Room2

Room 2

The bedroom
This room needs a few more models I feel. I am yet to implement the ball in these pictures. That is my next task but the lighting and current sound is set up. The textures are also in place for the next weeks tasks. I managed to get them done this week to save time and maybe come up with more tasks for the coming weeks. I will create some more models as I have a bit of free time.

Pictures

Creating rooms

Having gotten the main hallway working to a decent standard with lighting and pick ups I moved onto the next room.

A basic long room with an added divider, so that the player doesn't just walk in and see everything instantly.
I have set up so the player picks up the torch and is moved into the next room as the lock and key mechanism is in a few weeks time.
I have also now created another player controller which always starts with the torch available so that switching between scenes doesn't change the players progress. I may need to change the code to this slightly later but for now it works.

This room is going to be the sitting room with tv, sofa and coffee table. I will also add magazines to the list for this week so the coffee table isn't bare! The key will be hidden in the room somewhere so the player can progress.

Coding

Yesturday I spoke to one of my specialist tutors about my dissertation project.
We bot agreed the game is headed in the correct direction and that what I have managed to complete so far is satisfactory.
We discussed my next steps and went through some of the code that goes with it. I have been looking into making the transitions between rooms smoother, so that instead of just an attached room in the same scene, the game in fact sends you to another scene in the project.
We discussed how this is possible and how it will be done in the game using a ray cast to tell if the player is looking at the door or not etc.
I also got the lighting in the first scene up to scratch.
I am now in the process of the second room build. The scene transition isn't implemented yet but I will get some screen shots up of the room before the week is out.

Week 2

I have now completed two weeks of my dissertation. The first few stages are just building up the environment piece by piece. I have also implemented the torch at this stage.
I have created the ground floor, desk, lamp doors and torch models.

Here are some screenshots

House Planning

The first stage of creating a house environment which the player can creep around is planning the room layout. I have looked at various house designs from the 1960's and found a generic main hall with joining rooms to be a nice effective layout. This will also allow the player the feeling of progress through the game as they work their way through each room.

The measurements are roughly what I hope to achieve, converting from 3ds max measurements to unity measurements is pretty simple and I am already working on getting the hallway into my unity file.

Textures

I have created the textures for all the rooms that I have so far - Main room, Lounge and Bedroom
That is the walls floors and ceilings of each of these.

Currently the bedroom has the same floor and ceiling as the lounge. and the pictures are in last weeks post.

6 Week Planning

The first few weeks of a project are the most important, getting the game under way is always a tough thing to do. Over the next 6 weeks I will be focussing on getting the project started, to a stage where I can visually see a house environment, 1^st floor with a main hall way and 4 joining rooms. I will also implement the first locked door and key.

The style of the house will be 60's however it will be a dark, not looked after, abandoned house.

I will be sourcing free sounds from the internet and adding them incrementally as the project goes on and as assets are created and implemented into the game file.

I have created and implemented sounds in previous projects so this shouldn’t be too difficult for each asset that requires sounds. By week 6 I hope to have all the sounds of all the assets I have created in the game for vertical slice.

As making models is not my main aim, I will be looking to create assets to the standard of Slender. The models are basic, to the point and I believe if I can manage this standard of modelling and texturing, they will be easy to quickly create and manipulate. The models also don't stand out. The focus of the game is the objective and AI. The models are merely a way to represent the environment the player is in, much like most shooters. Call of Duty, a first person shooter focuses a lot of attention into the guns and character models. The level designs and models within are simple but effective, the effect here is that players are meant to be running through the levels paying little attention to the scenery.

I will first create a grey box level that has all the components in place but by week 13 this will be a textured level. I will create textures in the set weeks as the project progresses. I have filled in an asset list, as shown below which I can use to focus each weeks tasks on what assets I need and which I will make next. This isn't set in stone and so can be added to if needed. As said this isn't a modelling project so I shouldn’t need too many extra models.

Assets throughout the entire house include –

Furniture: Bed x 2, Cot, Sofa, Sitting Chair, Rocking Chair, Coffee table, Desk, Filing cabinet, Chest of Draws, Bath, Sink, Toilet, TV + Stand, book shelf

Interactive assets – Doors, keys, torch, light switch

Standard Assets – Radio, photo frames, magazines, Lamp,

Bed Room: teddy, ball, truck, music box, rubber duck

Project timeline

W1/3-7 December -

'Grey Box Stage'

Assets Complete – Door, key

Floor Plan detailing the first floor. Consisting of 1 Hallway, 4 rooms.

Create the hallway in 3DS Max and import into Unity. Hallway containing one staircase and 4 spaces for doors to the joining rooms.

W2/10-14 December -

'Grey Box Stage'

Assets complete – Torch, desk, lamp

Ability to pick up and use the torch, including lighting.

Compile into Unity

W3/17-21 December -

'Grey Box Stage'

Assets complete – Tv and Stand, Sofa, Coffee table

Create room 1 in 3DS Max – Walls, floor and ceiling. Bedroom.

Compile into Unity

W4/24-28 December -

'Grey Box Stage'

Assets complete -Music Box, Teddy, Bed

Create room 2 in 3DS Max – Walls floor and ceiling. Sitting Room

Compile into Unity

W5/31-4 January -

Assets complete – Cot, Ball

Set up Toon Shaders in unity

Create textures for room tiles (Walls, floors, ceilings)

Compile into unity giving the ball realistic physics

W6/7-11 January -

Assets complete –  Radio

Code Lock and Key for the first room. Key to be found next to torch on a desk in the main hall way.

Calm before the storm

Having had my dissertation project given the go ahead I decided to give myself this week to continue in the test file with some of the newer code I have either been taught or gotten to grips with through the internet.
Firstly I decided to make multiple door types. One which upon going near shuts in the players face and secondly one which swings open upon key press. Both set up with triggers one is just an animation with a key locking sound and the other with a trigger which the player stands near and then uses 'E' to open.
These are both going to be usefull for the final project as I will be creating a house where the player goes from room to room finding keys to open the next door. Making sure I know how to use these techniques is important for the final project. Once I begin making the file for the final project having these techniques ready to impliment will make development alot quicker.

I have begun looking at the key mechanism for these doors. As it stands I have the key on the table and the player is able to pick it up however I have not yet been able to make the key directly relatable to the doors. I will be working on this in the coming weeks alongside the other tasks I have set aside for myself to do. Obviously this isnt perfect however I feel the test file is something I can continuously work on without it affecting my general performance as the processes will help me in the final project anyway!

The test file I have also played around with 3D sounds, the player could be able to hear a sound from afar and not know where its coming from, they then have a reason to explore the house further looking for the source. This at the moment is in the form of a music box.

The last test I have done is for the AI.
I am yet to fully and extensively test the full possibilities however I am quite happy with the results so far. I have basically taken the code from one of our lectures to create a player following capsule, however I looked to change the code so it triggered when a player walked so close to it. This I beleive will be good s it adds a threat to the player that adds a little extra tension while they walk around the house. Initially the player will just be able to see animations which fire off as they walk around the house of the 'enemy' showing himself, then hiding in the different rooms or through windows etc. Until finally he comes running at the player through a door that the player opens. So the trigger for the ai will be the door opening, I am looking to hook this up in the coming weeks.

Ross, out.