Development Forum |
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Who wants to make a metaroom? 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | |
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sam999
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12/11/2011 | |
In C3DS I have noticed one thing we lack. We have endless hordes of basic norn care metarooms, conversions of existing worlds or parts of worlds from other creatures games, aquatic rooms by the dozen and grendelish swamps galore. But we have only two arctic metarooms.
The North Pole from Cyberlife and Ostrova by Chaos Development. Both of these are difficult to use, the Pole as it doesn't work in DS standalone and Ostrova as it requires money and has rainbow spew according to the Cwiki.
What I'm trying to do here is simple. Get people interested in dcussing and maybe making a wintery metaroom. Not Christmas-themed, we already have plenty of such rooms but just generally arctic.
Anyone interested? |
Ettina
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12/11/2011 | |
I'd be interested, but all I can do is gengineering and maybe some art. And ideas, but ideas are cheap.
By the way, I don't care if anyone steals my ideas for their own work, as long as you don't try to stop me from making my own stuff. Many ideas I mention are things I don't have the time or skill to actually do. |
Chaotic Spriter
mea
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12/11/2011 | |
Weird.... Last month I had started working on the background for an ice cave room.... Did you read my mind?
I had to pause with working on it, because of having to pack up & move this month. At the end of this month I should be able to get back to work on it. I'm interested in helping if you don't mind that I won't be able to help until the end of this month. |
Snails
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12/12/2011 | |
Im getting a tablet soon so i could help with the sprites
I'm GarbageSnail on SecondLife and Scum (GROSS)#4691 on Discord! |
sam999
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12/12/2011 | |
Ettina
wrote: I'd be interested, but all I can do is gengineering and maybe some art. And ideas, but ideas are cheap.
Art is good, and at the moment we need ideas. Either would be great.
mea wrote: Weird.... Last month I had started working on the background for an ice cave room.... Did you read my mind?
O.K. now that's just disturbing. I'd drawn some artwork of the metaroom before I even posted this topic... ...and it had an ice cave? What?
mea wrote: I had to pause with working on it, because of having to pack up & move this month. At the end of this month I should be able to get back to work on it. I'm interested in helping if you don't mind that I won't be able to help until the end of this month.
Yay! All help is welcome no matter how long it takes.
mudpup101 wrote: Im getting a tablet soon so i could help with the sprites
Thanks in advance if you do and good luck learning how to use the tablet.
P.S. The artwork is now on the site under fanart. |
silvak
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12/12/2011 | |
I was making an arctic metaroom, but stopped because I couldn't seem to make good enough ice for the ice caves. It also was to feature a sizeable ocean, but that posed problems too. It wasn't much but you could use it if you like or we could merge projects. Not much but the outline was finished. If I had art to work with I could piece it all together. Just a thought.
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Patient Pirate
ylukyun
Manager
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12/13/2011 | |
I have to make my own metaroom sometime (I'm planning a Christmas in July beach theme) but I may be able to help with ideas, if I haven't used all mine up by the end of this advent thing. |
sam999
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12/13/2011 | |
silvak wrote: I was making an arctic metaroom, but stopped because I couldn't seem to make good enough ice for the ice caves.
I can't think of any reason why this photoshop tutorial couldn't be used for shaping the walls of a metaroom. It looks pretty easy to try.
silvak wrote: It wasn't much but you could use it if you like or we could merge projects.
Easy. Remember the concept art of this metaroom in the images gallery? Why not just extend the lift shaft down to let it into the roof of your room's ice caves? And I'd love to see if we can try to connect our projects.
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silvak
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12/14/2011 | |
Thank you for that link sam! I'll have to schedule some time and see if I can modify that process......very promising.
They could be on top of each other.....or maybe back to back (the right side of mine with the left side of yours). As your dome faces right and my dome faces left. I'll spend some time tomorrow and see if I can create a concept with the two ideas.
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silvak
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12/14/2011 | |
Here's a concept I whipped up before bed last night......
