FMP Week 9 - 24th November

  FMP Week 9 - 24th November

Rotary V2, V3 & Unity Setup

William Marshall

Intro

9th week of my FMP - which has produced some large improvements to my Rotary Mech and seen me develop the base of my Unity scene, which is where I intend to present the final product. I have been upgrading the Rotary to begin visually representing the 'Heavy' classification that it has, as well as the frontline battlefield role that it should be serving in. This has involved; bulking up the armour, implementing modern tank designs into the Mech and adding additional parts that add to the versatility and utility of the vehicle.

Additionally, I have been setting up the Unity scene. This consists of a Main Menu, Animation Room and Environment - which are simply different scenes in Unity that my Player will be able to scroll through to observe different parts of my project. This has helped me gain a sense of scale for my workshop scene, as well as helping me realise that I have a good quantity of work to get the grade I desire.

Unity Setup

My main menu is simplistic and schematic, with buttons that lead to the different scenes in the project. This is done with a simple 5-line script that changes scene depending on which button is pressed. For now, it will remain in this basic state - but I aim to include a background which will scroll through various views/angles of the Mech in a style that is inspired by Titanfall 2 and Gran Turismo - which adds to the production quality.

This view represents the Animation Room for this project - which allows the Player to click buttons to activate certain animations that the Mech would likely perform if it were a Game Asset. This demonstrates my ability to create varied animations that suit the requirements, as well as activating them at specific times - much like a character animation. 

All of the animation involve movement, shooting, turning and idles. These will be very robotic-looking animations, rather than organic looking ones. This is quite self-explanatory, due to the fact that this is a vehicle.  

Finally, we have the basic example and scale of how my interactable environment will look. This follows on from the floor plan that I created a while ago, 

Rotary MK2

These are renders of the Rotary MK2, which builds upon all the feedback that I've received so far, as well as what I was developing last week. It is intended to fit the 'Heavy' classification of this Mech much more visually than the first version, with thicker, square shapes being used to portray the strength, endurance and sturdiness that a Mech should be representing. 

Following on from what I created last week, I have implemented these features:

• Shoulder Pads - providing reinforcement to vulnerable points
• Bulkier Weapons - implementing square shape theory and looking more imposing
• Hydraulic Aids/Wires - these wires will be rigged/animated to jiggle and bend with the movement of the Mech
• Shoulder 'Joints' - provides the basis for the entire arm structure, as well as adding more circular shapes to quite a boxy model. 

Rotary MK3

The Rotary Mk3 builds on from what went successfully for the Mk2, which introduces more modern tank design features, as well as additional utility and military usage. Such as:

• Square 'Mesh' guard on the exterior - able to be used as ablative armour, as well as a carrying rack
• Asymmetrical Shoulder Pads - adding some design features that are not necessarily the same. This gives a sense of uniqueness, rather than just using symmetry to copy features across.
• Reinforced 'Spine' Section - a clear vulnerable point for the vehicle. This has been reinforced with guards and additional bulk to support the weight of the top half. 
• Shovel/Fire Axe added to the rear of the Rotary, which is inspired by modern tanks that attach emergency tools to the vehicles.

Project Management Update

Video Breakdown

Next Blog Post - 8th December

For the next Blog Post on the 8th of December, I aim to move on to some of the environmental assets, as that has been a neglected part of this project until now. These will be unwrapped and textured, in order to give insight into how my art style will appear. 

I also aim to create a 'final' version of the Rotary, which will be the Mk4.

• Mk4 Rotary
• Environmental Assets
• Environmental Asset Texturing/Examples