fallout4newvegas-blog

[fallout4newvegas-blog]

Development Update 16/10/2017

Another Monday means another Development Update! Hey F4NV fans and supporters, for this week we just wanted to give a brief rundown on where development stands, and talk about some awesome happenings within the Fallout modding community that mean some exciting things for F4NV.

As many may know, reg2k and our own Neanka have released the much-anticipated Extended Dialogue Interface (XDI.) This framework re-adds support for more than 4 dialogue options to the Creation Engine, and does so in a way that emulates the classic conversation system used in Fallout 3 and New Vegas. This is extremly exciting for us here at Team F4NV - having access to this framework means we're able to properly implement the dialogue systems from Fallout: New Vegas, and do so easily. Our Quest and Scripting teams are currently working in concert to get XDI up and running with our content - once this is done, we'll be entirely equipped to implement the dialogue from Fallout: New Vegas without any weird or hacky workarounds.

If you haven't had a chance to check out XDI, it also works with stock Fallout 4, and we very strongly recommend checking it out: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/27216/

A huge thanks to reg2k and Neanka for allowing us and the modding community at large to use this framework - without this, much of what we hoped to do with F4NV would be impossible.

Moving on, our level design team on the other hand continues to work away at the starting areas of Fallout: New Vegas in and around Goodsprings. We're quickly approaching a point where we hope to start showing off some very cool stuff - we've hit a phase in development where it feels like each passing day the Mojave Wasteland becomes more and more alive, and we're really excited to begin sharing this!

Our asset team continues to astound on a day-to-day basis, with new assets coming down the pipeline all the time. While F4NV will require a massive number of assets to truly recreate our vision of Fallout: New Vegas, the amount of content we see coming out day-by-day really makes our goal feel a lot more surmountable. We hope to soon show off more of this, so keep watching this space!

Finally, on the community front, we've hit 1000 likes on Facebook! This is incredible, and the amount of support we've gotten in private via PMs, or in public via comments and likes is just astounding to behold at this early a stage in the projects life. To each and every one of you who have liked or followed our page, shared our content, and commented or PM'd us, we'd just like to say a hearfelt 'Thank You.' Your support helps us reach more people, and it really does help to drive us along.

That's it for this weeks development update! Hopefully this little look into our current development status was interesting, and we look forward to sharing more as we go forward!

Until next time, stay classy!

[fallout4newvegas-blog]

This weeks Featured Content Friday - The Vault 13 Canteen, by 3d content lead Deadpool2099! An auspicious number for an auspicious day, we felt it was appropriate to share it on this Friday the 13th!

[fallout4newvegas-blog]

Always expect the unexpected in the Wasteland. Never go out without a big iron.

[fallout4newvegas-blog]

This weeks Featured Content Friday showcases our first ever shot of in-game content, in celebration of us hitting 500 likes and follows on our Facebook page! In the coming weeks, we hope to show off a few more glimpses into our vision of the Mojave, so if you haven't already, like and share our page to allow yourself and your friends to see new updates as they're posted.

[fallout4newvegas-blog]

Development Update 25/9/2017

Hey F4NV fans and supporters! It's Monday, which means it's time for another quick development update!

On all fronts, development continues apace. Our Level Design team continues to knock it out of the park with a rapid rate of development, and with the recent release of the newest version of the F4SE, our scripting team is seeing a number of new potential avenues of development. In the coming weeks, we hope to be able to demonstrate some of these new systems as they're implemented, so stay tuned for that!

In other news, we have opened up our Community Discord server! Anybody is free to hop in and join in the discussion there. Just click the following link, and you'll be able to join up and participate in the discussion!

https://discord.gg/jaCkBFz

Additionally, we're always looking for new team members. If you're interested in joining up with Team F4NV, check out the following link. We're always happy to take on skilled modders with an interest in bringing our project to fruition!

https://form.jotformz.com/wanamingo/f4nv-project-application-form

That's all for this week, but keep watching this space for more cool in-game content, and other F4NV-related news.

Until next time, stay classy!

[fallout4newvegas-blog]

This weeks Featured Content Friday stars the work of one of our skilled concept artists, deltatokyo! As we work towards recreating and revitalizing the world of New Vegas, awesome works like this help us to revitalize the world for a new engine, and create environments that will feel both familiar and fresh for longtime fans, and allow new players to experience a Mojave that should feel more atmospheric than ever.

[fallout4newvegas-blog]

The Future of Gaming

In an ever changing industry driven on the production of entertainment and technology to create the best experiences for consumers, the gaming industry is also impacting the way businesses operate. The video game industry is driving much of the innovation in video communication technology, computer processing and virtual reality. The innovative technology is pushing the limits of how information is processed, games are played and the way we communicate with one another. Companies such as Microsoft and Sony are ramping up the development of these technologies to outperform the competition and in turn creates an industry where technology flourishes and defies the limits that allows humanity to progress. The competitive market drives down the costs of these products and allows for the potential increase of consumers and access to demographics previously tedious to market towards. One of the driving innovations is true high definition ultra 4K resolution which creates a more lifelike and immersive experience (Tynan, Katy 2016). These technologies allow business to interact more with the product they create, to increase the level of detail and to ensure they reach the highest possible quality. The new innovative technology allows businesses to produce higher quality advertisements to engage with their target demographics, communicate internally and among business partners and contractors to close deals, provide a much greater interactive experience using dynamic audio and virtual reality to simulate environments and drive up profit.

