Beer glass scene creation
This course contains a little bit of everything with modeling, UVing, texturing and dynamics in Maya, as well as compositing multilayered EXR's in Photoshop.
# 1 29-10-2006 , 06:17 PM
mtmckinley's Avatar
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My Challenge! Nov 1st 2006

Alright, let's see if we can't have some fun. user added image

FANTASY VEHICLE!

Yep, let's do something cool with this topic. There are no restrictions regarding what kind of vehicle you make, EXCEPT that it must not be a real vehicle. It must be some kind of created design by you AND it must have at least one visible weapon. Now whether it's futuristic, primitive, modern, that's all up to you. Whether it's a land, water, or air vehicle is up to you.

Sound like fun?

Then start a thread called Game Challenge - <your name> and get started! user added image

I'm not positive yet when this challenge's deadline will be, whether this will be a 1 month or 2 month challenge, due to all the holidays, but I'll make some decision within the next week or so, probably based on participation and comments from you. For now, let's assume just a 1 month challenge with a deadline set at 9am Pacific time December 1st! user added image

Note that if the deadline gets extended to the new year that more than likely an added challenge of creating an escape pod or a pilot or something for your vehicle may be tacked on!

Now for the winners. Instead of doing Normal or Newbie, I'm simply going to do 1st and 2nd place prizes.

1st place - A signed copy of both of my books, The Game Artist's Guide to Maya as well as The Game Animator's Guide to Maya.

2nd place - A signed copy of my newest book, The Game Animator's Guide to Maya

3rd place - A hearty congrats and well done. user added image Seriously, if later on I can figure something out, I might try doing 3rd place prizes.

Anyone can enter, and anyone can win!

Now, for game art specs:

-maximum of 30,000 triangle polys
-MUST be fully textured
-texture resolutions must be no more than a 1024x1024 (this means, you can use four 512x512, or any other combination thereof that doesn't supersede an accumulated 1024 texture)
-normal maps, spec maps, transparency maps, etc are ALL allowed

Ask me any questions here and I'll do my best to answer.

# 2 29-10-2006 , 06:34 PM
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hi!!
Just 1 question! Is it a low poly challenge? do we have to follow the "game art specs" or is that something optional?

thx, that's all.

# 3 29-10-2006 , 08:13 PM
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after thinking about it, I changed the specs to more of a next-gen mark. You can go as low as you want to though (if you wanted to do like an RTS unit or something), but yes, it is a game art challenge, so the maximum is in effect. Feel free to play along and do your own max polycount, but it wouldn't be elligible for the prizes. Would be good fun and experience though! user added image

# 4 29-10-2006 , 09:16 PM
Acid44
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how about a spider/beetle robot thing would that be ok?

# 5 29-10-2006 , 09:52 PM
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should the vehicle be in an environment or is this just a vehicle by itself?


...and that is how I saved the world.
# 6 29-10-2006 , 10:18 PM
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yes a mecha spider thing is just fine.

Environments are not part of the judging. If you have time to do one, great!

# 7 30-10-2006 , 12:08 AM
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If you're going to have color, specular, transparency and normal-textures
you have to cut the 1024x1024 into four 512x512, right?

# 8 30-10-2006 , 12:33 AM
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the 1024 limit refers only to the color textures. If your color needs a spec, trans, etc, it can all count with just the same color texture it goes with.

# 9 30-10-2006 , 02:08 PM
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Really nice challenge Mike, looking forward to it.

# 10 01-11-2006 , 02:30 AM
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Too bad there isn't a money prices this time. user added image I live like a gypsy and travel light. So I'm not really into books. Everything I own fits on a couple of discs. hehehe. But just to brush up my Maya skills I'd love to join this cool challenge. Probably don't stand a chance winning anyway. Since it's been over a year since I've last touched Maya.

Just to confirm, this is a polygon only challenge? No Nurbs and stuff?
And no extra credits for animations?

# 11 01-11-2006 , 07:41 AM
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that is correct

# 12 08-11-2006 , 08:04 AM
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Ok, I'm in.

I need something to take my mind off my university work and I rekon that this could be the key.

Before I start though, I have to say that, after reading the challenge thoughts thread, I'm a little disappointed at Dave's no show as there were a few of us that put in quite a few hours of hard work into that particular challenge.

I shan't dwell on the past though and I'm well up for trying out for this challenge. One thing Mike, I've never made any game stuff before and you've put a limit of 30,000 tri polys on our models does this mean that the finished piece has to be in tri's or can we have 15,000 quads as it seems to me to amount to pretty much the same thing?

Cheers and see you on my thread when I start it,

Mat.

# 13 08-11-2006 , 10:16 AM
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If you have one of the later versions of Maya, it shows the Tri count in the Polycount display. If not, sure, 15k quads will be ok.

# 14 18-11-2006 , 06:01 PM
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any news on the deadline yet

1st dec or 1st jan ????

need 2 know how long i got left 2 do textures


# 15 18-11-2006 , 06:04 PM
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Dec 1st is still the deadline

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