E-volve by WIRADA

MY CONTRIBUTION TO COLLABORATION IN THE COURSE

2009-06-20T06:50:00.008-07:00

In the last 13 weeks, this course gave me a valuable learning experience, not only on new software but also collaboration skills. At the beginning of this semester, I felt that working as a team was something that I was not quite familiar with, but as the time goes on, I have learnt that the tasks could not be completed without collaborating, sharing knowledge, and helping each other. Although my E-volve team is not the best team in the class, but I think it is the best team for me. We learnt from the strengths and weaknesses of each other, drew the strengths and helped with the others’ weaknesses. I think the important things with working as a team are sharing our opinions and responsibility to our assigned tasks. We also need to be happy of what we are doing.

At the start of our project, we made a list of major tasks that we needed to do. Everyone in our team had the right to choose their own tasks. For me, I was willing to do texturing and importing. I tried my best to do my own tasks even there were some difficulties but I always think that every problem has solution. The importing is one of our major problems. I tested it with various programs, employ the prior knowledge from other courses and combined them into the solution. Our team decided to create the model in Revit and obviously we needed other programs that support exporting to Crysis. Firstly, I used SketchUp; the model was fine in Crysis but I got problem with the texture. It disappeared after reloading. Then, I tried it with 3ds Max, Blender and Maya, but both model and texture did not went well in Crysis. It was quite time-consuming. Consulting with my teammates and other teams gave me good information, every team had common problems but we solved the problems differently. Since SketchUp could export the model perfectly, my team decided to base on SketchUp but we still needed to find out the texture problem. Finally, this problem was solved in week 6. I then shared step by step methods of solution in my blog and also in the Wiki class. I also had a chance to help some of other teams with the texture problem.

After the hardest part was solved, I then focused on the interior building. All furniture and the interior layout were changed for the final fabrication. The furniture was from Google Warehouse and the materials were applied by me in SketchUp. I found that only some SketchUp models can be converted to .cgf file. So it took a bit of time for me to choose the right one which can be converted to .cgf file and is suitable for the building. For the last fabrication, we were suggested to have some themes for the interior. As the building is a resident house, the texture should have warm feeling and might be lightened up by colour scheme. So I did some research on interior design and asked a team to comment. They gave me some good suggestions, so I changed some texture a little bit. I think not all the tasks is successful at the first time, we need to discuss, listen, give advices to each other.

I have also contributed to other minor tasks such as creating team schedules, updating some weekly journals and wiki, AI, creating one 30 second video and fixing some missing parts of the model in Crysis. I am quite happy of what we have done for our fabrication even there are still some problems. I cannot say that the final work is only my work, or even my team work but I would like to say that it is the work of whole class.

WELL CITY - FINAL FABRICATION

2009-06-20T06:50:00.005-07:00

http://e-volve-arch1392.blogspot.com/

SMART OBJECT

2009-06-20T06:21:00.000-07:00

As the submission date is coming up soon, we still have not added any AI yet, at least we need people doing activities inside the building. So, I went to search the video tutorials on Youtube and ask Stephen for assistant about smart objects. He gave me really great help, and here are the steps of making smart object.

1. Place a person near an object

Click on Smart Object Class (under Entity Archetype Properties2) and Select an action for a person (in this case, I choose IdelActions > UserClasses > Lazy)

2. Go to RollupBar > AI > Object Type > and then drag SmartObject to an selected object

3. Select SmartObject point and Choose Smart Object Class as you want (in this case, I choose IdelActions > Sitdown_and_rest)

4 Click AI/Physics button

DOORS

2009-06-18T23:29:00.015-07:00

The Crysis doors in our last fabrication were not quite suited the building, as the suggestion from the tutors, so this time, we are planning to import from external source. While Wilson is working on the map and Jackey is testing on how to make interactive door, I am finding the suitable doors from Google Warehouse and preparing to export them. Our team agreed to have white opening doors, without glass in order to make privacy for each room. After we followed tutorials in Wiki, we were still not sure about how to make them interactive. So I tried another way and that is much easier than what we were planning to do. The solution is using existing advanced door in Crysis and changing default colour to white door texture. As the time goes on, I think we have learned so many things and have known a better way to solve each problem.

Different Door Styles from Google Warehouse

White Door Texture

PLACEMENT OF MODEL AND FURNITURE INSIDE CRYSIS

2009-06-18T23:29:00.013-07:00

Once I imported the model and all furniture into Crysis, the next steps are doing placement of furniture inside the building, and reassigning material to the objects (.jpg to .dds). The process is not too difficult but quite repeating.

