Zetheros
Developer
Hey Exanimates,
This week we've mostly been trying to get through the updates to our terrain tools and system as quickly as possible. This isn't just about the tools, but also figuring out how to approach our future workflow and maintain assets that are based on user curated procedural systems that are always changing and evolving.
To explain the system a bit better, our terrain uses "brushes" which are long chains of rules for painting terrain based on shape, elevation, proximity to water, various randomisation functions and custom inputs etc. These generate materials which then have various rules for how they interact and blend with each other and can change the shape of the terrain or add details like 3D grass. A single brush could automatically paint an entire game world, or just do something very specific so that an artist can paint individual details or make fine adjustments. It's the kind of powerful tool that really needs a nice visual interface with interactive outputs to make the most of it.
We implemented and updated the brush system and added the tools to meet our current requirements, it's tightly integrated with existing terrain tools and it has a clear future compatibility path. We probably won't really need to do more with this until we start releasing very large scale terrains. Madoc is still working closely with the art and level design guys for now, to get past some technical hurdles so that they can finalise the new content while he finishes the thaumaturgy additions.
Have a great week!
-the BM team
This week we've mostly been trying to get through the updates to our terrain tools and system as quickly as possible. This isn't just about the tools, but also figuring out how to approach our future workflow and maintain assets that are based on user curated procedural systems that are always changing and evolving.
To explain the system a bit better, our terrain uses "brushes" which are long chains of rules for painting terrain based on shape, elevation, proximity to water, various randomisation functions and custom inputs etc. These generate materials which then have various rules for how they interact and blend with each other and can change the shape of the terrain or add details like 3D grass. A single brush could automatically paint an entire game world, or just do something very specific so that an artist can paint individual details or make fine adjustments. It's the kind of powerful tool that really needs a nice visual interface with interactive outputs to make the most of it.
We implemented and updated the brush system and added the tools to meet our current requirements, it's tightly integrated with existing terrain tools and it has a clear future compatibility path. We probably won't really need to do more with this until we start releasing very large scale terrains. Madoc is still working closely with the art and level design guys for now, to get past some technical hurdles so that they can finalise the new content while he finishes the thaumaturgy additions.
Have a great week!
-the BM team
