Games (PC) Jurassic Extinction (Released)

@jbb1979 check your message "inbox", lol

 

I strongly recommend buying Aquas, fantastic investment, the water is beautiful

 

I will check that out, thnx

 

All observation towers will have ammo, weapons, and med-packs in them, and you need to be very wise with your supplies (ammo, med-packs, etc.). As of today i have 1,280 hours into this project, lol.

I wasnt planning on making this screenshot Public, but i just cant contain my excitement (select others have already seen this). This is the last dino you will encounter before entering the operations center, The animations are incredible (play-biting heads, etc.), and is very fast. This has only been posted here, and no where else:



Note: this area now has full foliage since SS was taken.

 

Wow, 4 hours just putting down rocks, and 9 hours on interior trees, etc. , lol. Take a look at the T-Rex area now (and yes they have a baby):

 

Like your progress, been watching your thread sometime, what will be the main aim of the gme, e.g. survival? I am sure you have lots of planned improvements but one thing I would like to mention is that your terrain grass could use some variants, different types/height//colours/flowers/bushes etc. Also maybe consider adding some lighting effects to the sun, like aura2 , that will transform your scene
Keep going!

 

Thnx for the advice, yes thats all planned, as well as volumetric fog/post process effects, and more. Have to finish all interior trees, etc. (almost done), then grass/flowers, dead trees, plants.

Im also going to use some base parts of Weather Maker

 

Sorry for the late update, but been working on one of the bigger assets...

 

Also done tonight, the soldiers are correctly scaled, which has allowed me to now (finally) scale ALL dinos, and assets to correct scale (Spinosaurus is actually equal/smaller than t-rex, in reality). Looking much better Video will be posted soon...

 

This is a video to show scale update:

• Dead trees have been added (need texture update, GPU instanced of course).
  
• All juvinile species have been added (youll see the t-rex baby in there).
  
• The t-rex/spinosaurus area is the last undeveloped area of the island, but should be finished by weeks end.
  
• Volumetric fog/clouds and lighting is currently being tested (its down to Aura 2, or Enviro - Sky and Weather), which one has lowest draw calls and resource demands wins the game.
  
• Current work has been on EAI/final non-combat animations, with great results.

 

hopefully the walking sound is a placeholder it was rather painful to listen to

 

I agree, sorry, how i dev is by placing a new conroller each time i work on another area of the island (easier), I just forget to turn it down on videos,..

 

Last nights video had a few probs, and now clouds are adjusted (rotational speed, density, etc.), and Fog is currently being worked on

 

How did you do the clouds?

 

The clouds are derrived from a Standard Assets particle effect, which has great control, and later on might benefit from post processing and etc. (depends on your rendering pipeline, etc.)

• Go to your Standard Assets folder/Particle Systems, then Prefabs/DustStorm, drag and drop it into your scene.
• Now raise it up into the sky, increase your scale (x = 100, Y=1, Z= 100)
• Set your Start Size to: 1100 and end size to: 2100.
• Set Duration to: 10.
• Set Start Lifetime to: 15.
• Go to Rotation Over Lifetime, and set the Angular Velocity to: 4 and 4.
• Go to Renderer and set to Horizontal Billboard.
• At the bottom of that box you can select different particle shaders (legacy Shaders).

Thats a basic set up, you can now adjust different perameters (adjust things) to your liking. Now these are a basic set up and not what i actually have, tailor to you liking. You can use this same "theory" to add great looking Fog, Have fun!

 

Worked on Textures tonight (on the dinos), check this out, and look at the Detail ive brought out on this model (compared to orig), in game you can see the muscles flexing perfectly. I want to squeeze out as much detail as possible:

 

Id really like to get into wether these guys had actual "color" in reality, im going to do some extended research, and see what i can find out, (maybe Antypodish will chime in). Video to follow with progress, as i want this to be as fun as possible, and as accurate as possible...

 

Colors of dinosaurs, or any fossils are very difficult to determine, as they simply not time stamped, like bones or feather/skin does. So what we see often in games, films and museums these are at best artistical and assumption guesses. Specially in films and games, they are made, to look cool for visual effects.

I suspect, at best is to match foliage of the period that fossils has been found and the animal potential masking colors.

But mind, weather you find fossils of zebra, or colorful parrot, I can not imagine a way, to recover information about zebra stripes(weather it had at all), or what color of parrots feather was.

So my best bet would be, either follow latest modern paleontological trending, regarding dinosaurs skinning/feathering, or for game purpose, unleash opportunity to make your animals unique and looking cool, in respect to other available media. Specially you have already introduced 2headed Dino And playing with DNA make sense, to allow create fun variation of skin /feather/scale patterns.