TEXTURING AND GROUPING

2009-06-18T23:29:00.011-07:00

Since we got the right scale of building and also some new furniture from Google Warehouse, the next tasks for me are to decide on the placement of furniture and texturing them. To make it easy for exporting, I have scaled the furniture down and grouped them inside SketchUp, according to different spaces of the building. These were quite time-consuming as it contains various steps which I have mentioned before (http://wirada-arch1392.blogspot.com/2009/04/material-solution.html).

Scaling & Texturing & Grouping

TRICKS

The problem from this task was that the SketchUp’s standard colour (e.g. red, gray, black, etc.) did not show up on the model when exporting to Crysis, whereas materials such as stone and wood are fine. So I have played around with the setting in SketchUp, and discovered a useful trick.

Exporting a Model with SketchUp’s COLOUR materials

1. Create white texture – Power of 2 (e.g. 64 x 64, 128 x 128, 512 x 512, etc.)

2. Chose any colours in SketchUp and apply to the model

3. Go to “In Model” (It will show any texture applied on the model)

4. Double click on material or click on Create Material… button

On the Edit tab, adjust the colour by choosing an appropriate picker and texture size as you want

***As you can see, there is no .jpg file on texture image section.

5. Click Browse and find white texture (White texture will appear on the model.)

6. Redo the colour setting again (or type the HSL number again)

7. After exporting the model, the colour should appear on the image folder.

BUILDING TEXTURE

2009-06-18T23:29:00.009-07:00

On Friday June 12, we had a group meeting. This was a chance for me to give my team comment on the building’s texture. Wilson and Jackie suggested me to use stone both exterior and interior and change the stone texture because the old one was quite blurry. I also agree with that. So today, Wison helped me to find out the right stone texture in SketchUp’s materials. He also learned how to import textured models into Crysis. I suggested him to use my blog as a guideline and helped him with any problem. As a team, I think it is a good thing to learn others’ work so we can help each other or at least we know the basic methods which might be useful in the future.

Left: The Old Texture

Right: The New Texture

Below: Stone Setting

SCALING THE MODEL

2009-06-18T23:29:00.007-07:00

Since there is the limitation of scaling inside the Crysis, I decided to make the right scale in SktechUp. I have tested the scale inside Crysis for nearly ten times. The method I used was to compare the height of door with the person inside Crysis game. Amazingly, the final scale of the building is only 12 mm in SketchUp

10594 mm when importing from Revit to SketchUp___The final Scale of the building, 12 mm in Sketchup

IMPORTING THE MODEL AND FIXING THE PROBLEMS

2009-06-18T23:29:00.003-07:00

Once Wilson completed remodeling the building, I then imported to SketchUp and tested the model in Crysis. The scale of the building in Crysis was very large and some parts of building were missing. If we see the building from the outside, the model seemed to be perfect, but once we go inside, some walls, floor and ceiling disappear. I tested importing only the problem parts and that was fine. I was not quite sure why it happens. So I fixed this problem by deleting the problem parts in SketchUp, reimported only those parts from Revit, and tested again in Crysis. I needed to delete them before replacing, otherwise it will get flashing. Once one part is fixed, new problems always occur. I needed to redo and test it many times. I found that dealing with various software is not an easy task but I have tried my best and finally we get the perfect form of building.

Too large scale of building inside Crysis

Walls and Ceiling problems

Testing single part inside Crysis

Deleting the problem parts in SketchUp

Reimporting the problem parts

NEW FURNITURE

2009-06-18T23:28:00.007-07:00

In the previous fabrication, the furnitures were imported from Revit; we think that they were too simple and not quite beautiful. So this time, I used the furnitures from Google Warehouse and was planning to apply materials in SketchUp so every furniture has common colour theme. There are plenty good models in Google Warehouse, but only some of them can be converted to cgf. file. So I have to test, chose the right ones and modify them a little bit so that they suit the building. The below images show the original choose furnitures.

REFERENCES (FURNITURE MODELS)

[DINING TABLE] Benji_02 2009, Classic Dining Table from the 60's, Google Warehouse, accessed 10 June 2009, http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=f621be1c08e36564cd8afaa5c495c080.

[LIVING01] Corpio S 2007, 3 piece furniture set, Google Warehouse, accessed 5 June 2009, http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=c151bb03b633d8fe83f4566cf0664c43.

[KITCHEN] DTurner 2007, Steam Table and Prep Station, Google Warehouse, accessed 5 June 2009, http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=

6178ea19f21aaf39fb2295fcd7f882f8.

[PICTURE] Gigi60 2009, Old picture, Google Warehouse, accessed 8 June 2009, http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=3a845a4fef855373e3f7a74e12a274ef.

