Reflex tool progress

[al167]

great work! sound like you had a bit of a win. hope to do some beta testing soon
on another note, i was playing a stock reflex track and i was watching some background stuff like the crowds movements ect and it seems there is a heap of animations, when you talk of models, does that include animations? i also love the piro (fireworks) when you finish/ start a race . is that something for further down the track maybe?  these small thing really make reflex the great game it is?

thanks for the update

[karpuha (A)]

Guys if to you don't write - it doesn't mean that your work isn't necessary!!! I have passed one day without a forum the TWISTED DIRT))) But I badly speak in English, and I understand nothing in prgramirovanii - because of it I have nothing to tell... Many thanks for your work!!! It great!! Continue, and a question on skin, we can see new skin in the near future? In what complexity???

[mcm2boys]

I would prefer to get the RBW shaders to work with shadows etc but that will have to wait. You're right Al there is a lot of animation in the stock tracks, and that won't make it into the next editor release. The models will all be single as well so you will have to build the stadiums up from of all the separate parts. But all this will come eventually.. and i agree these small things are important..


karpuha, thanks. The skins haven't been started yet, but i think we want to see it happen..


Laurie

[karpuha (A)]

Excuse, but I read - about 19 ready skin, in that ruler was told about GEICO schedules)))) My English bad (((I haven't correctly understood?? All the same THANKS!!!! If you - don't make anybody won't make!!! Continue work, we)))

[mcm2boys]

When i said skins, what i mean is a program to install custom skins if that makes it clearer..

[JamieT (A)]

Sounds like you're making good progress Laurie!

What's the situation with bump mapping / normal mapping on objects? Is this a possibility? Oh! And specular mapping too, for bright lights etc.

Also, has there been any progress with correcting the bump mapping alignment on the terrain? Will this be corrected in the next release? It's something I'm really looking forward to.

Once again, thanks for your continued support for this game


- Jamie

[mcm2boys]

It does feel like we're getting there..

I have only been thinking about getting the obejcts to work, the details will get cleared up once the basics are up and running. This release will only support stock objects, so bump mapping of objects should be the same as you see in the stock tracks, if it isn't then hopefully that's something that can be worked out in the beta testing.

I haven't made any changes to the terrain bump mapping mainly because i haven't come up with any theories as to why it's not working. I seem to remember in the discussion that followed your comments about the issue that al167 came up with a theory, i'll take another look when i release to the beta testers during the testing round.

I have now got the models to compile into the track files, but before i can test it fully i need to upgrade the model library structure which is what is being worked on now..

Thanks for encouragement

Cheers
Laurie

[JamieT (A)]

I remember speaking to al167 after I made that post, and he realised that he was getting the same problem as me.

I've uploaded a few images to mediafire to show the bump mapping problem.

http://www.mediafire.com/?nqfxi8f8ngnclac

http://www.mediafire.com/?3b3u16x3i63u638

http://www.mediafire.com/?w0ji515oe104ihl

http://www.mediafire.com/?11xk8qees65vhwx


My theory is that the RGB-mask that is being applied to the bump maps, gets doubled in size, compared with the mask that is applied to the textures. The origin for the scalling seems to be the centre of the terrain.

I've kept the stock textures/bump maps that you start with in Digital Earthworks.

[mcm2boys]

Thanks for reminding me and the diagnostic images, i know where to start looking now...

[JamieT (A)]

I did another test, and it appears that the larger, 2048 size tracks, do not have this problem. I have also tested the different sized bump maps, (256, 512, 1024) and all is good with those too.

So the problem only occurs on the smaller 1024 sized tracks.

Hope that helps narrow down the problem.

[mcm2boys]

I'm guessing that one of the track sized textures has a fixed size (at 2048) or there is a scaling value that's not set properly since the base file set is taken from a national, i'll trawl through some of the variables and see if i have missed something..

[mcm2boys]

Found the problem and now i have an understanding of the model files so it can be fixed. The bump mapping is applied through a model which is a 2 poly square the size of the terrain. The base file set is using a fixed file taken from a national and so it is probably causing some problems on the SX tracks because of the different sizing. This model will have to be built on the fly at compile time to match the size of the track..

Progress update: trying to build a model library with all necessary model, collision and sound data and optimise it to speed up compile times. That will make it possible to complete the compilation procedures and test them..

[JamieT (A)]

Thanks for the update Laurie.

That's interesting about the bump maps, being applied with a separate poly... I would have thought that they would be applied in a similar way to the textures, as they both use the RGB Mask... but obviously not! 

Sounds like you're getting very close with objects, also. Feels like they are just around the corner..

(Once again) Thanks Laurie!

[mcm2boys]

I should add that i haven't tested this theory yet, but that's the indication from what i can see in the files.. 

Yeah, objects shouldn't be too far away now. I don't want to make any promises, since when i do, something always seems to come up.  I hope it should only be a few weeks before the beta, well more like alpha testers, get a chance to try it out.

[al167]

i have two new tracks im working on but waiting for objects before release!!!!! one is mt Kembla Mx complex (sydney Australia) and the other is a fantasy sx.
honestly i cant wait!!!!!

It would great if i could somehow get the las vegas stadium for the 2012 mec cup into reflex which is coming up soon, it may be a bit of an ask but is it possable to add this to models library? as custom models will be a while away i guess.. google earth (sketchup)sam boyd stadium link :

http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=cc51223c71f1c69cc2e1b301e5eed495&hl=en

cheers allan

[mcm2boys]

Isn't that stadium already in there somewhere, seems familiar - maybe it's in Unleashed..

To build just the model for Reflex would need tools - it's too much to do it manually, poly by poly and that's going to take time. Then there is the collision file to build.. It might be a while off yet..

Once the library is finished and the thing compiles something useful i'll let it out to alpha testers, it will be buggy but you might be able to work through that to get a track working with models.. I hope to get to that in a few weeks

[Stevo (A)]

It depends on the skill of the modeler as to how long it would take to model.
As for the collisions they wouldn't need to be flash and what about the collision creator from unleashed??

[mcm2boys]

Hey Stevo,

When i said build the models, i should have said convert them to Reflex files - i didn't mean modelling them. I haven't yet looked at the collision files, so they could be the same as the Unleashed format, but i'm guessing they will have changed from unleashed - if not then that will speed up getting custom models nito Rreflex..

[JamieT (A)]

Hey Laurie,

I just wondered about trees and vegetation... Are these classed as "objects", or are they classed as an "EcoSystem", like the previous Rainbow games? I'd be interested to hear if trees will be included in the next release.

Also, water... I see that reflex has some form of fluid simulation, have you come across this type of "model" yet within the reflex files?

Thanks


-Jamie

[mcm2boys]

The trees do come in an eco system, not sure if individual tree objects could be placed, not good for forests etc but would give some sense of reality. I have a feeling they won't workas single objects because they are more complex models with extra textures for billboarding but yo never know until you try..

I haven't taken time out to look at the water objects yet, i think that might just be simple 2 poly models with all the work done with shaders, so that might be a case of placing exisiting water models from the stock model library.. Again this is a  guess..