Plugging away at the basics : appreciating people
by Alan "Flapman" Morgan on Jan.20, 2010, under Planet Development
One thing that I have always noticed about any project or business is that you can take away product, you can take away the money, you can take away all the glitz and glamour but, when it comes down to the true value of what you are doing or working on, it is all about the people.
I am reminded about this countless times, not only from the great people I work with in my real job at Quadrant but by the interactions I have with people on this project team. It’s about people and relationships. I am not the best at managing them. That is evident when I throw my family, all my friends, the parents of my kids’ friends, the band parents at my son’s high school, my daughter’s soccer team and the members of the life group I meet with every week. 
The things is that no matter what, people are what matter.
This project has added a new dimension to relationships. It is now more exciting not just because of good ideas, concept and storyline, nor because some day we might be a partner planet for Entropia Universe (which I do love to play when I actually have time to do so) but it is because I have had the benefit of meeting some really neat people from around the world.
In addition to the great people on the project team I have also met people beyond the scope of this project. I have met owners and team members of other projects. I have met people from other virtual world companies and people from virtual worlds and games like Entropia. A cynic might think you can’t forge friendships that way but I am sorry, you can. You can build some pretty good relationships through the common interest of the virtual world or MMO games.
Games like Entropia, Second Life, World of Warcraft, Star Wars Galaxies, and many others, have blurred the boundries between countries and cultures and brought people together on a even playing field (pardon the pun). In times like today where anytime you turn on the tube, there is one tragedy or another one bad news or another, it is good to have small distraction like a virtual world or game or even miracle of Facebook (another subject altogether). One might think that you will never know who the RL person is behind that avatar in your game, but the truth be known, people do. They are building friendships not with imaginary characters but the real people behind them.
Not only has this project been the ultimate example of that but I think of all the great people I have met that I would not have met, had it not been for MMO Games and Virtual Worlds.
So, when I talk about plugging away at the basics, I remind myself that the “basics” are really the valuable relationships you forge. No one endeavor can ever succeed without good quality people and the relationships that you surround yourself with. I really don’t think anything on this world is meant to be done all by yourself. Well, I guess you could but, why would you want to? That’s no fun. This is especially true, when you realize that the hidden gems that make life worth living are those that come from the lives you touch and those that touch you back.
This is why I am proud that Postmoderna is a project based on people. We have so much to learn from each other and so much to give back as a result.
New Logo for Virtual World Project, Planet Postmoderna
by Alan "Flapman" Morgan on Jan.19, 2010, under News
That’s right! Thanks to one of our talented artists, Jitse Akse (Holland) and
Both of these artists are veterans of the MMO Game and virtual world, Entropia Universe. Jitse is one of the project’s newest volunteer members and
We also made a fan icon available for purchase on Entropia Planets by fans of the project and members of the Entropia Game Forum site. No real money is involved here! Just EPDs (Entropia Planet Dollars) that you earn by participating in community discussions.
Again, thanks to the team and the fans for this exciting new image. It represents the virtual world indie project, Planet Postmoderna, very well.
**Note: The
Another Successful Model Conversion : The Comm Tower
by Alan "Flapman" Morgan on Jan.08, 2010, under Dev Journal, Planet Development
I have to say that it took me a horrible 2.5 hours to get this one right. I was hoping to reproduce the process I used with the Fort Ash Domes with the Comm Tower. I actually created the collision volumes and rebaked the textures with no trouble. It was after that and trying to figure out the proper axis alignment for the model so in Multiverse, the model would point up. It took me several tries to finally figure out that I could have just looked at the axis arrangement of the Dome model. Duh!
Blender has a totally different configuration than 3dsMax (used as the tool of choice in most of the Multiverse documentation), etc. I had to make sure that the model was positioned with the Y axis up and the X to the right. This way up was really up in Multiverse.
After that it was a matter of tweaking the textures in Photoshop, producing the Normal map in XNormal from the height-map image I created, and then using the Multiverse Conversion tool to transform the model into what Multiverse uses. After that? I had to move the files onto my server and rebuild the assets file manifest. This creates the patch file that tells you World Browser what is updated and what to download. I am sure I have left out some steps I am forgetting but it still took me two and a half hours.