Chione Improved Concept
Mine on the left, yours on the right and I added in the stuff in the middle.
The top left is a snow/glacial plain. Top middle is the Shee statue from C2......the Crazy Shee occasionally likes to place himself in a place to be worshiped, but that could be traded out for something else or even removed entirely. The top right is your snow covered pine forest. If the statue is removed the forest could expand left.
The middle left is a ice lift (modified sea lift), which penetrates the ice covered oceans bottom left. The open/frozen continues right in an ice cave middle middle is a nest, filled with straw, twigs and other soft stuff. It does NOT function like the "heat pad" in the meso, but is a similar shape and also has the "Norn Home" smell. (In a barren environment it would not be good to have a flood of babies.) The cave in the nest would be stone, possibly ice, depending on how it looks. Middle right is more ice cave.
Bottom left is the ocean. A little bit taller than it needs to be to allow for swimming creatures. Possible flora and fauna include a kelp forest, sea urchins, lobster/crab, anchovi, ect.
Bottom middle is a series of green houses with a closing door. With a generally sparse ecosystem, food would be a constant requirement. The hand might need to supliment to keep the occupants alive. Bottom right is the cozy and likely warmest part of the whole room. With the wood stove going for temperature control, but also possibly some storage facilities. Maybe some built in freezers similar to other agents available to allow for the storage of excess food and even excess eggs. A label system would be a big plus too if possible, so you know what/who is in each compartment.
So what do you think? What do you like? What don't you like? Or what do you think could be changed/upgraded?
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sam999
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12/14/2011 | |
Love it!
My only ideas would be to make the shee statue "arctic" with thick furs modeled in stone rather then thin sheeish robes as suits the climate, add some pine trees to the left snow/glacial plain, stick in a few "arcticified" versions of normal critters "wooly grazers, snowtrocks" and give the equipment a sort of clockwork/steampunk look... ...think kind of "polar express."
In general I think you came up with a perfect look for the metaroom. I'd have to say this idea has really progressed. |
Malkin
Manager
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12/14/2011 | |
I like there being a wooded section and a tundra-style environment - it's like two-in-one.
Not so keen on the idea of an ocean - I'd prefer an all-land terrarium.
My TCR Norns |
sam999
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12/14/2011 | |
What would you do instead? End the "iceberg" area to the ground and add a new tundra along the seabed? Or would an expanded pine forest with platforms in the trees look better?
Personally I prefer the mini-sea however but that's just me. |
silvak
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12/14/2011 | |
Oh, I forgot to mention that "Chione" was the working title of my room, if you think a better name might suit it then it can be changed. I just prefer having a working title to label everything.
If the ocean is removed, then you could add almost anything in it's place. The forest could be moved there, and have a highland plain of sort along the top level. Or that's where the ice caves could be instead. Or move the cozy section over with another ice cave level above it.
Not having the ocean might mean less/easier gaphics work
As for the statue, I don't know if I could modify it to have furs, but if someone else could then I could add it in. If no one could do that, I could have it set "outside" instead of in a cave and cover it in ice and snow?
ANYONE who could contribute graphics of any kind would receive my deepest thanks and eternal debt!
(Sorry Laura! I knew it would be big, I just didn't realize how big. My screen is pretty wide.)
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Malkin
Manager
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12/14/2011 | |
It's just that we've already got an icy ocean in Devil's Reef - I'd prefer to have space for terrestrial creatures instead.
The Shee statue could be given a greyish cast - as it wouldn't be lit by its burners any more, but be abandoned in the outside world....
My TCR Norns |
silvak
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12/14/2011 | |
My original design is a few years old, so the intended niche isn't the same with some of the newer developments. You're comment was a good one Malkin, as I'm not as in-touch with the community as I really should be. If the ocean was removed, what would you replace it with?
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Malkin
Manager
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12/14/2011 | |
Maybe move the iceberg down where the ocean is now, and have a gentle gradient up to the forests, including the Shee statue there - the environment would be pretty snowdrifts.
