Tuesday 26 November 2013

NOVA ZONA CONCEPT ART 02

Well, here's what is definitely going to be my last update before I go back home to chill for 9 weeks- another atmosphere/touchy feely piece to get across the mood for one of NOVA ZONAs many Industrial areas scattered across the island.
Again, it is to show things like weather/forms/lighting/atmospherics and overall tone, and is not intended to be taken as a literal shot. Although, saying that, just doing these two pictures has given me a lot of ideas and is also helping keep me on the right track design wise- as it's so easy to go off on a tangent otherwise, so I might do some more of these further down the line.

Little details like the reflective dirty water puddles on the ground will be included (If ARMA 3 terrains allow it?) as they add so much to a scene. I know in films they will literally spray water puddles onto road surfaces etc before filming a shot, as it adds so much depth and contrast (Interest) to a shot before filming, so why not use that method here if the engine allows? ;)
Extensive piles of rubbish and debris, huge tall over bearing structures breaking up the skyline, electric pylon wiring and mist patches will all add up to create an atmosphere of dread and foreboding in the right weather conditions so I'll try my best to get those all in and working too.

Anyway, here's the shot- I hope you like it:





Worth mentioning is that I got a considerate PM from Ceh (Bohemia Interactive forums) who pointed out that my logo for NOVA ZONA is in effect incorrect..!
I think because the [I]"N"s[/I] are reversed it seems like Cyrillic, and so is an incorrect spelling unknown totally to me. He is suggesting numerous fixes/advice etc which is completely welcome but if anyone here is also in the know, PLEASE let me know how I could get around this issue, and if it's an issue that is too much of a mistake as to be unacceptable basically. Like saying North America is only 2 miles from Britain or something... but if it's still sort of acceptable, then I'm prepared to swallow it and go ahead with it how it is as I really like the look and feel of the logo- it's exactly what I was trying to achieve.
To my tiny English brain it looks and feels Russian..! ;)

The font has a reversed "N" by default so I took it as correct but it seems to give out the wrong message. :(
Either way, it's great to get this feedback and tell me where I'm going wrong (I have literally 1% understanding of Russian/Ukrainian/Cyrillic!) so I can begin to makes amends...

UPDATED: The NOVA ZONA logo is now correct. Ceh sent me some amazing advice about Cyrillic variations and I've applied what he suggested basically, so a big thanks to Ceh..! Wouldn't have happened without him.
I've left the main NOVA ZONA in large fonts untouched as I really like the look and it's more appealing to us "Westerners", but the Cyrillic spelling has been added underneath and just adds another layer to the Periodic Elements look.
A great compromise.

Thursday 21 November 2013

CONCEPT ART AND LOGO FOR NOVA ZONA

Hi again,

I finally got that concept piece done- well, it's more of a mood/atmosphere piece really, as I wanted to get down in an image the kind of feeling I'm going for with NOVA ZONA.

I tried to capture it as the sun was starting to set, as that's more of an evocative time for a location like this- and it's also a bit more symbolic for the island in general as its time in the sun has long since past and now everything is in a state of decay and is slowly being claimed back by nature.
Hopefully you can tell by this image the kind of landscaping I'll be using. It will be varied and also extreme in some places in regards to the changes Anomalies have wrought upon their surroundings...

As this is in the ARMA 3 Engine, it will also be larger and more spaced out- when you go into a swamp area, you won't be able to see the other side- you will have to do a lot of walking to get back out again. I'll scatter little single structures around to break it up in general, but the overall feeling will be very remote, bleak and ravaged. 
I will be having clusters of towns and villages and the occasional Industrial or Experimental areas obviously but just wanted to get across that there will also be a lot of wilderness if you want to get away from it all and set up a camp fire. 

The statue is a reference to NOVA ZONAs hugely experimental past. Man is holding aloft an atom, but is now himself ruined and crumbling- destroyed by the very thing he holds above all else. You can see more evidence of this in the middle background- the ravaged radio telescope and huge array on the mountains edge...

