Trespassing - A Trespasser Remake / Re-Telling

Creating new content for Trespasser!

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Trespassing - A Trespasser Remake / Re-Telling

Post by s13n1 »

The title of this thread has been updated to make it more relevant.

I couldn't go to bed without showing some images.

I haven't yet merged Summit, but everything else is here including Pine Valley.

I left the starting area from the Lab retail level, as it would be a good path to use to link to a new area.
It goes up behind the creek that the first bridge crosses after the thermal plant in Pine Valley, and a new area
with a waterfall that feeds the creek would be very easy to build.

To link the road from the Thermal plant to the Harbor, a path over the hill could be made or even a tunnel.

When you jump down into the water in IJ, theres a road that leads off to the left that ends abruptly. This
road actually comes very close to connecting with the road at the start of Pine Valley. A couple of ascending
switch backs would see them linked quite nicely.

I am planning on modifying the JR section to include the blocked off valley, just haven't got to it yet.

I haven't finished tweening the sections together, but once i have it will look a lot better. I cant save the map as
one file yet though, because the polygon limit for lightwave files is 65000, it will have to be a obj and will probably
be in excess of 50mb.

At the moment the poly count is just shy of 230,000 and once ive merged Summit, tweened the gaps, built all the
missing coast and added whatever else.. well, we could be looking at close to 300,000 polys.

There is still a $hit load of optimizing to be done, which must be done by hand now to avoid any loss in detail.
I should be able to shave close to 30,000 polys i reckon.
all_levels_merged.png
all_levels_merged.png (430.43 KiB) Viewed 61317 times
There is plenty of room for extra levels, north west of the Town, north of IJ, south of the Town / Dam valley and north east of the Harbor.
all_levels_merged2.png
all_levels_merged2.png (308.79 KiB) Viewed 61317 times
all_levels_merged3.png
all_levels_merged3.png (384.22 KiB) Viewed 61317 times
What do you think so far?
Give you some ideas as to where missing levels might have been?
Last edited by s13n1 on Sun Jun 24, 2012 11:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: All levels combined into one mesh. W.I.P

Post by machf »

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Re: All levels combined into one mesh. W.I.P

Post by s13n1 »

I did have a look at that thread and i must say some fantastic work was done to put together the island using the heigjtmaps.

Using the mesh shows up some areas where extra detail exists outside of the play area, which hints towards where other levels may have been.

The mesh doesn't match exactly to the shape of Isla del coco or the images of Isla Sorna that exist, but its pretty close. When i get home from visiting family, ill start work on filling in the gaps and building the missing coast.

It would be great to get some feedback on what other Trescom members think is in some of the empty areas. I've got my own ideas as to what to put in these empty areas, but more opinions would be great.

Hope everyone had a good Christmas, i got the JP BluRay trilogy and i can't wait check it out!
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Re: All levels combined into one mesh. W.I.P

Post by s13n1 »

A quick update on how things are looking.

Haven't spent much time on it, i've been trying to find a plug-in for Lightwave 5.6 that allows the import and export
of .obj files. This would allow me to work with one large file, rather then 9 smaller models. The 65000 poly
limit is a pain in the a$$.

Because im so limited, i cant really do much in lightwave, so i plan to fill the gaps with very basic geometry, then once its
100% filled, ill create a 4096 metre square around the island, then rotate the island so it fits diagonally (the island is 4800 metres long).
After that ill render a high res heightmap of the entire island using Bryce, and import it into Crysis for some texturing. Depending on how
it looks, i might use something like GeoControl to produce a more interesting heightmap with more noise, as GeoControl can produce some
nice realistic terrain.
island_with_coast.png
island_with_coast.png (116.69 KiB) Viewed 61279 times
The first two levels needed to be moved down to line up with the coast. This creates a gap between JR and IJ which when combined with
all the other empty space, leaves plenty of room for a lost level. I've read that people suspect there was a break between JR and IJ and looking
at the mesh it makes sense.
Island_overlay.png
Island_overlay.png (76.82 KiB) Viewed 61279 times
This image shows the detail levels better, and highlights where the lost levels may have been.
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Re: All levels combined into one mesh. W.I.P

Post by tatu »

Really nice.

Remember that JR includes two levels, both JR and PH. The part after the town, the plains part, where much bigger too.

I would suggest to look through the design documents we got, that explains all the missing levels.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=8904
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Re: All levels combined into one mesh. W.I.P

Post by machf »

Actually, PH was scrapped and some stuff from it was relocated into portions of JR... the same happened to PL, it was scrapped and some stuff was moved into IT. The levels themselves (with the location they were meant to be at) aren't there... but we know where they went (sort of).
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Re: All levels combined into one mesh. W.I.P

Post by s13n1 »

I hadn't read any of those design docs yet, but i decided to have a quick look before i start any major reconstruction.