[COUCH] Google 2007, Curl lounge couch, Google Warehouse, accessed 8 June 2009, http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=2e2f34305ef8cbc1533ccec14d70360b.

[CHAIR] Google 2007, Cushioned dining chair, Google Warehouse, accessed 8 June 2009, http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=876f974fb8b7becd9aa57619897b669d.

[BED] Google 2007, King size bed 2, Google Warehouse, accessed 10 June 2009, http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=b4736cc1abe8c521e885718e52a574ae.

[CARPET] Jon 2006, Traditional Persian rug, Google Warehouse, accessed 8 June 2009, http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=588ada2090d2b2c4142aa18688bc8ec0.

[RUG] Kyle 2008, Area Rug 6'6", Google Warehouse, accessed 11 June 2009, http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=9440b8f906204583b6a7a2291cca4f9e.

[COVERED TABLE] Laarkk 2008, Covered table, Google Warehouse, accessed 5 June 2009, http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=2d0f4d977d61aecf89c33ded8af67808.

[SHELF] LillyXO 2009, Shelf, Google Warehouse, accessed 8 June 2009, http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=e5b7f453e1eca58ee819c67cb4ccafd3.

[STUDY SHELF] Murali S 2008, Siblings' Study Shelf , Google Warehouse, accessed 10 June 2009, http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=71399eadb2fb605995887813f23f35f7.

[LAMP] Tokar B 2008, Lamp, Google Warehouse, accessed 10 June 2009, http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=266dfa40fa180656f95441fc651d725b.

[ARMCHAIR] Zeuss 2009, Seabury Armchair, Google Warehouse, accessed 10 June 2009, http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=c4f9249def12870a2b3e9b6eb52d35df.

[TV] 15 TAPS 2007, Big TV + Shelves, Google Warehouse, accessed 8 June 2009, http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=9724c2b64b4fe9fd8a8f3532f8f8cf34.

CRYSIS - WEATHER CONTROL

2009-06-18T23:28:00.003-07:00

FINAL SET OF CRITERIA

- Create more advanced interactive weather controls within game level – by using either buttons (stop/start) or slide bar. This is aimed to create more control abilities to the players, for example, changing weathers and weather’s degree
- Experiment with various methods of controlling and make suitable solution for each weather effect

For the advance specialisation, I am still not sure about how to do it. I did some research but unfortunately the result has not been achieved yet. The below are some relevant information from Crysis forums. In the first forum, there is just opened question, but no one has made any comment yet. I think he made a good comparison between Crysis and Stalker; Stalker gives the game’s ability to change over the course of a map, whereas Crysis weather is quite fixed. If we can find the solution, I think it would make Crysis environment even more realistic.

Forum - Changing Weather in Crysis

http://www.incrysis.com/forums/viewtopic.php?id=27373

The below is another forum about switching layers on and off in-game. From the suggestion, I went to search for Crysis console commands and made relevant list for myself. Then, I tried it in Crysis, but that did not give me any result.

http://wiki.wegame.com/Crysis_Console_Commands/

cl_frozenAngleMax
cl_frozenAngleMin
cl_frozenKeyMult
cl_frozenMouseMult
cl_frozenSensMax
cl_frozenSensMin
cl_frozenSoundDelta
cl_frozenSteps

demo_time_of_day

e_clouds

e_fog
e_fogvolumes

e_sky_box
e_sky_quality
e_sky_type
e_sky_update_rate
e_sleep

e_sun
e_sun_angle_snap_dot
e_sun_angle_snap_sec
e_sun_clipplane_range

e_time_of_day
e_time_of_day_speed

e_wind
e_wind_areas

r_Rain
r_RainMaxViewDist

sys_spec_Texture
sys_spec_VolumetricEffects

v_wind_minspeed

Forum - Switching layers on and off in-game?

http://incrysis.com/forums/viewtopic.php?id=27508

--TESTING IN CRYSIS --

TEXTURE RESEARCH

2009-06-18T23:28:00.001-07:00

The below are some textures that will be used in the model. Jeremy and Graham suggested us that the textures used for the previous fabrication are uncontinued textures and not quite match with the real building. At first, I was not quite sure how to make texture smoothly, so I went to search on the internet and luckily, I came across the word “seamless texture” which is an image that has edges that blend into each other when the image is repeated.

