Kart racing game

[marshmonkey]

are the holes in the steering wheel modeled? Making it solid or doing it with a texture would save 50 tris easy. Also, there seems to be some pretty complex stuff in between the radiator and the engine, not sure how much of that anybody is ever going to see.

looking good though!

[Baddcog]

the holes in the steering wheel are alpha, that piece is double sided too so it's only 4 polys.
(I assume so, I posted on Ogre forums to ask how to do that and stated I was crunching polys. Another game I've used actually added polys if you used 'DblSided' in the conversion process.)

Yeah, the pulleys on front of engine do kill some polys, and can't be seen well But if I remove them the whole engine is wrong. I've removed all excess polys there too. I thought about maing it jst 2 pulleys instead of 4, but basically it's one for the crankshaft, 2 for the valves, one for tension.

I actually think I might end up makeing the leaf springs the twosided mtr and get rid off all the side polys on them. Thats 44 right there. Will rarely be seen and are less important to overall looks than the pulleys.

[marshmonkey]

putting the finishing touches on for the very first test build of the garage to go to the folks already creating stuff! My default character right now is Baron Von Evelsok

http://myzerogear.com/evilsock.jpg

[Smirnoffka]

Would love to get the garage. Been working on a few things here.

[renderhjs]

hell yeah,
been working on another car as well

[marshmonkey]

due to all the kick ass stuff people are making recently, we are going to make a push to try and get a build of the garage into people's hands sometime this week. While we are putting a last lick of paint on some things, everyone who is interested on getting their hands on the garage to start seeing how your stuff will fit into the game - go to the zero gear forums: http://myzerogear.com/phpBB3/ register a username, and then send a PM to marshmonkey that also contains a shot of something you have worked on for Zero Gear.

get goin! It will be released in the test forum on myzerogear.com

[renderhjs]

buggy modeling done
1956 triangles
http://www.renderhjs.net/bbs/polycount/submissions/kartGame_buggy_01.jpg

I know the head area might be a problem,- but without those bars there the model would have a lot less charme. It even has a little motor in the back

[marshmonkey]

jebus, I am never going to have to model any more karts! woot!

that looks awesome!! I can forsee some issues the the head clipping through the top bars. You will be able to see what I mean if you load it in the garage. We have all the animations triggerable in there. I think we might have a download for you guys tonight so go register already!

[Baddcog]

Sounds great. Baron Von Evelsok :D lol

That buggy is cool too.

[marshmonkey]

later on tonight I am going to try and get a wiki set up on the site so I can start laying out all the editing information, hopefully I can set it up so some of you guys can help.

[killingpeople]

The Ferrari is dopeness.

[marshmonkey]

ok, SPECIAL PRIZE available in the private zero gear forums for content creators. If you have been working on something, please register on the forums (http://myzerogear.com/phpBB3/index.php) and PM me with what you are working on so I can give you access to the SPECIAL PRIZE

*edit* SPECIAL PRIZE = garage editor

[Carbon14]

pm sent!

update on the Challenger

http://www.carbon14net.net/muscle.jpg
still lots to do, but getting closer!

[renderhjs]

nice Carbon14, how many triangles do you have?- to me it looks like you could still add more triangles from a budget perspective

started on a smart, 840 tris so far
http://www.renderhjs.net/bbs/polycount/submissions/kartGame_smart_01.jpg

[Pedro Amorim]

dude! you are on fire man!

[marshmonkey]

great idea! It will be a good choice for the environmentally conscious :p

[Skizot]

http://i38.tinypic.com/2mq53cw.jpg

here's looking at you kid.

[renderhjs]

little progress
http://www.renderhjs.net/bbs/polycount/submissions/kartGame_smart_02.jpg
will have to cut some triangles but the details are working out well

[marshmonkey]

woot, first person to get stuff into the game!

also, been starting to fill in a wiki for editing purposes, take a look http://myzerogear.com/wiki

man that is looking sharp renderhjs

There might be some clipping issues with the windshield but nothing easily fixed.

[Baddcog]

Eherm... I got my wheel in the first night. :D
(of course it was enormous, maybe 300 feet tall, so I guess it was a failed attempt) ;)-

Congrats Skizot!!! I'm jealous, I get to work on it again tonight though. I'm shooting for first Kart in game.

[Skizot]

http://i36.tinypic.com/258aqtf.jpg

snipers' done!

side note.

general noriega has decided to join the zero gear ranks
http://i36.tinypic.com/2qcl9o5.jpg

[Skizot]

http://i37.tinypic.com/qxkmtk.jpg

oh god make it stop :( soo bored.

must make accessories!

[marshmonkey]

king of the road!

[Skizot]

it's BATMALE
http://i38.tinypic.com/14nd4y0.jpg

pior's model makes an awesome BATFEMALE

http://i34.tinypic.com/24uzyub.jpg

though they could use a better BATVEHICLE

preferably tim burtons

[Baddcog]

Got my T Bucket in the garage, having exporter issues though so it's not quite there
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk59/Schwaa1147/zero_tbucket.jpg

[zenarion]

I agree about the Batvechicle :)

[renderhjs]

thought they could use a better BATVEHICLE

preferably tim burtons
I´d really like to do that,- but if you are in for that go ahead,- nice batman masks

[Baddcog]

Yeah, I thought about a bat vehicle too :D But I have other ideas, I'd like to see what someone comes up with.

I like the old school one with bubble windows and huge fins in the back.
--------------
Check it out now, Funk Soul Brother, right about now, Funk Soul Brother...
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk59/Schwaa1147/FunkShowBro.jpg

Think I need to move the afro down a little, might need to be bigger too?

The anims for right turn are twitchy for some reason.

Wheels are in game.

[Skizot]

i don't have any plans for the batvehicle... feel free to make something!


(thought was SUPPOSED to be though)

[renderhjs]

i don't have any plans for the batvehicle... feel free to make something!hey cool,- will make a tim burton edition (my favourite of all batman versions)

...The anims for right turn are twitchy for some reason.did you made the animations linear?- I assume that the engine requires that to interpolates correctly to the desired turn state.


just started unwrapping the smart- will bake AO after that - and try to install the garage ;)

[Baddcog]

No, I did go back and edit the curves though. I forgot how to make them linear :)

I just filled out a troubleshooting page for scaling objects on the Zero Gear Wiki. I have a racecar to scale.3ds also if you want it.

http://myzerogear.com/wiki/index.php5?title=Main_Page

[renderhjs]

oh yes,- finally a 3ds file would be nice,- with all the maya stuff I have so far (different z-axis stuff,...) its sometimes a little bit confusing- working with 3dsmax as well.

[Monochrome]

Had a nifty idea for those whilling to make it. What about a nifty chariot-wheeled chassy?

[Skizot]

http://i38.tinypic.com/dbqfk6.jpg

COOOOOBBBRRAAAAA

[Monochrome]

http://i38.tinypic.com/dbqfk6.jpg

COOOOOBBBRRAAAAA

I FUKKEN LOVE COBRA

how about a stormtrooper helmet?

[Skizot]

dat could be possible...

[Baddcog]

Nice,

If ya do a stormtrooper you gotta do darth vader, or at least Dark Helmet :)

http://kungfurodeo.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/07/dark_helmet_1.jpg

[renderhjs]

next is the batmobile

http://www.renderhjs.net/bbs/polycount/submissions/kartGame_smart_03.jpg
will be trying to get the models I have so far in the engine within the next days

[Zephir62]

You guys are machines

[marshmonkey]

I am already so glad that we decided to make custom content a big part of our game! And introducing it to polycount was the perfect place! You guys rock!

[renderhjs]

batmobile work in progress:
http://www.renderhjs.net/bbs/polycount/submissions/kartGame_batmobile_01.jpg
with all these details and complex rounded surfaces this one will be going to be tough

[Skizot]

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

awesome!

