Milestone 3

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Milestone Schedule=
==Milestone 3 - Monday, 17ᵗʰ July 2006 - Vertical Battlefield 'Proof of Concept'==
Documentation:
*Preliminary Technical Design document
*Final Draft Design Overview Document for Greenlight Meeting
*Preliminary Design document
*Updated Milestone Schedule document
Running on PC:
*Main “Vertical Battlefield” content:
**Terrain Rendering, with LODing
**1st pass player character able to traverse the terrain
**1st person & 3rd person camera systems
**1st pass ship (Republic Starfighter)
**Player able to enter/leave ship on ground
**Ship able to fly around above terrain
**Ship able to fly upwards into Space
**Cloud layer / 1st pass transition into Space
**1st pass Capital Ship (CIS Cruiser), with BF2-scale interior
**Ship able to fly and land in Capital Ship
**Player able to enter/leave ship in Capital Ship hangar
**Player able to traverse Capital Ship from hangar to interior
**All of the above, but in reverse (i.e. Capital Ship to Space to ground)
*Other supplementary content:
**Shooting
***Placeholder gun, with 1st person and 3rd person shooting
**Placeholder HUD
***Player Info
***Targeting Reticule
***Vehicle/Ship Info
***In-Game Menus
**1st Pass Splash Screen
**Special Effects:
***Lasers
***Sparks
**Sound
**Music
**1* final-quality textured character (Clone Trooper)
***to demonstrate/evaluate the texture/geometry budget.
***viewable in the 'Stage'
**The Stage will be delivered every month from now on to allow review of all assets not yet in-game
Tools and Technology:
*Terrain Editor v0.2:
**Height editing
**Material editing
**Texture baking
**Object placement
**Exporting
*Terrain Rendering, with LODing
*Scale Handling
**Ability to deal with the transition between the game zones, and related issues of scale
*Moving Capital Ship investigation
**Determine the feasibility of moving Capital Ships around.
*Texture Streaming
**Stream textures during the transition between the game zones
*AI
**Start groundwork
*Build Process
**Begin implementation of an optimal system with the goal of full automation
*Platform-specific
**Deal with PS3 and X360-specific issues
*Sound Effects
*Music
Miscellanous:
Rough schedule written covering timing and order of creation of the main game assets and planned order of software implementation.
|-|Roadmap=
==Milestone 3 - Monday, 17ᵗʰ July 2006==
Summary:
*Vertical Battlefield 'Proof of Concept'
Content Detail:
*Vertical Battlefield 'Proof of Concept'
*Controls to navigate character and ship between ground and capital ship
*Basic UI / HUD
*Sample Characters and Ships modelled
*Terrain Editor v0.2
Game Design:
*Ability to fly between ground and the capital ship to demonstrate Vertical Battlefield
Gameplay Features (Controls):
*Player able to enter/leave ship on ground
*Ship able to fly around above terrain
*Ship able to fly upwards into Space
*Ship able to fly and land in Capital Ship
*Player able to enter/leave ship in Capital Ship hangar.
*All of the above, but in reverse (i.e. Capital Ship to Space to ground)
Gameplay Features (Camera):
*1st person & 3rd person camera systems
Gameplay Features (UI/HUD):
*Player Info
*Targeting Reticule
*Vehicle/Ship Info
*In-game Menus
*Splashscreen
Art (Singleplayer Planets):
*Tatooine (area for Prototype)
Art (Capital Ships):
*CIS Cruiser Exterior
**with BF2-scale interior
Art (Characters):
*Clone Trooper
**To demonstrate/evaluate the texture/geometry budget
*Battle Droid
*Medical Droid
*Storm Trooper
Art (Weapons):
*E-11 Blaster Rifle
Art (Vehicles):
*CIS AAT
*Hailfire Droid
*Republic Starfighter
*B-Wing
*Droid Starfighter
Tools:
*Terrain Editor v0.2: (this is not part of the delivered build, but will be demonstrable on-site)
**Height editing
**Material editing
**Texture baking
**Object placement
**Exporting
*Terrain Rendering, with LODing
*Scale Handling
**Ability to deal with the transition between the game zones, and related issues of scale.
*Moving Capital Ship investigation
**Determine the feasibility of moving Capital Ships around.
*Texture Streaming
**Stream textures during the transition between the game zones.
Effects:
*Cloud layer / 1st pass transition into Space
*Lasers - functional
*Sparks - functional
General:
*Build Process
**Begin implementation of an optimal system with the goal of full automation
*Platform-specific
**Deal with PS3 and X360-specific issues
*Sound Effects
*Music
Production:
*Deliver PC Build
*Preliminary Technical Design document
*Final Draft Design Overview Document for Greenlight Meeting
*Preliminary Design document
*Updated Milestone Schedule document
*Rough schedule written covering timing and order of creation of the main game assets and planned order of software implementation.