I am sure professionals in the industry would laugh at the length of time for my one-object workflow but hey, I’m learning! I figure by the time I have all the main Base Camp objects moved into Multiverse, I’ll be a real “professional amateur.” All kidding aside though, I am learning a lot. I am rather proud of what I have learned so far and without any formal 3D Modeling Training. Of course all also got a lot of input and help over the last year from team members.
Comm Tower in the Distance
As you can see the Comm Tower is positioned behind the Domes. It is one of the many structures that the Heavy Lifters were able to bring to the surface before the space-tear collapsed in on one of them and destroyed it and any chance of bringing anymore intact structures to the planet.
The Comm Tower Up Close
You can see the effect of the texturing of the metal which is really a semi-glossed formed material, pocked with nicks and dents. The visual effects created from the textures not only helps portray the material it is constructed of but it also reminds us of the torture the tower endured from being put up.
Successful Physics Multiverse Test from a Blender Model
by Alan "Flapman" Morgan on Jan.02, 2010, under Dev Journal, Planet Development
I have to say I wanted to jump for joy. I followed the instructions given to me by demi over at the Multiverse forums. It took me awhile to digest his instructions but I finally got it. Not his fault. It was all me.
I was working on some modeling in Blender yesterday and figured out some issues. I will pass these on to you so maybe it help you get the collision you want.
You need to make a cube for each block of collision. The cube can be nothing more than a 1×1x1 which can be hidden inside a wall. Heck the cube can be placed anywhere on the model. I called these cubes dummy_0, dummy_1 and so on. Then make a rectangle around the area you want to have collision (I make them just sit on the outer surface and inner surface of a wall). Name them mvcv_obb_dummy_
Second thing I noticed is that sometimes the exported physics file leaves the name mvcv_obb_ in the name and does not remove it so a Dummy_1-geometry.0 would be named mvcv_obb_dummy_1-geometry.0. Just open the physics file in wordpad and remove the mvcv_obb_ in front of the name.
Hope this helps you.
D
This was a small victory for me and for this project because now I can properly convey how this process works to anyone else on the project that might create or be working with model using Blender.
Here’s an overview of what I did.
I took the dome model and created individual boxes or rectangles and placed them in the location of each segment of wall in the dome. You can see the collision volumes in red.
Collision Volumes
Each individual object was named mvcv_obb_
Collision Volume Naming
Now after that I had to embed a small dummy object for each collision volume within the area inside or near that volume. This one was called Tube_01_08. It was just a tiny box (See below). The purpose is to give the collision volume a fixed object to reference back to. I tried originally to create the volumes and reference them back to the dome object but that didn’t work. As Demi shared, this was the only way to make it work using Blender.
Collision Volume Dummy
Collision Volume Naming
Now after each was placed and named, the whole object (the dome, the dummy objects and the collision volumes) were exported from Blender using the Collada 1.4 export tool.
All Volumes in Place
Colloda Export
After that, I had to run the resulting *.dae file through the multiverse conversion tool per the Multiverse documentation. The conversion created a mesh object, the physics object and the material file. I modified the material file to match the template file I am using (another discussion). The physics file had to be edited to remove the “mvcv_obb_” reference. It is not automatically removed as would be the case when converting via the Collada export tool using 3dsMax. I made that change using my favorite text editor, Notepad++. (See below)
Renaming of Physics references
Now, after a process of moving the files over to my server and booting up Multiverse, I was pleasantly surprised to see the collision volumes on the model. I used a little trick available in the Multiverse World Browser designed to view the volumes in development (CTRL-H).
Collision Volumes Visible
The Volumes invisible
Of course, I had to run into the building from all angles to make sure the collision volumes worked and yes, they did! Bust open the champaign! I was pleased that I could stand in the dome and out of the upcoming weather too (which I just imagined was coming).
Out of the weather
Again, I want to thank Demi for all his help. Now that this model is done, I can start porting the rest of the initial work done by our team of volunteers into the Postmoderna Project Demo.
Recap on the sale of Crystal Palace in Entropia and what it means to Project Postmoderna
by Alan "Flapman" Morgan on Dec.30, 2009, under News
I have been thinking about this over the last two days. I wrote a brief highlight piece about the sale/auction of the Entropian virtual land property, Crystal Palace.
