** Attack at Mosul - a BF2 Map **

[JesseMoody]

Ok sorry for not having anything to go up right away. I guess I had to get clearence since I have never posted on these forums.


So here is the artwork.
http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/frontcover.jpg
http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/conceptpage1.jpg

[JesseMoody]

and more....

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/conceptpage2.jpg


http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/renderspage1.jpg

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/hotel.jpg
The texture for this one had to totally be redone due to the way textures are done in Battlefield 2. More to come on that later.

[JesseMoody]

A quick layout of how the streets may be setup in game.

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/3.jpg


http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/Cinematic0099.jpg

[requiem2d]

Looking good, can you tell us with what kind of specs you worked with to create map elements (i.e. tex size, poly limits). I also work on the BF2 engine and everybody uses different poly counts & tex sizes. Cheers :)

[JesseMoody]

Here is a small collection of some of the props that were made. This is one of the biggest things that will add to the overall look and feel of the map in my opinion. Trash, signs, wires, etc will hopefully make this map stand out and feel like a real war torn city.
http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/Props1_cropped.jpg

[JesseMoody]

Looking good, can you tell us with what kind of specs you worked with to create map elements (i.e. tex size, poly limits). I also work on the BF2 engine and everybody uses different poly counts & tex sizes. Cheers :)

Good question man. Honestly when I started I looked at what EA and Dice pretty much used for poly counts. I wasn't sure on their textures so I was originally setting up to use 2048x2048 for the large scale buildings (Mosques, Main Bases, etc) and move down the line with the decrease in size on the buildings.

After finding out how textures are really done in BF2 I have gone to different sizes. More on that later though.

I'm trying to get all these updates up so you guys can see them.

[JesseMoody]

For the props above.


The radio tower in the back hasn't been optimized yet. I wasted a few too many polys for my liking on that. Everything else is pretty low poly stuff. The mesh on the fence is just a quick material i set up in max with alpha channels. Just so I could kind of get the feel for how it would look later on.

PROPS LIST: (From Front to Back and Left to Right)
Row 1
Sign: can be used for a building or possibly on the side of the road
Concrete Barrier: you know what these are for

Row 2
Flower or Plant Pot: Obvious
Tree Pot: Once again obvious

Row 3
Air Conditioner Unit Destroyed: What once kept houses cool in the middle east is now debris on the roads.
Air Condition Unit Ground Based: Used by US forces on base to help cool command head quarters and other related sites.

(the other two shots are just the above two rotated to show more of the model)

Row 4
Barbed Wire Fence: Keep the bad guys from getting in or out...

Row 5
Radio Tower: Can be put on top of a tv station, radio station or whatever to add a nice detail piece.

[JesseMoody]

City Building
Tris: 4606
Polys: 2533
This is counting everything in the scene EXCEPT for the 2 boxes I have used as a scale reference and the ground plane.

Looking through some of Dices logs and models this is right about where I need to be for detail. The engine can use more b/c of LOD's and stuff but I'm trying to make a map that everyone can play and not have to worry about too much system lag and FPS issues.

So onto the renders.

I look forward to your feedback and thanks for your support.

Oh yeah a side note.. I will do the LOD's later on as well as texturing. I have plenty of time to do that stuff.

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/CityBuilding1_A.jpg

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/CityBuilding1_B.jpg

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/CityBuilding1_C.jpg

And some wire frame over clay renders to see the poly layouts...

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/CityBuilding1_Wire_A.jpg

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/CityBuilding1_Wire_B.jpg

[JesseMoody]

started modeling one of the capture points. The concept is on the first page of this thread so if you are interested in taking a peak go on over.

I have basically started a quick layout with the basic building shapes and such. I will add the finer details later and when I get the normal maps done will show the high res versions off.

As for the sand bags on the roof. I just started those so they are quite weak right now. Hopefully when I get them done they will look much better. Both of the buildings modeled so far will have internal areas where people can go inside and i will be modeling a few of the windows opened up to make good for a few shooter locations or a great place to toss a grenade through.

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/CapturePoint1a.jpg

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/CapturePoint1b.jpg

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/CapturePoint1c.jpg

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/CapturePoint1d.jpg

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/CapturePoint1e.jpg

[JesseMoody]

Hope you guys like the updates. Let me know what looks good and what could be changed or what can be added to really make this stuff stand out and be more fun.

[JesseMoody]

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/CapturePoint1f.jpg

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/CapturePoint1g.jpg

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/CapturePoint1h.jpg

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/CapturePoint1i.jpg

[JesseMoody]

Since each model I make has to have 3 extra meshes it is very time consuming.

Col0 is for bullets
Col1 is for characters, players
Col2 is for Vehicles

Here is a quick render of the 4 different models for the hotel.

(from left to right)

Base Model (Full Detail)
Col0 Less Geometry than Base Model... I can probably still optimize this.
Col1 Just like Col0 but for characters. I need to make sure they can't get in the building or get stuck
Col2 For vehicle collisions so this can be really optimized since vehicles are big and bulky.
http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/hotelcollision.jpg

[JesseMoody]

I am sure I can still optimize Col0 and Col1 more and it will help with the engine running better.I also think I switched Col1 and Col2. I think it is supposed to be Col1 : vehicles and Col2 : Characters...

[JesseMoody]

Ok I have been spending the last few days going over my list of assets I will need and playing with different ideas for the level layout. I have also printed out a binder full of tutorials, help sheets and guides and wow that has been helpful. The texturing process with BF2 is much different than any past project I have worked on so it's all about learning new processes but hey it's worth it in the end if it helps better your portfolio.

The guys over at Prolific Games hooked me up with a great video tutorial on how to do texturing in BF2 and how things are compiled together. It was a much needed tutorial b/c I really didn't understand the text files all too well, but seeing it in a video form showed me what had to be done. So thank you guys.

Well sorry their are no new updates tonight. I have some new stuff but it is 3:49 am and I am exhausted. I'll post more soon I promise.

[JesseMoody]

Ok I'm back with a small update tonight. Today was my sons 1st birthday so I did not work too much today but here is what I am posting.

I reworked the collision meshes on the hotel. I didn't plan on people being able to get into the building so I got rid of a lot more polys that pretty much have the same effect as before with a lot less.

So that will help with lower end computers and server side lag when this is finished if I do this for every mesh I have.

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/CollisionMeshes.jpg

If any of you are not familiar with BF2's texturing process compared to other game engines here's a quick look and rundown on how my mesh is setup with its uvs...

This first one shows the modifier stack to the right with 4 UVW Unwraps. Each one has it's own channel going from Channel 1 on bottom to Channel 4 on top.

I have also highlighted the corresponding areas between windows. You can see in the material editor the BF2 shader being used and what layer is being called on to display in the Edit UVW's window.

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/ScreenGrabofUVStuff.jpg

And the other 3 layers go on in pretty much the same fashion.

The layers overlay on each other much like they would in photoshop when applied to the model from the shader in the material editor.

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/ScreenGrabofUVStuff1.jpg

This is just a look at what the texture looks like in the viewport with nothing but default lighting and using directx9 as my viewport windows renderer.

Here is a quick render of the texture in progress with default max lighting, no lights were added. So no more GI for now.

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/TextureTests.jpg

That also has a normal map applied to it although I need to tweak it a lot more to get it to how I want it. Plus you can totally see where the texture repeats and that is why this is a work in progress.

Well guys and gals that is it for tonight. I will post more updates soon. My wife leaves for Hawaii for 2 weeks on Monday so I will be working on this stuff a lot. Should see some really big progress then.

Once again thanks for all the crits and for new people that stop in and take a peak leave a message.

Later.

[JesseMoody]

Tonights update is a decent sized one. I have been concepting building designs in my sketchbook and started modeling some out. Not all of them are fully detailed yet but they are progessing nicely.http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/CityBuilding3.jpg

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/CityBuilding3_a.jpg

[JesseMoody]

Ok another update now. Looks like another late night. 4:01 am here in San Diego, CA now.

Anyways pushing through with my Jones Energy drinks.
http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/CityBuilding4.jpg

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/CityBuilding4a.jpg

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/CityBuilding4b.jpg

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/CityBuilding4c.jpg

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/CityBuilding4d.jpg

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/CityBuilding4e.jpg

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/CityBuilding4f.jpg

[JesseMoody]

I didn't like the way the stairs looked so hard and just built. Iraq is messed up!!! It's not clean and it's not in good shape. Most of these buildings are made cheaply and not from good materials perfect looking stairs DON'T exist in my mind. So here they are again with a more earthy and beat-up look to them. Like they have actually been used.

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/CityBuilding4g.jpg

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/CityBuilding4h.jpg

[JesseMoody]

Ok that is it. I had to get this thread caught up to my one on 3d total. It is complete. Hope to get some good feedback now.

Be harsh, be honest. I need to know what you like, don't like and what could be changed to make it more fun or look better.