|-|Milestone Feedback=
Project Title: Battlefront III
Developer: Free Radical Design
Milestone: MS #3
Sr. Producer: Ted Fitzgerald
Milestone #3 - Production Review
July 18ᵗʰ, 2006
Milestone 3 – Monday 17th July 2006 – Vertical Battlefield “Proof Of Concept”
Documentation:
*Preliminary Technical Design document[LucasArts: Approved – Jonathan Williams to provide detailed feedback to FRD no later than Monday. Jonathan will deliver feedback in person during visit next week to Joe Moulding Steve Lewis and David Doak as they will all be out here for the “Design Overview” Greenlight meeting]
*Final Draft Design Overview document for Greenlight Meeting[LucasArts: Approved Pending Changes]
*Preliminary Design document[LucasArts: Approved]
*Updated Milestone Schedule document[LucasArts: Approved Pending Changes (see Jonathan Williams issues in separate mail][FRD: We have not seen this email. Please forward it on so we can consider and discuss any alterations proposed]
Running on PC:
*Main “Vertical Battlefield” content:
**Terrain Rendering, with LODing[LucasArts: Approved]
**1st pass player character able to traverse the terrain[LucasArts: Approved]
**1st person & 3rd person camera systems[LucasArts: Approved]
**1st pass ship (Republic Starfighter)[LucasArts: Approved]
**Player able to enter/leave ship on ground[LucasArts: Approved]
**Ship able to fly around above terrain[LucasArts: Approved]
**Ship able to fly upwards into Space[LucasArts: Approved]
**Cloud layer / 1st pass transition into Space[LucasArts: Approved]
**1st pass Capital Ship (CIS Cruiser), with BF2-scale interior[LucasArts: Approved]
**Ship able to fly and land in Capital Ship[LucasArts: Approved]
**Player able to enter/leave ship in Capital Ship hangar[LucasArts: Approved]
**Player able to traverse Capital Ship from hangar to interior[LucasArts: Approved]
**All of the above, but in reverse (i.e. Capital Ship to Space to ground)[LucasArts: Approved]
*Other supplementary content:
**Shooting
***Placeholder gun, with 1st person and 3rd person shooting[LucasArts: Approved]
**Placeholder HUD
***Player Info[LucasArts: Approved]
***Targeting Reticule[LucasArts: Approved]
***Vehicle/Ship Info[LucasArts: Approved]
***In-Game Menus[LucasArts: Approved]
**1st Pass Splash Screen[LucasArts: Approved]
**Special Effects:
***Lasers[LucasArts: Approved]
***Sparks[LucasArts: Approved]
**Sound[LucasArts: Approved]
**Music[LucasArts: Approved]
**1* final-quality textured character (Clone Trooper)
***to demonstrate/evaluate the texture/geometry budget.[LucasArts: Approved]
***viewable in the 'Stage'[LucasArts: Approved]
**The Stage will be delivered every month from now on to allow review of all assets not yet in-game[LucasArts: OK]
Tools and Technology:
*Terrain Editor v0.2:[LucasArts: Clearly working but hard for us to verify how. Can FRD provide to LA for review?][FRD: As briefly discussed previously, the best thing is to see this Editor whenever you make site visits to us]
**Height editing
**Material editing
**Texture baking
**Object placement
**Exporting
*Terrain Rendering, with LODing[LucasArts: Approved]
*Scale Handling[LucasArts: Need clarification here. What technology are you trying to prove here?][FRD: What we wanted to do was prove the concept of the ‘Vertical BattleFront’. Predominantly having everything except the Capital Ship Interiors in the single world, pushing to the boundaries of using 24bit Z-Buffer precision. Additionally then the use of ‘Transformation Portals’ for the interiors of the Capital Ships]
**Ability to deal with the transition between the game zones, and related issues of scale
*Moving Capital Ship investigation[LucasArts: Approved. Will this still be able to work once the game is fully featured/populated?][FRD: That is the intention; however there are still things to be discussed / proved with regard to collisions between Capital Ships, actually flying them, etc.]
