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Hi everyone, with the holiday season now a thing of the past, we felt its time for an update on our progress, welcome to The Obsidian Edge 2 Summer Media Update!In this edition: - Round Up: We bring you up to speed with our current status
- Wanted dead or alive: We have a team vacancy, could you fill it?
- You say goodbye and I say hello: a who’s who of our new recruits
- Weevils on Tactical Strike: No we haven’t downed tools, we lift the lid on the final two gameplay modes.
- Media: This time we have some un-textured works in progress from our models team and a selection of previously unseen CryENGINETM2 images
Round UpHard to believe but I actually started writing this update in the first days after our May release… So what’s happened since then? Well hopefully I’m over the IT and ISP nightmares that have plagued me recently, but you don’t want to hear about that, I’m sure you would sooner hear more of the progress of Obsidian Edge 2? In the words of Sir Michael Cain, we have been like a duck;
“Calm on the surface, but always paddling like the Dickens underneath”
We have gone up a gear in our production, which is about to reach critical mass. Since May we have switched from the Pre-Alpha to the Alpha build of the SDK. This gave us a real buzz as we found a number of functions that were previously disabled were now available. We are using some of those to provide wallpaper-sized images as requested by the community following our last release. Many an hour was burned exploring the new functions as well as providing Crytek with feedback for the excellent support documentation they are generating, it’s a unique and privileged position we are in.
We have really been ploughing ahead with our level design efforts, which have evolved along with our knowledge of CE2. Planning a level starts with a level design document that specifies location, mood, objectives and all assets that are required for the map; from environmental props to vegetation and through to full environmental sounds. It also includes basic 2D layouts. We take these and switch them to a 3D representation before we even start mapping in the Sandbox, primarily to get a feel that the map is right before heading down the long process of generating assets.
Its not all been plain sailing though. There are a number of key areas that we cannot proceed with and are anxiously awaiting the next build from Crytek. Hopefully that logjam will be cleared soon! Wanted Dead or Alive: Texture ArtistsUp to now we have chosen not to release works in progress models in our updates. This month sees a departure from that.
Why? Quite simply we have a backlog of models requiring skinning/texturing. If you are a commercial quality texture artist and would be interested in joining our team, please apply providing examples of your work via the link below. Texture Artist Application Be advised that you should have a good command of written English and be prepared to sign a Non Disclosure Agreement (NDA) with Crytek and an End User Licence Agreement (EULA) with Crytek and Electronic Arts
“You say goodbye and I say hello”The quirky title for this section came about in the week that celebrated the 50th anniversary of John Lennon meeting Sir Paul McCartney, many weeks later as we are finally in a position to publish the update, it’s as appropriate now as ever. The Polishing Weevils are part time games developers. We all have our day jobs and real life commitments. As expected with a team of this size, there has been some turnover in personnel since we started. Real life circumstances and priorities can change, and people need to take a step back from or leave the team. To all those who have had to do this, the Polishing Weevils thank you for your contributions, either in content or discussion. For this update though we are saying farewell to a founder member of the team. Randy ‘Ruggbutt’ NelsonA long time ago a bunch of overconfident gamers felt abandoned in the Tactical Sim MP gaming arena. GR was showing its age and GR2 was looking bust. Soroc, Suli and Randy ‘Ruggbutt’ Nelson set out to form the Polishing Weevils and make Obsidian Edge. Obsidian Edge has evolved quite a lot over the years. The time has come for one of those original members to move on.
Lured by GRAW2, Ruggles is heading back to some good old MP gaming and to his excellent work with the Touch-Buddy system. Best wishes Rugg, we hope you wont be a total stranger; you set the standards for gameplay in OE, when the time comes we hope you will be around to do the same in OE2! As one chapter closes for OE2, a new one begins!
