Motion Capture & Behaviour Visit
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Wow – $9.1 million and climbing! The team at Cloud Imperium is glued to the site watching the counter; we simply can’t believe the response to the Aurora sale. There are three days left to get your Aurora LX, so please pledge if you are interested… and spread the word if you’re already a backer!
Mocap Stretch Goal
Today we’d like to talk more about our $10 million motion capture stretch goal. Some backers have noticed that this isn’t so much a reward as it is a statement. That’s the point: we want to share the development process with you in a mature fashion. There will be rewards for our longtime supporters, but we also want to tell you exactly what we’re doing with the additional money. In this case, that’s building a motion capture studio, something that will significantly enhance Star Citizen!
For those unfamiliar, motion capture is a process of recording motion. Actors are fitted with sensors and recorded with special cameras to gauge how they move. Films like Avatar use this technology to allow their CGI characters to act just like humans. Actors wearing sensor suits are filmed as though they were acting regular scenes, then overlaid with their computer generated characters. In gaming, the process is much the same, although not always so linear: the data is provided to the animation team so they can create more lifelike characters.
Games have been using motion capture for years: Origin Systems pioneered the process in the mid-1990s, utilizing “Flock of Birds” technology to build Bioforge. Since then, it has become a standard for serious game development that requires “actors” (largely supplanting the live action shoots that Chris Roberts popularized with Wing Commander III.) For a game like Star Citizen, motion capture would be used both to record cut scenes and to decide “moves” – how your interactive characters will react to various inputs and stimuli.
There are essentially three levels of mocap: body and motion movement capture, facial capture and then full performance capture which combines the two. In body capture, we record movements. In facial capture, nuanced facial expressions (including lips, to match voice actors.) The third captures all of this at once to make for the best possible high end performance.
We haven’t done any mocap yet; the team is currently using reference moves that will need to be replaced before the game is finished. We did do a reference shoot to get a baseline early in the process, though. This was a much less complicated process, using a model to generate footage we can refer to when building our characters. Here’s a Wingman’s Hangar segment explaining that shoot:
Unfortunately, motion capture is expensive. Very few studios have their own motion capture rigs: typically, development teams rent out the technology, studio space and talent for a limited amount of time. A day of motion capture costs between $25,000 and $50,000 and provides roughly 200 “moves”; simple gestures, limb movements and so on. More complex shoots which require props, additional actors, finger movements and other factors are significantly more expensive. Still more expensive are shoots that capture audio and facial movements. This expense-to-benefit ration means that there’s a great deal of preparation required for a mocap shoot… and that messing up or deciding you want something more in the game later means another chunk of money.
What we want to do is build our own studio. We want to dedicate an area for mocap and purchase our own mocap system outright. It would cost more than we have currently budgeted for mocap leasing to do this to start… but the result would improve the game significantly. With our own mocap system we could generate cutscenes and moves as we determine they are needed, which will be especially valuable for the Star Citizen live team charged with feeding the game constant content! It’s even conceivable that we could rent it out when not in use, ultimately funneling more money into Star Citizen’s development!
Lead Animator Bryan Brewer is currently looking at two potential mocap systems for body movement. The first is the Vicon system, which he calls the Ferrari of mocap rigs. We would purchase sixteen of their 2.0 megapixel T20S cameras and sixteen of their 1.0 mexapixel T10S cameras for roughly $230,000. A second option is OptiTrack, the “Porsche” of mocap systems, which would be 24 4.1 megapixel Prime 41 cameras and 2 Prime17 cameras for significantly less: $150,000.
This hardware is just the start: it would track body motions, but an additional system would be needed for the game’s facial animations. For this, we are looking at a product called FaceWare. Other money would go towards a physical space to install the system and various pieces of rigging. Finally, some of the additional million would go to professional actors. While team members and other volunteers are suitable for simple motions, real actors are needed for some captures!
We genuinely believe our own mocap studio would significantly improve Star Citizen. The team is very excited about the possibilities for expanding the game beyond what our original budget allowed. We think this is a great example of how we can be responsible with additional money… and a way to continue showing our backers that we’re doing the right thing with their pledges!
Finally, we asked Bryan a few questions to clarify issues that we felt fans would like to know:
Why Vicon Motion capture system?
Vicon offers the latest in Motion capture technology. The Cameras shoot at over 120fps and can capture large volumes with multiple actors. The cameras also have a high resolution. This means we can use smaller markers and small markers produces more accurate data. The Vicon Solution also works with FaceWare Head cams. The same technology used in movies like Avatar. The data produced by a high end system like this much cleaner with less cleanup in the solving. Other systems data is usually much more difficult to work with causing longer solves and editing animations to make game ready. The Motion Capture stage we are wanting to build is very similar to the one Naughty Dog built for doing their Uncharted games. This will offer us the ability to capture body, fingers, face, props and audio. Being able to do this in house rather than outsourcing to a Motion Capture Studio will afford us the ability to create animations whenever we want and not be forced to hold off because of someone else’s schedule.
Are cheaper unconventional solutions possible?
I have looked into other capture solutions like setting up 2 Kinects. The problem with that is limited capture volume and only being able to capture one character at a time. Also, there is heavy cleanup needed on the data produced with those type of systems. It is good tech for prototyping but not good for production.
Behaviour in the House!
The other big news at Cloud Imperium Games this week is that our partners from Behaviour Interactive are making their first visit to Austin! A pre-production team has made the jump from Montreal to the increasingly-crowded Austin facility to see how we’re working and to get their first big assignment: building one of the game’s hero levels!
The Star Citizen design team sat down with the group on Tuesday morning to discuss their task: building out the Stanton System as an example for how future star systems will be built! Stanton was one of the pledge systems, a collection of corporate worlds deep in UEE space. Our designers discussed how the game experience will work: what should it be like for a player when he or she lands in the Stanton System? What can they buy, visit, explore, discover?
The Behaviour team had already done this preliminary sketch of the system. This artwork, the first step in the process of creating Stanton, was done by Corentin Chevanne, who was responsible for the very first “landing pad” concept artwork you saw during the pledge campaign. His work has become synonymous with Star Citizen and we’re thrilled that he’s going to be continuing to work on the project.
The plan is to let the Behavior team, which includes a number of decorated MMO and FPS veterans, to prototype this system as the beginning of their work on Star Citizen’s planetside gameplay. The Behaviour team includes a number of ex-Funcom, Ubisoft and Eidos employees that have built award-winning AAA titles. Now they’re going to show us what they can do for the game! Stanton System
Ownership: UEE (Corporate) Planets: 4 Planetary Rotation: MicroTech (350 SEG), Hurston Dynamics (588 SEG), ArcCorp (730 SEG), Crusader Industries (1554 SEG) Import: Raw Materials, Manpower Export: Weapons, Electronics, Computer Tech Crime Status: Low Black Market: None UEE Strategic Value: Purple The Stanton System is a corporate business park writ large: a series of four massive SuperEarth planets terraformed for their resources. Though built by the UEE proper, they have since been sold off to the highest bidders support construction of the Synthworld. Some of the largest corporations in the galaxy purchased rights to the worlds, at a cost of trillions of galactic credits.