**Determine the feasibility of moving Capital Ships around.
*Texture Streaming[LucasArts: Approved in “stage” unable to verify in-game. How can we verify this?][FRD: The texture streaming is happening continually flying over the terrain too]
**Stream textures during the transition between the game zones
*AI[LucasArts: How can we verify this? What has been completed here thus far? How can we measure the progress?][FRD: Currently working on AI navigating terrain on foot and also flying (not landing or taking off). The best way to view the progress is in the monthly builds. For tasks that span multiple months there will be iterative uses / implementations of the technology at various key stages.]
**Start groundwork
*Build Process[LucasArts: What is the build process? How does it work? How are builds verified? Need more detail here please.][FRD: The Build Team, under the umbrella of the shared Engine Team, works continually to keep the builds building. Additionally, nightly builds of all assets run to ensure nothing breaks, or stays broken. At the end of the Milestone the build is done and delivered to Q.A. a minimum of 5 working days before the due date of the Milestone. This period is used for Q.A, resultant bug fixing, rebuilds etc. Q.A. verify the build suitability based off of the Internal Milestone Schedules (inc Roadmap) and Design Documentation]
**Begin implementation of an optimal system with the goal of full automation
*Platform-specific[LucasArts: What issues, specifically, have been dealt with here on the X360? PS3? Our assumption is that these issues will be listed out in the TDD but it would be good to see what has been completed thus far][FRD: General rule of thumb is that the Engine Team keep all platforms concurrently up to date with each other, all operating of the same core Engine / Framework, only deviating at hardware specific implementations]
**Deal with PS3 and X360-specific issues
*Sound Effects[LucasArts: Approved]
*Music[LucasArts: Approved]
Miscellanous:
Rough schedule written covering timing and order of creation of the main game assets and planned order of software implementation.
==General Feedback==
MS 3 was a nice improvement over MS 2. Being able to select from multiple vehicles, take one up through the cloud layer and then see the Death Star slowly revealed was definitely more than expected at this early juncture.
Starting on the ground, Tatooine is still in its early stages of development so not a lot to see. It would be good to see just a section of Tatooine that has been fully textured/detailed to get an idea of what the surface will ultimately look like when taken through to completion. One side note, we were pleased to see some physics working as we were able to use vehicles on the surface to “push” other vehicles around.
Not much else to really do or see on the ground at this point so naturally, we took to the skies. We all liked the cloud layer (although you don’t really get a sense of speed while travelling though it). The transition time from ground to clouds to space feels about right. What is the plan for these transitions? Will there be dogfighting going on while travelling from one zone to another? What can we expect to see/do while travelling back and forth?
We were impressed with the level of detail on the outside of the Capital Ships as well as with the first pass at the Cap Ship interiors. A few things to point out regarding the interiors. Although, they are first pass, we need to be in agreement that the interiors for these ships will need to be more detailed, with clear landmarking/signage, and lots of windows to really convey the fact that you are in SPACE!
[FRD: That is definitely our intention, working within the limitation of the Transformation Portals being used to allow us to jump to a different point in world space. So in simple terms, we couldn’t land in the hangar and walk along a long corridor of windows and get to the bridge without traversing the whole length of the ship to get there. Having sections with no windows allows us to use the Transformation Portals to skip further ahead and make it feel realistic. Please see the diagram for a further example]
We just want to make sure that people get the fact that they are on a space ship (not just any space ship – a Star Wars space ship!). We only have 4 Cap Ships in the game and each one needs to be absolutely stunning. A good reference for an awesome interior would be Tantive IV (see BFII). Ok, I digressed a bit on the interiors but you get the point. Moving along, we all liked seeing the port-side turbo-lasers and cannot wait to actually see them moving and firing. Good to see the golden catwalks (nice ground texture!) and the bridge in as well. We all loved the scale of the hangar. Positively huge.
We liked the shadows on space objects and were pleased to see the self-shadows on the droid star fighter. All nice touches. Why no shadows on the ground though?
