic route, along the lines of infographics, to add some personality to the environ. Stuff like so:

    signage005sm.jpg
    portaltestsi.jpg

    although obviously more appropriate for the tone of the environment.
  • StefanH
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    StefanH polycounter lvl 12
    really nice. I was impressed your the interactive demo.

    visually everything is really nicely balanced. The only thing i feel is missing is a little bit of visual interest. Hard to explain but i think the signage might help.

    keep it up. its really nice
  • S2Engine
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    S2Engine polycounter lvl 10
    Thanks StefanH, and yes I very much agree with what you're saying. I've got a few things in mind that I can hopefully execute on within the week to fix that problem. I'm shooting to start getting some of that working by Tuesday.
  • Kewop Decam
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    Kewop Decam polycounter lvl 9
  • Andrew Mackie
    I got some sign ref for you:
    allgoodgirlsgather.png
    5010579767_8c128a169b_z.jpg


    Here is a link to someones Flickr that has screengrabs of a building complex in Halo Reach. I think it has the same type of feel you're going for. Maybe some good ref for you in there?
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/commorancy/5011183164/sizes/l/in/photostream/

    Hopefully this all helps in someway or another :D

    I really like the floor that you're building, the grout in between the tiles looks really nice and I can't see any tiling at all.
  • S2Engine
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    S2Engine polycounter lvl 10
    Contract work has been kicking my butt the past couple of days, so it's been tough to get in as much time as I would've liked, but I've gotten a little in here and there. First off, thanks so much Andrew, the Halo Reach stuff in particular was really influential! Unfortunately I'm starting in on some pretty heavy stuff for the next couple days so I won't be able to touch this until the weekend most likely, but the updates will continue as soon as I'm able! Anyway, enough talk, here're some preview images of progress.

    natarajazcz.jpg
    natarajactc.jpg

    edit: Also, uploading the latest version of the interactive walkthrough to my Dropbox now, so it should be playable in a short bit. There are some weird lighting issues in certain spots - made some tweaks and broke some things, so that's going to be fixed.
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