From max to Irrlicht

This post is just to explain the process for getting the scene from 3DS Max into a format which can be loaded up into the game engine. It must be noted however, getting it working in the game engine and being able to run around in the environment in the actual game are two different things.

Before we can actually get it running in our game, we need to set up the cameras and all the triggers to activate the various different cameras as the character moves through the world.

The process begins by exporting the scene out from 3Ds Max in various chunks. They are exported in the the DirectX .X format, which is easily imported into the gile[s] lighting editor. gile[s] is quite a simple, put very powerful editor, which does some splendid Global Illumination (A lighting process which makes things look soft and 'realistic')

What can be seen above is a screengrab from the gile[s] editor. Its use in this project was for the rendering out of the lightmaps for the scene. These are large texture maps which store all the light and shadow information.

In practical terms, this means the game engine itself won't have to render any lighting or shadows, which is a load off the processing power. It also allows for forms of lighting which wouldn't be possible otherwise, such as the aforementioned Global Illumination, to be simulated in less powerful, and less capable engines for no extra processing cost.

And the results look great!

From gile[s] the scene is then exported as a .b3d so it can be read with all its light maps intact by irrEdit, a special world editor for the irrLicht engine. You can see the results above. In irrEdit is where I added the skybox in for the scene. This is really the final stage. At a later point, special markers will be added to the scene to be used as reference points for loading in the computer characters for the quests.

All that needs to be done after this, is the scene needs to be saved as a .irr or a .xml file. These files types can be opened directly by the engine.

For the purposes of this project, they were loaded into the tool which we used to place cameras in the world. the results can be seen underneath, and also in this gallery!

Finished! At least in 3DS max...

Finished modeling the environment on 3Ds Max. Below are a selection of some of the nicer renders.

To see screen shots of every phase of construction in 3DS Max, check out this web gallery.

Second floor construction

Before the second floor was constructed, cross beams were added to the first floor to "support" the second floor. The structure to support the second floor balcony around the patio were also added at this point.

After this, the second floor was constructed the same way as the ground floor. The foundations in this case were the wooden planks which would be the floor of the second floor, and the ceiling of the first floor. The process was a lot faster this time though, as all the textures and all the doors and windows had already been created, so all that had to be done was place everything in the correct spot.

The second floor is not entirely complete yet, even though there is already a roof up in this picture. The ceiling beams still needed to be added, as do the support beams for the various balconies. The windows on the outside of the building still need exterior frames as well.

First Floor Interiors

Some pictures of the interiors of the first floor.

Constructing the estate

This last week, there was a change I decided to change my original plans, so as to make the Asylum complex more authentic as a estate in the country side which was later transformed.

So the first step I did was look on google to try and find what estates in Peru look like, and found one very interesting one called the Hacienda San Jose, an old hacienda from the 16th century.

Using that as a starting point, I drew up some new plans. The idea now was to make a single large building complex, that would encompass and close off the south part of the map so as to create a proper courtyard in the middle. I decided there should also be a patio in the center of the building itself, and that the building should have two floors, with open balconies on both floor. I even raised the church up to be on the same level as the estate, to add some height and make the layout of the scene more interesting.

So this estate essentially became a merger of the previous estate building, and the theater house. But by removing the theater house, all of a sudden there was no longer the large room with the high ceiling. So as many old houses formerly owned by a noble family, I added in a ballroom which would span both floors of the building.

With these new plans, i decided to experiment some more with how I actually was creating the buildings. As this building was going to have a lot of useable rooms inside, the idea came up to emulate how a building would actually be constructed.

So first, a shape was created which would in real life have been the foundations of the building. From there, lines of the walls were traced out, and the walls extruded up on the ground. At the same time as this was being done, i was also already creating the textures for the various rooms and applying them, as without a ceiling it was much easier to work on the rooms at this stage.

Then, the places where the doors and windows were to be were carved out. For the doors and windows themselves, I went all the way and made actual door frames to be installed with them. The frames and the doors and window were then fitted into the alcoves carved out from them.

Then came the job of adding the second floor. Check the next few posts to see the progress on that.