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Work in Progress / [LOCKED] EZactor - Character Creator Program

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Ron Erickson
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Posted: 27th Apr 2005 23:16 Edited at: 27th Apr 2005 23:19
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Hello all!

Well, I now have enough complete with my latest app to warrant a WIP thread.

So what is it?
Some games give you complete control over what your character looks like. You can go in and modify everything from skin color, hair style, clothing, facial features, and so on.
The goal of this program is to give you that same creative power, then export a boned, mesh-deformable DirectX format file.

There are going to be 5 different mesh build types:
1. Thin
2. Average
3. Muscular
4. Large
5. Fat

From there, you can choose everything from skin color, eye color, change body proportions, modify facial features, hair color, and much, much more.

While I still have much work to do, the hardest parts of this application have already been completed. Right now, the program will export a finished model in the direct X file format. I am current finishing up the texture generating routines. After that, it is bells, wistles and most of all CONTENT!

The main program will be released with content that covers modern day people. After that, add-on modules will be released with MORE content for different atmospheres. For example, next I might create content for medieval/mythical characters OR maybe a space marine theme. Time will tell.

Look in the "View" box for a screen that shows what a sample character looks like. This is an exported model that has been loaded by DBpro. Please note, the skin color has been applied to the ENTIRE texture. I am still working on the filtering routines. Also note that some of this texture is not complete. There are still a few touch-ups and details that I need to fix.

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Ron Erickson
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Posted: 27th Apr 2005 23:20
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I have added another pic showing the same character with a different skin color applied. The same "notes" from above apply.

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Ron Erickson
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Posted: 27th Apr 2005 23:23
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...and here is another screen of the model when he first found out about this GREAT new app

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Drew Cameron
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Posted: 28th Apr 2005 00:24
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Yeah! Any chance of a female character creator?

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Ron Erickson
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Posted: 28th Apr 2005 00:28
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...and I know why you would want that. It will most likely come as an add-on. I'll make sure there are "barely clothed" options just for you.

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Van B
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Posted: 28th Apr 2005 01:15
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Looking awesome Wolf, glad you persued this .

All those guys selling character models should be very concearned.


Van-B

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Megaton Cat
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Posted: 28th Apr 2005 01:31
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Wow this would work wonders for my 3D isometric game!

Great progress wolf!

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IanG
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Posted: 28th Apr 2005 01:44
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this looks really good

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Narf The Mouse
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Posted: 28th Apr 2005 06:41
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Awesome!

I want it! I'm not very good at modeling humans.

Will animating be included? (Probably not, just asking)

Cheese!

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Avan Madisen
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Posted: 28th Apr 2005 07:34
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Now this looks great, but I've got a few questions:

Will their be any sci-fi themes on clothes?
How customisable is the hair?
(I'm risking being called a 'perv' to ask this question) Will the female character have options for the, ehem, anatomy size? I ask because I'm getting sick of games with top-heavy female characters.
Will it eventually be possible to blend between the different physique sizes for a little more variety?

I'm working on a sci-fi RPG, and something like this would be very useful!

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Psycho Gary
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Posted: 28th Apr 2005 07:46
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looking good just wondering, whats the average poly count per character model?

:p
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Narf The Mouse
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Posted: 28th Apr 2005 07:48 Edited at: 28th Apr 2005 07:52
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And could we get a range of screenshots, so we know what it can do?

Does that first sceenshot remind anyone else of Methos from Highlander: The series?

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Ron Erickson
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Posted: 28th Apr 2005 10:36 Edited at: 28th Apr 2005 10:37
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Ok, Lots of questions

Narf,
Some basic animations WILL be included. Additional animations will be availbable from content addons. For instance, I could create a weapons pack for the characters that would INCLUDE the relevant animations that go with those weapons. And since the characters will be .x files, you could ALWAYS open the character up in your favorite modeling program and add your own.
As for screen shots, I don't have many yet. I have one mesh set complete and some basic texture generating code. A lot of the guts of the program is written, but not a lot of content. More will be shown soon.