The doc paints a very clear image of just how hard it must have been working on Trespasser. The poor devs had to alter their
levels so much that its no wonder the games release slipped so much. If they hadn't been so limited with hardware initially,
they might've been able to leave the levels as they were and by the end of development time, optimisations and newer hardware
might've allowed the game to ship as it was intended.

The doc makes it difficult to imagine the progression from the beach through to IJ. Not being able to access the plantation
house till after JR means that the path of the monorail is now either very different from the original, or the plantation house
and cathy's beach is actually to the right of the starting beach. Where cathy's beach is now might be the beach mentioned in the
doc:

"Secret Beach

In the southwest corner of the Jungle Road area, there is a second beach. It is a rocky area bare of trees, harsher and less tranquil than the starting area. It should be beautiful, but in a kind of harsh and lonely way – not like the idyllic starting beach. An piece of an airplane, perhaps the wing or tail, has washed up on the rocks – a remnant of Anne's own vehicle."

It kind of fits with the doc because the mayan ruins is mentioned just before the secret beach, which could be the ruins just near the current location
of the plantation house.

I'll try to recreate the path in the doc as best i can and post my findings when im happy with the results.
Has anyone else tried this before?
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Re: All levels combined into one mesh. W.I.P

Post by s13n1 »

Being a little behind the times, i have a lot of catching up to do.

The thread here: viewtopic.php?f=120&t=8002
shows the PH level texture and where it may fit in the island layout.

I think i can reconstruct the PH level, but i would like some more of these large terrain textures.
For some reason, SwpExt wont extract any textures for me, it says it fails to open the files, so
if someone could upload all the texture files found in the Beta it would be great. I dont mean the regular
textures, i mean the textures that are the same as the image at the start of this thread:
viewtopic.php?f=120&t=8002

I'm just making an image in photoshop that marks all the locations mentioned in the design doc.
Ill post my findings as soon as i have finished.
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Re: All levels combined into one mesh. W.I.P

Post by s13n1 »

Placing the PH texture over the 3D mesh, lines it up with the coast nicely.

The bottom right pale green area lines up with the area the Town is built in, and even shows where the East exit to the
plains used to be. Placing the PH texture over the Zandor map or the heightmaps does not line the town up correctly, only
when it was layered over the 3D mesh was it obvious. It was this perfect alignment of the coast and the town area that
allowed me to make sense of the design doc. From there i could identify the landslide and then piece together the rest.
PH_overlay.png
PH_overlay.png (332.31 KiB) Viewed 61231 times
I think the primary mission for PH was to locate a passcode for the Town Gate (C).
The passcode would be located on the body of a dead hunter which i beleive would have been in the Plantation House (E).
A map in the Hunters Camp (D) marks the House as a location for a possible secondary base. This gives the player the idea to
search for the house because the dead hunter with the passcode could be there. Once the player has found the access code,
they can open the gate and head towards the town. Here is where the landslide is which has knocked over the remaning
monorail sections and also blocks access to the Town, forcing the player to head west and start I.J.
My PH layout.png
My PH layout.png (188.91 KiB) Viewed 61231 times
I think the primary green colour are hills and the darker green areas are possibly gorges. I have extended one of these
dark sections and given it a bright green outline. I think this is where the gorge dividing J.R and PH would have been. The
grey colour is there to show where the boundry between the two levels is.

Without being able to see more of these images for other levels, i cant be 100% sure what the colours are.

I have placed a red outline around all the areas i think the player would be able to move freely in based on
what i've translated from the doc.

The documentation states that Anne crosses a gorge from JR and starts PH on the final section of the monrail, which i have
labelled area A. The documentation makes note that Anne could see the construction site below from the monorail, so it must
have been in this first open area, i've labelled this area B.

The documentation notes that after the construction site, the player will come accross a valley and at the other end is
where the monorail line was being built. This has been marked with blue lines and is said to have lead to where the
landslide is.

The Hunters Camp.
If the player went East instead of heading North towards the town gate, they would come accross the location of the hunters
camp which i have marked D. There is a map at the hunters camp that shows the position of the Plantation House and also
notes an alternate approach to the InGen Town, which i think is also the same clearing that would lead the player to I.J. I
dont think the player would be able to access this alternate path though, because it would defeat the purpose of having to
find the access code for the Town Gate. I think that You could probably jump down to the planation house area, but not the
other way.

The documentation talks about some mysterious old stone walls. These walls are around the construction site and are also in
the valley that leads to the town gate. Following the walls will lead the player to the foundations of a very small
building which i have marked F. From these foundations, a path will lead the player to the Plantation House and then onto
the Shore and Cathy's Beach.

How much of the beach was explorable is unknown, but going from size comparisons with other levels, i cant imagine the
player having more freedom then i've marked out. The documentation makes note of a path that leads to a shore with a steep
cliff. The documentation here is not complete but makes not of "Down to the beach", which would have been visible from this
steep cliff and accessible by the path that leads around to it. This then would be Cathy's Beach and the area the doc notes
the player will find a Boat Hook.

