Games Project Lazarus

Yeah looks great!
Keep it going

 

This shot is from unity editor ? If so, what shaders do u use ?

 

@Ippokratis: Hey dude, yes, this shot is from the unity game view and it is a combo of a shader made in Strumpy and the Adv Surface Shaders for the arm... the shader in itself is designed to give me complete control from localised reflection masking, to secondary gloss mapping... I am not a programmer so I am working with strumpy until another node editor is made...

I also have a variant of this shader that is used for environments and works with beast...

 

Awesome work on the models, how long does it take you to make on on avg?

 

Depends on how much detail I want... I want to have at least 6 weeks to do characters for both costumes... usually takes about 1.5months from zbrush to final textures. I also have to rig, so that will take about a few days to paint weights and export to unity. In the case of mecanim, this process is cut in half... the nanosuit took the longest...

 

Some shading tests... I plan on seriously taking advantage of HDR lighting and GI... and proudly displaying the Unity logo. Still deciding on a colour scheme for the armour plating, but I definitely want to keep the ideal design of stealth and low profile recon.

 

Hey Everyone,

I had a little jones today to start scripting something for my game, and I may as well start with the in-game model viewer that will show the characters bio, and maybe a movelist if I am feeling generous . Anyway, here is the webplayer of Blade (and I will be doing this for each character), and the commands to control the viewer. Still learning Playmaker, trying to limit the movement of the camera and limit the zoom. Enjoy. Feel free to ask any questions.

Kashif

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/158971/Blade/Model Viewer/WebPlayer/WebPlayer.html

 

Closing the chapter on this character, I am glad to say Blade is complete . After months of grueling design work and details, I am proud to say this is the pinnacle of my detail work and what I want to see in my characters. I hope you guys enjoy this one, as I did. See you on the next one...

 

Hey,Neptune,is the project still going?
I think so! Your like my favourite artist(almost)on unity!
I wish you luck and add Slash (The Phresitorical Man from Eternal Champions)
Good Luck!

 

Yes, this is still going... it takes a while to design the characters and get their quality levels up... and the game is inspired by EC... Also i had to redo a few of the models and migrate to Modo

 

That character looks really cool

 

Thanks man... I really need to get back to this project... and now that skyshop is out, I can now do that . Took time off from this project to focus on my book

Here is the Marmoset/Skyshop version of this model... I really wish Marmoset would put the post process shaders from this into Unity... like DoF and Aberration

 

Holy cow ! This model is insanely cool !
Bravo

 

This is what I expect to do with a full IBL solution... nothing about the suit has changed except the move to a full IBL solution... in the coming weeks i will be slowly returning to this project

 

That model is amazing! Cant wait to see this game eventually finished

 

It will be... I am looking forward to getting back to it

 

Having a little time to redesign Blade's primary costume... I felt the original design was lacking something and the current version would have had some animation issues especially with the current topology at it was...so I went back to fix it, using the new ZRemesher tools to generate proper topology and details . Going to add newer pouches and more detail... and with the release of Skyshop, rework was necessary for proper details.

Enjoy. Captures from Zbrush.

 

Awesome mate! Love the details.

Do you start with a basemesh? Or is this fella completely done in Zbrush, with Zspheres+Dynamesh?

 

Completely Zbrush... no base meshes except for the glasses and knee guards. The pouches will be modelled from base meshes and detailed in Zbrush... Actually, I made only very few modifications from the original version... if you look at the original, I just changed the old kneepads, removed the shoulder holster, and shortened up the shirt, to make the character feel more powerful.

 

Yeah I see. Looks really badass now.

Zremesher is such a great tool. Now you can change something on your sculpt and retopo it in no time

 

Hell yes... the final in-game triangle count is a max of 45,000 (without the gun). Trying to stay under that...

In my project, I have strict rules in regards to the design... for hero models (in game fighting characters), they can be between 25,000 to 45,000 triangles combined, including props. And I have changed my stance on textures map sizes and decided to go with 1x4096x4096 for the entire model so I can save myself time from having to do shader switching for certain effects. instead of switching many materials, I can just switch one. And since I am using Skyshop, the textures will need a bit more finesse.

For the environment, I would try to keep building structures and props as low detail as possible. The biggest texture size is 2048, especially for objects that are farther away. And since I am using custom cube maps, a structures like a shop with many objects, I could probably get away with having that entire shop on one texture, but each prop will be its own material (to facilitate the local cube maps)

NPCs will be lower poly...about 6k. And I still need to figure out the "death" models.

