Concept Art & Mockups - Aquatic Ruin Mockups Needed!!

Omg, dude that stage is beautiful...really, I love your work in that.

 

Thanks, I'm glad to hear it!

More variations now... adjustments include smooth gradient shadows and a couple translucent textures bases:


First change to texture base. Wasn't sure if I liked the reflectivity on the tube walls, so...


...I made another with reflections softened.


Another version with a different texture base. Personally I feel this one has the most potential of the bunch, and I may re-render it with a darker base depending on feedback.

 

Hypnotizing....the third one looks sexy! Despite the stages not having that texture, I think the checkerboard patter fits quite well!

 

Stunning work on the third one, Canned Karma. Is there nothing we can do to have the most distant piece of terrian appear with a smoother transition? At the moment it's just popping into place. I know it does that in the original but I suppose back then they wouldn't have had much success with fading transitions, etc. Also, what do you think about fading the dark blue sky rather than having just the 4 shades? One again though, great work.

 

Nice concepts CK. If you have the time for it, I would like to see what the blue parts of the runway would look like if they were really shiny. Like, a curved shine that runs up the sides, if you see what I mean. I think that currently the colours in the special stage - particularly the blue part of the runway - look far too simplistic. I think that a shine could truly make it an HD experience.

 

I agree with that, but above that, Is really awesome.

 

WOW I love the third, though the dark part of the tunnel looks too dark. I would however like to see a change in the balls, they originally looks more like shiny orbs. But apart from that this looks amazing.

 

Hey, excelent models. I think that we can use shots of them as the pre-rendered parts but I don't think that the Sketchup 3D Models can be used as 3D models, since it is very limitated and it's 3DS exporting is not very good. I've made this 3D Model, and I can say, as a 3D Model, it is useless.

 

I love the checkered tube. Really gives the special stage a nice feel to it

 

Agreed, the cel-shading makes the spheres look like flat circles. I suggest getting rid of all those outlines once and for all... and making the tunnel lighter.



Also, the checkered pattern looks amazingly cool, but... the original just wasn't like that, it feels quite different. We can't start changing stuff around because of personal preferences, as cool as they might seem to some of us.

However, it could work for the "arrange mode".

 

Will the special stage tube speed be faster in the game, or the same speed as these gif animations?

 

Canned Karma, that 3rd idea looks fucking excellent. The depth is smooth as hell, and the texture really gives it more substance. Nice work.

 

I'm not involved with propgramming so I can't answer this for certain but I am quite sure that it would be the same speed as the original and those gif's are just for proof of concept illustration

 

To reiterate, yes, everything I've posted is meant to be proof of concept only. I've been putting a lot of thought into how this would actually get into a game engine, and I'd need to talk with one of the programmers to see if they'll want tileable animations to create the levels. While it's possible to make a full length animation for each, it would be a nightmare to render with the lighting effects and materials I have in the scene.

I had a really nice shine job done on the side walls, but I made a slight error that came back and bit me in the ass, forcing me to redo a couple hours worth of work. Needless to say, I haven't been able to replicate it and doubt I'll be able to again before I get back from work tonight.

As always, all your comments are greatly appreciated.

 

To play Devil's Advocate here, I think the reason why we all think it looks cool is that the checkerboard pattern is something that fits so well into the rest of the sonic world and it's emphasis on geometric patterns and styles (EHZ ground, etc).

 

<!--quoteo(post=215397:date=Aug 11 2008, 10:05 AM:name=Canned Karma)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Canned Karma @ Aug 11 2008, 10:05 AM)
First change to texture base. Wasn't sure if I liked the reflectivity on the tube walls, so...


...I made another with reflections softened.


Another version with a different texture base. Personally I feel this one has the most potential of the bunch, and I may re-render it with a darker base depending on feedback.[/quote]


Wow. Just awesome job!!

I personally love all the 3 versions you did, but I think the second one is the best choice.

The third is also worth mentioning a cool "alternate" version of the special stage, but there is two things that keeps me preferring the second one:


-The squares speed is different from all the other objects in the stage, it seems more a projected image than some actual ground moving (which is still a nice effect though!)
-The square where not meant to be included into the original level design


Said this, when we'll seriously talk about implementing special stages via actual 3d or pre-rendered sequences in the Engine, we'll have answers for how to import them.
Please keep improving your work, it's getting really great!

(I'd like to see a better sky transition with stars, like El did in his previous mockup, and some different renders for the tube turning left or right)

 

I'm pretty sure that's just an optical illusion

Great work, I prefer it with the checkerboard.

 

Glad to hear you chime in on this one Vincent.

The checkerboard pattern was made as an experiment for those seeking a more textured look to the stage. There's at least a couple more of those experiments I'm working on when I have the time as well...

Yeah, the apparent speed difference in the squares is optical illusion. That one had me scratching my head for a while. I don't believe it makes for a bad effect really, but I completely understand where you're coming from there.

I'll make changes to the backgrounds when there's a satisfied concensus on the primary design, as that'll be a simple Photoshop to take care of. This applies to the turns and bends in the stage as well - adjusting geometry for that takes no time at all compared to the rest of the effects in use currently. For the time being, I'm looking for suggestions on what route to take there when I get to it.

In case it seems like I'm trying to monopolize this area on my own, I'd like to fully encourage those with their own concepts in mind. This is a team effort, and I love to see your work just as much as the next person.

 

By the way... Would you be able to make all those crazy turns using this method?

 

<!--quoteo(post=215703:date=Aug 12 2008, 12:13 AM:name=ICEknight)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ICEknight @ Aug 12 2008, 12:13 AM)



I love 3D to death, but if anyone can recommend some good Illustrator tutorials I'd be much obliged. I wouldn't mind being able to contribute to the 2D side of this project at some point in the future as well.