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Project MNOG 3D


specsowl

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Thanks for posting the video here as I don't know that I would have come across it otherwise. I really enjoyed it. I found it to be reminiscent of MNOLG and some of the old Legend of Mata Nui videos. I don't think I've ever seen the 3D models of the mahi before. I could see this being used to make a great game or video. 

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Thanks for posting the video here as I don't know that I would have come across it otherwise. I really enjoyed it. I found it to be reminiscent of MNOLG and some of the old Legend of Mata Nui videos. I don't think I've ever seen the 3D models of the mahi before. I could see this being used to make a great game or video. 

I'm glad you enjoyed it. I actually went about this project a very interesting way, making a modular piece library so that I could literally "build" the sets I wanted. Since Mahi use Tohunga arms, Pohatu's arms, Toa foot and the balls the only this I wasn't using elsewhere that I needed to make was Gali's hook! In theory, I could make any 2001 Bionicle using the parts library and making life for the island game would be quite simple. I also made Tahnok who isn't featured in the video. I really am planning on doing an "interactive adventure" someday, just not sure when. 

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I've actually seen this before, but I didn't know a member of BZPower made this. I must say, this is some outstanding work. I was actually thinking of doing something similar in the Source engine myself (I'm not familiar with Unreal), but I quickly came to the conclusion that I couldn't handle a project of that size alone.

Are you planning on making more Bionicle related stuff like this? if you do, I'd love to help out with 3d models or texturing.

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I've actually seen this before, but I didn't know a member of BZPower made this. I must say, this is some outstanding work. I was actually thinking of doing something similar in the Source engine myself (I'm not familiar with Unreal), but I quickly came to the conclusion that I couldn't handle a project of that size alone.

Are you planning on making more Bionicle related stuff like this? if you do, I'd love to help out with 3d models or texturing.

I am. This is actually quite an old project so I'm thinking of scrapping the main file but keeping the assets, just retexturing them and resculpting some things. Ideally I'd make the whole of Mata-Nui but I think I'd get too burned out working consistently. I think I'll just tackle one village at a time, and probably make Ga-Koro since it's more simple. 

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I haven't heard of many people making parts individually and using them to build characters but in something like this, I see how it would make sense to do it so that you could reuse already modeled pieces. I have no skill in the subject but I wondered, how does the difficulty of rigging and animating characters built with the individual pieces method compare to the rigging and animating of a model that was made altogether?

 

It's cool that so many pieces you had already made were able to be incorporated into the mahi models. Do you think you'll ever try building some of the bigger rahi like the tarakava?

 

I also saw that you recently graduated college with a degree in Game Art and Animation. Was this part of a school project or was it just a side project you wanted to do?

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I haven't heard of many people making parts individually and using them to build characters but in something like this, I see how it would make sense to do it so that you could reuse already modeled pieces. I have no skill in the subject but I wondered, how does the difficulty of rigging and animating characters built with the individual pieces method compare to the rigging and animating of a model that was made altogether?

 

It's cool that so many pieces you had already made were able to be incorporated into the mahi models. Do you think you'll ever try building some of the bigger rahi like the tarakava?

 

I also saw that you recently graduated college with a degree in Game Art and Animation. Was this part of a school project or was it just a side project you wanted to do?

All excellent questions so I'll try and address them in order.

 

1. Not really a question but yes making the parts for something like this is definitely beneficial in a world like this.

2. Rigging is actually easiest in something like this. The hard part is the animating. If you watch the Bionicle movie you'll notice they re-engineered the Matoran to work in a way that makes sense. I too modified the Tohunga feet only slightly to still look like MNOLG but bend at the subtle knees they have. The main thing is to make sure that objects don't collide and there's no magic button for that except time and patience.

3.Yes, especially if I make Ga-Koro I HAVE to make the Tarakava. The hardest part will be the wheels but otherwise I have the parts. And now I also have Gali's claw from the Mahi so I don't have to do that!

