How to make the enviroment effect

How to make the environment effect

Open the environment model

Make sure each object with the circuit board pattern has their G-buffer set to 1. To do this right click on each object and select object properties. On object properties change the G-buffer to 1.     

Go onto the rendering tab and select video post. On video post select add image filter event and select lens effect glow. Now it should appear under queue.   

Now double click onto lens effect glow and select setup. On properties select object ID and set it to 1 this is in relation to the G-buffer also being 1 so it knows what object to brighten. Go onto preference and set the intensity to 100, then set the size to 2.  

After this click on update to see the glow effect, you will notice the beam no longer glows.

In order to fix the beam glow. All you have to do is change the G-buffer to another number for example 2, and also set the object ID in the material editor to the same number as the G-buffer. When you have done this go back onto video post and update the scene, the end product should look like this.

lighting and placing camera on your enviroment

Lighting and placing cameras on your environment

Lighting

This picture is only a low detail model to show you how to light and place cameras in your model. First I am going to tell you about lights. We use lights so the person playing on the level can see what they are doing; also lights are used to create shadow effects.   

This is an example of target lighting. To achieve this you click onto the photometric option and place a target light and direct it where you want the light to go. This can be used to represent the sun by making it shine through a window for example. However, this is not necessary for this environment as there are no windows.     

Target spot light will cast light around a certain area like a spot light. In order to do this you click onto standard light and select target spot. After this, place it onto the environment then raise it above and expand the light until it covers the parts of the model that you require to be lit.   

The amount of target spot lights I have placed on the model are far too many and are also too bright, this is a waste of memory because only one is required.   

Create one target spot and place it above the model so it covers the whole model. Note, this won’t stop the light being too bright. 

To fix the light problem, select the target light and click onto modify. On modify you can effect the hot spot so the light focuses more on one area. We will not need to do this for this type of model.

For this model turn down the multiplier so the brightness dims. Continue rendering the model as you do this until it looks like the image below. 

This is the end of lighting section.

Cameras

Open your environment

 

By clicking the camera tab you can place a target camera in the same way as target lights, you can use many of these to make cuts in the animation. However it is not required for what I am going to do.

I am going to make the camera follow a certain path by creating a line. Click on the create tab and select shapes. On shapes select line. Note, make sure that the initial type and the drag type are both on smooth so the camera movement is smooth. Move the line around objects in the environment by left clicking, when you have finished right click to escape it. A hint for placing the line around your environment is to do it on top view.      

 Select the line you have made and press F12. A menu will come up, on the X axis in outer world, set it to 1.7

Create a camera, and click on free.  

After clicking on animation and select constrains and select path constrains. This will make the camera follow the line.

Click on viewpoint and select the camera as your view point. By doing this you will see your environment through the camera path you have created.

How to make the 3D enviroment

How to make the Robot environment

This is how I created my 3D environment; the class was divided into two groups where we decided on a game idea. The group I was in chose to do a Third Person game set in the future, with 3 different armies. The aliens were tribal, the humans were futuristic and Robots who were SC-FI. We had to research different issues for each faction, for example, tanks for the robots; also we were placed into smaller groups to do a certain task. I was put into the robots group. I drew my environment in many different views before I started making it.

The following examples explain how I made the environment; first open “Photoshop” and load an image of a circuit board. Use the black and white function, to change the colour. Save the image into a file. The reason you need to make it black and white is because it will copy the pattern in “3D studio max”. .

Now open “3D studio max” and create a plane approximately twice the size of the grid.

Go on to the materials editor and insert the photo and play around with the strength and geometry until it looks like a circuit board. After this go onto mesh smooth and modify it to smooth out the pointed areas. The reason I chose the circuit board design, is because, I think, the base would look like it has power flowing through it; also I based it on the “Tron” franchise.   

Now create a cylinder and edit the poly so it looks like this;

Clone the cylinder 3 times and place them onto the corners, these will make the shield generators; I based the ideas for these on a pencil sharpener. 

Create a cone and place it into the middle of the plane. This will make the base on the power generator.

Place a cylinder on the cone to make the midsection of the power generator.

Create a triangular prism shape. To do this you use the cylinder tool and reduce the sides to 3. 

Clone the new shape 3 times and place these on top of the cylinder in the positions north, south, east and west. These make the top of the power generator.

  

This design was based on the power generators in “Halo Combat Evolved”.

Create a rectangle and place it in front of the generator, this is where the warehouse is going to be positioned. Then, using the cylinder tool, create a triangular prism.

 

Place it on top to create the roof of the warehouse.

The warehouse design was based on an actual warehouse shape for example “B&Q”.

Create a cone and place it in front of the warehouse, this will be the base of the solar panel. 

