Failout Development Blog

Day Something

2011-03-19T16:06:00.000-07:00

I need to count back to the last post for the title, but I cba right now. Finally have my preliminary exams over and I'll have a little more of my time to spend in the UDK. Today I just put some static meshes into this room to get it finished, and now all of the smaller buildings in this level are complete. The areas directly around and inside the factory are the last left to be detailed, then I'll need to finalise lighting before moving on.

Day 156

2011-03-05T15:11:00.000-08:00

Put some detal into two of the three remaining buildings. Should be finished this area soon, and can start on a new level. Can't wait to get back to crisp performance without such a big level to render!

Day 153

2011-03-02T15:41:00.000-08:00

An aereal, wireframe view of the next three small buildings I'll be furnishing.

Wireview of the whole level. Shows just how many static meshes (Blue) are in it already.

Day 150

2011-02-26T13:42:00.000-08:00

150 magical days. Finished off the building today. Three smaller ones to do, then the walls enclosing that zone to put in. After that, it's just finishing off the factory and its perimeter.

Day 147

2011-02-23T14:12:00.000-08:00

Welcome, peoples of the internets!

Here are some screenshots of the additions I've made since we last met. They include lighting, light fittings, detail on the loading-bay-door-thing, wall detail and doorways.

Long room is long!

Changed the gate thingy to slightly open, simply because it looks more interesting. Maybe mutant rabbits could burst from the building through it and eat your face. That'd be fun.

On a non-Failout-related note, some random people and I have started a little minecraft blog at http://epicminecraftjourney.blogspot.com/ Very early stages at the moment - basically an epic screenshot/epic caption type thing. Perhaps there'll be posts of a little more substance later on, though.

Day 145

2011-02-21T14:25:00.000-08:00

Well, a little late posting this, but I was a bit busy at the weekend. ALOT of homework which I decided to leave until the last minute because, well... I'm awesome. Anyway, I did a little work, making a cargo loading door type thing in one of the last buildings to "furnish".

Day 140

2011-02-16T12:52:00.000-08:00

140 days into the project, and the second level around halfway done. I wonder if we'll end up getting into 4-figures...

Anyway, some more details added to these factory rooms, as well as extra lights that were needed. I think these two rooms are pretty much done now, so that's most of the major buildings done. Just a few smaller ones to go, and then finishing off the main factory buildings and adding surrounding walls.

Day 136

2011-02-12T12:16:00.000-08:00

I think 136 is right, it always screws with my counting system whenever I miss a post. I did some work on some of the Failton buildings today, as screenshots below will show. Still not completely free of whatever nasty disease has afflicted me over the last week or so - but well enough to feel guilty about not doing any Failout stuff for about as long!

I've added some wall detail and moved a light in the room to cover it more evenly.

Day 129

2011-02-05T11:14:00.000-08:00

I have a couple of screenshots for you today, but not much going on besides lighting put into the room from Wednesday. Very lazy at the moment due to cough/cold/thing that has infected me. Damn you immune system, why aren't you as effective as antivirus?

Day 126

2011-02-02T12:39:00.000-08:00

Blah blah blah, welcome. Blah, blah, blah Failout.

Since Saturday I've furnished the long, dark room, but I couldn't be bothered building lighting for static meshes afterwards because it would take ages and I want to play Crysis. Which is also why I'm writing this pretty quickly. I changed the lighting a bit in the room that was really dark because it seems some people can't take a little spookiness! No, but seriously, I added a light in the ceiling, mainly because it'd be silly if it was the only place that didn't have any.

Blah Blah Blah, SCREENSHOTS!

day 122

2011-01-29T13:57:00.000-08:00

Well hello there! Welcome the Saturday installment of Failout's bi-weekly - wait, is that twice a week, or once every two weeks?

Anyway, it's Saturday, so I'm here posting pictures. Today we have a fine selection of screenshots from a dark, gloomy factory building in the vibrant industrial heart of America: Failton.

Dingy - but at least it offers panoramic views of... more factories.

These new darker areas should give me somehwere to stage scary stuff for the player to run into. Totally not inspired by all the Dead Space buzz going on at the moment.

Day119

2011-01-26T13:33:00.000-08:00

It's Wednesday, if you hadn't noticed. And that means Failout stuff!