[dejawolf]

awesome labour of love!

[Kevin Johnstone]

this really is an incredible thread

[marshmonkey]

this really is an incredible thread

Thanks Kevin, it is a bit opposite of the art style you are probably used to :p I am humbled by your UT3 & gears work!

[hawken]

this is an incredibly incredible thread!

so if we make content we get a free copy of the game?

[marshmonkey]

this is an incredibly incredible thread!

so if we make content we get a free copy of the game?

hmm, I have never thought of that - but it is a very interesting idea. A more immediate thing to be considering is spots for beta testers!

This is an answer to a question I had written on the SA forums, but it would actually apply more to people here so I thought I would cross post it. It is about the two ways we are considering distributing all these awesome items.


We don't plan on distributing all these items as part of the base game people are paying for. There will be a set of the ones that I have already made that will come standard, and then there will be all the other ones people have created that will be easily and closely integrated into the game. For legal purposes, we don't wish to be selling other people's content as our own, but the integration and ease of access to obtain and share all these third party items will be of paramount importance.

We have two different ideas for how we want to distribute these items, both of which have their pros and cons.

Method 1 - the viral method:
In this method, people obtain new items in one of two ways. First, the items will have to be obtained / downloaded (from anywhere) and put into the game by some users. Then, it will be available to other players they interact with online through some mechanism. In this method, you would be able to grab custom items directly from other players through the game.

Pros:
- makes it a little more personal to acquire items from other actual players
- Items can be downloaded and distributed in any fashion
- less work for us, the developers
- it is autonomous, meaning that there is no dependency on any one party to keep this system going

Cons:
- no high level control over obscene, legally infringing, or buggy items
- all available items are not all displayed in one place
- transferring the items through the game server would have some performance impact

Method 2 - the database method
In this method, items can only be downloaded into the game from an official database of items. This web database would work similar to youtube where all the content is uploaded freely and democratically controlled by the users. It would be easy to browse all available content in this fashion and download it seamlessly into the game, possibly from inside the game itself. Since all items would be indexed, when the player needs to obtain a new item it does not have - it would download it from this web database instead of getting it from the other player.

Pros:
- democratic rating and control over obscene items
- more custom content would be seen by more people, see the entire library of available content in one place
- would be easier to find and acquire new content
- downloading the custom content from a separate server leaves more bandwidth free for gameplay

Cons:
- much more work for us to set up
- system would rely on the maintenance of this item database, if that goes down or dissapears, so does the ability to send and receive custom items

---
so there you are, some unique insight into our decision. We are not planning to charge anyone for any custom items, unless it was some kind of arranged content pack where we had official agreements with the content authors.

[Skizot]

Method 2 - the database method
In this method, items can only be downloaded into the game from an official database of items. This web database would work similar to youtube where all the content is uploaded freely and democratically controlled by the users. It would be easy to browse all available content in this fashion and download it seamlessly into the game, possibly from inside the game itself. Since all items would be indexed, when the player needs to obtain a new item it does not have - it would download it from this web database instead of getting it from the other player.

Pros:
- democratic rating and control over obscene items
- more custom content would be seen by more people, see the entire library of available content in one place
- would be easier to find and acquire new content
- downloading the custom content from a separate server leaves more bandwidth free for gameplay

Cons:
- much more work for us to set up
- system would rely on the maintenance of this item database, if that goes down or dissapears, so does the ability to send and receive custom items

i JUST read this on SA (Okay I'm vain and was seeing if anyone commented on my hats) and thought about it... method 2 would be the way to go, if you need any help / database mirrors, i can do both if it helps keep you guys on track.

on the same note, couldn't an IN GAME item browser make distribution alot easier? seeing as how all of my items (6-7 of them) fit in a meg, we could easily have it download them for people, show the icon and everything :)

[Vylaroth]

this is an incredibly incredible thread!

so if we make content we get a free copy of the game?

Oh well, I'm planning to model some stuff AND buy it, just to support these guys out. :)

[aesir]

I think it would be interesting if extra content were something you gained from achievements.

Or even better, if you could bet items on races and winner takes all :)

Rarity makes things more fun.

[killingpeople]

The batmobile is looking tits so far renderhjs, your cars are my favorite i've seen. chi-bi cars 4tw.

[Kevin Johnstone]

Marsh: im just as humbled by your work, its so cute and clean and screams out FUN!

[MightyPea]

I like the idea of betting items on a race a LOT.

[Baddcog]

Betting sounds cool but I think it might limit the custom content.

First, how would tyou aquire it in the first place, bet the maker of the content? Like TF2 you'd have to download it to see it, so you'd already have it on your comp.

If you bet the maker and won it they would still have it, not like you'd have the only one, but you'd have to earn it. What if you couldn't find anyone to bet the item you want.

This also brings to mind achiement servers :( OK, bet me the ferrari, then just don't cross the finish line, I'll win and have it.

----
Second, at the rate it's going there will probably be so many custom items once the game is released that if all races are 8 people (I think there are already 8 stock cars- I have 2 working already, there are probably 10 more in the thread) there isn't alot of chance you'll see the same car on track unless there are just favorites [see earlier post about who gets to play sock monkey :) ] )
On top of that each car has 1-6 colors to customize, so even if 8 people chose the same car chances are pretty good none will look alike.
Then add character to equation (about 6 right now)
Accessories (With the stuff that's finished now it's around 25 I think)
Hats (12+)

So I think the point of wanting to have something unique is covered.

----------------
I do see marsh's concern about porno be legit. This happens in TF2 every once in awhile. I think for the most part it would be up to servers to lock out content, kick players.
Would be nice to have some kind of official rating 'tag' that items could get somehow.
----------------

Maybe there could be a setting in game that defaults to a random generated character if another player has an item you don't have. No forced DL's. You go to sites that host the files, look at pics, vids, see ratings and download based on that. The Steam User group could be a great place to discuss this stuff maybe.

Then if you don't want the porno car you wouldn't be forced to download it and only the people playing it would see it. Players without it would just see a random 'stock' car.
Being a stock car would eliminate any problems with obscene content, it would also help avoid clipping issues with wacky content.
Randomly generated would help keep it fresh even if you personally never DL'ed anything. (It would suck if all players defaulted to blue race car/blue helmet, hard to tell apart)

[marshmonkey]

randomly generating stock items for people playing with custom items where the player has turned the visibility of custom items off would be a good idea I think.

Personally, I like the 2nd method more - I think it is more elegant and would streamline the use of items more.

But the biggest factor with it, is that it would be a lot more work to build and to support. It would also be a pretty big choke point for service for the game, I would hate for something to happen where either the database goes down, or we can no longer support it, and it pretty much kills the game. We value self-sufficiency a great deal. The most realistic option, at least in the short term seems to be to proceed with method 2, and try and fit as many of the features of method 1 in as we can, especially over time.

About the betting thing, that sounds like inventing a whole different game inside the game - we have thought about doing something simple to limit which character you can grab from, like you can only grab items from people you finished above - or only the winning team gets to grab from the losing team or something like that. Stuff like that will be something we just try and see if it feels ok.

[Eclipse]

I'm curious, when you all list your triangle counts, is that with the wheels? or without?

Here is a small project I started on today, I don't know if I will be able to finish, but I'll try :). Lotus Elise

http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/9301/elisedj4.jpg

[renderhjs]

witout the wheels,- did the same mistake at first ^^

nice Elise

[marshmonkey]

ok, I have re-worked my model SDK into all .obj files and created a wiki page for it. I exported a few more reference files, including some bounding box limits. It can be seen here:

http://myzerogear.com/wiki/index.php5?title=Zero_Gear_Model_SDK

[marshmonkey]

I have spent the last few hours thinking about appropriate polycount limits for each item, trying to factor in what my own models are, as well as where I want the game to fall in terms of graphical standard vs. performance, and these are what I have written down:

from lowest to highest:

wheel: 1,000 tris
hats: 2,000 tris
accessories: 2,000 tris
kart: 3,000 tris
character: 4,000 tris

with this allocation, one player's total maximum tri count if every item they were wearing had the max number of triangles - would be 15,000 tris. (4x wheels) I would imagine a maximum number of characters you could conceivably see onscreen at once would be around 16.