4. I do have a degree in Game Art but I will tell you my projects were never this involved. See, Game Art school is something people treat as a "show me how to do it and I'll graduate and be good at it". What it really is, since it's art based, is "here's how to do it but it means nothing if you don't PRACTICE" and that's exactly what this was. Practice. In school I did a new project every week and honestly whether you're in school for that thing or not is a good practice to get into! Sorry for the longer than asked for answer but it's really important that I spent my summer doing this to better my craft instead of doing nothing. Plus, heavy stuff aside, IT WAS SO MUCH FUN! I mean building Bionicles was fun, but making the parts and doing it yourself was even more fun!

 

And, for the record, I know that LDD allows you to download Bionicle parts including masks. I did not do that and I have worked with people who unfortunately have :( I made everything from scratch to work well with me and my rigging as well as doing small tweaks to make it MNOG styled!

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Wow, this is sick. I love the spaciousness and the steady supply of maha. The lighting looks pretty, but the twilight doesn't agree with a blue sky. The shadows are long, which implies that it's near evening, so wouldn't an almost setting sun fit better as a sky?

 

Outside of the village you did a decent job at covering up any flatness, though I assume it's very difficult to get that completely right in this style. I have no experience with udk, so I'm not sure what's possible and what limitations you have. Would it be possible to make objects like the huts seem even less smooth?

 

I think the highlights are the matoran and the maha. They're incredibly accurate and they look good! The statues and the rocks are amazing too.

Edited by Oroki
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Wow, this is sick. I love the spaciousness and the steady supply of maha. The lighting looks pretty, but the twilight doesn't agree with a blue sky. The shadows are long, which implies that it's near evening, so wouldn't an almost setting sun fit better as a sky?

 

Outside of the village you did a decent job at covering up any flatness, though I assume it's very difficult to get that completely right in this style. I have no experience with udk, so I'm not sure what's possible and what limitations you have. Would it be possible to make objects like the huts seem even less smooth?

 

I think the highlights are the matoran and the maha. They're incredibly accurate and they look good! The statues and the rocks are amazing too.

Thanks! Like I had mentioned before is that this project is quite old, however, I plan on completely updating everything and making a ton of new assets. I will take the critique of the huts down in my notes though as an improvement that needs to be made :)

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Oh my gosh this is beautiful. And it's making progress!

Edited by Jovan2

"You humans are absurd, Rook. Furious when you're not in control, terrified when you are. Pull it together."

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This is sweet! I've always played around in game editors to make stuff like this, but I've never actually used an engine program. I'm assuming that it goes way more in-depth and requires a bit of coding knowledge? I would love to help, but I have literally no experience in the area.

 

I am pretty good at minecraft though haha

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REVIEW TOPIC

 

 

 

 

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I'm

I'm so impressed i can't even talk.

 

Seirously dude, this is amazing. The only thing that seems out of place to me is that Po-koro is looking a little too... red ? Other than this, everything is great ! I can't wait to play it when is done.  ^_^

 

By the way, what do you mean by Masks ? Can we use the masks we find ? (Is Takua even gonna be the protagonist ?)

Edited by HoloTheWise
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Oh my gosh this is beautiful. And it's making progress!

 Thank you so much! 

This is sweet! I've always played around in game editors to make stuff like this, but I've never actually used an engine program. I'm assuming that it goes way more in-depth and requires a bit of coding knowledge? I would love to help, but I have literally no experience in the area.

 

I am pretty good at minecraft though haha

Well to make the environment, no, no coding required. However I plan to make the final version a browser game in Unity using JavaScript and that DOES require coding.  

I'm

I'm so impressed i can't even talk.

 

Seirously dude, this is amazing. The only thing that seems out of place to me is that Po-koro is looking a little too... red ? Other than this, everything is great ! I can't wait to play it when is done.  ^_^

 

By the way, what do you mean by Masks ? Can we use the masks we find ? (Is Takua even gonna be the protagonist ?)