Well, since on Saturday, Blogger was rejecting all my pictures, I have both Photoshop concepts and Failton screenshots for you. Yes, that's TWO things!

First up, UDK stuff. I've changed the lighting in Failton to have one dominant directional light (sunlight, basically, lighting the entire map from one direction) which has decreased light rendering times a bit, and made shadows cats by buildings more realistic. I've also addedsome more detail to the inside of the smaller factory buildings.

Another - smaller - building furnished.

Some changes made to interior of this building, wall detail added, lighting dimmed to give a gloomier feel, and made the tanks bigger to create a claustrophobic effect.

Now I'd like you to meet... John? I don't know. He doesn't really need a name, seeing as he wouldn't remember it anyway.

Attractive, huh? This little fellow is a Fool. Basically the dessicated husk of a human who has been so badly affected by Fail that they are driven only by their need to find and consume more. Bodily damage appears not to affect them as much as before their mutation. Weaknesses include fire and decapitation. While insignificant alone, fools can pose a very real threat to survivors if encountered in large groups.

Day 115

2011-01-22T15:15:00.000-08:00

Hey look, it's Saturday! Again. So soon.

Like I wrote on Wednesday, I've been working on character concepts in photoshop as well as doing Failton stuff. However, for an unknown reason, Blogger is rejecting every one of my image uploads today.

I don't know if it's a general problem on their end, but I've tried several different file types, as well as the URL feature to attempt to link from Photobucket. No cookie. Pretty annoying, but hopefully it'll be fixed soon. I'd hate to have to try to migrate all this stuff to another blogging site. That would suck.

So, I apologise for the failpost - but there really isn't much to say without any pictures to talk about. I have started a little side-project building a small, detailed map in the UDK to use for my personal portfolio. It might find its way into a Failout level as some sort of terraformed area.

So anyway, hopefully things will be back to normal on Wednesday, and I'll be able to post some nice, shiny pictures! I better see you then! Or I'll cry. Copiously.

Day 112?

2011-01-19T14:15:00.000-08:00

Something close to that, anyway.

I have UDK screenshots for you! Yaysies, super-happy dancey funtimes.
Seriously though, I've added a bit more detail into the room again. Also working on more creature concepts in Photoshop, but I'll show those on Saturday.

A view of the gas tanks through the skylight above.

The gas tanks and some wall detail in the background (yes, more pipes). If you're new here - they are my friends. They make walls look so much less bare, and give stuff a rough, gritty, industrial look. I use them a lot.

A section of wall covered with wiring, tidied behind skirting with power-indicating lights
(Sparkly lights, yaaay!)

Day 108

2011-01-15T17:05:00.000-08:00

Hello again, faithful Failers... Failures... Failists... uhh, People.

I have somebody I'd like you to meet. His name is Garry, and he is an Ubermutant.

Don't worry. He's informed me that he's perfectly harmless, because he can't see you, and because he can't smell over the internet. Or so he says.

Ubermutants are similar to Supermutants, which appeared in... some game. They are one of the many products of the Epic Fail. However, nobody is quite sure as to the circumstances in which these brutes were first created. It is thought that many of them were factory workers in areas of heavy Fail industry, mainly due to the tools of such trade - which are often fused onto the Ubermutant's body. A perfect example of this is the Fail injection equipment sported on Garry's left arm.

Quite how this happens, and why more and more Ubermutants seem to be appearing, are unknown to survivors who have studied Ubermutant activity. It is more than possible that the Ubermutants are being purposefully created by an individual of questionable morals - for an unknown purpose.

Ubermutants hunt by smell, due to their blindness and (presumed) deafness. This makes them extremely clumsy and slow creatures, as you can't smell obstacles. Unless it's a dead cow, or something. They are however, unstoppably determined and deliberate. They will not hesitate to hunt and kill survivors, or even other mutants, as soon as they pick up a scent. Don't worry though - I'm sure you'll be fine.

Day 105

2011-01-12T14:50:00.000-08:00

Gr33t1ngs, t0d4y5 p05t w1ll b3... actually, nah - screw it.

I'll just have to break it to you straight. Not a lot has changed since Saturday.

I know, I know, It's been a WHOLE four days. I'm disappointed too. But sometimes, you just have to accept things as they are, and move on. Also, I was playing Forge on Halo: Reach way too much - but never mind that. It's in the past now. like spilt milk. Or something. Under a bridge.

