Can you use ICE to plot out a layout, and then convert it over to explicit controls? Or are you trying to design a system that can randomize, in game, on the fly?
Sent from my iPad > On Feb 11, 2014, at 1:49 PM, Matt Lind <[email protected]> wrote: > > F*ck. Fat finger. > > The rest: > > We have tight restrictions for making MMORPG style games. One of them being > we have to think simple as there's no way to fully predict how an asset will > be used once it's made available in the game. Designers and scripters will > pull whatever they can get their hands on and use them for whatever purpose > they can think of. Kind of the everything looks like a nail when you have a > hammer problem. > > Matt > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Matt Lind > Sent: Tuesday, February 11, 2014 11:47 AM > To: 'Eric Thivierge'; [email protected] > Subject: RE: Survey - how would you do this? > > You wouldn't last long in games with that attitude. > > > Matt > > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Eric Thivierge [mailto:[email protected]] > Sent: Tuesday, February 11, 2014 11:46 AM > To: [email protected] > Cc: Matt Lind > Subject: Re: Survey - how would you do this? > > With those restrictions, get a super fast animator to animate them by hand. > > Eric T. > >> On Tuesday, February 11, 2014 2:23:31 PM, Matt Lind wrote: >> An artist came to my desk yesterday asking how to do what I felt was a >> simple task, but after getting 80% through it I ran into a speed bump >> realizing it needed custom scripting or other advanced tools to fully >> resolve to satisfaction. I had to give him a procedure that was ‘good >> enough’. This problem has multiple solutions, but I am curious how >> others would solve it: >> >> The problem: >> >> Artist must create an asteroid belt around a planet. The asteroids >> are likely 2D sprites which must face the camera and tumble as they >> orbit, but could be 3D objects as well. Asteroids must vary in size, >> shape, and animation speed (linear as well as rotational). Asteroids >> cannot collide with anything. Movement is generally slow – like a >> screen saver for your computer desktop. Asteroid positions are >> jittered within the belt. >> >> The question: >> >> Dispersing objects into a ring is fairly straightforward through a >> number of techniques, but how do you apply the random jitter to the >> object positions? >> >> The rules: >> >> -Cannot use ICE >> >> -Cannot use custom scripts, custom operators, or shaders. >> >> -Must only use tools out of the box that a junior or staff level >> artist would know how to use. >> >> -Must be able to create the asteroid belt, from scratch to completion, >> in less than 30 minutes – and be iteration friendly to react to art >> director feedback. >> >> -Ideally, the belt could be made a child of the planet in encompasses >> so it can be reoriented with respect to changes in the planet’s >> size/shape/tilt/orbit. >> >> -Final output must be able to exist with full integrity on its own in >> a vacuum. Cannot not have dependencies on custom code, external >> assets, or special case logic. >> >> -Asteroid belt fits within the default grid as seen in the scene >> camera. Think torus with diameter 40 SI units, and cross section of >> roughly 3 SI Units diameter >> >> Ready…..GO! >> >> Matt > >
