UDK - Sockets rock!

Well with my previous obstacle defeated I moved forwards into playing around with what can be achieved with a skeletal mesh. One thing that piqued my interest was sockets and how they could be used to attach objects, particle emitters and more to a mesh.
(Perfect for adding the important details to space-ships)

Granted the effect below is from the Cicada that is bundled within UDK, I do plan to create my own particle emmiters and effects.
This is just further experimentation with the engine so I get more comfortable using it.

UDK - Problem solving...

No less that 2 minutes after writing that huge blog post I figuired out the collision issue I was facing. It was silly that I missed it really and here for anyone else's benefit in discovering this is how you link your physics asset to your skeletal mesh >.<'

Simply double-click on your skeletal mesh actor within UDK and scroll-down to collision and right there is the place to assign the physics asset file.

 

Now to press forwards in getting some effects working so I can be certain I have a good understanding of them and hopefully by the end of today or at latest the weekend, the general logistics for a working vehicle class (that can be applied to any space-ship within the game) should be complete. Then I can start production on furthering my game concept and some high-quality 3D models.

UDK - Building the framework...

So this week I have been looking at developing some of the framework that will exist within my game. This means I have been looking at the various methods within UDK to actually get a spaceship model working as a playable vehicle with fully functioning movement and weapons. It is actually a considerable amount more difficult than one would expect. But I am slowly making progress...

Here you can see a very simple Frigate-style ship which I will be using just to iron out the methods for which to get other space-ships working within UDK. According to several tutorials this requires creating a skeletal mesh for my playable vehicle. Now the main difference between a skeletal mesh and a static mesh is the inclusion of bones from which animations, and much more, can be applied and carried over from Maya/3DSMax into UDK.

Above you can see the Main bone which is necessary for the skeletal mash to be interactable within UDK. With a more complex model I can have bones (and animations) for the turrets and hangar-doors that would populate a final model. Since the objective of this test is to just get a ship working they will be covered in later posts.

Using the ActorX plugin and the command 'axmain' I exported the mesh (applied to the bones as a skin) and then imported into UDK as a .PSK file.



Now the initial issue I faced was that my ships polygonal normals were facing the wrong way, so the ship appeared see-through when being rendered in the content-browser and also in-game, this was easily corrected by jumping back over to Maya and reversing them to face outwards correctly.

Once this was done I began experimenting with PHAT, which is UDK's Physics handler for skeletal-based meshes as once I had placed it within the game world it was non-interactable.
I came to discover that according to various guides, a skeletal mesh requires both a physics set and animation set to also be created for it.


Now the main issue which I have not been able to correct just yet is collision inside of the game world. For the ship to be interactable with the game world and the player it needs to be collidable.

One potential solution that I am having problems getting to work is to use 'Per Poly Collision Bones' however while it appears that collision is being generated it does not seem to be applied as the player model can still pass-through. I am confident this problem can be overcome though.


Further down the line once I have the main issue I am facing sorted out I plan to utilise sockets within the Anim editor so I can apply all the effects necessary for weapons, engines and much more such as camera view etc. Also using Morphs on the mesh itself I can have different ship models that reflect whether it is in fact heavily damaged or fresh out the shipyard.


I have found a number of tutorials that deal with skeletal meshes and the various properties that go with them however I have not found a solution my problem yet so perhaps I am approaching this from the wrong direction.

More on this soon!

Research - National Space Centre and more...

I am planning a research adventure to the National Space Centre. I believe that a great deal of useful information can be gathered here that will greatly aid the design process further into pre-production.











Nation Space Centre in Leicester: http://www.spacecentre.co.uk

  "The National Space Centre is an all weather attraction for all the family. Situated in the heart of the Midlands, located just two miles from Leicester city centre,
the centre provides easy access from the M1 and M69.

On site facilities include over 400 parking spaces, gift shop, restaurant, locker hire and all the other standard facilities you would expect from a top visitor attraction."

There is a great wealth of information available on the NASA website:
"http://www.nasa.gov/"

 The BBC have an excellent resource online for learning about the universe, located at: "http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/space/universe/"

Another potentially great resource is the UK Space Agency website.
"http://www.bis.gov.uk/ukspaceagency"

The YouTube channel for the UK Space Agency has many videos, interviews with a great deal of different people. Recently video game developer Richard Garriott travelled into space and there are a number of video blogs anwsering questions and detailing experiences. This video shows magnets operating within a space environment.

Incredible Video Showcasing the Universe

This video is truly amazing and showcases some of the greatest views of our universe from numerous telescopes placed around the Earth.

