Man, you guys need to take a look at this breathtaking toolset. This really is the future of level editing - even though it may take the industry, as a whole, another 10 years to get there. It's great to see companies pushing this kind of stuff. We still haven't made that leap to procedural art generation (spore is cracking the ice), but it's right around the corner, and with smart toolsets like this a level designer will be able to grow a whole urban or natural environment with ease.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BxIvFh7l5Q&mode=related&search=

I have no idea how things are done at Valve but if the tools they are using are anything near the quality of hammer, that would be why everything the produce is so f###ing late. When is ep 2 coming out... winter of 2008?

That is impressive though. I wonder what kind of comp u need to run something like that?

Very nice, looks like a huge time saver, but I think those kinds of procedural tools won't be able to create interesting interior spaces like artists can for a long time. The procedurally generated stuff is a logical step forward for making outdoor areas though, it does it a lot faster (and better) than people can. Moore's law means 'next-gen' is always getting more exciting, I wonder when computers will be designing entire games without exterior input, based on 'fun' algorithms...

It's all nice and whistles and bells, but good gameplay is another issue.

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:: Forceflow.be :: Nuclear Dawn developer

<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quoting Forceflow</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>It's all nice and whistles and bells, but good gameplay is another issue.</DIV></DIV>

Ahh but, if you remove the need to think about looks, one can once again concentrate on gameplay singularly and hopefully bring it back up to a satisfactory level.

I think personally that something like this will have the potential of creating well balanced mapping.

Although we will never be 100% satisfied among the masses, most of us will agree that the only thing missing now, (speaking strictly about HL2) is its items, not so much its looks. Gameplay seems to be the biggest hurdle currently plaguing HL2.

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The best things in life, aren't things.

The Sandbox editor for Far Cry is along the same lines, but not as "in-game" as Crysis. (If any one is curious about trying something similar to this out)

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Blame it on Microsoft, God does.

Apparently you guys haven't looked at the U3 editor. In short: you make your own shaders.

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Posting And You

I'd say about 75% of the time I've spent in the new UEd has been spent playing in the material editor. It's spiffy.

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o

Very sweet. Imagine games like 50 years from now. But what is Crysis anyway. Is that some sort of game?

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Aaron's Stuff

Crysis is going to be the next big thing, graphics-wise (and in terms of interactive environments, the physics look amazing, too).

The editor is a nice example for how 3 times the polygon count doesn't have to mean 3 times the work load (even the opposite, if you look at procedural creation like this).

Amazing.

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Why snark works.

Three times the polygon count of what?

The game still requires you to use a modeling program to create your objects. You also have to create many different textures if you want it to run well.

I'm still not sure why these editors don't have a simplistic object creation utility which, in effect, would act like a model editor, but would allow you to build objects in real-time and edit existing ones and all that stuff inside the editor. It's not exactly difficult to do.

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Blame it on Microsoft, God does.

it looks nice and all but will anyones computer's be able to play it. I like realtime lighting just remember that textured lighting will be faster.

from the looks of it your going to need a powerhouse and nobody wants to spend $800 upgrading stuff to play a $60 dollar game

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Why Do we all have to wear these ridiculous ties

Its odd how you can create such ... good looking stuff with such ease. It would take ages, holly crap ages, to make that stuff in hammer.

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Aaron's Stuff

there's a version with slightly better image quality at http://www.gametrailers.com/player.php?id=17743&type=wmv

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i eat paint

Three times the polygon count of what?

bananas.

I'm still not sure why these editors don't have a simplistic object creation utility which, in effect, would act like a model editor, but would allow you to build objects in real-time and edit existing ones and all that stuff inside the editor. It's not exactly difficult to do.

I so agree with you. Add a proper in-editor "model" creator, at least for static objects, and you'd have my dream map editor. It's so obvious, that I have hopes for this to get standard pretty soon.

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Why snark works.

Impressive.

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What the Snarkpitters listen to!

i really need to learn maya.

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Hell, is an half-filled auditorium

I really need to learn maya, 3d studio max and Photo Shop. It would also be nice if I fully knew :Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Express Edition

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Aaron's Stuff

Knowing an IDE has nothing to do with knowing a technique or art (like modeling or programming). They're ideologies and these programs being listed are just tools to produce products using those ideologies for a specific platform or format.