Avan,
A Sci-fi theme will be available in a content pack. The FIRST theme that I am working on that will come with the main app is "modern people". Then, different addons will cover different themes. You will also be able to mix and match between themes once you have them. The nice part is that you only have to get what you will find usefull.
I plan on having about 30 different hair styles to choose from. I have considered some options for changing the length on certain styles, but it may be easier to just add an additional style for it. I'll cross that bridge when I get there.
I am concentrating on the guys right now. When I get to the chick addon, I'll definately make ENLARGABLE anatomy
Also, mixing and matching the mesh sets is already possible. Since I only have the one mesh set done right now though, it doesn't do much. In short, it will be possible.
Truthfully though, most of the customization that you will want will come from the texturing. There won't be a "base" texture to choose from per say. Instead, you will individually be able to choose things like the definition of the abs versus the defintion of the chest. All of the mesh parts are indiidually scalable too to give you full control pf proportion.

Gary,
The model shown in the pic weighs in at 1200 polys.

I have a lot of work to do yet. I have a pretty good idea of the direction that I'm heading. The reason that I started this thead though was to get some feedback. As the creator of the app, I want to give its users what the want. Getting feedback is the only way that I can do that.

As I said, a lot of the guts of the program are in some working order. I still have a few months of development in front of me.

Thank you everyone for your replies, interest, questions and feedback. In the end, this thing is going to be AWESOME. That is a promise.

Regards,
Ron ~ a.k.a. WOLF

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MX7
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Posted: 28th Apr 2005 12:03
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This sounds like a fine tool. Any chance of an in-progress shot of the interface?

Nice job, Wolf!
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Ron Erickson
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Posted: 29th Apr 2005 01:18
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The interface is very much still under construction. As I mentioned before, a lot of the guts of the program are there, but not a lot of the content. Also, a lot of it still needs "stitched" together with the interface. I'll do that as I concentrate on content areas.

I have included a pic of the interface in its current form. It has been cropped to only show the upper-left hand corner of the screen. I didn't want a HUGE image, and when I reduced it, you couldn't really see what you were looking at.
The interface is setup like this:
On the top is the File management commands that allow you to do loading/saving of progress and exporting of your final model. This is all in complete working order.
Also on the top are some basic camera manipulation commands. It will allow you to zoom in/out and to quick perspective views (top/front/back/right....etc). This too is all in working order.
By the way, the camera can also be manipulated by the mouse and keyboard.

The far left has a panel that will have the basic areas for manipulation. That is where you will pick what you want to be working on (such as the body, skin, face, clothing, ...etc.). When you make a selection on the left, it will show a panel on the right that has all of the "features" for that given area.

A lot of the GUI still needs layed out. Generally though, that is how it will work.

Regards,
Ron

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David R
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Posted: 29th Apr 2005 02:01 Edited at: 29th Apr 2005 02:03
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Sorry to piling on the requests here (damn cool looking thing by the way). Will there be an option [eventually] to create 'old-fashioned' looking characters (like peasants or something) as this could be extremely useful for an RTS....

oh poo. didnt realise that question was already in the top of the thread... Damn!

Good luck, its looking cool.

One thing; Are you planning to sell this, or freeware? I dont mind either way, but I was just curious (although I am tight)

[url=www.lightningstudios.co.uk][/url]
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Ron Erickson
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Posted: 29th Apr 2005 02:30
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With all of the work that is going into this, it won't be freeware. It will be cheap, however, compared to buying endless model packs. And the customization will be priceless.
I can't guess what the pricetag will be right now. It will definately be affordable, but I don't want to nail anything down until closer to completion. I'll have to factor how well I think everything turns out in the end. I can appreciate working on a small budget. I'd rather have more units sold at less price than a less units at a higher price. I hope that makes you feel better

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Cian Rice
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Posted: 29th Apr 2005 04:47
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Will this amazing program be a product you must pay for and if so will there be royalities? Because I was given the idea for a side project of Urbia that I plan to earn a small profit from that I and others are working on and we want those quality models.

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Megaton Cat
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Posted: 29th Apr 2005 05:17
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Quote: "Will the female character have options for the, ehem, anatomy size? I ask because I'm getting sick of games with top-heavy female characters."


Same here. Those kind of games are made for the sole purpose of getting the male audiance's attention. That kinda stops working after you seen hundreds of ads like that in magazines...

This is really reminding my of the Phantasy Star On-Line character creation system. It let you choose such things as head size, height, upper-body size, lower-body size, weight, etc. It was great.

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Ron Erickson
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Posted: 29th Apr 2005 05:19 Edited at: 29th Apr 2005 05:27
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Royalty free. Believe me, I don't want to get into that. It just gets too complicated.