Tile Texture__________________Seamless Texture

REFERENCES (TEXTURES)

[STONE] Google Sketchup7, Stone_Flagstone_Ashlar

[WHITE FLOOR] Jingzun Ceramics Co., Ltd 2009, Textures-Ceramic-Tile-JW606010, Made-in-China.com, accessed 12 June 2009, http://www.made-in-china.com/image/2f0j00hMdQblvsEDkfM/Textures-Ceramic-Tile-JW606010-.jpg.

[FLORAL] Mao 2007, 6 Free Floral Background, accessed 10 June 2009, http://www.snap2objects.com/2007/07/04/free-vector-and-bitmap-floral-backgrounds/.

[WOOD] Mediafile 2008, Wood Backgrounds 2, accessed 10 June 2009, http://www.mediafire.com/?oguxdinyj4i.

[GANITE] Noche A 2005, Granite_azul_noce, Wikipedia, accessed 11 June 2009, http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/Granite_azul_noce.jpg.

[TILE] No Author, Blue Tile, http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_IvDcbmva_NM/SFAuQdUdLyI/AAAAAAAAAgk/ORcePcCikHY/s320/tile2texture.jpg.

INTERIOR RESEARCH

2009-06-15T21:48:00.000-07:00

After we got feedback from Jeremy and Graham about the second draft fabrication, it seems like we need to change almost the whole things, especially the model which had a wrong scale, as well as the landscape, lighting, AI, furniture and materials. Jeremy and Graham also suggested us to put more windows in order to give a sense of welcoming and people living inside can enjoy the external environment. For the interior building, Jeremy and Graham suggested us to have a theme for furniture and need to consider about textures used.

While the model is still being modified, I am searching for the interior design. As the building is a resident house, I think the textures should give a warm feeling and might be lightened up by colour scheme which can bring some life to the interior spaces.

Gansevoort Hotel
http://hotelspic.blog124.fc2.com/blog-entry-48.html

Marcel Wander/Graham & Brown Design Wall Paper

http://www.furniturestoreblog.com/2008/06/01/marcel_wanders_graham_brown_designer_wall_paper.html

Fort Lauderdale Grande Hotel
http://hotelspic.blog124.fc2.com/blog-category-2.html

CRYSIS - ADVANCED WEATHER EFFECTS [INTERMEDIATE LEVEL]

2009-06-03T12:48:00.001-07:00

This is the second tutorial that I have created for weather effects. The first tutorial explains the methods of creating clouds, fog and rain. For this tutorial, I am going to give you some more advanced weather effects which include snow, tornadoes and earthquakes. I hope this tutorial will help you to simply create realistic environment for your own level.

PDF LINK:

http://www.mediafire.com/file/ikomwjmmzm2/3216022Wirada_AdvancedWeatherEffects_IntermediateLevel.pdf

CRYSIS - BASIC WEATHER EFFECTS [BEGINNER LEVEL]

2009-05-28T08:34:00.000-07:00

This tutorial will explain how to create basic weather effects such as clouds, fog, and rain in Crysis. The tutorial begins with the explanation of the environment properties and then will go in detail for each weather effects.

PDF LINK:

http://www.mediafire.com/file/kjboimjfkf2/BasicWeatherEffects_Beginner_3216022Wirada.pdf

WEATHER CONTROL - LIST OF WEATHER EFFECTS

2009-05-28T07:37:00.000-07:00

List of main Weather Effects in CRYSIS

· Clouds

· Rain

· Snow

· Lightning

· Wind

· Fog

· Earthquakes

· Tornadoes

Image Resources

- http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/517/screenshot0152rd5.jpg

- http://www.gameplaymonthly.com/games/crysis/Crysis_screen5.jpg

- http://data.earthli.com/news/attachments/entry/1391/alan_wake_3.jpeg

- http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/5079/crysis2008011420244405yj7.jpg

WEATHER CONTROLS - LIST OF RESEARCH INFORMATION

2009-05-28T07:29:00.000-07:00

List of Research Information

· Sandbox 2 Manual – CryEngine2

http://doc.crymod.com/SandboxManual/frames.html?frmname=topic&frmfile=index.html

Relevant content includes as follows;

- Environment Settings

- What are the Environment Entities?

- How to setup weather effects?