Thank you for the kind words! Masks is kind of lumped into the mask/character category but perhaps finding masks would be cool. The new game actually will take place after the rebuilding I think and you don't play as Takua ;) Nor Hahli. I'll reveal later who
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Update! Worked on the Matoran bodies and put them into Marmoset 2 for a game-ready test for reusability. Meaning, the same body can be used repeatedly without worrying about a bunch of different models. Each body will be the same and just have different textures applied as well as animations. In essence, I made my life easy :) The Miru and the Rau aren't final. They need a few tweaks!
 
http://i.imgur.com/sgl1hyO.png
 
http://i.imgur.com/UVVSRrv.png
 
For those not in the know, the characters from Top left to right are Okoth, Kotu, Nixie, and Macku

 

 

 

 

Edit: Please link to images over 750 kB!

-Wind-

Edited by -Windrider-
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The Miru looks a bit skinny, but other than that it looks good. And this whole project looks amazing! Are you going to be making it an open-world style map? And by open world, I mean the entire island of Mata Nui. Not key locations and paths between where you go to the edge of playability and it look like it goes on and you're like "Noooo! I wanna go over there..."

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The Miru looks a bit skinny, but other than that it looks good. And this whole project looks amazing! Are you going to be making it an open-world style map? And by open world, I mean the entire island of Mata Nui. Not key locations and paths between where you go to the edge of playability and it look like it goes on and you're like "Noooo! I wanna go over there..."

 

Yikes, I was afraid someone would ask this. The game will be semi-open world. I'm not going to claim "See that mountain, you can climb it" but it will be considerable compared to MNOG. What I'll probably do is make the villages first and make them playable and eventually connect them all in a sort of hub world kind of deal

 

Also, yeah the Miru and Rau are quite skinny and I never realized it! Resizing them will be effortless so I'm not too worried about it

Edited by specsowl
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(Jibber-jabber)

 

Yikes, I was afraid someone would ask this. The game will be semi-open world. I'm not going to claim "See that mountain, you can climb it" but it will be considerable compared to MNOG. What I'll probably do is make the villages first and make them playable and eventually connect them all in a sort of hub world kind of deal

Ok. That might be preferable. This project looks amazing, so once it's completed, I'll probably feel like I have discovered a lot more, but the downside being I lost mystery in one of my favorite locations. Semi-open would probably be best. But just a couple suggestions I would like to make would be to create natural barriers to give the illusion of an entirely open world. Chasms, steep cliffs, rivers, etc. would be excellent ways to accomplish this. 

 

And when you do Onu-Wahi, I would watch the LoMN beta playthroughs on youtube to get some more idea of the environment, especially Papa-Nihu Reef. MNOLG and LoMN were going to be connected and they do start to be connected around the Kini Nui scene. So, that is part of why I say that. Plus its in a 3D environment, so your creative modeling eye could probably catch stuff to correct or replicate.  ;)

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Haha thanks for the suggestions man. Trust me, I've watched every MNOLG video 100 times leisurely, and 100 times taking notes. I have notes on every crevice, screenshots of every corner, and watched all of the Bionicle movies, played the games, and even have some comics on hand just for research. I will make sure this is the coolest Bionicle experience to date!

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Just a suggestion for the hub world: 

the player could start off in a boat with a map. All six Koros are marked on the map and upon clicking one you travel there.

That way you wouldn't have to connect the Koros with each other, wich would save you a lot of time that you can instead use to work on some of the details within the villages.

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Just a suggestion for the hub world: 

the player could start off in a boat with a map. All six Koros are marked on the map and upon clicking one you travel there.

That way you wouldn't have to connect the Koros with each other, wich would save you a lot of time that you can instead use to work on some of the details within the villages.