The only restrictions will be that the models created can not be distributed by you. They MUST be compressed in your exe to prevent your end users from using them in their projects. The main things that I want to avoid are:
1. Someone re-selling the models.
2. Someone using their version to create models for someone else to use.
Owning EZactor (and it's addons) will grant you license to use the content created with it for your freeware/shareware/commercial projects. As an owner, be smart and don't redistribute. The bigger the user base and more support that I get, the more content that I can provide. I also want to mention that I always plan to add to the "base" content that will come with EZactor. So, it won't always be a "pay for more" situation.

Edit:
Also, depending on how things go in the next couple of months, I might be looking for additional help with this project. I may be looking to add a 3D modeler and/or a texture artist to the team. The help would be paid on a royalty basis. If you have the skills and are interested, send me an e-mail (please don't inquire here):

Ron

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David T
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Posted: 29th Apr 2005 05:33
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Looks absolutely splendiferous. Not being able to model myself, this would be of great help. As long as you can find ways of making the generated characters not looking identical, I'll get this for sure

Facts are meaningless.
You could use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true.
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Ron Erickson
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Posted: 29th Apr 2005 05:48
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Quote: "As long as you can find ways of making the generated characters not looking identical, I'll get this for sure"


Well, that is the point
If I do my job correctly, then all should be good.
Plus, after it is exported, you could always add your own touches to the texture for even MORE uniqueness.

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Seppuku Arts
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Posted: 29th Apr 2005 06:44
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did my eyes decieve me, a female barely clothed feature, if you did that you'd be popular with the 3D graphics peeps.....
....not saying I would be one to buy it......

http://seppukuarts.dbspot.com
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Avan Madisen
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Posted: 29th Apr 2005 07:33
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One great option would be a tattoo editor, paint tattoos onto the character or import them from image files. Could be rather difficult to pull off but it'd be great! I'm not expecting this kind of thing any time soon, but do you like the idea, Wolf?

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Ron Erickson
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Posted: 29th Apr 2005 08:04
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Avan,
Beleive it or not, I've already considered it. lol
In most cases, it would be EASY to do it yourself though. You could just modify the texture yourself. There are a coople of areas that it would be useful though where the mapping isn't straight forward (such as the shoulders).

Over the next few days, I am going to start really working on the FACE options. This will be my first concentration of CONTENT. You will be able to individually select txturing for:
-Forehead
-Eyebrow
-Eyes
-Nose
-Mouth
-Chin
-Cheekbones

I am going to START with at least 5-10 different options for each area. Later, I'll add more.
And, this is just the start with the face stuff. After I get this first bit of stuff done, I'll add options for mustaches and beards.
Don't forget, this is all just texturing options. The size/shape of the features will all be modify-able through mesh options.
It should all lead to unique looking characters!

Watch this thread for progress updates.

Ron

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Drew Cameron
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Posted: 30th Apr 2005 01:55
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Quote: "and I know why you would want that. It will most likely come as an add-on. I'll make sure there are "barely clothed" options just for you."


Ha ha ha... I was actually going to look into a female lead character for my next big project in all seriousness.

I'll pay for this when it's done by the way, could save a lot of time generating human characters and they look far better than anything I could get my hands on otherwise

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Avan Madisen
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Posted: 30th Apr 2005 07:59 Edited at: 30th Apr 2005 08:00
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Would be nice to able to create flowing hair and huge beards, anyone remember the 'Trader Mustache' in Fable?

I get the impression, Wolf, that you're starting your own franchise of 'EZ' software, what next, EZFX, EZNoise, EZMusic, EZfurnature, or a fast-food chain called EZMalnutrition?

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IanG
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Posted: 30th Apr 2005 08:05
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Quote: "EZMalnutrition"

no, no, no - its obvious - EZKing

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adr
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With regards to the prevention of model redistribution, may I recommend that you don't rely on packing the media into the exe? How's about a custom format or something. From the tool you could import/export .x files ... but also have a slightly more secure "EZActor Pack" file format. You could bundle together all the shared textures, animations and props into one big file and provide a DLL for runtime extraction. A lot of work I know, but like you, I wouldn't want to see your hard work half-inched.

Me? With my reputation?
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Cian Rice
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Thanks for the info Wolf. But is it free or must I pay to download it? If I have to pay I'll be one of the first to buy it.

