FMP Week 3 - 15th October - Mech Concepts & Specification

 FMP Week 3 - 13th October

Mech Concepts & Specification

William Marshall

Anderson, K., 2019. BT Skins For TF2.. [image] Available at: <https://www.artstation.com/artwork/xzvJQ4> [Accessed 6 October 2020].

Intro

Following on from the project idea that I formed last time, I spent some time developing concepts to give me a better visualization of what I was going to create. These were in the form of sketches, kitbashes, silhouettes and digital concept art.

Since my last blog post, I have also had my proposal reviewed and feedback given, which will be detailed in the 'Project Changes' section of this blog. It will outline any new developments with the project that were picked up by my Project Supervisor.

Project Changes

Following on from discussions with my Project Supervisor (Iain Douglas), this project will be upscaled, adding functionality to the Mech in Unity. This will push my ideas from a nice piece of hard-surface artwork into a fully-fledged game asset that could be used for a project - also pushing me into the higher grade boundaries. 

In order for this to work, I will be adding a small 'workshop' environment for my Mech to be viewed in, with buttons and UI elements. These buttons will be able to display different types of animations and demonstrate my technical skills with animating and in-engine work. 

2011. Hawken Concept Art. [image] Available at: <http://conceptartworld.com/news/hawken-concept-art/> [Accessed 6 October 2020].

HAWKEN's Concept Art featuring an early version of their 'loadout menu' is exactly what I have in mind

for this. It shows the Mech in a safe and secure environment where tests would be carried out, making

sense for my animations to be shown there - being narratively presented by performing 'checks' on the

Mech before it goes out into combat.

This is my current working floor plan for the aforementioned garage. When I created this, my aim was to have the Mech as a centerpiece, with background assets serving to help prop up the quality of the mech and provide an environment that it would realistically be presented in. The Player will be able to roam the workshop and observe the Mech in a maintenance state, preparing for repairs. 

The Entry Hatch will be placed at the bottom of a ramp, leading to the raised platform where the Mech itself is going to be placed and tower over everything else. Stairs will lead downward into the workshop floor, where workbenches for the engineers will surround the raised platform, giving them a workspace to take notes and make repairs - whilst being shielded from any backblasts by iron fences that separate them and the Mech. Around the walls of the workshop will be various shelving units and storage for their tools, whilst chains and winches hang from the ceiling to assist with heavy objects.

After creating this piece, I have learnt that it is important to create the environment and the vehicle centerpiece in equal amounts of quality, rather than focusing my attention on one or the other. If my environment is poorly made and half-baked, it will detract from the quality of the Mech and vice versa.  

Project Proposal & Technical Specification

Project Proposal

This is my proposal for the project, which contains a detailed breakdown of what will be included in this project - as well as my justifications for choosing it. 

Project Details - the actual assets involved in the project

Rationale - reasons for creating the project.

In this case, my reasoning behind making this project is that I want to challenge myself in 3D Vehicle Art, but not just by making tanks and cars - but by making something that I struggle with the most, humanoids. I wanted to combine my skills in hard-surface 3D modelling and my interests in vehicles into something that really improves upon my biggest weakness in order to make myself more effective as an Artist.

Technical Specification:

When I began my research into military vehicles for inspiration last week, I kept finding specifications which listed important information about the specific vehicle in question. They were broken down into distinct groups, such as Service History and Production History.

For a bit of immersive roleplay, I made my first-page act like a 'loading screen' for a confidential military document that was so secretive it required a password to access, with bars that acted like a MS DOS command line. I then made up a Service History and Production History as a bit of reasonable background. However, the weapons, armour and specification itself were more important as these were going to be physical assets that are seen on my design, so it is important for me to consider them now, so that I can incorporate them into my design.

Functionality/Game Engine Considerations

Now that my environment is a considered part of this project, I also need to think about the technical side of working in a game engine, such as:

-Movement

-Post Processing

-Sound/Ambient Audio

-Main Menu

Movement:

Moving around the scene with controls. I'd intend to be able to move using WASD rather than fixed camera angles, which means the viewer can view anywhere in the scene.

Post Processing:

This also includes the HDRP that Unity provides, which further increases quality. I would try and take it easy on the post-processing to avoid detracting from the overall value of the Mech if I added too much. Most likely Anti-Aliasing, AO (Shadows) and Bloom

Sound:

Likely to be the sounds of a busy workshop but elsewhere in the scene, as well as the hissing and mechanical whirring coming from the Mech itself.

Main Menu:

Very simplistic start/quit buttons, with a splash screen/credits screen with my details on it. Doesn't need to be more complicated than that.

Mech Silhouettes & Voting

These silhouette designs were made from Kitbashed pieces that were gathered from my various mood boards and other media. When I created these, I wanted to have a wide range of body types, battlefield roles, sizes and weapons in order to give me a larger variety of ideas to choose from. 

Each time I created a new Mech, I would imagine a background role and build them accordingly - as well as their name representing what they're intended to do. For instance, 'Brutus' is large and imposing, with the largest silhouette of any role. The name 'Brutus' sounds like 'Brute', which is an aggressive and strong creature. 

After I was satisfied with my kitbash designs, I opted to use Google Forms to get other students opinions on which design was the most appealing. Out of 18 responses, a lot of people had a preference for the Underbarrled, Scorpius and Haytham designs. I believe the reason that these three were chosen was due to their unique silhouettes compared to the others - especially Scorpius due to being the only 6-legged design on that page. Underbarreled has a unique weapon-holding design and Haytham is very blocky and squat like a dwarf.

My personal favourites are Rotary, Underbarreled and Haytham. Rotary has a very unique silhouette and I like his leg structure, but he simply looks too frail to serve as a Heavy Mech. Underbarreled and Haytham are quite bulky and imposing, making either of them a good candidate. 

Video Breakdown!: https://youtu.be/rPAYdOBw3dA

Next Blog Post - 27th October

Now that I have a rough shape and design to work with (which has been inspired by my Research), I will take one of my designs forward and begin to break it down into the individual components, such as feet, legs, cockpit, weapons and chassis. I will also aim to have a full concept piece that I can show to any interested individuals, possibly in the midst of a battle.

• Concept Art Piece
• Foot Designs
• Foot Basic Models
• Weapon Designs
• Weapon Basic Models