3D Game Programming All in One

1. 3D Game Programming All in One • By Kenneth C. Finney

2. Chapter 18Making the Game World Environment

3. Making the Game World Environment • Sky • Clouds • Water

4. Making the Game World Environment • Skyboxes • cube that surrounds the player character • each inside face depicts a view in all cardinal directions, plus up and down • Skybox is never reachable by player character

5. Making the Game World Environment • Skyboxes • perspective correction of skybox images is necessary • skybox images need to be tilable • all images should be the same resolution • skybox image resolution can be mathematically optimized

6. Making the Game World Environment • Lab 1:Making Skybox Image • Use paint program to create a skybox • Practice making images tilable • Practice adjusting for perspective error • Introduction to material (DML) file • Test in game world

7. Making the Game World Environment • Cloud Layers • Create cloud textures with alpha channel • Multiple layers can be created • Layers move at different speeds • Layers are unreachable • Layers can be set to varying 'virtual' separations

8. Making the Game World Environment • Lab 2: Creating clouds • Practice making cloud images with alpha channel • Practice adjusting cloud layer properties • More practice with DML file • Test in game world

9. Making the Game World Environment • Fog • limited volumetric fog • adjustable vertical height & thickness, but not horizontal depth • adjustable color • fog is enterable by player character

10. Making the Game World Environment • Storms • Torque has built-in storm generation capability • A storm is precipitation, fog, thunder, and lightning • Storm parameters are adjustable • Timing, gradual onset and ending

11. Making the Game World Environment • Storm Materials • precipitation particle images defined in a single PNG file with alpha channel • Precipitation particle image has 16 'drop' images in a 4x4 grid

12. Making the Game World Environment • Storm Materials • Lightning images defined in separate PNG files without alpha channel • Black color is used to define transparent areas of images

13. Making the Game World Environment • Lightning • Need a LightningData datablock • LightningData datablock points to lightning images with a DML file • Need a Lightning object definition • Lighting object points to the desired LightningData datablock

14. Making the Game World Environment • Rain • PrecipitationData datablock points to a DML file • A Precipitation object definition points to a PrecipitationData datablock • Rain only falls in an area around the player character

15. Making the Game World Environment • Lab 3:A Perfect Storm • use console to invoke a storm • combine use of Sky.stormCloud method and Precipitation.stormPrecipitation method

16. Making the Game World Environment • Waterblocks • Special objects inserted as part of a mission • tiled like terrain tiles • textures can be used, same as clouds

17. Making the Game World Environment • Terraforming • Torque Terrain Editor allows you to 'paint' terrain • Adjustable brush can be used to add or remove dirt • Ideal method for quick terrain creation

18. Making the Game World Environment • Lab 4: Terraforming • learn the Terrain Editor • practice creating various terrain shapes • learn how to use 'fly' mode

19. Summary • Skyboxes, clouds, and water define a game world environment • Use Skyboxes to simulate distant horizons and sky • Use Cloud layers in the Sky object to define overhead cloud movement • Storms are the integration of cloud layers, fog, precipitation, and lightning • Use WaterBlocks to define bodies of water