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meshcarver

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Posts posted by meshcarver

  1. Posted

    Kyle..!

    How's it going my good sir..?! Long time to speak- I hope you and yours are doing well mate... :)

    I hope you've both settled down at last with those new jobs- it must've been a crazy hectic time for you with all that going on man.

    Aye, I'm trying my utmost to create a new take on the Stalker aesthetic, sometimes basing ideas off their creations and other times just coming up with completely new stuff myself so it's a balancing act but I'm enjoying it.

    I'm really happy with how the Designators came out- they remind a lot of people of a lot of different things, so I don't doubt there are inspirations galore in there but I wasn't thinking of anything in particular when I came up with the idea or developed them but must have been influenced at some point. Your ref about "The Prisoner" is spot on too, I remember those huge spheres..! That place is close to where I live, and I recently visited it with my better half- a nice little spot...

    As far as atmosphere, yes, I'm trying to achieve a really otherworldly feeling to NOVA ZONA, and I hope I can successfully replicate what I'm doing in those videos with the actual terrain but some scripting will be necessary I think. The way I see it, if I can do it in the Editor, then I SHOULD be able to do it in game? Fingers crossed...

    Yes, one of the many reasons for the Designators was to inject an uncertainty into the landscape ref other players. When you see one in the distance it is almost impossible to tell if it's really someone standing there or indeed a Designator- and this keeps you on your toes at all times when approaching villages etc... I've play tested them a few times now with the amazing "move" script Das Attorney is doing for me and it is very unnerving- if you turn your back on them, they might start to approach you... then, when you look again you can't be exactly sure if its moved or not. :)

    I like the fact they are really part of the historical events too- each one is representative of an actual person who lived on Border Island, Civilian or Island Authority so each one is unique in that sense and I have plans for making that uniqueness come through in game... but that's for another time. ;)

    As for sounds, aye I love those huge mysterious noises in the sky from some Youtube videos. Very apocalyptic. I will be having lots of that stuff and some of it will have a source and some not- the sound FX will be an important element of NOVA ZONA and help to sell the atmosphere.

    Thanks for the recommendation for Neo Scavenger- I took a look at a few videos of it and it does look atmospheric, but I couldn't promise that I cold give it any meaningful game time mate- I simply don't have enough free time to devote to NOVA ZONA as it is, so when I do get an hour or three I develop it further and so haven't really played anything for so long now..! I should set aside gaming time to be honest, after all, what's the point modding if I don't play the game I'm modding..!? :(

    Alright dude, damn fine to hear from you again and thanks for the offer of help on the history- very kind.

    Take it easy Kyle and drop in once in awhile, it's always good to see you here..! :)

    Well, here's a few shots of a new building I just finished- one of FIVE basic Factory types of structure I'll be doing. Please bear in mind that the insides of all the structures should for now be considered "shells", as I will populate the insides with machinery and piping etc once they're placed in the map, so as to increase density and variation.

    Anyway, I hope you guys like it:

    FACTORY BUILDING TYPE 02 A

    FACTORY BUILDING TYPE 02 B

    FACTORY BUILDING TYPE 02 c

    I've sort of decided that I'll need to create about FIVE different types of each basic structure (House, IA Housings, Factories, Research etc...) before I can FINALLY make a start on the Terrain itself.

    It's about creating at least a basic library of object with which to flesh out the beginnings of a layout of NOVA ZONA as a map. So, this is Factory Type 02- there will initially be 4 other Types- I hope that makes sense guys...

    Anyway, I'll be doing an Industrial chimney pipe next- and that's the kind of thing that I'll be able to place up against these structures for variation again. It's like making a HUGE jigsaw puzzle basically.

  2. Posted

    Thanks man- this part really puts a smile on my face: "But now they're just subject to the same vertex limit that exists for all models, so you can make them as detailed as your top resolution LOD" :)

    I understand to make it as low poly as possible though, I get that but sometimes you have to have a fairly extensive SHADOWlod but nothing stupid aye.

    It's really good to know that there's no limit though- appreciated.

  3. Posted

    I know I'm very late to the party but you can push well beyond 1K, one of my projects pushed into 8.5K tri's and it worked without a problem, just got to make sure you close all faces and don't accidentally weld something somewhere that shouldn't be <.<

    Sorry to necro this thread, but is Nodunit referring to SHADOWlods yes? So we can have well over 8K tri's for SHADOWlods?

    Some of my structures, as they're falling apart and rotting need a bit more love in the Shadows dept so I could do with the extra tri count if possible?