[JesseMoody]

Also if anyone plays battlefield 2 or would like to add me to their im here is my info.

MSN: jesse_moody@sbcglobal.net
Yahoo: superman_11041
Xfire: ghostfacekilla5
AOL: mooddog4

Feel free to hit me up on any of those.

[TychoCelchuuu]

Looks nice. The satellite dish could stand to have a few more polys; you've modelled individual cables running down the side of the building but your big giant dish on top looks chunky :D

[ts-falcon]

wow!, looks like alot of effort went into this, cant wait to see some in engine shots!, ive been trying to find some bf2 mapping/ modding tuts but they seem to be scare,is there anyway you could maybe share your resources? you sure seem to know what you're doing!

[JesseMoody]

Looks nice. The satellite dish could stand to have a few more polys; you've modelled individual cables running down the side of the building but your big giant dish on top looks chunky :D

Yeah i probably could add some more polys to that dish and not be too worried about the few added polys.
Thanks for the good tip.

[JesseMoody]

wow!, looks like alot of effort went into this, cant wait to see some in engine shots!, ive been trying to find some bf2 mapping/ modding tuts but they seem to be scare,is there anyway you could maybe share your resources? you sure seem to know what you're doing!

yeah i have put forth quite a bit of effort so far. As far as tuts go I used EA's which if you do a search in google should pop right up. If not totalbf2.com has some links and other mod team sites have a good amount of stuff out there. I am working on making some tuts myself so when they are done I will post them on my redesigned web site and let you know.

[JesseMoody]

295 views and maybe 3 posts or replys. WOW. I was expecting to hear a lot more by now.


Seriously I need some feedback.

[goulei]

good worked .....Battlefield 2 The inside still has the China...You do the weapon of China and architecture very laughably.Birdbrain.Don't understand the china basically.

[JesseMoody]

good worked .....Battlefield 2 The inside still has the China...You do the weapon of China and architecture very laughably.Birdbrain.Don't understand the china basically.

WTF? Dude I can't understand a damn thing what you mean by that.

Can anyone help translate please...

[JesseMoody]

good worked .....Battlefield 2 The inside still has the China...You do the weapon of China and architecture very laughably.Birdbrain.Don't understand the china basically.

If you think I'm doing Chinese architecture then maybe you should go back and read the post earlier in the thread. I don't mention China once. As for it being very laughably well yeah it doesn't look anything like it does in China b/c it is thousands of miles away in the MIDDLE EAST. I've been to Hong Kong and Kowloon, Thailand, Singapore and a few other places over in that area and I know this is not what Asian architecture looks like.

[scrimski]

lol.

I like it. Don't know much about all that lowpoly stuff, but it looks good to me.
Would like to see more.

Especially the way you catched the feeling of the big chinese letters on top of the hotel and made it look kinda arab(sorry, couldn't resist)

[SammyB]

I can see how much work has gone into this already, and I am impressed with how quickly you are progressing. I think this is shaping up really well but i would love to see some shots of the buildings and props together to show the overall layout of the map, even if its still tentative. On a technical level you seem to be on the right track, but not having played BF2 myself, i wouldn't mind some further insight into the gameplay aspects of your map. What goals do you have in that regard?

[requiem2d]

My only crit at this point is there are a lot of unnecessary polies which could have just been textured on.

[JesseMoody]

Yankee ,This game is very good,.But promote you invade.

Yankee? Dude what are you talking about? Invade what?

[JesseMoody]

My only crit at this point is there are a lot of unnecessary polies which could have just been textured on.

What are you referring to with unnecessary polys? The polys I am using for the windows are that way b/c you can get up close and see them and be right next to them. I didn't want to do that with a texture b/c it doesn't look right. It will always look like a texture when right next to it. That is ok if say the windows are further away but if you were to open up bf2 and look at their models you will see how many polys are indeed used for windows and other various props.

My poly counts are incredibly low compared to most of the stuff Dice made for the game. I did that for a reason so I could build tons of other assets that when put into the game make it look much better than just a texture or a rough model.

[SHEPEIRO]

superman114- i agree with Reqiuem on the windows, (i think) if he's talking about the ones on the last building, they could be acheived with a good normal map on a 5 sided cube, thus saving alot of geometry that could be used in other areas.

its looking good, im interested in your material setup in max, what exactly was it. is it prepiety?

[JesseMoody]

superman114- i agree with Reqiuem on the windows, (i think) if he's talking about the ones on the last building, they could be acheived with a good normal map on a 5 sided cube, thus saving alot of geometry that could be used in other areas.

its looking good, im interested in your material setup in max, what exactly was it. is it prepiety?

Sorry let me clear this up. The windows will be normal mapped. I am sorry I thought you guys just said to paint the window, but yes they will be normal mapped. That is why I couldn't understand why people were giving me crap about them b/c i was like its 5 polys all together per window. lol Maybe i should have been more clear.

Ok the material setup in BF2 is crazy. Dice created a new system that has multiple unwraps and textures. When buildings are really far away the game does not load certain "layers" of the texture into your memory making the game run much smoother and allow them to have high detail textures when up close.

It is a directx 9 shader that I am using so another benefit to that is I can see the full real texture in my max window without having to render.

[requiem2d]

Multitexturing is pretty cool, if you get a chance show us a breakdown of your color, detail, dirt and alpha/decal maps. Cheers.

[JesseMoody]

Multitexturing is pretty cool, if you get a chance show us a breakdown of your color, detail, dirt and alpha/decal maps. Cheers.

I am actually putting a small tutorial together on the multitexturing part. I will show each texture though and then a screen shot of how they look together.

[Rebeccak]

goulei,

Consider yourself warned. This is a forum for CG, not politics. Please note CGTalk's policy (http://forums.cgsociety.org/faq.php?faq=cgtalk_faq#faq_new_faq_item):

Because CGTalk is a computer graphics related community, and in the interests of keeping potentially offensive topics away from the forum, the Administrators and Forum Leaders of these forums do not tolerate posts that contain any of the following subjects or elements:

-Politics or political propaganda in any form
If you wish to discuss politics, kindly find an appropriate forum for such discussion. Topics of this nature resort in lengthy and unnecessary arguments that are nevertheless totally unrelated to the subject of computer graphics or visual effects.

[JesseMoody]

Thank you. The same thing has happened to my 3dtotal thread. Guys just come in and talk about things that don't pertain to what I am working on.

[Duke of Holland]

Ambitious project mate, but looking good.

col setup:
col0 = projectile mesh;
col1 = vehicle mesh;
col2 = player mesh;
col3 = bot mesh.

Tutorials can be found on the official website of the editor (search for gotfrag+beta+editor+bf2)

lod setup:
lod0 = every texture-set, colour, detail, dirt, crack (if you use them all);
lod1 = every texture-set (if you use them all, lod1 is for low-end computers);
lod2 = colour, detail;
lod3 = colour.

Just a comment on your wireframe, I dont see any extra cuts/poly's for your crack layer? Is your crack layer that large? How large are your textures anyway?

And when looking at your texture format, they are all .tga-files. You know that battlefield 2 uses .dds-files right?

You can add more detail to your buildings, like what DICE did for theirs (cables, powerboxes, lamps)

Well, enough of me rambling. Good luck with your project, I will be following this thread closely :scream:

-edit- Just looked more closely at your texture setup, are you making different textures for every building? :eek:

If your doing it that way, and you want it to run smoothly on every computer. Your doing it wrong (will ask some more people when I get home from work to make sure)

Make 1 colour texture for the entire map, make 2 or 3 different detail textures with accompying normals, 1 dirt texture (or 2 whatever :D ) and 1 or 2 crack texture with normal.

It saves loading too many textures at the start of the map, better loading a couple of textures then 50 or 60 textures.

-last edit- http://bfeditor.org/forum/index.php The correct adress for forum.

[JesseMoody]

Duke of Holland thanks for the great tips. I actually check the tutorials a lot since this is my first non unreal map. A lot has changed since then.

col setup:
col0 = projectile mesh;
col1 = vehicle mesh;
col2 = player mesh;
col3 = bot mesh.

Looks like I forgot the bot collision model. Oops..

lod setup:
lod0 = every texture-set, colour, detail, dirt, crack (if you use them all);
lod1 = every texture-set (if you use them all, lod1 is for low-end computers);
lod2 = colour, detail;
lod3 = colour.

I haven't messed with making the LOD's yet. Not quite sure how this is done exactly but I am sure I can figure it out or find someone that can help me out.

Just a comment on your wireframe, I dont see any extra cuts/poly's for your crack layer? Is your crack layer that large? How large are your textures anyway?

Huh? Extra cuts? Didn't know I had to have any for the crack layer. My textures aren't really setup yet but the one I am working on I believe is 1024*1024.

I know about the .dds format. I was just using .tga for now and will convert them later when they are finalized.

Just looked more closely at your texture setup, are you making different textures for every building?

