Monthly CC Challenge

[Legacy_Jez_fr]

               oh and discussions about September's theme is opened! submit your ideas please =)

So far we have:

- Body/Armor parts of the wounded
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Estelindis]

               What about heads for neglected races - like the half-orcs or gnomes?



Or what about a single tile to add to a terrain from a standard Bioware tileset?  I think if everyone tried adding a new tile to the Building terrain from City Exterior, it would make a huge difference to this well-worn set, but I'm open to suggestions of course!
               
               

               
            

[Legacy__six]

               

Estelindis wrote...

I think if everyone tried adding a new tile to the Building terrain from City Exterior

Speaking as someone who's messed with making custom building terrains: ouch. Not dismissing the idea, but it may be pushing the bar pretty high above entry level.

That said, something more one-offy as a tile would be a neat idea.
               
               

               

                     Modifié par _six, 03 août 2010 - 12:36 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_Estelindis]

               

_six wrote...
Speaking as someone who's messed with making custom building terrains: ouch. Not dismissing the idea, but it may be pushing the bar pretty high above entry level.

Sorry, I wasn't thinking of it that way.  I'd volunteer to handle .set entries and such things, if necessary, and to compile information about necessary vertex positions at tile edges, etc.  Or I could provide a blank "base" tile for everyone to work from as a starter.  (Though, upon reflection, one would actually need a few base tiles: straight, outer corner, inner corner...  Assuming no-one's desires venture to diagonal!  And not even thinking about raised/other terrain/crosser intersections.)  But yes, you're right, this is probably above entry level.  "One-offy" tiles would probably be a better bet.
               
               

               

                     Modifié par Estelindis, 03 août 2010 - 12:53 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_BigfootNZ]

               Is this primarily NWN1 or also open to NWN2 content, noticed this on the Vault news page (Skips over to the NWN2 boards to see if there is any mention).

Its definitely a great idea id participate in, although only in the NWN2 capacity.

Edit:- hmm nope seems this is being directed at NWN1 only, damn. I mainly say that since my NWN1 model exporter of choice doesnt function in my current version of max, and ive never been able to get NWMax to work proper ever (damned if I know why), so ive been incapable of doing NWN1 stuff for a while now.
               
               

               

                     Modifié par BigfootNZ, 03 août 2010 - 04:58 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_Jez_fr]

               Hey BigfootNZ, glad to see you here. First let me say my admiration for your work =)

Second, yes you're right this is only directed at NWN1 CC, but feel free, even welcome, to communicate the idea to the NWN2 CC people. You can even copy/paste/modify my blurbs with my blessings =)

I myself have no experience with NWN2 CC so I'm not really the best person to do that. Anyways, doing the same with NWN2 would be just a matter of creating a thread in the appropriate NWN2 forum, you could even reuse text and even chosen theme. That would be fun to compare NWN1 with NWN2 CC creation =)



               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Morikahn]

               If the intent is to also teach people how to do CC work, then maybe you should require competing artists to also include a tutorial on how they made their entry. Maybe this would only be required of the 'winner'.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Jez_fr]

               The intent first is to have fun while producing new content.

Also, as it was discussed before, there won't be a "winner" beside the community itself. We resolved to do that as a friendly emulating challenge instead of a competition.

Still I like the idea of CC maker explaining how they did their stuff, but I won't *require* that of them though, as modelling stuff is one thing, writing an educational tutorial is another. However I'd be curious myself to know how one proceed. Always tricks to learn =)
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Morikahn]

               

Jez_fr wrote...
Also, as it was discussed before, there won't be a "winner" beside the community itself. We resolved to do that as a friendly emulating challenge instead of a competition.

I still intend to win.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Zwerkules]

               Sorry, just ignore this. I posted it in the wrong thread. :blush:
I wonder if there is a way to completely remove a post.
I moved what I posted here to the 'August Challenge' thread where it was meant to be.
               
               

               

                     Modifié par Zwerkules, 04 août 2010 - 07:00 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_Eradrain]

               Here's a suggestion for september's theme:

Airships!

The variety of airships in NWN right now is pretty sparse.  You've basically got your choice of Boat-Lashed-To-Balloon, or Hammerhead Shark.  That's all.

