UDK vs CryEngine 3 SDK: Object manipulation

As I was testing things out for the article on whiteboxing, I realised that each editor has its own set of nice features that makes your life easier when placing meshes and various entities in the world. I thought it deserved an article of its own.

Why should I care?
Well, because the easier it is to mess about with level's objects, the faster I can work.

UDK vs CryEngine 3 SDK: Whiteboxing

Today 's post is focussed on the whiteboxing tools available in UnrealEd and Sandbox. And I've just realised I haven't written a glossary entry about whiteboxing, so I'll quickly explain what it is. Whiteboxing is the process of producing a very crude version of the level's layout. It focuses on the playable space and its purpose is to evaluate things like scale, navigability and timings. 

Why should I care?

As an evaluation tool, a whitebox level will be modified many times, and sometimes started over from scratch. This is why whitebox geometry must be cheap to produce and easy to modify, so people (especially artists) don't feel like their time is wasted. Ideally, the whiteboxing tool would be simple enough so you don't actually need modelling skills to create those basic shapes, allowing level designers to completely own that stage. That's why the tools must be easy to use and their result easy to modify.

UDK vs CryEngine 3 SDK: Creating a new level

Today, I'll look at how to create a level. Fairly straightforward, but what's interesting here is knowing what makes a level and what are the options available.

Why should I care?

Because, depending on the type of game the engine/level editor has been built for, some assumptions are made about the components of a level. And if we ever want to make something different, those assumptions may get in the way. We must know them to be able to circumvent them (if needed).

UDK vs CryEngine 3 SDK: Getting started

So, let's do this in chronological order. One of the first things we want to do when starting a project (well, after the design phase) is to set up the SDK so we can actually start to make something. I'm going to take a look at what's needed to get the SDK installed and running.

My M.O. will be as follows (and will be the same for every article in the series): I'll start by explaining why I'm looking at what I'm looking at, then I'll tell about what I know (UDK) before looking at how it's done in the CryEngine.

UDK vs CryEngine 3 SDK: A no-nonsense comparison

Catchy title, hey?

For various reasons I've decided to park my learning of animation skills and now I'm interested into taking a closer look at the CryEngine 3 SDK.

Being a UDK user, I'm obviously going to compare both engines a lot. However, my goal is not to determine "the best engine", but to find out where are their respective strengths and weaknesses. This will be a series of blog posts, each focussing on a specific topic. The two engines will be evaluated on about 3 criteria:

• How straightforward the process is (i.e. number of steps required to get things done).
• How easy it is to iterate on content.
• How easy it is to make something different from the default game.

DISCLAIMER: As much as I'll try to give unbiased information, I cannot guarantee that the ratings on the above criteria will be objective, as what seems easy to me may not be easy to you and vice versa. But at least this will give you an idea.

The first topic will be about getting the SDK up and running.

You'll find all the articles in the series by following this link.

Animation chronicles - Episode 5: Character sets and poses

I'm about to create the control rig for my character's arms. Like the legs, it's going to be based off IK solving, though it's going to be a bit more complex. Unless you're making a dancing game or a fighting game, your characters are unlikely to have as complex movement in the legs as in the arms, especially when it comes to twisting. I'm going to need to test my shoulder controllers with the arm straight (as in bind pose) and with the elbow bent. And I'll probably want to go back an forth between those, which is I'll create a character set.

Animation Chronicles - Episode 4: Attribute locking and transform limits

I haven't progressed much since last time as I was too busy playing Forza 4. So far, I've got:

• A controller for each foot
• A controller for the hips
• A "world" controller for the entire character

Now I'll add controllers for the upper body and the head, which will give me the opportunity to talk about attribute locking and transform limits.