3D Game Studio and Terrains

[DeathTwister]

Ok a while back I asked if anyone was working with Game Studio as I was curious as to who to get terrains in and get textures on them when I had just downloaded the the new engine.

Hahaha well I read a few Tutorials and guys? You would not believe how easy it is, it blew my mind how much easier and sweet it all went in Textures and all for Large terrain Development, awesome guys. Took all of 5 Minutes after I knew and not one pain in the ass factor like Torques Atlas Engine, none of that at all, I swear an artists wet dream /smiles.........
Here is a screen of the modeling editor that you make them in with a terrain I did in it and as I said took all of 5 minutes or less to import, slick as snot.
http://www.theatomizer.com/Downloads/TerrainDL2.jpg

As you can see a very together Editor for us artists and techies to work in. And that is just the modeling editor, there is also a very cool World editor, that everything goes into and you then build a map to test before you make it so, very very well done, and so far very little pain in arse factor like I have had to deal wit5h with TGE and TGEA.

One thing that tripped me out though and took ma bit to understand was they only use for terrains .BMP's and .Raw files only. In fact no .jpg's at all and that befuddled me until I realized that when using .jpg's the engine has to all the time uncompress and re-compress the .jpg all the time and actually slows it down, but a .BMP while a larger file has 2 advantages, one of course is good quality of texture all the time, but also if you use the right size on the model or terrain, you can control the level of detail somewhat that way depending on how you use your sizing like using a 256X256 instead on a 2048 when you do not need it or to make sure close up are good then use a higher size for that and so on..

OK I will update again after I get some atmo and sky and do a level test and show you how it all looks the next stage up.

If it looks interest5inmg all you can go to http://3dgamestudio.com as they have a free demo you can test for 30 days. We went and bought the full package with a 3 user license as we are done with GG and the TGE and TGEA engine we have found much much better and cheaper /smiles.... over all for the full package that is. 1800.00 as apposed to "20,000.00 Per Seat" for the full GG profesional license, as it was not the 800 like they state on the re website.

DT

[demi]

For a straighout best program to handle LARGE terrains and I mean LARGE is multiverse engine. Holy cow man I put a 2 giga pixel trerrain in it in under 5 minutes. I takes L3DT images and just plugs them in.

[DeathTwister]

Morning Demi,

Wow cool, I have not had time to get back to terrains and 3dgs7.5 till I finish one more thing, then diving back in. Money people said they needed other stuff done first, Derrr....

OK would you either put a quick tut together for us? or a link to where you figured this all out? It is pretty simple I thought but we have had trouble getting the terrain to be the right size and had texture issues so if you could help some? Wow Fantastic Mate.

Funny as if all goes well I am back on terrains next 48 hours or so. We do have a level up on the servers we are testing now with just the town LeGalleria so far, and other then bad lag atm, were doing good, just tweaking the engine now while I get the rest of the under pinnings together like the terrain now. So screens soon /smiles......

Please lend a hand on the terain part? how you do it that made it so simple? must have found a different tut.

DT

[demi]

Hi deathtwister,

I don't have a lot of time this morning but the link to using L3DT is here.

http://update.multiverse.net/wiki/index ... ut_Terrain

Basicly make a mosaic export with PNG extension and import it into the database. NOTE: The terrain MUST be 10 meter resuloution.

I been out of the whole thing for over a year due not having time to work on the game but I am making time now to try to get it finished.

[demi]

OK I have a little more time this afternoon to give some input.


What started nine years ago as an idea is still just an idea but technology is now advanced to make this idea a reality. Over those nine years I have been trying to come up with a game engine model that would be more in line with what I want. I still have 5 or 6 engines on some CDs but I don't see them as a good option for a MMO based game due to the limitations of how the engine is designed.

3DGamestudio, TGEA, TGE and many of the engines out there are based on the Quake engine, which is a FPS style engine. I find that those engines are not capable of handling MASSIVE terrains and thousands of polygons effectively so there are lots of zones to compensate.

In a game like a MMO I want the world to be MASSIVE and not limited except to the size of a planet. I want the player to be able to travel around the planet if they so choose and not be limited to x0,y0 - xMAX, yMAX. In other words I want the engine to depict the real world physics of being round. In this model the world does not spin on an axis but a outer Sphere can spin creating a day/night cycle. This outer sphere can hold the data for weather systems so the planet now has a realistic look and feel.