Using the sphere tool create a sphere and position it on top of the new base. This will then become the top of the solar panel.

 

Using the rectangle tool make a rectangle. Edit the poly and bevel the segments so it resembles a chocolate bar. 

Clone this and place both on each side of the sphere. These will make the solar panels.  

Create a box with many segments. This will be the top of the war shop. 

Chamfer the front two corners as in the image below. Then bevel the top square as shown.

Create a square and rotate it into a flat diamond shape. Then clone this 3 times.

Place these clones onto the front corners as the image shows.

Create 4 cylinders and attach to the ends of the squares.

Repeat this on both sides.

These are to give the impression that they are moveable, for example like an old clock work mechanism.

 Create a rectangle and rotate it diagonally. Then place it on the squares as shown below;   

Clone the rectangle 3 times and place these on the other squares. This is to create robotic like arms. 

Using the cone tool, make two cones and position them as shown below. These are the motor wheels.

Create a rectangle and place it below the claw

Using the connect tool create two segments on the new rectangle from one side to another. Then remove the middle so it looks as shown below. 

Place two cones on the end of it to make more motor wheels.

Now make a rectangle and attach it on the end of the motor wheel. Then create a bigger rectangle and place it on the new one. 

Clone the new building and place them behind the power generation as shown.

Create a flat box; this will be the air port.

Now go on to editable poly and select both sides using the line tool. Create two segments.

Select the two new lines and connect them. Position the new line towards the end on the rectangle. Using the select polygon tool extrude it upwards. 

Using the line tool pull down the line to make a slant as shown below.

Extrude the two sides. Also create a cylinder and place a sphere on top of it.  Position the new shape as shown. These are guide lights.

Clone the guide light multiple times and place them as shown below.  

Make a new box and place it on the beginning of the runway.

Create a sphere.

Edit the poly and delete half of it.

Create a cylinder and pull out the top of it and position it in the middle of the half sphere, this will make the satellite.  

Create a cylinder and then attach a box on the bottom of it. Then attach it to the dish as shown below.

This is the first space ship I made. However I had to delete it because it used too many polygons.

Here is the airport.

Now create a box and edit the poly to change it into a trapezium. 

Create 9 cylinders.

Boolean the cylinders into the trapezium, these will make a hole into the shape and make it look like a missile launcher. Now create a cone and attach a cylinder onto it. After this, place two cylinders and position them on both sides of the cylinder. Create yet another cylinder and attach this on top of the previous ones, this creates the base of the missile launcher. Attach the base of the head of the missile launcher. The end result should look like the image below.     

Using the cone tool create a cone. This will be the base of the gun turret. Create a cylinder with only 3 sides and clone it. Place the two new shapes at both side of the base.  

Create a cylinder and place it in between the triangle. 

Make a new cylinder and place it behind the other cylinder. Create one more cylinder and place it in front. Edit the poly so you get a bump on the end. The end result should look like this.  

Place the missile launchers and the gun turrets around the base as shown.

Create an isosceles triangle, clone it and then place them on the power generator as shown below.

Scale the shield generators as shown below.

In photo shop, change the circuit board so it is black and blue, save it. Then open material editor on 3D max and drag it onto the buildings.

Texture the rest of the environment as shown below.

Create 4 planes and position them as shown. These will make the walls.

Make a cylinder and edit the poly. Place the new cylinder in between the power generator. The end result should look like this. 

Create a triangle and mesh smooth it, so it looks like the one below.  

Clone the new shape and remove half of it. Position it as shown.

Attach together. Convert the object into an editable poly and pull the back part in order to make the wings. Make a sphere.

Stretch out the sphere so it fits between the wing and the nose. Attach it all together.

Texture the ship with the circuit pattern. To do the spaceship screen you have to open material editor.

On material editor, set the diffuse to black and select 2 sided. Then set the specular level to 275, set the glossiness to 45 and soften must be on 0.1. Then go onto map and set the opacity to 100 and click on the tab next to it. Select falloff. On the falloff menu go to falloff type and click on Fresnel, when you render the model it will look like glass.

     To make the walls use the same technique you used for the spaceship screen, however set the diffuse to blue and the self illumination to 100. In order to create the light in the centre of the environment, select the cylinder you meshed smooth earlier.  

Set the diffuse to light blue, after set the glossiness and the specular level to 0. Set the self-illumination to 100. Now press 8.

  By pressing 8 you will open environment and effects. Click on the effects tab and add lens effects, go onto lens effects parameters and select glow. Scroll down to glow element, set the size to 0.1 and the intensity to 161.0. Set the radial colour on the left side to light blue. Now go onto options and select object ID and set it to 1. The final part is to right click on the object and go onto object properties and set the G-buffer object ID to 1.  

The finished product should look like this: