BA5 - WW1 Trench Scene - Entry 8

As it stands, I have a collection of seperate objects, that I have made in Maya. I have not textured all of them, and only applied the additional spec and normal maps to one object. I also have no environment to place them all in.

All my objects imported into one scene, scaled to their correct size

Throughout this project, I have made;
-A 'Bell Tent'
-A generic wooden crate
-A sheet of corrugated iron
-A bucket
-A low-poly 'Mill's Bomb'
-A tin plate
-A 'Jam tin bomb'
-A British SMLE rifle, No.1 Mk3
-An old cart wheel
-A ration bottle of rum
-A section of duckboard
-A petrol can
-A flagpole
-A crate, holding two rum bottles
-A British 'Brodie' helmet

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I was at first, going to construct a model trench, then I changed this to a more open Farmhouse courtyard. Now a have little time left, and have no actual scene in which to set my props. I and wondering if it would be acceptable to import all of my object into UDK as they are, with no 'background'. such as grass, trees, shell craters etc.

BA5 - WW1 Trench Scene - Entry 7

I have tried importing a few of my objects into UDK recently, with mixed results. Firstly, I imported my standard wooden crate model. I got the static mesh in first, then learned how to import it's diffuse, specular and normal maps. I connected all the different maps to a single material, then applied this material to the object. I was very happy to finally see my model working in a game engine. For my first time round, its had been a very lengthy, sometimes frustrating process; bringing an idea all the way from paper, to game engine. My delight at successfully importing an object into UDK, was offset by the fact that any object I had imported, had to be drastically scaled up within the engine. For example, when I dragged my crate onto the map in UDK, it was miniscule, and barely visible.

These screen shots show the model without it specular and normal maps.

I then generated a collision mesh for my crate, using the tools available in UDK. This would stop a player from simply traveling straight through my crate. As the crate is essentially rectangular in shape, it was easy for UDK to create a collision mesh for it. I later found out that you can also create collision meshes in Maya, following the fundamental geometry of an object to make an overlaying, invisible collision mesh.

I went on to import a 'Bell Tent' into UDK. I had not textured it, but I tried it anyway, as it was a far more complex object than  my crate. It was my intention that in my demo, the player would be able to go inside the tent and move around inside it. I may have also placed other object I had made inside the tent.

A snapshot of the tent in Maya

The tent in UDK, with several missing sections

Only a small part of the tent peg shows up here

When you look inside, the interior faces disappear

BA5 - WW1 Trench Scene Entry 6

Since my last post, I have hit a snag. There is a tool in Maya called Boolean, presumably named after the Victorian mathematician, George Boole. I have found this tool very handy in creating models. Unfortunately, I was recently informed that this tool is unsuitable for creating models for games. This news renders all my 3D work thus far, broken and effectively, unusable.

This is a major setback for my project. So I have had to remake all of my models, without using the Boolean tool. Needless to say, I have found this very frustrating. On the other hand, my time spent making those obsolete models was not entirely wasted. I think it depends on how you look at the situation. I think any practise on modelling objects in Maya is time well spent. I can still say that I learned to model at a faster rate, and more efficiently .So, all in all, not a total waste.

I have also doubted the suitability of my scene as a whole. I wanted to create a stretch of trench line, which I could import into either UDK or CryEngine3. This would allow a player to walk around my trench and see it from a first-person viewpoint.  This considered, would not be reflective of my game, ‘Beast’s of Battle’, which is a third-person action game, experienced from the perspective of a WW1 warhorse. It would be impractical in game terms to see a warhorse charging down a very narrow trench. So I have decided to rethink the environment I wish to make.  Previously, I wanted to construct a trench, with various ‘everyday’ detritus scattered about the scene. I may have added an officer’s dugout, for example, and maybe a Vickers machine gun that the player could man and fire. This would have been all well and good, but not really true to the nature of my game. As you would never get to walk around and experience things from a man’s point of view, or entered the dugout, or fired the machine gun. Although, on the other hand, maybe for the limits of this project, I would be allowed this freedom.

Nevertheless, I have gone on to sketch up a rough idea of a more open environment, still set within the First World War setting. I thought about making a ‘start point’ of a level. Set in the courtyard of an abandoned French Farmhouse, with army tents, crates, barrels and a commandeered stable, for the cavalry.

Here is a very basic model of my new idea, made up in Maya;

I don't intend to further sculpt detail onto this model, I am just using it here to give an impression of it.

BA5 - WW1 Trench Scene - Entry 5

After looking extensively at British trenches during the first world war, I have sketched up a piece of concept art from which I can build my model. I must say that I have been constructing models all through this process, in the knowledge that they could be used in any First World War environment.

An initial sketch

Bird's eye view of the Trench

A more 'first-person' view

After I drew up these ideas, I imported them into photoshop and coloured them, making them clearer and more precise, so they could be read easier.

A cleaner version of the bird-eye viewpoint

BA5 - WW1 Trench Scene - Entry 4

I want to set my scene in a typical British trench during the First World War, drawn straight out of my game; 'Beast's of Battle'. The model that I will build will not contain anything too specific relating to the storyline of the game. Rather, the model will be one that could happily fit into most of the missions throughout the game.

Previous to this project, I have seen many movies and television programs showing what life was like for British soldiers in the trenches, during WW1. However, I know that to create a professional, game-ready model based on that viewpoint, would be folly. Although it wouldn't be entirely useless. I have found this interesting and informative diagram on how trenches were structured during the First World War.

I found out that trenches were often built in a 'zig-zag' pattern, as opposed to being in one straight line.
This was done so because of the theory that a direct hit from a shell would do less damage to a trench that had corners. Or so that the force of the blast was dissipated as it would be forced to travel around these corners. Generally though, trenches were propped up with man-made defences; corrugated iron, wooden planks, wooden weave, sandbags etc. There was a raised firing step, from which soldiers would defend their positions.

A modern recreation of a firing step

Wooden duckboards would be placed along the 'floor' of the trench, as water and mud would make the ground sodden and almost impossible to walk on.

Soldiers would sometimes dig small holes out of the side of the trench, so as too sleep in some form of shelter. Officers would get more elaborate and comfortable surroundings with a 'dugout'. Bunkbeds, a hot stove, furniture could be of some comfort to these men.

Officers 'Dugout'

BA5 Contextual Studies - DLC presentation slideshow

It must be said that the internet as a whole, has had a immense impact on the games industry since is inception.

'DLC' can be 'add-on' content for an existing game.

For example, Call of Duty: Black Ops had multiple DLC releases through 2011.

If one person buys all this DLC, it can add up to a lot.....

Not to mention all the promotional items released surrounding the game.

After this year long run of DLC, it's time for the next game.

And then the process repeats itself....

Sadly, it once again, comes down to this...

I think that downloadable content is just another way to make money off of people. I feel that it is exploitative and greedy, but hey, thats just might be me.