Urbia Rising
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Eric T
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Posted: 30th Apr 2005 11:21
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Quote: "With all of the work that is going into this, it won't be freeware. It will be cheap, however, compared to buying endless model packs. And the customization will be priceless."


The post above your first post.

Sigs blow.
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Cian Rice
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Posted: 30th Apr 2005 11:26
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Oops stupid me I even read that post. I guess I just forgot while making both of my posts. Then again with the amount of sleep I get...

Urbia Rising
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Ron Erickson
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Posted: 30th Apr 2005 11:42
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adr,
I have considered doing something like that. If I do, it will limit my market to DBpro (and maybe FPSC with some help from TGC). So, I need to weigh my options.
It would actually be very easy to do. Instead of exporting an .x file, I could save the models in a protected fileblock (from the enhancement pack), and make an addon dll that knew the password to load the model. It would carry the same protection as the other DBpro addons.
This is something that I would love to get some more feedback on.

Avan,
Huge beards are definately in. I'm not sure that I can pull off flowing hair to easily though.
EZMalnutrition? How about EZquesey OR EZweightgain lol

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gbuilder
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Posted: 30th Apr 2005 15:09 Edited at: 30th Apr 2005 15:59
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Some ordinary looking people would be useful. Also, will the characters be jointed or be single mesh? This makes a difference when animating.
And if you make them in an uncommon format then Users will be unable to import them into modelling programs for custom animating.

gbuilder.

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Ron Erickson
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Posted: 30th Apr 2005 19:16 Edited at: 30th Apr 2005 19:36
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Quote: "Some ordinary looking people would be useful."

Do you mean not huge muscle bound ones? done.

Quote: "Also, will the characters be jointed or be single mesh? This makes a difference when animating."

The mesh is broken down into a few parts: head, face, neck, upper body, lower body, right arm, left arm, right hand, left hand, right leg, left leg, right foot, left foot.
The vertex weights are done correctly to follow the bones as if it was a single mesh. When animating everything follows each other perfectly.
The hardest part about this approach has already been solved. The normals for each area made noticable seams at the edges of each part. There was no way to smooth normals across multiple meshs in the modeling program. So, I fixed it with code! I posted a screen to show what I am talking about. The left hand image was BEFORE my normal fix, the right hand is AFTER
Having it in multiple meshs will allow me to add and mix/match media easier. In the end, that means MORE will be available. To the end user, it will be unnoticable. Then again, if you wanted to do some cool dismemberment code, you could do it pretty easily by just hiding/showing limbs.
If there is a reason that I have not thought of that requires it to be one mesh, I could certainly do that through code.

Quote: "And if you make them in an uncommon format then Users will be unable to import them into modelling programs for custom animating."

If I decided to take that approach, I would include a "dummy" character .x file that you could use to create your animations. I could then just build something to extract them from the "dummy" and add them to your character.

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gbuilder
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Posted: 30th Apr 2005 21:30
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Sounds like you're on to it.
The right hand image does look better.
Looking forward to a demo.

gbuilder.

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Narf The Mouse
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You could also meld all the parts into one mesh upon export/save.

Cheese!

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Squids Revenge
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Posted: 1st May 2005 04:32 Edited at: 1st May 2005 10:45
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WOW! My dream come true! How the hell did you make those characters look so good!?!?!?

Your signature has been erased by a mod because it's larger than 600x120...
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Scraggle
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Impressive!

Perhaps this app deserves a better word than impressive but I have lost my thesaurus.

Good work Mr Wolf


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Avan Madisen
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Dammit, I've gotta vent these ideas!

EZCleansy (anti virus software)
EZStopSign (firewall)
EZFriends (AOL forum)
EZFuneral (suicide kit)
EZDiagnosis (medical encyclopedia)
EZShocker (random rude imagery screensaver)
EZDestruction (carmageddon style physics plugin)
EZLife (advice software on how to get outside)
EZ15minutesoffame (terrorism kit)
EZJoker (virus writting software)
EZMoney (patent hacking software)
EZPortent (astrology kit)
EZHex (curse casting package)
EZEverlastingyouth (phial of vampire blood)

(gasp), when I get ideas, they fly from my brain!

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Jess T
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Posted: 1st May 2005 22:31
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Awww, WOLF, the guy in the left looks so much better! He's wearing underwear!