Well as for what I am doing for the textures for the buildings. I am creating a couple color and dirt textures, but each building has it's own detail, detail normal, crack and crack normal.
If this isn't right let me know soon because I plan on texturing some stuff shortly.

Dice had a pretty crazy system with their textures that i was not used to so any input or advice is very much appreciated and welcomed.

[JesseMoody]

*** UPDATED WITH CORRECTED LINK


Oh yeah. I am using these photos for reference for a lot of design stuff.

http://www.artbyjesse.com/ref/

They are a collection of when i was overseas and from other military buddies that were there as well.

[JesseMoody]

Ok I know what you mean by the color texture. I create one good sized texture much like a color palette that I want all my buildings or objects I want to be on my level. I then just toss uvs around on top of the colors.

So I really only need 1 of these.
What is a good size? I think the tutorial I was looking at was 512*2048 or something like that.

[Duke of Holland]

Duke of Holland thanks for the great tips. I actually check the tutorials a lot since this is my first non unreal map. A lot has changed since then.

col setup:
col0 = projectile mesh;
col1 = vehicle mesh;
col2 = player mesh;
col3 = bot mesh.

Looks like I forgot the bot collision model. Oops..

You dont need a col3 if you are not planning on adding singleplayer. If you want to add singleplayer, you need this col.

lod setup:
lod0 = every texture-set, colour, detail, dirt, crack (if you use them all);
lod1 = every texture-set (if you use them all, lod1 is for low-end computers);
lod2 = colour, detail;
lod3 = colour.

I haven't messed with making the LOD's yet. Not quite sure how this is done exactly but I am sure I can figure it out or find someone that can help me out.

lod0 is your visible mesh, lod1 is for lower end computers. Making a lod1 is removing poly's that you think arnt necessary for people to see (think antenna's). If you think your lod1 is good enough and nothing cant be removed, leave it like this. Your lod2 is for about 100 meters if I got it right. Just think what details you would see when standing 100 meters of a house and remove the poly's. For lod3 just delete the entire inside of the house (300 meters). For applying the textures to the lod2 and lod3, just create a new material with only the correct texture-sets.

Just a comment on your wireframe, I dont see any extra cuts/poly's for your crack layer? Is your crack layer that large? How large are your textures anyway?

Huh? Extra cuts? Didn't know I had to have any for the crack layer. My textures aren't really setup yet but the one I am working on I believe is 1024*1024.

A 256x2048 will be good enough for a crack-texture, but if you have different cracks on it, its ok. About the extra cuts, it is necessary for adding more wear and tear on the static, for instance: lets say you have a 128x128 pixel bullethole (ok, its big) the correct cut in your model would be 1,28x1,28meters large, so it will fit perfectly on your static.

I know about the .dds format. I was just using .tga for now and will convert them later when they are finalized.

No problem :scream:

Just looked more closely at your texture setup, are you making different textures for every building?

Well as for what I am doing for the textures for the buildings. I am creating a couple color and dirt textures, but each building has it's own detail, detail normal, crack and crack normal.
If this isn't right let me know soon because I plan on texturing some stuff shortly.

Just use one colour sheet, look at DICE. Most mods (I think) use the same setup. Create a couple of detail sheets for use in all of your map, its much better for performance.

Dice had a pretty crazy system with their textures that i was not used to so any input or advice is very much appreciated and welcomed.

You have to get used to it, its the battlefield 2 way :bounce:

[Duke of Holland]

Ok I know what you mean by the color texture. I create one good sized texture much like a color palette that I want all my buildings or objects I want to be on my level. I then just toss uvs around on top of the colors.

So I really only need 1 of these.
What is a good size? I think the tutorial I was looking at was 512*2048 or something like that.

Your link in the other post I cannot view.

Yep, a colour pallete. 512x2048 is a good size, but you can make it smaller though. If you need many colours, use that size.

[JesseMoody]

Duke of Holland. Thanks again man. Great tips and it all makes sense now. I also just watched that video from Prolific Games again. Man I missed stuff the first time around.

Thanks again man. I have a notebook here filled with notes now and I'm adding more to it.


*** I updated the link. Sorry about that.

[El_Pube]

295 views and maybe 3 posts or replys. WOW. I was expecting to hear a lot more by now.


Seriously I need some feedback.

Keep going superman! I like urban maps and I'm following your thread every day.

May I ask you if you intend to use the bridge as a playable part of the map or it's only 4 background purposes, the map will be on a single flat level of terrain or will be on more planes?
I'm waiting to see some pictures of the completed buildings rendered by the engine of BF2! :)

[Duke of Holland]

No problem, just take a good look at the textures and models of DICE and you will be fine.

I have the luck of being a tester for FH2, so I ask the dev's for tips :scream:

And I also model statics :D

[JesseMoody]

No problem, just take a good look at the textures and models of DICE and you will be fine.

I have the luck of being a tester for FH2, so I ask the dev's for tips :scream:

And I also model statics :D

Ahhh...FH2?

[JesseMoody]

WOW... ok it is 6:45 am here and I need some sleep. Thanks again for the great help. I am sure you will be seeing some textures by this weekend on most of my models now that I know what the hell I am doing.

[Duke of Holland]

Forgotten Hope 2, its a mod.

Have fun mate

[requiem2d]

Wow, tons of information above, I'm currently creatng statics for a custom map for our game mode: xtraction ( www.realitymod.com ) but am somewhat lost for a strong tutorial on how this is all setup, esp. in max too. Any links for multitexturing for bf2 and then optimal tex sizes & usage around? Many thanks in advance guys.

[JesseMoody]

Keep going superman! I like urban maps and I'm following your thread every day.

May I ask you if you intend to use the bridge as a playable part of the map or it's only 4 background purposes, the map will be on a single flat level of terrain or will be on more planes?
I'm waiting to see some pictures of the completed buildings rendered by the engine of BF2! :)

The bridge is intended on being used as the design of my map has a large river going through it that opens up into water.

The bridge is going to be reworked though as I don't think it fits the entire middle eastern look and it is rather too high poly for my likes.

The ground will be multi leveled with valleys and mountains. I want to add variety to my level

[urgaffel]

I'm not sure how important triangulation is in BF2 but you might want to look into it since it might affect how your stuff is shaded in the game. Here's a quick mock up to show what I mean, using on of your earlier renders.

The red lines on the left is what max might do, the red lines on the right might be a better way of doing it, the green line shows where you could cut to get even better triangle distribution. It also gives you more faces to work with when it comes to decal/dirt layers for example. Not sure how important it is but what the hell :)

Good luck with your project!

[JesseMoody]

I'm not sure how important triangulation is in BF2 but you might want to look into it since it might affect how your stuff is shaded in the game. Here's a quick mock up to show what I mean, using on of your earlier renders.

The red lines on the left is what max might do, the red lines on the right might be a better way of doing it, the green line shows where you could cut to get even better triangle distribution. It also gives you more faces to work with when it comes to decal/dirt layers for example. Not sure how important it is but what the hell :)

Good luck with your project!

Actually you are right. I have to go back in and make a lot more cuts on buildings for the decal/dirt layers and such. I was trying to keep everything as low poly as possible but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

I may just texture this building next, import into the engine and see what it looks like.

On another note. Thanks to all of you guys's countless help I finally have figured out the texturing process for this beast. So here is the first fully textured object for Attack at Mosul. It has the multi-uvs and texture layers like it is supposed to.

I am going to be texturing all my assets in the next few days and then importing into game. I will post more updates as they come.

This is a straight screen grab / non rendered view of one of the small statics.

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/texturedTreeBox.jpg

[Duke of Holland]

If you set your suncolor to white, it will give you the correct shading what it will look like in the editor (ingame).

Here are two pictures what a building will look like in the editor, the building itself is not finished yet though. I need to re-texture some bits. And this isnt a hijacking :scream: Its just helping.

http://img462.imageshack.us/img462/7802/view0016hz.png

http://img113.imageshack.us/img113/101/view0029yh.png

When you look at the window in the last picture, you will see dirt coming down from the bottom part of the window. There are 2 cuts from the sides of the window towards the bottom. And then in the middle part, there is another cut. If I didnt do this, the dirt texture would have shown up in the bottom part. Where there is another dirt texture.

Another tip, model the foundation of the statics a little deeper.

-edit- Yeahyeah, I know the bricks are a little too big. Have to fix them :D

[JesseMoody]

If you set your suncolor to white, it will give you the correct shading what it will look like in the editor (ingame).

Here are two pictures what a building will look like in the editor, the building itself is not finished yet though. I need to re-texture some bits. And this isnt a hijacking :scream: Its just helping.

When you look at the window in the last picture, you will see dirt coming down from the bottom part of the window. There are 2 cuts from the sides of the window towards the bottom. And then in the middle part, there is another cut. If I didnt do this, the dirt texture would have shown up in the bottom part. Where there is another dirt texture.

Another tip, model the foundation of the statics a little deeper.

