Editing and materials...
by David Clifton · in Torque Game Engine Advanced · 06/23/2004 (6:30 pm) · 11 replies
The current need to script in material linkages seems a little bit contrary to the in game editing format favored elsewhere...is something coming down the pike to address this sort of thing? Or perhaps something a little clearer to work with? Thanks.
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#2
Shouldnt be difficult at all (implement how tree() works, and have a simple GUI for selected datablock. The save as modified file (from the GUI values). SHould be quite easy for you to add David if you really want it :)
06/24/2004 (4:37 am)
Like editing the materials file.Shouldnt be difficult at all (implement how tree() works, and have a simple GUI for selected datablock. The save as modified file (from the GUI values). SHould be quite easy for you to add David if you really want it :)
#3
It's the best that can be done until we rev the art pipeline.
06/24/2004 (11:57 am)
Yes David, at least on the ts modeling side, someday we'll have materials edited in MAX/Maya/etc and that will carry through to the engine. Not a whole lot that can be done with Quark, but we'll have a better solution for that as well in the future.It's the best that can be done until we rev the art pipeline.
#4
I feel I need to get a firmer grasp on how we're going to be integrating our processes before I really give a go at specifically describing 'what I mean', as it may change. More just fishing for information, and unfortunately a newer engine also means "everybody and his brother" has not worked out our answers in searchable forums for me.
I am very curious as to what you mean by the revision of the art pipeline...I presume you are referring to max2dts and its ilk? What kind of changes are in store for us? Any usability improvements? Right now I'm very interested in improvements that would allow for faster integration of non-production artwork for aiding the design process.
Thanks for all your help with information.
06/24/2004 (3:23 pm)
Alright, good to hear on the modeling end...the art tools available are becoming more and more sophisticated in this area of late.I feel I need to get a firmer grasp on how we're going to be integrating our processes before I really give a go at specifically describing 'what I mean', as it may change. More just fishing for information, and unfortunately a newer engine also means "everybody and his brother" has not worked out our answers in searchable forums for me.
I am very curious as to what you mean by the revision of the art pipeline...I presume you are referring to max2dts and its ilk? What kind of changes are in store for us? Any usability improvements? Right now I'm very interested in improvements that would allow for faster integration of non-production artwork for aiding the design process.
Thanks for all your help with information.
#5
How useful, exactly, I'm not sure yet...I might just throw something together sometime and see what the art and area guys think.
06/24/2004 (3:28 pm)
P.S. An in game material modifier does sound quite useful...if we can 'rematerial' as well as relight...How useful, exactly, I'm not sure yet...I might just throw something together sometime and see what the art and area guys think.
#6
06/25/2004 (5:04 am)
I can see it as being quite nifty, especially if you could select from a list of textures, and construct a material datablock. 
#7
For example if you have a brick shader
One should be able, with a gui, to have access to and set variables such as : brick color, mortar color, brick height/width, mortar height. This would allow mappers to utilize a programmer's shader and tweak the paramenters accordingly then have the shader get resaved them as customMaterial datablocks without having to manually change the files. This would improve development time also because the designer wouldn't have to reload the application each time the variables are altered.
06/28/2004 (9:32 am)
Some type of GUI interface is needed so one could tweak uniform and varying variables. For example if you have a brick shader
One should be able, with a gui, to have access to and set variables such as : brick color, mortar color, brick height/width, mortar height. This would allow mappers to utilize a programmer's shader and tweak the paramenters accordingly then have the shader get resaved them as customMaterial datablocks without having to manually change the files. This would improve development time also because the designer wouldn't have to reload the application each time the variables are altered.
#8
06/28/2004 (10:41 am)
Anthony: You're totally right. Want to write it? :)
#9
06/28/2004 (3:30 pm)
Highly Possible, I will need to have some Q and A with you and Brian before hand but YES I would love to do IT!!
#10
06/28/2004 (4:12 pm)
It might be more than you really want to do, I fear.
#11
06/28/2004 (4:40 pm)
I'd say the variables per se are better tested in a tool like RenderMonkey. 
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