I assume you just averaged the normals over the two mesh's? Like, just set the normals so they were the same as if it were one mesh, but it's still two mesheseses... es...

Gj on this proggy, btw It looks like it's just what everyone was after

Jess.


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Ron Erickson
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Posted: 2nd May 2005 13:01 Edited at: 2nd May 2005 13:03
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Quote: "WOW! My dream come true! How the hell did you make those characters look so good!?!?!?"

Well, truthfully, my best friend is a pro 2D/3D artist for a major game company. He helped me get started. When I first got into programming a few years ago, it was going to be a way to showcase my artwork. I liked programming so much that my artwork went on the backburner. It is good to be doing a app that BOTH skills are stressed.

Avan,
If I EVER lose my job and decide to go into business for myself, I'll be sure to send you an e-mail for some EZideas to make som cash

Jess:
Quote: "I assume you just averaged the normals over the two mesh's? Like, just set the normals so they were the same as if it were one mesh, but it's still two mesheseses... es... "

That is pretty much what I did. It is a bit more complicated than that though. Normals don't share ID's with vertices. Working out which normals to "iron" is a bit of a pain.

The other day I mentioned that I was going to start getting into face texture content next. Well, I changed my mind. Instead I have decided to work on the other base meshs. I spent what free time that I had over the weekend improving the existing base mesh. There was something funky going on with his knees and he had a HUGE crotch. Both problems have been taken care of.

Thanks for all of the encouragement everyone! When this idea popped into my head, I had a good feeling that it could be something cool. So far I am happy with the results. From the feedback that I have received so far, it seems that it could be a well used product.

EZrotate!
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Squids Revenge
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Posted: 2nd May 2005 13:18
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Quote: "Well, truthfully, my best friend is a pro 2D/3D artist for a major game company. He helped me get started."

JUST helped you get started!?! Those human models are the best I've seen besides The Sims 2.

Your signature has been erased by a mod because it's larger than 600x120...
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Avan Madisen
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Posted: 3rd May 2005 06:35
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Quote: "Avan,
If I EVER lose my job and decide to go into business for myself, I'll be sure to send you an e-mail for some EZideas to make som cash"


I don't do 'get-rich-quick' schemes, if I did I'd be a millionare by now!

I don't suffer from insanity - I enjoy every minute of it!
Current Project:
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Ron Erickson
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Posted: 3rd May 2005 23:59 Edited at: 4th May 2005 00:00
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Quote: "Those human models are the best I've seen besides The Sims 2."

Thanks for the compliment....

Well, yesterday I finished the mesh for the AVERAGE body size. So now I just have to finish THIN, LARGE, and FAT. That shouldn't take too long.
Right now I am revamping some of the internals of how the meshs are handled. Soon I should have selecting the different body sizes integrated into the application.
I'm looking forward to posting some more pics

WOLF

EZrotate!
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adr
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Posted: 4th May 2005 01:04
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EZLemonSqueezey (Cocktail software)

Me? With my reputation?
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Avan Madisen
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Posted: 4th May 2005 07:58
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Dear god, and I thought I was the only one who could come up with demented ideas...

I don't suffer from insanity - I enjoy every minute of it!
Current Project:
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STALKER
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Posted: 4th May 2005 17:53
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If you guys are anything like me, your all pretty demented. heh, who isnt these days

>>>>>>>>>>>MIRAGE STUDIOS<<<<<<<<<<<
>MEDIEVAL CARNIVAL<>GLADIATOR ARENA<
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Ron Erickson
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Posted: 5th May 2005 05:43
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Blah!

Well, it took longer than I expected to make some of the internal changes that I was doing. I screwed up and spent a few hours doing something that didn't work as I expected. I then spent a few hours getting back to the point where it does all work correctly.

The AVERAGE body size looks pretty good. I'd post a pic, but it is still using the muscular texture which makes it hard to see past the texture and look at the actual mesh. Maybe once I have all of the mesh body sizes complete, I'll line the guys up next to each other and post a pic of it.

Things are progressing nicely!

EZrotate!
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Avan Madisen
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Posted: 5th May 2005 08:12
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Quote: "If you guys are anything like me, your all pretty demented. heh, who isnt these days"

Few are as demented as me...

Wolf, I can see this being nabbed by TGC for publication!

I don't suffer from insanity - I enjoy every minute of it!
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