The impact of the technologies being developed by the gaming industry is not just the only important aspect but the creators of these technological innovations. One such creator, Alienware, after twenty years of technological innovating is pushing the boundaries and bringing the future to PC gaming. “We helped build the PC gaming industry to where it is today. By no means was it a single company effort, but we were a key contributor. We’ll do the same for VR,” said Azor, who is now general manager for Alienware and XPS PCs at Dell” (Shah, Agam 2016). The future of gaming divide between mixed reality and virtual reality where both will thrive under the continuous innovation of consumer technology and Dell is approaching this with free-roaming VR systems that have small PCs slotted in backpacks (Shah, Agam 2016). Although Dell created technology directed to VR, there are no intentions to create a custom VR headset now and all primary focus is on the development of gaming technologies to further enhance the experience of the consumers who use Alienware products.

Work Cited:

Shah, Agam. “How Alienware's 20-Year history with PC gaming can help drive the future of VR.” PCWorld, IDG News Service, 12 Oct. 2016, www.pcworld.com/article/3130330/computers/alienwares-20-year-affair-with-gaming-helps-drive-vr-future.html. Accessed 15 Sept. 2017.

Tynan, Katy. “How Gaming Is Shaping the Future of Work.” Harvard Business Review, Harvard Business Publishing, 2 May 2016, hbr.org/2016/05/how-gaming-is-shaping-the-future-of-work. Accessed 15 Sept. 2017.

[fallout4newvegas-blog]

Creasing to save that precious time

In the game industry, it’s fundamentally expected to have the ability to create quality content at a time efficient rate. When creating the assets necessary to construct the game, all the performing artists must work as efficiently as humanly possible to reach the deadlines necessary to ship the product on time. One of the most common issues with assignments taking up precious time is that some artists waste time creating the supporting edges on their models by manually placing in and delicately eyeing the edges to fit perfectly onto the model when they simply could use creases to get the best result in the fastest way possible. Creases are usually found in most 3D programs such as 3ds Max and Maya but the process of doing it is relatively simple to create a quality high poly model.

The process here is for Maya 2016 and is transferable in later Maya versions. To begin, creases allow you to smooth models, similar to control edges but is a nondestructive process for workflow. The first thing an asset creator must do is select the desired object to smooth with creases and enter edge mode. You then go to Windows, navigate to Relationship Editors and select Crease Sets. The best method to maintain organization is to use the set value of creasing for the naming convention for the specific crease and the type of mesh used. The crease range you want to be in is from .5 to 5.5, the set value is what the name of the crease is recommended to be, for example, Block Crease 5.5. from here you open Attribute Editor, navigate to Smooth Mesh and open Subdivision Levels where you set the subdivisions to six (6). From here you will be able to see the smooth mesh preview with the creases applied and the last step is to smooth the mesh. This process will significantly impact your workflow for the better and you will save a significant amount of time using this process.

Autodesk Explanation:

https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/maya-lt/learn-explore/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/2017/ENU/MayaLT/files/GUID-42066772-8F58-413E-80EB-0DE536144533-htm.html

[fallout4newvegas-blog]

Development Update 18/9/2017

Hey F4NV fans and supporters, we thought an update on current events and progress is warranted following our last month and a half of radio silence - we've more than likely left folks with a lot of questions about where we currently stand with the project.

So far, the project has been continuing apace - VC systems and workflow have been implemented, and content development continues along quickly. A recreation of the Fallout NV heightmap has been completed and implemented into the engine, and our level design team have all been working along to populate it for our first major milestone (more updates on that in the future.) As well, elements of environment design not commonly thought about like weather are also being worked on, to ensure that the Mojave makes its return in as dusty and beautifully unforgiving a way as possible.

On the asset creation front, the team has been focused on getting many of the more commonly found assets implemented, allowing us to create the different prefab elements that are found throughout the game world, as well as variations on these to help create some variety in places the original game was lacking. Additionally, some of our asset creation team members have been focusing on the different items and weapons found in the game world as we work towards out first project milestone, which will include some familliar friends.

Our scripting team, meanwhile, has been busy trying to implement a number of New Vegas's unique systems - the Karma, rep, and faction disguise systems have already made their return to the Fallout series thanks to the efforts of the scripting team, and other systems key to the New Vegas experience are already well underway. Over the coming weeks, we hope to start showcasing some of these new feature sets, and how they work in the newer engine, as well as discuss the implementation of some systems and their effects on combat and roleplay alongside the systems present in Fallout 4.

That about wraps up this week's talk about our project's current efforts. As always, don't forget to watch this space for future updates on the F4NV project, and until next time, stay classy.

[fallout4newvegas-blog]

For our first "Featured Content Friday," check out Deadpool2099's new Nuka Cola vending machine! Inspired by the Fallout 1 and 2 vending machines, this beauty features light up buttons, and an immersive push-button system. You'll find this machine around the Mojave wasteland, dispensing post-nuclear America's favorite (lukewarm) beverage!

[fallout4newvegas-blog]

"From where you're kneeling this must seem like an 18 karat run of bad luck. Truth is, the game was rigged from the start." #Fallout4NewVegas #fallout4 #FalloutNewVegas #Beginnings