Area D (Island) Description!

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Area D (Island) Description!

Postby Lanen » Tue Sep 09, 2008 4:53 pm

The area that I am describing is located near the island (area D on the map). I am imagining the area between the shoreline and the island itself. So perhaps the southwest corner of the northwest area of the map. This is my first description ever so let me know whats good, whats not good, and what you want me to elaborate on! If something is too vague let me know! Enjoy...

The shoreline is covered with large rocks all skimmed with a delicate layer of deep green moss. Here and there sunning themselves on the moss are bright red, shiny beetles that are about the size of half dollar coins. They fly in lazy patterns and seem to want to get no where quickly. There is a light warm breeze that ruffles the leaves of the surrounding trees and grasses. The leaves make a slight papery noise as they shuffle together. There are some shore birds here with long legs and long orange breaks that are designed to get in between the rocks and pick out bits of fish and grasses that are living between the rocks. The water here collects from rain fall and from when the waves cause the water to splash into the rocky shore.

As you look out across the water towards the island one notices a path made of stepping stones (brown/gray rocks with soft green moss) that look easy to use to walk across to the island. The path winds its way through a grove of trees that rise out of the water on tall, thick roots. The roots in some places are so large they arch over the pathway and form an arbor for you to walk through. These roots hold the main body of the tree completely out of the water. The trees have long, broad leaves, that are a deep olive color with yellow veins running through them. The leaves on the trees are only at the top of the trees but are numerous and lush. The trees produce a small green fruit (oblong shapes) after it has finished producing large violet flowers. Hopping from tree to tree (and living there) is a small, gray blue mammal similar to a chinchilla.

The water here is quite calm with only the occasional small wave. The trees are quite close together only letting small filtered light through with small patches of direct light here and there. The trees are what provide the tranquil lagoon feeling here as they keep the water still and calm. There would also be aquatic life here such as fish and urchins. A large amphibious snail also inhabits this space using the roots of the trees as its own highway to get around.

This places fees like your own secret lagoon, hidden away for no one else but you to enjoy.
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Re: Area D (Island) Description!

Postby Shevek » Tue Sep 09, 2008 7:24 pm

Whenever I hear about something like this I always think of Tulum... beautiful Mayan ruins out on the coast, with a bit of a beach running alongside it...and pathways here and there. To be honest it would make a decent Age on its own...

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Anyway, I love the writing here...more creatures for the creature hunt, too...hm...again, we'll have to figure out how to animate them.
And the main thing about the beach...is the sound...the waves crashing or lapping...the wind, the rustle of the leaves, the call of the gulls...
Went down to the pier the other day...and it was so quiet that I could hear something splash to the surface of the water, snort, take a few breaths and then dive back down - spent an hour watching this creature surface, get air, and go back down. We were worried that it might have been a whale swimming up river, turned out it was a family of porpouises...still a beautiful thing to see...! And hear!

That is a point - we will need sound effects for each of these animals! (Volunteers, anyone? Care to snort and snuffle over a mike to provide the noises? :D)
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Re: Area D (Island) Description!

Postby Jennifer_P » Thu Sep 11, 2008 3:37 am

Alright, I think this is an excellent description to start developing the pond off with. There is a lot of atmosphere to work with, and plenty of interesting shapes and looks. Let's break it down into the components for discussion:

Plants:
1. Mangrove trees.
I think it is good that the trees are olive green; that way they will form a pleasing contrast to the green sky rather than blending in with it. Perhaps the moss on the rocks should also be an off shade of green?
2. Moss on rocks
3. Grass
Now, the trees and moss are fine from a computer performance standpoint, but the grass might be a problem--it's a bit too vertex intensive to do in large quantities and could cause lag. How about something broad-leafed instead?
:)

Rocks
1. Natural rocks
These would be weathered limestone, and the geological features to be expected would be runnels, pits, pans, fluting and swamp slots. Good pictures of limestone features: http://www.wairereboulders.co.nz/geology/gsnz_news.htm
2. Stepping stones
I can just see them poking out of the water, or clutched in tangled roots--ooh, they're going to be fun to walk across!

Animals
1. Beetles
Sounds like a possibility for a looping animation--we might be able to do these now.
2. Shorebirds
Going to have to wait for creature animation to come along before we can add anything here, but we will need some concept art of them for later.
3. Tree chinchilla
Sounds cute! :D We can't model it now though; just the concept art.
4. Snail
I have a picture of this I can post... :) And we can model this now.
5. Urchins
And we can model these now too. :)
6. Fish
ABguy's already done the first piece of concept art for this; so for now the fish won't be moving their tails, but we can model them otherwise. :)

So, a quick question Lanen--what color is the trees' bark?

