Sly.

Sly. · Unreal Old Friend

Sly.

Lord_PorkSword · Connoisseur of Bourbon!

Nice faithful remake of Vortex Rikers prison block M8!

Just like the original and I like how you've recreated the long striped lights for it!

I also like your choice of mesh for the beds. Before I decided to modernize my version I had trouble finding a suitable mesh for the beds.

The Tron level is looking good and I can see the resemblance to the original movie and the game!

Sly. · Unreal Old Friend

Thanks biggrin

What concerns the Vortex Rikers remake it was not easy to find meshes that fit for the beds. It looks a bit empty though, doesn't it? It's really hard to find meshes that suit the style and it's hard to make a remake that looks faithful but not cr@ppy (I always think my maps are the latter one, I have no idea why. Others say they're good, maybe I'm just not selfconfident enough or they are what I think they are hmm ) However, I also found meshes for the toilets, I was very creative: I took a spaceship that looked like a two-sided toilet from the future and flipped and rescaled it

There's one thing I could need for this remake: Caution stripes. Sadly UT3 seems to have a very poor selection of textures and the caution stripes seem to be not there. In the room with the seat where you can execute that guy the whole floor has caution stripes. cry There are almost no door static meshes either.. the current silver door that you can see in the second screenshot is a placeholder (and it looks awful when you get closer).

The flickering lights tutorial will be a great help. biggrin Just have to make myself more familiar with Kismet but it seems to be easy. In my opinion it's completely unnecessary for simple lifts though (you spend much more time on setting the sequence up than you did back then with the old key system), the old system was better for these kind of things.

The probably hardest thing will be that hallway that will break. Not sure how to make it right now so I guess I'll do that as the last thing together with that "cutscene" and the escaping Skaarj (not sure how to make the Skaarj either, haha). biggrin

When I make some progress with these maps I'll post some new screenshots smile

Lord_PorkSword · Connoisseur of Bourbon!

I know what you mean about a direct remake looking empty. I had the same feeling when I started doing a more direct remake which I quickly abandoned as it also felt too restrictive for my tastes. In hindsight I'm glad I've gone for a modernized 'inspired' remake cuz if I didn't then we'd be working on the same thing. LOL

Regarding the Skaarj (like in the air ducts) - Adding a Skaarj/Skeletal Mesh is the easy part! Animating the skeletal mesh is what I current cannot get working. cry

From research you add the skeletal mesh then kismet it as a normal mover then get kismet to play an animation on the mesh while it's moving. eg.. like play a running animation while the mesh is moving.
If I somehow work it out I'll post a tutorial up 4 ya, otherwise if you end up figuring this out let me know!

With the hallway falling, I'm wondering if you can break up the BSP and create the chunk that falls. Then convert that BSP chunk to a Static Mesh which than can be converted to an interpactor and moved via Kismet. I personally haven't messed with the converting BSP to SM's but I think one or two of the UOF guys here may have so they might be able to help!

Regarding my version I was planning on keeping purely within the private section, until a later date, but I might move it into a public area so you can see the work I've done so far! Might also give peeps a treat when they visit our site. biggrin

-- Edited by Lord_PorkSword on Wednesday 13th of April 2011 01:49:59 AM

Lord_PorkSword · Connoisseur of Bourbon!

LOL!
Animating Skeletal meshes is waaay easier than what I first thought....
See the tutorials section here at UoF!

-- Edited by Lord_PorkSword on Wednesday 13th of April 2011 06:22:59 AM

Sly. · Unreal Old Friend

Some new screenshots of the Vortex Rikers remake:

The size is perfect, you can "sit" in this chair biggrin

What a day, time to go sleep and to relax smile

Lord_PorkSword · Connoisseur of Bourbon!

Looking nice M8!
Nice job on the chair! I couldn't work out how to make a chair so I avoided it.

Do ya mind if I burrow the general idea of your chair construction?

How'd ya get the skeletal mesh to lay like that on the chair?

-- Edited by Lord_PorkSword on Friday 15th of April 2011 01:16:50 AM

Bl!tz · ...ǝp¡s ɹǝɥʇo ǝɥʇ uo

Lord_PorkSword wrote:
Looking nice M8!
Nice job on the chair!

....+1

Sly. · Unreal Old Friend

Thanks! Well, I just jumped with fake death onto it, couldn't figure out how to do it yet - shame on me! Feel free to use that layout of static meshes for a chair though (I'm very creative what concerns the creation of such things)
I tried to make it look as close to the original as possible and I wil care about corpses and events at the end of the working progress, together with the usual tweaks and sequences.
Good to see you like it

-- Edited by Sly on Friday 15th of April 2011 02:15:45 AM

Lord_PorkSword · Connoisseur of Bourbon!

Ahh so did ya setup a killbox on the chair and jump onto it?

Sly. · Unreal Old Friend

The chair is "harmless" right now (it can kill you though if you're sitting on it in a strange position, like me now, and you try to stand up lol) but I think I'll put a volume on it that I'll trigger when you "use"/read what's written on the console. Still have to figure out how to make Translator messages pop up when you press use.
I think the lighting looks awful, really. I don't like it... Will have to work on it a bit, it wasn't that blue in Unreal and it wasn't that bright either.
I hope there are enough small details in this room, the ceiling will have some cables that lead to the lights (and lighting will be changed) but then I'm done with that room, once and for all. The connection of the air duct is missing though but that will be made later when the complete ship is done and the rooms are connected with it.

PS: Does anybody of you know how to make the glass more visible? This glass texture is the only one that fits to the style of the map but it doesn't look good since you can barely see it...

Lord_PorkSword · Connoisseur of Bourbon!

A more obvious reflection would probably help!

Sly. · Unreal Old Friend

Then again the problem would be the reflection itself. I checked all glass textures I know (maybe I missed two or three) and all of them have a city skyline as a cubemap. Apart from that I'm still a n00b in UT3Ed and would have to learn how to make own materials and cubemap (it is still called cubemap, right?). :/

Sly. · Unreal Old Friend

I'm back with some new screenshots of my Tron map for you ;)
Not much progress since I was working on the Vortex Rikers remake. However, here they are:

I hope the hallways don't look tas empty as before with these small but nice changes biggrin

Sly. · Unreal Old Friend

Good news! I got my PC working again and will continue work on CTF-Deadlock and the Vortex Rikers!

Bl!tz · ...ǝp¡s ɹǝɥʇo ǝɥʇ uo

cool....what was the problem? and how did u fix it?

Sly. · Unreal Old Friend

Apparently, it was the first RAM module. Really odd, I could swear I did test both separately and had the same results... I couldn't even boot CDs so this lead me to the conclusion that the RAM must be the cause for all my problems (would explain why the autosaves of my map were corrupt). Apart from that, it's a Corsair RAM and I've never heard anything negative about it. Geez, I have bad luck with technology lol smile

Just removed it and have to deal with 2GB RAM now. It's enough for me though. In my old one I have 1GB RAM and I had it for quite a while, that move is not that big to me and 2GB are actually pretty good in my eyes (working on a "crappy" machine for a loooong time has its advantages too it seems), so what's better? wink

However, time to post some new screenies:

CTF-Deadlock looks almost like before the first crash!

8 screenshots that compare the red and blue side:

The room next to the flag room in red and blue:

The bridge I'm so proud of in red and blue:

Hallway in red and blue:

That room, in red and blue:

Hope you like it and don't forget to post feedback and ideas! Btw, I'll convert this map to UT3 once it's done ;)

-- Edited by Sly on Sunday 15th of May 2011 05:03:18 AM

-- Edited by Sly on Sunday 15th of May 2011 05:05:09 AM

Bl!tz · ...ǝp¡s ɹǝɥʇo ǝɥʇ uo

nice picts, i like the way u ve keep it simple on colors , simple red vs blue, this often drive to efficient gameplay & fast reactions (no need to search where u are...lol^^)...+visually it s nice

stevelois · ...

Glad to read, you found the cause of your pc prob :)

Your pics are good looking. Simple architecture, clean, modern & stylish. Very original :D

Only suggestion I can add is to add some pillars or something else in the middle sections to reduce all those long line of sight in the corridors.

Sly. · Unreal Old Friend

Thanks for your positive comments

Now to my Vortex Rikers remake. I've made the bridge/room with the consoles.
I hope you like it, here it is:

*mysterious and distorted, yet beautiful sounding woman voice* "You have entered a restricted area!" *epic music starts playing*

This is the view on the bridge from the perspective of the hidden Automag ammo clips on top of the lamps!