Despite the ridiculous corporate names, the transfer of the SuperEarths was initially largely ceremonial; the population of MicroTech did not suddenly belong to the corporation and each world had its own dynamic economy. Since that time, however, the corporations have begun consolidating power and generally moving to bleed the planets dry.
The planets do act as corporate headquarters for the companies in question and they are home to wholesale production facilities where an eager merchant might find a good deal. MicroTech produces electronics, including handheld sensors and computer software upgrades for starships. Hurston Dynamics is a serious weapons provider for the civilian market, ArcCorp builds fusion engines and Crusader Industries constructs and operates slowboat colonies.
Mocap Stretch Goal
Today we’d like to talk more about our $10 million motion capture stretch goal. Some backers have noticed that this isn’t so much a reward as it is a statement. That’s the point: we want to share the development process with you in a mature fashion. There will be rewards for our longtime supporters, but we also want to tell you exactly what we’re doing with the additional money. In this case, that’s building a motion capture studio, something that will significantly enhance Star Citizen!
For those unfamiliar, motion capture is a process of recording motion. Actors are fitted with sensors and recorded with special cameras to gauge how they move. Films like Avatar use this technology to allow their CGI characters to act just like humans. Actors wearing sensor suits are filmed as though they were acting regular scenes, then overlaid with their computer generated characters. In gaming, the process is much the same, although not always so linear: the data is provided to the animation team so they can create more lifelike characters.
Games have been using motion capture for years: Origin Systems pioneered the process in the mid-1990s, utilizing “Flock of Birds” technology to build Bioforge. Since then, it has become a standard for serious game development that requires “actors” (largely supplanting the live action shoots that Chris Roberts popularized with Wing Commander III.) For a game like Star Citizen, motion capture would be used both to record cut scenes and to decide “moves” – how your interactive characters will react to various inputs and stimuli.
There are essentially three levels of mocap: body and motion movement capture, facial capture and then full performance capture which combines the two. In body capture, we record movements. In facial capture, nuanced facial expressions (including lips, to match voice actors.) The third captures all of this at once to make for the best possible high end performance.
We haven’t done any mocap yet; the team is currently using reference moves that will need to be replaced before the game is finished. We did do a reference shoot to get a baseline early in the process, though. This was a much less complicated process, using a model to generate footage we can refer to when building our characters. Here’s a Wingman’s Hangar segment explaining that shoot:
Unfortunately, motion capture is expensive. Very few studios have their own motion capture rigs: typically, development teams rent out the technology, studio space and talent for a limited amount of time. A day of motion capture costs between $25,000 and $50,000 and provides roughly 200 “moves”; simple gestures, limb movements and so on. More complex shoots which require props, additional actors, finger movements and other factors are significantly more expensive. Still more expensive are shoots that capture audio and facial movements. This expense-to-benefit ration means that there’s a great deal of preparation required for a mocap shoot… and that messing up or deciding you want something more in the game later means another chunk of money.
What we want to do is build our own studio. We want to dedicate an area for mocap and purchase our own mocap system outright. It would cost more than we have currently budgeted for mocap leasing to do this to start… but the result would improve the game significantly. With our own mocap system we could generate cutscenes and moves as we determine they are needed, which will be especially valuable for the Star Citizen live team charged with feeding the game constant content! It’s even conceivable that we could rent it out when not in use, ultimately funneling more money into Star Citizen’s development!
Lead Animator Bryan Brewer is currently looking at two potential mocap systems for body movement. The first is the Vicon system, which he calls the Ferrari of mocap rigs. We would purchase sixteen of their 2.0 megapixel T20S cameras and sixteen of their 1.0 mexapixel T10S cameras for roughly $230,000. A second option is OptiTrack, the “Porsche” of mocap systems, which would be 24 4.1 megapixel Prime 41 cameras and 2 Prime17 cameras for significantly less: $150,000.
This hardware is just the start: it would track body motions, but an additional system would be needed for the game’s facial animations. For this, we are looking at a product called FaceWare. Other money would go towards a physical space to install the system and various pieces of rigging. Finally, some of the additional million would go to professional actors. While team members and other volunteers are suitable for simple motions, real actors are needed for some captures!
We genuinely believe our own mocap studio would significantly improve Star Citizen. The team is very excited about the possibilities for expanding the game beyond what our original budget allowed. We think this is a great example of how we can be responsible with additional money… and a way to continue showing our backers that we’re doing the right thing with their pledges!
Finally, we asked Bryan a few questions to clarify issues that we felt fans would like to know:
Why Vicon Motion capture system?
Vicon offers the latest in Motion capture technology. The Cameras shoot at over 120fps and can capture large volumes with multiple actors. The cameras also have a high resolution. This means we can use smaller markers and small markers produces more accurate data. The Vicon Solution also works with FaceWare Head cams. The same technology used in movies like Avatar. The data produced by a high end system like this much cleaner with less cleanup in the solving. Other systems data is usually much more difficult to work with causing longer solves and editing animations to make game ready. The Motion Capture stage we are wanting to build is very similar to the one Naughty Dog built for doing their Uncharted games. This will offer us the ability to capture body, fingers, face, props and audio. Being able to do this in house rather than outsourcing to a Motion Capture Studio will afford us the ability to create animations whenever we want and not be forced to hold off because of someone else’s schedule.
Are cheaper unconventional solutions possible?
I have looked into other capture solutions like setting up 2 Kinects. The problem with that is limited capture volume and only being able to capture one character at a time. Also, there is heavy cleanup needed on the data produced with those type of systems. It is good tech for prototyping but not good for production.
Behaviour in the House!
The other big news at Cloud Imperium Games this week is that our partners from Behaviour Interactive are making their first visit to Austin! A pre-production team has made the jump from Montreal to the increasingly-crowded Austin facility to see how we’re working and to get their first big assignment: building one of the game’s hero levels!
The Star Citizen design team sat down with the group on Tuesday morning to discuss their task: building out the Stanton System as an example for how future star systems will be built! Stanton was one of the pledge systems, a collection of corporate worlds deep in UEE space. Our designers discussed how the game experience will work: what should it be like for a player when he or she lands in the Stanton System? What can they buy, visit, explore, discover?
The Behaviour team had already done this preliminary sketch of the system. This artwork, the first step in the process of creating Stanton, was done by Corentin Chevanne, who was responsible for the very first “landing pad” concept artwork you saw during the pledge campaign. His work has become synonymous with Star Citizen and we’re thrilled that he’s going to be continuing to work on the project.
The plan is to let the Behavior team, which includes a number of decorated MMO and FPS veterans, to prototype this system as the beginning of their work on Star Citizen’s planetside gameplay. The Behaviour team includes a number of ex-Funcom, Ubisoft and Eidos employees that have built award-winning AAA titles. Now they’re going to show us what they can do for the game! Stanton System
Ownership: UEE (Corporate) Planets: 4 Planetary Rotation: MicroTech (350 SEG), Hurston Dynamics (588 SEG), ArcCorp (730 SEG), Crusader Industries (1554 SEG) Import: Raw Materials, Manpower Export: Weapons, Electronics, Computer Tech Crime Status: Low Black Market: None UEE Strategic Value: Purple The Stanton System is a corporate business park writ large: a series of four massive SuperEarth planets terraformed for their resources. Though built by the UEE proper, they have since been sold off to the highest bidders support construction of the Synthworld. Some of the largest corporations in the galaxy purchased rights to the worlds, at a cost of trillions of galactic credits.
