Large S.T.A.L.K.E.R. inspired Island "NOVA ZONA"

[Kyle_K_ski 1]

Love the new factories and the towers/pipes. Whoa!

One of the things that I find most pleasing about your approach to these structures are their architectural nuances. Having some of them be as enormous as you describe, with their partially organic look, well, it just screams "creativity-through-hard-work" and "style!" What I also appreciate, is that you're adding HINTS of a bio-aesthetic. Far too many, and I seriously mean, FAR too many artists/designers who attempt such a feat just end up producing work that looks like it came right out of the film franchise "Alien," only looking like total crap, and, I guess, such designers are desperately shouting to the world "Look at me! I am SO unoriginal!"

You're the complete antithesis of that, Marc, and we're very lucky to have you working so hard on our behalf.

Now get some sleep! Have some non-virtual fun when you wake up too! :bounce3:

And I hope, HOW I hope, that those who visit this thread will leave you alone in regards to asking about when it's going to be done, or if you'll release this, or if you could just release that. I completely understand their enthusiasm, but you already live a very busy life. You deserve a break. And I bet that over a quarter of your posts are spent just politely replying to these never-ending requests. My advice, Marc, is that you alter your signature so that it's made (politely) clear, that it'll be done, when it's done. That way, all of those precious minutes are spent doing things other than repeating yourself endlessly.

Keep your sanity my friend! :)

[meshcarver 12]

Hi Kyle,

Great to see you back man..!

Aye, I'm trying to hint at an organic design with some of these structures to add to the otherworldliness, and it's quite difficult without it becomming too over blown in that regard.

I'll make sure to keep it all in check though, and I've got some really freaky buildings the Island Authority constructed planned too- again, using real life ref... It'll be awhile before you see them though because of RL stuff.

Thanks for your comments mate, glad to see you're still interested..! :)

In the meantime, Das Attorney is doing absolutely top notch work on bringing the Designators to screaming tortured life...

The guy is tireless and has bags of enthusiasm for them so I really look forwards to making a video showcasing them in their (un)natural habitat..!

It's a very enjoyable process with a LOT of back and forth, testing new ideas and so on and Das Attorney brings a lot to the table with scripting, fresh suggestions and ideas.

I have high hopes for Designators... they are the embodiment of everything that is wrong with NOVA ZONA and they have made me jump and shout out like a kid a fair few times now..! :)

[Kyle_K_ski 1]

Hi Kyle,

I have high hopes for Designators... they are the embodiment of everything that is wrong with NOVA ZONA and they have made me jump and shout out like a kid a fair few times now..! :)

I'll make sure to be wearing my adult-sized diapers when trying them out. Perhaps it'd be wise to spread a garbage bag on my computer chair as well...!

I've been experimenting some more with Zorilya's terrific Garrisoning mod. Man, it's superb, especially when you allow the units to leave the building that they're randomly assigned to. I've been in some firefights where I've been outflanked by units I saw in neighboring structures, and they've pursued me both inside and outside of the structures. I still wish that the AI was better able to do CQB, but Zorilya's work has advanced the default AI's capabilities a significant degree.

I'll keep my fingers tightly crossed that more is achieved in this regard by the time your awesome work is released. Yup!

Forgot to mention that it's probably a wise decision on your part to limit the number of doors that can open/close on your island. Currently, most of your buildings are free of any doors, but perhaps you're planning on adding them later. I'd caution about implementing too many of them, as one thing that I've discovered with using Zorilya's script, it REALLY slows down the opening and closing of doors. Sometimes I have to wait as long as 5-7 seconds for the game to execute my desired interaction!

I don't know if this delay-effect is true for all scripts, but, if so, its already to the point of being an immersion-breaker with the only script I have running in the game.

Hmm...

Edited February 26, 2015 by Kyle_K_ski

[das attorney 858]

@Kyle_K_ski

Hi, I hope MC doesn't mind me chipping in on this one but I wanted to address a couple of your concerns re: performance of the designators.

We've been working mostly on getting them running in game bug-free and doing the things MC wants them to do, but one of the chief concerns is performance. As with any scripted component, the potential to wreck performance is present, so my attention is now focused on getting them running efficiently.

We've had up to 5000 on the map at any one time (which Arma supports with little to no FPS loss), but the script we developed to simulate them pushed through the 3ms safety net of scheduled script execution. This is completely unacceptable as it would result in things like delayed attack routines and movement (sometimes by up to a minute in my tests).

Also, it could massively delay other scripts that could be in your mods/missions and there's no way we want to mess up how you guys like to play your game.