A nice view of the whole bridge!

I'm so proud of that ceiling, really! biggrin

Imagine being the captain of this ship and having to have that much responsibility - just take a look at the number of screens! confuse

I wish I could place a corpse like that on the co-pilot seat and trigger it on touch so that it gets a twitch after the first touch you've made, like in Unreal! This scared many people, including me because it was so unexpected!

That's the lower level, that part below the bridge with its consoles which leads to the lift that connects bridge and armory room. That room is not done yet.

Enjoy the pictures and leave feedback! I hope you like it. However, I wish there was a static mesh with the style of that wall that I could use for my "faithful remake" so that it looks more detailled and not so empty.

-- Edited by Sly on Monday 16th of May 2011 02:34:43 AM

Lord_PorkSword · Connoisseur of Bourbon!

Excellent effort on replicating the original bridge M8! You've got it very close to the original which is great ta see!
Nice job on the monitors!

Regarding ya corpse, you'd have to create an animation to make it like the original. Unfortunately you have to create the animations in Blender/3D Studio Max, using the right parameter parts, then import them into UE3. If ya know them packages, great...otherwise good luck M8!

With it's empty feeling...I expected the same thing when I started thinking about a remake. When Unreal was released it utilized the latest gfx technology of it's time, so we were all dazzled with this shiny new graphics engine, and the exciting storyline, to concern ourselves with the lack of details in the levels.

It did it's purpose back in the day but games have advanced since then and as players were are spoilt by the immense detail in the latest games.

I can only say that as you are doing a more direct remake, Unreal fans will still appreciate the authenticity of it!

-- Edited by Lord_PorkSword on Monday 16th of May 2011 04:08:24 AM

Sly. · Unreal Old Friend

Thanks!

I'll get back to work on it over the next days
I didn't say it yet but graphics-wise your remake looks 200x better. The static meshes of this game have a different style than the textures of Unreal which makes it pretty hard to make it faithful and detailled. If this would be a competition you would win wink

I thought about that corpse of the co-pilot. Maybe by moving a small kicker by attaching it to an interpolation actor and setting it to kick just that class I could push it into the direction of the player (if it would be a ragdoll it would be perfect!). Would be a heavy twitch but the heavier the better, haha wink

Lord_PorkSword · Connoisseur of Bourbon!

The thing with our remakes is that we're doing different things. Mine may be more modern and detailed, but yours is way more true to the original which a lot of people will still like!

I'm keen on seeing ya version of Vortex Rikers when it's ready! biggrin Especially seeing I've been been running around in the original Unreal, many times, since starting my version. It'll be nice to see it authenticly done in UT3!

Regarding the captain in the chair, ya idea could work quite well M8!
Add a skeletal mesh as a kasset just above the chair. Hopefully at runtime it'll drop into the chair, after which you can then use ya mover to move the hand.

-- Edited by Lord_PorkSword on Monday 16th of May 2011 11:53:11 AM

Sly. · Unreal Old Friend

Again some screenshots, but this time it has nothing to do with the Vortex Rikers nor the other map I've shown to you in the first post.
It's this little baby:

The TRON 1 Lightcycle for UT2004!

Those stripes on the wheels flicker all the time. They shall show that the wheels are "moving". Don't worry, that's fine and looks good. It was like that in the movie! Tomorrow I'm going to make the basic code, I'll probably extend it from the Scorpion.

The cubemap of the blue shader texture is a bit .. meh, will have to work on that. Looks crappy.

The side view. I paid attention to every little detail. EDIT: Okay, you can't see those details on the picture, I forgot to turn on lighting mode in the editor. hmm

The back where the trail starts in a big curve, like in this scene from the first movie.

