The move from 2d to 3d for the main character is now underway, and it’s bloody hard work!
Original 2d version |
new 3d version |
This is my first attempt at 3d character and I am well out of my comfort zone.
Modifications were needed to Rameses to support the new low poly hair strands.
The face does have a texture map so the eyes, etc are not an issue. The main thing was getting the same feel as the old one.
The arms are currently very thing looking, so I will see what it all looks like when transferred to the game engine. And then make changes…
There will also be animation, but I will need to add a bone system to Rameses to take care of the initial operation. It’s all very slow.
vjointeractive 
Have you thought about continuing to use 2d spites in a 3d dungeon? You can use a billboard system where the animated image is on a single plane which is always rotated to face the direction of the camera. If you feel more comfortable with using 2d art it is a possible way forward.
3d characters have their own set of difficulties, such as armatures, Inverse Kinematics, mesh switching (or using multiple meshes but making only one visible) to show different kinds of weapons, different animations, animation blending etc… I’d say that In the end the 3d representation of the characters and players is the biggest single drain on performance in my own project. And I’m lucky to be using Blender which already has a good implementation of all these features, I don’t have to develop any of them myself.
yep, I thought of using 2d sprites which is what I use at the moment. My main problem there is I am no character artist. The more I tried the more frustrated I got. The current sprites are heavily modified ones from the net and really not suitable.
I then went (the way I used to go a while back): Use daz studio for the basics, export and modify. But have found that daz studio is an expensive hog (both in money and cpu and time). but it is a good place to start.
So the next step was to look into adding character tools to Rameses (the 3d editor). I’m not going to deal with mesh skins and all that, so it is just pure static geometry with bones. So I’m currently looking into how exactly to implement it all. Bones, IK, mesh switching is simple stuff. animation frames a bit more time consuming. I tried blender but no (I come from 3ds Max). I’ll keep you informed as to how it all goes š
I can understand your feelings. I’ve tried 2d artwork in the past but I just don’t have what it takes.
I’ve used 3d animated models to render out animated sprites though, with some level of success. Using something like Blender you can enjoy all the benefits of things such as cloth simulation or fire when rendering your animated sprites, and Blender’s excellent animation capabilities but you don’t then have to worry about those things eating up processing time in the game. I tried 3ds Max but just couldn’t get used to it. š
I have the same feeling towards blender. I can understand what it’s doing, but the UI just gets in the way – hence I built my own (I would have continued using max but it’s PC only and I’m now Mac only)
The other reason for building my own was to have complete control over the rendering on the game front. It is much easier to deal with if you know exactly what you are dealing with.
I would certainly like to have cloth, but am frustrated by the complexity it brings though.
One last thought on this and big (3d, audio, etc) software packages. Why do they take soooo long to start and feel like lead? I know it’s all about loading plugins, but it’s just got silly now. They all take an age.
My software is ready for action in about a second of clicking the icon. This also goes for loading resources such as models, audio, images. Why does it take solo long to load? My loading routines are instant – what are these other apps doing?
Yeah, the latest version of the Blender game engine seems to take an age to start, during which time I’m left looking at a blank screen. They’ve packed so many new features in to the BGE these days it takes a long time to initialize them. It’d be nice to be able to run my own software with only the things I actually need on there, there’s so much stuff I’m not using. I wish I knew enough to be able to cut it all out and just leave the essentials. Maybe you’re best off starting your own app from scratch. š
does the BGE not allow you to switch off unused items?