I do not have a carnal knowledge of pc hardware, but it seems that these amounts should be a decent balance of giving modelers enough room to play, while not having to be a triangle crunching master modeler in order to make something, while still being low enough for good performance on hardware from the last 4 years.

I am also hoping to have some auto generated lod models which would significantly reduce triangle count on karts not in your immediate vicinity. Also I think it will help that we aren't doing anything yet outside of fixed function effects, so no crazy shaders that take lots of passes.

What do you guys think about those numbers? I would like to hear your opinions more from a technical performance perspective, as most of us here would probably agree they are generous enough from an artist perspective.

[Smirnoffka]

Hmmm, too much talk in this thread and not enough OVERSIZED CLONE TROOPER HELMETS!

http://i36.tinypic.com/eur3fs.jpg

That was a fun little project. On a side note, I have everything set up in metres, and imported the right files, but the export was too big. I had to play around to get it the right size.

Hope I didnt break too many copyrights :D

[marshmonkey]

Hmmm, too much talk in this thread and not enough OVERSIZED CLONE TROOPER HELMETS!

http://i36.tinypic.com/eur3fs.jpg

That was a fun little project. On a side note, I have everything set up in metres, and imported the right files, but the export was too big. I had to play around to get it the right size.

Hope I didnt break too many copyrights :D

hmm, are there any settings in the ogre exporter you are using where you can specify what unit size to use?

Just went through and tested the size of all my items zipped with normal compression, and these are the size limits I am thinking about using:

Characters: 512k
Karts: 512k
Hats: 128k
Accessories: 128k
Wheels: 128k

Some of my items didn't fit those numbers when zipped up, but for those that were over I was able to bring them under the limit by making sure my colormasks were saved as grayscale as well as converting some of the lum .png files to .jpgs

[renderhjs]

3k triangle count for a kart,- is that certain for now?,- because if so I could add looots of xtra details on my batmobile and propably the others but most of them are already UV layouted.

[marshmonkey]

yes, 3k is the number I have settled on - I hope it doesn't come back to bite me in the ass later. I think we should be ok with that number though.

[Baddcog]

I think that's looking pretty good, will have to zip my items seperately, they run the gamot from animated karts to small static mustaches.

The poly count is awesome, I was hoping for that much, more is overkill I think. The textures are small enough that it's hard to pack tons of details into them.

I have even used a 8x8 pixel solid color for 2 colors on one object. I just gave each object it's own material and used that same 8x8 for the colormask.
----------
Smirnoffka,
That's awesome. I uploaded some correct size 3ds files to the Zero Gear forum. I'm gonna put them on the Wiki here shortly, will probably resize all the bounding box.obj's first.
Seems to me that the .obj files imported into Max are about 2x the size of correctly exported Max objects.

[Smirnoffka]

Its not really that much of a problem to be honest marsh, just took a little fiddling. Now that I have a reference that works for me, it will me much easier. I checked the exporter, and everything is in metres, so it must just be my computer for some reason, some thing I should have checked but didnt.

Edit:

Just saw your post baddcogg, and it seems that that was the same problem I was having. Must have been a max issue. No worries anyway, I have it figured out now and can make a shitload of cool hats.

Anyway, files, do with them what you will.

http://myfreefilehosting.com/f/ec0e1f8603_0.23MB

[marshmonkey]

wish I could figure out a solid way people could import my .obj files and keep the scale intact all the way into the game engine. It seems like everyone with Max is having the same issues.

Also cog, it is much cheaper for the engine to have models that use only one texture. For every separate texture that is used on a model the engine separates it out as a separate model group and has to render that batch of triangles separately.

*EDIT* was searching the Ogre3d forums for issues with Max exporters and scale problems, this sounds exactly like what is happening, right?
http://www.ogre3d.org/phpBB2addons/viewtopic.php?p=45692&sid=ce193664e1d3d7c4af509e6f4e2718c6

*double edit*
lol, just noticed that badcog himself posted that

[Skizot]

Its not really that much of a problem to be honest marsh, just took a little fiddling. Now that I have a reference that works for me, it will me much easier. I checked the exporter, and everything is in metres, so it must just be my computer for some reason, some thing I should have checked but didnt.

Edit:

Just saw your post baddcogg, and it seems that that was the same problem I was having. Must have been a max issue. No worries anyway, I have it figured out now and can make a shitload of cool hats.

Anyway, files, do with them what you will.

http://myfreefilehosting.com/f/ec0e1f8603_0.23MB

AWESOME helmet, i oly have two TINY TINY TINY little nitpicks with it...

1. the nub on top is the middel can't be colored (when making a tie pilot the helmet is black.)
2. there is a model seam down the back that could be welded shut .

even with those i'm still gonna use it :V

also..

http://i38.tinypic.com/dbqfk6.jpg
COOOBRRAAAAA

[Baddcog]

Also cog, it is much cheaper for the engine to have models that use only one texture. For every separate texture that is used on a model the engine separates it out as a separate model group and has to render that batch of triangles separately.



So you mean each material in the mtr file is counted as a seperate tex.

That's a bummer. I can try to minimize that alot but somethings have to be split (on my T-Bucket) the double sided springs have color and transparency so that needs to be one, then there's the paint, then there's the chrome alpha which is invisible if used with the same shader as the color/alpha, then I wanted no-enviro for a few things. I could live without the last but that's still 3.
I only have one colormask though, so that's fewer resources that need loaded then if I had one shader and 3 colormasks. I wonder if that helps at all, probably at game start but not during game?

My fro uses 2, one for the pick and one for hair (I don't want shiny hair). But only uses a tiny 8x8 pix colormask for both color changes.




*EDIT* was searching the Ogre3d forums for issues with Max exporters and scale problems, this sounds exactly like what is happening, right?
http://www.ogre3d.org/phpBB2addons/viewtopic.php?p=45692&sid=ce193664e1d3d7c4af509e6f4e2718c6

*double edit*
lol, just noticed that badcog himself posted that

Yeah, and what I got there was that if it is a non-animated (non-skinned) object X-Form should work to reset scale, but I couldn't get it to.

I had to make a box, attch the mesh to it, delete the box and scale was reset. They said you have to do it this way for a skinned object, but I think that would mess up the vert wieghts.

So like I suggested on the Wiki: model, scale, attach/delete box, skin to one bone, import test.
Once scale is right then rig the whole thing and animate.

I made the mistake of skinning to several bones and animating, then trying to fix scale and had to redo it all.

[Skizot]

http://i36.tinypic.com/27zitlz.jpg
requested

[marshmonkey]

So you mean each material in the mtr file is counted as a seperate tex.

That's a bummer. I can try to minimize that alot but somethings have to be split (on my T-Bucket) the double sided springs have color and transparency so that needs to be one, then there's the paint, then there's the chrome alpha which is invisible if used with the same shader as the color/alpha, then I wanted no-enviro for a few things. I could live without the last but that's still 3.
I only have one colormask though, so that's fewer resources that need loaded then if I had one shader and 3 colormasks. I wonder if that helps at all, probably at game start but not during game?

My fro uses 2, one for the pick and one for hair (I don't want shiny hair). But only uses a tiny 8x8 pix colormask for both color changes.



Yeah, and what I got there was that if it is a non-animated (non-skinned) object X-Form should work to reset scale, but I couldn't get it to.

I had to make a box, attch the mesh to it, delete the box and scale was reset. They said you have to do it this way for a skinned object, but I think that would mess up the vert wieghts.

