New Content Pack from BAG
by BrokeAss Games · 04/19/2010 (10:34 am) · 25 comments
BrokeAss Games is proud to announce a new content pack for Torque!
This is the first in a series of architectural packs we will be releasing and we hope you enjoy it!
You are probably already watching the video, but if you want technical mumbo jumbo about the pack, we got that too:
The pack includes 23 unique buildings with built-in levels of detail and 24 ambient city props. Buildings range from 1200-6000 polygons at full quality. Normal and specular maps are included along with complete material lists for the texture library. The pack is built for TGE, TGEA, and T3D. You get the buildings as .dif interiors (TGE, TGEA) and dts shapes (T3D).
Lead Artist, Moshe King, would like thank the internet, namely cgtextures.com, a site that inspired the project, as well as Andy Wright for all his help with optimizing the pack.
We are working on getting this pack up in the Torque-Powered store, but for now you can learn more and get it Here.
Without further ado, here’s the video:
About the author
http://www.youtube.com/user/BrokeAssGames
#2
04/19/2010 (1:02 pm)
Really cool stuff guys. Also, the new website looks very nice! 
#4
What are some of the other architectural packs planned?
04/19/2010 (4:15 pm)
Wow this is a nice looking pack :-DWhat are some of the other architectural packs planned?
#5
@Edward
We have Roadpack1 coming soon for doing big city layouts with overpasses, undergrounds, and other infrastructure pieces. Then Buildingpack2 which is skyscrapers. Both have an assortment of ambient shapes too.
Jondo
04/19/2010 (4:59 pm)
Thanks guys!@Edward
We have Roadpack1 coming soon for doing big city layouts with overpasses, undergrounds, and other infrastructure pieces. Then Buildingpack2 which is skyscrapers. Both have an assortment of ambient shapes too.
Jondo
#6
btw, might get a lil bit of free time coming up soon, were done moving back to luton into the new house, its just finding time between work, family and sorting out the house to get anything done...
very nice rpesentation pics and video, love it ;) good work :)
04/19/2010 (6:10 pm)
ohh blimey guv, first time ive had the time to have a look on here in weeks now and youve got it out there :) gratzbtw, might get a lil bit of free time coming up soon, were done moving back to luton into the new house, its just finding time between work, family and sorting out the house to get anything done...
very nice rpesentation pics and video, love it ;) good work :)
#7
04/19/2010 (6:23 pm)
WB Andy! Hope all is well, look forward to catching up with ya. 
#8
Texture/Normal/Specular maps: .jpg, .png, .dds
which are these formats works with best performance ?
04/21/2010 (5:30 am)
Good job, looks great so far...Texture/Normal/Specular maps: .jpg, .png, .dds
which are these formats works with best performance ?
#10
Some of this depends on which version of the engine you use, the texture maps have been optimized differently for each build.
Mip-mapped .DDS files for diffuse textures gave best performance in our tests. For the normals/speculars we followed Konrad's advice and used .PNG files for normals with specular maps embedded (T3D). <---This combination gave use the best performance.
The TGEA build requires that the specular maps be embedded in the diffuse texture, so we used .PNG for diffuse with embedded specs and the normals are .jpgs.
TGE build we used just plain .jpgs for diffuse, but I am pretty sure you can load .DDS files in TGE too.
hope that helps,
Jondo
04/21/2010 (8:26 am)
Quote:Texture/Normal/Specular maps: .jpg, .png, .dds
which are these formats works with best performance ?
Some of this depends on which version of the engine you use, the texture maps have been optimized differently for each build.
Mip-mapped .DDS files for diffuse textures gave best performance in our tests. For the normals/speculars we followed Konrad's advice and used .PNG files for normals with specular maps embedded (T3D). <---This combination gave use the best performance.
The TGEA build requires that the specular maps be embedded in the diffuse texture, so we used .PNG for diffuse with embedded specs and the normals are .jpgs.
TGE build we used just plain .jpgs for diffuse, but I am pretty sure you can load .DDS files in TGE too.
hope that helps,
Jondo
#11
Thanks! :)
Sorry no .max files, but if .fbx would be useful I can include those as another download in the file list.
Jondo
04/21/2010 (1:06 pm)
Quote: bought it, great buildings, hope will provide max files in the pack.
Thanks! :)
Sorry no .max files, but if .fbx would be useful I can include those as another download in the file list.
Jondo
#12
Thanks for quick reply.
Between JPG and DDS size (kb or mb) of approximately 4-5 fold difference emerges. So in this performance, do not cause any disadvantage?
For the same material that is between large DDS and small jpg, how do you recommend we make a choice?
DDS format, there are settings ( like DXT, DXT3, DXT5, 8.8.8, 4.4.4.4 ) for performance, which one do you prefer?
04/22/2010 (2:14 am)
@JondoThanks for quick reply.
Between JPG and DDS size (kb or mb) of approximately 4-5 fold difference emerges. So in this performance, do not cause any disadvantage?
For the same material that is between large DDS and small jpg, how do you recommend we make a choice?
DDS format, there are settings ( like DXT, DXT3, DXT5, 8.8.8, 4.4.4.4 ) for performance, which one do you prefer?
#13
First, I am new to using .DDS files. I experimented with them on this project to get better performance, and it helped alot. With the demo zone seem in the video, I tested using all .JPG diffuse's versus all .DDS diffuse textures. The zone has alot of the shapes from the pack, over 3 of each (about 65+ buildings and 60+ other shapes).
Using echo( getTextureProfileStats() )I could see there was over 600 megs of diffuse textures in memory when using .JPG. When I switched to .DDS, the number dropped to just over 400megs.
Adding normal maps as .PNG files added about 200megs of normals to memory. When I embedded the specular data into the normal's alpha channel, there was almost no difference in memory cost.
I used DXT3|explicit alpha with 4 mip maps and "soft sharpen". These are the settings that were recommended to me by Konrad, and they have worked great so far. Many of the .DDS files with mip maps stayed at or below 1 meg, which isn't too bad.
hope that helps!
Jondo
04/22/2010 (10:36 am)
@KodgrafFirst, I am new to using .DDS files. I experimented with them on this project to get better performance, and it helped alot. With the demo zone seem in the video, I tested using all .JPG diffuse's versus all .DDS diffuse textures. The zone has alot of the shapes from the pack, over 3 of each (about 65+ buildings and 60+ other shapes).
Using echo( getTextureProfileStats() )I could see there was over 600 megs of diffuse textures in memory when using .JPG. When I switched to .DDS, the number dropped to just over 400megs.
Adding normal maps as .PNG files added about 200megs of normals to memory. When I embedded the specular data into the normal's alpha channel, there was almost no difference in memory cost.
I used DXT3|explicit alpha with 4 mip maps and "soft sharpen". These are the settings that were recommended to me by Konrad, and they have worked great so far. Many of the .DDS files with mip maps stayed at or below 1 meg, which isn't too bad.
hope that helps!
Jondo
#14
... nice use of the lighting in the day scenes. More packs please!
04/22/2010 (1:54 pm)
Heh... you guys are so metrostructural. :)... nice use of the lighting in the day scenes. More packs please!
#15
I had to read the pack name a few times when i first saw it... :P
all i have at the moment is some old wip shots from the towers and skyscrapers pack, and the roads and highways set before they got the road texture fixed but after i like had a baby, moved from one side of england to the other and prettymuch dissapeared off the net for the good part of a year, jon and mo took them over and went over to a shape base rather then dif. so they have more recent pics that i know look alot better (windows etc...) and run faster in t3d. if jons fine with it ill post a couple of them up on here as a kinda preview, but just be aware their old work in progress shots...
