2 quick updates. Vehicles and editable terrain.
by Bill Vee · 06/24/2013 (5:47 am) · 20 comments
First a quick video to show off vehicle interaction with my terrain system.
I used a wheeled vehicle to demonstrate the collision interaction. The wheeled vehicle was the easiest to update to use my gravity point system.
This next video shows the real time client/server editable terrain system.
I was also working on a much needed update to the tri planar shader I use for this voxel terrain system but unfortunately I lost about 35 minutes of coding when my laptop unexpectedly just shut off.
As I was working on the shader I had Torsion and T3d running at the same time in order to debug the shader code when my fps started to dive. I first thought it was due to the code I was adding to the shader causing the GPU to chug along. I tested this by copying all the code I had been working on and reverted the shader code back to where it was when I started. This didn't help matters at all and the fps continued to decline. I suddenly realize the laptops fan was in overdrive and the air coming out was rather hot. I shut down T3D and thought I should paste the copied shader code to a file and let my laptop cool for a bit. I had pasted the code into a text document and I hit save, just as the save dialog box came up the laptop just went blank.
After a few minutes of panic waiting for my laptop to reboot , I determined that other than the shader code I was trying to save there were no problems.
I shut down the laptop and gave it about 3 hours to cool down then took a can of air to it in order to clean out any dust in the cooling system. There wasn't a lot of dust but there was more than I was comfortable with.
I hope this is not a sign that my laptop is about to die.
I used a wheeled vehicle to demonstrate the collision interaction. The wheeled vehicle was the easiest to update to use my gravity point system.
This next video shows the real time client/server editable terrain system.
I was also working on a much needed update to the tri planar shader I use for this voxel terrain system but unfortunately I lost about 35 minutes of coding when my laptop unexpectedly just shut off.
As I was working on the shader I had Torsion and T3d running at the same time in order to debug the shader code when my fps started to dive. I first thought it was due to the code I was adding to the shader causing the GPU to chug along. I tested this by copying all the code I had been working on and reverted the shader code back to where it was when I started. This didn't help matters at all and the fps continued to decline. I suddenly realize the laptops fan was in overdrive and the air coming out was rather hot. I shut down T3D and thought I should paste the copied shader code to a file and let my laptop cool for a bit. I had pasted the code into a text document and I hit save, just as the save dialog box came up the laptop just went blank.
After a few minutes of panic waiting for my laptop to reboot , I determined that other than the shader code I was trying to save there were no problems.
I shut down the laptop and gave it about 3 hours to cool down then took a can of air to it in order to clean out any dust in the cooling system. There wasn't a lot of dust but there was more than I was comfortable with.
I hope this is not a sign that my laptop is about to die.
About the author
#2
Hopefully your laptop is surviving!
06/24/2013 (6:28 am)
Wow, i really like that terrain system. It make possible a lot new game ideas. (space games and miner games)Hopefully your laptop is surviving!
#3
06/24/2013 (6:43 am)
@Vince Gee - Not sure what your question means. The capital V makes me think it is a library or program I am not aware of. If you mean voxel as in marching cubes then yes. I rely heavily on PolyVox for the actual processing.
#4
06/24/2013 (6:48 am)
Really cool stuff! :) 
#5
06/24/2013 (9:50 am)
Nice work. 
#6
06/24/2013 (9:59 am)
Yea, that's what I meant:) You built a custom terrain system. It's very impressive, but I assume its not using any of the stock terrain system. 
#7
06/24/2013 (11:14 am)
Some smart laptop manufacturers do use the BIOS features to shut off your PC(laptop in this case) when it gets too hot. I have had some expensive laptops, and heat issues plague most of them. Some will tell you that they have had no problems, like a friend of mine that stays in the AC all day. Mileage will vary but I would get a nice laptop cooler if I were you;O)
#8
06/24/2013 (12:08 pm)
@Vince Gee - 100% custom built terrain system. As for the stock terrain system , I have tried to code it where the rest of T3D thinks my terrain is the stock terrain. What this means is other systems like the ground cover and forest editor will happily interact with my terrain thinking it is just the stock terrain. 
#9
06/24/2013 (4:16 pm)
This is really cool! 
#10
06/24/2013 (4:29 pm)
Two words, mate: git stash ;). Nice work, though, and I hope the laptop holds out! 
#11
hmm i wonder would it be possible to adapt the gravity point system
to be used on ther objects in the scene
-wallwalking here we go^^
that would ofc already make me ask another question
is it possible to turn off the gravity point system by trigger/ script?
and i know your feeling regarding the laptop
mine shutdown 3 times
days ago
simply cuz it was too hot (sahara weather here and now we got monsson rains lol)
06/24/2013 (4:37 pm)
nicehmm i wonder would it be possible to adapt the gravity point system
to be used on ther objects in the scene
-wallwalking here we go^^
that would ofc already make me ask another question
is it possible to turn off the gravity point system by trigger/ script?
and i know your feeling regarding the laptop
mine shutdown 3 times
days ago
simply cuz it was too hot (sahara weather here and now we got monsson rains lol)
#12
@Daniel - You kids and your new fangled git commands, back in my day all we had was a svn server and we were happy with commit and update. :)
Seriously though I didn't know about the stash command. I will have to look into that some more.
06/24/2013 (5:01 pm)
@J0linar - My point gravity class is based on the physicalzone class so yes controlling it via trigger/script is possible.@Daniel - You kids and your new fangled git commands, back in my day all we had was a svn server and we were happy with commit and update. :)
Seriously though I didn't know about the stash command. I will have to look into that some more.
#13
Is there a chance to get your Point Gravity Class - Source Code Part?
not that am not interested in the rest but i doubt that you are goin to just give it away and the gravity part is what interests me more
so if there is a way to get it - what would you expect for it?
a side question, it`s working on players aswell right?
06/26/2013 (6:19 am)
@Bill VeeIs there a chance to get your Point Gravity Class - Source Code Part?
not that am not interested in the rest but i doubt that you are goin to just give it away and the gravity part is what interests me more
so if there is a way to get it - what would you expect for it?
a side question, it`s working on players aswell right?
#14
Been following your blogs since the beginning and always an interesting/informative read. Would be great to be able to use a tool like 3d-coat or zbrush to do the terrain sculpting then import the voxel object into Torque.
06/26/2013 (7:16 am)
@Bill Been following your blogs since the beginning and always an interesting/informative read. Would be great to be able to use a tool like 3d-coat or zbrush to do the terrain sculpting then import the voxel object into Torque.
#15
What I can do is point you to the 2 resources that got me where I am today.
The first is one called Add Radial Force and Vorticity to PhysicalZone.
The second one is the really important one and it is Free-rotating Player with quaternions.
To get the player to orient themselves to a gravity vector this resource is the best way to do it.
They won't work with each other as is. There will have to be some changes in both in order to get the player and other classes to work correctly.
As an example of what I said about not having enough free time, it took me an hour to post this message.
06/26/2013 (7:33 am)
@J0linar - I could release it as is but without the modification to the player and vehicle classes it wouldn't do much good. I have little free time to work on this game as it is , I just couldn't release one class then document how it works with the other classes then show how to change existing classes in order to get them to work together.What I can do is point you to the 2 resources that got me where I am today.
The first is one called Add Radial Force and Vorticity to PhysicalZone.
The second one is the really important one and it is Free-rotating Player with quaternions.
To get the player to orient themselves to a gravity vector this resource is the best way to do it.
They won't work with each other as is. There will have to be some changes in both in order to get the player and other classes to work correctly.
As an example of what I said about not having enough free time, it took me an hour to post this message.
#16
Something like a volume that could be saved in a raw format, 1 byte for density and 1 byte for the materiel saved to file in an x y z loop.
06/26/2013 (7:44 am)
@Patrick W - It wouldn't be too difficult to do that as long as the format was straight forward.Something like a volume that could be saved in a raw format, 1 byte for density and 1 byte for the materiel saved to file in an x y z loop.
#17
Can I please help you with your terrain code? I want to take the same route and use the volumetric system for terrain and possibly objects themselves. I basically want to clone some of the functionality of Mindcraft and am undecided on the smooth versus cube look. I could do the pain work of resourcing it (if you want that) and adding classes to make this work as a general solution. That is something I am good at. So you could look at my availability as a free labor to help package your code if you want.
If you want to keep the code closer to you than that I could sign an NDA. I just don't want to retread the same path if I could start somewhere more advanced.
06/26/2013 (11:40 pm)
@Bill,Can I please help you with your terrain code? I want to take the same route and use the volumetric system for terrain and possibly objects themselves. I basically want to clone some of the functionality of Mindcraft and am undecided on the smooth versus cube look. I could do the pain work of resourcing it (if you want that) and adding classes to make this work as a general solution. That is something I am good at. So you could look at my availability as a free labor to help package your code if you want.
If you want to keep the code closer to you than that I could sign an NDA. I just don't want to retread the same path if I could start somewhere more advanced.
#18
06/27/2013 (6:41 am)
@Demolishun - I appreciate your enthusiasm but I will have to decline right now. It's not that I couldn't use the help but I have a very limited amount of time to actually work on this project and bringing on another person would cut the amount of time in half , at least in the short run.
#19
sry i didn´t wanted to distract you
and i fully understand and i wish you luck with your project
and thanks for pointing me towards those resources
have to admit i came across those but it was at a time where i wasn`t really familiar with T3D
anyways don`t get me wrong
as you see we all are really proud of what you did and even if we all seem to be more like crows waiting for a sign of your code^^
we are just glad that you take the time to share your progress
therefore thank you for letting us in
and again gl to you and your project
06/28/2013 (5:19 am)
@Bill veesry i didn´t wanted to distract you
and i fully understand and i wish you luck with your project
and thanks for pointing me towards those resources
have to admit i came across those but it was at a time where i wasn`t really familiar with T3D
anyways don`t get me wrong
as you see we all are really proud of what you did and even if we all seem to be more like crows waiting for a sign of your code^^
we are just glad that you take the time to share your progress
therefore thank you for letting us in
and again gl to you and your project
#20
P.S.
1)I can apply It's technology for create simply "voxel" objects (not terrain),or not?
2)Please,make tutor "How make snow/send(etc.) surface "(Character leave one's tracks (footprint) everywhere).(If not inconvenient to you :D)
07/13/2013 (1:26 am)
Nice!!!And polyvox it interesting project.There are dead projects,from them anything may you take for Torque,or not?P.S.
1)I can apply It's technology for create simply "voxel" objects (not terrain),or not?
2)Please,make tutor "How make snow/send(etc.) surface "(Character leave one's tracks (footprint) everywhere).(If not inconvenient to you :D)
Torque Owner Vince Gee
WinterLeaf Entertainment