So like I suggested on the Wiki: model, scale, attach/delete box, skin to one bone, import test.
Once scale is right then rig the whole thing and animate.

I made the mistake of skinning to several bones and animating, then trying to fix scale and had to redo it all.

maybe then if we could get copies of all those .obj files as max files at the right scale it would save people all that bother?

[CheeseOnToast]

Hey Marsh,

About the LOD system : do you already have it working? The reason I ask is because I've yet to see a really good auto-lod generator that doesn't require a mesh to be made in a really specific way. I'd suggest that you allow artist-created LODs as well. The auto-lod could be made to kick in if it doesn't find a hand-made LOD, getting the best of both worlds maybe?

For example, say you want four levels of detail altogether. The artist could make all of them, just the highest level or the highest and second level. Whichever levels are missing are filled in by the auto LOD. This would give artist control over the most important LODs (the ones nearest the camera).

[Baddcog]

OK, I figured out the obj file size import issue. (3dsMax)
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk59/Schwaa1147/Obj_Import_Max_ZG.jpg

I've also figured out the pivot issues. Just need to reset scale and pivot in the hiearchy tab before rigging/export.

I have filled out a Max/O Fusion export guide on the zero gear Wiki
http://myzerogear.com/wiki/index.php5?title=Model_Export_Guide

[marshmonkey]

Hey Marsh,

About the LOD system : do you already have it working? The reason I ask is because I've yet to see a really good auto-lod generator that doesn't require a mesh to be made in a really specific way. I'd suggest that you allow artist-created LODs as well. The auto-lod could be made to kick in if it doesn't find a hand-made LOD, getting the best of both worlds maybe?

For example, say you want four levels of detail altogether. The artist could make all of them, just the highest level or the highest and second level. Whichever levels are missing are filled in by the auto LOD. This would give artist control over the most important LODs (the ones nearest the camera).

No, we don't have an lod system working yet. I would have to figure out how the automatic system works before I made any decisions about that. The lod range would probably be pretty far away. If you didn't force people to make the lods, I doubt many people would make them besides the professional type guys on this forum.

thanks baddcog!

Put up a post on the 'ol blog - http://nimblebit.blogspot.com/2008/08/zero-gear-marks-1-year-of-development.html - has some shots of everyone's stuff in here. I just grabbed some things really quickly, sorry if I missed your stuff (though I did skip over a few for possible copyright reasons, don't want to use those to "advertise" the game) I also linked people to the thread so people could check out this epic project.

[Skizot]

me and render have overrun your image :V

if i get any ideas tonight you can bet they'll be ingame.. i HAVE an idea.. just gotta figure out how i wanna do it.

[renderhjs]

as for overrunning....
http://www.renderhjs.net/bbs/polycount/submissions/kartGame_batmobile_02.jpg
2999 triangles :) it was fighting for details till the end. Next is UV layouting and AO/Texture stuff. I might fix some minor clipping issues -but overall I am happy with this one.

[marshmonkey]

that . . .


no words . . .

coolest kart . . .

ever.

[Murphy]

*** jaw drop ***

[killingpeople]

bana-nana-nana-nana-nana-nana-nana-nana-BATMAN!

[ElysiumGX]

wow. that is too freakin cool.

[Baddcog]

That is very cool. Nice details. I like it. Now everyones gonna fight over batsockmonkeyman :)
---
badd time to post as everyone is drooling right now, doesn't do mine much justice :)

Anyway, what I worked on today. Gotta have more than one truck in game so hwy not a classic step-side
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk59/Schwaa1147/StepSide.jpg
1200 polys now without details.

[Skizot]

sweet jesus on a stick.

<3

[marshmonkey]

very cool baddcog, I love those style of trucks. I think you might have some problems with the front wheel clipping through the wheel well when it angles to turn.

[Baddcog]

Yeah, I was gonna test it. Right now I think that front wheel might be turned to max, not sure.
It was really hard to squeeze the driver in between those wheel wells. I wanted the back wheel well behind the cab but that couldn't be done.

[Skizot]

http://i37.tinypic.com/2e3tkrc.jpg

[Baddcog]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I was gonna do those :(

Nice work though :)

[BoilingOil]

Ok I come back from holiday and I see The Batmobile. LOVE IT! Even though, it makes me ashamed of my Z.

Good job on the X-Ray Glasses.

Now that i'm back I still have to do some adjusting. I saw the post of the finalized tricounts, so i'll work in more detail.

[Baddcog]

I wanna see some of these cars in game already :)

I did a test on the classic truck yesterday. I just applied 2 materials in max, the yellow and and transparent white for glass, skinned to one bone. Made a blank 15 frame anim (0-5 idle, 6-10 turn_left, 11-15 turn_right) and exported.

Added the enviro and rimlight effects to those materials and it looked fine in game. NO UV's!, the basic colors don't need em and the enviro and rim work off of verts.

So lets see 'em in game, no need to wait for uv map to be finished. It only takes about 5 minutes once you got it down. (Plus it's good to test size early)

[_Gr9yFox_]

That Batmobile just made me so happy.

[marshmonkey]

the gaming blog "bitburo" did a very short interview with me about Zero Gear, you can read it here: http://www.bitburo.net/pc-games/zero-gear-kart-racing-revolutionized/

[SuPa-]

That bat mobile is damn sexy!
Congrats on the interview, though short

[LoTekK]

Sweet jesus, that batmobile is fucking RAD!

[renderhjs]

makes me glad that so many people like it,
update UV layouted + AO passes rendered + started on the dirt texture
http://www.renderhjs.net/bbs/polycount/submissions/kartGame_batmobile_03.jpg
the car is a little bit light right now so that I can better see the AO and dirt for now

[Baddcog]

Nice, I think you need to test in game and take a screeny. The rim lighting can change it bit.

[marshmonkey]

I will be interested to see if you have any difficulty fitting into the size limit I came up with becuase the mesh file will probably be pretty large. You might have to make sure your colormask files are greyscale and you might need to save your lum texture as a .jpg

looks AWESOME! looking forward to seeing it in game!

[Baddcog]

Here's the second custom AI in ZG :D
I just recycled him from another project I did about a year ago. He never got finished tex wise so I gotta do that.

Unfortunately I had already done all his anims and he was set up nice. But I had cloned/mirrored the bones for his right leg and arm. That's a nono. During anims in ZG the right side would bend from the left coords. Hopefully I can recycle those anims, but after making new bones and repositioning everything I'm not so sure.
This was his celebration anim.
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk59/Schwaa1147/GargoyleWin.jpg

This is where I stop tonight. He is in game, the anim (left_turn test) works right, his position is correct (although hat bone needs to go foward a hair).
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk59/Schwaa1147/Gargolye.jpg

He's a little picky on hats and accessories. A gargoyle can't be seen in just anything ya know.
The Afro, Samuri hat, Birds, Halo all work pretty good. Hopefully the 3d glasses will work good. I might have to make a few accessories that just fit him good, I don't know.

[marshmonkey]

cool! Stone kart with stone wheels next?

[Baddcog]

Thought about a flinstones cart but I don't know. Maybe something similar.

[Vylaroth]

I made a tiny monstarrrrr:

http://uta.fi/~vl82277/zg/final.jpg

[marshmonkey]

I have been spending a lot of time polishing up the tracks in our game in preparation for the race mode that Brian is working on. One of the fun parts is adding particles to the level, here is a shot of the mine from Spaghetti West with lots of glowy particles.

http://myzerogear.com/mine.jpg

[marshmonkey]

Brian wrote a new blog post (http://nimblebit.blogspot.com/2008/08/secret-of-zero-gear.html) today titled "The Secret of Zero Gear". An excerpt - I'll tell you a secret, Zero Gear is not a kart racing game."

in non-blog-posted news, I am currently polishing our 3 race tracks - Spaghetti West, Champion Circuit, and Chill Mountain. And hope to have some fly/drive through video of each of them soon.