- How to Set Up a Frozen Level

- Cloud Entity

- Flash Entity Reference

- Fog Entity Reference

- Lightning Entity Reference

- Fog Volume Entity Reference

- ViewDist Entity Reference

- Volume Object Entity

- Tool Menu – User Commands

List of Discussion Forums

· Changing weather in Crysis

http://www.incrysis.com/forums/viewtopic.php?id=27373

· Will there be rain/weather?

http://www.incrysis.com/forums/viewtopic.php?id=6607

· Crysis Weather Effects?

http://www.incrysis.com/forums/viewtopic.php?id=2479

· Volumetric Fog

http://incrysis.com/forums/viewtopic.php?id=22105

· Been playing around with the Tornado

http://incrysis.com/forums/viewtopic.php?id=12039

· Snow/ice – Do they melt?

http://incrysis.com/forums/viewtopic.php?id=12039

List of Video Tutorials

· Crysis Sandbox Tutorial 6 Add Rain – By Xanthochori

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFBdL-1c2ME&feature=PlayList&p=B47F03F1CD1C5665&index=20

· Crysis Sandbox Tutorial 38 Make A Frozen Map - By Xanthochori

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFgr1bn6AtM&feature=PlayList&p=B47F03F1CD1C5665&index=23

· Crysis Sandbox Tutorial 37 Frost on Screen - By Xanthochori

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7TiPDmssEw&feature=PlayList&p=B47F03F1CD1C5665&index=24

· Crysis Sandbox Tutorial 21 Create A 3D Cloud - By Xanthochori

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFJCtcVt0UY&feature=channel

· Crysis Sandbox Tutorial 20 Create A Tornado – By Xanthochori

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQvepFV3hcc&feature=channel

SPECIALISATION - WEATHER CONTROLS

2009-05-28T07:25:00.000-07:00

INITIAL SET OF CRITERIA

· Research any relevant information, including existing tutorials, videos, discussion forums, etc.

· Make a list of possible weather effects that could be achieved within Crysis

· Learn and create an introduction about general crysis interface (weather entities and properties)

· Create beginner tutorials of some basic weather effects e.g. cloud, rain, fog, etc.

MEDIUM SET OF CRITERIA

· Learn and create tutorials for the advanced weather effects e.g. snow, earthquakes, tornadoes, etc.

· Continue research on methods of weather controls within game level (find out how to create basic user commands, e.g. keyboard/mouse shortcuts)

FINAL SET OF CRITERIA

· Create more advanced interactive weather controls within game level – by using either buttons (stop/start) or slide bar. This is aimed to create more control abilities to the players, for example, changing weathers and weather’s degree

· Experiment with various methods of controlling and make suitable solution for each weather effect

TEAM SCHEDULE

2009-05-04T19:40:00.005-07:00

As it is close to submission time, our team has not quite made any progress yet. We all know what we suppose to do, but I think it would be better ideas to have some kind of outline, so at least we know who is going to do what or which tasks we need to do first. As I am responsible for creating team schedules since the first fabrication, I found that the last schedule is harder to create. It is not easy as the fist schedule and cannot use the same format. A few weeks ago, I was assigned to make a research on planning for collaboration topic. I found an article on how to create a plan and various types of schedule. Now, I can say that the collaboration topics that we are doing are very useful. I decided to use Gantt chart for our team because it shows us the relationships between different tasks such as relative sequence, duration, timing, etc. It helps us understand what needs to be done, when, and how one step affects other steps. For our team schedule, I broke down areas of improvement into three main sub areas, made timeline with different colours for each member’s responsibility, as well as added speacialisation tutorials.

Team Schedule for Final Febrication

1^st team schedule http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_J3PvMyPyc2w/ScsTT0wK7nI/AAAAAAAAAAs/EXQ8HtDsE3E/s1600-h/PLAN.JPG

2^nd team schedule

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_J3PvMyPyc2w/SfLzFjzd1-I/AAAAAAAAADM/rN2iu5yFOV0/s1600-h/E-volve_15+Days+Schedule.JPG

ASSIGNMENT 02 – PEER REVIEW

2009-05-04T19:40:00.001-07:00

DIGILISM

http://digilismarch1392.wordpress.com/

Strengths – Great design structure and elements. The surrounding environment was very well constructed, which gives a sense of real city space. The team has successfully conveyed the original idea of the world Cultural Centre.

Weaknesses – The interior space needs to be further developed in order to provide more functional areas. The building is not quite distinguished from the surrounding buildings. This may be because it was not modeled to scale and its texture was not as prominent as the one on the surrounding buildings.

ORANGE

http://arch1392orange.wordpress.com/

Strengths – Excellent work on interactivity which can very well make the environment lively. With a few building’s information, the team Orange has made a great job on building modeling. The use of light environment is amazing. Both daylight and night features can well emphasise the reality of the overall environment and building.

Weaknesses – The interior building could be more realistic by applying the appropriate materials. The interior space is quite large, thus the spaces’ function needs to take into consideration.

URBAN

http://teamurbans.blogspot.com/

Strengths – The illumination inside the building can really convey the purpose and function of the space. The building was nicely modeled with realistic scale and texture.

