[FF7PC] Team Avalanche field scenes

  • Thread starter Thread starter Mayo Master
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Unfortunately, we would need an army to have the project done within 1-2 years. Based on my own work rate (I consider I spent "as much time as possible on the project while being able to have a life"), we would need... 40 people *cough* to get it done in 2 years. Of course I would be very happy to be able to lead such a project. I'd be happy enough with 10 people, also considering an increase in productivity with people becoming more proficient in their 3d modelling abilities. Additionally, productivity can increase if we have the ability to pool resources (if somebody models redundant items which are used in a number of scenes, no need to remodel the same object). I would also say "all levels of modelling ability are welcome", because I actually started my own practice of 3d modelling because I wanted to help Team Avalanche, which was a mere 2 years and a half ago. All in all, finding people with enough drive and commitment is a big issue. But the amateur 3d modelling community is huge, so the potential is out there. In a sense, it's all about trying to mesh people with an interest in FF7 with people from the 3d modelling community, or show people with little knowledge of 3d modelling that they have the potential to contribute.

As for the coordination of artistic style, we already have a plan for that. Basically, each artist would work on distinct geographic zones within the game, so each geographic zone will have an internal artistic consistency (which is why I've made my work on the Sector 5 slums only). Having different artistic style across different zones is not a problem, because the environments are meant to look different. That being said, there are some "artistic rules" which will have to be respected by everybody (tending towards realistic-looking results, being aware of scaling issues, etc.), but they can be easily managed.
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Well the fact that'd you'd be willing to lead a project is good enough news. If I were try and advertise on social medias, what kind of qualifications and commitment levels would you want me to list?
 
Yes, I know what you refer to. It's not easy to explain what I'm talking about, so let's just say that the supported input resolution of my TV isn't exactly as large as the TV itself is, so it looks much better to use the whole width of it rather than 3/4 of it. Imagine 1024 x 768 resolution on a HD TV; it's just so small I'd have to sit with the TV in my face. Which is not practical, considering I scrapped my old 1280 x 960 monitor precisely so that I wouldn't need to sit with my face nearly glued to it and eventually ruin my eyesight. Using the full dimensions of my TV allows for a much greater distance between myself and the display and I can see all of the details of any given game so long as the internal rendering resolution is altered accordingly. (for FF7, Aali's driver handles that automatically depending on window size and aspect ratio)
So in short, I have a cheap and dodgy TV and a 4:3 aspect ratio will always be unbearable on it, stretched or not. Therefore, I might as well use the full width and height to achieve the best image quality this TV can offer.
...I do believe, though, that the aspect ratio is not really debatable since it's a matter of opinions when it comes down to it. :P While someone prefers widescreen, another guy can prefer 4:3. Hell, there may be people who have even uncommon aspect ratios such as 16:10 and so on. I know I like 16:9 more than 4:3 for reasons stated above, heh. :D
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Ok, that's a set of particular circumstances and preferences, I understand that.
Personally, what matters to me is to avoid distortion in the display. In that respect, the images should have the same aspect ratio when displayed as when they were made. The fact that it is 4:3 or 16:9 is secondary.

Well the fact that'd you'd be willing to lead a project is good enough news. If I were try and advertise on social medias, what kind of qualifications and commitment levels would you want me to list?
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That's good to hear :)
In my opinion, drive and commitment are more important than sheer skills, for such a long project. I would greatly value someone willing to put an average of 5h/week or more into the project, and be able to maintain that sort of commitment for 2+ years (I was probably around 15hr/week during the past 2 years, myself). The ability to self-impose deadlines and strive to meet them is important for this kind of volunteer work. Participants will have to keep in mind that the objective is to make scenes which have to work in the game, which sets a number of practical constraints, and often involves testing and troubleshooting.
There can be work for pretty much all skill levels. Newbies would be encouraged to use Blender 3d, since it would help from a resource management point of view and from a mentoring perspective. They could be set to work on scenes matching their skill level, before moving on to more complex scenes as their ability improves through practice.
Even though the use of Blender 3d is preferred (asset management), more advanced modelling artists can actually use whatever software they're the most proficient at. Work could also be tailored to a skilled artist who can only work for a shorter stint and complete 1-2 scenes, although longer commitment is preferred.
We could also use the help of someone skilled in Photoshop/Gimp or the like, in order to help designing and creating textures, without the need for this person to have any ability in 3d modelling.
That's all I can think of for now.
 
