Boombot source art
by Richard Ranft · in Artist Corner · 08/11/2011 (3:37 pm) · 14 replies
I apologize if this has already been answered but I didn't find it through a search. Is the Boombot .max file available? Or - has anyone checked to see if the skinning feature works with Boombot? This would be easier, but I have to read up on it first.
About the author
I was a soldier, then a computer technician, an electrician, a technical writer, game programmer, and now software test/tools developer. I've been a hobbyist programmer since the age of 13.
#2
08/15/2011 (2:55 pm)
Yeah, I recall ever seeing get released to the public. If it ever was, then it was most likely in one of the TGEA releases.
#3
I guess I'll just see if I can fake it and make skinning work, or perhaps cheat it with the material editor....
08/15/2011 (3:41 pm)
Actually, having read a few blogs and forgotten which I believe David Montgomery-Blake mentioned that the Boombot was created during a game-in-a-day or similar challenge. This leads me to believe that perhaps this asset was never properly added to any of the repositories.I guess I'll just see if I can fake it and make skinning work, or perhaps cheat it with the material editor....
#4
If I remember correctly, it was a fairly 'rigidly' weighted object, like simple parenting was used; it's just a collection of boxy subMeshes and some odd control objects.
08/16/2011 (6:09 am)
Would you like to see it perhaps in FBX? Let me know...I'll see what I can stir up in Vat#17......If I remember correctly, it was a fairly 'rigidly' weighted object, like simple parenting was used; it's just a collection of boxy subMeshes and some odd control objects.
#5
You know, I'm going to try exporting to DAE....
08/16/2011 (6:58 am)
That'd be cool. I was thinking along the same lines, but I haven't tried anything out yet. I'm more programmer, less artist and I thought I'd save the high learning curve stuff (from my perspective) for later... lol.You know, I'm going to try exporting to DAE....
#6
I'm getting too old, too fast!
08/16/2011 (7:14 am)
I don't think it was a game-in-a-day, but I do believe it was created for BoomBall, which then turned into RokkitBall. I may be way off on my timeline, though. Scott and I were talking about this yesterday and I can't remember.I'm getting too old, too fast!
#7
The Boombot was created by Joe Maruschak for the "Boomball" game that Bravetree was developing along with Matt Fairfax and Tom Bampton. It was demoed at IGC 2004 to much praise.
Before the game was finished though GarageGames bought Bravetree and brought in all the IP that they had developed (plus their talent). After that the Boombot was used for a variety of engine demos and such. When IAC came around and tried to do the InstantAction portal, Boomball was retooled to be Rokkitball with completely new art.
08/16/2011 (8:10 am)
You are pretty close David.The Boombot was created by Joe Maruschak for the "Boomball" game that Bravetree was developing along with Matt Fairfax and Tom Bampton. It was demoed at IGC 2004 to much praise.
Before the game was finished though GarageGames bought Bravetree and brought in all the IP that they had developed (plus their talent). After that the Boombot was used for a variety of engine demos and such. When IAC came around and tried to do the InstantAction portal, Boomball was retooled to be Rokkitball with completely new art.
#8
So, long story short; the source art is probably lost to the mists of time. I am going to try to use the dts to dae converter to then import it into MAX. I want to make it skinnable so I can make team colors. In all honesty I haven't tried to do this with the material editor and script-trickery yet, so I might be barking up the wrong tree.
08/16/2011 (10:03 am)
Nice historical account - always good to know where stuff came from and all that. Usually some good stories attached, too. Sorry for mis-quoting you, Dave!So, long story short; the source art is probably lost to the mists of time. I am going to try to use the dts to dae converter to then import it into MAX. I want to make it skinnable so I can make team colors. In all honesty I haven't tried to do this with the material editor and script-trickery yet, so I might be barking up the wrong tree.
#10
Use the hex editor to search for the string "blue" (without the quotes) in the dts, and replace the occurrences of "blue_IB2" and "blue_IB1" with "base.IB2" and "base.IB1" and resave.
After that, the model is re-skinnable. Rename the blue_IB2.png and the blue_IB1.jpg to base.IB2.png and base.IB1.jpg. Then you can create other versions of the texture, e.g. green.IB1.jpg and green.IB2.png and use setSkinName("green"); to apply it.
The IB1 and IB2 textures are for the body and head. You probably don't need to be able to change the eye texture.
Here's the result:
08/17/2011 (9:18 am)
You can make it re-skinnable by using a hex editor (such as XVI32) to hack a couple of lines in the dts. Backup your current boombot.dts before trying this! Use the hex editor to search for the string "blue" (without the quotes) in the dts, and replace the occurrences of "blue_IB2" and "blue_IB1" with "base.IB2" and "base.IB1" and resave.
After that, the model is re-skinnable. Rename the blue_IB2.png and the blue_IB1.jpg to base.IB2.png and base.IB1.jpg. Then you can create other versions of the texture, e.g. green.IB1.jpg and green.IB2.png and use setSkinName("green"); to apply it.
The IB1 and IB2 textures are for the body and head. You probably don't need to be able to change the eye texture.
Here's the result:
#11
08/17/2011 (12:35 pm)
Sweet - that will save tons of time. Thanks, Guy!
#12
08/17/2011 (1:46 pm)
Dude - totally awesome. Took like 5 min to get that going. The primary reason I love this community!
#13
Thanks for keeping my memory in check! I didn't remember the whole history.
08/19/2011 (12:33 pm)
@LoganThanks for keeping my memory in check! I didn't remember the whole history.
#14
12/06/2011 (12:41 pm)
I *may* have a copy of a 3ds Max version of BoomBot somewhere in my archives. Email me a reminder and I will dig around sometime this weekend to see if I can locate it. From what I recall, it might not be a fully functional version (Joe always had tons of copies) but it should be a decent start for a 3D artist to tweak. 
Associate Logan Foster
perPixel Studios