Anyway, here's the full res one, I hope you like it:



Also, I took a little longer as I wanted to get down a logo for NOVA ZONA too.

I wanted it to be a little bit different and strange, and have some relevant information in it too somehow. I didn't want it to be another clone of the Stalker logo, fantastic as that is, as I wanted this to stand out by itself as something separate and new. 
After trying out a few ideas, I went down the route of trying to incorporate the "science/experimental" side of the islands history (As that's the sole reason it's in the state it is now..!), and came up with basing it on the Periodic Table Of The Elements. 
I've changed up the smaller element names and the figures for the atomic mass. 
The names are:

"unexpected"
"uncontained"
"anomalous"
"hostile"

which are obvious references to the creation and state of the Zone itself. 
Also, the first three atomic mass figures each add up to 13. The last one, "101" is yet another reference, this time to George Orwells fantastic book, 1984 and the Room 101 where your worst nightmares are made real.

Speaking of 101, I plan on having the main Experimental area (Underground, if possible in ARMA 3) named "Laboratory 101" just so you know..!

Anyway, here's a larger version of the NOVA ZONA logo guys:



I have only 9 days left before I'm without my PC for 2 months, so will maybe do another concept/mood piece. If I do manage it (time is short!) then it will be more in line with what you're used to from the Stalker games.
It will be down on ground level in the midst of Industrial buildings, piping and overhead wires etc, and will also be darker with storm clouds and lightening etc...you know the kind of thing. 

As always, any suggestions or advice is most welcome, as the feedback is a great motivator..!

Take it easy,

Marc


Thursday 14 November 2013

BURNT HOUSE 01


Hey up,
here's what is probably going to be the last WIP update before I go back to Blighty for 8 weeks and chill...
It's a burnt house structure, of which there'll be MANY variations. This one is mostly intact still, but bear in mind others will be just corner parts, supporting beams or even just the foundations left over etc... Variations again.
I wanted it to retani the look of a strcutre, and only "gut" it out to a certain extent- many others will be almost completely gutted and will offer no shelter or cover.

...No refuge from Blowouts...

Anyway, here's an exterior and an interior shot looking up:



I hope you like it.

Now, I'm going to probably do a concept piece to try to show the feeling/atmosphere I'm wanting to achieve with NOVA ZONA. Basically I've got 2 weeks before I've got no PC access for 2 months, so will just take my time with it, as there's no point starting another WIP at this stage...
Anyway, I look forwards to hearing any comments guys..!


Saturday 2 November 2013

METAL WAREHOUSE 01

Hi all, 
sorry it's been awhile, but this one is quite large and extensive. Add to that the way I'm building all these structures is sort of modular in so far as it'll allow my to easily chop and change for those ever important variations so it all adds up to the process length.
I've really tried to keep this as generic as possible looking, as I'm going to be using it (And various layouts of it) a lot across NOVA ZONA- some will have one floor, other will be really low with a slightly raised roof section etc to add variety.

Again, I'm trying to get across a really strong form with these building- the silhouette is mostly key to do that and with this one I wanted it to almost read as a "church" or place of worship with its outline (Like NOVA ZONA's God was "Industry" or something equally as cheesey lol...) , hence the really tall peak to it which is staggered up by three floors. 
Entrance is gained through a small wooden door at the front, or through two large double doors at the back for vehicle access when it was functioning.
The first two floors are accessible by creaky wooden stairs, and the third floor is only reached by a rusty ladder up to a precarious wooden platform where you can snipe and scope to your hearts content.



The round green units inside are meant to be in the same aesthetic as the Stalker games, so I've tried to keep them functional looking but slightly otherworldly at the same time- like something you wouldn't really see in the real world. 
So you're not entirely sure what they were... 

The whole building is meant to be a sort of "Fermenting House" for some sort of grain or crop (Or is it..?), and that is the translation on the front.

