Quote:
Originally Posted by Tyhm
And those people who want to pre-dev so when it Is released they'll have a head-start? Any advice at all, or do you expect them to just sit on their hands and try not to lose interest?
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We all want to pre-dev but Stefan hasn't given anyone that chance yet, sadly (except for some select individuals who worked on the pre-Graal v4 version of Graal3D). My advise is as follows for aspiring G3D developers (I am only giving this based on what I saw when I worked on Graal3D before v4):
For scripters - Learn GS2 and master it. I don't think GS1 will even work in Graal3D and if it did, you wouldn't be able to do much of anything. Graal3D is heavily object based so get make sure you have all the basics down pat! (Such as you should know the four types of variables by heart. Spoiler: Float, String, Array, Object. Learn what they do any what they mean ;o).
For graphic artists - Graphics in Graal3D can be split into 3 groups: Textures, Models and GUI/2D.
The only one you can really practice on Graal right now would be the GUI/2D type. So I suggest you learn (if you wish to follow that path in graphics) GUI graphics like the back of your hand. 2D basically just includes icons and any other image you could slap onto a GUI. Some textures could be considered 2D art as well such as those placed on 2D models.
Textures just include any type of bitmap that is slapped onto a model (whether 2D or 3D) or terrain. The most obvious of these are terrain textures such as grass. Models such as the player also use textures such as the player's head.
For models I can't really help you since I haven't played with tools for making character models. You might want to check out some half-life model editors or some model editors for Torque game engine. I am pretty sure Graal3D will use those types of files.
For levelers - Leveling isn't tiling anymore since there are no tiles! Leveling now includes placement of objects on terrain and modeling buildings and such (architecture). The latter of the two doesn't use the same model files as character models. Instead it uses .map files which can be derived from the same level files used for half life. Check out Mido's guide to making buildings and such on the forums (use the search function). Placement of objects will be all done in game and isn't really hard to learn at all.
For animators - The "ganis" for Graal3D are animation files for character models rather then image sprites. Again, I never played with 3D animating so I can't really help you, sorry.
For sound and music artists - Sound and music won't really change in 3D to much so keep doing the same stuff you're doing right now!
And that's all!