-edit- Yeahyeah, I know the bricks are a little too big. Have to fix them :D

Dude thanks. Yeah I understand what you mean by the dirt texture and how to make the cuts. Same for the cracks. I'm gonna revise some of my models while I'm texturing them to get what I need.

Thanks again man and your stuff looks good. Would you mind posting your textures used so I can see what they look like? color, detail, crack, dirt, detailn, crackn...

[Duke of Holland]

Sorry mate, I cant post the textures. Im not allowed :argh:

-edit- I think it couldnt hurt if I told you some bits though.

The colour texture is built up of 3 different colours, they have dirt added to them;

The detail texture is built up out of different textures, wood, stone, bricks, door, shutter;

The dirt texture is made of a couple of black on white splats of paintstrokes (masking layers are good for this thing, just invert them);

The crack layer is made up of multiple textures, all have there different sizes on it. For example: crack texture sizes 64x128; 128x512 pixels.

Normals are just created out of the detail and crack.

[JesseMoody]

Sorry mate, I cant post the textures. Im not allowed :argh:

-edit- I think it couldnt hurt if I told you some bits though.

The colour texture is built up of 3 different colours, they have dirt added to them;

The detail texture is built up out of different textures, wood, stone, bricks, door, shutter;

The dirt texture is made of a couple of black on white splats of paintstrokes (masking layers are good for this thing, just invert them);

The crack layer is made up of multiple textures, all have there different sizes on it. For example: crack texture sizes 64x128; 128x512 pixels.

Normals are just created out of the detail and crack.


Cool thanks man. I understand about not being able to post things. Anyways for everyone else sorry I haven't posted much lately. I have been rather busy the last few days with E3 and a few other things going on. I have a fair amount of new stuff done I just haven't had the time to post anything. Stay tuned for updates.

[Cyborgguineapig]

hey jesse its Art whats up? Just came by to check on your thread. Stuff's coming along great. Hopefully you can share some of your techniques, some are really new to me. Goodluck on your other project for next week too.:)

[JesseMoody]

Guys thanks for all the posts. I will have some new updates soon. I have been really busy lately with working on some portfolio stuff and suggestions from a few gaming companies to beef up my portfolio so I can apply for a few positions this summer.

[JesseMoody]

Ok finally I have some updates for you guys. Sorry it has taken so long to get these up. Been pretty busy the past few weeks.


http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/spire.jpg
http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/TexturedPieces1.jpg

[JesseMoody]

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/CityBuilding1Textured_B.jpg


http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/CityBuilding1Textured_A.jpg

[JesseMoody]

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/TexturedPieces2.jpg

[JesseMoody]

Heres another shot with the wireframe over the texture and the poly counts.

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/towerw_count.jpg

[JesseMoody]

hmmm... was hoping to have some feedback by now on these.



Ignore the terrible door and window textures. Both have been redesigned with a totally new look for the windows and a new one for the doors as well that is more fitting to the environment and goes with the color pallette more.

[JesseMoody]

Ok so I have been reworking a lot of the color pallete today and changing some layouts. I will post some new shots when i get home. i'm out running around with my digital camera getting a ton of new stuff for my texture cds I'm working on. They are coming out very nicely and should be a nice addition to my collection when finished.

[itsallgoode9]

Good to see this coming alog. I think the consistency of details throughout the various textures could be worked on. It kinda feels like some areas, such as the walls feel a little muddier and less defined whereas some of the detail such as the tiles feel like it's higher res/sharper. Could just be the nature of the two different textures though.

[JesseMoody]

I finally started laying everything out in max to see how things fit together and I have been trying to overhaul a lot of the textures. I have done a lot of work with the texture sheets and the layout of the uvs but honestly you really wont notice much difference. I just had to optimize some things and set things up so I could get the most out of the texture sheets b/c of the way things are done for BF2. So here are some of the layouts.

Nothing too detailed or up close. I still haven't put in half of the props I have modeled either. I still have a lot to do on this but it is coming along and since it is a school project and I have plenty of time left to work on it since it is spread over several quarters I will have more than enough time to finish this.

Oh yeah. Itsallgoode9: I haven't finalized the dirt map textures yet so that is why some things are dirtier than others and some still look fairly clean. The way I had them set up previously wasn't going to work the way I needed them too so I am redoing those as well.

So enough chit chat. On with the updates.
http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/CityLayout.jpg

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/CityLayout1.jpg

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/CityLayout2.jpg

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/CityLayout3.jpg

[SammyB]

Hey, it must feel good to see the level coming together now. Looking good so far, keep working hard and this could be amazing.

[JesseMoody]

Hey, it must feel good to see the level coming together now. Looking good so far, keep working hard and this could be amazing.

Yeah it is a slow and drawn out process and even hours and hours after work each day it feels like it doesn't change much but I am ahead of schedule so far on this.

I have a lot more props and buildings I have to add in along with fences and other pieces to go with them. So I should be posting more updates in the next few days since I am leaving for work now.

[Duke of Holland]

Isnt the tower a little small? And you can use some more polygons on your arches.

Is the tower reachable for infantry? If so, how will they reach it?

As someone said that his texures are looking too dirty or too whatever. Wait until the dirt layer and the crack layer are added. You get very nice things when done right :scream:

Anyway, keep it up mate. Looking very sharp

[JesseMoody]

Isnt the tower a little small? And you can use some more polygons on your arches.

Is the tower reachable for infantry? If so, how will they reach it?

As someone said that his texures are looking too dirty or too whatever. Wait until the dirt layer and the crack layer are added. You get very nice things when done right :scream:

Anyway, keep it up mate. Looking very sharp

Yeah while looking through some of my reference stuff I saw some large towers and a few smaller ones. I am using this one as a smaller one and since no one can get up in it and it is just a scenic element I didn't want to waste too many polies in the arches. I probably could have gotten away with a lot more but I am saving as many as I can for other objects in the scene.

And you are very right about the dirt and crack layers. Just playing with them a little bit has been amazing so when I finish those off and apply them I am sure it will show quite a huge difference for you guys.

Anyways thanks for all the feedback again and keep it coming. Good, bad, whatever you guys are thinking about this project just let me know.

[Mordin]

Looking good! I guess it will be along the lines of Strike at Karkand when its finished? I ve been doing some modding for BF2, but unfortunately for me I use Maya, which is almost unsupported. So things are going slowly (well that and having a job).

Shame you dont let players get up in those windows, would make a great place for snipers!:D

Any plans on new soldier models or destructable scenery?

[JesseMoody]

Looking good! I guess it will be along the lines of Strike at Karkand when its finished? I ve been doing some modding for BF2, but unfortunately for me I use Maya, which is almost unsupported. So things are going slowly (well that and having a job).

Shame you dont let players get up in those windows, would make a great place for snipers!:D

Any plans on new soldier models or destructable scenery?

Yeah being an inner city urban type map it will be a lot like Karkand but I am also going to be adding helos. No jets are in the plan cause I think that might just be too insane but helos are planned. As for getting up in the windows. Many of the buildings are closed off BUT there are a few I have been playing with that will allow you to get into windows, on roof tops and etc. I am also trying to keep the map pretty balanced at the same time though so that is a big part of the design.

As for now I am not doing character models for this. Destructable scenery I was researching as far as how much can be done. I would love to be able to have a few walls blow up and debris in the road. We will see how things pan out on that.

Thanks for stopping by.

[ashe]

Did you texture these models in zbrush. If you did tell me your workflow. Thanks!

[JesseMoody]

Did you texture these models in zbrush. If you did tell me your workflow. Thanks!

No a good amount of the textures are from my 3d total texture cds collection and my own texture collection that I have been working on for a couple years now. Having a digital camera can be one of the best things for doing textures. I have found that since I had gotten one my texture library has grown considerably.

Many times I will go out around town and to various places to get more textures and reference stuff for my library. It take up a lot of space but they are really nice to have when you need them.

As for normal maps and spec maps for this.

I am doing the normal maps pretty much with just nvidias photoshop plugin. I have achieved good results with this and it is a fast way to get a lot done.

Spec maps I am just taking my diffuse channels and getting rid of color and then painting what ever else I need.

[JesseMoody]

Ok so my 1 week hiatus or whatever it has been from this project to finish my other finals is about over. I have been playing with some more designs and concepts for stuff throughout the city and working on trying to figure out what to attack next after the rest of things are textured.

I have played a good amount of BF2 this week to see what I would like to have in some of the maps and what I don't want. So tonight when I get back from my class I will post a list of things that i want to work in and things I would like to avoid as well as some new concept art to show and see what you guys think.

[ashe]

How do you get those clean cut out windows and breaks in the mesh, did u use the boolean method for that? Also how did you get that rich detail in the texture. Im doing a damaged building and the texture is 1024 x 1024. The problem is if i take bricks and shrink them down they get really blurred. Are you using high res textures? Are they 2048 x 2048?

[JesseMoody]

How do you get those clean cut out windows and breaks in the mesh, did u use the boolean method for that? Also how did you get that rich detail in the texture. Im doing a damaged building and the texture is 1024 x 1024. The problem is if i take bricks and shrink them down they get really blurred. Are you using high res textures? Are they 2048 x 2048?

The windows and breaks were just from thinking how the buildings would be shaped and where i would need cuts first and then I modeled them. I don't like to use booleans because they usually can destroy a mesh quickly. I am trying to keep poly counts down on this whole project so i can use them when i really need the details.

As for the textures. I am using multiple texture sets with this one. I talked about it a little while back but didn't elaborate too much on full detail. But here goes.

Every building you see in my scene so far are using the same texture sheets.

For most buildings I have a color layer that is basically just the colors of what i would need for the buildings.

Then a detail texture that is basically monochromatic with very little color in it since it is pretty much multiplied over the color layer.

A dirt texture sheet is used for dirt spots, rust drips, mud, worn paint, etc

A crack layer sheet is basically cracks, broken concrete, posters, etc. Pretty much any detail that I don't paint on the basic detail sheet like posters, holes in the wall from bullets, broken concrete, etc

The detail and crack layer both have normal maps associated with them for high detail buildings and for the ones where I really want a lot of detail to show through.

Ok as for texture sizes. Since only a small amount of textures are loaded into memory and they are shared between objects you can use larger texture sizes. The ones I have right now range from 256*1024 to 512*2048.

I will try and post some up later this week so you may have a better understanding of what I am talking about.

[ashe]

Cool! Great info. I was looking back at the previous posts. Why did you add 4 Uvw Unwrap for that one building? Was that just for different maps that are layered, like Diffuse, Spec,Bump,etc?

[JesseMoody]

Cool! Great info. I was looking back at the previous posts. Why did you add 4 Uvw Unwrap for that one building? Was that just for different maps that are layered, like Diffuse, Spec,Bump,etc?

Like I mentioned before with the different layers, (color, detail, dirt, crack, detail normal, crack normal) They are associated with a differenet UV channel.

UV Channel 1 is for Color Layer
Ch 2 Detail and Detail Normal
Ch 3 Dirt
Ch 4 Crack and Crack Normal

This way you can change the look of a building just by moving a few uvws in one of the channels and you can end up changing the color of the whole building or add a bunch of dirt and mud to one to give it a different look.

[Duke of Holland]

Just to jump on superman's post.

For instance, you have 8 different colours on your colour-texture, and one model. Applying the 8 different colours on the one model gives you 8 different looking models.

Keeping in ind that you also have the dirt, detail and the crack texture. The possibility's are endless :scream:

[JesseMoody]

Yeah exactly so from one building model you can pretty much have over 50 different looking versions easily. It's pretty crazy and looks incredible.

[JesseMoody]

I got a new toy to play with today in the mail courtesy of 3DConnexion. The Space Pilot is an awesome tool that can speed production in many applications. I am using it in painter, photoshop, maya and max right now and it's pretty cool. Takes some getting used to but it's a neat device.

Check it out at http://www.3dconnexion.com/products/3a4.php

I saw this thing for the first time at the Game Developers Conference in San Jose this year and wanted to try it in a real working environment.

Well I'm gonna get back to work now. Many updates to come tonight.

[ashe]

what do you mean by "having 8 different colours on your colour-texture"? Do you mean 8 different color map(diffuse maps) or 8 diffrent shades of color on the building?

[JesseMoody]

what do you mean by "having 8 different colours on your colour-texture"? Do you mean 8 different color map(diffuse maps) or 8 diffrent shades of color on the building?


Ok it is like a color pallete pretty much. This is one of my color maps that I have been working on. Notice it is just basic color and not a lot of detail. Thats because you paint the detail on a seperate texture and it overlays on the color layer.

This one is at half the size of the one that is used in game. http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/MECMainBase_Color.jpg


I will try and post a detail sheet later just to show what that looks like. But this should give you more of an idea on how things are done.

[ashe]

Ahhh i see now. Now with the separate maps can they be different sizes? For instance can the color map be 1024 and the detail map be 2048? Also when you did the cracks and details they were black and white not color maps right?

[JesseMoody]

Ahhh i see now. Now with the separate maps can they be different sizes? For instance can the color map be 1024 and the detail map be 2048? Also when you did the cracks and details they were black and white not color maps right?

Exactly. My color and detail sheets are 512*2048. My crack and dirt are 256*1024 or 512*2048. Depending on what I want for a detail.

Yes the detail sheets are monochromatic since you get your color from your color layer. I do have some that have some color in them but you have to realize that they are muliplied over the color layer so they don't always look that good. You have to play with it a bit.

With max's directx viewport configurations I can see my textures on my models and layed out in real time without distortion and without having to render.

It took me some time to understand this but some guys from here on cgtalk and 3dtotal have been amazing help along the way.

[ashe]

Thanks for your help. I also just downloaded that BF2 shader also just to test it out. Im also a fan of BF2

[JesseMoody]

Thanks for your help. I also just downloaded that BF2 shader also just to test it out. Im also a fan of BF2

Anytime. I had a lot of help learning this stuff and it is nice when you can find aid to speed the process up. There are a fair amount of resources out that are very helpful. I have a huge binder of all the tutorials, reference info, etc that I have printed, hole punched and bound.

I have tabs in it for certain sections and use my high lighter in it frequently.

[JesseMoody]

*** Oh yeah the texture sheet is 512*2048 used for these statics. I am going to cram as many static mesh textures on this sheet as possible. ***

**** The guy that is pictured on the sign is one of my friends from school. I painted a beard and turbin on him. Now time to make them Chuck Norris and Danny Glover posters and signs. ****


Not a major update right now to show you guys. I have mainly been unwrapping all kinds of things tonight and getting things ready to texture.

Before you can say that the crate is the same exact thing I know that. LOL I will change them when I work on the crack layer so I can add different decals, change the colors and whatever else.

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/update615a.jpg

[Johny]

wow ! you used all that resolution mainly for the box when you could have easily 256x256 textures :P maybe each face of the box just assing one of those 256x256, since there are only 2 types of diference.

[Duke of Holland]

Have to agree with Johny here, the box takes too much space on your texturemap. Space that can be used for something else.

If one of our skinners would do that, we would shoot him :twisted: j/k

[JesseMoody]

wow ! you used all that resolution mainly for the box when you could have easily 256x256 textures :P maybe each face of the box just assing one of those 256x256, since there are only 2 types of diference.


Have to agree with Johny here, the box takes too much space on your texturemap. Space that can be used for something else.
If one of our skinners would do that, we would shoot him :twisted: j/k


LOL ok before you guys both shoot me it has since been changed cause I was like WTF am I doing when I was looking at it. I'll post the new one in a bit to show you guys.

I just got up from a 4 hour cat nap and it's time to get back to work on this thing.

[JesseMoody]

Duke of Holland... hey I made some crack layers but when I try to save them with alpha as dds files it gives me an error message saying too many channels. I'm trying to save as dxt5. dxt3 didn't work either.


Another problem is when I apply a crack layer to the viewport everything gets whited out. I have the alpha map painted. What else do I need to do?

[JesseMoody]

small update on one of the textures.



http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/saddamwall.jpg

[Duke of Holland]

Hmmmm, I think you have to save it as DXT1 first then re-open it and save as DXT5. Im not very sure on this though, because I only model. If that fails, just close PhotoShop and re-open it, maybe that will work also....

You need to move all the UV's on a alpha. Are you using the default shader or another one?

[JesseMoody]

Hmmmm, I think you have to save it as DXT1 first then re-open it and save as DXT5. Im not very sure on this though, because I only model. If that fails, just close PhotoShop and re-open it, maybe that will work also....

You need to move all the UV's on a alpha. Are you using the default shader or another one?

*** Fixed It - All you have to do to make sure nothing shows up white is have a designated place on the crack layer that is for non used uvw's and put everything there making sure it has no alpha info.

I also figured out the process to save dxt5 with alphas. You have to flatten all of the painted (color) layers into one and make sure it's got the little lock symbol and then turn the alpha on and save away. ***


Tried to save as dxt1 as well and no dice...um no pun intended with that either. what i found that works is I save the image without the alpha then add the alpha back in and save again. pain in the butt honestly but its working.

yeah i know you have to move all the uvs and stuff with alphas or i'll have some crazy effects going on. let me check my other stuff to see if that is why things were showing up all crazy... hmmm interesting.

i am using the default shader as well.

[JesseMoody]

*** PLEASE ANYONE IF YOU CAN ANSWER THIS ***

How do I do hardware rendering in Max. I am using max 8. I need to render my dx9 shaders but scanline, brazil, etc do not work and screen grabs aren't always the prettiest things for portfolios.

Thanks in advance.

[Duke of Holland]

There is an additional shader avaliable for showing everything at once in the viewport, it should be somewhere on the editor forums for download. I dont think it will render properly though.

But will give you a certain look on how it will look ingame.

[JesseMoody]

There is an additional shader avaliable for showing everything at once in the viewport, it should be somewhere on the editor forums for download. I dont think it will render properly though.

But will give you a certain look on how it will look ingame.


I have the dx9 shader that puts the layers together and shows in viewport but I was looking for a way to make these images better than just viewport grabs.

[Duke of Holland]

Then there is only one option open for you. Put it ingame and make screenshots of it with everything on high.

If anyone has another option, Im very eager to hear it.

[JesseMoody]

Ok so I have been enjoying my vacation a bit too much but have also been working on some stuff here.

Here is a pdf of what my project has been so far. Let me know what you think.

http://www.artbyjesse.com/demoreel06/attackatmosul.pdf

Just right click + save as. That should be the best way.

[JesseMoody]

I have also been working on the palace part of the city. Here is one of the pillars for the palace.

http://www.artbyjesse.com/benhelp/Pillar2.jpg

[JesseMoody]

I was playing with the layout of my level today and adding in some new pieces and the blocked out version of the palace.

I added in the rough outline of the surrounding mountains and the river.

I also started texture work on one of the props in the level a Volvo Wagon.
There are 2 different versions for this. A normal version and the beat up version.
Keep in mind this texture is a WIP and has a long ways to go. The only thing applied so far is a diffuse texture. I haven't done the spec, bump, or normal maps yet.

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/VolvoWIP.jpg

[JesseMoody]

Here are some updated shots of the city layout.

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/mosulstreets1.jpg

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/mosulstreets2.jpg

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/mosulstreets3.jpg


http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/mosulstreets4.jpg

[HellBoy]

wooow, I can imagine hiding in that tower with a sniper rifle :D

looks cool man, well done :thumbsup:

[JesseMoody]

wooow, I can imagine hiding in that tower with a sniper rifle :D

looks cool man, well done :thumbsup:

Yeah I get that one a lot. I am trying to find ways to make this map strong for all kits in BF2. I don't want it to be a rocket battle or anything so I have been thinking of how spec ops can play, engineers, medics, etc... I want a lot of squad based action..

[HellBoy]

this want to make me install bf again, but how do you plan to apprach the ground surface, would be nice to have long foliages to hide etc.
But yea looking farward for more updates

[neonneo]

huge map, i'd totally camp it up :D

[GLandolina]

wow i never really realised how big the map is, nice!

[JesseMoody]

Hey guys thanks for stopping by. Yes this map is definetly a big one. I wanted it to be huge.

As for the ground. I am not really worried about it in max since all the terrain is done in the BF2 editor. Since Mosul is in the desert it will be sandy. I will have the palm trees, bushes and other things as well as some other stuff I am working on.

I am also working on the design of the dock area for the river and the shoreline shipping yards. Yeah...it gets bigger and bigger... The shipping yards and dock design are really the last major huge design issues for this. The rest will be filling and adding detail models. Rocks, trees, bushes, trash, busted cars, busted homes, finish the destroyed bridge, and a few other things I have in mind.

Anyways I am getting back to work now. See you guys soon.

[JesseMoody]

Wow it has been so hot around here lately and my air conditioner broke so I haven't been working inside too much on this thing because it has just been too hot so I have been trying to do work late at night but even now it is still too hot to think. But I have been mainly doing things inside the editor now and sculpting the terrain to start getting stuff ready to export. I am reworking some models to make them better in the engine as I move along.

It is definetly a slow process and long for just 1 guy but that is why I love this project. It's huge and very in depth... Well anyways I'll try and post some updates tomorrow. I am also working on some tutorial stuff since I have been emailed and asked about them from many people.

If there is an interest in a certain area let me know and I will see what I can do.

Later...

[JesseMoody]

Well heres a rough shot in the editor of one of my buildings. The texture is still not done on it and the light map hasn't been generated. I was just bringing it in to compare to the other buildings in BF2 to see color comparison and size.

Looks like things are looking pretty good so far as far as what i was testing. Wasn't too hard to get into the editor either.

Well anyways here it is... My building is the one with our buddy Saddam Hussein on it. Still missing the crack layer textures and all normal maps on my building. The other group of buildings are from Strike at Karkand.

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/editor1.jpg

[JesseMoody]

Ok so finally back with some updates. Been working hard on this... but this really wont show that. Anyways been working like crazy on exporting things and testing collision and adding detail items like wires, windows, doors, busted bricks, etc...

Heres a few shots from in game with two of my rough statics to test lighting, color and the normal maps.. (the mosque in the back is a default bf2 item)
http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/screen191.jpg

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/screen192.jpg

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/screen193.jpg

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/screen194.jpg

[JesseMoody]

Ok so I'm back with more stuff in game. Been working on trying to get a beta version of the level out in the next few weeks so pushing a lot of stuff I have done into the editor and into game.

Some stuff is fully textured but most of the stuff is missing dirt maps, normal maps or whatever. Some stuff is off in scale a bit and the collision meshes need to be fixed on some things. Somehow I got the player collision mesh confused with the vehicles one. Go figure... Anyways heres some new screens...

*** OH YEAH BEFORE SOMEONE FLAMES ME - The mosque in the far back is a default DICE mesh and so is the building with green windows... I needed to check scale and color ***

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/screen200.jpg

[JesseMoody]

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/screen199.jpg

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/screen198.jpg

[JesseMoody]

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/screen197.jpg

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/screen196.jpg

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/screen195.jpg

[Petraeus]

Hi there superman114 :)
I've been following your thread for a little while now and want to thank you for sharing your progress on it's development. It's looking bloody good and can't wait to play through the final release. I'm fairly new to 3d design and am also interested in BF2 modding. I've played the latest USI mod and it's very cool.
Do you plan out the gameplay before modelling or will your team playtest it as you go along?
I believe a lot of character will come through the small details you are modelling i.e. grating, rubbish, wreckage, though I'm wondering if there will be enough memory space in your map to allow for it.
I've seen a reworking of the Dalian Plant map by the Allied Intent team set at Dusk and it looks stunning, will you play around with lighting? What time of day will you set it?
Keep up the good work mate!

[HawVer]

Hi,

I really like your work. :applause: Textures are really good. I like the bridge. I really wanna know what looks like in the game. Maybe you have to pay a little attention to the proportions. Windows etc are sometimes a bit to large. I was woundering how much work it is to get the buildings to bf2??

Apart from the political discussion I don't like propaganda in games. Since cg and bf2 has nothing to do with politics and stuff, I think you should keep it away. From my point of view, I dont like to walk in to politics when playing a game. A game is more like a world apart from the existing world. Allthough it are caricatures, it reminds me of problems in the real world.

[SocramOsnofla]

Looks really great so far, keep it up.

No critiscm from me, just wish i had your mapping skills.

[JesseMoody]

I haven't worked on this in the past week because my wife and son are moving to Maine for the rest of the fall and early winter to spend time with my family as I concentrate on school and getting a good job in the industry. So the beta will be delayed but all good things come to those that wait right? It will be really crappy to be without my family but it will also give me countless hours to put into this and many other projects and not have to worry about ignoring anyone.

[kaylon]

I can't see any of the shots.... x ....

[JesseMoody]

I can't see any of the shots.... x ....


hmm... i checked my hosting site and everything is up and running. Not sure why you can't see them.

If you hit refresh it should work. If not let me know...

[JesseMoody]

Well after careful consideration and after speaking with many game development studios about this project I have decided to shy away from the Level Design for now and focus more on a cinematic quality environment. By doing this I will be able to show off more modeling detail and my capabilities.

I feel by doing this it will open more oppertunities for myself and will allow me to focus more on creating detailed environments rather than worrying about the LOD's and similiar stuff for now.

So I am going to start to focus on basically one street with as much detail as possible that will really bring this environment to life. The stuff that I have already done is being sent to the USI development team so that they may utilize the models in their mod until I can pick this back up.

This was a hard decision because I was really starting to like the BF2 engine and learned a lot but this project needs to land me a job or open more doors so I need to make it as sick as possible.

I will continue to post in this thread with all new work though since it is technically the same project and intended for game design.

Thanks for all the feed back and support so far and I'll keep you guys updated.

[Petraeus]

Although I would of course like to see more dev on the map - you've shared heaps of good stuff so far and of course you are absolutely right in redirecting your energies to get the job you deserve. Will be cool to see the more detailed models :) Keep it up mate!


btw 'sick' is not a good adjective ;)

[psychojohno]

Very nice so far i would just like to know how you keep everything to scale and in proportion for example the heights of the buildings and the sizes of the doors and windows.

Looks great! Thanks a lot

[JesseMoody]

Very nice so far i would just like to know how you keep everything to scale and in proportion for example the heights of the buildings and the sizes of the doors and windows.

Looks great! Thanks a lot

I have built everything to real world scale or close to it by setting my unit scale in max to feet. So I go off averages of doors and windows and with my reference photos i use objects in the area that can help with getting the general size of that I am going for.

[JesseMoody]

Ok so I have not posted any updates in over a month so I'm back. I took a small break from this for some other work but have started it back up.


Going more towards the high poly range now. Gearing it more towards a different game engine or maybe just going high poly and deal with the down res later.

So here are the updates...


http://www.kreative-minds.net/wips/mosul/10.jpg


http://www.kreative-minds.net/wips/mosul/12.jpg

http://www.kreative-minds.net/wips/scudlauncher/ScudLauncher_5.jpg

[JesseMoody]

another angle of the scud launcher



http://www.kreative-minds.net/wips/scudlauncher/ScudLauncher_7.jpg

[psychojohno]

looking great! Just wondering what poly counts are you looking at for your buildings and props. Me and a friend are starting a map of a city for our college exhibition which will hopefully be playable using the farcry engine and it would be good to see what poly counts you use to help us as a guide. I would also like to see some wires :thumbsup:

[JesseMoody]

ok after taking a small hiatus away from this to rethink some things and work on other projects I am back with updates. I have one shot to show right now but over the next few days will be showing a lot more new stuff.

So here it is.

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/17.jpg

[JesseMoody]

Heres another update before I leave for class tonight. Then back home to work late into the morning.

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/19.jpg

[JesseMoody]

Back with some more updates.

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/20.jpg


http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/21.jpg

[JesseMoody]

some more updates...


http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/22.jpg

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/23.jpg

[Gamedev]

Lets try this again, firefox crashed on me :(

The new renders are looking good. I'm assuming the last image posted of the 'T' intersection is your final shot? Got a few crits for you:

-the archway to your direct right is bit low poly. I would maybe think about upping the detail and smoothing out the arch.

-We talked about this in class, but most of your wire look to be too thick and stiff. Are the wire poles along the street going to contain actual lights? I would also think about stringing wires across the streets and adding more electrical boxes and transformers.

-Overall, you're lacking light fixtures / sources

-For the size of the street, the width of the sidewalks looks to be too narrow. Its about 1 person wide in some spots

- Maybe some air conditioning units popping out of windows on some of the buildings?

Looking good. Do you have any car models to populate the streets?

[JesseMoody]

Lets try this again, firefox crashed on me :(

The new renders are looking good. I'm assuming the last image posted of the 'T' intersection is your final shot? Got a few crits for you:

-the archway to your direct right is bit low poly. I would maybe think about upping the detail and smoothing out the arch.

-We talked about this in class, but most of your wire look to be too thick and stiff. Are the wire poles along the street going to contain actual lights? I would also think about stringing wires across the streets and adding more electrical boxes and transformers.

-Overall, you're lacking light fixtures / sources

-For the size of the street, the width of the sidewalks looks to be too narrow. Its about 1 person wide in some spots

- Maybe some air conditioning units popping out of windows on some of the buildings?

Looking good. Do you have any car models to populate the streets?

Tyler,

The T intersection will be one of the final views. I'm working on blocking views from other directions so that I can get away with different views as well.

Yeah that archway is left over from my BF2 stuff. So I'm reworking that (just haven't gotten to that piece) are of the area soon.

As for the light poles and wires. As of still they are just place holders to make sure the wires don't hit the walls or buildings and when the final poles are done they will include all the goodies like transformers and the detail you should see on the poles.

The wires will also be thinner and there will be more since the reference stuff I have are just littered with wires everywhere.

As for the sidewalks yeah they are a bit thin in areas and it's like that in the reference but I think I'm going to change it to fit my needs a bit more and widen them up.

So this week i'm actually working on finishing up the larger shapes and adding all the light fixtures, ac units, boards, trash, etc.

I'm also working on some vehicles to litter the streets with and add to the overall scene.

Thanks for the good crits and look forward to getting some more in class.

[JesseMoody]

Ok guys heres an update for the night before I hit my bed.

- added street lights
- thinned wires out and tried to make them look like they hang more naturally
- added debris to far end (will be able to be seen in close ups)
- rounded out the tunnels to the immediate right

Let me know what you guys think.

Thanks for the feedback.

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/26.jpg

[JesseMoody]

Took a break from some modeling tonight to work on the textures. This is the start of one of the buildings diffuse maps.

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/texture1.jpg
http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/texture2.jpg

[dbeeskee]

This is looking great! I have been checking this out for the past month or so, and it just keeps getting better. I also look forward to any future release of USI as a big BF2 fan. Keep it up.

[JesseMoody]

Texture updates.
Ok so been working on breaking the texture up a bit with wear, tear, dirt and some stains.

This is just the diffuse for now. When I'm done I'll do the normal and spec maps.



http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/texture5.jpg

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/texture6.jpg

[JesseMoody]

Last updates for the night.

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/texture8.jpg


http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/texture9.jpg

[JesseMoody]

Gone through and added some more dirt to the texture and built up the worn look.

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/texture11.jpg

[psychojohno]

really cool but how did you do them wires :shrug: are they alpha mapped planes or what?

[Duke of Holland]

Looking good JesseMoody. Keep it up :scream:

At the moment the corners of your walls seems all too straight, make them a little jagged/chipped. It will look much better.

Btw, is this still for BF2 or you changed the project? (I know I've read something somewhere, but Im too lazy to find it)

[JesseMoody]

Looking good JesseMoody. Keep it up :scream:

At the moment the corners of your walls seems all too straight, make them a little jagged/chipped. It will look much better.

Btw, is this still for BF2 or you changed the project? (I know I've read something somewhere, but Im too lazy to find it)

As of right now this is just for a pre-rendered environment. Things will have normal maps and stuff can be reduced in polys to fit into a game engine.

I moved some verts around on the corners to add some variety and break up that straight appearence.

Also added a specular map and the normal map. Still tweaking it to get it just right.

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/texture18.jpg

[JesseMoody]

Well this is the last update for the evening. Gonna go to bed so I can get some sleep since I've been at this all day.

Almost done with this building. Tomorrow I will finish the windows and add the doors and move on to the next object in my scene.

I have also gone with a much cleaner and professional look for my updates.

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/update1.jpg

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/update2.jpg

[Duke of Holland]

Great :thumbsup:

Its looking "used" now, good work.

[psychojohno]

jesse is it possible that you could post the textures for that building im wondering how you did them. How many textures are there in total and what size are they? Also did you use decals for the damage?

thanks a lot its comming on nicely

[JesseMoody]

jesse is it possible that you could post the textures for that building im wondering how you did them. How many textures are there in total and what size are they? Also did you use decals for the damage?

thanks a lot its comming on nicely

Well they aren't textures designed for the BF2 engine any more. So basically I have rather large textures because I am going to be rendering pretty high res stuff so the building has 3 diffuse textures with each one having a specular and normal map with it.

The damage is part of the diffuse textures and then pushed in detail from the normal maps.

[JesseMoody]

Heres another update on the texturing process.

- Added the windows
- Textured the light poles, base plates and metal barriers

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/update3.jpg

[JesseMoody]

Here is one of the props i'm working on that goes with the environment / theme of everything.

It's an RPG. I got the idea for the render layout from a tutorial I saw on rendering for a portfolio and since I had an RPG I was working I thought hey that would look good like that so here it is.

Just started the texture on the diffuse tonight and will finish it up tomorrow and then do the spec and normal map and then finish the rocket part.

So heres the UV layouts (this thing was a major pain by the way)

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/texturelayout.jpg

and heres the render of it so far
Let me know which one you like better

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/rpg5.jpg

OR

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/rpg6.jpg

and heres a shot of the wireframe and poly count.

http://www.artbyjesse.com/mosul/RPG_2_wire.jpg

[urgaffel]

Looking pretty good there! One thing though, change the polycounter from polygons to triangles. It will give you the number of polygons it will use in the game. When it counts polygons, it can count a 6 sided polygon as 1 polygon instead of 4 triangles... Er... It doesn't make much sense but trust me, you want to know the triangle count ;)

[JesseMoody]

So heres the latest update. Sorry for the issues with my webhost being down and all the boxes with red x's.
So started this today with the unwrap and diffuse. Still needs lots of work but should move on to the spec and normal tonight.

http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/9323/texture42vg1.jpg

[JesseMoody]

ok so i'm working on the normal map now and spec. Need to finish up the windows for this piece of the house, add the doors and move on down to the next piece of this building.

http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/7751/texture44on3.jpg

[JesseMoody]

last update of the night.http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/9612/texture46pl8.jpg

[JesseMoody]

still at it...
http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/7486/texture50sw6.jpg

[JesseMoody]

Well it sure has been a long time since I have posted anything on this project here so here is an update and some past updates.