My TCR Norns |
silvak
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12/14/2011 | |
I think I understand what your saying......or it simply got my imagination in gear. If the whole top level was moved down....so it matched the height of the far right tree level.....with a sloping plain on the left.....it would make it seem much more......airy?
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Malkin
Manager
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12/14/2011 | |
essentially I'm proposing to replace two levels with one long one that transitions from an icy pond, to snowdrifts (with purple snow-capped mountains in the background...) to forest. Think of the shape of the norn terrarium, something like that - long rather than high.
My TCR Norns |
silvak
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12/14/2011 | |
So it would be two levels total. A bottom ice cave with cozy spot, as I think Sam was very fond of both of those ideas. And then a single long top level which transitions from pine forest to snowy plain, with a snow covered shee statue nestled in amongst the trees. Long is always better than high with creatures. Did I get that right?
I could see snowy owls and snowshoe rabbits. Maybe some snowberry bushes. Snow geese might be a bit big but a small game bird of some kind. Arctic fox maybe. I'm trying to make it not so predator heavy, but they are all the cool ones. Caribou style grazer?
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Malkin
Manager
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12/14/2011 | |
I like having a 'norn home' nest - I was sort of imagining it being carved into the 'hill'. The long top level would transition from pine forest, to snowy plain, to a frozen-solid pond. (Wouldn't it be cool if norns could slip around on it? XD)
If that's not practical, scrap it - these are just ideas.
Long is generally easier on Creatures than levels are.
The levels should be CA linked to help norns come in from the cold.
My TCR Norns |
silvak
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12/15/2011 | |
I'm glad you explained the iced pond, as I didn't know how that would play into things. It makes more sense when you put it that way.
I always like some sort of nest or "home" area in my rooms. I'm just having difficulty imagining it being carved into the hill......it sounds promising.
I with you on the CA linked levels! For sure!!
So far everything you've suggested seems possible......even practical, so not to worry it's still in the concept stage.
What do you think Sam?
Anyone else have a comment?
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Malkin
Manager
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12/15/2011 | |
More like a hobbit-hole than anything else, really: I've put up a concept of my own.
I mean, maybe the forests and the snowdrifts should be swapped so that the forests are down low and the snowdrifts are up high...
My TCR Norns |
silvak
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12/15/2011 | |
These are 3 concepts I made last night.....
Chione Improved 0.1
My first attempt at the landscape styled room suggested. This version lacks the shee statue and nest as I was focusing on the landscape. It was also probably too short in length.
Chione Improved 0.2
My second attempt last night also was too short, but I tried a "double dome" look. Also the "iced pond" was removed (if it's designed to never get warm then why have a pond just to be frozen solid?) so instead I made it the roof of the green house. It could function just like the pond from the outside and still let in light for the green house. Only one lift. And I built the nest into the slope, top right.....like a hollow that a bear might use. Ice cave and tunnel, lower right.
Chione Improved 0.3
Probably my best concept for size. I kept the green house/iced pond combo, moved the freezers down and out of the way. 2 lifts. A real snow plain, unlike the other two. I kept the nest on the slope and added a slightly hidden snow covered Shee statue. The right hand lift could serve 3 levels if the bottom level is moved down a bit. If we have snow falling, we could have a "cloud" where the hand could store toys and gadgets for later. As it's a pretty big open space above the dome.
That was all done last night so I haven't even had time to implement anything in your concept Malkin, or anything I've thought up BECAUSE of your concept...............And where is Sam? It's usually very difficult to do anything without stumbling across a post. Always in the action when it comes to development.
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sam999
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12/15/2011 | |
Sorry about the lack of posts I had a big test in history to study for.
silvak wrote: Oh, I forgot to mention that "Chione" was the working title of my room, if you think a better name might suit it then it can be changed. I just prefer having a working title to label everything.
Chione seems like as good a name as any. Is it meant to refer to Chione, the naiad who was turned to a snow cloud in greek mythology by any chance?
silvak wrote: I could see snowy owls and snowshoe rabbits. Maybe some snowberry bushes. Snow geese might be a bit big but a small game bird of some kind. Arctic fox maybe. I'm trying to make it not so predator heavy, but they are all the cool ones. Caribou style grazer?
How about:
Plants
Some kind of seed-giving plant, maybe pinecones from the trees?, the snowberry bushes you mentioned, and if we do go with the mini-sea kelp which is basically aquatic DS bamboo with a new spriteset.
Animals
Snowshoe rabbits or maybe a doozer with silvery-white thick fur, a thick-furred grazer with horns and some one-of-a-kind owl that nests in the pine trees like the C3 Gosh-hawk hunting the snowshoe doozers and caribou grazers. Maybe some sort of small bird like the C3 norn terrarium's birds, a chickadee perhaps?
Malkin wrote: I like having a 'norn home' nest - I was sort of imagining it being carved into the 'hill'. The long top level would transition from pine forest, to snowy plain, to a frozen-solid pond. (Wouldn't it be cool if norns could slip around on it? XD)
Agreed! I really love the idea of norns slipping around on the pond!
silvak wrote:
Probably my best concept for size. I kept the green house/iced pond combo, moved the freezers down and out of the way. 2 lifts. A real snow plain, unlike the other two. I kept the nest on the slope and added a slightly hidden snow covered Shee statue. The right hand lift could serve 3 levels if the bottom level is moved down a bit. If we have snow falling, we could have a "cloud" where the hand could store toys and gadgets for later. As it's a pretty big open space above the dome.
I'd have to say of all the previews I'd say this looks best. I like the hills in the distance, they give it kind of a "KT" look.
Only gripes:
The "cloud of storage." It sounds cartoony and we already have the inventory.
If we have it snowing? It's an arctic metaroom, snow is pretty much just part of that as well as having millions of online free images of snowflakes to loot for sprites.
P.S. Sorry if I missed your post in responding to. I really didn't expect this much interest in my topic.
P.P.S. Do you guys think I should change the title to "Chione Metaroom Development" and/or add Chione to the Cwiki's "in development" page? |
Malkin
Manager
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12/15/2011 | |
Exams are important, Sam.
I'd like the levels of the norn caves to have a more straight/hewn floor than shown in the third concept, so that it's easier for norns/agents not to get stuck anywhere.
The pine cones themselves could be toys, and they could be played with, and they could also on rare occasions release pine nuts.
My TCR Norns |
sam999
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12/15/2011 | |
Malkin wrote: Exams are important, Sam.
I'm aware of that. It's the reason for the lack of posts.
Malkin wrote: I'd like the levels of the norn caves to have a more straight/hewn floor than shown in the third concept, so that it's easier for norns/agents not to get stuck anywhere.
Maybe we could go with an artificial look like the hall under the norn terrarium? Wood-and-bronze plates as the walls and floor of the corridor in a sort of steampunk style?
Also, one thing I was wondering, what sort of toys would Chione come with?
EDIT: The pinecones are a great idea, thanks Malkin. Maybe they could be kind of like the semi-bouncy shells in Past Seas? |
silvak
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12/15/2011 | |
Yes, I got the name Chione from greek mytholody.
It's ok that you weren't posting due to coming exams. I just thought it was unusual, you're generally very active.
The "cloud" comment that was only to play off computer clouds and to provide something to occupy the very large open space above the plain. Nothing is set in stone, so if you have suggestions or grieps lay'em on me and I'll come up with something else. No hard feelings, it's a part of the creative process.
Flat or rough floors is always a trade off. It it's too flat it looks unnatural, but agents/creatures have a hard time with slopes and bumps.
So do you want to do away with ice caves in place of an artificial hallway? Or add a small middle level of ice cave and a bottom artificial level?
