Friday 12 February 2016

TSA Entry Scanner Hallway: Geometry Test in UE4


Update

Hi all, just a brief message to say that I'm getting back into Blender and Unreal in a big way and have restarted Tribute. I'm going to be focusing on getting a workflow for Blender - Unreal, lighting, animation etc. I'm new to Unreal so this will be an interesting challenge but one I'm more than happy to explore.

I will also say however that this is a hobby of mine and as such happens outside of normal work/life stuff. As I make progress I will post it here (might even give you a link or two to test builds). It will be basic to start with - images I have posted previously are renders straight out of Blender which looked good but wouldn't translate to an external game engine.

Part 2 of the adventure begins and I am immensely grateful that you're along for the ride.

It will take time ;)

Andy

What's that? Could it be the Mars Gantry Walkway being tested in the Unreal Engine? No??!!


Sunday 12 October 2014

Yes, I am you...I'm from the future...

Hello to one and all.

Firstly, let me apologise for the severe drought in posts over the last year and a half.

Yes, we are still here.

Yes, we are still working.

While I don't have any screenshots to show at time time, I do want to say that great strides are being made behind the scenes.  I know that sounds incredibly cliche but in this case it is true.  3D software and game engines are constantly evolving and things are possible now that weren't possible even a year ago.

What this all means is that a great deal of research and development is going on to make the absolute best game for you.  That is our dream; to play Tribute how I've always seen it (George Lucas Star Wars style).  Don't worry though, there'll be no Jar Jar.

Anyway, I will be making more regular posts to this blog over the coming months so keep your eyes peeled.

All for now.  Temporal distortion imminent.

Wednesday 12 June 2013

Project Update: June 2013

Hello one and all!

This is going to be a somewhat cryptic update, but as Brad Pitt said in Ocean's 12, "I can't talk about it and I can't talk about why."

I'm going to qualify the above as much as I can.  The Tribute is still ongoing; it is our mission to see this thing finished.  However, at this point we are working on some absolutely fantastic developments behind the scenes that I am not at liberty to discuss, nor can I tell you why I can't discuss it.

I said this would be cryptic!

Please note that due to these developments, I won't be able to make the regular screenshot and video updates that I was making previously.  When I can post shots however, rest assured that I will.  This project would be nothing without your support, and I'm posting this to give you some reassurance that the project is still alive.

The project is alive and well and we're working as hard as we can to make it the best looking Journeyman yet.

Please bear with us as we continue to develop Tribute, which I hope you will have the pleasure of playing in the near future.

Best wishes,

Andy

Thursday 17 January 2013

Hallway Evolution

Hi all!

Ok it's been a little while since you've seen any imagery from the project but there's been good reason for that.  I've been spending a lot of time learning about compositing and how to prepare your scene properly for the compositing stage.  There are a lot of things you can correct or change in the composite if the scene is set up correctly, meaning that changes may not require a re-render if the compositor is doing the work for you.

With that in mind, I've been doing some work on the TSA hallway, expanding the current design and adding more detail.  I was inspired by a Blender tutorial by Blender Guru Andrew Price in which he had lighting set up in the floor.  The effect was dramatic and I wanted to replicate that in the hallway.

So, without further ado, here's today's update!

Enjoy!


Sunday 13 January 2013

Project Update: 13 Jan 2013

Hi all!

Just a quick update; I know I've been quiet the last few days but it's all for a good cause; work progresses as always and things are starting to come together nicely.  I've been spending some time studying various tutorials in order to improve the quality of the work I'm doing and it's starting to pay dividends.

Rest assured that the project is incredibly important to me; almost 2 years of work invested in it so far and as the quote goes, I've started so I'll finish ;)

Andy

Wednesday 2 January 2013

Global Transporter Effects: HD Final Sequence


Video Update: Global Transporter Effects

Hello!

Below is an overview of the compositor setup for the Global Transporter effects animation.  Again apologies for the loss of sync between the audio and video component; I'm still at a loss to explain why this is happening but investigation continues.

Enjoy!


Sunday 30 December 2012

WSC Gantry Concept

Hi all!

Here's a quick (and for me that's about 20 minutes!) render of a from-scratch concept for the WSC lighting gantry, looking at basic shapes and trying to get a feel for functional layout.

Enjoy!


Journeyman Project Tribute: Animation Overview

Hello!

This was my first go at using camstudio; please excuse the fact that the sync drifts between the video and the sound (I'm still not sure why this is the case!).  Anyway I hope this proves to be interesting!

Topics covered are basic animation in the hallway and a quick look at some of the Cycles material setups.

Enjoy!


Friday 28 December 2012

Huge thanks!

Good morning all!

Since this blog was started back in March last year, there have been over 20,000 views!  I am both humbled and honoured by this; the project started as my own dream of making a modern version of Journeyman and I have been fortunate along the way to have people join the team who share that dream.

The dream wouldn't be anything without the encouragement of the fans though, and it is a real boost to have so much interest generated by people who love Journeyman.  On average there are 40 or 50 hits on the blog per day, and the recently started video updates have boosted those figures even higher.

The last few days have seen a flurry of activity and I attribute that in large part to the efforts of our new community liason, Ioannis "John" Kypraios, who has been beavering away on the official blog and Twitter feed - please check them out and follow at the following links:

https://twitter.com/JourneymanTribu

 http://journeymantribu.wordpress.com/

Don't forget to tell as many people as you can about these blogs too; fan projects are run "by the fans, for the fans" so the more people know about it and keep up to date with progress the better!