Despite the ridiculous corporate names, the transfer of the SuperEarths was initially largely ceremonial; the population of MicroTech did not suddenly belong to the corporation and each world had its own dynamic economy. Since that time, however, the corporations have begun consolidating power and generally moving to bleed the planets dry.
The planets do act as corporate headquarters for the companies in question and they are home to wholesale production facilities where an eager merchant might find a good deal. MicroTech produces electronics, including handheld sensors and computer software upgrades for starships. Hurston Dynamics is a serious weapons provider for the civilian market, ArcCorp builds fusion engines and Crusader Industries constructs and operates slowboat colonies.
Wow - 9,1 Millionen Dollar und steigen! Das Team von Cloud Imperium ist mit der Seite verklebt, die den Tresen beobachtet; wir können die Reaktion auf den Aurora-Verkauf einfach nicht glauben. Es bleiben noch drei Tage, um Ihre Aurora LX zu bekommen, also versprechen Sie bitte, wenn Sie interessiert sind.... und verbreiten Sie die Nachricht, wenn Sie bereits Geldgeber sind!
Mocap Stretch Ziel
Heute möchten wir mehr über unser 10 Millionen Dollar Motion Capture Stretch-Ziel sprechen. Einige Geldgeber haben bemerkt, dass dies nicht so sehr eine Belohnung, sondern eine Aussage ist. Das ist der Punkt: Wir wollen den Entwicklungsprozess mit Ihnen auf eine ausgereifte Weise teilen. Es wird Belohnungen für unsere langjährigen Unterstützer geben, aber wir wollen Ihnen auch genau sagen, was wir mit dem zusätzlichen Geld machen. In diesem Fall ist das der Aufbau eines Motion-Capture-Studios, das Star Citizen deutlich verbessern wird!
Für Ungeübte ist die Bewegungserfassung ein Prozess der Bewegungsaufzeichnung. Die Akteure sind mit Sensoren ausgestattet und werden mit speziellen Kameras aufgezeichnet, um ihre Bewegungen zu messen. Filme wie Avatar nutzen diese Technologie, damit sich ihre CGI-Charaktere wie Menschen verhalten können. Schauspieler in Sensoranzügen werden gefilmt, als würden sie reguläre Szenen spielen, die dann mit ihren computergenerierten Charakteren überlagert werden. Beim Spielen ist der Prozess ähnlich, wenn auch nicht immer so linear: Die Daten werden dem Animationsteam zur Verfügung gestellt, damit sie lebensechtere Charaktere erstellen können.
Spiele verwenden seit Jahren Bewegungserfassung: Origin Systems leistete Mitte der 90er Jahre Pionierarbeit bei diesem Prozess und nutzte die "Flock of Birds"-Technologie zum Bau von Bioforge. Seitdem ist es zu einem Standard für ernsthafte Spieleentwicklung geworden, der "Schauspieler" erfordert (und die Live-Action-Shoots, die Chris Roberts mit Wing Commander III popularisiert hat, weitgehend ersetzt). Für ein Spiel wie Star Citizen würde Motion Capture sowohl zur Aufnahme von Schnittszenen als auch zur Entscheidung über "Bewegungen" verwendet werden - wie Ihre interaktiven Charaktere auf verschiedene Eingaben und Reize reagieren werden.
Es gibt im Wesentlichen drei Ebenen von Mocap: Körper- und Bewegungserfassung, Gesichtserfassung und dann vollständige Leistungserfassung, die beides kombiniert. Bei der Körpererfassung zeichnen wir Bewegungen auf. Bei der Gesichtserfassung werden nuancierte Gesichtsausdrücke (einschließlich der Lippen, passend zu den Sprecherinnen und Sprecher.) Die dritte erfasst all dies auf einmal, um die bestmögliche High-End-Performance zu erzielen.
Wir haben noch keinen Mocap gemacht; das Team verwendet derzeit Referenz-Züge, die ersetzt werden müssen, bevor das Spiel beendet ist. Wir haben jedoch einen Referenzschuss gemacht, um zu Beginn des Prozesses eine Grundlinie zu erhalten. Dies war ein viel weniger komplizierter Prozess, bei dem wir ein Modell zur Erzeugung von Filmmaterial verwendeten, auf das wir uns beim Bau unserer Charaktere beziehen können. Hier ist ein Segment des Hangars eines Wingman, das diesen Schuss erklärt:
Leider ist die Bewegungserfassung teuer. Nur sehr wenige Studios verfügen über eigene Motion-Capture-Rigs: Typischerweise vermieten Entwicklungsteams Technologie, Studiofläche und Talent für eine begrenzte Zeit. Ein Tag der Bewegungserfassung kostet zwischen 25.000 und 50.000 Dollar und bietet etwa 200 "Bewegungen"; einfache Gesten, Gliedmaßenbewegungen und so weiter. Komplexere Aufnahmen, die Requisiten, zusätzliche Akteure, Fingerbewegungen und andere Faktoren erfordern, sind deutlich teurer. Noch teurer sind Aufnahmen, die Audio- und Gesichtsbewegungen erfassen. Diese Kosten-Nutzen-Relation bedeutet, dass es eine Menge Vorbereitung für einen Mocap-Shoot gibt.... und dass das Verwirren oder Entscheiden, dass man später etwas mehr im Spiel haben will, einen weiteren Batzen Geld bedeutet.
Was wir tun wollen, ist, ein eigenes Studio zu bauen. Wir wollen einen Bereich für mocap einrichten und unser eigenes mocap-System komplett kaufen. Es würde mehr kosten, als wir derzeit für Mocap-Leasing geplant haben, um dies zu tun, um zu beginnen.... aber das Ergebnis würde das Spiel deutlich verbessern. Mit unserem eigenen Mocap-System könnten wir Cutscenes und Moves generieren, wenn wir feststellen, dass sie benötigt werden, was besonders wertvoll für das Star Citizen Live-Team ist, das für die Zuführung von konstanten Inhalten des Spiels zuständig ist! Es ist sogar vorstellbar, dass wir es bei Nichtgebrauch vermieten könnten, um letztendlich mehr Geld in die Entwicklung von Star Citizen zu stecken!
Lead-Animator Bryan Brewer untersucht derzeit zwei potenzielle Mocap-Systeme für die Körperbewegung. Das erste ist das Vicon-System, das er den Ferrari der Mocap-Rigs nennt. Wir würden sechzehn ihrer 2,0 Megapixel-T20S-Kameras und sechzehn ihrer 1,0 Megapixel-T10S-Kameras für etwa 230.000 Dollar kaufen. Eine zweite Option ist OptiTrack, der "Porsche" der mocap-Systeme, das wären 24 4,1 Megapixel Prime 41 Kameras und 2 Prime17 Kameras für deutlich weniger: 150.000 Dollar.