Brian is toiling away on the race mode game rules and system, as well as tweaking some of the vehicle physics setup as we come to better grips with the different types of terrain people will run into.

[Cody]

That sounds awesome, Marsh! The possibilities are endless. And with all the people obviously interested in this game, you should have plenty of people coming up with games. I mean, look, your pimp thread is more than half of the Low Poly art thead in posts. That's got to be a first.

[marshmonkey]

finally got around to downloading some of the items other people have been making, here is a get-up made with some of them:
http://myzerogear.com/hotrot.jpg

(baddcog and skizots)

[Talbot]

This looks amazing!!

[marshmonkey]

baddcog's lowrider is sweet!!

http://myzerogear.com/lowrider.jpg

[marshmonkey]

As I have been promising for some time now we finally have a new video for everyone. This video showcases our initial 3 race maps that we are working hard to outfit with all the gameplay gears and gadgets that Brian is developing as we speak. These will be 3 of the 5 maps that we plan to have for our first beta release.

http://myzerogear.com/trackvid.jpg (http://vimeo.com/1656070)

by the way, if you are interested in being in our initial beta, you might want to join our steam group: http://steamcommunity.com/groups/zerogear

[renderhjs]

nice updates,-
now I need to find myself some xtra time to finish my cars

[Tumerboy]

looks great man! I dig the style!

[Microneezia]

weow this look rlly cool! nice work! the customization video really shows off this excellent part of the game.

fun stuff.

[Vylaroth]

Even the Great Old Ones love ZG:

http://uta.fi/~vl82277/zg/cthulhu2.jpg
http://uta.fi/~vl82277/zg/cthulhu.jpg

[Joopson]

Ia! Ia! Cthulhu fhtagn!

[SHEPEIRO]

man this p[roject is coming on good.

keep it up marsh

wish i had time to contribute

[Skizot]

http://i33.tinypic.com/2n8qa2v.jpg
castle crashing the Zero Gear!

[Eclipse]

Skizot, that looks really cool man. I love the crashers, I am working on low poly versions myself (in the low poly thread). The only thing I can kinda see is that the eyes look a little big and you might want to make the black lines around the white thicker so you can see it before from further away. Still, awesome work man, I love the crashers and they fit perfect this project, nice job!

[Skizot]

actually... i didn't "do" lines... the ones you see are actually the AO playing around :/ i kinda wanted to do em a bit more realistic to fit the style of the game. the game is cartoony yes, but not cel shaded cartoony ;)

[ThatDon]

I wanna see a shot of the batmobile in game.

[marshmonkey]

you will have to motivate renderhjs for that :) I would like to see it as well.

[renderhjs]

will get my ass working on it again on monday - can´t wait to see my own models as well in the engine.

[Rhinokey]

i am really loving this,, i may make a guy and a cart.. i only have one major complaint... in the old west you have gold mines!! not crystal mines!!

[marshmonkey]

need some help / advice:

We will start closed beta testing very soon. We need to be able to support up to 16 players with a very low ping to the SF / Bay Area. A windows server is preferable, and the machine specs can be pretty mediocre as long as the connection is fast. Obviously we need to be able to remote into the machine in order to set up our game server. We would also potentially like to use the server for SVN.

Price: we are super cheap ramen-eating indie game devs, so we really don't have a lot to spend. We are hoping we can find something suitable under or around 100 bucks a month if possible. I have no experience renting servers so I have no idea if this sound like something reasonable. I would appreciate anyone's advice or guidance as well.

[Vylaroth]

I be contributin'.

http://uta.fi/~vl82277/zg/snakey.jpg

[marshmonkey]

Awesome

[marshmonkey]

2 new characters, Squiddles and The Brain:

http://myzerogear.com/squiddles.pnghttp://myzerogear.com/brain.png

[Skizot]

http://i35.tinypic.com/3521ai0.jpg

[e-freak]

http://i35.tinypic.com/3521ai0.jpg

that's the best hat ever!

[rolfness]

wow simply wow.. is this coming out on PC ? it better be...

great work and all the PC created stuff.. haha awesome..

[Joao Sapiro]

hahahha awesome hat ! really nice stuff people are pumping out !

[marshmonkey]

wow simply wow.. is this coming out on PC ? it better be...

great work and all the PC created stuff.. haha awesome..

yep, PC - hopefully on steam.

[marshmonkey]

someone had a hat suggestion that would go well with the brain and I couldn't resist making it:

http://myzerogear.com/brainjar.jpg

[marshmonkey]

we are having a lot of fun with the tag game mode in our playtests, but we only have one map for it. So I decided to whip up another quick one for fun. This one is called the Punch Bowl:

http://myzerogear.com/punchbowlsml.jpg (http://myzerogear.com/punchbowl.jpg)

[Baddcog]

That looks cool.
-----------------
Did some more work on my own Zero Gear stuff.

UV'ed the Classic Truck and did a quick AO bake and color test. Still needs the steering wheel, window, grill and lights. Still have to make tail pipes, mirrors and paint it.

http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk59/Schwaa1147/ClassicTruck.jpg

[Baddcog]

I gotta finish the truck soon but had an idea on the way to work yesterday and just had to get a start on it.

I think I like it so far, the bottle caps and pennys compliment it well, the buttons aren't bad either

The Sardine Tin
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk59/Schwaa1147/SardineTin.jpg

Trying to think of ways to complete it.

Probably have sardines sticking out the back for a seat, and for some wobbly motion. Thought of having a 'music box' engine with a rotating key and music wheel, but that might complicate it too much.

I kindof like the simple can.

But trying to think of small items for things like bumpers and lights. Any suggestions are welcome and might be included.

Was thinking of cracker steering wheel and matching wheels but I'm liking it less the more I think about it. A bottle cap steering wheel might be cool but I don't wanna have it look different than marsh's wheels so maybe something else. Maybe a pop can tab?

[flaagan]

I just got an old laptop back, and fixed it up with a spare hdd I had laying around. If it's the same laptop I was using in college, it should have a powerful enough vid card to support me doing some 3d modelling (sans normal mapping).

I might just start contributing to this whole setup; probably first thing I'll do is a bunch of custom wheels.

Any pointers to give for best results?

[Baddcog]

There's the Zero Gear Wiki
http://myzerogear.com/wiki/index.php5?title=Main_Page

and the Zero Gear Forums
http://myzerogear.com/phpBB3/

They have all the info in this thread and maybe more, all in one spot.

No normals so you're good there.

There is an SDK with models for all parts as size reference.

The Wiki pretty much covers all from importing size models, model polys, texture styles, material files, and exporting for Max and Maya.

Any specific questions just ask, someone'll get back pretty fast.

[marshmonkey]

I gotta finish the truck soon but had an idea on the way to work yesterday and just had to get a start on it.

I think I like it so far, the bottle caps and pennys compliment it well, the buttons aren't bad either

The Sardine Tin
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk59/Schwaa1147/SardineTin.jpg

Trying to think of ways to complete it.

Probably have sardines sticking out the back for a seat, and for some wobbly motion. Thought of having a 'music box' engine with a rotating key and music wheel, but that might complicate it too much.

I kindof like the simple can.

But trying to think of small items for things like bumpers and lights. Any suggestions are welcome and might be included.

Was thinking of cracker steering wheel and matching wheels but I'm liking it less the more I think about it. A bottle cap steering wheel might be cool but I don't wanna have it look different than marsh's wheels so maybe something else. Maybe a pop can tab?

lol! that's awesome badd!

[renderhjs]

just wanted to say that unfortunately our university server has been down for almost 3 weeks now and I had the latest cars on that server.
Its a pity as I wanted to test out my models long ago in the engine - but I can't for now. Hopefully next week the server will be up running so I can export some of the cars in the engine.
oh and great updates guys !

[Skizot]

http://i33.tinypic.com/x1j28i.jpg

[Baddcog]

mmmm, sardines...
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk59/Schwaa1147/Sardine_Tin.jpg

[Skizot]

http://i34.tinypic.com/23h5853.jpg

[penrod]

This project looks so cool, so I wanted to try to add to it. We've been talking about it a lot at work. I'm doing a mini speed racer...still need to add some more things to him, and I might try to sculpt his ride next.

http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/9597/speedracervg0.jpg

[aesir]

whoa penrod! rad!

[marshmonkey]

http://myzerogear.com/luvbot.png

The primary function or intended purpose of the L.U.V. Bot is still a little hazy. However it is known to run lustfully at any moving object and latch on in a merciless hug, until it's emotion chip shorts, resulting in a massive L.U.V.-splosion.

[commander_keen]

...a massive L.U.V.-splosion.

=))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

[PixelMasher]

wow this thread is super amazing, I remember seeing the 1st level fly thoughs of the western and snow level when you 1st posted and was blown away by the style. its come really far and the amount of characters is just mind bogglingly awesome.
Cheers

[marshmonkey]

Sat. night I know, but less that a month left until IGF sumbissions are due!!! AHHHHH!!!! just capped a video showing another one of our items we recently implemented - the fearsome TWISTER!!! Click to watch

http://myzerogear.com/twistervid.jpg (http://vimeo.com/1885827)

so far our quest to create entirely physical-based weapons/items has been very fruitful, and leads to some very emergent gameplay :)

[marshmonkey]

spent some more time on the particle effect, It looks much more like a solid pile of twisting stuff now than some smoggy gas.

http://myzerogear.com/twister2.jpg

[ThatDon]

very nice, my only crit or concern would be that it messes with actual gameplay a little to long. I would get annoyed if I was stuck in that for more than 5 seconds. Althought it's very funny to see it :p

[SHEPEIRO]

ace, IMO think it may look better using a scaling rotating mesh with a streaky windy texture and use the particles for small bits of stuff

[SHEPEIRO]

very nice, my only crit or concern would be that it messes with actual gameplay a little to long. I would get annoyed if I was stuck in that for more than 5 seconds. Althought it's very funny to see it :p

yep would be good if the player is dropped out after a set amount of time but the tornado carried on

[marshmonkey]

it is pretty hard to actually get "stuck" in it, if you have much force at all going into it, it will just lisft you off the ground a bit and set you down on the other side.

For these videos we just spawned it right onto of ourselves and let ourselves get sucked up.

[MightyPea]

I agree with shep's comment. I really like the look of particles being used like this, but it doesn't work very well here, I think. It clashes with the style of the rest a bit.

[marshmonkey]

yea, I am getting a lot of that same feedback. I already modeled a mesh version that spins around with lines, I will try to get it hooked up soon.

[marshmonkey]

ok, I think this is the last revision at least for now, I can't spend more than 1 day twister tweaking :p. It looks cooler in motion.

http://myzerogear.com/twister3.jpg

[InProgress]

Sorry if this has already been asked but, do you have a release date or an open beta date set? :) Great job. It looks amazing and very fun.

[Chunkey]

Can't believe I've missed this thread! There's some seriously kick arse work going on in here :)

I've downloaded the sdk to have a tinker about with sommat :)

[marshmonkey]

we don't have hard dates, but we are going to start a closed beta very soon - with a more open beta to follow soon after hopefully.

We are working hard to do optimizations and clean up for November 1st, which is the deadline for submissions to next year's Independent Game Festival. We will need to have lots of beta players after that as it gets closer to the actual show, so that judges will be able to hop into games to play.

[Emil Mujanovic]

I love forgetting about this thread for a few weeks and then spotting it again and being able to view about 6 pages of AWESOME in one hit!
renderhjs, some seriously awesome karts coming from you, dude. I'm hanging to see this Batmobile like everyone else.

-caseyjones

[marshmonkey]

made a pretty big blog post (http://nimblebit.blogspot.com/2008/10/optimization-is-fun.html) about the WAR ON FRAMERATE (tm) that we have been undertaking the last week and a half. It lists a lot of the things we have been tackling specifically - but this is the real sweet screen shot for us personally - 2 weeks ago my computer with as many people on screen here would have been chugging at around 15-20 fps. Now it is over 60! Huzzah!

http://myzerogear.com/optimizationsml.jpg (http://myzerogear.com/optimization.jpg)

these (http://myzerogear.com/benchmark.gif) are my system specs.

[thinsoldier]

somebody do Kitt!!!

[Keg]

The primary function or intended purpose of the L.U.V. Bot is still a little hazy. However it is known to run lustfully at any moving object and latch on in a merciless hug, until it's emotion chip shorts, resulting in a massive L.U.V.-splosion.

Makes me think of: http://pbfcomics.com/?cid=PBF115-Hug_Bot.jpg

[jonthu]

Looking great but you only got 2 weeks 'till IGF deadline. hope you make it. :)

[marshmonkey]

is that all? Man I hadn't even been keeping track! :D

The good news is we can keep updating the build the judges have up until the point the judge it. So Nov. 1st is not the end all be all. (though we still have an extreme amount of work to do)
here is a screenshot of a new game mode we are hoping to have in by the first:

http://myzerogear.com/chuteshoot_small.jpg (http://myzerogear.com/chuteshoot.jpg)

[elementrix]

do you need to drive your carts in the holes ? that is awesome xD

[marshmonkey]

yup, everyone will try to make it in the holes at once

[Generalvivi]

looks awesome :D

[Nate Broach]

haha neat! that sounds like fun

[Vylaroth]

He's fast, he's smooth, he's hard boiled!

http://uta.fi/~vl82277/zg/lobster.png

[Baddcog]

sweet, he needs a top hat :)

[Xaltar]

sweet, he needs a top hat :)

And a monocle and cigar lol

[flaagan]

is that all? Man I hadn't even been keeping track! :D

The good news is we can keep updating the build the judges have up until the point the judge it. So Nov. 1st is not the end all be all. (though we still have an extreme amount of work to do)
here is a screenshot of a new game mode we are hoping to have in by the first:

http://myzerogear.com/chuteshoot_small.jpg (http://myzerogear.com/chuteshoot.jpg)

Are you planning to put up some barriers / traps along the ramp, because otherwise there really isn't much challenge in aiming towards the best target and hoping your speed is correct. Otherwise, love the idea.

[marshmonkey]

Here is a video of a playtest we had last night of our new game mode, it was a lot of fun!

http://myzerogear.com/chutevideo.jpg (http://vimeo.com/2049829)

[alexl]

I agree with flaagan, that gametype looks like it might get boring without something else to spicen it up.
Other than that this game is looking awesome!

[Smirnoffka]

Looks fucking radical. Loving the rock version of Waltzing Matilda too!

[GCMP]

Damn, haven't been keeping up with this, just trying to bust out some portfolio pieces, this is looking great!!

[Baddcog]

Are you planning to put up some barriers / traps along the ramp, because otherwise there really isn't much challenge in aiming towards the best target and hoping your speed is correct. Otherwise, love the idea.

It's actually quite difficult AND fun. I too was sceptical at first but gotta playtest and enjoyed it quite a bit.

The speed boost is quite powerful so you get aimed up just right, give it just enough boost 'damn, too much boost' and you miss. I got quite a few bullseyes during that test (a combo of boost and brake check at the lip) and even got a few of the green ones (Those a REALLY tough).

But along with boost you have to outrun everyone else. Once someone is in a hole the points drop alot. You also get spun out on the approach by other players.

Personally I'll probably be into race mode more. I just really like racing games and this one is fun.
I think second I like this mode, for me 3rd goes to the TAG mode (I suck at it).
--------------
I think it can be compared to TF2 in that respect. I like Arena but sometimes it gets old, so I play CTF, but I'm not always in the mood for that either so CP...