That's the main difficulty with doing this island- I want to try to cover all the bases like Laboratories/Factories/Admin/Houses?Stalker made Structures etc, but in doing so will have to create "average" approximations of each class- I can't get too specific otherwise the pattern will be too recognisable each time you see the same building. 
I think this is a problem for Island dev in general, just part of the challenge..! You have to be really selective about what you choose to put in.

Things like populating the buildings with smaller objects will come later and will hopefully break up the repetition... fingers crossed..!

Here's two interior shots too:



Anyway guys, thanks for reading this and also thanks for the PMs I get too- it's really kind and helps keep me going with this..!

Sunday 6 October 2013

HOUSE 05 INGAME

Hey up, here's a few in game shots of HOUSE_05 under different lighting situations.
This one is more in line with the kind of weather I'll be going for in NOVA ZONA. (Although I'll shift the .cfg's location to somewhere in Eastern Europe so it should be even more Stalkerish):


This one is a harsh bright day, so you can get an idea of the kind of texturing I'm going for, quite sharp and dirty- like it's been left in the desolation of the wilderness for years to start to decay and all the colours are getting bleached out of it:


And this last one is to show the brand spanking new lovely lighting effects in the engine and how the planks and holes etc can take advantage of them:


Bear in mind it'll only get that sunny VERY rarely, as it's mostly gonna be grim and grotty weather- so when the sun does come out, it'll be a welcome change... 
I hope you like it and please feel free to comment on anything you see- it's like Xmas morning when I see people are giving feedback and really helps with motivation too.

Take it easy.

Thursday 3 October 2013

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION 01

Hi all,
ok, another update here- this one was a bit quicker to do than the Petrol Station, as it's a much simpler design and layout.

There are some like this in the STALKER game itself, and again I took cues from them (To retain the feeling) and tried to make them a bit more gritty and realistic. I will be doing a fair few variations of this too, as it's fairly low poly and is easy to mix and match to create a lot of differing layouts, even multiple floors too.
So expect to see some desolate huddles made up of these kind of half constructed buildings scattered throughout NOVA ZONA- the idea being that before the "Incident" the island was starting to become fairly prosperous and was a burgeoning thriving community.

Then it all went to hell...

Anyway, here's a shot showing some damaged wall section also so expect to be able to shoot through the gaps etc. And also, now with ARMA 3's new and bloody lovely Volumetric Godrays it should enhance the immersion even more.

I hope you like it anyway..!


Wednesday 25 September 2013

PETROL STATION 01

Back at last from RL..!!! 

Ok, this update is for a Petrol Station in the old NOVA ZONA rusted and ruined style, and is inspired by the excellent petrol station in Call Of Pripyat- there is something I love about that buildings shape and silhouette, it's really evocative of times gone by for me.

I've tried to update the design a bit to take it away from the source material, and done some research on Ukraine/Russian petrol stations and I noticed that there used to be quite a lot that had this chequered tile motif along the edges of their walls, so thought that looked pretty striking. I've continued that design inside the building aswell, which you probably can't see from these screenies but there's a two tone wall pattern inside with a chequered section to separate the tones.

Anyway, here's a few shots and you can also see there's some old battered shelving units inside too, to offer concealment and protection incase you get caught with your pants down:



I hope you like it guys, and I look forwards to any feedback. :)



Friday 23 August 2013

WATER TOWER 01

here's that large Water Tower I was working on when my beloved PC took a nose dive.

It's inspired by the now iconic Water Tower at Vukovar in Croatia that sustained extensive damage during the siege:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Vukovar

I chose it as it has a distinctly Eastern European feel to it and it's a very interesting shape and has a strong silhouette. The eight huge concrete supports also lend themselves to some cat and mouse game play hopefully so I've tried to cut a few blocks out of them to break up the outline and allow for stray bullets and shells to go through.



To get to the top, the player will first ascend a spiral staircase, then climb two tall internal ladders. There's two external floors- the viewing or maintenance level (Complete with faded wavy water themed wall paper!) with eight connected rooms and the very top from were the player will get a 45 meter high 360 degrees view point of the surrounding Zone.

Anyway, hope you like it guys, it threw up a few problems along the way lol...

Tuesday 6 August 2013

HOUSE 05

Hello again..! 
I've wanted to do a really bleaky creaky freaky looking cabin in true STALKER style for awhile now, but have waited until I found some good photo ref and then got all the pictures together and just took cues from the best bits of them all. 
I really like these type of metal plate roofs, which are also used in the STALKER games on some buildings I think, as they allow for a cheap way to do the collision LODs, as they're in effect made up of simple cube geometry- easy to translate to the LODs as I say. They also look really oppressive, and really spooky at night when picking your way through the Zone at night and your flash light glints off them.



I've also noticed on a lot of these kind of houses in Ukraine (Where I'm taking my cues from visually as a guide at least!) they sometimes have a little white metal plate on one of the top corners, I think for house number- so I've added that but put some Ukrainian with the house number, but also a "Sector 7" or other number, so as to give the island a feeling that all the inhabitants were under some sort of registration, militarily or experimentally even before the "Incident" / "інцидент"that created NOVA ZONA... 
I'm hoping to expand on that theme very subtly as this goes on, and hopefully it'll come together to create a feeling of oppression across the map as you start putting all these little visual clues together and you can form your own stories from it...

I added the little porch as it'll obviously add to game play, creating more angles etc and because I've always wanted a house in the woods with a porch where I can watch the sunset from, whilst supping from a bottle of Jack and puffing on a pipe. 
Trying to add to the decayed look of it, I've kept the wood texture the same on the inside as the outside with this one, as I really want to make it so there's so many holes and gaps (Many of which you just can't see with this shot) that no corner of this house feels totally safe from possible sniper fire or the weather of NOVA ZONA. 

Tuesday 30 July 2013

RADIO MAST 05

Damn, I nearly forgot to post about this here!
I'll keep it brief as I've already got it in game and dancing as you can see in the other post, so here it is:





RADIO MAST 05 INGAME
Well, in-between doing other jobs and real world (!) things, I finally got this Radio Mast 05 into the game and working. 
I placed 4 in a row here and set up a little skirmish between two opposing forces to get some action out of it. It's really satisfying to see all the little iddy biddy tiny AI peeps utilising the structures I've made- it never gets old! One dude got shot from the top of the Radio Mast and fell rag doll style down the side, bless him...


Also, I'd like to mention and thank both Mikero and [EvG] Kiory for their massive help with this one, and many others in the ARMA community- I had a few problems with this in regards things like collisions (Don't ask...) and even basic things like getting a bloody ALPHA channel to work (Don't ask...)!
I should mention, the only retouching is the very top of the lightning bolt as I missed the strike with ARMA3's Splendid Cam, and there's a slight vignette around the outside to focus the attention, that's all though- it's basically all in game goodness.

Friday 12 July 2013

RADIO MAST 01

I'm planning to do a few of these kind of radio masts/antenna, as they're quite quick to do and will lend a lot of atmosphere to a scene, especially at night, when their silhouettes break up the skyline and with little lights flashing on and off etc...
This one is a striaght forward tall thin mast, but some of the others will be more sinister in shape, taking cues from old Soviet forms and the Brain Scorcher.


I've tried to keep the metal structure rusty and worn, and also added a few metal "plates" and grills at various heights to break up the form and add variety.
For me, little touches like radio masts and old disused radars dotted around really put a location into the Stalker mindset.



Sunday 7 July 2013

BRICK WAREHOUSE 01

Hi all, here's the latest addition to my object/building library, a large generic Brick Warehouse that'll be used to populate the Zone with old derelict structures as it's been constructed in such a way as I will probably put together about 6-7 more buildings using this style.
It's a take on the plain brick buildings used across the STALKER games, and I wanted to elaborate a bit more on the theme, so have added little things like the brick edging and ledges to give it more colour and catch the light.
Anyway, here's some shots with the last one being an internal shot:








Wednesday 26 June 2013

HOUSE 04
By jingo it's been a while..!!!
Good to be back from a fantastic holiday back home to visit family and friends, but at long last here's an update to my Stalker project!
This one is a log cabin with an added attic area accessible via a crappy wooden ladder on the outside of the building. It's taken a bit longer than most of the other structures as it's essentially made of cylinders, and each one had to be an exact size so as to allow for both modularity and ease of player animations like vaulting etc.
I more or less spent two days figuring out a happy medium.
Also, as there's a fair bit of surface area it took a little longer to texture too..! All those round logs and planks..!!!
Anyway, here's a couple of shots, one of the entire outside and another of the detailing and a section of the rooms inside the building where you could spend an entire evening, fire crackling, smoking fine cigars, drinking good wine and generally having cordial conversation with the other gentlemanly Stalkers of the Zone:




Sunday 14 April 2013

CARGO MODIFIED 02
Hello..!!!
Another Stalker modified Cargo container here.
This one has a single door, and two segments of the siding have been cut away with two holes in each with each part hinged so they can be raised or lowered for more protection while you aim out the firing slots cut into them.
There is also a basic chimney pipe cut into the roof for when you have to shelter in a bad storm, make a little fire, and heat yourself up with the sides down.
Around the far side there's a pipe and a H-bar holding up an extended roof which can be accessed by climbing a basic ladder made from bent metal and shaped welded plating.
A couple of metal sheets welded to the added railings around the top make for some more cover when proving Overwatch for your squad mates, or simply chilling and watching the sunset over the Zone...






Thursday 11 April 2013

CARGO MODIFIED 01
Well hello there... I said hello...
This is the first of about 3-4 Stalker modified Cargo Containers, meaning that the Stalkers/Bandits etc have been trying to scavenge pieces of scrap metal or anything they can get their hands on and weld them as plating to the containers to bolster it's defensive capabilities- so to help it act as an outpost or something at the edge of a dangerous area or a camp for example.
This particular one has some Russian spray painted on the front of it's one remaining door, the round yellow circle with the three triangles represents the international "Fallout Shelter" symbol, and the text under it means "SHELTER". 
Thanks goto Soulassassin for the translation..! 
There is vehicle panelling welded across the top of the window and at the far corner of this container to act again as a defensive plate, so you can cover from behind it.
On the far side in the middle is a welded on ladder to allow access to the roof, where again Stalkers have added sheet metal for protection.
They've also cut the entire back out and raised it up and propped it on a metal pole and bent the whole sheet up for a shield, whilst in the other edge there's a metal door with a firing hole blowtorched out of it welded onto the corner of the container.
There's also little details like the inside of the cargo door has some old maps of The Zone stuck to it, all faded and marking drawn on them- although I'm not going to go overboard on these kind of details too much at this early point, as I'll wait to see how they look when they're repeated ingame...

     



Monday 8 April 2013

CARGO 03
Hey up again, another updated generic Cargo Container for your perusal:



I reckon I'll leave it at these three for now, I can always add more later. The trick with these too is to try not to have them too varied colour wise, or it'll stand out as ONLY three containers scattered around so I've tried to make them different colours, but so they're quite close to each other values wise so they sort or merge into each other a bit. The rust and general smegma helps with that...
Next I'll get started on some Stalker modified ones.

Saturday 6 April 2013

CARGO 02
You..! Yes you there..! Here's another update..! 
It's a variation on the Container, a quick job as it's just a case of retexturing the previous model so as to have a different look.
Once I've done another one, then I'll get to work on the Stalker modified types with the firing holes etc...





CARGO 01
Morning..! Here's a cargo container with rusted and generally messed up paintwork to fit the STALKER world.
Now that this base container is done, it should be a quick job to get a few more variations in with different paint jobs. Also, what I'm planning is to create a few of these containers that have been "modified" by the Stalkers and Bandits to act as defensive positions  so they'll have things like firing holes blow torched out from the sides and reinforced metal plating along the top edge so you can get a protected drop onto any undesirables that are desecrating your cherished land..!
I've put a bit more love into these containers than is standard, as they'll feature a lot in this Stalker world as they really need to make use of everything they can as the world around them is rotting and forgotten, so there's no "new" stuff for them to utilise...
Anyway, I hope you like it..! ;)


...and yes, the doors will be able to open and close...


Thursday 28 March 2013

ADMIN BLOCK 01
Hey up sailors..!
Another update here, a sort of generic Administration Block that can be placed near to larger facilities like Research or Science Blocks etc as outlying offices to add variation and options to the layouts of areas. 
It's quite a challenge to create buildings like this, as they all have to be in the same world whilst offering diversity and visual changes and at the same time not be too unique looking as they will be repeated across the island, although at vast distances.
So, 50 percent of the time you see this, you'll see it with the bricks missing in the same place etc- just one of the limits of game design to an extent if you want the performance not to suffer..! 
I think it's a good trade off to take out some of the bricks and windows and dirty it up, and then have a massively damaged state one, so it's more or less completely exposed to the elements as the entire roof is missing or something with the textures changed to reflect its state. 


That's the plan anyway, each building should have it's damaged variation to an extreme in the final build if all goes to plan- again for variation and to fit the STALKER look...
I've also included an interior shots sheet, so you can get an idea of what these places look like inside. Bear in mind all these structures are the base units, there will be little details added to the interiors/exteriors to spice things up and enhance the decay- piles of rubbish, burnt out fires on the floor, bones and mattresses etc.

Lastly, here's a little tease of House_01 in the ARMA3 engine with the PAUSE engaged..! :)

Saturday 16 March 2013

WITCHES JELLY GROWTHS
Hello again..!
Here's another update, this time focusing on one of the Anomalies, the deadly Witches Jelly.
This one's a bit of a risk, but in trying to stick to Roadside Picnic and it's environment I have to adapt some of the ideas for the ARMA3 island.

For this, I've gone down the route of introducing a bit more of the horror side of STALKER into the design.
A few reasons for this, but primarily is because there aren't that many islands/themes in ARMA addons upto now that have this (As far as I know), and also it really fits the STALKER universe so I'll try to play on it in subtle ways that will effect your game play.

Anyway, these little beauties will be growing in basements, swamps and dark recesses of old irradiated factories and laboratories etc, and will give off a glow that can be seen for quite some distance away. They will be surrounded by a glowing miasma of gases which they expel, hissing and spluttering, completely harmful and fatal if exposed to for longer than say, 10-20 seconds... So you know to stay well away.
That being said, you won't really be able to walk up to these and study them for that reason- you'll have to give them a wide berth and study them from afar.
Ideally I want them to be breathing/pulsing slightly and slowly in the final build, as to give them a sense of life, like a tumorous parasite that should add to the feeling of repulsion hopefully.
Imagine being stuck in an old ruined factory at night, surrounded by Bloodsuckers, and you know there's a whole crop of these in the room next to yours...