Still got a fair amount of untextured stuff and the ground texture is just a place holder and yeah it's ugly as sin...

http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/5967/mosul1cq8.jpg



and here are some of the props for the scene...

http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/5231/realtime2os3.jpg

[JesseMoody]

heres a wireframe and texture progress on the scud

http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/4127/wireframe1cg3.jpg

http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/3193/scudlauncher10qg8.jpg

[Stefan-Morrell]

this is coming along nicely..whats the poly count on the whole level?...with some good particle dust fx & atmosphere it should look great in-game

some crits I can offer:
the wall in the last image(on the left) is made up of many polygons that aren't doing anything..the windows being placed on top of the mesh means you'd only need a couple polys to make that wall.
also the yellow building next to it has a heap of horizontal edges that don't seem to be doing anything.

the bricks in the foreground...are those circular parts modeled into the bricks?..for such a small prop that seems like overkill & those polys could be better used elsewhere..you could even assume these are second hand bricks & those circular parts have left over mortar in them.(whats the tri count on them?)

the scale of some objects seems a bit off..the 'Police' sign for instance looks to be at face height..when it realy should be somewhat larger

the textures on the truck look good..although the scratches look a bit too bright & maybe there's too much of them..that may look great for a hardcore scifi vehicle but for realism it's too much...good work on the wheels though

hope that helps

Cheers
Stefan

[JesseMoody]

this is coming along nicely..whats the poly count on the whole level?...with some good particle dust fx & atmosphere it should look great in-game

some crits I can offer:
the wall in the last image(on the left) is made up of many polygons that aren't doing anything..the windows being placed on top of the mesh means you'd only need a couple polys to make that wall.
also the yellow building next to it has a heap of horizontal edges that don't seem to be doing anything.

the bricks in the foreground...are those circular parts modeled into the bricks?..for such a small prop that seems like overkill & those polys could be better used elsewhere..you could even assume these are second hand bricks & those circular parts have left over mortar in them.(whats the tri count on them?)

the scale of some objects seems a bit off..the 'Police' sign for instance looks to be at face height..when it realy should be somewhat larger

the textures on the truck look good..although the scratches look a bit too bright & maybe there's too much of them..that may look great for a hardcore scifi vehicle but for realism it's too much...good work on the wheels though

hope that helps

Cheers
Stefan


Wow thanks for the feedback. As for poly counts it is rather high right now on everything with the high poly vehicles and stuff it is around 650k tris. A lot of stuff could be optimized like the cables and stuff all over the place.

As far as the edges on the buildings yeah you can't really see them from this angle and I can probably just get the same detail from my bump/normal maps but the buildings are slightly pushed in and dented in some areas. I'm gonna optimize these some more though.

The bricks are a basic rectangle. The holes are textured and then i sunk them in a little with a normal map to make the edge look more rounded and not so flat.

Looking back at it yeah the police sign seems very short and it should be much higher.

And finally the textures on the truck and the scratches... I can agree with you and everyone else that has pointed those out that they are indeed too bright and I think I may have put too many of them on it so far. I am still working on that vehicle and will do so more over my break from school for the next 3 weeks. I actually got the process of painting the metal from your tutorials. They are amazing and have helped considerably on this project with many things. So thank you.

[Stefan-Morrell]

I can agree with you and everyone else that has pointed those out that they are indeed too bright and I think I may have put too many of them on it so far. I am still working on that vehicle and will do so more over my break from school for the next 3 weeks. I actually got the process of painting the metal from your tutorials. They are amazing and have helped considerably on this project with many things. So thank you.

going overboard with scratching & smashing up surfaces is something Im also very guilty of :)
it's all too easy to get carried away with those details.

you should try & get some dust on the truck too..in this kind of environment everything is going to be covered in dust...which will play a large part in any specular settings you use...I've got no idea how to achieve that but it would look cool

good to hear your considering bumps for the walls.& thanks for clarification on the bricks..now that I've heard how simple they are I'm inclined to say you could spend a few polys & soften the edges of them

Cheers

[JesseMoody]

going overboard with scratching & smashing up surfaces is something Im also very guilty of :)
it's all too easy to get carried away with those details.

you should try & get some dust on the truck too..in this kind of environment everything is going to be covered in dust...which will play a large part in any specular settings you use...I've got no idea how to achieve that but it would look cool

good to hear your considering bumps for the walls.& thanks for clarification on the bricks..now that I've heard how simple they are I'm inclined to say you could spend a few polys & soften the edges of them

Cheers

Yeah I think I got a little too carried away with the damage as well. I am actually trying to get the dust on the truck look and make it look more like it should but i haven't really found the best approach yet.

I'm working on a few tests with it. I just basically modeled a few angles and stuff and textured them to look like the truck and playing with different paint layers and spec settings but so far no such luck. I'm sure I'll stumble upon it though and when I do i'll share it with ya.

Yeah the bricks can be more rounded a bit i think. I'll probably add some more polys around the edges to make them look a bit more rounded. Thanks for the tips and speedy feedback.

[JesseMoody]

Ok so I was messing with AO passes just to see what difference it would make as well as doing some touchups in photoshop.

Let me know which ones you think look better and why. Thanks again guys.

Image 1

http://img226.imageshack.us/img226/7632/composite1smallbo1.jpg
Image 2

http://img226.imageshack.us/img226/6205/composite2smallsg7.jpg

Image 3

http://img226.imageshack.us/img226/6836/composite3smallnw1.jpg

[requiem2d]

Improving nicely, what's the current goal? If I recall correctly, it went from BF2 map to general Level test (regardless of poly count)? Is that still the case, and if so, are you still using DICE's multitexturing/shaders?

[JesseMoody]

Basically just an environment piece and will try to make it a level test when it is done and I can optimize some parts of it.

I am no longer using DICEs multishader method. Mainly just the normal way of texturing things now.

[Teyon]

The middle picture would be my pick. I prefer the lighting in it, not too dark like the first and not too bright like the last.

[broli4000]

Actually Im pretty happy with the first one. Its really no darker that the second one, but it casts a sunset type of lighting on it and it just makes you feel like some serious stuff is gonn go down soon. Either the first or second really. The last one is just too bright for my tastes, it washes out the tower in the background.

[JesseMoody]

So this is the latest prop I am working on. It's an Iraqi Street Vendors Cart. Still got some work to do on the texture but thought I'd post it anyways.

http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/7960/2bn9.jpg

[monkeynutz]

I was actually categorizing (upon seeing initially) the images as 1) near dusk, 2) mid-day (cloudy) and 3) mid day (bright). Razor sharp shadows aside I'd say that considering the area the third image is most appropriate. The sun is very bright in the middle east and a lot of the light browns and tans will turn to white in direct sunlight. That's my opinion anyway. I've previosuly had problems with my monitor showing images too dark in the past (allegedly resolved) so hopefully that is not the case here.

[JesseMoody]

Ok so I changed a few things and worked on some of the edges and got rid of the Hebrew Coke sign since it should be Arabic.

Haven't got to do the normal / bump / spec maps yet.

http://img343.imageshack.us/img343/6048/5fq5.jpg

[Gamedev]

Its looking pretty good. Maybe think about the umbrella a bit though. In the center, there should be some sort of point, like any umbrella, and then have the sides slope down so its more cone chaped. The color map looks fine so far. Get started on the spec map, thats whats going to make it pop. Hope you're having a good break!

[JesseMoody]

Tyler, Hey man whats up? Hows High Moon treating ya?

-Yeah I am gonna get the spec and normal map done today or later tonight and move on to the next piece.

-I was looking for the pic of the umbrella i based this off from my Iraq reference but I can't find it right now. I think it is mainly designed to keep the sun off the carts owner and not for rain, but I see what you mean with how it can benefit from more slope and the higher middle section.

[PenguinVisuals]

I think you should try unstraight the poles you have in your scene. Like the traffic sign's and the light's. Your environment is pretty worn out and those poles being perfectly straight got my eyes when I first look at it.

[Gamedev]

Work is going well. The project is looking good man, and you already know my advice (get it done before you graduate and land a job before the heard starts to apply). Looking forward to updates!

[tofugorilla]

looks good so far. A few things- The street is so level it looks unnatural, the windows repeating is kind of noticable, and I'm sure you are working on it but trash and debris are missing. It looks pretty clean for buildigns to be in that sort of shape :)

Anyhow, Keep going, It looks great! :)

-T

[JesseMoody]

Ok the Vender Cart is finished and I'll be adding it to my final scene here in a little bit after I get some more props done.

Heres all the stuff for it.

http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/6515/textureflats2vd8.jpg

http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/5043/wirelayouts2gt9.jpg

http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/8559/cartdisplaypb9.jpg

[JesseMoody]

http://www.artbyjessemoody.com/wips/mosul/mosul3.jpg
http://www.artbyjessemoody.com/wips/mosul/mosul4.jpg

Finally I have found some time to work on this again.

I've also gone through and optimized my Vendor Cart some more to lower the counts down. I cut out over 1000 tris.

http://artbyjessemoody.com/wips/Cart.jpg

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