[marshmonkey]

small update, we now have one of these new-fangled "Official Game Groups" on steam - you can join it / check it out here: http://steamcommunity.com/games/zerogear

Also, I took some new screenshots last night, I replaced the old ones on our media page here: http://myzerogear.com/media.html

[flaagan]

Damn, this thing just keep getting better and better; wouldn't mind doing some art for it, but I've had a helluva time motivating myself to do any artwork outside of work. :(

[marshmonkey]

new blog post (http://nimblebit.blogspot.com/2008/10/behind-every-great-game-is-great-game.html)

been pretty silent over the last week because we have had our heads down furiously pounding keyboards in order to get a build ready for IGF (http://igf.com) submission. After some very late nights and many eye drops later we have emerged victorious with a build to submit. We made it! Woo!

Along with the submission I have been working on an awesome game manual to submit along with it, you can check it out (http://myzerogear.com/zgmanual.pdf) if you want.
http://myzerogear.com/manual.jpg (http://myzerogear.com/zgmanual.pdf)

This milestone also marks the start of our closed beta, and although we initially have a limited amount of keys we hope to expand it as we get further in development. If you have a dedicated windows server on a fast connection and are interested in keeping up a ZG server for us, there might be a key for you - drop me a note.

as always, you can keep up with the latest by being in our Steam Group (http://steamcommunity.com/games/zerogear) (and you can also just help us climb up the list of games by joining ;) )

[Cody]

will do, but when can we expect to buy this sucker? [ballpark]

[marshmonkey]

hmm, not sure yet. Some time next year hopefully!

[kio]

heh liked your optimization blogpost - sounds all too familiar to me :D

[InProgress]

This might not even matter, but you made a typo (imact) in the "Lets create a server together... <3" column. The manual was a nice read.

[marshmonkey]

This might not even matter, but you made a typo (imact) in the "Lets create a server together... <3" column. The manual was a nice read.

oops, thanks!

I will correct that.

[Jeremy Lindstrom]

just playing around today when i had like 3 minutes, got any planes yet? :)
http://www.jeremylindstrom.com/scraps/zg1.jpg

[marshmonkey]

haha, nope! That is really cute.

You could even have the propeller spin faster the faster the kart goes.

[marshmonkey]

We have been keeping very busy as usual - spending a lot of time dealing with some nasty memory issues and other non-glamorous things. But to keep our spirits up we started on a new game mode, check out the screenshot and maybe you will be able to guess what it is!

http://myzerogear.com/kickitsmall.jpg (http://myzerogear.com/kickit.jpg)

[renderhjs]

kicking some balls ;)

batmobile is on the way,- hopefully all 7-8 cars within this year

[marshmonkey]

woot!!! You might want to look at this page - our material system has somewhat evolved: http://myzerogear.com/wiki/index.php5?title=Material_Script_Guide

[adam]

Dang, no special thanks to Black & Green :(

[WipEout]

If you need someone to test on XP x64, give me a shout ;) I'm not really even one for kart racing games (I think I've said that before), but this looks amazing and fun as hell! Can't wait to play some soccer with go-karts. It reminds me of Top Gear's Fox Football :D

Arg. Can't link straight to the page and it won't play outside of Youtube-- click on the title, I guess...

[Snowfly]

footy! dang hopefully someone makes a shoe car SDK!

[marshmonkey]

Dang, no special thanks to Black & Green :(

ah, it is still a living document :) I am sure the list will be a few pages in the end :p

[marshmonkey]

this is not entirely related to the game per say, but it gives me an excuse to bump this thread! Brian got some Zero Gear t shirts for his b-day. Brian not pictured in photo!

http://myzerogear.com/tshirt1.jpg http://myzerogear.com/tshirt2.jpg

[marshmonkey]

the 2009 IGF entrants have been announced, all 226 of them! Here is the entire list of entires this year: http://www.igf.com/php-bin/entries2009.php?start=0

and here is Zero Gear (next to last, yay alphabet!): http://www.igf.com/php-bin/entry2009.php?id=667

[demoncage]

Good luck!

[Kovac]

Best of luck guys, you've made some excellent progress on this sucker!

[pior]

She's got small nimblebits.
Working on another Zg char atm!

[marshmonkey]

She's got small nimblebits.
Working on another Zg char atm!

woot!

[marshmonkey]

small update, I wanted to test out youtube's new HD video so I took some quick shots of another "goal" game mode map I am working on:

http://nimblebit.blogspot.com/2008/12/rinkydink-level-video.html

[marshmonkey]

**EDIT**
Beta spots are full for the moment, we will open up more again in the near future

[monkeyboy_garth]

Good luck, marshmonkey! The game looks great.

[marshmonkey]

started working on another kart, just finished texturing it, now I have to do all the fun stuff to get it into the game.

http://myzerogear.com/willy.png

[Rhinokey]

i think i make will a cart to go for this.

[marshmonkey]

small update, things have been pretty quiet the last few weeks as we are doing some re-writing of the network system, keep an eye out on the blog for more on that soon. I took advantage of some of the down time to give the Zero Gear website a face lift: http://MyZeroGear.com

I think it better reflects the game and our style, let me know if you find any issues with it.

[Szark]

Looks great. I noticed a typo on your contact page, enjoy is spelt enojoy :)

[marshmonkey]

oops, thanks!

[Microneezia]

I think this is a great game! Im really interested in making something for fun. I have used the specs on the wiki to try and make the Back to the Future DMC.

2998 tri kart / 720 tri wheels

Couple questions;

I noticed there is no start-up animation listed in the animation list on wiki. So when the typical camera crane drop behind my kart at race start, will I see a single animation that transitions me into the ongoing race animation (idle)?

It looks like the texture sizes are 512 - driver / 512 - kart. . Im guessing all items that are interchangeable - wheels / hats / accessories ect have their own maps, what are the map size limits for these?

Is the kart restricted to being a single object?

http://microneezia.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/dmc.gif?w=480
http://microneezia.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/dmc_front.gif?w=480

Im really excited about Zero Gear!

[fearian]

:O This needs to get in-game.

[notman]

haha, you know what's funny about this? I'm watching Back to the Future 2 right now :D

Very cool vehicle

[marshmonkey]

I think this is a great game! Im really interested in making something for fun. I have used the specs on the wiki to try and make the Back to the Future DMC.

2998 tri kart / 720 tri wheels

Couple questions;

I noticed there is no start-up animation listed in the animation list on wiki. So when the typical camera crane drop behind my kart at race start, will I see a single animation that transitions me into the ongoing race animation (idle)?

It looks like the texture sizes are 512 - driver / 512 - kart. . Im guessing all items that are interchangeable - wheels / hats / accessories ect have their own maps, what are the map size limits for these?

Is the kart restricted to being a single object?

Im really excited about Zero Gear!

-haha, that is awesome :) We have no idea of a "startup" animation right now, the idle animation is something that is playing at all times.

-512 is a good guideline, more important than the size of the texture is the size of the data, we don't know that the limit will be yet since we haven't tried sending the items across the network yet, but there will be a size limit for all of the assets together. When I come up with that size it will probably be based around 512 sized textures, but I can't say for certain if a 1024 would fit or not. I usually make all my textures at 1024 anyway, then shrink them after.

-The kart is restricted to a single mesh file, and the wheel(s) are a single mesh file.

I would recommend having the kart in the wheels up position to start (if it will fit in the bounding box) and then having the subtle floating motion as the idle loop. The only problem is that the character is positioned at a static point, so he wouldn't animate along with the bobbing. Being able to specify a bone in the kart to parent the character to would fix that, but unfortunately that is something we don't support at the moment. It might be something we could add but I have to confess we are frying much bigger fish at the moment (revamping the networked physics system) so I can't promise we could look at that soon.