Of the many resources to learn about the universe, I cannot highly reccomend this series enough.

A typical episode leaves it's viewer in awe.

"http://www.amazon.com/Universe-Complete-Megaset-DVD/dp/B004FOPFFC/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1319194727&sr=8-3"

I also purchased this book also to use as a resource that I can take wonderous elements of the universe such as nebulae and construct them accurately within my games world. The book itself is of incredible detail and the many pictures taken by the Hubble telescope are as incredible as humbling.

"http://www.amazon.com/Hubble-Imaging-Space-National-Geographic/dp/1426208944/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1319194742&sr=8-2"

There is one book that I 'want' to buy but sadly it is quite expensive at upwards of £50 in Waterstones. Luckily Amazon has the book listed for $26.
The size of the book as well is impressive, I do not think I have ever seen such high-resolution images of the cosmos as the ones that are contained in this book.

 "http://www.amazon.com/Cosmos-Field-Guide-Giles-Sparrow/dp/1847241255/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1319195043&sr=8-3"

I also highly reccomend this series by Carl Sagan on the Cosmos, aptly titled 'Cosmos' and created in 1980, this series is still just as moving as well as educational about the universe.

"http://www.amazon.com/Cosmos-Carl-Sagan/dp/B000055ZOB/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1319195167&sr=8-12"

Using Maya's Paint Tool

As can be seen the tool is very easy to use and could work great for making a realistic space setting for my game.

There are many options that can be changed and edited within the Paint tool.

Conceptual Artwork

Narrative Concept of Pulse

Here is a quick run-through of the current narrative concept I have for Pulse. I may not even have a character walking around in the final version but as it currently stands this is the ideal target I would like my game to achieve and in the end product something similar to just one part of this plan may be all thats completed.

I feel that Level 2 would certainly give the best example of the game to the player but also Level 3 could showcase some really nice visuals and interesting twist on the space-combat flight mechanics.

[GAME START]

[Cutscene]
Flying through space towards the space station
Narration informs that some property belonging to a relatave is being delivered which contains an outfitted ship that was recovered after their demise. Before you can set out in space it is required to obtain a flight license through a series of tests and trials.

Level 1 - On space station

- Start in quarters on space station whereby the ship computer informs you your vessel has arrived
- Make your way to the dock
- Get on ship

Level 2 - Taking off...

- Before you can fly out, computer informs you "ship designation #9112, you are clear for initiating flight testing"

- Testing grounds
- Navigate to beacons, fly through hoops
- "Weapons get unlocked"
- Shoot empty containers

- Obtain Space License

- As you are flying back, you are made aware a comet is in-bound for the space station, you are told to watch the fireworks as a fighter squadrun from the space station goes out to destroy it.
Upon blowing up the ice comet, a destroyer-class alien vessel is inside and powers up, the detroyer-class vessel attacks and defeat the small force employed by the space station against it
and then releases huge waves of fighter drones against the space station.

- Transmission recieved from space station computer "Emergency broadcast, all colonial vessels without
firing capabilities please evacuate and any combat-laden ships please assist in the defense of the station"

- Defend until station explodes, the resulting explosion's shockwave sends your ship careering off into space

- Fade to black

Level 3 - Asteroid/Ice Field

- Ship powers back up, fade from black to you in control of your ship in an ice field

- Flying out between nav points
Eventually, as your making way out along a projected route, towards a second nav point, your attacked
by small fighter bugs that have laid dormant within the ice fields which detected the pulse energy of your ship, inadvertently awakening them from inside the smaller ice comets.

- Fend off a couple of squadrons while making an escape to outside the field so you can "pulse" away

[Cutscene]
As you pulse back, you can see the lights of thousands of ships begin to light up inside the ice
crystals, which begin to shatter and explode

"So that must have been where the comet originated from, what the hell have we awoken..."
Fade to black

[END GAME]

Project Status Milestone List

I have compiled a general list to outline my project’s milestones, of course there are still a considerable amount more milestones that I have not even considered just yet, but at least with this produced I have a checklist with which to keep myself on track.

By the end of this project I expect that list to almost triple in size!

The journey of a thousand miles, begins with a single step!

This blog is going to be the basis from which I showcase the development cycle and production stage that my final year university work is at.

Soon to come will be a general project plan that outlines my vision and concept for my Video Game, including its mechanics, and over the course of the many months leading up to the end of the next academic year, should become a concise library that documents the stages of design my work has gone through in developing a high-quality professional product.

Of course the greatest part about this method of displaying my work is that it is open to feedback and criticism, all of which is greatly appreciated in the effort of improving my work! ^_^