Dogwaffler of the Moment - March 2005:
comanche

[ show me more DOTM ]

The GamesWorks Sdn Bhd

A Game Developer in Malaysia
www.thegamesworks.com

Using Project Dogwaffle to paint skins for
3D game models and backgrounds.

    Hi there folks at Project Dogwaffle,

    We’re a games developer currently developing titles for the PC. What we use Dogwaffle for is for creating skins for our models. Here is an example of a Comanche helicopter skin, and a screenshot of a game (still under development) using that skin on a 3D model. Incidentally, the background in this screenshot was also made using dogwaffle.

    As game developers we have to keep the polygon counts or number of surfaces of our models to a minimum (as each polygon needs to be redrawn by the computer everytime the model changes position; and these re-drawings take up processor time). If we were to model every rivet, window frame (and anything else), it would increase the polygon count of the models. As such our models are kept fairly flat and simple.


(interactive viewing in
 Conitec's Gamestudio 6 model editor (med))

Therefore, the details are painted onto the skins that we apply to the models through texture mapping. The painting of the skins and applying of details such as rivets, rust and battle scarring is something that Project Dogwaffle lends itself very well to.

    Lastly, I just wanted to congratulate you all on a job well done. Dogwaffle is an excellent product and I would not hesitate to recommend it to any aspiring artist (or any other interested party for that matter).

Tiki Shabudin
CHIEF SMITHY
The Gamesworks Sdn Bhd
Malaysia
web:   www.thegamesworks.com
 
Editor's note:

This illustration shows what else can be done directly withint PD Pro:
  • Load a few frames of the rendered chopper in an animated brush
  • Set the background color to transparent
  • Render the animated brush within the brush keyframer along a path, changing the position, scale, rotation and fading transparency to simulate atmospheric perspective
  • add a slight motion blurr too
  • Back in the Timeline editor, add the snowfall effect.

All images are copyright(c) thegamesworks or their respective owners  - all rights reserved. No unauthorized reproductions,  please  contact the author. Trademarks or registered trademarks are property of their respective owners and used only for identification purposes.
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