Well, any suggestions or comments out there? :) Must have feeeedback...

And Shevek--man, I'd love to visit Tulum; the Mayan ruins would be cool enough on their own, but in that setting, well!
Anyway, I love the writing here...more creatures for the creature hunt, too...hm...again, we'll have to figure out how to animate them.

Yeah; right now we can't fiddle with the mesh itself; we can only animate an entire object as one stiff piece.
Went down to the pier the other day...and it was so quiet that I could hear something splash to the surface of the water, snort, take a few breaths and then dive back down - spent an hour watching this creature surface, get air, and go back down. We were worried that it might have been a whale swimming up river, turned out it was a family of porpouises...still a beautiful thing to see...! And hear!

Wow! Lucky, lucky, lucky you! I've always loved dolphins... :)

That is a point - we will need sound effects for each of these animals!

Here's a good place to start: http://www.pdsounds.org/ We'll find something neat, I'm sure. :)
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Re: Area D (Island) Description!

Postby Lanen » Thu Sep 11, 2008 4:38 pm

What color would be bark be? Hummm, I'm not sure! Maybe a blue gray? What color do you see the trees being?
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Re: Area D (Island) Description!

Postby Shevek » Thu Sep 11, 2008 4:50 pm

Okay, second question about animating the creatures...
Could we have a model move around, then "vanish" to be replaced by another model?
I'm not too sure who to ask...ALoys? SOmeone like that?

The example is this - a flying beetle would have its wings out...but landed it would not - twp states, no actual animation of the model needed, but that little touch would change a bug from just a round blob to an intricate creature (case in point, Riven's beetles). As for the rest, computer games over the ages have successfully animated fish by having a flat image float around in the water without anyone noticing...that should be fine. The same applies to the birds, if you don't get too close.

On similar topics, the Medusa tree's vines could be individual models, if the base does not move. They could wave back and forth to give it that eerie "Little shop of Horrors" feel if you like.
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Re: Area D (Island) Description!

Postby Jennifer_P » Thu Sep 11, 2008 11:07 pm

What color would be bark be? Hummm, I'm not sure! Maybe a blue gray? What color do you see the trees being?

lol, you think I know? That's why I asked you!:P I could see a dark brown, nearly black, or perhaps a rich red-brown; it might make for some nice contrast. What do you think? The choice is up to you. :)

Okay, second question about animating the creatures...
Could we have a model move around, then "vanish" to be replaced by another model?
I'm not too sure who to ask...ALoys? SOmeone like that?

Hm, I don't know. I'd try posting over in the Builder's forum; that way multiple people will be able read the question and hopefully one will have an answer. :geek:

The example is this - a flying beetle would have its wings out...but landed it would not - twp states, no actual animation of the model needed, but that little touch would change a bug from just a round blob to an intricate creature (case in point, Riven's beetles).

Ooh, clever workaround. :)

As for the rest, computer games over the ages have successfully animated fish by having a flat image float around in the water without anyone noticing...that should be fine. The same applies to the birds, if you don't get too close.

Yeah, I'm up for billboarding any time we can get away with it. It really does save a lot of time and processing power. :)

On similar topics, the Medusa tree's vines could be individual models, if the base does not move. They could wave back and forth to give it that eerie "Little shop of Horrors" feel if you like.

I think the arms would move occasionally, but not much; the medusa seemed like a pretty passive hunter from the way ametist described it.
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Re: Area D (Island) Description!

Postby Lanen » Fri Sep 12, 2008 3:54 pm

Jennifer_P wrote:
What color would be bark be? Hummm, I'm not sure! Maybe a blue gray? What color do you see the trees being?

lol, you think I know? That's why I asked you!:P I could see a dark brown, nearly black, or perhaps a rich red-brown; it might make for some nice contrast. What do you think? The choice is up to you. :)


I think your right, I think a dark contrasting color (deep red brown) would make for a good bark color. It would help the bases of the trees stand out not only from the water but from everything around it.
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Re: Area D (Island) Description!

Postby Jennifer_P » Sat Sep 13, 2008 8:36 am

Cool; I like that. :) Red-brown it is then.
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Re: Area D (Island) Description!

Postby Jennifer_P » Tue Sep 16, 2008 12:25 am

Lanen, you know how we were talking about what sorts of noises the animals make? Well, do you think you could describe as best you can what sorts of noises you think would be suitable for them? From there we can work on finding sounds that match your descriptions. :geek:
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Re: Area D (Island) Description!

Postby Lanen » Tue Sep 16, 2008 4:44 pm

I would imagine that the birds make more of chirping shore bird sounds and not so much tropical bird sounds. As for the gray mammal creatures, I have no idea. Maybe a purring type sound?
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