 

Also, checkout more information if you like, regarding your latest dino screenshots. Some paleontological discoveries suggests, that standing out back bones wasn't necessary straight, but were often bend at tips. Often doe to cracks and other life time strains. Also skin probably didn't cover fully stretched as you see on top. Some suggestion are, more like frog skin between fingers. Often also broken cracked etc. Marks of life challenges, fights and bites. I think the last one point, is somehow worth to consider, for most dinos, just as feature. Just like human scars.

 

I've Heard they Know roughly Where the Muscles were Based, on Bone size And, Comparing Animal studies - - So, what you see as Shape, is Probably correct - - I Mean, in Museums - - My Guess is, They Probably Look like Current water or, ground-based reptiles, on color - - crocodiles look almost the same, in color, some green, some brownish but, that's universal, for amphian predators . .

My Guess is, take most famous Current land-living predatory reptiles, Varanas, Big reptiles And, Make them Like that, Not Many Predators have colors That stand out, even Tigers that are pretty look that way To fit into Bamboo forests . . So, the environment will probably define it, since that's what they're optimized to Take advantage of, Genetically And, so . . I Think if you're not sure, go with an crocodille, iguana, varana-lizard look, classic reptile greenish and, brownish, may-be some black here and, there - -

Most likely, the color that will allow them to get closest to their prey, without being seen or, much effort will be used, since it ensures hunting success And, Survival - - What is interesting is, if a particular dinosaur is known to hunt near water, using that information you might be able to say, based on current reptiles specialized for near-water hunts, what it might look like - - are they more green, more black, more dark - - you can compare them with current Reptiles In that way, If You try - -§

Maybe you should just make them look, so they Match the environment I Mean have best Camouflage In relation To your island but, since almost all Plants have green leaves, that's photosynthesis, that was probably also back then and, trees being brown on trunk is, also pretty consistent - - so, my Guess is They look pretty ordinary, Really - - That's not bad Because, a Charging T-Rex scary No Matter colour - -

their brains is Size of pea So, AI Should Not take long - -$

Good luck, Take care - -

 

For some ideas,

Reptails camuflage
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=reptiles+camuflage&atb=v94-3_f&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images

Reptails colors
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=reptiles+colors&atb=v94-3_f&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images

Animals predators camouflage
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=animals+predators+camouflage&atb=v94-3_f&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images

Animals predators colors
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Animals+predators+colors&atb=v94-3_f&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images

Birds camouflage
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=birds+camouflage&atb=v94-3_f&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images

Birds colors
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=birds+colors&atb=v94-3_f&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images

 

I'm not Sure but, I Think only venomous Or, Animals with toxins inside, like some caterpillars, advertise with very clear colors - - I Think it's Very rare For Hunting animals To Not be Camouflaged And, most Herbivores Are too, Not Many creatures Advertise Their presence, Openly But, I'm No expert, On The animals - -

ps. Those are Som super-Nice And, good images, antypodish you Could Design dinosaurs With warthos, make a Collaboration And, Get some Practice Texturing Odd Models - - And, maybe Get Mentioned in Credits, as Chief Creature designer - -§

I'm Not smart enough To Say what Dinosaurs really looked like, lol lol but if T-REX Had head in branches lol lol maybe it's head was green But, legs Brown as Bark lol lol

 

there's This movie, where they run into Tall grass And, there's Raptor Dinos you Know if that was only Place they hunted, maybe They almost green - - I wonder if T-Rex hunted in forests or, on plains - - I mean, small animals could hide between trees, and, it probably can't get in between trees or, trunks, I Don't know in movies it Knocks over trees but, in a real forest I Think t-rex Not has advantage - -

Maybe it hunted on plains or, open areas, for larger herbivores or, I Don't know - - what Would be the ideal hunting area for a T-REX, maybe some Trees where it can hide and, when a herbivore gets close it, can run out And, Eat it, Fast - - Like a crocodille, hiding in water - - if that's the case, and it hides in trees and, vegetation, it might actually be more green or, brown, to hide between green leaf Or, Bush - -

 

Thnx alot for the great info guys, yes we all know fossils cant show colors, but they have shown feathers, and webs. And yes predators most always camo or try and blend in, as well as many prey did the same. Im going to run some texture tests/ideas

 

Ok, the Spinosaurus is mostly seen near tree lines and bushes, or coming out of them. So heres my 1st re-texture based on that info. Now the T-Rex is seen mostly around trees/forest, but not going to be a green color, more like tree bark, etc. Working on him now...

 

Heres my re-tex of Dimetrodon:

 

I knew this time would come, lol. Ill be working on the games re-texturing probably till the end of this coming weekend, got alot done tonight, as all dinos have there base color re-tex done, but still more custom work to do (custom colors on different parts), as well as soldiers, buildings and foliage.