Diese Hardware ist nur der Anfang: Sie würde Körperbewegungen verfolgen, aber ein zusätzliches System wäre für die Gesichtsanimationen des Spiels erforderlich. Hierfür betrachten wir ein Produkt namens FaceWare. Anderes Geld würde in Richtung eines physischen Raumes gehen, um das System und verschiedene Teile der Takelage zu installieren. Schließlich würde ein Teil der zusätzlichen Millionen an professionelle Schauspieler gehen. Während Teammitglieder und andere Freiwillige für einfache Bewegungen geeignet sind, werden für einige Aufnahmen echte Akteure benötigt!
Wir glauben wirklich, dass unser eigenes Mocap-Studio Star Citizen deutlich verbessern würde. Das Team ist sehr gespannt auf die Möglichkeiten, das Spiel über das hinaus zu erweitern, was unser ursprüngliches Budget zuließ. Wir denken, dass dies ein großartiges Beispiel dafür ist, wie wir mit zusätzlichem Geld verantwortlich sein können.... und eine Möglichkeit, unseren Geldgebern weiterhin zu zeigen, dass wir mit ihren Versprechen das Richtige tun!
Schließlich stellten wir Bryan ein paar Fragen, um Fragen zu klären, die unserer Meinung nach die Fans gerne wissen würden:
Warum das Vicon Motion Capture System?
Vicon bietet die neueste Motion Capture-Technologie. Die Kameras nehmen mit über 120 Bildern pro Sekunde auf und können große Mengen mit mehreren Akteuren aufnehmen. Die Kameras haben auch eine hohe Auflösung. Das bedeutet, dass wir kleinere Marker verwenden können und kleine Marker genauere Daten liefern. Die Vicon Lösung funktioniert auch mit FaceWare Head Cams. Die gleiche Technologie, die in Filmen wie Avatar verwendet wird. Die Daten, die von einem High-End-System wie diesem erzeugt werden, sind viel sauberer und weniger bereinigt in der Lösung. Andere Systemdaten sind in der Regel viel schwieriger zu verarbeiten, da sie längere Lösungen verursachen und Animationen bearbeiten, um das Spiel fit zu machen. Die Motion Capture Phase, die wir bauen wollen, ist sehr ähnlich derjenigen, die Naughty Dog für ihre Uncharted Spiele gebaut hat. Dies wird uns die Möglichkeit geben, Körper, Finger, Gesicht, Requisiten und Audio aufzunehmen. Die Möglichkeit, dies im eigenen Haus zu tun, anstatt es an ein Motion Capture Studio auszulagern, gibt uns die Möglichkeit, Animationen zu erstellen, wann immer wir wollen, und nicht gezwungen zu sein, sich wegen des Zeitplans eines anderen zurückzuhalten.
Sind billigere unkonventionelle Lösungen möglich?
Ich habe mir andere Capture-Lösungen angesehen, wie z.B. die Einrichtung von 2 Kinects. Das Problem dabei ist, dass das Aufnahmevolumen begrenzt ist und nur ein Zeichen auf einmal erfasst werden kann. Außerdem ist eine gründliche Bereinigung der mit diesen Systemen erzeugten Daten erforderlich. Es ist eine gute Technologie für das Prototyping, aber nicht gut für die Produktion.
Verhalten im Haus!
Die andere große Neuigkeit bei Cloud Imperium Games in dieser Woche ist, dass unsere Partner von Behaviour Interactive ihren ersten Besuch in Austin machen! Ein Pre-Production-Team hat den Sprung von Montreal in die zunehmend überfüllte Austiner Fabrik geschafft, um zu sehen, wie wir arbeiten, und um ihre erste große Aufgabe zu erfüllen: einen der Heldenlevels des Spiels zu bauen!
Das Designteam von Star Citizen setzte sich am Dienstagmorgen mit der Gruppe zusammen, um ihre Aufgabe zu besprechen: den Aufbau des Stanton-Systems als Beispiel dafür, wie zukünftige Sternensysteme gebaut werden sollen! Stanton war eines der Pledge-Systeme, eine Sammlung von Unternehmenswelten tief im UEE-Raum. Unsere Designer diskutierten, wie das Spielerlebnis funktionieren wird: Wie sollte es für einen Spieler sein, wenn er im Stanton-System landet? Was können sie kaufen, besuchen, erforschen, entdecken, entdecken?
Das Behaviour-Team hatte diese erste Skizze des Systems bereits erstellt. Dieses Artwork, der erste Schritt im Prozess der Erstellung von Stanton, wurde von Corentin Chevanne erstellt, der für das allererste "Landing Pad"-Konzept-Artwork verantwortlich war, das Sie während der Versprechenskampagne gesehen haben. Seine Arbeit ist zum Synonym für Star Citizen geworden und wir freuen uns, dass er weiterhin an dem Projekt arbeiten wird.
Der Plan ist, das Behavior-Team, zu dem eine Reihe von dekorierten MMO- und FPS-Veteranen gehören, dieses System als Anfang ihrer Arbeit am Gameplay von Star Citizen auf dem Planeten zu prototypisieren. Das Behaviour-Team besteht aus einer Reihe von ehemaligen Funcom-, Ubisoft- und Eidos-Mitarbeitern, die preisgekrönte AAA-Titel entwickelt haben. Jetzt werden sie uns zeigen, was sie für das Spiel tun können!
Stanton-System
Eigentum: UEE (Corporate)
Planeten: 4
Planetendrehung: MicroTech (350 SEG), Hurston Dynamics (588 SEG),
ArcCorp (730 SEG), Kreuzritterindustrie (1554 SEG)
Importieren: Rohstoffe, Arbeitskräfte
Exportieren: Waffen, Elektronik, Computertechnik, Computertechnik
Kriminalitätsstatus: Niedrig
Schwarzmarkt: Keine
UEE Strategischer Wert: Purple The Stanton System ist ein großer Geschäftspark für Unternehmen: eine Serie von vier riesigen SuperEarth-Planeten, die nach ihren Ressourcen terrassiert wurden. Obwohl von der UEE selbst gebaut, wurden sie inzwischen an die Höchstbietenden verkauft, die den Bau der Synthworld unterstützen. Einige der größten Konzerne in der Galaxie erwarben Rechte an der Welt, was Billionen von galaktischen Credits kostete.
Trotz der lächerlichen Firmennamen war die Übertragung der SuperEarths zunächst weitgehend zeremoniell; die Bevölkerung der MicroTech gehörte nicht plötzlich zum Konzern und jede Welt hatte ihre eigene dynamische Wirtschaft. Seitdem haben die Konzerne jedoch damit begonnen, die Macht zu konsolidieren und sich generell zu bewegen, um die Planeten auszubluten.
Die Planeten fungieren als Konzernzentrale für die betreffenden Unternehmen und beherbergen Großhandels-Produktionsanlagen, in denen ein eifriger Kaufmann viel finden kann. MicroTech produziert Elektronik, einschließlich Handheld-Sensoren und Computer-Software-Upgrades für Raumschiffe. Hurston Dynamics ist ein ernstzunehmender Waffenlieferant für den zivilen Markt, ArcCorp baut Fusionsmotoren und Crusader Industries baut und betreibt Slowboat-Kolonien.
Mocap Stretch Ziel
Heute möchten wir mehr über unser 10 Millionen Dollar Motion Capture Stretch-Ziel sprechen. Einige Geldgeber haben bemerkt, dass dies nicht so sehr eine Belohnung, sondern eine Aussage ist. Das ist der Punkt: Wir wollen den Entwicklungsprozess mit Ihnen auf eine ausgereifte Weise teilen. Es wird Belohnungen für unsere langjährigen Unterstützer geben, aber wir wollen Ihnen auch genau sagen, was wir mit dem zusätzlichen Geld machen. In diesem Fall ist das der Aufbau eines Motion-Capture-Studios, das Star Citizen deutlich verbessern wird!
Für Ungeübte ist die Bewegungserfassung ein Prozess der Bewegungsaufzeichnung. Die Akteure sind mit Sensoren ausgestattet und werden mit speziellen Kameras aufgezeichnet, um ihre Bewegungen zu messen. Filme wie Avatar nutzen diese Technologie, damit sich ihre CGI-Charaktere wie Menschen verhalten können. Schauspieler in Sensoranzügen werden gefilmt, als würden sie reguläre Szenen spielen, die dann mit ihren computergenerierten Charakteren überlagert werden. Beim Spielen ist der Prozess ähnlich, wenn auch nicht immer so linear: Die Daten werden dem Animationsteam zur Verfügung gestellt, damit sie lebensechtere Charaktere erstellen können.
Spiele verwenden seit Jahren Bewegungserfassung: Origin Systems leistete Mitte der 90er Jahre Pionierarbeit bei diesem Prozess und nutzte die "Flock of Birds"-Technologie zum Bau von Bioforge. Seitdem ist es zu einem Standard für ernsthafte Spieleentwicklung geworden, der "Schauspieler" erfordert (und die Live-Action-Shoots, die Chris Roberts mit Wing Commander III popularisiert hat, weitgehend ersetzt). Für ein Spiel wie Star Citizen würde Motion Capture sowohl zur Aufnahme von Schnittszenen als auch zur Entscheidung über "Bewegungen" verwendet werden - wie Ihre interaktiven Charaktere auf verschiedene Eingaben und Reize reagieren werden.
Es gibt im Wesentlichen drei Ebenen von Mocap: Körper- und Bewegungserfassung, Gesichtserfassung und dann vollständige Leistungserfassung, die beides kombiniert. Bei der Körpererfassung zeichnen wir Bewegungen auf. Bei der Gesichtserfassung werden nuancierte Gesichtsausdrücke (einschließlich der Lippen, passend zu den Sprecherinnen und Sprecher.) Die dritte erfasst all dies auf einmal, um die bestmögliche High-End-Performance zu erzielen.
Wir haben noch keinen Mocap gemacht; das Team verwendet derzeit Referenz-Züge, die ersetzt werden müssen, bevor das Spiel beendet ist. Wir haben jedoch einen Referenzschuss gemacht, um zu Beginn des Prozesses eine Grundlinie zu erhalten. Dies war ein viel weniger komplizierter Prozess, bei dem wir ein Modell zur Erzeugung von Filmmaterial verwendeten, auf das wir uns beim Bau unserer Charaktere beziehen können. Hier ist ein Segment des Hangars eines Wingman, das diesen Schuss erklärt:
Leider ist die Bewegungserfassung teuer. Nur sehr wenige Studios verfügen über eigene Motion-Capture-Rigs: Typischerweise vermieten Entwicklungsteams Technologie, Studiofläche und Talent für eine begrenzte Zeit. Ein Tag der Bewegungserfassung kostet zwischen 25.000 und 50.000 Dollar und bietet etwa 200 "Bewegungen"; einfache Gesten, Gliedmaßenbewegungen und so weiter. Komplexere Aufnahmen, die Requisiten, zusätzliche Akteure, Fingerbewegungen und andere Faktoren erfordern, sind deutlich teurer. Noch teurer sind Aufnahmen, die Audio- und Gesichtsbewegungen erfassen. Diese Kosten-Nutzen-Relation bedeutet, dass es eine Menge Vorbereitung für einen Mocap-Shoot gibt.... und dass das Verwirren oder Entscheiden, dass man später etwas mehr im Spiel haben will, einen weiteren Batzen Geld bedeutet.
Was wir tun wollen, ist, ein eigenes Studio zu bauen. Wir wollen einen Bereich für mocap einrichten und unser eigenes mocap-System komplett kaufen. Es würde mehr kosten, als wir derzeit für Mocap-Leasing geplant haben, um dies zu tun, um zu beginnen.... aber das Ergebnis würde das Spiel deutlich verbessern. Mit unserem eigenen Mocap-System könnten wir Cutscenes und Moves generieren, wenn wir feststellen, dass sie benötigt werden, was besonders wertvoll für das Star Citizen Live-Team ist, das für die Zuführung von konstanten Inhalten des Spiels zuständig ist! Es ist sogar vorstellbar, dass wir es bei Nichtgebrauch vermieten könnten, um letztendlich mehr Geld in die Entwicklung von Star Citizen zu stecken!
Lead-Animator Bryan Brewer untersucht derzeit zwei potenzielle Mocap-Systeme für die Körperbewegung. Das erste ist das Vicon-System, das er den Ferrari der Mocap-Rigs nennt. Wir würden sechzehn ihrer 2,0 Megapixel-T20S-Kameras und sechzehn ihrer 1,0 Megapixel-T10S-Kameras für etwa 230.000 Dollar kaufen. Eine zweite Option ist OptiTrack, der "Porsche" der mocap-Systeme, das wären 24 4,1 Megapixel Prime 41 Kameras und 2 Prime17 Kameras für deutlich weniger: 150.000 Dollar.
Diese Hardware ist nur der Anfang: Sie würde Körperbewegungen verfolgen, aber ein zusätzliches System wäre für die Gesichtsanimationen des Spiels erforderlich. Hierfür betrachten wir ein Produkt namens FaceWare. Anderes Geld würde in Richtung eines physischen Raumes gehen, um das System und verschiedene Teile der Takelage zu installieren. Schließlich würde ein Teil der zusätzlichen Millionen an professionelle Schauspieler gehen. Während Teammitglieder und andere Freiwillige für einfache Bewegungen geeignet sind, werden für einige Aufnahmen echte Akteure benötigt!
Wir glauben wirklich, dass unser eigenes Mocap-Studio Star Citizen deutlich verbessern würde. Das Team ist sehr gespannt auf die Möglichkeiten, das Spiel über das hinaus zu erweitern, was unser ursprüngliches Budget zuließ. Wir denken, dass dies ein großartiges Beispiel dafür ist, wie wir mit zusätzlichem Geld verantwortlich sein können.... und eine Möglichkeit, unseren Geldgebern weiterhin zu zeigen, dass wir mit ihren Versprechen das Richtige tun!
Schließlich stellten wir Bryan ein paar Fragen, um Fragen zu klären, die unserer Meinung nach die Fans gerne wissen würden:
Warum das Vicon Motion Capture System?