I wish I could add such awesome grey/white cellshading effects like in the movie. Top view:

It will become a real vehicle that will have two driving modes: normal bike mode with a small "boost" when you press "fire" and when you press "alt. fire" once it shall snap to the "grid" (the x axis and y axis) and drive on them and if you press it for the second time it shall switch back to bike mode. This will be the hard part. Especially with those trails... but I wanted them in a vCTF map I am working on from time to time (Recognizer works but requires some code editing to get rid of the bugs, Light Tank is in the making and the chassis is done) and I started it about 3 months ago. It was time to finish that model someday biggrin

This vehicle shall be a "weapon pickup" (like the Reaper Hoverboard), means that you have to pick up the rod and activate it to spawn it. Man, that will be a lot of work for a single vehicle, I'll ask a few more experienced coders I know for help! I'm still a bit n00bish at coding. smile

-- Edited by Sly on Wednesday 18th of May 2011 01:32:51 AM

Bl!tz · ...ǝp¡s ɹǝɥʇo ǝɥʇ uo

it looks really promising, but of course....unlit....haha...cant really tell :p
could be really a fun add in a vctf
gl with coding

...and good job

Sly. · Unreal Old Friend

Getting back to work on my Vortex Rikers remake. I'm planning on finishing the med lab today, not sure if I manage to get to it though.

Does anybody have an idea how to make the walls look more detailled but not making it look different from the original?

stevelois · ...

Well, you must play with the stock textures if you didn't found some tat look alike.

Or import the original ones & generate the normal maps to add a modern look :)

Sly. · Unreal Old Friend

I wish I would know how to generate normal maps/bump maps (and how to work with the material editor in general) :(
Then I would have a reason to remaster the original texture.

I was already thinking of making the walls with static meshes, but that might be affecting the performance a bit. I'm really tending to it though, just don't know which static meshes to use without spoiling the style...

stevelois · ...

For creating normal map, look at my new 3d / art page to grab the right tools (free).

Beside, Odedge as a complete list of tuts about blender & gimp.

xnormal as a lot of tut on the website :)

Good luck m8 !

Sly. · Unreal Old Friend

Thanks for your advice! Will look into it

Sly. · Unreal Old Friend

New screenies of my Vortex Rikers!

Left shot: Some lighting changes in the torture room/room with the electric chair and replacement of wall static meshes with ones that match the original style much better.
Right shot: Bridge room, minor changes, let me know if the texture looks good like that, will try to add more details without spoiling the original style.

Left shot: The entrance to the armory room, tried to use a texture which is shiny enough to represent the mirror floor effect.
Right shot: The room with the armor contained in the force field shown from a different perspective.

Left shot: The "blocked room" bathed in its typical green light.
Right shot: The hallway leading to the med lab. I have to add the small trap (cable), add blood and break one of the light collums yet.

Left shot: The med lab. The hologram materials will be exchanged yet, those are just placeholders thus the purple light they emit doesn't match the hologram color.
Right shot: The room with the huge fans in its ceiling before the slaughtering event where you hear the second "You have entered a restricted area" sound when entering it.

And now to the last screenshot which shows the room from a different perspective.

PS: Yes, I admit it, it's a simple copy-pasta from the "Unreal 1 HD" thread over at the Epic Games forum. aww

MDK1311 · Unreal Old Friend

Hey Sly,
Looking very promising, and really hoping you release a Beta soon (this time without the lift breaking up ;) ).
Also How is Stygia doin?
Cya soon m8

Bl!tz · ...ǝp¡s ɹǝɥʇo ǝɥʇ uo

looking very good m8, i like a lot the red lighting areas + nice choice on materials
keep up the good work

Lord_PorkSword · Connoisseur of Bourbon!

Sly,
Do you have the sounds from Unreal, like the AI and screams etc..?
If ya don't have them and want them let me know!

Sly. · Unreal Old Friend

Thanks for your offer! I have Unreal installed so I can export those sounds at any time and afaIk the new DM-Morbias has sounds from Unreal's Vortex Rikers too.

EDIT: And thanks for the nice comments! Didn't see them at first. Stygia is doing well! Just another idea-less phase which will vanish in one week at the latest! smile

-- Edited by Sly on Monday 17th of October 2011 11:31:32 PM

iLikeTheUDK · Unreal Old Friend

For the Skaarj you could maybe use Skaarj model by EvilEngine.
And if you want to import textures from Unreal 1, you should install the high-end version of the Hi-Res texture pack from UnrealTexture (most textures there have the resolution of 2048x2048 pixels, the standard resolution of most textures for UT3). And basically, to make a normal map from a mesh of millions of polygons to a lower-res version, you should convert the hi-res mesh to a lower res version, then convert the differences of detail to a normal map using some utility or plugin, or an external program like ZBrush. Epic made the normal maps that way.

-- Edited by iLikeTheUDK on Wednesday 18th of January 2012 07:03:27 PM