04/22/2010 (3:21 pm)
"Heh... you guys are so metrostructural. :)"I had to read the pack name a few times when i first saw it... :P
all i have at the moment is some old wip shots from the towers and skyscrapers pack, and the roads and highways set before they got the road texture fixed but after i like had a baby, moved from one side of england to the other and prettymuch dissapeared off the net for the good part of a year, jon and mo took them over and went over to a shape base rather then dif. so they have more recent pics that i know look alot better (windows etc...) and run faster in t3d. if jons fine with it ill post a couple of them up on here as a kinda preview, but just be aware their old work in progress shots...
#16
We've taken Andy's creative passion and tried to monetize it into some exciting new packs coming soon... BAG_Buildpack2 "Skyscrapers and something funny", and BAG_Roadpack1 "something catchy". These are still wips, but we have done a good bit of retooling lately... LOD'ing the skyscrapers has been quite an undertaking... probably as bad as you trying to portalize bp1 for us! :P
I will post some screens after you...
04/22/2010 (3:47 pm)
Yeah go for it... We've taken Andy's creative passion and tried to monetize it into some exciting new packs coming soon... BAG_Buildpack2 "Skyscrapers and something funny", and BAG_Roadpack1 "something catchy". These are still wips, but we have done a good bit of retooling lately... LOD'ing the skyscrapers has been quite an undertaking... probably as bad as you trying to portalize bp1 for us! :P
I will post some screens after you...
#17
I believe the roadlines on the edges and in the corners has since been fixed since this screenshot.
8 of the towers from a high up view
7 of them again from a lower angle
two of the towers either side of one of the buildings from bp1 so you can get an idea of the size of them
All of the towers are open plan and accessable, you can enter all rooms and floors and on most the roof aswell. The towers are also made up of 3 or 4 pieces, the base, middle and roof on most of them, so for a bit of variety on larger towns, you can vary the height of them with all floors remaining accessable.
The road pieces are an old style template system, straights in various sizes, corners, junctions, pedestrian underpasses, a carpark etc that all slot together and join up to a raised highway set that you see in the top picture.
im pretty sure Jon's got some sexier pics of them in t3d with the texturing fixed and the buildings closer to being finished off :P
04/22/2010 (4:11 pm)
I believe the roadlines on the edges and in the corners has since been fixed since this screenshot.
8 of the towers from a high up view
7 of them again from a lower angle
two of the towers either side of one of the buildings from bp1 so you can get an idea of the size of them
All of the towers are open plan and accessable, you can enter all rooms and floors and on most the roof aswell. The towers are also made up of 3 or 4 pieces, the base, middle and roof on most of them, so for a bit of variety on larger towns, you can vary the height of them with all floors remaining accessable.
The road pieces are an old style template system, straights in various sizes, corners, junctions, pedestrian underpasses, a carpark etc that all slot together and join up to a raised highway set that you see in the top picture.
im pretty sure Jon's got some sexier pics of them in t3d with the texturing fixed and the buildings closer to being finished off :P
#18
Sky view of most of the road pieces, some buildings.
Experimenting with window planes and specs
Adding some oldschool cubemapping...
Add some urban blight...
more blight pl0x!
Note to self... gotta vote for technoviking
Trying to add some color to the packs...
but keepin' it grungy...
Go ahead with the metrostructural san francisco jokes...waitin!
Oh yeah...
@Tom
What were we supposed to call it? Downtown or Downtown?
04/22/2010 (5:18 pm)
Warning: wall of images may cause eyebleeding!Sky view of most of the road pieces, some buildings.
Experimenting with window planes and specs
Adding some oldschool cubemapping...
Add some urban blight...
more blight pl0x!
Note to self... gotta vote for technoviking
Trying to add some color to the packs...
but keepin' it grungy...
Go ahead with the metrostructural san francisco jokes...waitin!
Oh yeah...
@Tom
What were we supposed to call it? Downtown or Downtown?
#19
04/22/2010 (5:26 pm)
damn jon their lookin fantastic ingame like that, love the props moes done
#20
04/23/2010 (6:48 am)
Really like the scafolding models and billboards. 
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