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sam999
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12/15/2011 | |
silvak wrote: Flat or rough floors is always a trade off. It it's too flat it looks unnatural, but agents/creatures have a hard time with slopes and bumps.
Couldn't you have a flat floor, then on a foreground layer above it and above the norns have ice and snow so it looks like the norn is walking in deep snow? Even if we don't use it for the the lower ice caves the upper tundra could use it.
silvak wrote: So do you want to do away with ice caves in place of an artificial hallway?
Or add a small middle level of ice cave and a bottom artificial level?
I'd have to say this option is best but I still think a steampunk art style would look good for this. Probably also for the lifts and lift buttons.
Also, have we thought of how norns are going to get from this room to the regular game world? Door or transporter and where would we put either? |
silvak
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12/15/2011 | |
The machinery and buttons would look good steam-punk-ish. Sort of Norse/Scandinavian meets Techno/Shee-ish.
The door would be pretty easy to put anywhere, but especially with artificial hallways. I picture an worn/rusty version of the C3 or DS doors, or even a steampunk version. Where it connects to is a bit of a mystery for me at the moment. We could use a door in the Universal Hub for the time being. (I've been working on a better design for the UH to make it more creature friendly.
I know you Sam, so have you been thinking up a story for this room yet? How it came into being could be anything you like, but I would like to write a chapter about how the Crazy Shee finds it if you are alright with that.
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sam999
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12/15/2011 | |
silvak wrote: The machinery and buttons would look good steam-punk-ish. Sort of Norse/Scandinavian meets Techno/Shee-ish.
Yes, that's exactly what I was thinking. Awesome.
silvak wrote: The door would be pretty easy to put anywhere, but especially with artificial hallways. I picture an worn/rusty version of the C3 or DS doors, or even a steampunk version. Where it connects to is a bit of a mystery for me at the moment. We could use a door in the Universal Hub for the time being. (I've been working on a better design for the UH to make it more creature friendly.
Do you think we could go with simply a door to the norn meso as it means we can run Chione without needing the Universal Hub ingame.
silvak wrote: I know you Sam, so have you been thinking up a story for this room yet? How it came into being could be anything you like, but I would like to write a chapter about how the Crazy Shee finds it if you are alright with that.
Yes, I've been working on a story. As for having the Crazy Shee find it, you are the one apparently doing much of the work here so I can't see why you need my permission? |
silvak
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12/15/2011 | |
sam999
wrote: Do you think we could go with simply a door to the norn meso as it means we can run Chione without needing the Universal Hub ingame.
Which is why I was reluctant to suggest it. Where in the meso? There's not a lot of space.
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Liam
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12/15/2011 | |
There's a very simple solution to that problem. Make a small, portable transporter that injects into the meso somewhere obvious. It needs to be obvious (colourful or otherwise significant) and it needs to be clear what it does.
Most people won't have the Hub installed, and most rooms already have doors to the Meso -- it gets very crowded with multiple rooms installed.
- Liam / K'aeloree
Spellhold Studios, a Baldur's Gate II, Neverwinter Nights and Oblivion Modding Community |
silvak
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12/15/2011 | |
Now I feel silly. You are completely right Liam!
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sam999
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12/16/2011 | |
I'd have to say that I agree with Liam. As for looking obvious if it has the same clockwork look as the rest of Chione's equipment "think the Warp portals steampunk style" then that's clearly recognizable.
EDIT: where in Chione would the other end of the Meso/Chione transporter be located? Or would it be portable as well? |
silvak
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12/16/2011 | |
It might as well be portable too. If both ends are portable it would mean one less thing to worry about on the background.
I have a question, where is the room going to be located? Is it a spaceship? On an asteroid? On a planet? It would help determine what textures I would be using.
Also does Mea, Mudpup, and Ettina still want to help? What were some ideas and designs that you all had? The layout is still very flexible as I might have to start from scratch anyways. Maybe we could also have a couple of genetic breeds to go with the room? I know that I'll need a ton of help with the lifts, and flora/fauna......and the pine trees!
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