One mechanic I want is being able to fight Rahi in the Wahis. Walking from place to place will be fine as Mata-Nui's size will be a larger MNOG rather than its actual size of ~300 miles. I will have boats to Ta-Wahi, Po-Wahi, and Ga-Koro but everywhere else will either be Gukko, Ussal, or walking. Walking will give you a more interesting sort of adventure with lots of encounters, Gukko will be like the boat as fast travel, and Ussal will work as a non driving mount, but you can get off at any point in between. 

 

Also Update!

 

Speaking of mechanics, I made blockout meshes for Ga-Koro and did some very simple scripting to get started. I want to try and get Ga-Koro explorable both above and below water and then, with base colors, I'll release a Pre-Alpha of Ga-Koro for people to play with. I project within 2-3 weeks I can have basic animations and functions of the game to be played including maybe interacting with other Matoran. However, texturing and more complex meshes will take quite a while longer but that will come in time. Keep in mind that the longer I spend on one village, the easier it is to make the others using recycled assets like tools, Rahi, et cetera. 

Edited by specsowl
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You started with Po-koro, my home town and our virtue is creation! I see what you did there :D

Looking forward to seeing the results! Loving the screenshots so far :D

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Wow, amazing! Although to me the Pakari looks too narrow and the Huna looks too wide. Of course, those are tiny compared to the scope of the project!

Thanks! And yeah, I need to adjust the masks but I'll be working on that soon. 

 

Omg, it's new LOMN!!!!! You have to finish this. This is so good. Will it be like LOMN except with a Tohunga overhead view?

Please include the original Tohunga instead of the later ones!

Hey man thanks for the kind words! I was originally going to do original Tohunga but now I think I have a neat story I want to do with it so I'll be using the rebuilt Matoran. Besides, late Mata-Nui is so big and beautiful that I think the result will be pleasing. Also the camera is first person and will act as a FPS but with Point and Click Adventure mechanics similar to MNOG. I am currently scripting it now so I hope to release a pre Alpha of Ga-Koro soon for people to test out. Perhaps then you can let me know what you think :)

 

 

Also, UPDATE

 

I'll be updating the thread tomorrow with some more information on the game and some very preliminary screenshots of Ga-Koro in the blocking stages. It won't be beautiful, but I promise that with lots of work the result will be the same as Po-Koro! Also if I have time, Thursday I will release the pre-alpha of Ga-Koro where you can walk around, pick items up, and see how the game will be played. 

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Looks promising  so far... I'm glad you're bothering to plan everything out instead of leaping in and giving up a week later like so many others.

Haha time and time again it happens to everyone. It happens to cool projects you see going on, it happens to you, and it happens to me. I have failed to complete many projects in the past. One thing though that I find comforting in this project is this:

 

1. I'm not in a rush

2. I'm working alone

3. I worked on this 3 years ago and am returning to it.

 

Now these all seem like factors that would mean that I am very likely to GIVE UP when really the case is that things like working in small unprofessional (meaning not paid or just with friends) teams is very likely to break up because of one person waiting on another type deal. Not being in a rush also is because I wont burn myself out over working on it. I don't have school to return to and my job is consistent so there is no real "I only have 6 month to do this...does anyone even care?"

 

Planning is hard and boring, but after many MANY failed projects it's important to know that planing is the glue to keep you from simply giving up on a project. Also it's really cool. 

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Hey guys! Got some [ugly] progress for you! 

Blocked out some of Ga-Koro, and spent a million years on trying to script the dialogue functions. I am currently working on an underwater functionality. Naturally, being a blockout, Ga-Koro looks less than beautiful...floating in this, erm, gray void, but I promise it soon will! First and foremost is the functionality of the game. I need to make sure the point and click functions work perfectly as well as the dialogue. Hope you like what you've seen so far!

 

ZHxKnDh.jpg

 

You may have noticed that the map of Ga-Koro (right) looks a bit different than the Ga-Koro of MNOG or MNOG II. Well, Ga-Koro is a natural city. Every year the city grows because of the lilypads. In MNOG, the city was just a small village with a few sprouts. In MNOG II the village had grown quite a lot! I am hoping in MNOG 3D to keep the look of MNOG II but with a few new areas to explore in this ever growing aquatic city! Don't worry, the classics will be there, but a few sensible buildings are sprouting! 

 

PEHNkHq.jpg

wCxwOQ2.jpg

 

These are some base models for the Takea, Ruki,  unnamed Ga-Koro fish, Ussal, and Tarakava. I still need to work on a few pieces and obviously texture them. Just a small update on how they are turning out!

 

My next steps are as follows: 

Program ladders and underwater functionality as well as picking up items (but not putting them into inventory yet).

Model houses and extra lilypad sprouts.

Animate walking, running, and waving.

 

This will be over the next week or so so keep a lookout! The ready to play Pre-Alpha is just around the corner!

Edited by specsowl
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I continue to be amazed by your work and the time in which you've done it. I like you're explanation for a bigger Ga-Koro that is not exactly like the game. I feel like you can do something like that with every village if you needed to. It allows you to both stay true to the original but also give people the same feelings of wonder they received from exploring new areas in the original games. You have really captured the essence of MNOG with the rahi models. I feel like not including the holes in the liftarm pieces of the rahi is really reminiscent of the somewhat simplified versions of the rahi in set form that were characteristic of Templar's art style. I also noticed that I had never seen a ussal with those colors before. Are you using different colors for ussal crabs in different villages?

Edited by Gonny
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I continue to be amazed by your work and the time in which you've done it. I like you're explanation for a bigger Ga-Koro that is not exactly like the game. I feel like you can do something like that with every village if you needed to. It allows you to both stay true to the original but also give people the same feelings of wonder they received from exploring new areas in the original games. You have really captured the essence of MNOG with the rahi models. I feel like not including the holes in the liftarm pieces of the rahi is really reminiscent of the somewhat simplified versions of the rahi in set form that were characteristic of Templar's art style. I also noticed that I had never seen a ussal with those colors before. Are you using different colors for ussal crabs in different villages?

Thank you! Yes, not including the holes is EXACTLY what Templar studios did to make me fall in love with the art style. Gives them more substance in my opinion. Also the growing/changing village thing is what I want to include because some parts will feature a less than positive result of the nature around them. I want to show that Mata-Nui is WILD and not something that is really safe for the Matoran, but they make the best with what they've got. 

 

As far as the Ussal crab, I have two plans. 1. is wild ussal crabs. Each village will have ussal crab wildlife scattered about to match the rahi of that village. However, outside of the villages, I will have a small Ussalry huts that all of Mata-Nui is using for transportation. One thing I want to really push is cultural mixing. You go to Ga-Koro, and there will be Ga-Koro things, but you may also see an adapted Lava board or lightstone or even a Ko-Matoran walking around on vacation!

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Hey guys, it's UPDATE TIME!!!!

 

What have I been working on? See for yourself:

 

8DwStDt.jpg

 

Underwater Swimming is coming along, though the sea floor is a bit barren.

 

pshygoc.jpg

 

Hovering over the characters shows their names. If you're close enough to them, you can talk to them too! (Hovering over items will work the same)

 

RysJb2q.jpg

 

WIP Beauty shot of Ga-Koro after going up the main ramp. You can see the Suva from here! Also, houses have no detail on them and are kind of messy. Need to work on them some more.

 

nrJJGfO.jpg

 

Shot of the...waterfall? Isn't there supposed to be a giant Kaukau there? (Soon)

 

7NHPqW2.jpg

 

Welcome to Ga-Koro, the ever growing city!

 

xLOE5kj.jpg

 

The city from up above. It grows more and more each year! I wonder what new locations will be here from the 2nd MNOG?

 

Thanks for looking guys! I hope to see you all soon with more exciting updates!

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