Weaknesses – The interactivity was not presented. This causes the overall environment inactive.

OMEGA

http://teamomegafbe.blogspot.com/

Strengths – Good professional practice on researching and collaboration. The team has successfully fabricated the Bodo Cultural Centre with detailed environment and design. The presentation was also excellent in giving details of processes, as well as convincing other teams.

Weaknesses – The building could be possible more realistic by applying more textures.

ATLAR

http://arch1392atlar.wordpress.com/

Strengths – Excellent work on interactivity. The underwater environment is amazing and well developed from last submission. Nice showing of the rendering between the real environment and the Crysis environment.

Weaknesses – The reflection of water and textures needs to be solved. The interior space could be further improved to give more sense of a hotel.

COLLABORATION TOPIC – PLANNING

2009-05-04T04:55:00.001-07:00

Planning is the cognitive process of thinking about what you will do in the event of something happening. [1] The essence of effective planning is a sense of preparedness. It increases the chances of success and decreases wasted time in the long run. Some advantages of planning are that it

- Helps team members coordinate their work by providing a clear picture of what each member should be doing and when. Mapping the steps in the plan also helps identify potential conflicts in schedules.

- Helps the team identify a series of deadlines they need to meet in order to complete the project on time. This allows the team to check its progress and to discuss concerns about the schedule with the members before the completion date.

- Provides a roadmap that gives the team a sense of direction and helps ensure that key tasks are not missed.

- Provides the basis for improving the next project by comparing what the team hoped would happen with that actually happened.

CREATING A PLAN

A team should be able to identify the steps it will take to complete its work. A thorough plan usually covers at least these five elements:

- Tasks and timelines: What you’re going to do and when. List the activities in sequence.

- Budget and resources: What dollars and other resources you need to get the job done.

- Stakeholders: Identification of the people and groups involved in or affected by the project and how they will participate or be communicated with.

- Check and review: How you will know if the plans and methods work.

- Potential problem analysis: Description of potential failures/errors, potential causes of those failures, and planned countermeasures.

Planning grids are simple planning tools that identify what needs to be done, by whom, by when. In order to prepare the grid, the team needs to list the steps, in sequence, and the outcome of each, who is responsible for each step or task, and the planned start and end dates for each step. The team might include notes on limits or boundaries, reminders, or cautions. If the team is working on more complex or longer term projects, create a planning grid for each stage of the project, or use other planning tools or computer software.

Tree diagrams are helpful for identifying all the tasks in a plan, but they do not include information about timing, resources, sequence, etc. The tree diagram graphically breaks down a broad objective or goal into increasingly detailed tasks that must be completed to accomplish the objective. It helps divide a large task into manageable pieces and is especially useful in checking the logic and completeness of a plan at different levels of detail. A tree diagram can be combined with a Gantt chart to provide more information on the plan.

Gantt charts allow you to see the relationships between different tasks such as relative sequence, duration, timing, etc. They can get complex quickly when there are many overlapping tasks. Computer software programs such as Microsoft Project that create Gantt charts automatically usually allow you to look at resource allocation as well as the tasks. Gantt charts help everyone understand what needs to be done, when, and how one step affects other steps.

Process maps can be used to describe a plan’s sequence of activities. They also can illustrate how responsibilities for tasks move across areas. Deployment process maps show who has main responsibility for each task, and the relationship between tasks. This tool is particularly useful when the work is moving from one team member to another. [2]

References

[1] Farlex 2009, Planning, accessed on 3 May 2009, http://www.thefreedictionary.com/planning.

[2] Joiner, B 1996, The Team Handbook, 2nd edn, Joiner Oriel Inc, Madison.

COLLABORATION TOPIC - REMUNERATION

2009-05-03T02:07:00.003-07:00

Remuneration can be referred to a payment or reward for work done. [1] It is generally used as a motivation to arouse enthusiasm and persistence to pursue a certain course of individual’s action. It can lead to behaviours that result in high performance within a team or an organisation. Rewards can be intrinsic or extrinsic, system-wide or individual. The below diagram illustrates the categories of rewards, combining intrinsic and extrinsic rewards with those applied system-wide or individually.

Figure 1: Examples of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Rewards

Intrinsic rewards are the internal satisfactions a person feels in the process of performing a particular action. Solving a problem to benefit others may fulfil a personal mission, or the completion of a complex task may give a pleasant feeling of accomplishment. An intrinsic reward is internal and under the control of the individual, such as the choice to engage in task behaviours to satisfy a need for competency and self-determination. On the other hand, extrinsic rewards are given by another person, typically a supervisor, and include promotions and increased pay. Because they originate externally as a result of pleasing others, extrinsic rewards compel individuals to engage in a task behaviour for an outside source that provides what they need, such as money to survive in modern society.

Rewards can be given system-wide or individual. System-wide rewards apply in the same way to all people within a team or within an organisation. Individual rewards may differ among people within the same organisation or team. An extrinsic, system-wide reward could be health benefits or extra holidays made available to the entire organisation or to a specific category of employees, such as those who have been with the organisation for two years or more. An intrinsic, system-wide reward would be the sense of pride that comes from contributing to a winning organisation. An extrinsic, individual reward is a promotion or a bonus. An intrinsic, individual reward would be the sense of personal fulfillment that an individual derives from his or her work. [2]

References

[1] Redgoldfish 2009, Remuneration, accessed on 6 May 2009, http://www.redgoldfish.co.uk/viewglossary.asp?gid=184.

[2] Daft, R and Pirola-Merlo, M 2009, The Leadership Experience, Cengage Learning Australia, Victoria.

WELL CITY - VIDEO PRESENTATION

2009-05-03T00:38:00.001-07:00

The above video shows the basis and details of the fabrication. It captures the overall landscape and the space within the built environment.

Here is the link for our final fabrication, “Well City”.

http://files.filefront.com/13719955

Note

Location of the folders

- The map --> C:Program Files/Electronic Arts/Crytek/Crysis/Game/Levels

- objects --> C:Program Files/Electronic Arts/Crytek/Crysis/Game

AI TUTORIAL RESEARCH

2009-05-02T05:14:00.001-07:00

I have done some research about an interactivity part but somehow I did not manage well to get the external interactivity done for the final fabrication because we have run out of time. Many problems occurred in the last week such as lighting and transferring file problems. We have just realised that there are some elements missing when we open each individual computer, as well as the lighting seems to be very flashy all over the space. This may be because there is too much reflection of light and water, as well as the inappropriate setting inside the Crysis. Thus, we spent time fixing the problems. However, for our final fabrication, we have successfully created the interactivity within the building.

Figure 1: Test - Adding AI to Vehicle and Making a Vehicle Drive

DECORATION

2009-05-02T05:13:00.007-07:00

As our building is focused much on the interior space, I have added some more decorations to make the space alive by using objects inside the Crysis, such as flowers, pictures, rugs, crockery, stationary, electronic devices, etc.

E-volve TRACKING PROGRESS

2009-04-28T01:51:00.005-07:00

Thursday 30^th April 2009

The due date is coming up in a week. I think my team has been following the schedule very well. For me, I have less pressure now because the major problem in importing the materials into Crysis has been solved. My next tasks are to create interactivity for the external environment and prepare for PowerPoint presentation. For the interactivity part, I am planning to add AI into the people and vehicles. I am thinking of creating camels instead of vehicles in order to give a sense of desert, but firstly, I need to find some research and learn how AI works in Crysis.

IMPORTING FURNITURES INTO CRYSIS II

2009-04-28T01:51:00.001-07:00

Tuesday 27^th April 2009

After I got 21 groups of furniture, I had to rearrange the placement of furniture in Crysis. I found that it is very difficult to organise an object in Crysis, especially within the building. Sometimes, when we drag an object from Brush toolbar, we see the origin point of an object inside the building, but the object is actually outside. Crysis tools somehow make it very hard for us to control an object. However, with the amount of time spent on rearranging furniture, I completed the furnished model finally.

Figure 1: View through the window showing Lighting and Fitting

Figure 2: Recreation Area

Figure 3: Bedroom

Figure 4: Kitchen

IMPORTING FURNITURES INTO CRYSIS I

2009-04-26T09:07:00.001-07:00

Monday 27^th April 2009

Today, Wilson passed me the final model with all furniture and accessories in a good layout, but unfortunately I could not export them at once. There are some errors; the furniture does not appear in the Crysis because some furniture cannot import which effects in the disappearance of overall furniture. What I have done was I applied textures to each element in SketchUp and tested exporting a small group of furniture. When the problem occurs, I tried to export a single element in order to see which element causes the problem, and then delete it. I spent quite amount of time to repeat the steps to each group. At the end, I have come up with 21 groups of furniture.

Figure 1: The Furnished Building Model in Revit

Figure 2: A Group of Kitchen Equipments in SketchUp

Figure 3: Groups of Furniture inside the Brush Toolbar

IMPORTING TEXTURED MODEL INTO CRYSIS II

2009-04-26T09:06:00.001-07:00

Sunday 26th April 2009

After testing inside the game, we have just realised that we need to take out all the doors and windows in order to make them interactivity because they are seen to be only a solid object constrained to the building. We are planning to make them openable and also breakable. Thus, I have to remove all the doors and windows in SketchUp, import and reassign all materials again. I found that once I have repeated the process for many times, it becomes easier and takes less time than before.

