DaJo Kesea Posted July 1, 2002 Share Posted July 1, 2002 Well, I've finally decided to begin a map building project. A word of warning, however! This project will be tackled little by little alongside my other work and activities, so you may not see a final release for a while. But yes, this is the Geonosian Arena project. I feel like I am attempting the impossible, but if you don't try, you never know, right? Main Points In order to build the arena, I will need the support of the community. I understand the workings of GtkRadiant now, and I feel confident I can dive into this without too many issues. But any tips about things to watch out for or avoid altogether would be MOST appreciated! This map will mainly feature the inner ring of the arena and its intricate surrounding walls. However, as an added bonus, I will create walkways around the arena that lead out to the stadium seating, on multiple levels, as well as some rooms on the ground level that hold the warriors or prisoners to be executed, and arena beasts. As you all know, the walls of the Geonosian Arena are composed of very intricate rock formations and eroded textures. Despite this, I don't think I will be using GenSurf too much unless I really need it for certain wall panels. What I need from all of you Please send me any reference image you can find of the arena layout, textures, walls, seating, entranceways, floors, etc. If it's a Geonosian texture, I can benefit from it! I need some shots of the daylight skies over Geonosia. Where in the map building process do you think I might stumble? Please let me know so I can avoid some major headaches! Thank you all! No screenshots yet, but hopefully soon. I will begin by building the walkways around the arena. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jango_Fett91 Posted July 1, 2002 Share Posted July 1, 2002 Cant wait man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sounds Risky Posted July 1, 2002 Share Posted July 1, 2002 Something to know and remember is that the arena is actually an oval, and not circular. The four pillars where prisoners are attached to are not in the center of the arena. There are also pillars off to the edge of the arena but I'm not sure how many. There appear to be quite a few gated entrances into the arena (maybe one of the entrances could be where Anakin and Padme where being held before being carted out. There are also a few large spires around the outside of the arena that would look really cool if you put them into the map (you can see them in one of the pictures). Another idea could be the box where Poggle, Dooku, Jango, and Nute were would lead into that "war" room with the large hologram showing the battle on Geonosis. I decided to put together a rough idea of what the arena floor looks like. The lines are entrances into the arena and the circles are pillars. The three at the bottom are where the Reek, Acklay, and Nexu came from, and the one on the left is a really large entrance. There are other entrances scattered around the edge of the arena, but I can't really pinpoint them all. Hopefully this will help you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pakmannen Posted July 1, 2002 Share Posted July 1, 2002 i've got a buch of pics, i collected them to make my sand arena look a little bit more like the geonosian arena. i can mail them to you if you want. (if i can have your email) be warned though! the geonosian arena is VERY complex! there are rocks hanging down almost everywere, and it's almost impossible to make the arena look like in the movie. not to mention the fps. the place is huge! (larger than the "Sand Arena" level) ah, but just give me your email and i'll send the pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaJo Kesea Posted July 2, 2002 Author Share Posted July 2, 2002 I see the four pillars in one image, but only three in another. Was one of them removed before the execution set-up? Thanks for those pics, OCH...they are a helpful start. I saw a couple of those on Starwars.com last night but I didn't get to all of them. And thanks for going to the effort to draw a floor diagram. I know this arena is huge! I'm hoping to "fake" a lot of the stuff that is off in the distance by doing some killer texture art on flat walls, angled at key points. This should cut down on brushes and triangles. Also, I can't help but put a finger on my chin in thought, and lean in close to study those sky mapping techniques. Might it be possible to fake the arena walls that go straight up so high by making them a sky texture? (Note that with the clever placement of a few DO NOT ENTERs, I should be able to keep the Jedi from ever jumping up to the skybox wall.) Now, how does one build a custom skybox? Spherical cameras in Bryce? Pakmannen, your pictures would be very helpful! Go ahead and email me at jnday@prodigy.net . I don't mind if anyone else here emails me as well, so that's why I'm posting the addy in broad daylight. Thanks for all your help! ------------------- EDIT: Just got to thinking: If the skybox acts like true distant scenery, the textures may not move with the rest of the map. Hmmm..There must be a way to solve this problem. Maybe a panorama on a giant inner cylinder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sounds Risky Posted July 2, 2002 Share Posted July 2, 2002 It's definately four pillars, go see the film again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucko Mabri Posted July 2, 2002 Share Posted July 2, 2002 Yep. It is 4 pillars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaJo Kesea Posted July 2, 2002 Author Share Posted July 2, 2002 Ok. 4 pillars it is. How about I give you all some eye candy? I've decided to maintain a project web site, though I will post a few screens in here as construction gets under way. But for now, please check out http://www24.brinkster.com/jnday. Nothing monsterous, or substantial. But at least it's something! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
__CKY__ Posted July 2, 2002 Share Posted July 2, 2002 Those look real good i cant wait for this level its one of my favorite parts i episode 2 thanks for getting the idea tomake it actually look good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keo718 Posted July 3, 2002 Share Posted July 3, 2002 Thats lookin real nice man. I'm really looking forward to its completion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wes Marrakesh Posted July 3, 2002 Share Posted July 3, 2002 Yes, sounds very good. Can't say about the looks cause the pics don't work. Ihope it's better than the ont i have! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucko Mabri Posted July 3, 2002 Share Posted July 3, 2002 Sounds like a very promising project! -Lucko Mabri Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaJo Kesea Posted July 3, 2002 Author Share Posted July 3, 2002 Wes, what isn't working? To all of you, let me know if you have any problems. Brinkster is a pretty good service, but I'll have to move my updates to another server if I start hitting the bandwidth limit. I'll work more on this project tonight (EST). I'll test the placement of a sliced up QTVR panorama on a few rounded inner walls. I'll need some help creating a skybox, so I'll scour the forums to see if the topic has been covered. See a later! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kranckor Posted July 3, 2002 Share Posted July 3, 2002 Wow I've never scene Bryce used so well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaJo Kesea Posted July 3, 2002 Author Share Posted July 3, 2002 Thanks, Kranckor! Bryce is pretty powerful, but I still have trouble with the positive/negative thing that allows models to be cut into. I'll need to figure it out for this map, though. Hey, everyone. I didn't get to the part I wanted to get to today. I was back in Bryce trying to model the walls of the arena. From this model, I will gather my textures for the map, and several panels to be placed on extremely tall walls around the arena floor. HOPEFULLY, this will simulate the effect of being in a huge map without it being too complex. Giant walls may increase compile time for me, but hopefully gameplay will still be smooth. It looks like the skybox issue is a no-go, however. The imagery stays at the same distance from you no matter where you are in the map. For example, if the arena walls were a sky texture, the walls would seem to be moving away from you as you moved toward them, and if you jumped up and looked down, you would see the arena floor over the edge of the solid arena floor that you walk on! I'm leaving tomorrow for vacation, but I'll be back by Saturday night. At that point, maybe I'll just start throwing stuff into GtkRadiant to see what works. To those of you in America, have a great Independece Day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grets Sirob Posted July 4, 2002 Share Posted July 4, 2002 (well, it's tomorrow for me..) Thanks! I hope you figure out your problem, I wish to play on this wonderful arena. I don't really want to say this, but I almost started thinking about how great that area would be to fight in, during the movie! Anyway, looking good! Have a great vacation! I shall rule the galaxy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nucular_jedi_14 Posted July 7, 2002 Share Posted July 7, 2002 thumper_01@hotmail.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
__CKY__ Posted July 7, 2002 Share Posted July 7, 2002 Yea I will beta test it also well anymore updates so far? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kranckor Posted July 7, 2002 Share Posted July 7, 2002 *Clears throat* Read my sig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
__CKY__ Posted July 7, 2002 Share Posted July 7, 2002 so your sig is unorginal so hows the arena coming dude? i can't wait for this map Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wes Marrakesh Posted July 7, 2002 Share Posted July 7, 2002 cky did you actually click that link? that is one ****ing hilarious site! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
__CKY__ Posted July 7, 2002 Share Posted July 7, 2002 isn't it that peanut butter jelly time thing with the dancing banana? if it is i saw that a long time ago my friend told me about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wes Marrakesh Posted July 7, 2002 Share Posted July 7, 2002 it is but it is my first time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaJo Kesea Posted July 7, 2002 Author Share Posted July 7, 2002 Hi there! Geez, I go on vacation and we all start going bananas...or talking about them anyway. LOL. Actually, I just clicked that link, and it is funny! Okay, as you probably guessed, I just got back from vacation now, and I'm ready to keep moving with the arena project. I'm going to alter my gray map, and continue building the model in Bryce. Also, I'll try to erect this thing in GenSurf, but I'm not sure if that will have the desired effect and playability. We'll see. If not, I'll use the completed Bryce model to grab textures, and try to piece this monster together little by little. Stay tuned. -------------------------------------------------------- EDIT 7/7/02: Small update to Bryce model. Pic available at my Brinkster site: http://www24.brinkster.com/jnday Thanks to all who have offered to beta test. Once I'm to that stage, you all will get a crack at it, assuming you have various processor speeds, video cards, and memory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Altimira Posted July 8, 2002 Share Posted July 8, 2002 Wow DaJo Kesea, i just got done looking at the bryce models. cant wait for some radiant pics. If you need any more beta testers, ill be glad to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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