[Hendricks266]

Devan's Voxel Model Pack actually had some adorers of people with old laptops who could not run the HRP. His pack takes hella RAM to load though, and I believe at one point (possibly even today) EDuke32 crashes just by loading it.

[necroslut]

Hendricks266, on 09 September 2012 - 11:11 AM, said:

Devan's Voxel Model Pack actually had some adorers of people with old laptops who could not run the HRP. His pack takes hella RAM to load though, and I believe at one point (possibly even today) EDuke32 crashes just by loading it.

I remember using it because I prefered the blocky voxel look to the blocky polygon look, and performance was good.

[ReaperMan]

Mateos, on 09 September 2012 - 03:19 AM, said:

Any news? :/

Edit:
Found this, kind of strange, wondering if it's your website?

http://moreplease.fr...xelscreens.html

Nope, real life stuff is getting in the way. It would be nice if i had people helping with the voxels though, many take a long time to complete due to bad angles of spites and Duke 3d's sloppy sprite work.

Also not my website, but i was aware of it. BTW, i think converting models to voxels is cheating.

[Hendricks266]

We may need to call in the big guns for the atomic health pickup. I think it would be best generated procedurally (as in, write some C/C++ to do it) but that will be difficult.

[LeoD]

Hendricks266, on 09 September 2012 - 11:11 AM, said:

Devan's Voxel Model Pack actually had some adorers of people with old laptops who could not run the HRP. His pack takes hella RAM to load though, and I believe at one point (possibly even today) EDuke32 crashes just by loading it.

AFAIK EDuke32's 32MB cache size hasn't been increased since then. I've fiddled with the stuff some months ago. Both loading times and ingame performance still suck despite 4GHz/SSD. The blocky look has quite some charm, though. However, the curious might be interested to dip into the old threads on 3DR:
http://forums.3dreal...ead.php?t=24456
http://forums.3dreal...ead.php?t=35298

[Helixhorned]

LeoD, on 13 September 2012 - 01:47 PM, said:

AFAIK EDuke32's 32MB cache size hasn't been increased since then. I've fiddled with the stuff some months ago. Both loading times and ingame performance still suck despite 4GHz/SSD.

Increasing the cache size wouldn't really solve anything. In fact, it has even been at 24 MiB for some time. A cache is there to hold frequently-used data for a limited amount of time after all, not to dump all of it there. For getting the pack to run, it's best to uncomment the following in build/src/cache1d.c:

//#define DEBUG_ALLOCACHE_AS_MALLOC

which will effectively get rid of Ken's cache mechanism and allocate memory directly. Plenty of physical memory and running on a 64-bit OS is recommended -- when I tested it on x86 Linux, it exhausted the max 2 gigs allowed for a single process.

[Jottle]

This pack also has reskins of enemies as well, correct? I installed it and verified it was working (the switches look more 3d etc.), but the enemies look just as pixelated as always. Is there a setting in the game setup options that enables voxel enemies? Or are they all on by default in addition to the other models in the environment? I guess the voxels are a more subtle improvement. I don't really notice the difference at all. Should it be obvious?

[Mateos]

From the first post:

Quote

All of the pickups (weapons, health, and ammo), switches and most of the scenery in the game will be turned into voxels.

[Jottle]

Mateos, on 21 March 2013 - 08:14 AM, said:

From the first post:

Guess that settles it If only this worked with the dynamic lighting as well.

[Hendricks266]

^Voxels not working in Polymer (the renderer with dynamic lighting) is a known problem.

[ReaperMan]

Jottle... making voxel enemies isn't really on my list of things i want to do. However, if you feel like making them yourself i would be more then happy to add them (if they look like the original art). Also keep in mind this pack isn't done yet.

[Ñuño Martínez]

ReaperMan, on 21 March 2013 - 04:49 PM, said:

Jottle... making voxel enemies isn't really on my list of things i want to do. However, if you feel like making them yourself i would be more then happy to add them (if they look like the original art). Also keep in mind this pack isn't done yet.

Voxeled enemies will need a lot of memory, and may be they need more CPU too. I think they shouldn't be voxeled.

[Gambini]

Specially considering they already have angles

[OpenMaw]

I think it'd be cool if the bosses were voxelized, though.

[jarreboum]

I really enjoy your work! Did you have time to produce new models or was real life getting its grip on you?

[ReaperMan]

Haven't had time.

[Gambini]

Real men don´t need "time".

[ReaperMan]

I'm not a real man then.

[HiPhish]

Hello ReaperMan

i really like your voxel pack, it does a great job of keeping the classic aesthetics while updating the tech to something more modern. I was wondering if I could try to create some of the the simpler models, such as the fire extinguisher, so I'd like to ask what software you're using. Are there any special techniques to keep in mind or do you have a link to a tutorial at hand? I don't know if I'll be able to produce something good, but I can at least give it a try and if you like it it can be added to the voxel pack.