 

Good morning guys... I am just posting a new render of the model using Marmoset Skyshop...and I must say I love the result of the detail, especially with Beast. Don't mind the glossy arms, there is no skin shader with skyshop available yet :-(. On the nanosoldier, I am using an incompatible material... so I am calling Blade done. Onto the next.

 

Hey guys... posting an update on my game... I just designed this prototype level. (Yes, you have seen this in Street Fighter 4 and a lot of other games) Anyway, I am using the shaders from Marmoset Skyshop for interior rendering...

View attachment 62131 View attachment 62132

In the two shots above, is a prototype level that I will be using to develop the characters' animations, visual effects, test rendering etc. All of the shaders are using Marmoset Skyshop and rendered using FG and Monte Carlo GI for the most realistic feel to the levels. I kinda wish there was a setting for separate intensities for baking light probes, but it is futile, so the work around is making sure the Diffuse Color is set below white to prevent over exposure in the camera... stay tuned though, I have a nice surprise coming up in a new character.

 

Very Cooool Human Reality

 

Good morning fellow indie devs... and the surprise I had (and what most of you have been waiting for me to do) is here... I would like you to meet the next character of my game, Aiko. Right now I am modeling her clothes first to get a feel for the form as well as a baseline for the other costumes, using her body as a template. In this design, I want to make sure she has some personality and physical prowess versus being another dull big boobed female character, which is something I want to KEEP AWAY from. Her face will be modelled after this costume is done. And it will need a detail pass.

"Aiko is the youngest assassin of the (Blood Petal Clan) in the modern era of Japan, blessed with beauty, cunning, and strength. She is the perfect killer, fearless, efficient, and without mercy. She is, however, forced to flee her clan when she -- inadvertently -- kills an unexpected target, which sends her into a downward spiral. Overcome with guilt, she now fights for her own survival and to avenge the death of the only man she have ever loved -- if the constant pursuit of other assassins sent by her master doesn't kill her first."

Work in Progress Shots:



Enjoy.

 

This has been going on for some time, yet you seem to be focusing all your time on asset creation. Where's the actual game?

Don't get me wrong--you're making some high quality models here--but this is a fighting game, right? Art must be secondary to gameplay if it is to be successful. You must develop a responsive fighting system with well-balanced movesets and be certain not to overlook scenarios within your system which would allow for cheap/exploitative victories. This is going to take a lot of time and research, and most of all, a LOT of testing. You'll also need to develop an AI system to control opponents, and fine-tuning your AI model will be just as intensive as polishing the combat system.

Instead of trying to create finalized art, you should probably divert your attention to learning one of the scripting languages, rig up some very simple models, and put together a prototype of your intended combat system. Otherwise, you're going to continue creating assets for a game that doesn't actually exist.

 

I'm keeping all of this in mind as I create this...I took some development time off to regroup (writing a book) and finish up other tasks. Also keep in mind that i am not a programmer and will have to put together a prototype with playmaker. I also want to use mecanim for my prototype, but in the meantime, I will continue development.

 

Oh, dear.

I wasn't a programmer by any stretch of the imagination when I started working with Unity. That's why these, this, and this exist. Nothing is stopping you but you.

 

Good evening, everyone. It has been a while since I have updated this thread... I took some time off from this to collect my thoughts and improve my mental and physical health before continuing. And if anyone has missed my thread about health as game developers it's important. I also added a plethora of new tools to improve and speed up the design process.

While I did all of this, I have adapted to some new shading and lighting for my game models, courtesy of Alloy. And with this, I have spent time perfecting the look and feel of the graphics and detail... and without further ado, here are some captures of Aiko, the assassin who has been the guinea pig of my experiments. Don't pay mind to the hair, I am still trying to figure out a nice way to render it without the clipping.

In the following screenshots, these are rendered using Alloy and only IBL lighting. I did this to get a general feel of the surfaces and a nice little push to get back to my projects to see how far I can take Unity graphically using Alloy and Skyshop. The tough part was getting the look of the shaders, especially the skin and eyes... which are a huge difficult on their own. Human eyes are definitely a challenge, and I wanted to ensure that the eyes have emotional impact on the characters.

Some other notes too: Since the switch to Physically Based Shading, it has been A LOT easier for me to author textures, closer to CG workflows. Also in these screenshots, there are NO LIGHTS whatsoever...

I hope you guys enjoy the images, and I will have more to come.

 

40 zillion times better than your first screenshots. Good luck with the project.

 

I am slowly getting back into my project (working full time makes it tougher for me). And with Unity 5 on the horizon, I am glad that it is much easier to get the models looking decent.