We have had a number of new members since we introduced the team back in December, here is a quick round up of the new recruits! TP His will be a familiar name to Crymod regulars and Far Cry mappers, from Sweden he is supporting us by providing 3D models and textures, primarily vegetation. Havokmann Hermann Rauth is from Curitiba, Brazil and as the General Manager of Sonic Valley Productions, he is among a number of SVP members that Stringed Evil has co-opted to support the Sound Production. Phreak
Another SVP member, Kim Burgess is from Brisbane, Australia specialising in sound design, audio production and mixing as well as web design, he is currently studying towards a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree, his major naturally being in sound design. I really wish I could have seen the look on his face when we suggested that the guy from Australia’s Gold Coast should produce the sound effects for any Arctic maps we produce! Dimitris
The last of our SVP recruits, from Greece, Dimi is a Musician and Composer, he will be providing the theme and mood music for OE2 as well supporting the generation of other Sound FX. Strider
Jatinder Malhotra, an environment/prop artist also from the UK, Jat recently graduated Lincoln University (BSc Games Computing) and has been on the job hunt since trying to break into the gaming industry. He figured there is no better way than to work on a mod as ambitious as OE2, and having seen his work, I am sure its only a matter of time. Artraider
Nick is from the USA, and although he was brought in to provide 3D models, we have him rather busy skinning other peoples at the moment! Like we said we are short on texture artists, hopefully we can share some of his work with you next time. Mad Shooter
Roshan Lohani is from India, with a really impressive portfolio he will be bringing his talent to bear providing 3D models, predominantly for OE2s vehicles Sime
Simon Bardsley, is from Middlesbrough in the UK, but we try not to hold that against him! He got in touch with the team after seeing our updates on http://www.overclockers.co.uk/ forums, and has proven himself to be a modelling monster. We have a selection of his work in this updates media feature. SoCal
Trystan Snodgrass is from the USA, a film student at Brooks Institute CA, he will be bringing his large-scale level design experience from the BF2 arena to OE2. He is also a very talented video producer. CrazyMatt
Matt Fagan; USA Character modelling. Like many others Matt sees OE2 as a key addition to his portfolio, during the assembly of which he has been lucky enough to have been coached by Hanno Hagedorn, the lead character artist for Crysis. Matt chose his title well, over his 8 years of honing his modelling expertise, he has been know to hang out in mortuaries; he claims that cadavers are one of the best, if most pungent, ways to learn the human anatomy! This gives us a current team of 31 from the following countries: USA 11
UK 7
Germany 3
Sweden 3
Australia, Brazil, Greece, Israel, India, New Zealand & Netherlands all 1 each Final game play modes: Traditional Free For All (FFA): Overview: Not much to add here.
We are not varying from the tried and tested classic, you spawn in a server and you are on your own; kill or be killed.
No Team play
Respawns are at the discretion of the server admin, from a hardcore 0 to a limitless frag-fest.
New OE2 Gametype - Tactical Strike (Tentative Design) Overview: Tactical Strike is a medium to large scale engagement in which the player’s team is given a number of random targets. They must destroy all of these targets to win. The defending team’s objective is to prevent these targets from being destroyed in the time limit. The defending team does not know which targets are designated to be destroyed. Each team plays both the attacker and defender role in a round. If both teams succeed, or both teams fail in their attack, the round is a draw. Objective: Team destroys the assigned targets for the round when attacking, and successfully defends the targets while they defend. Scoring: Various statistics will be shown on the scoreboard, but the win/lose conditions described above are the key measure of success. Respawns: Respawns are usually minimal or zero, particularly in match play. Optionally they can be set to be on a per-team basis, meaning that the team as a whole has a pool of respawns to use for the whole team during the game. Vehicles: Transport vehicles of any type placed on the map will always be available. Armoured vehicles placed on the map will be controlled by a server setting to either be available or not. Resupply: There is no resupply in this gameplay mode. Co-op mode: No co-op mode will be available for this gameplay mode. MediaAs promised at the lead in, we have interspersed the article with some of Sime’s work in progress shots for weapons and environmental props.
For the modelling aficionados amongst you, they were all modelled in 3DS Max 8 and have the following polly breakdowns:
Blackhawk - 14323 Polys
G36C - 2779 Polys
SAW - 6484 Polys
Shed - 162 Polys
Watertower - 2229 Polys Now its time for some more CryENGINETM2 screen captures. The FarmFirst we have Soroc, this is a very early setting for his primary map, which as you may have guessed from our earlier updates is based on a Farm. He is still waiting on a lot of his vegetation and environmental props, so this is less of a work in progress more of a series of dry run shots; since you have seen the barn evolve we plan to let you see this map unfold in future updates# I asked him to describe the location and its moods:
“The farm map is a forest/open style map that will start with reduced visibility under the light fog of morning.