[ReaperMan]

Sorry, for the late reply. I've been busy.

Anyway, feel free to make voxels for the pack, anyone is allowed to add stuff that hasn't been made yet. If it's added to the pack you will get full credit, but keep in mind that i will only add something if its of good quality.

As for software... i use slab6, strip2voxel, ms paint and gimp. There are unfortunately no tutorials for making voxels, but if you have any questions about how to use anything PM me, or ask about it on this thread. There are a few people on this forum who know how to make them.

[HiPhish]

ReaperMan, on 23 September 2013 - 07:16 PM, said:

...

Don't worry, I'll only do the simple things for starters, so the quality should be alright, I'm not going to voxelize enemies. I have already found slab, sadly it's a Windows application, as is strip2voxel, so I have to run it through Wine, but it gets the job done. Is there any way to get the original sprites viewable as PNG or something, because my idea is to create the sprite as a flat voxel model in slab, and then add depth to it layer by layer. Or is there a better workflow?

(for anyone in the future, here is the link to strip2voxel: http://host-a.net/u/scott_aw/; it was not easy to find)

[ReaperMan]

You can use XWE to rip the sprites from Duke 3d and save them a PNG, also it has the color palette for the game which you will need. As for work flow, i personally like to carve out major chunks or shapes when I'm working on it in strip form and just do minor changes in slab, because slab is really limited in what it can do. Then when i get to slab, i convert it to Duke 3D's palette, then i texture the rest of the voxel (the part that you can see in the sprites).

Also a few tips.

-Make sure you remove all the black from the sprites or strip2vox will think its a blank space. (just use a really dark grey that looks almost black)
-No black around the edges, it makes the voxels look like crap.
-keep in mind that you will most likely have to edit the sprites so they look good in voxel form.

Also you might find this useful.....Its a tutorial on sprite dithering.Which is used a lot in Duke 3D's sprites.
http://www.spritelan...ng-tutorial.htm

[HiPhish]

Three more questions:

• Should the models be hollow or filled? meaning, does it make a difference in performance and memory if there is nothing inside the models or should I just do what#s more convenient to me?
  
• What about resolution? Should one pixel be translated to one voxel or do I need to up- or downscale models?
  
• What about sprites that are larger than the things they represent? Specifically, if you loot at a photo of a bar stool the pixel height of the seat is more than the physicl height due to perspective. The stool appears taller than it is. Since voxel models are in 3D the actual object would be shorter, so should i apply that correction or should i make the object height fit the sprite height and make it taller than it should be in reality?

I have picked one-legged the bar stool as my first object, I have take measurements, done the math and I'm writing a design document. Based on that I then draw the layers one by one.

[ReaperMan]

- Objects should be filled, making them hallow is unnesscary work.
- 1 pixel = 1 voxel.
- You need to make it a flat side image.

BTW, I would start with something simpler like a key or something to start out with, a stool is kind of complicated to make, as i requires you to make a cylinder out of voxels.

[HiPhish]

How do you make the sprite sheet? I have the basic shape and I'd like to view it as a voxel in 3D before I begin colouring it. Currently i have each leayer of the voxel as a layer in my image editing application (Pixelmator). Is there a plugin for Gimp maybe? Otherwise I'll have to arrange all the layers by hand, which sucks.

Also, regarding colouring, what should I do about gloss? The stool's sprite has some nice lighting and shading drawn onto it, should I replicate that as well? On one hand it might not fit with the actual lights in the level, on the other hnd neither does the sprite. Plus, a stool without any gloss or shading would look pretty boring and bland.

ReaperMan, on 25 September 2013 - 04:43 AM, said:

BTW, I would start with something simpler like a key or something to start out with, a stool is kind of complicated to make, as i requires you to make a cylinder out of voxels.

I already got the shape layed out in 3D. It's quite simple actually, the formula for a cirle is x^2 + y^2 = r^2, so first of all I get the radius, which is 11 for the stool, and since the stool is round I need 2 * 11 + 1 = 23 layers. Then I use the formular to calculate the width on a given layer and finally I do some interpolation to make it look nice and symmetrical. It is all explained in the design document:

Spoiler

Duke Nukem 3D stool voxel model - design document
=================================================

The stool consists of three parts: a base, a pyramid, a leg and a seat. The width of everything is taken directly from the sprite, with the height of the stool being slightly shorter than the total height of the sprite to make up for perspective.