I did have another go at assigning collision maps to the window meshes, so that the player doesn't fall straight through. However, either I'm doing it wrong, which (while perfectly possible) would not seem to be the case, or... they just don't work. Every setting I can see looks to be right. I suppose I should pull my finger out and just create some transparent planes in 3dsMax. Then again - there's no reason that they would work any better. I also put some barrels and crates and stuff into the building... which is like, reeaaally interesting.

So, that was Wednesday. Saturday is a whole three days away, and maybe - just maybe - I'll actually have done something.

Day 101

2011-01-08T12:52:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been a dramatic week here at Failout development HQ - i.e. my desk. In a rather embarrassing incident - involving me accidentally cutting out the power to my computer, and so shorting the power supply somehow - which resulted in a pause to work on the game for a while. However, I have installed a new PSU and, luckily, there seems to be no damage to the other components. I've just got back to working on Failout, but I added the detail in these screenshots last weekend, before the... accident.

Pumping machinery sits idle on an abandoned factory floor.

The building viewed from the secondary, raised entrance.

Skylights, now lined with concrete to give them a finished appearance, give me the chance to vary lighting styles. The glass meshes seem to be adverse to having collision maps; meaning that, at the moment, the player falls straight through.

Day 94

2011-01-01T12:25:00.000-08:00

Since Wednesday I've been working on adding details to the area of failton around the factory, which will make up the central zone for the overall level. I've added barricades and makeshift bridges put up by the survivors of the Epic Fail in an attempt to contain the many monstrosities that it created, and make it easier for them to travel in safety. I also added general details to the buildings such as skylights, windows and doors.

Skylights will add variety to indoor lighting and, possibly, additional entry points to buildings.

Piles of broken equipment and machinery block some routes through the zone.

This is the beginnings of the makeshift bridge which spans across the widest road in the zone, and will be impossible for the player to miss on their way to the factory. I wanted to give it a distinct look from the other features in the area, and I think the large column made up of concrete blocks has a tribal look to it, almost like a Native American totem pole.

The latest aerial view of the zone, showing added roof details and bridges/barricades.

Day 91

2010-12-29T12:51:00.000-08:00

Welcome back to Failton! I hope everyone had a very pleasant holiday period, and that Santa, and/or Kwanzaabot (Futurama, anyone?) was kind to you. After a brief break over Christmas, I've been working both on the animation for the trailer and the factory area of Failton again. I've added some detail to the buildings I put in last time and added the next three in.

Day 84

2010-12-22T14:42:00.000-08:00

UDK Screenshot time! Yay!

I built some of the other buildings for the area around the factory, filling in the spaces I marked out with pavement meshes. The approach to the factory looks better now. I like how the buildings in front of it mean that the player sees it above them, but comes across the entrance after wandering through the alleyways.

Trailer is coming along, but there's still lots to do, and I'll probably take a break from working on it over christmas. Anyways, time to look at the lovely pictures!

As you can see, there are still a few small places to be filled. Most of the buildings are pretty large - though still insignificant compared to the factory - so they may take some time to furnish with meshes and stuff. I'm hoping to join many of them up with bridges made of junk from roof to roof, adding another way of moving around to avoid crowds of enemies.

On a barely related subject, I've been tweeting about doing livestream videos when I work on Failout. I'm not sure how they'd work, or if we will end up doing them sometime in the future, but It'd be a great way to show you exactly what goes on in the UDK.

Well, I think that's all for now. Have a merry christmas and remember to check in for next Wednesday's post.

Day 80

2010-12-18T12:32:00.000-08:00

Hello again, peoples of the internets.

Since Thursday, when the last post was (belatedly) put up, I've been carrying on with animating the stuff needed for the trailer. Today I also did some other stuff in the UDK so that there was something to take screenshots of, but this post is mainly about the decision I've come to over Failton. Earlier it took me 30 minutes to build the lighting on that map. A new record! So I've decided that it's definitely going to need to be split up into different zones.

Taking the area I've already built on as the central zone, I'm going to surround each area with post-Epic Fail junk walls, as if the survivors has closed off sections of the city. This will allow me to build each area as a different map, and cut down the stress on my PC. Hopefully, the player experience won't be completely fluffed up by this, as I'll do WHATEVER IT TAKES!11 to make sure the transition between these zones is nice and smooth.