Over time during gameplay, the fog will burn off as the sun rises. This will change the tactical gameplay of the map mid-match, forcing teams to adapt to the changing visibility and lighting. With areas of dense cover interspersed with wide-open spaces, this map will provide teams with challenges to their attack or defense of positions.” Jungle Next it’s a welcome back to the jungle from Teddy, Suli & Manglord
Teddy: "The props in this shot were made using a variety of tools including Maya, Zbrush and Photoshop, as well as 3DS Max for exporting."" "The tablet has 188 polygons and uses one 512x512 texture. The pillars however are not yet 100% final so the polygon count will decrease slightly, texture sizes are 512x256 each. I estimate a final count around ~400-600 (each) but it really depends on how detailed I want to keep the silhouette.” Suli: "Manglord asked me to make him some stairs so I did. Did I mention I need coffee...?" One caffeine hit later "...The props were produced in Maya and 3DS Max, while they meet the Crysis Poly budget I still need to work on the textures, with respect to both size and realism." Manglord:
”These images are from a map that takes place deep in the South American jungle. The pics are from the west entrance to the main palace complex of an old forgotten ruin.
"As the level designer I’m looking to create the feeling that puts you as a player to be on edge all of the the time. The dense undergrowth combined with the ruins will make it a perfect place for surprises. So proceeding with caution is a must; you are never alone in the jungle... I’ve done a couple of maps with Sandbox for Far Cry* and I’m really amazed with what difference a couple of years can make. Sandbox 2 is a pleasure to work with." *Manglord is a master of understatement; EU_Temple, EU_Landslide and EU_Castle are some of the most popular Far Cry multiplayer maps of all time. Finally with Strider and Stefan we head back to civilisation…
…or at least it was civilised when we left it! Urban Strider:
"The purpose of this Environmental Concept shot was to help establish an understanding of achieving the right urban feel in terms of the props, architecture and atmosphere. It also served as a learning process for me with the Crysis SDK and the incredible feature set Crytek have put together." "The polycounts and map sizes in my scene: News_Stand - 631 Polygons + 1024* Diffuse-Spec-Normal Maps
Trash_Bin - 380 Polygons + 512* Diffuse-Spec-Normal Maps
Phone_Box - 1182 Polygons + 512* Diffuse-Spec-Normal Maps Tools that were used are 3ds Max and Photoshop." Stefan:
“These images are of some of the buildings to be used in the urban levels, they were created to give the level designers a view of what kind of assets are being made and as such don’t represent any particular areas of the level. " "They are also only the 'first layer' of detail. Once the level is laid out we go in and add further detailing to bring the level to life; decals, smaller props, building details etc... Lighting, Atmosphere and FX have yet to be added and it's rendered using an old rig with a Radeon 9600 card, proof at least that CryENGINETM2 can run on older rigs, although it does struggle to render at the resolutions that newer cards can." These models are made in 3DS Max using traditional poly modeling techniques, photo sourced textures are manipulated in Photoshop to create final textures, normal mapping is being done in either Crazybump (beta), Xnormal, Zbrush or using Cryteks own normal mapping tools supplied with the SDK. We are looking to create urban environments that are rich in detail & gritty realism, my goal from an artistic point of view is to take these levels as far from palm tree islands & perfect blue skies as you can get. Working with this engine is a blast, I'm very impressed with what I can do here & blown away that it's all in real time!
Crytek have really stepped up and made something that's both intuitive & easy to get into…”
Screens in this update are available for download as wallpapers in 4:3 or 16:10 formats:
Summer Update Media Pack (46MB) That’s all for now… Well almost! One final point: We have finally set up our newsletter feature for registered members.
As well as using this to release exclusive member only content, please note that all future updates will be released via the newsletter ahead of the public release; so to stay one step ahead of the crowds make sure you are signed up. As with all our updates we really welcome community feedback, so please, drop us a line! Kind Regards The Polishing Weevils
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Oops, didnt finish my text, was going to say the pics and models look great!