The flight experience needs some work but that is too be expected this early on. Even when we were able to correct the inverted controls, we found the control to be very sensitive. Landing on the moving Cap Ship is even more challenging. The auto-levelling was also not working as we had hoped. It seems that auto-leveling only turns on when one gets close enough to a Cap Ship. That means I can be flying upside down but when I get close enough to a Cap Ship I’ll get auto-levelled and it can be quite disorienting. Enough on this as I know we will be spending a fair amount of time tweaking flight controls going forward.
In terms of scale, the Death Star seems too small in relation to everything else. The DS is HUGE! The Cap Ships (exterior) seem about right but could be a touch bigger.
Overall, a solid MS with some nice surprises. Well done!
Please see our specific feedback below.
MS3.png
==Open A Issue(s)==
(Provide details on “A” related issues if any. “A” issues are issues that cause the developer to not pass the current milestone. Use the headings from the milestone description list as a guide for reviewing open “A” issues.)
None to report.
==Open B Issue(s)==
(Provide details on “B” related issues if any. “B” issues are issues that should be fixed by the developer to improve the quality of the game and to guaranty passing the current milestone. These issues are of lower severity to level “A” issues. Use the headings from the milestone description list as a guide for reviewing open “B” issues.)
#Clone Trooper Model Irregularities – We are flagging this as an “B” issue as we are concerned at how far “off” the Clone Trooper model was in the MS delivery received on July 17ᵗʰ. It missed the mark in many ways as pointed out in our side by side comparison sent across to FRD on July 18ᵗʰ.
The main areas of concern are:
*The angle of the nose area is too steep.
*The chin sticks out too far and is too wide.
*The detail in the back of the helmet is missing.
*The raised strip across the top of the helmet is pointy/polygonal. It should be smooth and rounded.
*The eyes are too large.
*Additionally, the body seems to be disproportionately thin in relation to the head/helmet.
Since we are dealing with an extremely well known IP we will absolutely be held to a higher standard by consumers, fans (and Lucas Licensing!) which is why we are bringing this to your attention at this early stage.
We would like to first of all understand how this happened and then identify an action plan to ensure this doesn’t happen again in the future. Let’s start by addressing the aforementioned issues regarding the Clone Trooper and then review the process by which characters, weapons, vehicles, etc. are modelled, textured, mapped, etc. so that we all are on equal footing. We can then work toward establishing the bar by which all other art must hit and work toward consistently hitting that bar (or exceeding it!).
[FRD: The reference material used for the Clone Trooper was original sourced form the Internet as we started work on this character before the deal was closed. This will not be an issue with any other character, vehicle, weapon etc as all reference material now comes from LEC. The changes have however been made to the character and the new comparison seem below]
Clone001.jpg
#Controls – Both playable milestones delivered thus far have had control issues. Some (or all) of this may be due to the fact that it is running on PC and we are using PS-PC USB converters but nonetheless, we need to figure out what’s causing the “X” and “Y” axis to become inverted and identify a fix for this before delivering again on PC. Fortunately, the next MS delivery will be on X360 but we would still like to understand why the “X” and “Y” axis keep getting inverted. Is it the PS-PC converter or is this something related to the code at FRD?
Note: We were able to temporarily fix this on our end by editing the “playercontrols.res” file. 
[FRD: Obviously the implementations of any USB-PS2 controller on the market are subject to compatibility testing that has not yet occurred. We will provide a debug option to flip these axis in Milestone Deliverable PC builds]
==Open C Issue(s) & Outstanding Questions==
(Provide details on “C” related issues if any. “C” issues are issues that should be fixed by the developer to improve the quality of the game. These issues should be addressed in later milestones. Use the headings from the milestone description list as a guide for reviewing open “C” issues.)
#There is a noticeable “jump” when entering and exiting a capital ship hangar. The lighting on the ship changes and it seems to change in size.[FRD: Noted. Technology still being finalised and this will be fixed.]
#The clouds look good. As a wish list item, it would be good if they’d rush past the ship faster as you fly up through them to enhance the sense of speed as we leave the atmosphere.[FRD: Noted]
##It is hard to see where you’ll end up over the ground battle when you approach it from space due to all the clouds.[FRD: Noted, although the invisible ‘funnel’ and the HUD will help locate ground battles. We need to see how this looks with more action going on in future Milestones]
#The auto-levelling is a bit confusing when flying under the capital ship. It seems that currently auto-levelling only turns on when I get close enough to a capital ship. That means I can be flying upside-down, and when I approach the bottom of a capital ship I’ll get auto-levelled. The capital ship will now be below me and I’m left somewhat disoriented.[FRD: We need to discuss this verbally to explain its operation.]
