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11:14am - I've mostly been doing research since my last work post. Trying to figure out what to do and how to do it.
I've been looking at Blender and Godot to see if I can avoid making the 3D character creator from scratch, and I think so. I could make it as a Blender add-on or use the Blender source in some way since it's open source. I could also probably do it all in Godot and that's what I'm looking at now.
One issue I've got is developing the ability to 'enrobe' a mesh in another mesh to make the model. I have this idea in my head of how the Spore Creature Creator worked, and I think that might be the hardest part to replicate.
The first step in the Spore Creature Creator was to make a 'spine' for the creature. This was a series of connected tubes along a curve that formed the shape of the body or torso. After that I think they used a series of invisible spheres attached to the vertebrae to create the 'belly' of the creature. They could be expanded or contracted and the neighbors would influence eachother as the sizes were changed. Those spheres were then 'enrobed' with a mesh, to make a single skin instead of a series of spheres.
I can make the spine and sphere system I'm sure, but I'm having trouble coming up with ideas on how to enrobe a series of spheres in another mesh that takes their shape. I guess I'll need to research 3D modelling more? It's not like I'm a pro on that topic.
I should mention that this whole thing is kind of a far branch for me. I'm a game programmer, not a tools programmer or a 3D modeller or a 3D modelling software programmer, so this takes a lot of skills I don't have yet.
I've thought to myself a few times, 'Why am I making a modelling tool instead of the game I'll use models for?' and I have trouble coming up with a solid answer. I think that the tool is a goal in and of itself. Right now it's too hard for the average person to make a unique custom animated character for themself. If someone wants to go on Secondlife or VR Chat or their future equivalents, I want people to be able to represent themselves appropriately without having to hire someone to model for them. Likewise in games, wouldn't it be cool to be able to play your own hand designed character in a game?
I think there'll still be room for artisans; not everyone is an artist even with a simpler tool. But I think this would be a great help to the world.
11:32am - Huh for some reason until just now it hadn't occured to me to see if anything like this already exists. I just kind've assumed if it did I would've heard about it, but that's silly. Let's see what's out there!
11:51am - Well this is pretty fricking impressive. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Hazb4e0V94&ab_channel=Reallusion
It seems to incorporate a ton of popular tools to do all their things together? I wonder if it really exists...
It looks real! But it's only free for a trial. Alas. It's a pipeline pipe dream. ;)
12:01pm - On Google searches I've found a lot of interesting tools but the ones closest to what I'm thinking about are still pretty technical and also they seem to focus a lot on realistic human models more than anything else. I was thinking I might work my way up to realistic human models after starting with something more like cartoon mascot type characters.
I have to admit though, after seeing that Character Creator 3 thing, I feel like some of the pressure to create this is off. It's undeniable that I couldn't create a tool that does all that, by myself, in any reasonable timeframe. But I still want to make something for everyone to use.
12:18pm - So I suppose my next task is to figure out how to do the enrobing...
2:16pm - I've been looking around online, researching, and asking on discords I'm in, I got some ideas of things to search for and ultimately I found out about Metaballs.
2:41pm - Yeah this is just what I'm trying to do. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PP14rVhgX9M&ab_channel=Blender
2:50pm - Well, after learning more about metaballs and an important flaw of them in some uses, I'm sure they're what Spore used, rather than enrobed spheres. In particular it's the way bits of the bodies would stick together when too close, in a certain way.
So that's what I'll start with doing. I've got to figure out how to do a spine of metaballs. I'll do that next time, though, because I've been researching a long time today and I'm overdue for a break.
I've been looking at Blender and Godot to see if I can avoid making the 3D character creator from scratch, and I think so. I could make it as a Blender add-on or use the Blender source in some way since it's open source. I could also probably do it all in Godot and that's what I'm looking at now.
One issue I've got is developing the ability to 'enrobe' a mesh in another mesh to make the model. I have this idea in my head of how the Spore Creature Creator worked, and I think that might be the hardest part to replicate.
The first step in the Spore Creature Creator was to make a 'spine' for the creature. This was a series of connected tubes along a curve that formed the shape of the body or torso. After that I think they used a series of invisible spheres attached to the vertebrae to create the 'belly' of the creature. They could be expanded or contracted and the neighbors would influence eachother as the sizes were changed. Those spheres were then 'enrobed' with a mesh, to make a single skin instead of a series of spheres.
I can make the spine and sphere system I'm sure, but I'm having trouble coming up with ideas on how to enrobe a series of spheres in another mesh that takes their shape. I guess I'll need to research 3D modelling more? It's not like I'm a pro on that topic.
I should mention that this whole thing is kind of a far branch for me. I'm a game programmer, not a tools programmer or a 3D modeller or a 3D modelling software programmer, so this takes a lot of skills I don't have yet.
I've thought to myself a few times, 'Why am I making a modelling tool instead of the game I'll use models for?' and I have trouble coming up with a solid answer. I think that the tool is a goal in and of itself. Right now it's too hard for the average person to make a unique custom animated character for themself. If someone wants to go on Secondlife or VR Chat or their future equivalents, I want people to be able to represent themselves appropriately without having to hire someone to model for them. Likewise in games, wouldn't it be cool to be able to play your own hand designed character in a game?
I think there'll still be room for artisans; not everyone is an artist even with a simpler tool. But I think this would be a great help to the world.
11:32am - Huh for some reason until just now it hadn't occured to me to see if anything like this already exists. I just kind've assumed if it did I would've heard about it, but that's silly. Let's see what's out there!
11:51am - Well this is pretty fricking impressive. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Hazb4e0V94&ab_channel=Reallusion
It seems to incorporate a ton of popular tools to do all their things together? I wonder if it really exists...
It looks real! But it's only free for a trial. Alas. It's a pipeline pipe dream. ;)
12:01pm - On Google searches I've found a lot of interesting tools but the ones closest to what I'm thinking about are still pretty technical and also they seem to focus a lot on realistic human models more than anything else. I was thinking I might work my way up to realistic human models after starting with something more like cartoon mascot type characters.
I have to admit though, after seeing that Character Creator 3 thing, I feel like some of the pressure to create this is off. It's undeniable that I couldn't create a tool that does all that, by myself, in any reasonable timeframe. But I still want to make something for everyone to use.
12:18pm - So I suppose my next task is to figure out how to do the enrobing...
2:16pm - I've been looking around online, researching, and asking on discords I'm in, I got some ideas of things to search for and ultimately I found out about Metaballs.
2:41pm - Yeah this is just what I'm trying to do. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PP14rVhgX9M&ab_channel=Blender
2:50pm - Well, after learning more about metaballs and an important flaw of them in some uses, I'm sure they're what Spore used, rather than enrobed spheres. In particular it's the way bits of the bodies would stick together when too close, in a certain way.
So that's what I'll start with doing. I've got to figure out how to do a spine of metaballs. I'll do that next time, though, because I've been researching a long time today and I'm overdue for a break.