Vicon bietet die neueste Motion Capture-Technologie. Die Kameras nehmen mit über 120 Bildern pro Sekunde auf und können große Mengen mit mehreren Akteuren aufnehmen. Die Kameras haben auch eine hohe Auflösung. Das bedeutet, dass wir kleinere Marker verwenden können und kleine Marker genauere Daten liefern. Die Vicon Lösung funktioniert auch mit FaceWare Head Cams. Die gleiche Technologie, die in Filmen wie Avatar verwendet wird. Die Daten, die von einem High-End-System wie diesem erzeugt werden, sind viel sauberer und weniger bereinigt in der Lösung. Andere Systemdaten sind in der Regel viel schwieriger zu verarbeiten, da sie längere Lösungen verursachen und Animationen bearbeiten, um das Spiel fit zu machen. Die Motion Capture Phase, die wir bauen wollen, ist sehr ähnlich derjenigen, die Naughty Dog für ihre Uncharted Spiele gebaut hat. Dies wird uns die Möglichkeit geben, Körper, Finger, Gesicht, Requisiten und Audio aufzunehmen. Die Möglichkeit, dies im eigenen Haus zu tun, anstatt es an ein Motion Capture Studio auszulagern, gibt uns die Möglichkeit, Animationen zu erstellen, wann immer wir wollen, und nicht gezwungen zu sein, sich wegen des Zeitplans eines anderen zurückzuhalten.
Sind billigere unkonventionelle Lösungen möglich?
Ich habe mir andere Capture-Lösungen angesehen, wie z.B. die Einrichtung von 2 Kinects. Das Problem dabei ist, dass das Aufnahmevolumen begrenzt ist und nur ein Zeichen auf einmal erfasst werden kann. Außerdem ist eine gründliche Bereinigung der mit diesen Systemen erzeugten Daten erforderlich. Es ist eine gute Technologie für das Prototyping, aber nicht gut für die Produktion.
Verhalten im Haus!
Die andere große Neuigkeit bei Cloud Imperium Games in dieser Woche ist, dass unsere Partner von Behaviour Interactive ihren ersten Besuch in Austin machen! Ein Pre-Production-Team hat den Sprung von Montreal in die zunehmend überfüllte Austiner Fabrik geschafft, um zu sehen, wie wir arbeiten, und um ihre erste große Aufgabe zu erfüllen: einen der Heldenlevels des Spiels zu bauen!
Das Designteam von Star Citizen setzte sich am Dienstagmorgen mit der Gruppe zusammen, um ihre Aufgabe zu besprechen: den Aufbau des Stanton-Systems als Beispiel dafür, wie zukünftige Sternensysteme gebaut werden sollen! Stanton war eines der Pledge-Systeme, eine Sammlung von Unternehmenswelten tief im UEE-Raum. Unsere Designer diskutierten, wie das Spielerlebnis funktionieren wird: Wie sollte es für einen Spieler sein, wenn er im Stanton-System landet? Was können sie kaufen, besuchen, erforschen, entdecken, entdecken?
Das Behaviour-Team hatte diese erste Skizze des Systems bereits erstellt. Dieses Artwork, der erste Schritt im Prozess der Erstellung von Stanton, wurde von Corentin Chevanne erstellt, der für das allererste "Landing Pad"-Konzept-Artwork verantwortlich war, das Sie während der Versprechenskampagne gesehen haben. Seine Arbeit ist zum Synonym für Star Citizen geworden und wir freuen uns, dass er weiterhin an dem Projekt arbeiten wird.
Der Plan ist, das Behavior-Team, zu dem eine Reihe von dekorierten MMO- und FPS-Veteranen gehören, dieses System als Anfang ihrer Arbeit am Gameplay von Star Citizen auf dem Planeten zu prototypisieren. Das Behaviour-Team besteht aus einer Reihe von ehemaligen Funcom-, Ubisoft- und Eidos-Mitarbeitern, die preisgekrönte AAA-Titel entwickelt haben. Jetzt werden sie uns zeigen, was sie für das Spiel tun können!
Stanton-System
Eigentum: UEE (Corporate)
Planeten: 4
Planetendrehung: MicroTech (350 SEG), Hurston Dynamics (588 SEG),
ArcCorp (730 SEG), Kreuzritterindustrie (1554 SEG)
Importieren: Rohstoffe, Arbeitskräfte
Exportieren: Waffen, Elektronik, Computertechnik, Computertechnik
Kriminalitätsstatus: Niedrig
Schwarzmarkt: Keine
UEE Strategischer Wert: Purple The Stanton System ist ein großer Geschäftspark für Unternehmen: eine Serie von vier riesigen SuperEarth-Planeten, die nach ihren Ressourcen terrassiert wurden. Obwohl von der UEE selbst gebaut, wurden sie inzwischen an die Höchstbietenden verkauft, die den Bau der Synthworld unterstützen. Einige der größten Konzerne in der Galaxie erwarben Rechte an der Welt, was Billionen von galaktischen Credits kostete.
Trotz der lächerlichen Firmennamen war die Übertragung der SuperEarths zunächst weitgehend zeremoniell; die Bevölkerung der MicroTech gehörte nicht plötzlich zum Konzern und jede Welt hatte ihre eigene dynamische Wirtschaft. Seitdem haben die Konzerne jedoch damit begonnen, die Macht zu konsolidieren und sich generell zu bewegen, um die Planeten auszubluten.
Die Planeten fungieren als Konzernzentrale für die betreffenden Unternehmen und beherbergen Großhandels-Produktionsanlagen, in denen ein eifriger Kaufmann viel finden kann. MicroTech produziert Elektronik, einschließlich Handheld-Sensoren und Computer-Software-Upgrades für Raumschiffe. Hurston Dynamics ist ein ernstzunehmender Waffenlieferant für den zivilen Markt, ArcCorp baut Fusionsmotoren und Crusader Industries baut und betreibt Slowboat-Kolonien.
Wow – $9.1 million and climbing! The team at Cloud Imperium is glued to the site watching the counter; we simply can’t believe the response to the Aurora sale. There are three days left to get your Aurora LX, so please pledge if you are interested… and spread the word if you’re already a backer!
Mocap Stretch Goal
Today we’d like to talk more about our $10 million motion capture stretch goal. Some backers have noticed that this isn’t so much a reward as it is a statement. That’s the point: we want to share the development process with you in a mature fashion. There will be rewards for our longtime supporters, but we also want to tell you exactly what we’re doing with the additional money. In this case, that’s building a motion capture studio, something that will significantly enhance Star Citizen!
For those unfamiliar, motion capture is a process of recording motion. Actors are fitted with sensors and recorded with special cameras to gauge how they move. Films like Avatar use this technology to allow their CGI characters to act just like humans. Actors wearing sensor suits are filmed as though they were acting regular scenes, then overlaid with their computer generated characters. In gaming, the process is much the same, although not always so linear: the data is provided to the animation team so they can create more lifelike characters.
Games have been using motion capture for years: Origin Systems pioneered the process in the mid-1990s, utilizing “Flock of Birds” technology to build Bioforge. Since then, it has become a standard for serious game development that requires “actors” (largely supplanting the live action shoots that Chris Roberts popularized with Wing Commander III.) For a game like Star Citizen, motion capture would be used both to record cut scenes and to decide “moves” – how your interactive characters will react to various inputs and stimuli.
There are essentially three levels of mocap: body and motion movement capture, facial capture and then full performance capture which combines the two. In body capture, we record movements. In facial capture, nuanced facial expressions (including lips, to match voice actors.) The third captures all of this at once to make for the best possible high end performance.
We haven’t done any mocap yet; the team is currently using reference moves that will need to be replaced before the game is finished. We did do a reference shoot to get a baseline early in the process, though. This was a much less complicated process, using a model to generate footage we can refer to when building our characters. Here’s a Wingman’s Hangar segment explaining that shoot:
Unfortunately, motion capture is expensive. Very few studios have their own motion capture rigs: typically, development teams rent out the technology, studio space and talent for a limited amount of time. A day of motion capture costs between $25,000 and $50,000 and provides roughly 200 “moves”; simple gestures, limb movements and so on. More complex shoots which require props, additional actors, finger movements and other factors are significantly more expensive. Still more expensive are shoots that capture audio and facial movements. This expense-to-benefit ration means that there’s a great deal of preparation required for a mocap shoot… and that messing up or deciding you want something more in the game later means another chunk of money.
What we want to do is build our own studio. We want to dedicate an area for mocap and purchase our own mocap system outright. It would cost more than we have currently budgeted for mocap leasing to do this to start… but the result would improve the game significantly. With our own mocap system we could generate cutscenes and moves as we determine they are needed, which will be especially valuable for the Star Citizen live team charged with feeding the game constant content! It’s even conceivable that we could rent it out when not in use, ultimately funneling more money into Star Citizen’s development!
Lead Animator Bryan Brewer is currently looking at two potential mocap systems for body movement. The first is the Vicon system, which he calls the Ferrari of mocap rigs. We would purchase sixteen of their 2.0 megapixel T20S cameras and sixteen of their 1.0 mexapixel T10S cameras for roughly $230,000. A second option is OptiTrack, the “Porsche” of mocap systems, which would be 24 4.1 megapixel Prime 41 cameras and 2 Prime17 cameras for significantly less: $150,000.
This hardware is just the start: it would track body motions, but an additional system would be needed for the game’s facial animations. For this, we are looking at a product called FaceWare. Other money would go towards a physical space to install the system and various pieces of rigging. Finally, some of the additional million would go to professional actors. While team members and other volunteers are suitable for simple motions, real actors are needed for some captures!
We genuinely believe our own mocap studio would significantly improve Star Citizen. The team is very excited about the possibilities for expanding the game beyond what our original budget allowed. We think this is a great example of how we can be responsible with additional money… and a way to continue showing our backers that we’re doing the right thing with their pledges!
Finally, we asked Bryan a few questions to clarify issues that we felt fans would like to know:
Why Vicon Motion capture system?
Vicon offers the latest in Motion capture technology. The Cameras shoot at over 120fps and can capture large volumes with multiple actors. The cameras also have a high resolution. This means we can use smaller markers and small markers produces more accurate data. The Vicon Solution also works with FaceWare Head cams. The same technology used in movies like Avatar. The data produced by a high end system like this much cleaner with less cleanup in the solving. Other systems data is usually much more difficult to work with causing longer solves and editing animations to make game ready. The Motion Capture stage we are wanting to build is very similar to the one Naughty Dog built for doing their Uncharted games. This will offer us the ability to capture body, fingers, face, props and audio. Being able to do this in house rather than outsourcing to a Motion Capture Studio will afford us the ability to create animations whenever we want and not be forced to hold off because of someone else’s schedule.
Are cheaper unconventional solutions possible?
I have looked into other capture solutions like setting up 2 Kinects. The problem with that is limited capture volume and only being able to capture one character at a time. Also, there is heavy cleanup needed on the data produced with those type of systems. It is good tech for prototyping but not good for production.
Behaviour in the House!
The other big news at Cloud Imperium Games this week is that our partners from Behaviour Interactive are making their first visit to Austin! A pre-production team has made the jump from Montreal to the increasingly-crowded Austin facility to see how we’re working and to get their first big assignment: building one of the game’s hero levels!
The Star Citizen design team sat down with the group on Tuesday morning to discuss their task: building out the Stanton System as an example for how future star systems will be built! Stanton was one of the pledge systems, a collection of corporate worlds deep in UEE space. Our designers discussed how the game experience will work: what should it be like for a player when he or she lands in the Stanton System? What can they buy, visit, explore, discover?
The Behaviour team had already done this preliminary sketch of the system. This artwork, the first step in the process of creating Stanton, was done by Corentin Chevanne, who was responsible for the very first “landing pad” concept artwork you saw during the pledge campaign. His work has become synonymous with Star Citizen and we’re thrilled that he’s going to be continuing to work on the project.
The plan is to let the Behavior team, which includes a number of decorated MMO and FPS veterans, to prototype this system as the beginning of their work on Star Citizen’s planetside gameplay. The Behaviour team includes a number of ex-Funcom, Ubisoft and Eidos employees that have built award-winning AAA titles. Now they’re going to show us what they can do for the game! Stanton System
Ownership: UEE (Corporate) Planets: 4 Planetary Rotation: MicroTech (350 SEG), Hurston Dynamics (588 SEG), ArcCorp (730 SEG), Crusader Industries (1554 SEG) Import: Raw Materials, Manpower Export: Weapons, Electronics, Computer Tech Crime Status: Low Black Market: None UEE Strategic Value: Purple The Stanton System is a corporate business park writ large: a series of four massive SuperEarth planets terraformed for their resources. Though built by the UEE proper, they have since been sold off to the highest bidders support construction of the Synthworld. Some of the largest corporations in the galaxy purchased rights to the worlds, at a cost of trillions of galactic credits.
Despite the ridiculous corporate names, the transfer of the SuperEarths was initially largely ceremonial; the population of MicroTech did not suddenly belong to the corporation and each world had its own dynamic economy. Since that time, however, the corporations have begun consolidating power and generally moving to bleed the planets dry.
The planets do act as corporate headquarters for the companies in question and they are home to wholesale production facilities where an eager merchant might find a good deal. MicroTech produces electronics, including handheld sensors and computer software upgrades for starships. Hurston Dynamics is a serious weapons provider for the civilian market, ArcCorp builds fusion engines and Crusader Industries constructs and operates slowboat colonies.
Mocap Stretch Goal
Today we’d like to talk more about our $10 million motion capture stretch goal. Some backers have noticed that this isn’t so much a reward as it is a statement. That’s the point: we want to share the development process with you in a mature fashion. There will be rewards for our longtime supporters, but we also want to tell you exactly what we’re doing with the additional money. In this case, that’s building a motion capture studio, something that will significantly enhance Star Citizen!
For those unfamiliar, motion capture is a process of recording motion. Actors are fitted with sensors and recorded with special cameras to gauge how they move. Films like Avatar use this technology to allow their CGI characters to act just like humans. Actors wearing sensor suits are filmed as though they were acting regular scenes, then overlaid with their computer generated characters. In gaming, the process is much the same, although not always so linear: the data is provided to the animation team so they can create more lifelike characters.
