CAGD 495 - Sprint 4

 CAGD 495 - Sprint 4

Production Process

The production process for this sprint was far more scattered than the previous sprint. I ended up having to redo a lot of my work which meant that, despite me putting in effort, not a lot was done on my part in terms of cards. We were also given access to materials this sprint which would've proved very useful when one of our members was creating the initial greybox. These materials were diagrams of each lab including measurements for some specific machines. 

Also, the inclusion of a break in between the sprint somewhat interrupted the pace at which work was done. I know personally, I had to leave before we could conduct the playtest since it was on a Friday. Not many people were staying over break, so it definitely lessened the number of potential testers. Ideally, there would not be a break in the middle of a sprint. The sprint could end on the Thursday before break and we could kickoff the next sprint on Tuesday the week after break.

Issues/Problems/Solutions

One of the larger issues I ran into was dealing with the changing demands for the lab walls. I began working on a set of modular walls. For this, I needed one of my team members to adjust a couple scaling issues with the greybox in Maya. I then used this file to create a set of modular walls which the team had believed would be a good method for creation. However, as soon as I modeled and textured these walls, we were told that the lab walls and floors would need to be almost exact to the actual measurements of the real-life counterpart. This meant a lot of my work needed to be redone which was very frustrating to hear. To solve this, I used the diagrams we were given to chart out the exact dimensions of the lab in Maya. This essentially meant the greybox was null and I had to create new labs from scratch. Still, I was able to scale the greybox down to an approximation of what it should be, so all elements outside the lab can be made using it.

Another issue which bled into development as a whole is the late access to the blueprints for each lab. The initial greybox was created using estimations of the labs, it was more so built off of what felt right as opposed to exact numbers. We were under the impression that it need not be so stringent in regards to spatial accuracy. During one of our standups, it was revealed to us that we should be getting the exact measurements so that it feels one to one. That's when our associate, Andy, was able to fetch the diagrams from one of her professors. This is mostly on us for not taking into consideration that, in a realistic simulation, the dimensions of the walls should be spot on.

Sprint Kickoff

Sprint Kickoff went smooth in terms of doling out tasks. The execution of them can be brought into question, but as far as the workload goes it should've been completely fine had we not run into the aforementioned issues.

Work Completed

To start, I began working on the modular walls, using the old greybox as a scale. I made a few variations of walls at different lengths that would roughly assemble close to what the lab looks like. This includes straight walls, inner and outer corner walls, floors, doorways, etc. This process was not so difficult. I then used trim sheets to texture them since a lot of the materials were the same. 

Example of Trim Sheet UVs

I took a plane in Maya and cut it into sections. I then applied a vertex color to each section which represented each different material. I took that into painter and messed around with some of the materials to get them to tile well. I went in and out of Unity checking to see if the walls lined up well. Once I was satisfied with how they looked, I pushed them and they were verified.

Final Modular Walls Set Example

Following this I had been told to go back and create an exact replica of the lab instead of using a modular set. To do this I needed to use the blueprints provided. The initial blueprints didn't contain measurements for the walls so I had to go off of the classroom measurements and count out each wall in the other blueprints.

Classroom Blueprints

Using the classroom blueprints, I figured that each box represented one foot. I could use this to find the length of the walls in other labs. I took to photoshop and drew arrows to indicate which wall was what size.

Example of Blueprint Measurements

From here I started boxing out locations in Maya. I set the project measurements to feet and adjusted the grid to fit the size of the labs. This meant I could adjust the units in the details panel for a basic cube to fit the exact measurements on the diagrams. I created a bunch of cubes and blocked out the level. From here, I started filling in each wall with a full model. As I went, I removed any unnecessary polygons and adjusted the heights of everything. I sent a doorway over to our programmer for testing to ensure that the height was fixed since that was one of the critiques in our last playtest. Once I received approval, I started modeling the doors and put on the roof and floors.

Example of Doors and Walls in Maya

While I was at it, I also scaled the previous greybox to the scale of the new labs. This way we can still make use of it to model elements outside of the lab.

Lab 114

Lab 116

Lab 121

Greybox Rescaled

Work Incomplete

Most of the work I was assigned this sprint was left incomplete due to the issues I ran into. I still have two machines to model alongside a waste bucket and flammable materials cabinet. I also have to now texture the walls, floors, doors, and ceilings I've made. I've begun vertex coloring them so that I will have an easier time in the future. For this process, I'll start by UVing lab 114 and move clockwise from there.

Current Work

I'm currently working on UVing the labs so that I can get them ready for texturing. I'd still prefer to use trim sheets for this since it allows for a higher resolution. The higher the better when it comes to making something look realistic.