As mentioned in our article and the one posted by Entropia Planets, Buzz Erik Lightyear, a player on Entropia, the MMO with a real cash economy, placed the final bidding blow at just about 3.3 Million PEDs (roughly $330,000 USD). That is quite a sum for a virtual property but I am sure it is every bit worth it and Buzz will likely pull in some good income off the property in the years ahead.
Crystal Palace Station
Crystal Palace Station Common Area
Now what does this mean to us on Project Planet Postmoderna? The dynamics of the Virtual World, MMORPGs and the Gaming Community (inclusive of Social Network Gaming) in general has evolved a lot over the years. Payments through everything from per/month subscriptions to pay-to-play-up or free-to-play (which really is barely-free) drive the games. The Real Cash Economy games are those that give players ownership in their avatar (s) and their property. The game(s)’ governing company receives a good part of the revenues derived from player transactions within the game but, the general idea is that the economy is driven by the player community. Needless to say, ownership of virtual property is a new market and very hard to grasp by people that don’t play in these gaming entertainment arenas.
Planet Partners in the game Entropia are companies that are leveraging these concepts to build their own planet. Ownership of these planets, sub-games of the Entropia Universe, pay parts of their revenues (about 60%) to Mindark, the owner of Entropia. This may sound like a lot to give up but it covers access and usage of the already established Entropia Universe’s RCE model, Mindark’s CryEngine2 license and usage of the Development Kit for the game. Basically, this allows investment in the development of a new world property without reinventing the wheel.
Yes, there are trade-offs to this arrangement (eg. limited customization of the game) but that does not mean a lack of opportunity. After all, it’s not like an Entropia Partner Planet has not established an open-door and dialogue with Mindark for possible development of the Universe. Why would Mindark not want to take advantage of that especially if any ideas can make the game better, keep the valuable existing player and fan-base and bring in countless potential future players and account-holders.
Why us? Well, do the math. If the average player generates (based on Mindark published statistics) $1-1.50/hour (USD) of play in revenue to the parent company and Mindark, what does that mean to the total potential revenue that a creative Partner Planet can bring in? An immersive storyline, content, fun-factor and economic opportunity can do a lot to keep an existing player base and add to it. Over time, that can be a lot of money, not only to Mindark but to the Partner Planet.
Now, the other side of a commonly voiced debate is why not do this on our own? Well, a lot goes into building a brand new game and we are starting from practically nothing. In the case of Entropia we don’t need to reinvent the wheel and are in many ways, merely buying a franchise. Yes, if we start from scratch and do it all ourselves, we have more room for growth and creative expansion, but that will cost a lot of money and expertise that we don’t currently have.
We at Planet Postmoderna think we have have lots of great ideas as do say many people with like projects and dreams…lol. Still, I think we actually have something here (or I am just all-out crazy). However and regardless how great our ideas may be, we need to find funding to make anything happen or this will just be a “tortoise and the hare race” in which we are the tortoise. Odds are we will finish this race but how long will that take? I don’t know. Will the opportunity still be there to take advantage of or will we be cast to the side by a constantly-evolving industry and an embarrassing lack of financial backing? At least one thing I am rich in is persistence.
We are building a demo of our initial POI (Point of Interest, in case you didn’t know that). The idea is if we can do that, we can sell the concept to investors, players and the community alike. There may be a better and more direct approach to making this happen than this but getting investors is not easy. I believe in the idea of “show-and-tell.” I also find myself asking (actually often), if I just need to do this to prove to myself that I can do it. Pride, selfishness, you name it. I probably have all of that. My wife says I have NPD (Narcistic Personality Disorder) and maybe I do a little. Determination at all costs, that’s me and, sometimes to a fault I know. Nonetheless, I am determined and if it takes me years to do this on my own, I will. Hopefully though, the right people are watching this project and someone or several people will come out and say, “let’s help; let’s make this happen.”
So here’s to the good reasons for doing this project. Here’s to more victories like Crystal Palace. Here’s to Planet Postmoderna.
-
Welcome to the Planet Postmoderna Blog. Remember to visit our Project website at www.planet-postmoderna.com and our forums at http://forum.planet-postmoderna.com.
Project Websites