[Microneezia]

I understand you have bigger fish to fry. For me its no problem at all, Ill simply start the car in floaty mode like you say, and make the bobbing more subtle so that the character doesnt dive to far into the karts mesh. Ill put more animation into the wheels maybe to simulate the float.... Im mearly a fan of your awesome game, anything I can do to get my car to race around a bit, Ill do.

Are you planning to have stats for the karts? like driving stats? Turning precision, speed ect?

[marshmonkey]

at one point we wanted to have those be tweakable in the garage, not sure if / when we would get to it. They would never be tied to a specific kart though, just something anyone could tune.

[marshmonkey]

just finished doing a new character. this one is a silly sally, he looks quite ridiculous in all our hats and accessories.

http://myzerogear.com/eyeguy.png

[Spinks]

haha awesome, he works well with the rimlighting, almost looks velvety :)

[marshmonkey]

I just finished editing a trailer for the game that will hopefully be posted on our IGF entry page, take a look.

http://myzerogear.com/trailerthumb.jpg (http://vimeo.com/2677585)

[renderhjs]

I really hope you guys succeed with this one,- best luck

[JasonLavoie]

Always excited to see new videos man :) You guys are doing great!

Good luck!

[00Zero]

wow that video is looking great. love the colors.

[marshmonkey]

made a new character over the last few days, say hello to Cacti the cactus

http://myzerogear.com/cacti.png

I am trying to get to 9 (stock) items in every custom item category (karts, characters, wheels, hats, accessories) and this makes 9 characters. I think I just need to make a few more accessories to fill everything out.

*edit* actually I can't count, this makes 11 characters

[Lamont]

Nice work! Very inspiring.

Let me know when it's released, I'll pick up a copy.

[Lamont]

check out the screenshot and maybe you will be able to guess what it is!

http://myzerogear.com/kickitsmall.jpg (http://myzerogear.com/kickit.jpg)Oh man!! If you can do a full football game like in Top Gear!! Whoo! That would rock!!

**Can you slip in a Subaru-ish WRX Station wagon?**

[Pedro Amorim]

deja-vu
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/44092.html?type=flv

[diminished_Self]

ahh man...that sucks balls. stupid EA. zeroGear looks loads better...but you'll be accused of ripping off the sims shit now.

[marshmonkey]

Eh, I'm not worried about some 2-bit company called "EA" ;)

Our main focus is going to be a lot more than racing, so I think we will be ok.

[JasonLavoie]

Aug...

Anyways marsh, keep it up man!!

[Slum]

Holy shit man, that's a pretty heavy attempt at a xerox copy of your game. Just keep plowing ahead, you should be fine :)

[notman]

Of course, you know people are going to claim you copied EA now :/
(not that you should give up... just saying)

[marshmonkey]

kart games have a long and storied history of copying a certain SNES game, I don't think an argument about copying in any direction carries much water.

[hawken]

are you going to release for mac? I think the intel binary switch is quite simple.

would give you a feather in your cap over EA.

btw I think you should make a bit of stink about this, they obviously copied you. It would raise the profile of your game, make a post on digg or something. I mean, if you guys built your game behind closed doors this EA game would look radically different.

[Lamont]

btw I think you should make a bit of stink about this, they obviously copied you. It would raise the profile of your game, make a post on digg or something. I mean, if you guys built your game behind closed doors this EA game would look radically different.My Sims have been around for a long time, I doubt EA copied his game. A racing game with SD (super deformed) characters for a platform that screams "kiddie". My guess is EA wants a taste of that Mario Kart pie for the Wii/DS.

Just keep on working and release your game.

[hawken]

come off it, have you watched the videos? the environments are almost identical, the garage is almost identical. There's some heavy "inspiration" going on.

but what better to generate a buzz in the gaming community?

[Lamont]

The garage is almost identical? The only thing that's "identical" is that they both have cars on lifts, tools and a door to get in and out of. OP's garage and art looks way better than what EA is offering anyways.

Having a car on a lift in a game where you can change the look and performance of your car has been in many street racing games.

http://www.digitalweaponx.net/garage.jpg

[Nate Broach]

I wouldnt be too worried about it, I dont see even one good comment on that video.

[Snader]

yeah there are some similarities.. but srsly? the sims thing looks like a nother 13 in a dozen cashin kartgame, just some tracks with silly powerups, whereas ZG has some really original game modes. add on top more customizability and better graphics, and bye EA

[JasonLavoie]

I'm kinda with hawken on this. I mean the environment obviously look better in Zero Gear... but that cowboy town and shit... wasn't that the first thing you guys posted a long time ago? Maybe they got hold of it for inspiration... either way, it does look a bit too much like each other, just Zero Gear having much more character (which is a shit ton better).

[renderhjs]

in your own interest, check this out:
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/44092.html

looks almost 1:1, quite scary

[Jeremy Lindstrom]

I thought that video was ZG at first.. :( btw, saw the finalists for IGF, you guys didn't get in this year? I thought you made the deadlines?

[DockRock]

This looks like a sweet project to work on! I love the overall style! Awesome Sauce!!!

[marshmonkey]

About mysims racing:
Personally I don't believe they copied us, and even if they did glean any inspiration from our game (which I doubt, since most of our similarities are just general obvious racing game ideas) we certainly don't have the time or energy to spare to make a stink about it. I also wouldn't want our game to get press simply because we were whining about something like that.

As for IGF, yes we entered - no we didn't get nominated for anything. It sucks, and we were a little bummed for about a day - but we really have no time to waste on any distractions besides getting this game to a releasable state. Maybe we will enter it again next year when it is actually in the wild.

[Eclipse]

Wow EA, that is AWFUL! As soon as I thought they were turning their shit around they go and do this. My lord that is amazingly similar, such a shame. It's ok though, Zero Gears looks way better anyway, haha.

[Baddcog]

hmm, I haven't noticed this til now.

It's a bummer you guys didn't get nominated. i personally looked at every game entered and read their comments. From the entries ZG deffinately looked the best imo and it seemed their comments for it was better than most.

I don't think EA will be much competition on the steam platform anyway, but that last pic of the garages side by side.... Well it's easy to tell. ZG puts the other to shame. Honestly that other just doesn't even look good even if ZG wasn't next to it to make it look bad.

[marshmonkey]

I am trying to get a little more exposure for ZG before we come out with the next beta version, I submitted our trailer video to digg,

http://digg.com/pc_games/Trailer_released_for_physics_driven_PC_Kart_game_Z ero_Gear

if you want to toss a digg our way.

[rolfness]

I dont want to digg I wanna play..... huurrryyy uppppp !!!!!

[notman]

I dugg ya :D

[SHEPEIRO]

EA try to copy good stuff, take it as flattery and use it in your sales patter

[Thegodzero]

Yeah years ago a mod me and kman were working on for BF1942 was out rite ripped off after we posted info about it. They released a month before we did so we got shat on by fans of the game for ripping EA off... Be careful timing is everything.

[marshmonkey]

I dont want to digg I wanna play..... huurrryyy uppppp !!!!!

We are going as fast as we can! :p

If only I could clone myself and Brian into 4 or 8 extra people that didn't need to eat or sleep.

[carlo_c]

Just want to say this thread always has me eager to see more progress on this game, really looking forward to playing it and as for that EA game lol I can't say it compares to what you've posted up on the game so far :)

[Uly]

Saw this on the front page of Gametrailers.com! Congrats! :)

[notman]

They released a month before we did so we got shat on by fans of the game for ripping EA off... Be careful timing is everything.

That's exactly what I was getting at :) For some reason, it's always assumed that they big companies came up with it first, even when you actually release it first. Not that it matters who did it first, but it can really give your game a bad rep erroneously.

[Deathead]

Awesome work Marshmonkey. Keep it up.