Undead and Kicking
With and Without Parallax Occlusion Mapping
Few things have the ability to slow the unstoppable juggernaut that is Dead Shift development… One of them is Prancer, our 17yr old Chihuahua, needing constant medical attention and trips to the vet/cardiologist… The other is a main sewer line backing up INTO OUR APARTMENT, flooding it with raw sewage, and forcing us to move into my parents’ living room while the poo is cleaned up…
So now that those figurative and literal shit-storms are over, I have gotten some work done, and things are starting to get back to normal. However, we have made some changes in the direction of Dead Shift… *Drum Roll*
- Perfecting/optimizing SSAO has been taking far too long… so I’m dropping SSAO for the time being, and adding simple horizon-based ambient lighting.
- Acquiring decent level models has proven impossible… so I’m going to be designing the level myself using Google SketchUp because it’s simple and works well for architecture.
- Parallax Occlusion Mapping has been added to the engine to make it easier for me, a non-artist, to add perceived detail.
- The scope is going to be limited… I’m not sure exactly what that’ll entail yet, but I need to start being a bit more realistic if I’m going to finish anything.
So there you have it, now back to work!
Learning SketchUp... Go ahead, laugh. 
Posted by PolyVector
@Andres
I ordered a new dev machine, so I’ll probably be setting that up in the next day or two… I suppose I should probably take a break from Borderlands and actually get some work done eventually.
How about I ruin it for you by telling you the ending, then you could get back YOUR game :p.
@Andres
Already on the second playthrough, and setting up my new dev machine now.
Hey Poly, was wondering if dead shift is your full time project, if not, what’s your day job? Also, I’ve been spending a lot of time on just my engine’s architecture. I download and check out many other xna projects/tutorials. Spend a lot of time making choices, unsure if this way is the “best way.” And waste much time running in circles. You have any tips, maybe good sources that would help.
@Jazz
I don’t have a day job per se, Skunkie and I live off of our other projects which are ad and donation supported. When we heard that Indie devs were going to be allowed to sell Xbox games we put everything on hold. Making a console game has been a dream of mine since I was a kid, so we’re taking a risk and using our funds for Dead Shift.
To be honest, the thing I’m worst at when programming is architecture. I’m a bit disorganized, and also new to game development, so I don’t really feel like I’m the guy to ask about engine design. If you have some specific questions I’ll try my best to answer, but I’m no expert.
Thanks, guess I can’t be afraid to make mistakes, thats the best way to learn. Its really cool to know you and skunkie put things on hold to work towards a dream. I’m really rooting for the deadshift’s success now.
@Jazz
Thank you.
I second guess the descision constantly but it’s exciting to finally attempt it!
You finish dead shift yet? LOL