If anyone is curious about learning C++, specifically, I can direct them to course web-pages that have notes and assignments they can follow. It'll teach you a far higher, in-depth, and rock solid understanding of what you're doing. In any case, even if you plan on developing Windows applications I would suggest starting there, that's why there's so many poorly-skilled programmers working today. It's important to note, also, that programming it self is just a tool for problem solving. If you can't problem solve, at all, you will not be able to program well.

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Blame it on Microsoft, God does.

ooo, ooo pick me. Can you direct me crono-miner. I would love to know c++ to improve my skillz. I know the tinyist, tinyist bit about c++, one step up above nothing.

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Aaron's Stuff

You will refer to him as Crono san, and he will refer to you as grasshopper.
I'd like a like to those C++ courses as well. I've taken a short class in C++, and one in Java, and I've forgotten most of it by now, I could use a refresher before next year when I may need it.

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Also change the texture of the dock. Docks are rarely tile. -Facepunch
As I Lay Dying

@BP: Download some video tutorials from 3dbuzz.com, they have a good crash course to get familiar with the interface. You have to register, but its free and they don't spam your email or anything.

Last time I tried programming my head exploded. I'll stick to making visual stuff tyvm. :razz:

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o

Knowing an IDE has nothing to do with knowing a technique or art (like modeling or programming). They're ideologies and these programs being listed are just tools to produce products using those ideologies for a specific platform or format.

If anyone is curious about learning C++, specifically, I can direct them to course web-pages that have notes and assignments they can follow. It'll teach you a far higher, in-depth, and rock solid understanding of what you're doing. In any case, even if you plan on developing Windows applications I would suggest starting there, that's why there's so many poorly-skilled programmers working today. It's important to note, also, that programming it self is just a tool for problem solving. If you can't problem solve, at all, you will not be able to program well.

I ran into that problem back in school when we had programming courses (I was in hardware tech/admin for networks and computers in general, but we took lots of general knowledge courses too.) I was probably the best in the class at problem solving, but I just didn't care too much to focus on one language solely. So I could look at a program and fix the issue super quick, but I sucked harshly at writing it myself from scratch.

thanks beer-baron.

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Aaron's Stuff

Stadric said:
You will refer to him as Crono san, and he will refer to you as grasshopper.

Actually, thats not an unfair sentiment for many of us. Sometimes I dunno if its my ignorance that makes me feel dumb, or if I getting smoke blown up my posterior and cannot tell the difference.

Of the two, I feel much more comfortable thinking I am dumb. :smile:

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The best things in life, aren't things.

I'm sure it takes a whole teams of talented people to set the presets so those models can be drooped in so quickly like that. They probably spent more time building that editor than there last 3 games put together.

agreed redwood

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Aaron's Stuff

CS161 This course assumes no prior knowledge of C++ or any programming language. It's taught based on a Unix system using the GNU g++ compiler. The task for you, if you take it, is to sift through the course material, get a proper compiler up and running on your system. I wouldn't suggest using anything else really. You want to start small and simple.

This is the "program" I went through and I'd strongly recommend it. Sadly, I can't give out the passwords to the recorded lectures ... though, if you're clever, you can probably figure it out! Do some digging and you'll have the knowledge of a $500 course for free.

You can easily search for other school's computer science department pages and check out beginning level courses.

I can't say I'd suggest any sort of book at a beginning level, just because the most correct ones are more advanced. Lower level (difficulty) books tend to have a lot of poor information in them (like talking about doing classes primarily using templates ... bad idea.) Remember to take most ideologies with a grain of salt unless there's conclusive proof the method is "better". You wont find much stuff like this in the page I provided, but in a lot of tutorials and books you see some pretty wonky approaches.

Of course this doesn't replace actually taking a course where you can discuss things with an instructor.

Enjoy. If enough people are interested I could probably get some sort of forum set up over at gamingparents (just because I have some ability to govern there). But right now it looks like 2 people are sort-of-possibly-kind-of interested. Which is fine, if all this is, is exposure: that's fine.

Enough thread derailment... What would be the third game Crytek made? They only have two under their belts.
They probably have loose standards for models. The editor accepts many formats, Maya, 3DS, XSI, and Blender to name a few that are mentioned in the editor video. It could support more. It makes sense from a technical point of view also ... but ... I don't think I'll get into that it probably wouldn't interest anyone. (Myself included)

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Blame it on Microsoft, God does.

