ROBERTO'S BULLHORN: Space Combat Challenge...

#1

In the near future, I want to do an original space combat challenge. Something that is not easy feat in the age of Battlestar Galactica, Star Wars & Star Trek.

I would love to see things like REALISTIC looking capital ships, more 2010 less Trek (with centrifugal chambers) using rail guns to blow Truck size holes into each other, I want to see people being blown into space after the ships bullheads implode, I want to see things like asteroids being used as kinetic weapons, men in doing combat in spacesuits and space fighters that fly in ALL axis…

The question is…
Can it be done? And if so how do we make it original?

Looking forward to your ideas.

-R

#2

this is one that CAN be done, with the right guidance. However if you could get people online to create this you also could get the same people online to do a project for money.

Forget that, so can it be done? In steps yes, just seems like a huge undertaking in the way described. I think step one is to forus that idea… like star wars had to be broken up into 6 (or 9 originally dreamt) movies. So If it was take these models and there are three challenges, each different fx on the same ship. winners try to combine work maybe.

If you work out deals with some artist you find online who would give their models it’s possible. There in lies the challenge. Who would do that? and would their work be cool enough? I mean even models I work hard on I don’t want to give away.

So my 4 cents is that it can be done in smaller chunks with donated models.

#3

You need counseling for your aggression issues.

Just joking. :slight_smile:

This reminds me of the battle scene in StarShip Troopers where the ships are being hit by huge blasts from the planet.

I don’t know what you mean by realistic, but can you provie references of what realistic is and what isn’t.

#4

This topic confuses me, a bit.

A lot of the stuff you describe seems to be more a modeling/design challenge than FX – realistic ships, centrifugal chambers, etc. All the people and spaceships fighting seem to be more animation challenges than FX, with the ancillary detail of air jets, gun fire, and explosions falling under the FX category. Some of the space troops could be ragdolls, which fits under FX. And I suppose mass amounts of spaceships/armies would be crowdsim, which falls more under FX than animation. But that gets kind of difficult to do with the off-the-shelf packages, IMO.

Am I understanding correctly? Could you clarify?

#5

Yea I agree. But isn’t everything in CG an FX? I mean doing crashes, explosions, and dynamics is just action FX. Back in the 70’s just showing a space ship flying by was an FX.

#6

Maybe my misunderstanding is based on the nature of these assignments. My impression is that this sort of exercise is to help people build up a reel for job applications. Some FXWARS challenges are geared towards a compositing reel, some are for an FX reel. But for a modeling/animation/texturing reel? There’s already a ton of challenges out there in those categories.

While I think that “FX TD” is probably the most generalized position out there, as we have to have our hands in the most honeypots, a reel with only great models, animation, texturing, and rendering won’t help a whole lot in terms of getting an FX TD job. It’s good to show you know the whole pipeline, but you should also show you’ve got an emphasis on one thing.

But maybe I’m thinking in an overly cut-throat manner about this, and it should be more fun than anything. :slight_smile:

#7

Yea I understand what your saying, but even so I know a lot of amazing modellers who create highly detailed models but don’t have the first clue on how to get them rendering in a production pipeline.

A FX TD’s job would be to retain the high quality of the model at render time while reducing the weight that model has on the pipeline. If you could show on your reel a huge battle scene, and just say “I worked out how to render huge detailed models, with large textures, and got it done with little hardware.” then you’d be a lifesaver in most FX houses.

#8

Agreed. I’d say such a challenge would be a bit hampered by the fact that most of the people wouldn’t be using the full versions of the major renderers, and thus wouldn’t have access to stuff like delayed readarchives, but it’d be a good learning experience nonetheless.

#9

Keep the conversation going…

To be honest i just want to see if we could do an FX wars with a space theme…

-R

#10

Well, if you just keep it FX-based, that’d be fine. Something like a wormhole, or explosions in space, or a nebula, or weird sci-fi critters (the abyss water-thing, or the living planet in Solaris). Even a big space battle, if the emphasis was on the fx parts… :slight_smile:

#11

This could turn out to be a very good idea. Although I was thinking, will this be a challenge with different teams participating and competing with each other or will it consist of a single group of people that will work on a single animated short film?