Some great ideas here from the community, and please...Post Ideas if you would like to see something different, i mean i can really go crazy or do anything i want, if you guys think it should be more.

Keep in mind...after the re-tex phase im going to add in the UFPS Controller and start work on the actual game-play, another big phase. So once that happens we can discuss game-play elements and "fun Factor". One thing is for sure, these dinos are NOT going to be easy to kill, your going to have to think of reserves and strategy, there will be NO re-spawns of the dinos, once you kill them, theyre dead and gone. Jurassic Extinction!

 

@jbb1979 T-Rex was mostly in forrests, thats why i havent "finished" his area yet (easily done), and yes, the "tall grass" will be added into the Raptor area, as thats their hunting grounds.

@Antypodish your my backbone bro, you like myself research actual Data and derrive ideas from that, so those ideas are now going into place, with a few acceptions (like Dilophosaurus, and Stegosaurus).
Going to be a busy but real good weekend for progress, volumetric clouds are done, 85% of foliage done, re-tex is starting (thnx to you guys), and "game-play" just around the corner.

 

Some interesting results you got there.

I may will sound boring, by rephrasing myself, but I know ideas are rather easy part. So easy, that they actually may be even dangerous. Is easy to let dreams fly high with implementing new ideas, forgetting about focusing on the core.
From that point, I will be staying back with suggesting new stuff, other what you working at given time. Or unless you will run out of ideas.

So for example, if you focus atm. on dinos, I will suggest on dinos topic, as I did for example. If you move to structural complexes, then I will be on that topic. Or landscapes, etc. But I wont be suggesting for example NPC guys with spears, to fight with dinos, using dinos excrements items, to mask smell, unless you get to fighting mechanics at some point

Btw, spears are very effective weapon in general.

Is just so much for one person, so staying focus is good idea in my opinion.

 

Very well said bro, thnx, i am still "focused", and understand your point, well taken...

 

if Stegosaurus had sun-absorbing plates on back, they Would be very Dark Or, almost black, since Things of That color absorp more Heat And, warmth - - like a black or, dark t-shirt in summer - - it's because black doesn't reflect light but, absorps 100 % and, turns it into heat while, white sort of reflects most of it, try sitting in a black car, with black glass on, a Hot summer day - -

 

also, if flying lizards use wings, to heat them-selves, they may be dark or, black too, if they had no predators, to worry about to, allow sun to heat them, more quickly - - like, elephant ears, there's a lot of blood vessels in them, so they regulate heat, same with dino-wings, perhaps - - it depends on their hunting methods and, prey, maybe they were scavengers, like vultures or, more like eagles, I don't know - - there's Cool stuff, be Found out - - Good luck

 

The game is looking great! The re-tex of just dinos alone have transformed the game, lol. Heres the next 2 shots, Stegosaurus and Oviraptor, and the weekend has only just started.

The 1st shot goes out to @jbb1979, as your info was the same as my research, and the stegs look great. The 2nd to @Antypodish, as my research and his were right on, as the Oviraptor is more closely related to the ostrich/peacock bird species, and looks great:

 

I know I said to avoid adding to pails of ideas, but since we are on topics of camouflage, look into cases like savanna environment for example, or wild grass. For now your grass is trimmed by human grass cutter

Generally would need to be much toller and wilder (at least in some regions), so animals can hide and seek in. See sneeking leo/tiger cases. Now example of Oviraptor, or even giant snake, would be nice to see it grazing in toller grasses, and sticking long head above grasses from time to time, to look for threats/preys.

Following that, now human player will have added challenge, without special new mechanics. Just adding toller grass. Since can not see what is hidden in grass, player would need to be more careful, when traveling via tall grass. Being eaten would be daily experience

NPC however, would need some for of obstruction detection, if that would be matter for the grass.

 

That is planned bro, and currently testing a few types of long grass Before i can start on grass, plants, etc. i have to finish the last 2 places left on the island...t-rex and spino areas. Heres a shot of the t-rex playground (almost done):

 

So much has been done in the last 48 hours its crazy, lol:

• All dinos are re-textured.
  
• All trees for the whole island are now finished!.
  
• Trees have been re-textured (including Atlas/Billboard).
  
• T-Rex and Spinosaurus areas now done (except grass and plants).
  
• Giant Snake area modified and finished.
  
• Observation Towers re-textured.
  
• All textures GPU Instanced,finished.

Now heres a vid of the new t-rex re-texture and their new area:

 

Alot of you have asked some good questions. Most quesions are "wheres the lighting?", "wheres the tall or different height grass?". Ill do my best to explain, all things in due time, as im just as impatient as you are, lol.