While these two submissions deserve credit for breaking ground at the time they were made, they're no longer representative of the cutting-edge of what the NWN modding community is capable of.

Now, I'm bearing in mind the usefulness of the theme - there are two "projects," loosely speaking, on the forum right now - the Planescape thread and the Steampunk thread, that can both make tremendous use of airships.  And admittedly, I'm not exactly an objective observer in this regard either since my own project makes heavy use of airships.  I can/am making one myself, but one person's endeavor pales in comparison to the whole community making stuff.

As content pieces, airships are a little (Or a lot, if you go all-out) more complicated than basic pieces of furniture, which is both a pro (in terms of challenging modders) and a con (a beginner might feel a little intimidated by the prospect).  I think, given a month though, that most people could put out something pretty impressive.

Again, this is just one idea, and in the interest of full disclosure it's an idea I'd benefit from personally.  But I wouldn't be the only one, airships are pretty ubiquitous.

Finally, to get people's imaginations flowing, here are some pictures of airships.  Get inspired!

Final Fantasy Airship
Another Final Fantasy Airship
Oriental Themed Airship
Generic Fantasy Airship
Steampunk Ironclad Airship
Steampunk Wooden Airship
Steampunk Battlecruiser Airships
Extremely Primitive Airship
Generic Fantasy Airship (With Christmas Lights!)
WoW Airship
               
               

               

                     Modifié par Eradrain, 07 août 2010 - 05:31 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_Jez_fr]

               Exellent post Eradrain. I didn't even know about the Hammerhead submission oO

I think you've squared perfectly the pros and cons.

As an aspiring modeller it looks really a daunting work. I really don't know If I could achieve that kind of model, but I know it the best case it will really take me a lot of time. Though like you said that'd be a real challenge. But for me its probably a bit early.  Lets see what the others think about that.



So far we have:

- Field war hospital, after the battle (need a better description), expanded Builders_anthony original idea

- Magi scrying devices, and wondrous miscellaneous items of power, expanded Styxx42 idea posted on NWNVault

- Airships, from Eradrain
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_B_Harrison]

               

Jez_fr wrote...
 
- Magi scrying devices, and wondrous miscellaneous items of power, expanded Styxx42 idea posted on NWNVault

This sounds like the best suggestion so far.

As much as I Iove airships, it might be better to see how well the participants do in this month's (relatively simple) challenge, before upping the scale of the projects that much.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Estelindis]

               Agreed re. airships being a good idea, but one for later down the line (as we get an idea of what participants can manage - I'm talking workload as much as skill here, as each airship is quite a significant endeavour).



Another idea occurs.  What about making original male or female equivalents for armour that has a missing gender?  For instance, the conversion of Aribeth's armour is well known, but if a male character tries to don it he ends up with an empty chest slot.  Something male and paladin-ish would do the trick nicely, though.  Anyone who takes a look at community armour and clothing, particularly a lot of stuff in the CEP, will see how this could be useful.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Eradrain]

               Fair responses, guys.  Permit me to add one more suggestion to the list, then, even though it's getting pretty big now:

Weapons!

In terms of difficulty Vs. Ease, I think this one is entirely in the hands of the designer.  Everybody makes 1 original weapon, it can be simple and low-poly, it can be complicated.

Right now on the vault, you've really only got a few choices in terms of weapon packs.  You've got the CEP compilation (Which, like the airships I linked before, was good once-upon-a-time but no longer represents the state-of-the-art).  You've got Depheant's Armory (Some really nice texture work, but the organizational scheme is a nightmare, his weapons are located on like, Color Slot 8+.), and you've got Feanor's armory, which is no longer being supported and updated, and requires the CEP and a custom .tlk.

And of course we all know that in this day and age, the default NWN weapons are damn near unusable.  So why not make some more?  Whether it's a giant Final Fantasy-style Greatsword or even something as simple as this (low-poly, excellent texture work).

The other submissions are great too, of course.  Though, Estelendis, would making gender-appropriate versions of presently gender-exclusive armor models involve very much creation?  I'm very much a modeling novice, but it seems to me that it'd mostly be resizing and tweaking existing content, as opposed to making something new.
               
               

               

                     Modifié par Eradrain, 07 août 2010 - 10:05 .