Ok, that's a set of particular circumstances and preferences, I understand that.
Personally, what matters to me is to avoid distortion in the display. In that respect, the images should have the same aspect ratio when displayed as when they were made. The fact that it is 4:3 or 16:9 is secondary.
 
That's good to hear :)
In my opinion, drive and commitment are more important than sheer skills, for such a long project. I would greatly value someone willing to put an average of 5h/week or more into the project, and be able to maintain that sort of commitment for 2+ years (I was probably around 15hr/week during the past 2 years, myself). The ability to self-impose deadlines and strive to meet them is important for this kind of volunteer work. Participants will have to keep in mind that the objective is to make scenes which have to work in the game, which sets a number of practical constraints, and often involves testing and troubleshooting.
There can be work for pretty much all skill levels. Newbies would be encouraged to use Blender 3d, since it would help from a resource management point of view and from a mentoring perspective. They could be set to work on scenes matching their skill level, before moving on to more complex scenes as their ability improves through practice.
Even though the use of Blender 3d is preferred (asset management), more advanced modelling artists can actually use whatever software they're the most proficient at. Work could also be tailored to a skilled artist who can only work for a shorter stint and complete 1-2 scenes, although longer commitment is preferred.
We could also use the help of someone skilled in Photoshop/Gimp or the like, in order to help designing and creating textures, without the need for this person to have any ability in 3d modelling.
That's all I can think of for now.
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You forget that programmers are also needed. The current way to get the walkmeshs and import the final rendered picture into the game is a bit pedestrian. This should be done faster. An expert for opengl2.0 shaders would probably also a huge help.
 
You forget that programmers are also needed. The current way to get the walkmeshs and import the final rendered picture into the game is a bit pedestrian. This should be done faster. An expert for opengl2.0 shaders would probably also a huge help.
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While the problem of importing layers is there, I have found some workarounds. An improved workflow is for the artist to account for the positioning of the layers at the designing stage of the scene. Things can be done a lot more efficiently than what I've done, but sometimes you can only learn by stumbling and fumbling it seems :P
All this to say: while such a programmer would eventually help our work, as you suggest, this is not at all a critical issue/roadblock.
 
Update!
Version 0.02 includes 1 new scene: mds6_1. This scene had been made by Ulpian ages ago, but it was left at the state of 1 final render without layers (and Ulpian hasn't shown any sign of activity since... January 2013 :S ). Numerous retouches were necessary on the original image so that the layers would look right, and I thank Shampignon from the ff7.fr community for having helped out a great deal in this process.
I hope you'll enjoy!
 
Really glad you got mds6_1 working in the state it was in. Amazing work as always Mayo Master
 
Not enough pics in this thread
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I originally did not want to overload this thread with pictures, which is why I've chosen to give a link to the gallery on the first post. If you feel, however, that it would be useful to have a couple of pictures in the first post to showcase the project (such as "Old vs New" pictures in the style of Omzy's thread), then I'll cook something up.
 
Update:

Version 0.03, 2 scenes (itmin1 and itmin2) corresponding to houses in Mideel have been added to the release pack. Fields by anaho.
 
Those field screens look great, lots of little details coming through; I didn't know there was a minigun lying around in mds5_w.
 
No, these cannot be made in an LGP format. They can only work as PNG with Aali's Custom Driver.
 
these look amazing, and when can we expect a release on 7th heaven, even if its just 20 or so scenes I would like to see them during my next playthrough.
 
Super !!
I earnestly wait for this "complete field pack" for my PC FF7.

Just great !
 
Amazing.  The essence of modding potential.  Really, really thorough work.  Bravo!
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Hey Mcindus can you make a tutorial video for this threat? i cant understand how to install them.thanks :)
 
Go to your final fantasy VII directory, chose mods the (Mine is bootleg, yours may be reunion) or whichever you choose. Then into field and copy and paste them into the corresponding folders
 
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