Games have been using motion capture for years: Origin Systems pioneered the process in the mid-1990s, utilizing “Flock of Birds” technology to build Bioforge. Since then, it has become a standard for serious game development that requires “actors” (largely supplanting the live action shoots that Chris Roberts popularized with Wing Commander III.) For a game like Star Citizen, motion capture would be used both to record cut scenes and to decide “moves” – how your interactive characters will react to various inputs and stimuli.
There are essentially three levels of mocap: body and motion movement capture, facial capture and then full performance capture which combines the two. In body capture, we record movements. In facial capture, nuanced facial expressions (including lips, to match voice actors.) The third captures all of this at once to make for the best possible high end performance.
We haven’t done any mocap yet; the team is currently using reference moves that will need to be replaced before the game is finished. We did do a reference shoot to get a baseline early in the process, though. This was a much less complicated process, using a model to generate footage we can refer to when building our characters. Here’s a Wingman’s Hangar segment explaining that shoot:
Unfortunately, motion capture is expensive. Very few studios have their own motion capture rigs: typically, development teams rent out the technology, studio space and talent for a limited amount of time. A day of motion capture costs between $25,000 and $50,000 and provides roughly 200 “moves”; simple gestures, limb movements and so on. More complex shoots which require props, additional actors, finger movements and other factors are significantly more expensive. Still more expensive are shoots that capture audio and facial movements. This expense-to-benefit ration means that there’s a great deal of preparation required for a mocap shoot… and that messing up or deciding you want something more in the game later means another chunk of money.
What we want to do is build our own studio. We want to dedicate an area for mocap and purchase our own mocap system outright. It would cost more than we have currently budgeted for mocap leasing to do this to start… but the result would improve the game significantly. With our own mocap system we could generate cutscenes and moves as we determine they are needed, which will be especially valuable for the Star Citizen live team charged with feeding the game constant content! It’s even conceivable that we could rent it out when not in use, ultimately funneling more money into Star Citizen’s development!
Lead Animator Bryan Brewer is currently looking at two potential mocap systems for body movement. The first is the Vicon system, which he calls the Ferrari of mocap rigs. We would purchase sixteen of their 2.0 megapixel T20S cameras and sixteen of their 1.0 mexapixel T10S cameras for roughly $230,000. A second option is OptiTrack, the “Porsche” of mocap systems, which would be 24 4.1 megapixel Prime 41 cameras and 2 Prime17 cameras for significantly less: $150,000.
This hardware is just the start: it would track body motions, but an additional system would be needed for the game’s facial animations. For this, we are looking at a product called FaceWare. Other money would go towards a physical space to install the system and various pieces of rigging. Finally, some of the additional million would go to professional actors. While team members and other volunteers are suitable for simple motions, real actors are needed for some captures!
We genuinely believe our own mocap studio would significantly improve Star Citizen. The team is very excited about the possibilities for expanding the game beyond what our original budget allowed. We think this is a great example of how we can be responsible with additional money… and a way to continue showing our backers that we’re doing the right thing with their pledges!
Finally, we asked Bryan a few questions to clarify issues that we felt fans would like to know:
Why Vicon Motion capture system?
Vicon offers the latest in Motion capture technology. The Cameras shoot at over 120fps and can capture large volumes with multiple actors. The cameras also have a high resolution. This means we can use smaller markers and small markers produces more accurate data. The Vicon Solution also works with FaceWare Head cams. The same technology used in movies like Avatar. The data produced by a high end system like this much cleaner with less cleanup in the solving. Other systems data is usually much more difficult to work with causing longer solves and editing animations to make game ready. The Motion Capture stage we are wanting to build is very similar to the one Naughty Dog built for doing their Uncharted games. This will offer us the ability to capture body, fingers, face, props and audio. Being able to do this in house rather than outsourcing to a Motion Capture Studio will afford us the ability to create animations whenever we want and not be forced to hold off because of someone else’s schedule.
Are cheaper unconventional solutions possible?
I have looked into other capture solutions like setting up 2 Kinects. The problem with that is limited capture volume and only being able to capture one character at a time. Also, there is heavy cleanup needed on the data produced with those type of systems. It is good tech for prototyping but not good for production.
Behaviour in the House!
The other big news at Cloud Imperium Games this week is that our partners from Behaviour Interactive are making their first visit to Austin! A pre-production team has made the jump from Montreal to the increasingly-crowded Austin facility to see how we’re working and to get their first big assignment: building one of the game’s hero levels!
The Star Citizen design team sat down with the group on Tuesday morning to discuss their task: building out the Stanton System as an example for how future star systems will be built! Stanton was one of the pledge systems, a collection of corporate worlds deep in UEE space. Our designers discussed how the game experience will work: what should it be like for a player when he or she lands in the Stanton System? What can they buy, visit, explore, discover?
The Behaviour team had already done this preliminary sketch of the system. This artwork, the first step in the process of creating Stanton, was done by Corentin Chevanne, who was responsible for the very first “landing pad” concept artwork you saw during the pledge campaign. His work has become synonymous with Star Citizen and we’re thrilled that he’s going to be continuing to work on the project.
The plan is to let the Behavior team, which includes a number of decorated MMO and FPS veterans, to prototype this system as the beginning of their work on Star Citizen’s planetside gameplay. The Behaviour team includes a number of ex-Funcom, Ubisoft and Eidos employees that have built award-winning AAA titles. Now they’re going to show us what they can do for the game! Stanton System
Ownership: UEE (Corporate) Planets: 4 Planetary Rotation: MicroTech (350 SEG), Hurston Dynamics (588 SEG), ArcCorp (730 SEG), Crusader Industries (1554 SEG) Import: Raw Materials, Manpower Export: Weapons, Electronics, Computer Tech Crime Status: Low Black Market: None UEE Strategic Value: Purple The Stanton System is a corporate business park writ large: a series of four massive SuperEarth planets terraformed for their resources. Though built by the UEE proper, they have since been sold off to the highest bidders support construction of the Synthworld. Some of the largest corporations in the galaxy purchased rights to the worlds, at a cost of trillions of galactic credits.
Despite the ridiculous corporate names, the transfer of the SuperEarths was initially largely ceremonial; the population of MicroTech did not suddenly belong to the corporation and each world had its own dynamic economy. Since that time, however, the corporations have begun consolidating power and generally moving to bleed the planets dry.
The planets do act as corporate headquarters for the companies in question and they are home to wholesale production facilities where an eager merchant might find a good deal. MicroTech produces electronics, including handheld sensors and computer software upgrades for starships. Hurston Dynamics is a serious weapons provider for the civilian market, ArcCorp builds fusion engines and Crusader Industries constructs and operates slowboat colonies.
Links
| Text | URL |
|---|---|
| Vicon system | http://www.vicon.com/ |
| OptiTrack | http://www.naturalpoint.com/optitrack/ |
| FaceWare | http://www.facewaretech.com/ |
| Behaviour Interactive | http://www.bhvr.com/en/ |
| iframe | http://www.youtube.com/embed/Jzde-PSVvcE |
Images
3
image/jpeg
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Metadata
- CIG ID
- 12979
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- Undefined
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- Undefined
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- Comments
- 199
- Published
- 13 years ago (2013-05-01T00:00:00+00:00)