Thanks,
3DEffects

#12

I been thinking that I could try something we have never done before…

We could Try to establish a STYLE for all entries.
And the FX shots could be based on a UNIFIED storyline

We could create desings for all CORE vehicles base on a unified storyline:
The shots we could request are:
[ul]
[li]CAPITAL SHIP COMBAT[/li][li]LANDING ON AN ALIEN CITY[/li][li]CROWD SHOT OF ALIEN TROOPS[/li][li]SHIP COING TO WARP[/li][li]THE FALL OF A COLONY…[/li][/ul]People would have flexibility on what to do on the shots, as long as they use the CORE desings.

Storyline: We could do a first contact situation in ONE solar system that goes SOUTH in a bad way. The Humans cannot go back, so they have to fight.

The CORE Desings that would be provided for ALL entrie would be:

HUMAN:
CAPITAL SHIP, LANDER SHIP, SPACE FIGHTER, CARGO SHIP

Human Colony
Human City
Humans: Soldiers, Officers,Troopers, Colonists

ALIEN
HIVE CAPITAL SHIP, HIVE ATTACK SHIP
Alien Hive
Alien Nest
Aliens: Soldiers, Officers,Troopers, Colonists

SOLAR SYSTEM:
PLANETS, Asteroid Fields etc…

#13

Interesting, very interesting. I like the structure of the storyline. Well done Roberto!:slight_smile:

Will this FXWar start soon or it may take some time until all is prepared and made ready?

Thanks,
3DEffects

#14

This ideas need to mature first.
And that only happens when you guys take it apart.

So keep the comments coming.

-R

#15

Ah I see. Thought it would be abit early to develop such a vast story. Anyway, If I think of any ideas, comments or suggestions, I will definately post them!

Thanks,
3DEffects

#16

Ok I am liking this idea, Robert - I love that you aren’t afraid to try something this big! They do stuff like this on Deviant Art all the time, I don’t see why it can’t be done here.

So, I’m thinking…

Break it all down. Get a rough storyline going, it doesn’t have to be detailed at all - almost what you wrote already is enough.

Break down the scenes for smaller scenes within for each participant and get everyone to sign up… then delegate the ‘scenes’ to the artists who joined up.

Did you want it to be solely 2D? 3D? a mixture of the two or a free-for-all where anyone can put their skills to the test?

An example of what I am saying is say that I sign up – and down the line, I get ‘assigned’ the ‘Fall of a Colony: Ground Troops’ category. Then, I get to do what I want with that… get me?

Keep the story united, but our creative imaginations at our own will – do not delegate one style of ‘space man’ or ‘spaceship’ but let our juices flow once we get our assigned category.

Make sense?

#17

I think lots of us would badly love to see something like this happen…atleast I know I would :slight_smile: . There’s enough skill around these forums to pull it off, the issue is finding people willing to give the time and focussed determination to pull it off.
Maybe stage the minichallenges to produce the needed people and assets? You’ve done this with the FXwars and sketch sections I think?

I’d also suggest doing very, very short bits that can be extended over time as people are able to work on it and work actually gets turned in. Maybe something like a short cutscene idea that only needs a few seconds per scene?

Just spitballing some of the things I’ve been contemplating regarding this sort of thing… :shrug:

#18

And that is the KEY of my plan… (Maniacal Laugh)

Lots and lots mini challeges to create assets.
The cool thing is that as long as the 3d assets are:
[ul]
[li]Polygon Based[/li][li]Uv mapped[/li]
[/ul]We might be ok.
-R

#19

Sounds like a great idea. I have a suggestion about the style of the project: for once, I’d like to see aliens and situations more believable and imaginative then the anthropomorphisms that Hollywood and the game industry are always putting out-- more like what you see in modern hard sf- Bova, Greg Egan, and so on,- and less like Gene Roddenberry and George Lucas (and, please God, not giant insects! :p).

Really, far-future hard sci-fi has almost no representation in animation or film-- it would be pretty cool to see something like that tried out in a visual medium.

#20

hehe, cool!.. great minds and all…huh…did I say that. :smiley:

Going for a 2001 look is a cool idea and probably will also help simplify the texture work alot.

Definitely Poly cages and UV will be required…formats aside, the greatest challenge is getting people sticking to it and finishing. :hmm: