Website Update and some new plans

#21 Not certain it's a case of which technology will win through. Creating models from scans is not new the Digimation Archive is all scanned work. There's a studio in Vancouver using this technique to scan in people and selling the rigged models with upto 8 M textures, meanwhile the texture is High Res but the model is relatively low poly.

At the moment it's more a case that the cost of doing it is now within reach of indies and for small size development teams that will be the main concern.

Similar techniques have been done for small props for a long time, I'm not even talking about scanning but for certain game types large numbers of props are always needed to create clutter, a friend of mine regularly used to spend an afternoon a week at least, taking photographs in a small studio he'd set up of stuff like vases. He'd then build the 3D model and extract the texture from the photos and map it to a mesh. The process isn't original but not having to model a mesh oneself saves a lot of time. Of more interest is the fact that someone with not so good art skills could use this process and have a better chance of producing some good assets.

@Duion - I'm aware of Euclideon, but like everyone else that is aware of it, I am still waiting for these games to appear. What is causing some doubt in peoples minds are the statements concerning the efficiency of the system and the load times and compression rates. That promo you linked to, we don't actually know what we're looking at there. What gave me some pause is this youtube vid from 2011 which is about the time I found out about it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVB1ayT6Fdc I'm not exactly waiting with bated breath for this to appear. Would be great if it did. Kinda seems like the Perpetual Motion machine of Orffyreus so who knows.

#22 @Duion, fair point. but... really Euclidean? Hell the last demo they published was NOTHING but a photoscanned church. I get it, their core tech (the ability to render a HUGE number of polys) is interesting..but Really? 'F' me... I could show off tons of pics and scans *even in T3D, that show pretty much the same thing. We are in GAME dev. Not real life. I was (at first) impressed by them but, really? It's been years and years and their 'next big thing' is scanning? uhm.... 'F***' that, I got that on my own site.

Also, brother. My latest article shows HOW to deal with those 'copyright' issues you mentioned. Talk with people, let them know what you are doing and be a professional about it. 9 times out of 10 they will be indifferent or REALLY interested in what you are doing. Permission is all about being able to talk with humans. Most people want to help/feel important, cool. I can inflate another's ego, Hell, I am a 'middle manager' in the US Army.... If it doesn't cost me anything, I am all about building the 'other guy' up.

In the end, be respectful, charming and honest about your intent. When I say I will NEVER touch alter anything, then I never ALTER anything. You never know when you might need to/want to come back. Damn, ok HERE ya go, THIS IS SO BETA I am NOT endorsing it. A quick shot of the cemetery props (free pack and ALL freakin scanned and IN T3D).

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No post work... no fancy shaders.... etc etc. JUST photoscanned models made game ready. It can be and HAS been done.

Ron

#23 @Ron, how many polys does the statue have in the 2nd screenshot?

#24 @Nils 2200, at LOD-0. It goes down to around 800 on LOD-4.

Ron

#25 Did you make the graveyard stones with 3D-scanning? In that case you could have achieved almost the same result, if you just projected a photo on it, since it is mostly flat surface.
The statue may be more impressive, but the scene you used does not show it very good.

#26 Duion, Yeah, well, it's a work in progress. Everything in the next free pack will be scanned objects. Agreed, the scene is not very good yet. It will be.

Ron