A better room for the demo [WIP]

[samuncle]

I could try to load your models in ZBrush and create normal maps for the details

That would be cool .

Irrlicht has great potential, but sometimes, it also need great content to promote it further.

That is the purpose of this demo.

The way I'm modeling, is not to put any limit on my polygon limit and create what I need to the detail

+42

Using that technique also permit me to create multiple LOD

Yes that what I'm thinking . But I will need help with coding.

@ACE247
I have seen your tech demo. It's very beautiful.
My idea was to make a room inspired by prince of persia. With objects like torchs, fountains …. Some concepts if you want inspiration.
concept art:




http://www.fantasyworlds.fr/article-pri ... 78898.html

Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taj_Mahal
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architecture_of_India
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_of_Persia

[ACE247]

Nice Concept art. I really like 2,3 and 4.

But lets first sum up what we are trying to achieve here and how with this demo.

• High and Low end hardware support by having differing mesh/media detail levels.
• Mesh lod preferably artist created or for simple objects auto baked.
• Simple and overseeable demo, of moderate code complexity.
• Preferrably have a small and feature rich scene, avoid mega landscape bloat that require complex optimizations.
• Promote irrlicht and its features(Lighting, Particles and Shaders must all be used to some degree).
  Have elements of all the examples present
• Small demo media size, first model geometry as high poly, then export optimized versions for low and high end versions.
  Then from the original high poly meshes bake normal maps for the optimized high end mesh.
• Load demo media (textures and meshes) from compressed zip file and use most compact texture and mesh format(What is suggested?)
  Important to have good media formats as some stuff is upto 10x Larger and we want this to go into irrlicht engine default, instead of the lame quake2 demo
• Possibility of loading scene from .irr file, just to show this works

I'll post some more stuff soon

[sudi]

Do you only want to redo the old sample room or really create a new feature demo that shows all of irrlichts capabilities?

[ACE247]

I personally want to completely revamp the old quake style demo of irrlicht into something fresh!

[samuncle]

For those that want to help me and contribute I opened a SVN repository.
https://code.google.com/p/lightwell-demo/

I personally want to completely revamp the old quake style demo of irrlicht into something fresh

Yeah. Irrlicht's original demos are now old. Currently the room is already better than the original one.

* Simple and overseeable demo, of moderate code complexity.
* Load demo media (textures and meshes) from compressed zip file and use most compact texture and mesh format(What is suggested?)
* Important to have good media formats as some stuff is upto 10x Larger and we want this to go into irrlicht engine default, instead of the lame quake2 demo

+1

* Preferrably have a small and feature rich scene, avoid mega landscape bloat that require complex optimizations.

If we have time (and to include a nice skybox) I can add a small oasis outside the room. Surrounded by rocks (to avoid a mega landscape)

* Promote irrlicht and its features(Lighting, Particles and Shaders must all be used to some degree). Have elements of all the examples present

I added a fountain in the center of the room. We can also add "magical" effects, torches and stuff like that .

[ACE247]

Okay I've checked-out the repository and will see what I can do all round. Probably I'll start with some coding and scene fine mesh work.
PS: Kudos for using blender, makes it so easy for me to get going, as It's my modelling tool of choice

[samuncle]

Ok ACE247. That is cool.

Do you want a write access to the repository ?

[samuncle]

The well and the sand ground are above the hidden room. I'm not sure if we have time to make a small oasis, but if anybody want to make a nice cube map we can include it .

[Cube_]

Wow, this looks lovely!

[christianclavet]

Hi! Thanks for putting the SVN up! I was able to get the models, and check it in 3Ds max (Exported from blender first)

This is really well done!

About the oasis, if the demo is NOT interactive, then it would be ok. If you plan to make it interactive like to old Irrlicht demo (Quake 2 level with the 2 characters), perhaps completing the oasis would be required. (I'm thinking of big statues (damaged by the time) in sand dunes near the "well" opening.) The "underground" would be too small in itself to consider it as a level (But really good looking AREA of a level)

Just update me when you have some of the parts have their UV done, and I'll check to start about the normal maps in ZBrush.

Again, nice job!

[hendu]

Flowing water, flying sand, real-time erosion?

Only half kidding.

[samuncle]

I finished a basic mock-up of the oasis, to see the size, the scale, the elements that are in the demo.

It has three distinctive parts:
1) The columns room in the ground
2) The caves system that connect the room to the oasis
3) The oasis surrounded by rocks and with palm trees, a well (it's directly connected to the room). The

Flowing water

Why not . Maybe we can put a noria to have an animated object, and a small stream.

flying sand

I like the idea of a dynamic skybox. Like the flowing water it's an interesting idea

real-time erosion

, A crazy feature. I have absolutely no idea how this could be done and we don't have the time to do it. It's not our priority, but if one day somebody want to try to do this with irrlicht, it will be great .

About the oasis, if the demo is NOT interactive, then it would be ok. If you plan to make it interactive like to old Irrlicht demo (Quake 2 level with the 2 characters), perhaps completing the oasis would be required

My idea was a demo with nobody. Just like the unigine island and heaven demo a flying camera automatic or controlled by the "player". So an interactive but with no characters.

(I'm thinking of big statues (damaged by the time) in sand dunes near the "well" opening.)

I'm not sure. I prefer the small abandoned well with nothing around like this, but above a crypt with magic effects …

[ACE247]

About that oasis, I want to change how it is 'Walled-in', instead of all the big round rocks which don't look very natural, I am going to put a cliff on one side for like a canyon running through the desert(these are more common than you might think) with a bit of fill-in scenery and a custom skybox.
On the other opposite side an expanse of dune belts, with the final 'wall' dunes too steep to traverse. I'll be quite busy for the weekend, and only can get back on this monday, so don't try to change too much with the oasis landscape, or just keep it modular. You can work all you want though on the cave and well above it. Also streaming water and flying sand are entirely possible, I already have a nice approach and several tricks to achieve this
Also about those big statues damaged by time, we can have all or most of those underground, the tunnel does not just have to lead to that one cave, it could go a little further. Perhaps have a hidden entry way to a cave full of ancient treasures that sparkle in the light? Then we can finally use some high specular.

[hendu]

Why not . Maybe we can put a noria to have an animated object, and a small stream.

No, not a hardcoded animation - a real fluid simulation, where it first starts flowing, then slowly fills the oasis, then flows over and starts to run downwards on the cave floors. Perhaps even with disruption by the player's (invisible) feet.

[Granyte]

real time erosion would be possible if the terrain is based on a heightmap and generated in real time using vertex textures one could then devlop an erosion filter to aply on the terrain each X amount of frames

but that's a preatty insane feature and would require alot of messing around and my vertex texture patch for dx9 also it would be limitex to dx10 capable card (or some specific dx9 card with only some texture format)