So, this shows the central zone, which includes the Puka-Cola factory. You can also see the boundaries for the other buildings I'm going to put in from the sections of pavement (sidewalk, for you Americanists) that I added today. I also had yet another attempt at getting the lighting right in the factory, but the changes are minimal - so I won't bother showing that.

Stay tuned for another update on Wednesday, when it'll be the Christmas holidays. Wooo!

Day 78 (Following one day delay)

2010-12-16T09:03:00.000-08:00

Well, once again, there may be little tangible progress to show here. So far this week, I have FINISHED! Animating the main door for the trailer sequence, and made a start on getting the elevator working.

Also my new graphics tablet arrived, and I've been practising drawing stuff with it in photoshop. Hopefully, once I'm actually any good at using it, I can redraw the sketches I've already done, using the graphics tablet - meaning no need for crummily scanned concept art. Yay! Plus, having a general understanding of photoshop will allow me to create my own textures - which will help for obvious reasons, there's only so little you can take from Google images before bad things happen...

Anyway, a time frame for the trailer may be up to three weeks, hopefully less, because a number of things still need to be worked out such as camera movement, effects, editing and audio. Still, when it's finally finished, it should be pretty damn good.

I have very few days of school left until we're done for Christmas, so there should be more time to devote to weapons and levels again, other than concentrating solely on getting the trailer done.

On a side note, LP and I are considering an as-of-yet-secret side project concerning Call of Duty: Black Ops. And possibly other games. Any leaked information you hear is LIES! (just to be safe).

That's all for today folks. No screenshots of crates, or anything else for that matter, or any new videos to show yet. I'll try to do something by Saturday, but the trailer preparations, among other stuff, are keeping me busy at the moment.

Day 73

2010-12-11T14:37:00.000-08:00

Well, as I tweeted earlier, I've been animating doors and stuff for the teaser trailer. Seeing as the amazing door opening sequence makes up most of the trailer, showing you it would kind of ruin stuff. So there isn't too much to show here. I've also been doing some sketches of the character models I want to make, once I can actually make anything slightly complicated. I promise I'll scan them sometime. In the meanwhile, I spent the last few minutes making a crate on 3dsmax so that this post wouldn't be completely empty. Enjoy.

Oh, I almost forgot. If you want to discuss anything about the game, ask any questions to myself and/or my associates or generally flame us for being noobs, register on our forums HERE

Day 70 (right?)

2010-12-08T15:13:00.000-08:00

Been busy doing some sketches to get back into pencil drawing, so there's been only a little progress so far this week. Still, Christmas holidays soon, and I got a crap load done in the last two-week break.

I've changed the model of the pistol again,but it still isn't perfect. It's much harder to get the details right on a smaller weapon... the R.O.F.L.E. was pretty easy.

Render window on the left by the way, in case you were confused. You probably weren't but...

Rendered view of the side (OMG CURVED TRIGGER) Textures still look pretty crap on the curved faces, although the longer bit looks a bit better because I stretched the bitmap in photoshop.

Day 66

2010-12-04T11:04:00.000-08:00

Once again, Saturday comes swinging around to smash me in the face and show how slowly things are going.
Okay, maybe that's a bit harsh on myself, but 66 days sounds like a heck of a long time.

Anyway, this week I've been working on the 3d model for Failout's basic pistol. Modelled more closely to the conventional-looking 9mm from New Vegas, than to the unusual styling of the 10mm, the basic shape is coming along nicely. I think there are a few too many sharp edges at the moment, and everything just needs to be rounded off a bit.

Need to find a way of making curved triggers...

The pistol's iron sights. It's the picture that's squint, honest.

I haven't yet gotten round to animating the hammer movement yet, mainly because I found a copy of Adobe Photoshop Elements 5 (a legal one, by the way, with a registration key and everything) lying on a shelf in the house.

I've been playing around with it, and the first thing that looked fairly decent was stuck onto a wall in 3dsmax and rendered. So here it is, a whitewashed wall covered in graffiti. I'll probably use it in Failton somewhere - once I work out how to export 3dsmax materials to the UDK...

Boom, headshot! You're dead, Mr Grey Man With Massive Jaw... Guy.