Friday 15 March 2013

PILING DEFENCES
Hey up..!
Another update here- these ones are old rusty metal pilings that have been adapted by the Stalkers/Bandits over time to be a form of defensive shielding.
For scale ref, the small ones are 90 cms high, so it will also be possible for the player to "step" or vault over them too, and the large ones are 2 meters high. That should give you an idea of the size compared to a human.
I've added little bracing sheets of metal around the bases, so it looks like the Stalkers have welded extra supports onto the front and sides, but I didn't want to push this too much, like loads of spikes and chains etc, as I don't want it to go too Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome..! 
Also added are handles that Stalkers have welded onto them for ease of placement/carrying (It can also help break up the silhouette, and makes it more interesting visually).
It's difficult to resist the urge to add loads of little touches like that, but I think it'll benefit in the long run, seeing these objects ingame again and again- it's best to try to keep them almost generic.
Anyway, here they are:



Wednesday 6 March 2013

HOUSE 03
Hi all..!
It's been ages I know, but here's the latest house structure to be completed.
Sorry it's been awhile, but priorities come first- I've been doing a lot of RL work and also have got a few of my objects into ARMA itself and working now, which takes time.
Anyway, this new house is again modular in construction- so it'll be easy for me to make variations (The ever important variations!) to the layout and ruin side of things. 
As it stands, I'm probably going to have 8 kinds of cement/brick style house, and 4 kinds of wooden/log houses. Then, variations on all so hopefully there'll be a fair few differences scattered across the map.

Also, these houses are all just the "shell"- there will be little objects to interact with like lanterns on tables and fireplaces where you can light a fire inside the house. You can just make out the fireplace inside this particular house in centre image.
As I've modelled the actual chimney flue to go down to the fireplace itself, then in theory you should be able to throw a grenade into the chimney from outside, and if you aim is good enough, it should fall down the stack and explode in the fireplace, killing everyone around the fire..! What joy..! :D

Anyway, I hope to start on smaller objects again now, give the houses a rest for a bit so there should be more updates sooner rather than later...

Wednesday 16 January 2013

HOUSE 02
Hi again..! This one's been awhile I know, but alas, I've been busy with other things..!
Another house style to flesh out the many villages, and again taking inspiration from the STALKER game and bringing it to a design more suited to ARMA gameplay- window heights for crouching behind, door sizes for easy access etc...


Also, time wise these do take longer than is strictly necessary, as I'm putting a bit more loveage' into them with things like properly UV'd edges, so when bricks meet on a corner say, then the texture tiles correctly- the same goes for wooden planks, wallpaper etc- everything basically, so it all adds up but will be worth it in the long run as all these little touches add to the immersion.
Nothing worse then being fully immersed in a game, then you see a huge glaring hard texture edge on one of the walls in full HD lol... ;)
I'm trying to get a really weathered and grim look running throughout the design, so it really stands out against the current amazing ARMA map, Chernarus. 
Ideally, by the end of the project, there won't be a single standing object that is completely new or clean looking.
You can't really see from this shot, but a lot of the wooden planking floorboards are missing so you will see the ground under the structure, with all the grass growing through the gaps which should help give the impression of nature reclaiming it... and also make the entire building feel very rickety and claptrap.
Also, the ceilings have planks missing, and you can see up into the roof area so sun/moon light should spill through for some lovely silhouettes..! Of course, if there's a player up there, then he can shoot down through the gaps and give you a bad time... or vice versa. When this type of design is carried across to other structures, then it should make for some intricate fire fights in close quarters- people on the floor above you shooting down into your area etc.
Lastly, there's a proper fire place (dead centre of image) with connected chimney stack that you can't really see from this shot, but you will be able to light fires in it on those cold grim nights in the Zone, gather your friends around and swap tales of daring do and the manly man things lonely men do in the Zone.
What happens in the Zone, stays in the Zone...lol ;)

Thursday 3 January 2013

CONTROL ROOM 01
Hey up..! Here's another little structure, like a sort of Control Room for the railway or something, it's pretty generic so it can be placed anywhere really.


I've started in on doing some serious weathering now, as this map will be set a fair few years in the future so things will be really worn and dilapidated, with exposed rebars and underlying frameworks etc.
I think small details like the window frame fallen out, and the handrail twisted (From a stray grenade or anomaly..?) out of shape add to the overall atmosphere, but it will prove more time consuming to set these up to work with correct collisions etc in the ARMA engine.
Oh well... I'll have my work cut out then..! ;)