I've been rewriting the scripts this weekend to make them more efficient and also to move as much as possible out of scheduled code and into unscheduled (within reason of course). I've got to test thoroughly, but I populated Stratis with 2500 and it was running at 60FPS and no script lag. Obv, that would be madness to play in as you would be hunted and killed in a matter of minutes but the capability to do it is the most important thing to note.

MC's off the grid for a few days but I'm getting together with him soon to update them and then start thinking about MP. At any rate, they're shaping up quite nicely. It's quite tactical playing against them, like Chess meets Blair Witch Project.

Thx.

[Kyle_K_ski 1]

It's quite tactical playing against them, like Chess meets Blair Witch Project.

Sounds AWESOME!

Thanks for all of your hard work!

Now, let's hope that we can get infantry AI behavior worthy of all of the blood, sweat and tears being poured into it.

[meshcarver 12]

Guys,

I've decided to put any further development of NOVA ZONA on hold indefinitely.

I won't go into details, just to say that there are a few factors that led me to this very tough decision. I'm sure if you follow this thread then you'll be aware of my situation and the priorities behind it.

In the remote chance the situation changes, then I am open to picking it up again but for the foreseeable future it's a dead end for me.

I'm going to be spending any free time I have creating Environment Concept art and so will still be producing images and ideas for NOVA ZONA and developing the concept further.

I am not letting NOVA ZONA go as it's a massive passion of mine which represents years of work and so I'll continue to develop it as my own idea and see where it takes me...

Please feel free to check in on my blog and Artstation page if you like. I will also continue to post relevant images here for those who are interested.

I am very grateful to all the people who helped with suggestions, ideas, inspiration and just comments who've taken the time to post here, email me or spoken to me over Skype- it ALL helped keep me going and it wouldn't have got this far without you.

These past few weeks I've been working on bringing the Designators to life with Das Attorney who has been immense in creating the scripts necessary to realise what I had in my mind for them. I'm currently uploading one last video that will hopefully give you an idea of what he achieved, but I can't do it all justice as there are so many different elements to it.

A lot of their behaviour and ambiances are directly from his own suggestions and enthusiasm for NOVA ZONA, so what you'll see is the result of all his hard work alone and I'm very grateful for his time spent on this.

I'll link the video here when it's uploaded guys.

[zir 10]

Hi Mesh,

very sorry to hear that. I understand though. All the best to you. I hope that you'll return to your project eventually.

Sergej

[Kyle_K_ski 1]

Marc,

From the PM that I sent, you already know how I feel about this decision, and that I support you.

Modding is challenging work. And it gets more challenging as Real Life gets more challenging.

At some point, everyone has to decide what's more important, a virtual world, or a real one?

Hopefully, for most everyone, the answer is an easy one to come to.

You, Sir, have picked the correct answer.

Nova Zona, and your legion of fans, will always be here, ready to cheer you on. In the meantime, I cheer you on with Life. May the winds of Good Fortune be ever at your back, and godspeed for you and yours! :bounce3:

[CaptainObvious 95]

Well crap. :confused_o:

I wish you all the best in life, with whatever it may be that's giving you a hard time, take care! :bro_fist:

[meshcarver 12]

Hi guys,

I thought I'd post one last video before putting NOVA ZONA on the backburner, as the work Das Attorney has done in bringing the Designators to life is absolutely top notch and deserves to be seen.

We've worked together for a fair few weeks, and he implemented exactly what I had in my head for the Designators and more.

He created new ideas and suggestions along the way that have added a lot more layers and ambient effects to their behaviour than I can show in a single video, but hopefully you'll get the idea of how they act from this short video.

RULES OF ENGAGEMENT WHILST IN A DESIGNATOR INFESTED AREA:

All staff entering this site must be authorised

All staff should have Designator awareness training

Obey all posted signs and do not deviate from your original plan

Assume all Designators are active

Maintain minimum distance of 25 meters from each Designator

Do not at any point stop moving, make a noise or discharge your weapon

Always use a buddy system and abort in the event of any visual or aural disturbance

Never turn your back on a Designator- maintain visual contact at ALL TIMES

If my situation changes in regards being able to spend time developing NOVA ZONA again I shall let you know...

For now, thanks for your interest and all the comments I've received guys, it's all appreciated and helped keep me going.

[St. Jimmy 272]

Such a beautiful work holy hell! Good job guys, the athmosphere is amazing!

[KevsNoTrev 44]

as per my comment on video page - that is so intense, thought i was going to scream out loud. Kept trying to move the mouse to get you to look behind you.

Felt like the last good psychological thriller movie i watched without all the blatant blood and gore.

Props to Das Attorney for that script - i hope thats is a closely guarded secret just for Nova Zona (when, not if, it see's the light of day, or fog of night......whichever comes first :p)

Really consider applying for the new position for BIS that was announced today - get paid to put your stuff into the new new arma island.

[13islucky 10]

That was intense, like really intense. Great work with the effects, the objects and setting the atmosphere, both of you. It all came together really well.

It's a shame you have to put NOVA ZONA on hold, but sometimes things don't work out, and it sucks.

[Kyle_K_ski 1]

Oh man, Marc, you just made me soil myself with that video posting!

What a horrifying predicament to be in. What I love about the device's design is the following:

(1) It's vagueness - it can be easily misinterpreted to be a fencepost, a psycho stalker, a tree, a psycho stalker, a bush, a psycho stalker, some debris, a psycho stalker...

(2) The "Slender Man-ness" of it, but executed with an eye to maximize the terror even further. Having multiples of this devilish device in an uncertain environment was the smart way to go.

(3) The sound and stamina effects were brilliantly applied.

Yeah, Marc, no surprise here, I loved it.

Thanks again for sharing.

[beaar 78]

It is sad to see NZ put on hold. I wish you the best of luck with your future endeavours, and that maybe, some time in the future you'll be back. :)

[HorribleGoat 1473]

I hope you get a chance to pick up NZ again someday! That last video was golden with amazing desolate atmosphere and the gritty abandoned feel and look.

Your work is really impressive and inspirational and I too wish you good luck!

[meshcarver 12]

Hi guys,

thanks for your comments- its always nice to hear people still like NOVA ZONA.

@ St.Jimmy- Cheers dude

@ KevsnoTrev- Aye man, Das Attorney really pulled out all the stops for The Designators. He got a lot of mileage from a simple idea and kept on developing it as ideas came to him. I'm really glad you liked it, but for some reason I can't post a response to your comment on the Youtube page mate, there's no option to? I did try, just so you know..! ;)

@ 13isLucky- Thanks man, aye- I really miss working on it and am pretty damn pissed I just can't afford to spend more time on it that would be worthwhile at the very least.

@ Kyle_K_ski- Dude..! :)

Glad you liked it mate. Aye, I tried to make them very spindly and angular looking whilst keeping them thin, sort of just like cut metal- pretty unwelcoming designs to approach. When you walk right up to one, it can feel quite intimidating. The babies are the worst imo- I was testing them out in a village just as the sun was going down and all's I could hear was the crying and screaming of babies and little children..! I didn't see any, I turned tail and ran out as it's just such a horrible sound when it's in that context.

Anyway man, hope all's well with you and yours- take it easy Kyle.

@ Beaar- Yeah man, hopefully at some point but I don't hold out much hope for it.

@ HorribleGoat- Thanks man. As I say though- it's nearly impossible for me to devote any meaningful time to this sadly.

For those who are interested, or just like the Stalker aesthetic, I've done another concept piece, this time of the effects of one of the many Anomalies you can find on NOVA ZONA.

First off- this is an attempt to try to copy as closely as possible the composition, lighting and atmosphere of John Sweeneys piece he did for his Digital Illustration Theory and Process 1 tutorial, which you can find on his excellent Gumroad page.

I like his clear explanations of presenting his methods and also love the finished piece, so I decided to try to mimic almost every step of the process, even creating and rendering out the lit basic geometry at the beginning even though it wasn't really needed in this case.

Being a fan of Stalker I thought it'd suit a NOVA ZONA themed pass so tried to change the surface materials and foliage etc to better fit that world whilst trying to stick to his placement of objects etc.

I have tried to put my own "spin" or "twist" on it if you like... ;)

This unfortunate Stalker has triggered a Sticky Twist Anomaly, which hoists sentient beings up in the air, then proceeds to rapidly spin and twist them until they get so strung out they simply turn to vapour.

NOVA ZONA "STICKY TWIST" ANOMALY

[Kyle_K_ski 1]

Doesn't look like he felt a thing.

;)

Thanks for sharing Marc!

[ewaldt 13]

Hi, I'm very impressed about your work and art direction about this mod.

Very very nice work.

I found your post when searching informations and tutorials about structures texturing (multi) for the mod i work.

I will follow you now. i don't read the whole thread but i will.

Good luck this passion eat lot of time.

Ewaldt alias [iNDO]Pirat3n