[OOC] Prin Pahts

[Robert The Rebuilder]

Note: instructions on downloading and using the prototype Prin Pahts can be found in this thread.

A brief history of the development of Prin Pahts...

26 May 2006

First viewable version released. The map room was just a big dome. It used the "proximity click" method of detecting clicks on the linking books, and it had an unwieldy mechanism for choosing how to link back to the city: a slider with buttons let you pick the number of the shell, then hitting a button would open a door to reveal the linking book for that shell. Plus, the dome wall had an ugly texture. Also, when fading in from black after the link, the camera would still be flying along to the new spawn point.

* Your first view upon linking in
* Number slider
* Closed door in wall
* Open door, revealing the city linking book


29 May 2006

The slider number mechanism was replaced by just placing link pedestals on the shells themselves. And the blackout period was changed to be based on the distance between the linking book and the spawn point, instead of an incorrect hard-coded value.

* Linking pedestals on map


15 August 2006

The proximity click for the linking books was replaced by the clickable books. The geometry of Prin Pahts was revamped - a ledge appears on three of the six walls - and lighting was added. The concept was based on two intersecting pyramids: one upside-down, one right-side-up; think of a 3-D Star of David.

The ledge was a way for the explorer to get a high-up view of the map. No stairs lead to the ledge, just a gentle slope.

The idea for the lights is to illuminate the districts of the map and the surrounding walls in the same color of the district. The light sources are just globes for now.

This version also incorporated an untextured version of Besharen's pedestal.

* View from ledge


29 August 2006

A walkway ledge that goes around the entire map room was added. There are stairs leading up to the walkway, and a spotlight over the center pedestals. The color of the spotlight is white; this is to illuminate the central district in its associated color. The geometry of the spotlight is a simple hexagonal shaped fixture dangling by a long cord.

* Another view from ledge

... and now this journal is all caught up. Stay tuned for more!

[EDIT: Added more details]

[Aloys]

Nice to see some progress on this.
At some point I thought it would be interesting to have an actual 3d model of the city rather than a flat map. That would off course require more work but I think it could look nice. It's not a pressing matter anyway.

In the meantime, if you need a higher resolution version of the map to work tell me and I'll get something ready.

[Robert The Rebuilder]

[quote="Aloys"] At some point I thought it would be interesting to have an actual 3d model of the city rather than a flat map. That would off course require more work but I think it could look nice. It's not a pressing matter anyway.

In the meantime, if you need a higher resolution version of the map to work tell me and I'll get something ready.

[Trylon]

On Niveerah, I use a massive 8192x8192 textureon the whole terrain.

Because that is ofcourse impossible, I split up the (already square) terrrain into 16 pieces (4 rows and 4 cols) an split up the texture into 16 pieces of 2048x2048. Now each terrain part has it's own physically possible texture, while the complete terrain has the detail corresponding to a massive texture.

Maybe a similar trick can be used in Prin Pahts

[Aloys]

Hi-res texture use more ressources. So we doing textures we must always keep in mind the total size of those.
Let's do some math 1 pixel = 3 bytes (R+G+B channels encoded on 1 byte each). So one average 512*512 pix texture = 512*512= 262144 pixels * 3 bytes = 786 kilobytes.
Uru asks for a 3d card with 16 meg minimum. 16meg can store rouglhy 20 512*512 textures. But that is if we don't count avatar textures and GUIs (Ki + menus). When the total size of textures the card has to store goes above its capacity the framerate starts to drop (ie th game becomes 'choppy') That said, Uru uses Direct X compression for textures (much like JPG) so they take up less space; and that helps a bit. But it's always a good idea to keep in mind the size of textures in an Age. Making and assigning texture is always a delicated balance between performance and visual quality. (much like polygons)
Using a 4096*4096 map brings us near a hundred megs (compression notwithstanding). 'Lower-end' computers will choke on that one. We'll have to go with something a little smaller.

I was going to cover up the middle of the central district map image with a triangular "dias" which would contain the structure that has the hub's two linking books. That way, the same generic district texture can be used for all four districts on the map room floor.

That wouldn't be perfect because the courtyards aren't in the same spots in the central district. But it's a good idea, that and the other techniques you suggest should help.
I'll give it some thinking and I'll get back to you this week end.

[Robert The Rebuilder]

Maybe the central district would need its own texture, then.

Oh, and you don't need to have the numbers on these textures, since I will add those as "decals" on top of the floor.

Thanks, Aloys!

[Robert The Rebuilder]

Update:

I added a miniature "hub" in the center of the Prin Pahts floor. The linking book to the lower level of the city hub is on the corresponding lower level of this mini-hub, and ditto for the upper level.

To get to the upper level of the mini-hub, I added a ladder on the southern column. There is no ladder geometry yet, but as soon as you step on the south side of the southern column, you'll begin climbing.

To emphasize the height of the mini-hub, I lowered the ledge (and the height of the stairs).

* View of mini-hub from ledge
* Me climbing up the hidden ladder

Soon, I plan to add ladders on all three columns (that you can see!) and provide bridges from the three walls without stairs to the hub. Then I'll be ready to begin texturing.

I've updated the download file, so you all can preview it if you wish.

EDIT: One boring detail I omitted, but am adding now for the sake of completeness - I assigned all the Prin Pahts objects to page 3, in preparation for incorporating it into Ahra Pahts.

[J'anim Paedet]

Bravo! You really captured the proportions of the hub in regard to the rest of the city. I can't wait to see the finished product (or at least the next several iterations of said product)!
Good luck with the texturing. It is probably one of my least-favorite tasks, but it does tend to make things look better over time.

[Robert The Rebuilder]

New entry:

I've completed the geometry for Prin Pahts. I added a raised triangular dais on which the mini-hub now stands, and I placed three bridges from the ledges to the mini-hub. I removed the hidden ladder, since it is no longer needed and it intersected one of the bridges.

* View of bridges to mini-hub

Now I'll start the texturing. I'm sure I'll have to modify the geometry somewhat in order to accomodate the texture coordinates, but the geometry is basically done.

[Robert The Rebuilder]

New entry:

I began texturing Prin Pahts. I managed to get the walls and the ledge textured. I relaced the butt-ugly spheres with crystalline clusters and textured them. The textures really do improve the look and feel of the area.

* View of Prin Pahts
* Close-up of crystalline cluster