Did'ja ever notice that many of the more advanced topic webpages are utilitarian?

Anywho's, I'm out'a here gents.

XXXOOOXXX

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The best things in life, aren't things.

Functionality > pretty colors
Windows 2000 > Windows Vista
:rolleyes:

Thanks, Crono, I'll take a look at that today once I'm done checking this forum and procrastinating over scholarship apps.

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Also change the texture of the dock. Docks are rarely tile. -Facepunch
As I Lay Dying

Some info on CryENGINE 2 I found on Wikipedia:

• Integrated CryENGINE Sandbox2 Editor: Run time engine is fully integrated into the CryENGINE Sandbox2 editor to give designers ?What you see is what you play? functionality
• Renderer: integrates indoor and outdoor technology seamlessly. Offers rendering support for DirectX 8/9/10, Xbox 360, PS3
• Physics System: supports vehicles, rigid bodies, liquid, rag doll, cloth and soft body effects. The system is integrated with the game and tools.
• Animation System: Playback and blending between motion data (captured or key framed) combined with inverse kinematics (using biomechanical hints) and physical simulations. Special attention was applied to realistic human animation (e.g. adapting to uneven terrain, eye tracking, facial animation, leaning when running around corners, natural motion transitions).
• AI System: Enables team based AI and AI behaviors defined by scripts. Ability to create custom enemies and behaviors without touching the C++ code.
• Data-driven Sound System: Complex sounds can be easily created and offer innovative use and impression in studio quality in any available surround configuration. Multi-platform compatibility is guaranteed by FMOD?s sound library.
• Interactive Dynamic Music System: Improved playback of music tracks by an arbitrarily logic that can react on any game events and support the player to experience a movie-like sound track.
• Environmental Audio: Achieve a dense sound impression by accurately reproduce sounds from nature with seamless blending between environments and their effects from interior/exterior locations.
• Network Client and Server System: Manages all network connections for the multiplayer mode. It is a low-latency network system based on client/server architecture. The module was completely rewritten to accomplish the demands of next-generation multiplayer games.
• Shaders: A script system used to combine textures in different ways to produce visual effects. Supports real time per-pixel lighting, bumpy reflections, refractions, volumetric glow effects, animated textures, transparent computer displays, windows, bullet holes, and shiny surfaces.
• Terrain: Uses an advanced heightmap system and polygon reduction to create massive, realistic environments. The view distance can be up to 16km when converted from game units.
• Voxel Object: Allows creating geometry a heightmap system wouldn?t support to create cliffs, caves, canyons and alien shapes. Voxel editing is as easy as heightmap editing and fast in rendering.
• Lighting and Shadows: A combination of precalculated properties with high quality real time shadows to produce a dynamic environment. Includes high-resolution, correct perspective, and volumetric smooth-shadow implementations for dramatic and realistic indoor shadowing. Supports advanced particles technology and any kind of volumetric lighting effects on particles.
• Fog: Includes volumetric, layer and view distance fogging even with non homogeneous media to enhance atmosphere and tension.
• Resource Compiler: Assets become compiled in the platform dependent format by the resource compiler. This allows to do global changes (e.g. mipmap computation, mesh stripification) depending on presets and platforms without scarifying loading time.
• Polybump? 2: Standalone or fully integrated with other tools including 3ds max?. Creates a high quality surface description that allows very quick extraction of surface features normal maps in tangent-space or object-space, displacement maps, unoccluded area direction, accessibility and other properties.
• Scripting system: Based on the popular LUA language. This easy to use system allows the setup and tweaking of weapons/game parameters, playing of sounds and loading of graphics without touching the C++ code.
• Flow graph: The flow graph system allows the designers to code game logic without touching a line of code. Coding basically becomes connecting boxes and defining properties.
• Modularity: Entirely written in modular C++, with comments, documentation and subdivisions into multiple DLLs.
• Multi-threading: Support for multithreaded, multicored, or multiprocessor CPU(s), which improves many aspects of the game such as AI and physics by speeding up CPU computations. One huge advantage to the CryEngine2 is that it will detect the number of threads the CPU(s) have and will then equally distribute code out across all of the threads.
• 64Bit: Support 32bit and 64bit OS to allow more memory being utilized.