I was asked a while ago if I could put a progress meter up on the site; unfortunately not.  This is a fan project and not a 9-5 job so there are no timetables in place; we all work as hard as we can when we can but sometimes life gets in the way.  The technology is always changing which means that we can do things better.  I also don't want to be in the position where we announce a release date early on and people are then expecting that to be the case; taking inspiration from other projects I've been involved in over the years, "it'll be done when it's done" :)

I will continue working hard on the project as always, endeavouring to produce the best version that I can.  With the help of the talented guys and gals on the team I'm sure we will present you with a very polished version that you can enjoy :)  I am incredibly thankful that you're all along for the ride too.

All for now,

Andy

Wednesday 26 December 2012

Video Update: Prehistoric

Hello!

After some really nice feedback on the video updates, I decided to keep going.  They won't be every day, but just on new/updated aspects that I think you might find interesting.

With that in mind, here's a short update on today's work on the prehistoric area; very basic work here but should show you the way it's going.  Enjoy!


Monday 24 December 2012

Global Transporter: Collage

Hello,

Ok closing down the lab for now ;)  Just before midnight though (I don't want to disturb Santa when he comes around) I thought I'd add the following three work-in-progress shots of the model as it stands at the last save.  Enjoy!




Video Update: Transporter

Hello!

Here's a video update on the Global Transporter; I'm really enjoying doing these video updates and giving you some insight into the design process.  I hope you're enjoying it too!

Enjoy and a very merry Christmas to all :)


Transporter

Hi all,

Ok I've been doing some work on the Transporter; trying to get some textures worked out (not going overboard on this one; it's functional rather than aesthetically pleasing) and developing the model a little more.  Work very much in progress on this; got another concept in the works that is early days but am excited about it :)

Enjoy!


Saturday 22 December 2012

Special Pre-Christmas Project Update

Hello!

Here's a special video update from me.  A couple of points:

1) Please excuse the handheld shaking - this was a spur of the moment thing; I didn't have time to set up my camera or a tripod.
2) Please excuse the "erm" factor; this was completely unprepared and my first "live" video - I'm sure the quality will improve as we go along!

Let me know if you prefer the image updates or the new video updates; I'm happy to do either, whichever you feel is of the most benefit.

With that all in mind, enjoy!


Render Help Needed

Hi all!

At this time I'm rendering a few "walking" videos out for an in-house test of the game engine.  This means that I'm rendering the videos at 30fps, 1920x1080 resolution.  The disadvantage of this is that it is taking a very long time to render the videos out; made worse by the fact that Renderfarm.fi appears to be non-functional and has been for a while.

I'd like to put the call out; anyone who is able to install Blender 2.65a (the current version) and who is happy to set up or already has a Dropbox account, please get in touch with me by emailing AndrewCurry2 at g mail dot com.  There won't be any fancy user interface or renderfarms; literally exchanging emails and Blender files.  To keep things manageable I will delegate render batches of 10 frames per time, resulting files to be put into the designated Dropbox folder.

The faster we can render these, the faster the project moves forward.

I've always been a fan of audience participation hehe ;)  Please get in touch if you can help.

Best wishes and thanks for reading,

Andy

TSA Hallway: Scanner Test

Hello!

As a result of a sleepless night I thought I'd post this animation I was working on earlier.  It is a low-resolution render of walking down the TSA Hallway with the scanners running.  Enjoy!


Monday 17 December 2012

Welcome to the TSA...

Hello!

Here's a quirky little shot I wanted to share with you...not exactly groundbreaking but I knew the model as a whole was working when I saw this and it instantly took me back to the original (time travel not involved!).

Lots more progress has been made on the Hallway model but rather than showing you the same things I wanted to share this.  Enjoy!


Sunday 16 December 2012

TSA Hallway: Current WIP shot

Hello!

Here's the current work-in-progress shot of the TSA Hallway.  I've been putting a lot of time into this area, reworking the meshes and doing a lot of texture work.  After spending most of the day on the left-hand side, some very quick mirrors in Blender let me see the whole effect.

Once the mirrors have been applied, it'll be a case of editing the meshes with photo textures to make sure they're not exact mirror images; I want the whole thing to feel organic, and that effect will be spoiled if you see the same texture on your left and right.

Without further ado though, please enjoy the below shot :)  As I watched it render, part of me wanted to reach out and touch the rock.  That's how I want the final game to be; I want you to feel as though you're there.  That sort of realism takes time; a lot of time.  I'd like to take the opportunity for being so patient; I know you want to play it as much as I do.



TSA Hallway: WIP 360 Degree version

Hello!

Here is a 360 degree interactive version of the current WIP TSA Hallway.

Enjoy!


From the archive: 2006

Hello all!

Here's a trip down memory lane for me.  Back in 2006 I was doing all of my modelling work with Bryce and had a crack at making Pegasus using this - result below.  After many hours of painstaking work I ended up with this version - glad to see my modelling skills have moved on since then!

Anyway I'm just putting this out there for nostalgia reasons.  I was really proud of this model at the time but it doesn't even compare to the current Pegasus.

Long live the dream!


Saturday 15 December 2012

TSA Hallway: Cycles Rework Shot #002

Good evening!

A late post here; been going great guns on the texturing and optimisation.  I thought I'd post up this render to show off the work so far - enjoy!


TSA Hallway: Cycles Rework

Hello!

Here's a work-in-progress shot of the retexture and optimisation of the original TSA Hallway.  Work has gone into the rock texture as well as optimising the meshes and removing all non-seen faces/vertices etc.

In truth this should have been done as the modelling went along but I wasn't disciplined enough at the start of the project to consider this, but now that the scene as a whole is pushing 2 million vertices (hallway, TSA command room & upper floor plus Pegasus and Pegasus chamber) I think that some improvements are warranted!

Anyway I'm going to keep busy with the work, but in the meantime, enjoy!