Research Assignment

Tutorial Description:

The topic I have chosen to do my tutorial on is exporting objects from Google Sketchup into the Crysis Sandbox Editor. I used this in both experiment 1 and 2 however it was only until exp 2 I had to export multiple textures. Now usually exporting a Sketchup model via PlayUp Tools it only allows you to export 1 texture, but at the same time that texture has to cover the whole object, so that not one face can be left untextured. In saying that it meant that you could only have one texture as one component so every time you wanted a different texture you would need a new component and therefore resulting in heaps and heaps of objects in the Sandbox Editor that you had to piece together. Not only that, but that has also given reason for a bunch of other problems to arise such as mismatching locations, objects not scaling properly etc. As a result of these issues I thought there must’ve been a way to fix this issue, so I started experimenting and downloading different software to test out if it could be fixed and I did find a way to fix it and so I intend to do a tutorial on it as I thought it would help out other people who wanted to export objects with multiple textures.

This tutorial is target mainly at people an architecture related course at uni that requires crysis be used as a mean of presentation, but also creative gamers who want to build their own objects for their own crysis maps. This tutorial is for beginners who want to take this extra step and create their own objects rather than using default crysis ones. It assumes the view already has basic knowledge of Google Sketchup as well as Sandbox 2.

There may be of course other ways to export multi-textured objects into the Sandbox Editor but this is the most simple and efficient method of doing so. Despite the fact it took me so long to figure this out, now it has been figured out I can share it with everyone else to save them the time, effort and pain I went to figuring this. In essence what this tutorial aims to do is to inform users on how to export a multi-textured object from Google Sketchup into the Crysis Sandbox Editor via the simplest and most efficient method of doing so.

Download Link uploaded by myself as it seems that my version is the only version I can get to successfully work:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=F3JKTBY5


For links regarding some helpful websites for both Exp 1,2 and this assignment refer to week 2

Uploads

I've put my Play Test Environment and also Sketchup Model into the downloadable file.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=D856G9LS

Just paste the Game folder and Mods folder straight into the Crysis Wars Directory and it is ready to be played.

Hotkeys for building:
K is for the Final Analytics Engine


Number Pad 8 is for the Social Network Bargraph
For other demonstartions move the buildings/objects back into the map it is currently outside on the water and re-enable the HUD displays for the different flowgraphs.

Final Videos

Final Video:

PLEASE READ DESCRIPTION FIRST BEFORE WATCHING VIDEO:
With my analytics engine I wanted to reinterpret the raw data from the pachube feed and create a much easier and clearer way to display this data rather than just the feed which is not too clear as the value bar of the left jumps quite a bit and it takes some time to read and match to find the value at that particular point and so I have reinterpreted it as a bar graph with values as well as changing light intensity to present this data in a much clearer and quicker way.
I did my analytics engine based on a light intensity sensor pachube feed. The feed says "A high value currently represents low light intensity, and a low value represents high intensity." and so I created higher building for periods of high low light intensity. I have also colour coded the city I created. The 2 red ones are the highest and lowest points of light intensity the bright glowing one is the shortest and represents the period with most light intensity, where as the dark red one represents the period of least light intensity. I have also linked the time of day to the flowgraph and to each building. I have tried recreate the amount of light that may be experienced during each period and hence each building I bring up the time of day changes. I also used figures to help display the data further, although the units of the data has not been specified the feed does say, "This feed displays light input data ranging from 0 to 1023". I tried to recreate a sidewalk of the city with various building sizes with the data from the Pachube feed.


Flowgraph:

The flowgraph analyses the xml and inputs this data into the scaling of the building. I also added nodes to bring up the numeric figures and to change the time of day when the key is hit. I have included the HUD node but disabled it because I used it for testing purposes, but it can also be included if desirable that is why I have left it there.




3 x 30 second videos: NOTE: These are just the videos any descriptions/flowgraphs for these are in the weekly tasks.

Week 05

Week 04

 The Building scales according to the distance of the player to the object itself. The HUD displays the distance of the player from the original location of the object (without scaling).

Flowgraphs:
Scales Building:

 Gives Distance From Building:

Draft Analytics Engine: This is is a bar graph I created for part of my analytic engine. Not all of the data conveyed is via flowgraph. The ones conveyed via flowgraph is the xml data, the HUD and the object scaling. Others that are not includes the more transparent the object the higher the light intensity is. The more it glows also represents light intensity. The higher it is represents lower light intensity, hence the larger shadows.


Flowgraph:

Tutorial Proposal: 

With my tutorial I would like to do it on the topic of exporting a multi-textured object from Sketchup into the Crysis Sandbox Editor. I used PlayUp Tools in both Exp1 and 2. If I wanted to apply multi textures to an object for exportation it would be such a pain because I would have to model the face as a single component and then match it up with object in Crysis again, and this would often cause problems such as not matching exactly and when I scaled the object it would lose its intended position etc. So finally when i solved this issue I thought it would be good to share around with other people who have the same issue.

Week 03

Although this is not an image I found it very good at representing something in a different way. It is an animation for the song Arabesque by Debussy. The size of the dot represents note length, the higher the dots go the higher the pitch goes. Each different coloured dot represents a different layer.

I found this one particularly interesting because it was words constructed in the shape of each nation. The size of each nation also determined the size of each word.




No video can be embedded, however it can be viewed via this link: http://vimeo.com/19486470

Again this is not an image but an amazing animation which details the real-time behaviour of hire bikes in London on October 4th 2010, the day of a major tube strike, and the busiest day for the scheme to date. Departure times and journey durations are real; routing is calculated from OSM data; average speed from journey duration and route length. In the visualisation, the fixed circles represent stands – when a stand flashes red, it means that one or more bikes have left it - and a yellow flash means a bike has arrived. The bikes themselves are represented by the Boris Barclays Blue Tadpoles whizzing around – leaving at the right time, travelling at their correct average speed, and taking a (generally) realistic route.

 This particular poster conveys information through a number of different approaches. It has visual, numeric as well as literary elements. It uses pie graphs, colour coding, and images relative to the topic. Can create a simulation of the data portrayed.

Poster uses colour coding as a key to identify each social networking site. It uses visual and raw data to convey the information across to the viewer quite quickly and easily. Breaks down the graphs in categories of age group. Can create a animated bargraph.

 Uses Colour coding as well as images of phones as a chart for comparison. Also uses pie graphs and figures. Could be reinterpreted in the sandbox editor.


http://www.niceone.org/lab/quakes/
This interactive data representation is very interesting, check it out yourself.

Part of my analytic engine:

Flowgraph:

Week 02 + Research

Flowgraph:

 Proposal

 With my feed I would like to create a flowgraph that makes a building change in size according to light intensity. The higher the value the higher the building gets the darker the day is. In the feed the higher the value represents periods of lower light intensity hence, higher buildings  = lower light intensity. The feed is frozen, so as a result I will construct my own Xml based on the values using approximations which will be quite accurate but not 100%.



Research:
http://www.moddb.com/groups/cryengine-2-developers/tutorials/cryengine-flowgraph-tutorial
Great website. Teaches you how to read a flowgraph/node and also gives you a good idea of how a flowgraph works.

http://www.moddb.com/engines/cryengine-2/tutorials
Good tutorials on a variety of things for the Crysis Sandbox Editor

http://www.playuptools.com/
For exporting models from a variety of modelling software into gaming engines.

http://benv2423-2011vn.blogspot.com/
Vinh Nguyen's blog. Immensely helpful as it related directly to me. Also a lot of great tutorials and flowgraphs.

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/25611536/SandBox-2-Manual-%28CryEngine2%29
This has pretty much most info on the sandbox editor as it is the manual for sandbox 2.

Week 01 Tasks

Demo in Crysis Sandbox Editor displaying velocity of character. Analyses the character's velocity by performing mathematical equations based on distance travelled of a period of time, via the flowgraph.

Flowgraph:

https://pachube.com/feeds/35524

SWOT:

Strengths: Defines results in a graph format. Displays when the light sensor was active and when it was off. Clearly displays peaks and dips and this info can be translated well into something like a bar graph.

Weakness: Feed is frozen; however have to deal what has been recorded. Each date displayed on the feed are a fair distance from each other so information displayed is an overall perspective and not a detailed daily feed. Does not give units for the light intensity, which is an issue.

Opportunities: I can gather the data and light intensity and represent the amount of light via bar graph and time of day alternations. Can possible colour code part of the bargraph if possible. I can make the bar graph into a city to create shadows.

Threats: Periods of inactivity will be difficult to interpret the data clearly. The weaknesses create a lot of threats and thus data may be interpreted wrong.

Final Submission

Documentary:

Link for Level:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=1B413G3Z
Hotkeys:
P to lift elevator up
N to lower elevator

Extract rar and just paste straight into root folder.


Google Sketchup Link:
http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=b28b2da64e910878d9a4f94bdf22d209

Final Concept:
The relation to Pure War in my level is expressed in a number of places. My level has 1 central structure (The red structure in the centre) It glows more as you approach it. The idea behind this is as it glows brighter it illuminates the surroundings maybe not by much but has some how affected it. I drew the from the idea that in Pure War everything is some what connected, even though it may not be directly connected it does have some form of connection. In the Pachube feed there are graphs which peak and dip and thus I drew this connection of increasing and decreasing as a result of position. The idea of the piano ramp came from the notion of how many people are unaware of they are in a state of pure war and that pure war is somewhat subliminal, just like the piano ramp. You can not see what is happening but you can hear it, but how do you know it is the ramp that is making the sound? I did this because the Air quality graph from the Pachube feed surprised me, I didn't know air quality could be measured and so I implemented the piano ramp to reflect this notion in pure war. This brings me to the piano stairs, I displayed it with the quote, "in the moment". It is like the Piano ramp but this time you can hear what is happening as well as hear it and hence it brings your attention to what is actually happening in that moment, perhaps your realisation that pure war exists. I tried to reflect the temperature graph by implementing the piano stairs, the idea that once something is brought to your attention you will notice it, such as a hot day. I implemented an elevator to give people a choice whether to take the stairs of the elevator, hence the quote, "we have a choice". This is to do with the aspect of democracy in Virilio's concept of pure war and that "the time of democracy that will save us in the event of catastrophe." I put a custom car in to further reinforce the idea of democracy, but more importantly in relation to pure war, that it is we who control what speed we go at  and Virilio speaks of the economy we participate in, the technology we use and love and the speed at which this is all happening. I put a bouncing neon light in to not only reflect the light graph in the Pachube feed (A peak and then a dip straight back into the original position) but to also symbolise pure war, the idea that all things have a result and consequence.

Week 6

Week 5

Vegas tutorial completed.

150 words on documentary:

I decided to use the observational mode for my documentary with captions/titles to assist the viewer in understanding what I am trying to achieve along with a quote I have made up/heard of before to give them a sense of relation to Pure War. This mode suits my style of documentary as I have incorporated sound and video as well as different camera techniques, such as panning, first person and third person views, just to name a few. It is also a lot less subjective compared to other documentary modes, allowing the view to reach whatever conclusions they may deduce. Althought this mode may restrict the amount of technical information conveyed to the view; it is not necessary in this case as the level itself is enough for the viewers to understand this information directly.

 

Week 4

 Piano Stair Demo

150 Words:

While the final level is not complete yet, I can already see where I want to head with the level and its relation to the Pachube Feed, more specifically the Kilpisjärvi Biological Station - Weather Tunnel. I did not use all the graphs; however I did use most of them. I based my structure on the temperature graph in terms of the shapes, using solid objects and shapes, nothing flimsy with a variety of shapes but mostly prisms. The light graph was very interesting and so I had to add it into my level. I decided to create a bouncing light which when reaches the end returns back to the original position and so forth. What inspired me was the shape of the graph where it would remain straight for a period and have one peak and then returning back down to its original position hence I used the idea of “What goes around comes around”.

Week 3

Moving Entity:

 

Constraints:

 

 XML:

Rain Demo

Week 2

I designed my trial model with the notion of extending power. The relation of it with pure war, is the aspect of power in war. One prism trying to conquer another. I used red to symbolise bloodshed, gradually becoming clearer as you get closer to it, (could be interpreted as closer to the end of war).

Week 01 - Pachube Feed

http://pachube.com/feeds/21544


The graph I have chosen from Pachube.com is the Kilpisjärvi Biological Station - Weather Tunnel. This particular feed had many graphs and the fact that all the graphs differed from each other so greatly, was one of the reasons why I chose this feed. One of them, the "light" graph just remained a straight line, where as other ones had periods where it was just stationary, and some other graphs vary greatly. Another thing that grabbed my attention was the fact that there was an "air quality graph". I did not even know air quality could be measured.