Crystal Space engine had the capability of creating such a model but the lack of DirectX and compatibility with Vista really messed me up so I shelved the idea and went searching for another game engine. I found out about Multiverse from a post made in TGEA developers forum and took a look at it. Some of my screens in my profile are Multiverse by the way. However again Multiverse was not very friendly under Vista so I shit canned the whole project until something was compatible with Vista.

The current nearest engine that exists to this model is Multiverse. The latest release shows lots of promise for what I am trying to do.

Multiverse is a free MMO engine available at http://www.multiverse.net/index.html

Now I am starting a online novel of Whren, A high fanasty of earth set fifty thousands years in the future, where genetic altered men and morphed beast races align and clash in a medieval style war. Devastation from nuclear holocaust has left the earth altered. Technology was lost but thousands of artifacts of the past exists. Adventurers seek these artifacts to gain knowledge and power. As these Artifacts are discovered it opens the avenue to make these items.

Whren is not a FPS shoot em up game but a rich faction and lore based game with multiple outcomes based on player interactions to the world. I will not give more details at this time but this is a work of over 9 years. I have many notes scattered around 4 hard drives and dozen or so notebooks. I think is time to put it in one work.

Whren will be available online mid 2009 and will start the next phase.

[DeathTwister]

Hay Demi morning bro,

3DGamestudio, TGEA, TGE and many of the engines out there are based on the Quake engine, which is a FPS style engine. I find that those engines are not capable of handling MASSIVE terrains and thousands of polygons effectively so there are lots of zones to compensate.

Ya I know the 256 BPS limit drives me up a wall and I had no ideas there were other solutions to this, cool I will check that engine out. How is it priced by the way? steep or reasonable for us indies? Sounds cool and will delve into it more so thanks for the FYI dude.

Crystal Space engine had the capability of creating such a model but the lack of DirectX and compatibility with Vista really messed me up so I shelved the idea and went searching for another game engine. I found out about Multiverse from a post made in TGEA developers forum and took a look at it. Some of my screens in my profile are Multiverse by the way. However again Multiverse was not very friendly under Vista so I shit canned the whole project until something was compatible with Vista.

Wow to bad and I had not looked at that engine so much, but since Vista is a pain no matter what I think. I will take the hint and not go there ROTFL.

Woo Hoo & grats on your work bro, hope it all comes together and Oh hell ya I come check it out.

OK but where did you get the info for 3DGS for importing terraions into9 the engine so easy? I can get one to come in easy, but not the way I want it to, it is so small and not at all SGA survey data info, or sure did not translate it well to me anyway.
So what iz me doing wrong? All the Tutorials are pretty useless with the A7 version and we just bought that one and never worked with A6, which looks like a good thing after I been reading all the posts and the trouble people are having converting files over.

Also how did you get around the issue of the textures seemed to stretch out of the way it should look with making the terrain bigger. But I will run through that Tut you posted and see what I can come up with myself and get back to you bro. Still dealing with Sky box issues before I move on.

OK back to this post a bit later I hope, thanks again for the info bro.
DT

[demi]

Hi Deathtwister,

OK but where did you get the info for 3DGS for importing terraions into9 the engine so easy? I can get one to come in easy, but not the way I want it to, it is so small and not at all SGA survey data info, or sure did not translate it well to me anyway.

I think you may have misunderstood what I posted Deathtwister.

I Never did get decent terrains to work for 3DGS and back in 1999 there was no tuturial on doing it. 3DGS required terrain data to be a number betweent 0 and 255 so most terrains were rather ugly and also you were limited to small blocks of 256 x 256. The engine is designed more for level design such as dungeons than outdoor areas. There is was no tile manager to handle large terrains. TGE had the same limits.

If you want a decent looking high detailed terrain in 3DGS you will have to make models of it, like make a mountain, make river, make a grass area and so on, skin each part and load eash part to combine them as a terrain.

EDIT: Oh you can use 3D Studiomax to make the models from terrain data I think so check the tuts for 3d Studiomax.

[DeathTwister]

Hay bro,

Oh I C, well I have gotten some nice terrains in almost to 3DGS, but the texturing changes and a few other things besides when it imports in it is not the right math, I know in A7 it is doable now or so they say, but was hoping someone had the tweak lol. So K as the link you tossed at me is way awesome bro and we getting into that whole multiverse thing now, WOW COOL stuff thanks for the FYI. My programming partner is going nuts as it has speed tree and so many other cool goodies in there that he wants to jump ship today ROTFL. HAha you started something /giggles.