The presice location of the gate and the monorail is unknown, but i'm sure that the landslide would have been after the gate,
that way the player made the effort to search for the passcode to open it. Once the gate was opened, then they would see the
town was inaccessible and the path to I.J would have been accessible.

This area that i think leads to the start of I.J, is also where the alternative path to the InGen town is that the hunters marked
on their map. Its the only area that links the plantation house area to the town. I dont think it would have been accessible from
the plantation house area, because then the player could access I.J without having to open the gate.

I'm not 100% sure of the connections between where the "mysterious foundations" (F) area and where the Plantation House is.
There is a path that looks to me like it may have been the river thats mentioned in the doc, that connects to both areas.
Without ever seeing some geometry, i can only make a guess. For exploration purposes, i would think areas F and E would have
been blocked by a cliff or dropoff, which would force the player to use the path / river.

My findings may not be accurate, but it gives me something to build and fill the gap between J.R and I.J. I have some theories
on the Plains level and how the Dam was originally too. Ill post those soon.

References:

Rebel's Plantation House Thread: viewtopic.php?f=120&t=8002

Planttion House Walkthrough: viewtopic.php?f=120&t=8697
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Re: All levels combined into one mesh. W.I.P

Post by machf »

Very well done...
So... a landslide... hmmm... that explains why even though I first thought the entrance to the town should have been there, you still had to go all the way around IJ to get into it.
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Re: All levels combined into one mesh. W.I.P

Post by s13n1 »

Im assuming that after they removed all trace of the landslide, they forgot to remove the town gate or just didn't think anyone would care.

Its a shame we can't get access to more of those texture files!

Ill post my findings on the town and plains soon.
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Re: All levels combined into one mesh. W.I.P

Post by s13n1 »

Something else i forgot to mention was how the clearing to the left of the town looks as if it joins the
Monorail Terminus at the start of J.R.

Perhaps for realism purposes the designers envisioned a road that linked the Beach to the town?
Possibly even an alternative road that linked up with the start of the North Road at the East exit of the town?

My findings on the Town and plains will be a little delayed. I just installed the Unreal Development Kit (UDK) and
at the start of the install it installed a M$ .net framework thingy, then a message told me my machine was going
to reboot in less then a minute. So i scrambled to save some work i had done but within 10 seconds all apps were
closed and my machine rebooted.

Nice, thanks Bill.
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Re: All levels combined into one mesh. W.I.P

Post by Dragonlord »

That's why I love Linux... no reboots unless I explicitly agree to it :D .
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Re: All levels combined into one mesh. W.I.P

Post by s13n1 »

Well after a tone of optimization by hand, i have got the vertices down to under 65000 so i can merge all levels into one mesh.
Now its a matter of going through and fixing every inverted poly by hand, which is a very long process.

Once im finished, ill be able to start the next stage of detailing, which im pretty excited about, it should
look amazing.

I'm holding back on posting my findings on the Plains and the Town until i can start constructing the geometry.
I want to be able to post a good looking estimate of how these levels looked.

I rendered a height map in Max of the entire island and imported it into Crysis, it looked pretty good but was a bit of a pain.
I was not able to fit the island into a 4096x4096 terrain without rotating the island a little and reducing its size by about 10%.
This actually had no effect on the scale though, because the scale is a little off anyway. After combining all the levels together and
matching it up with the Zandor island map, it was a little larger then the actual size of Isla del Coco, so scaling down by 10% has
actually made it closer to real world scale and looks good in Crysis.

I'll post some images once ive got the mesh finished.
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Re: All levels combined into one mesh. W.I.P

Post by s13n1 »

Another late night for me but i must soldier on, there is lots of work to be done!
island_all_clean_wip.png
island_all_clean_wip.png (293.48 KiB) Viewed 61128 times
So far i have cleaned up BE, JR, IJ, IT, AS2 and Summit, but i haven't yet stitched
AS2 to the others, so there's still a visible seam.

Once i have cleaned up AS, PV and the Lab, ill stitch them all together and it should look nice and smooth.

I exported all the Sidewalk models, stripped them down to the bare minimum and built the terrain around them.
They are not raised, but they will give me a clear indication of where the streets are later on. That's only If i
retain the original town layout of course.

To give you a bit of an idea of where i plan to take this, here's a clip of some terrain that was created using a
process similar to the process ill use to sculpt the entire island. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_Gvb01572g
My hope is to create a terrain that looks nice enough that it doesn't need to be saturated with vegetation and other
decorative objects to make it look good.

The standard Crysis maps used hundreds of rocks to wall up the levels and restrict the player from leaving the play area.
But because the player can explore this entire island, i don't need to use rocks and other objects to limit where
players can go, ill leave that to realistic terrain restrictions, slopes, cliffs etc. There will of course be some limitations to
where the player can go, there needs to be some sort of path initially, but eventually the island will be completely open
and free to explore.

Anyway, time for some sleep!
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