Update : xenesis-engine (III)

As you can see, right now i'm fiddling around with a vegetation-concept to bring some content in the world. Ya, i know, the fps sux right now, but there isn't -any- optimization in it right now, and the amount of rendered stuff isn't really low. In this test i set up to show trees in a radius of 128 tiles around the player (1 tile = 2 meters), so we can see trees up to 250 meters away from us. Already looks very dense.

DEdit-Trick : Outlining

Hi there,

here is a little, neat trick for DEdit (and for sure, for other 3D-render programs and -editors as well) how to create an 'outlining'-effect. This is an effect known from drawn things, especially comics, and it is describing the optic when things are drawn with a more intensive style at their outer edges. That way, they can be shown more separated from the background and other elements in the drawn scene.

Now the big question : why talking about it here?
Well, during the last 4-5 years, working with DEdit and other 3D-rendering stuff, i collected/created a set of techniques and/or tricks that helped me creating maps in a more efficient way. Also, Tron itself is orientated to a style of computergraphics from the early 80's, at that time 3D-CGI always looked very 'edgy', so this optic can fit well (if used correctly and wisely).

IMPORTANT : It should be told at this point, that this effect can (but don't have to) be a massive backshot, if you don't use it right or to massivly in your maps. That said, your performance of the map could drop. So better make yourself some good thoughts about your map before you use this effect! And work cleanly, otherwise you create too much extra polygons, that will reduce the performance!

IMPORTANT : In each step of this tutorial i added the corresponding keys you sometimes could use. These are mapped to my keyboardlayout (german) and might be different if you changed the settings in your DEdit (heck, even i don't know which of my settings are still default or not :)).

HOW TO
Lets assume we're talking about an object like this in the map, where we want to have that outlining:


And our target is to reach such an effect:


How to do that?

It is simple. First duplicate the original(A) so you get a copy(B), that copy will be used for the outlining.
[SHIFT & C > SHIFT & V]


Now set the position of the copy(b) to the same as of the original(A)
[SELECT (A) > SHIFT & X > SELECT (B) > SHIFT & Z(maybe Y if your keyboard has not a german layout)]


In the next step, you increase the dimension of the copy(B) about 1 or 2 DEdit-units in each of the six directions. So like this:

(TIP: the higher the increase the more intense the outlining will be shown!)

Now put a texture onto the copy(B), for a Tron-styled map surely something 'glowish' :) (for toon-style you should use something black):


Flip the faces of all sides of the copy(b), so the outside is now inside (i have hidden the original(A) so you can see it better!):
[PRESS F]


All steps are done, all you have to do now is to compile/process your map, and make a test. You can run around in your map as much as you want, you will realize that only the outer edges of the cube will be showing.
Combined with, for example a flat-shading, you can also create a toon-look. You just need to setup a texture like something black on the copy.

Here are two example how this would look like if you have a more complex shape/architecture in your map, using this effect.

Digital Art : Character

Currently i'm working on the look of programs, or at least how they should look in Diu. Right for now here are two sneak previews of a programs head: one normal, the other using a subprogram creating a kind of visor (first level of this subprogram, has two more).




Programs are very complex in Diu, nearly every part of their look has a function or use, so a reason why it exists or for what it is used for.

INFINITE

Shortly in DIU there were rumors about a special program which is called 'Moebius'. Regarding to the rumors it must be a kind of transport, but a very special one as such a transport could normally not exists.
It works like a perpetuum mobile as this program uses its own energy again and again.

(I dedicate this little design in full respect to Jean 'Moebius' Giraud, a great Artist, Designer and my all time favourite, who also made many great designs for films like Tron, Fifth Element and even some stuff in Alien. I wish i would have just a little bit of his skills!)

Digital Art : xBoard

I had to knock down a program from that neat thingy to show it : a hoverboard which is a special-mode/-form of the id-disc. Definitly part of my digital world 'Diu', if it will be part of TDM is not verified.

Digital Art : xLightCycle

I'm not such a big fan of lightcycle as others are (no! take that disc down again! bad program! i know that i suck), but anyway i was curious if i can design one, and here is the result:

(4000 polies died during the construction of this lightcycle, so lets have a minute of silence for them... . Also there were 100 buckets of polishing creme used to give this shiny effect).





So far it is not planned to have this LC in TDM (but might change, don't know), so look at it as kind of digital art for now.

That's my ride, dude...

UPDATE : Dude, my ride got polished, now it is ready!

If you ever were curious about my ride i took everyday to my work, look:

(Just to compare: that was my old ride... ugly huh?)


(now the nu one... shaboing)




(when it was under construction...)





Seriously this is an impulsJumper out of TDM.
Texturing completed : 100%
Modeling completed : 100%

Art

In my free time i like to make art/-work and/or design. Colouring by numbers was way to boring, so i decided to make different stuff.
So if you are intrested, bored or a spider-bot you might have a look to the upper-right of this page, where this flashy, fading thingy resists. There you can watch some of my artwork, click it to jump to my whoopy-yay-awesome-crap-gallery.
All artwork or designs or screen or blah will be in that gallery hosted by google/picasa. I'm not a fan of such things, really, but better then nothing. Don't expect to see glorious and fantastic artwork there. Not that i could show some (nice excuse, isn't it), but i won't put up things i worked on for a long time, just to see it crapped up somewhere else on a different page with a title to it from someone saying 'i made cool artwork (as i copy'n'pasted some fotos of my goldfish via photoshop on it, w00t!)'.
If you are intrested in any of my stuff (not only artwork), you'll need to get in contact with me. If not, get in contact to me as well, but then write nothing so i can reply nothing.
For the rest of the time, enjoy what you can see on my picasa-web-gallery.