Figure 1: The Textured Model without Windows and Doors

IMPORTING TEXTURED MODEL INTO CRYSIS I

2009-04-25T04:29:00.001-07:00

Saturday 25^th April 2009

While waiting for the furniture and all accessories, I have searched for the texture images and tested to the building. The standard materials being used are stone, wood, and glass. I chose the textures that can evoke a sense of mystery and anticipation as the building is underground. Once the material problem has been solved, the process seems to be smooth and flow.

Figure 1: “Well City” – Original Building

Figure 2: “Well City” – The Textured Model in SketchUp

Figure 3: “Well City” – The Exterior Building (in Crysis)

Figure 4: “Well City” – The Interior Building (in Crysis)

MATERIAL SOLUTION!!!

2009-04-25T01:38:00.003-07:00

Friday 24^th April 2009

Finally, we solved the material problem. I wish I could find this forum earlier, http://www.crymod.com/thread.php?threadid=35126&hilight=solid+tutorial. This solves the entire material problem that we have got. Thanks for my teammates, especially Wilson, who always help me finding the useful information.

Figure 1: Material Solution - From Crymod Forum

Since SketchUp could successfully export the whole model to Crysis in the first assignment, I decided to use SketchUp as a tool for applying materials to the building because it is quite easy and convenient to use. I have combined all the methods and solutions as the following steps;

REVIT

- Create the model

- Export the model in DWG file

SKETCHUP (Credit to Amorilia, Seith, and Zapwizard from Crymod)

Requirements

1. Install "Python 2.5.4" (python-2.5.4.msi)
http://www.python.org/download/

2. Install the "Python File Format Interface" (PyFFI-py2.5-1.2.2-windows.exe),
http://sourceforge.net/project/platformdownload.php?group_id=199269&sel_platform=3089
3. Install "ColladaCGF" (ColladaCGF-py2.5-0.3.5-windows.exe), http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=235915&package_id=286549
4. An image editor that can create ".dds" image files, "Paint.Net",
http://www.dotpdn.com/downloads/pdn.html

Applying Materials

-Texture the model using proper sized textures. - Powers of 2 (e.g. 64x64, 128x128, 512x512, etc.)

-Open the "Model info" and go to statistics, cllick "Purge unused"
-Export the model to using "Export to Google Earth" (Not upload to 3D Warehouse)
-Rename the .KMZ to .ZIP
-Unzip the files
-Goto /Model and right click on the model and convert it to a .CGF
-Move the material files from the /images folder to the same folder as the .CGF
-Open all the materials and save them as .DDS using Paint.Net or similar

CRYSIS EDITOR (Credit to MaDDaz, Duruk, and Narumara from Crymod)

-Open SandBox2 and import the model. - Put the whole unzipped folder into C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\Crytek\Crysis\Game\Objects, and then find your object in the RollupBar using the "Brush" button under the "Browser" section.
-Open the model's texture file in the material editor
-Replace the .JPG links to point to the proper .DDS files

** - Right click a list of materials in Material Editor

Window and DUPILICATE the materials

** - Assign material to an object

** - Save the map

Figure 2: Duplicating the Materials

WEEK 06 JOURNAL

2009-04-25T01:37:00.000-07:00

Thursday 23rd April 2009

Today, we had a chance to discuss about group and team psychology with our guest, Tom Denson. I think this topic is very interesting as it involves the understanding of human mental functions and behaviors. He mentioned about conformity in team decision as how members of a group will change their behaviors, views and attitudes to fit the views of the group. I agree that making group decision is more difficult than individual one. Sometimes, when we need to solve a difficult problem, we automatically compare and adapt our answer to the fellow members. Personally, I sometimes lost my ideas and opinion when making a group decision. However, a successful decision also depends on how well a leader or team members open their mind and accept other members’ opinion without biased dissent.

In the team meeting today, we combined our achievement of each individual assigned tasks. For me, I was still working out the material problem, trying to test in various softwares and also in Crisis. Unfortunately, it has not been solved yet. We found that our strategic plan was a bit unrealistic since we could not well follow the timeline. So we adjusted our milestones to fit the remaining time. I volunteered to do the new schedule for the team. I tried to create it in the greater detail for each day, balance the workload and make it as realistic as possible. Finally, we came with the intensive 15 day schedule as below.