Have you ever tried to modify a model in high grass, and see if its truly flat on the terrain? Not easy at all, so i need any and all model mods done before long/different height grass is added.

Lighting is coming soon, with light shafts, fog, and post processing effects, etc. i do how ever need to get all grass, and plants finished before the lighting phase.

Everything i do, is done in "phases". The Project is well planned out (very important). For instance: Phase 1, Import heightmap from USGS, set up terrain, add ground textures, add basic grass, trees. Phase 2, add in models/agents (buildings/characters) and plan out theyre positions/locations. Etc.

As a wise community member once told me, 1) have a well written out plan for your game, dont let anyone rush you, 2) document everything, and 3) foremost, work in phases or stages, and plan for them ahead of time, and 4) ALWAYS make a back-up of your project, and save progress often.

I took this project on (by myself) knowing how much work it would be, but if you look under my forum avatar, this project started in May, its now Sept, almost 5 months, what i have done in that time is fantastic. Im proud of what ive done so far, and honestly, im WAY ahead of schedule, for a game of this scope and size.

I wish you all the same progress and happiness your project gives you, advice?, dont let anything stop or hinder you, listen to advice from elder Unity users, and most of all...have fun!, its why you got into game dev in the 1st place.

Warthos

 

The Game looks Great, Keep going - - One Thing though, if Stego used back plate things To Heat up I Would either Make them Dark brown Or, very Black, Almost like ink - - And, I Would make the Dark color continue down the top, on the back, so it was more dark, near the plates, of the skin so, that it would all Work together, To heat The dino . .

The T-rex Looks good, Your Game looks amazing, I Do wonder why the T-Rex has the arms, I think the only Consistent thing is, it Could use to turn it's Eggs and, stuff like lake - - I wonder if it originally was a creature, with four legs, that evolved into a Walking shark lol - --

I don't know but, I would not just paint Stego - plate Dark but, also upper back so, the entire upper Back worked like a coherent Sun- collector - --

But, it should look organic and, Have a Nice, Organic flow, How the colors blend - - I would think about the color of the ' spikes ', on it's tail - - if we look at elephants and, rhinos, they are mostly pale, whitish since, it's basically bone protrusions so, I think rhino- horns be good reference color, it's Basically just bone sticking out, Like a Teeth Or, bone - -

I Think you Have too Much 'light-grey' On the Stego-plates, Sorry They Look Shiny And, reflective - - I Would go With a Dark Brown or, Almost Entirely Black, perhaps with a bit, of shiny on - - But, Right now Your game looks gold - -

 

Look at who got their "long grass" set up today:

 

Yeah, that is now becoming threatening

 

Final logo finished today, love it, fits perfect:

 

@jbb1979 on the Steg back plates, know what your saying, but the darker i make them, the more detail i loose, so ive balanced it between color and detail. Now, the tail bones, i will adjust, as your right, they should have a more Bone type look to them.

Theres also a few other species on the island i need to do the same thing to (anky, pachy, and tric come to mind). Anky has bone like spikes on his body, and pachy has a dome like bone on his head for ramming enemies, and tric has predominant horns on his head.

Its on the list, and ill re-tex the bones on these guys to get a good look.

 

If you look at bull-horns or, Ram-horns They're not Really bone colored, I Made mistake - - There are actually a Lot of animals With strange colored horns but, most are White, Ivory, Dark brown or, Black - - Google ' Bull horn's ' - -

You know, I Bet the Raptors would keep their heads low And, Just Some-times look up, from grass, to Keep hidden Like, Lion or, the Tiger sneaking - - like that, They'd be super-scary because, you woudln't see Them Until over, I Don't know if that could be programmed - -

You Could call it ' Jurassic Terror ' Or, ' Jurassic Annihilation ' - -§

 

Well i did some texture adjustments, and happy with the results (along with research), as far as the name, its set and cant be changed (very happy with the logo), and will be added in to media.

As far as the raptors, thats exactly what they do, the height of the grass is just right, as you can just barely see their heads (here and there, not constant), and theres 3 of them (co-ordinated attack), so when they sense and attack the player, it will be a big challenge.

 

FYI this is the site where i get my "base paleo info" from, it lists all info (size, habitat, areas found in, etc.), great factual info:

https://www.newdinosaurs.com

 

I think logo need a bit more work.
Generally I like the idea, but something doesn't feel right.

Spoiler

Text need be more distinctive. Maybe some white borders / glow / shadow, will make it more readable.

The fingers are very exposed. Yet somehow they feel very fake / unnatural. Not sure what is that. Maybe nails. Maybe lack of contrast.
Or maybe me

 

Really dig that logo! Nice work!

 

Ill work on that tonight Also the claws themselves need an outline...

 

Got it lookin nice

 

Ptera re-tex: