This is an overview of the tech art work I have thus far been responsible for at Real U.
3dsMax Tools:
In addition to the above, there are also the one-button solutions that don’t have accompanying screenshots, such as environment and character asset exporters, tools to automate the time-consuming processes of generating morph targets for our six body types for character customisation, as well as a number of one-off tools, such as a cloth-to-bones script to automatically generate bone chains by selected vertices (and hence bake animated dynamics to keyframed skeletal animation).
Photoshop Scripts:
I developed a texture exporter (and in concert, a master texture setup tool) to export the multiple texture types we require for our assets. The tool automatically assigns the appropriate masks (specular, reflection, etc) to the corresponding channels in the mask textures (eg. specular in the red channel of Mask1). The setup tool automatically handles the naming of layer groups that are used by the exporter.
I also developed a related set of scripts to allow for batch setup and export of either the selected directory[ies], or the entire project.
I have also written numerous situational scripts such as batching through the project textures and fixing for gamma correction.
Unreal:
Implemented random (vertex color modulated) foliage movement in our TreeBeard-type mob via the vertex shader.
Developed a snow (or other material configurable in the material instance) accumulation shader and incorporated into the existing [monstrous] uberShaders. Currently not implemented in-game, as we don’t have playable snow regions yet.
Developed a rain and water-runoff shader for wet regions in the game worlds.
Fixed up and improved various aspects of our existing shaders:
- fixed and improved reflection behavior on in-game assets (cheap image-based lighting)
- added functionality for coloured specular highlights based on diffuse map (without losing specularity on dark surfaces)
- added functionality for rough/blurred reflections for in-game assets
Interfaced between artists and tools programmer to get numerous workflow improvements into various aspects of our custom Unreal Editor.