 

Cool.
As an aside: It's pretty simple to shift across to the new C# Image Effects you know.
No major biggie.

GL m8

 

Hey guys... I've been away for a while improving my game development skills and I am finally at a stage where I can show the latest details on my models... with new tools and Alloy shaders at my disposal, I want to join other incredible artists who are empowered by Unity and REALLY show what it can do... This is also my first foray into UI design and understanding how it works in Unity...



So without further ado, here are the latest models for Project Champion... with a fresh coat of paint... in the coming weeks I am aiming to have my first gameplay alpha to show to you guys (I smartened up and snagged a copy of UFE). The background you are seeing is the first level that will be tested on, and it is a work in progress.
My biggest challenges so far with this progress is integrating Substances for portability and ease of detail, and also learning how to use Enlighten (which I love for it's real time GI feedback but steep learning curve) and dealing with inconsistent bakes which was not an issue when I was using beast. Hopefully in Unity 5.4, I will be able to bake down my textures. At the moment, all of the lighting is real time.

Another challenge was getting the skin, hair, and eyes to look natural as possible, something that is very difficult to do in real time, while keeping it stylised enough to avoid the Uncanny Valley. I may do slight shader tweaks to the characters a bit if things get too crazy...


Sorry for the large art dump, but I have been very excited to show my latest progress...

Aiko (In Engine Renders)







Blade (In Engine)




And a Zbrush shot.

 

Nice.

 

Good morning guys... gotta keep the momentum going... here are a few shots of the first level I am working on. This one is called The Sanctuary, the most perfect place for any warrior to train and perfect their skills. This is a Work in Progress as I am using Substance Designer to create the textures for the entire level (and for the entire game) and it has been fun and a great challenge to work on this. I will also have a level outside of the dojo (though not sure if I will have it visible, but it is part of another level) which will be done using Substances. The lighting was a REAL challenge to get right, but i am glad I stuck it out and got it working...

Just need to texture the Shoji screens and add props in this level like flags, weapons, and a mysterious spiritual artefact that is just sitting there... and this will be only place in the game where no one dies. More to come


Fight View


And some shots of the level that the player will never see. It is essential to model the entire level in 3D so it can be captured in a reflection probe and lit believably.

 

Hey guys... K.C. here... and I am just passing through to share some new shots of the finished interior for the Sanctuary... after getting the hang of Enlighten and learning how to use the lighting system, I am at a quality that I am quite happy with... took a few months to work on this but i am glad it looks incredible....

Now the screenshots...


For the screenshot above, this is the fight view...






The kanji on the scrolls where created by a very talented Master Calligrapher who really helped bring this to life... I have a few more things to fix on this level such as lighting... and modeling the outdoor environment so that it will look believable when completely lit... the hardest part was getting the lighting to look like this... which is NO EASY FEAT.

And I will reiterate, all of the textures were created in Substance Designer... more to come

 

Hey guys... I am running into an issue right now with reflection probes and I can't seem to shake this problem in this particular scene. I am working on lighting, and whenever I go to bake a reflection probe I get this crazy bright spots in my level...

Here is the main reflection probe turned off...



And now with it turned on, none of the probes look correct...



This is a HUGE issue since I am lighting an interior level and I don't want to use SSR just to keep the speed in the game high... I've tried creating new probes, resetting the components, and even reinstalling Unity and purging the GI cache... nothing. I also turned off the skybox...

This is extremely frustrating as I am now using pure HDR skies in my project and this is the LAST thing I need right now... not sure if this is a bug because my other scene (outdoor level) doesn't suffer from this...


EDIT: Kinda weird, but combining the meshes carefully solved my problem...

 

Hey everybody. Just sharing some of my latest progress on the Immortal Valley level... the above shot is from the stormy overcast version of the level where I plan on having rain, fog and possibly thunder if it is possible to do with Shuriken... The grass was done using the MeshBrush asset (http://u3d.as/6nq) and I must say it is a real time saver for populating your scenery with things like trash, rocks, and even grass... There is a bit more work to do on this level, primarily with adding distant mountains, and fog in the scene (looking for the fog tool)

More to come... would like your feedback...

 

Hey guys... So, I have been away for a while, working on this game and I finally have some footage to share. I am working on adding basic moves to the characters, using a control scheme similar to Tekken and MKXL. For me, this will allow some flexibility and have fun with the movements and make the attacks feel fierce and fast. (I have two different characters to work on)

In this quick video demo, I am using the new Post Effects for Unity 5.4/5.5 and I am very impressed with the quality of the effects and how fast it feels in the game. There is so much more work to be done before I call this demo worthy. It is taking a while to do because all of the animation is being done by hand (no Mocap) to allow me to have a certain visual style. It is also being done with UFE, which I have grown to like with the ease of development.

Things to do:

• Add a second character to my build with a different play style.
• Improve on graphic details and animation fluidity. I am still trying to figure out how to get my GI baked on Prefabs. Hopefully, Unity 5.5 solves this issue once and for all.
• Play Test.
• Create the Stage Select UI, by custom means.
• Create all of the player combos and visual effects for projectiles and blood effects.
• Play test and balance damage between fighters.
• GET A WORKING BUILD!

Still VERY Work In Progress. Any feedback will be great.

 

Art Dump:

Blade Render:

 

Another Art Dump. These are renders of the Alternate costume for Blade with textures and wireframes... All rendered in Unity. Enjoy.

 

Hey, everybody... K.C. here with a small but significant update for my game. Since Unity 5.5 dropped, I have been wanting to do some updates to the lighting in my game, and now that I have figured out how to make this work, I will go forward with this process of lighting my game this way.

I am using Full HDR Images to light and render the world and the characters to further enrich my game. There is still some research to be done, such as lighting sunsets and nighttime levels, but I think I nailed it. If anyone is interested in a live demo, I am game. So here are some screenshots and also a video that demonstrates this. Enjoy.

Special note: There are no lights active in the scene.





This setup was tough... lighting in the evening and at night is not easy...

 

Looking cool

 

Thanks man. The full IBL stuff took me an entire day to figure out. I'm glad I got it down to a science.

 

Hey, all. Been away for a while and wanted to really learn how to use the full power of Enlighten. And this is one the tests. And one of the many challenges I face when working with lighting is trying to make it look at natural as possible without having to do too much faking of light sources. Using Enlighten for Global Illumination, I am able to achieve a level of lighting detail that I would never be able to get with placing lights everywhere.
In this screenshot from the Sanctuary level, is an example of how to use GI in an interior scene without the use of extra lights. The lights bounce in the proper areas, reflections are proper, and the character's skin is largely diffuse in the shady areas (as it would in reality unless your skin was oily). I can't wait to do the lighting for the other levels and REALLY let my work shine. Rendered in Unity 2017.

Note, the light outside is a single directional light. The additional photos are just beauty shots of this level. You will never see the game in these angles since it is a 2.5D fighter. Enjoy. In the coming weeks, I will be working on a fourth character and ironing out animations, with the use of Motion Capture.

For shaders, I have taken advantage of the new Amplify Shader Editor to truly maximise the amount of detail I can have on a character at any given time.

 

Good morning, guys... It has been a while since I've posted progress on this, but after making the smooth transition to Unity 2017 and Enlighten, I am quite proud of the quality I have been able to achieve as well, especially with lighting interiors and dealing with the over brightening on characters skin. So I decided to show a quick trick I have found to ensure that my lighting on my character's skin is not overblown, which tends to happen when you use GI. See how hollow and washed out the characters look? When you use GI, that is hard to avoid with interior scenes... outdoors is easy to control.

I can't work with overexposed lighting. The level looks great, but the characters, specifically the skin is overexposed which is something I don't want.




So instead of blowing up the values... I bake GI at a lower intensity as if the room were just an HDR map to get everything near diffuse. It is not an easy balance, but in the end, it works out for the purpose of this level. It is being used for checking the model's quality, as well as testing animation and visual effects for the game. This is close to what I need to get general lighting (since there is only I single point light) and a feel for the atmosphere. In the actual levels, these tricks will vary.



And the finished lighting. I wanted to try this out with two lights, but one is fine... most of the levels are outdoors anyway. It would be nice if there was a way for me export a Lat-Long EXR from the reflection probes, edit them to add dynamic range and then put it back...




And btw, the man in the blue robe is one of the latest additions to the roster. In a few weeks, I will be working on animation and character movesets with the aid of motion capture and cinematics. So I look forward to sharing that with you.

 

Hey guys. I've been away for a while (health-related and other projects) and I wanted to update the thread a bit with some visual goodness on one of the next characters in the game. (Also setting up to do motion capture for the game as well.)

Below is a video that shows the level of detail I am aiming for with the hair and skin, as well as the lighting in the game. I am using Amplify for the hair and eyes, and I am very pleased with the level of quality I am able to achieve. Everything is coming together and I am glad to be able to work on this.