#Entering the hangar of a moving capital ship is overly difficult.[FRD: Hangar height is being slightly increased and a ‘help-me-land’ button is being implemented]
#The laser blasts from the clone trooper gun are hard to see (when compared to the laser blasts fired by the vehicles).[FRD: Duplicate of point 21. These effects are work in progress and will be improved]
#The Death Star looks great from afar but up close we have to find a way to make the scale seem HUGE.[FRD: As mentioned earlier about scale tests the Death Star is about as big and far away as technically possible with 24bit Z-Buffer precision. Increasing to 32bit would have a major memory knock-on. To increase the size of the Death Star would also imply moving it back, also therefore requiring further travel time etc. This needs to be discussed further]
#Cruisers seem a bit on the small-ish side as well but not nearly as big an issue as with the Death Star. [FRD: Is this actually the case, or just the perception, as we believe these are to exact scale]
#LOD changes on the capital ships as one flies closer or further from them are too noticeable.[FRD: Actually these do not LOD yet and what you are seeing is the detail maps / shadow maps switching. We are working to improve this]
#When looking at the ground from the level of the Death Star, it’s clear that there is a square cloud formation over the planet.[FRD: Predominantly a left over from the Proof of Concept. Noted]
#The corners of the planet sized map are visible from space when flying at the death star level. They look like mountains on the horizon.[FRD: Noted]
#The lighting on the player model when inside the hangar is too strong, and washes out all the textures on the model.[FRD: Agreed. We are looking to fix this]
#What is the plan for landing your ship on the ground? Currently kind of a rough landing sequence.[FRD: Currently under investigation]
#It’s hard to tell at a glance that a capital ship is moving until one is flying alongside it, where their movement relative to mine becomes obvious. May need to investigate some way to convey their heading. [FRD: We will look at some kind of trails being left behind the moving ship]
#The vehicles can fire their lasers, but they do not hit with the same impact as the blaster held by the clone trooper.[FRD: Noted]
#The look of the shields on the cruiser hangars and gun ports is overpowering, particularly when viewed from the inside of the ship. The shields should be more subtle in look. It’s not part of the movie look.[FRD: Noted. We will revisit the art / effect]
#We need to have a discussion regarding cheats. Not really an “issue” per se but something we need to work out with FRD so I am placing on this list as a reminder to review.[FRD: Yes, do you have any proposed cheats in mind]
#1st pass of player/character – What % complete is it in its’ current state? What are the planned improvements?[FRD: Planned improvements are in response to your concerns (Issue B.1.) We hope this character to hen be almost complete.]
#1st pass ship (Republic Cruiser) – What % complete is it in its’ current state? What are the planned improvements?[FRD: Do you mean the Republic Starfighter? Ie the Play Controlled ship? We believe that to be about 90% art complete]
#1st pass cloud layer/transition to space – What % complete is it in its’ current state? What are the planned improvements?[FRD: About 75%. Work is need on re-entry effects]
#Placeholder HUD
##Player Info – We were able to verify that a meter exists but not that it was actually functional. Is this meant to be working at present?[FRD: Not yet functional]
##Vehicle/Ship Info – Speed meter is functional but we weren’t able to verify the functionality of the shield/armor meter.[FRD: Not yet functional]
#Special FX (Lasers) – The laser bolts fired by the clone trooper are difficult to see once they leave the barrel of the gun.[FRD: Duplicate of point 5. These effects are work in progress and will be improved]
#When can we expect to see more detail on the land surface of Tatooine? It would be good to see at least a portion of it fully textured so we have an idea of what it will look like when taken through to completion.[FRD: We are working on this and will put something on the Roadmap over the next few months]
#It is clear that data is already being streamed in but how much? What specifically is being streamed in? How much data is it currently transferring and what are you estimating the total transfer to be when fully implemented?[FRD: Currently the streamed data is higher level mipmaps of all textures. Geometry streaming will come in soon]
Overall Rating: PASS
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Category:I&T - Milestones