  5. Posted

    Right... Damn... another whole new world of issues to bear in mind just opened up on me I think... Damn. I did not know this.

    Are there ANY other things like this please? A place where keen modders would like to find absolutely relevant info?

    The wiki is terrible, there is no contents as far as I can tell- you have to know what you're looking for in the first place is that right?

    But thanks for the heads up Lappihuan..!

  8. Posted

    Cheers for your input mate, really appreciated.

    I'm asking only to find out about saving "sections" count and texture space really. If it's possible for me to include the door textures with the building textures, and I can export them all from the same file (Possible, both doors on front of building entrance?) then this will be better than having to load in two separate doors with their textures too...

    I suppose I'm asking if I can export all together as a single placeable model with working doors in their correct place as opposed to three models with three sets of textures... sorry if my thinking is muddled on this one.

    I haven't set them up yet no, I'm waiting on a solid answer really so I can then use that method for this and future structures mate.

  11. Posted

    Cheers guys.

    So, when you say AIpathlods are are the same general area, do you mean they can be "pathless" for awhile in between where the paths are then sort of "find" a path again? Shouldn't the paths be exactly snapped to each other between models if possible?

    Would you say 25cms is enough extra for the ROADwaylods and GEOlods to stop the falling over?

    Regarding the different RVMultimats for each part, I was asking because if it (I don't know if it is) IS loading in the SAME 4 textures for each different part, then you might aswell have different looking textures as it all goes to VRAM space anyway? Do you see what I mean? I know it's more work creating the textures, but I'm just trying to find out if this is in fact what would happen...

  12. Posted

    Hey, thanks man..!

    So, it's ok if I use a single RVMultiMaterial on the main building itself (x4 1024*2048s), then use a single RVmaterial 1024*1024 on the animating doors?

    Thanks for the extra knowledge about only using _CO.paa on the far away RESlods too- that is what you meant yes?

  15. Posted

    Hi,

    I'm making a large warehouse right now, and it will have a large sliding metal door on it with a simple animation.

    The warehouse will use x4 1024*2048 textures and will be a Multimat- my question is should the textures for the doors be on one of those 4 or should the doors have their own single texture and material? What is more efficient?

    Cheers guys

  16. Posted

    Please just feel free to dismiss and chip away at this awesome project.

    Personally I'm happy to wait until you think it's perfect as I've seen the quality of what you have produced so far on your site and think we're all in for something special, Stalker was a defining game for me.

    Thinking this will deserve some quality stalker units and assets hopefully from some other talented modders out there to compliment, good time ahead :D

    Cheers dude, aye, I loved the ported Stalker Units for ARMA 2... amazing seeing them in the RV Engine. If I had the time I could easily make some HD textures to go with those as I think they're perfect design wise as they are. :)

  17. Posted

    Hey up,

    a bit of a deviation from updating the development of NOVA ZONA here guys as I'm getting a lot of (welcome) questions and guesses at release dates I thought I'd write an "automated response" so I can just copy and paste it from now on and save time:

    "Hi fellow Stalker,

    this is an automated response regarding a release date and/or the current state of NOVA ZONA development. Whilst I really really appreciate your interest in wanting to get your irradiated hands on the map, it is in fact a very long way off from being finished yet.

    I am still working on producing a library of objects/structures/models etc to populate the island with and haven't even started the actual Terrain yet..!

    Time is very hard to come by for me, and I am grabbing an hour here and there when I can but because of this it is a hugely drawn out process so please bear with me, try to enjoy the updates and any advice or suggestions are always welcome.

    Rest assured I want to put boots on the ground as much as you guys but it's taking time.

    I will let you all know as soon as I can see an end in sight- for the time being, I am hiding in a bunker in the Eastern Ward of NOVA ZONA working in the wee hours of the night to make this happen...

    Thanks very much for your interest and sorry I can't produce a release date yet,

    Marc"

    I just wanted to ask, is that sufficient do you think or does it come off as a bit dismissive at all..?

  19. Posted

    @ rzon- cheers on both counts man..!!! I showed your post to my better half before and she couldn't stop laughing..!

    I don't think she considers me a Tom Cruise lookalike but I can dream lol- the mansome beast..!!!!! ;)

    @ Das Attorney- hey man, great to hear from you before..!

    Yeah, I ran more tests yesterday in the dark with a torch and it is truly unnerving to see them surround your house where you end up cowering... One looked like it was looking in through the window and the hieght rnd is working wonders for variations..! :)

    Indebted sir...

  20. Posted · Edited by meshcarver

    Hey man, thanks for getting back..!

    Is it only a visual issue, or is it things like LOD/AI pathing or some other stuff that messes up?

    Is it limited to visual bugs now- for example, say i create a 100 meter long building, stick it in A3 from the editor and it seems to work fine for 5 hours testing- would that be ok? Or could there be an issue I dont see?

    Do you get me?

    Also, whats the situation with this "cutting up" thing? It just seems so ropey to me?

    I mean, what about AI Pathlods etc? How would they match up as I take it they just wouldnt work seamlessly?

    It seems like a thing to simply avoid, making buildings out of "parts"?

    Also, if its one building, cut into 4 parts, might each part may as well use its own unique rvmultimat, or better to use the same one? 16 textures or 4 across it all?

    Its such a rooey area and not well documented..?

  22. Posted

    Hi guys,

    sorry to necro this, but is there now any solid guide about object/LOD dimensions..?

    Can we have structures bigger than 50 meters at last or is it still as it was- confused..? I remember hearing somewhere that that 50 meter thing also applied to objects in the way that if you rotated them on their central axis and any part of it stuck outside the imaginary 50 meters limit that was also a problem?

    Any updates I've missed about this? I'm just not comfortable with having to chop up all my objects, as that means each "chopped" part will need its own set of resLODS which multiplies the workload so much..!!!

  23. Posted · Edited by meshcarver

    @ Inlesco- Cheers dude. Yeah, I might release the assets separately, but only after NOVA ZONA has had a good run all by itself as a package- otherwise I think it'd become "diluted" too quickly and would perhaps lose its appeal.

    @ Pepe Hal- Aye, it is early days mate and not much dev time is the all important factor to consider when guesstimating a release date..!

    @ TokyoIndia- Great stuff, wait until you see them creeping up behind you in the dark and rain with nothing but a torch... it is f&*^g unnerving to say the least..!

    @13isLucky- Aye mate, all in game. I see now they look like scarecrows/slendermanish/stick people which is fine by me- freaky as hell..!!! :)

    @serjames- Thanks man..!

    @Defunkt- (Lol avatar) Yeah, they're pretty scary when you get too close and it will take a long time sadly...

    @suds420- Cheers dude- it must have been a good book to wait that long..!

    @FrankHH- Yeah man, with these they present an interesting dynamic indeed. I've been testing a few quick situations with them and goddamn they're hard to handle in numbers..! Even a single one will give you a jump..!

    @Inlesco- Aye, they look like slendermen when you get them at night with a torch in a field or hidden in a bush... good luck on teaching them a lesson- they're made of metal..! ;)

    @13isLucky- Aye.. they move... they mooooooooooove..!

    @Shurka- Nice man, I am in love with the STALKER games..!

    @Kilo1-1- Glad to hear you're looking forwards to this. Aye, these Designators will be AI Entities that you'll be able to place on the map but then it's down to you to deal with them...

    @Das Attorney- Das Attorney is the man who is making this ALL happen.

    After spending only a few hours on a script for the Designators he managed to make me actually jump and shout out in my chair to my embarrassment..!!! He has a lot of great ideas for their behaviour and potential so I'm picking his brains for all its worth..!!!

    Really, it feels like an immense step to have some actual moving life given to NOVA ZONA in the form of the Designators and I can't thank you enough for your time and effort man and I incline in your general direction sir..! :)

    In a nutshell, the Designators are entities that, if you find yourself in their vicinity, you will have to TRY to keep them in your sight- turn your back on them and they could start to approach you... muwahahahahahahaaaa..! :dead:

  25. Posted · Edited by meshcarver

    Holy shit- PM sent mate, thank you..!!!

    Making them MP compatible is great if it works for SP too yes..! :)

    In regards water, I reckon it'd be good to allow them to cross thinking about it... but they'd be more freaky if they submerged instead of walking on water kind of thing.

    Also, if in MP, I think if ANY player is looking at them then they shouldn't move at all, as it'd spoil the "trick" and perhaps that is also easier for you to code..?

    Also, they should be indestructible mate.

    PS- As I said in the PM, goto bed mate..! ;)

    PPS- there's a more detailed description of what they are here fyi:

    Fyi, there are currently 10 different Designators, all will behave the same but they will be different objects/units.

    Another point, it'd be great to experiment with a figure in meters as a radius for when the chances of movement occur- so like only s chance if there's a player within 30 meters say.

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