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There is a Bomb in this thread.

Started by lirmont, October 21, 2013, 07:52:25 pm

lirmont

October 21, 2013, 07:52:25 pm Last Edit: October 21, 2013, 09:47:42 pm by lirmont
Bomb in Something Like FFT Cutscene Shader



Side Views: 002 and 003

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So, the final thing I wanted to accomplish in some downtime was tackling the render path that FFT: WotL did. This is surely a far cry from that, but I thought you guys might want to see it anyway. This version covers going from the first two shades of the toon shading into the secondary textures (the line art) in the 3rd shade of the toon shader (so it works with any model). It also covers the toon outline. I didn't particularly like what they did with the random shadow texture every couple of video frames, but this does do one (note that the shadow of the bomb has a much larger scale texture) so it can feed in more than one across frames like that (or you can stick with just one). Anyway, it's done in Blender (2.68a), and I sourced a lot of material from the internet to get it to this point. The bomb model, however, is something I made (it's showed up around this forum before, if you care to look).

Cheetah

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lirmont

Right? Here's a multi-color render to go with that one (model: http://www.turbosquid.com/FullPreview/Index.cfm/ID/426458).

Rapier in Something Like FFT Cutscene Shader


Choto

That is a cool bomb.. i didn't realize you made it, I thought it was from somewhere else.. nice work!

What do you mean by the render path that FFT: WOTL did? I never came even close to playing it.. so I know 0% of what they did differently.

lirmont

October 23, 2013, 10:53:32 am #4 Last Edit: October 23, 2013, 11:19:43 am by lirmont
The render path for the cutscenes in the War of the Lions edition would be how they rendered their 3d models to achieve the final aesthetic (being partially hand-drawn). Here's an image that breaks down the parts you'd have to be responsible for if you try to do what they did.



So, the overall effect requires a 2-tone shading with a solid outline. This can be accomplished with "toon shading" (re: Wind Waker). However, the twist appears to be that there isn't just one texture (re: the stitching on Balthier's shirt) but two distinct textures (re: the hand-drawn artsy crosshatching). Furthermore, the secondary texture only shows up in the presence of a shadow (and it also includes some of the texture data from the primary texture). As a note, textures are probably just plain image files for this endeavor. As a point of reference, if the 3d model for Balthier's shirt were in a complete shadow, the model would only be showing it's second texture (the dark crosshatching); in other words, the crosshatching still potentially exists all over the model at all times (it's just whether or not it's used based on lighting).

Since I haven't tried to render clothing yet, I skipped the primary texture, so it just uses a primary color (all toon shading is meant to do anyway). For the bomb, that's the bright orange (not the white). For the rapier's hilt, that's the flat gold and red. For the secondary color (the shadowed areas), we switch to an actual secondary texture that contains the hand-drawn stuff (the examples just use a random, albeit high-quality, image I found off the internet).

Finally, the shadows on the actual objects also get messed around with and composited against some other image (which I guess gives an even more artsy feel?), but I don't really like how they changed that part every couple of video frames. The point is basically that it alters the shadowed parts even more to make them cohesive (like they're connected by some common theme; i.e. the extra shadow texture they composite onto the flat shadows). To take it to the next step, it would require an actual artist to sit down and draw on the model (adding the crosshatching).

Anyway, the point is that I've got something set up in Blender (a free 3d modeling/rendering software) that gets in the ballpark of that effect. You press render, it runs through the several passes of the render path, and eventually the final image is composited together. I think the heavily shadowed views look pretty fantastic.

Lijj

That's really awesome Lirmont. I just got back so I can make that portrait of the bomb lord for you now.
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lirmont

Welcome back, man. I look forward to seeing it (and once I finish that sprite, it'll probably wind up in the field test demo). Thanks!

Devreckas

Great work man! Did you make the rapier from scratch too? Do you have any plans with this stuff, like making cutscenes?

lirmont

No, the rapier is a free model I found on turbosquid. Compared to the Bomb, it's got way more geometry, and you can hopefully see it didn't turn out terribly different (though it takes a lot longer to render out). 3d animation is not in my skill set, so probably not. I did take the time to adjust the process so that it can use a texture in both places (as I mentioned that FFT's cutscenes do that). You'll hopefully see it again soon in some still frames for a crafting concept scene, but I'm working on something unrelated at the moment (a volcanic enclosure map to go with Lijj's awesome Bomb Lord portrait).