OK I get back to yaz all need to go play with all this new stuff and see what I can do. Thanks for the links and I love the way they have it set up by the way for paying them, makes scence and they do all the PR, very well thought out.

DT

[DeathTwister]

Hay Demi,

Sorry for not getting back, but allot has happened since my last post. I just wanted Aaron to know that I love you dude for getting into Multiverse some to get Terrains into that engine and I wanted to thank Demi very much for pointing us at the Multiverse engine as now ATOMIX has finally found a decent engine to work with, wow are they together and a top flight operation as well.

After going through 3DGS and before that TGE and TGEA, it was such a breath of fresh air to find a really good app, set up, pipeline and features that work, even with new builds.

And they are new so plenty of room to get in on the ground floor guys for those like us frustrated with goofy engines and Goofier people that we have to deal with.

Example: Aaron is a breath of fresh air and I love working with him and all you guys. But not many companies are like Aron, very very rare, so Aaron is kinda a hero to me in some ways, ROTFL.

So all in all so far I am very happy. Now having said that I have uploaded the newest version Aaron's got and with all the new features I have now to play with, I have to rethink what I did wrong trying to get a terrain into Multiverse. It has to do with the power of 2, and I think it is me, not L3DT or there World editor, so I have to check facts, then if needed or in any way will post some updates I hope soon.

It took Shon my Programmer a bit to get the servers and everything set up for me to start to work, so I just got the server to me now and everything should be set up to get to work.

Oh a FYI if anyone has trouble: You will find that not all the assets in the sample world assets are not all there like they should be. The rest of the files are in the Server pack that needs to get installed to have it all run right, for those that may be having trouble, that should get you going. If you need more help then that, I will shoot ya over to the forum posts we have done there, or shoot you Shon's email to ya so you can talk directly.

But he is busy so I didn't want to bug him unless I have to, he has a huge 2 DO list I have given him and I need him on the ball ROTFL, I love having programmers in me pocket ROTFL, such fun /winks.

OK a simple update from me in a day or 2. Need to check around here and figure what else I have been missing as Aaron has been busy since I lived here last ROTFL.

Going to release a 2009 Dragon Calender on Redbubble.com (User name: Maylock) here next week or so, so if you like dragons, maybe this calender is for you lolol. No L3DT terrains in it though, I am ashamed of myself, but that is the way it is. I am also going to release a Google theme of dragons, 24 of those over 24 hours each day, with the new I google that came out.

OK back soon,,,,hahahahah

DeathTwister aka Maylock

[DeathTwister]

OH and FYI, Multiverse will be all L3DT files Aaron /smiles....

[sadsack]

Hi guys,
Hey, I been trying to get a landscape into 3D Game Stuido for days now.
How are you doing it?
Thank You
renny

[DeathTwister]

Well for our needs at ATOMIX it didn't work out so well either so far. And there networks is so bad to be embarrassing, but they are working on stuff, and have started some special talks in the Monthly 3dgs Magazine that they say will start to address some of our issues with networking and I hope the terrain issues, but as yet I have not seen anything that can help.

I can get them in, but not the way I want so far, so I have gone over and switched to Multiverse for now until either 3DGS or TGEA get it really together, then maybe I think bout coming back, but right now I am working at getting my first terrain in to Multiverse, which I just got the docs for that they never posted before until I did a post yesterday, I should be doing good and will post here next week or so all my findings for you guys and how/where to get it all done as I figure it out and get help myself. /smiles....

Have you posted on 3DGS yet with your troubles? if so give me a link so I can go check out what you are doing and maybe share with what I do know after I see what ya got if I can help you OK? More then happy to help if I can.

HAha right now I am getting ready to rebuild my Septic Tank and put a new one in, so I kinda have my hands full ATM ROTFL, as I am trying to tripple dev and do real life building work all at the same time, hard trick to pull off right now, but getting there.

DT

[Aaron]

I am getting ready to rebuild my Septic Tank [...] so I kinda have my hands full ATM.

Thanks for the mental image.

[DeathTwister]

HAha Sorry boss, but that is the only reason I ain't on this 24-7 ATM. Got some great docs for Multiverse though, so at least getting some info I need.

KK Back soon.
DT

[sadsack]

There not much going on over at the 3DGS forum that deal with landscape. I will let you know if anything come up.
renny