Circle formula
--------------
The algebraic formula for a circle is $x^2 + y^2 = r^2$, where $x$ and $y$ are the two cartesian axes and $r$ is the radius. In our case we need the X- and Z axis and the radius is 11 pixels. This yields the following formula for the width of the circle depending on the depth:
x(z) = \sqrt{121 - z^2}

Size of the stool
-----------------
The total width of the stool is 23 pixels, so if we take the central pixel as out origin this leaves 11 pixels to either side. Hence the radius is 11. Obviously we are only interested in Z-values between -11 and 11, so this yields the following widths 8with rounding):
0, 5, 6, 8, 8, 9, 10, 10, 11 , 11, 11, 11
We now need to add the central origin pixel and we also need to expand to both sides. Also, these are only the values halfway to the front, we need to mirror them to get all the way to the front. This is what the stool looks like from above:

	           X           	<-- back
	      XXXXXXXXXXX      
	     XXXXXXXXXXXXX     
	   XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX   
	   XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX   
	  XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
	 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 
	 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 
	XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
	XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
	XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
	XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX	<-- centre
	XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
	XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
	XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
	 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 
	 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 
	  XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
	   XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX   
	   XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX   
	     XXXXXXXXXXXXX     
	      XXXXXXXXXXX      
	           X           	<-- front

The lone pixels at the top and bottom look very out of place, so I'll add for artistic reasons three pixels to either side. This also makes the "circle" symmetric, you can now rotate it 90° and it will still look the same:

01	        XXXXXXX        	<-- back
02	      XXXXXXXXXXX      
03	     XXXXXXXXXXXXX     
04	   XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX   
05	   XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX   
06	  XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
07	 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 
08	 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 
09	XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
10	XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
11	XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
12	XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX	<-- centre
13	XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
14	XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
15	XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
16	 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 
17	 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 
18	  XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
19	   XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX   
20	   XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX   
21	     XXXXXXXXXXXXX     
22	      XXXXXXXXXXX      
23	        XXXXXXX        	<-- front

It might look stretched in a text file, but if you actually draw the square pixels it will be symmetric.

The base
--------
The base is what the foot of the stool, it is the bottom-most area. The height is exactly three pixels and the width and depth are take from above, as this is the widest part of the stool (aside from the seat, which is the same size).

The pyramid
-----------
On top of the base there is a sort of "pyramid", it is four pixels high and the radius is 8, 6, 5 and 4 pixels from bottom to top. This means the first height starts on layer 4, the second on layer 6, the third on layer 7 and the fourth on layer 8. We will now use the same formula as above to calculate the width depending on depth for each of the pyramid heights:
height 1, radius 8: 0, 4, 5, 6, 7, 7, 8, 8, 8
height 2, radius 6: 0, 3, 4, 5, 6, 6, 6
height 3, radius 5: 0, 3, 4, 5, 5, 5
height 4, radius 4: 0, 3, 3, 4, 4
When we apply the above symmetry correction and then place the pixels down it looks like this:

04	         XXXXX         
05	       XXXXXXXXX       
06	      XXXXXXXXXXX      
07	     XXXXXXXXXXXXX     
08	    XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX    
09	    XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX    
10	   XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX   
11	   XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX   
12	   XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX   
13	   XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX   
14	   XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX   
15	    XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX    
16	    XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX    
17	     XXXXXXXXXXXXX     
18	      XXXXXXXXXXX      
19	       XXXXXXXXX       
20	         XXXXX         

06	          XXX          
07	        XXXXXXX        
08	       XXXXXXXXX       
09	      XXXXXXXXXXX      
10	      XXXXXXXXXXX      
11	     XXXXXXXXXXXXX     
12	     XXXXXXXXXXXXX     
13	     XXXXXXXXXXXXX     
14	      XXXXXXXXXXX      
15	      XXXXXXXXXXX      
16	       XXXXXXXXX       
17	        XXXXXXX        
18	          XXX          

07	          XXX          
08	        XXXXXXX        
09	       XXXXXXXXX       
10	       XXXXXXXXX       
11	      XXXXXXXXXXX      
12	      XXXXXXXXXXX      
13	      XXXXXXXXXXX      
14	       XXXXXXXXX       
15	       XXXXXXXXX       
16	        XXXXXXX        
17	          XXX          

08	          XXX          
09	        XXXXXXX        
10	        XXXXXXX        
11	       XXXXXXXXX       
12	       XXXXXXXXX       
13	       XXXXXXXXX       
14	        XXXXXXX        
15	        XXXXXXX        
16	          XXX          

The leg
-------
The leg is simply a cylinder with a radius of three pixels and a height of 45 pixels, therefore we only need one set of widths. The list of width for each layer is:
0, 2, 3, 3
And the top down view looks like this:

09	          XXX          
10	         XXXXX         
11	        XXXXXXX        
12	        XXXXXXX        
13	        XXXXXXX        
14	         XXXXX         
15	          XXX      

The seat
--------
For the sake of simplicity let's assume the seat has the same radius as the foot. in the sprite it goes one pixel more to the left, but this creates ugly numbers. The height is hard to tell, so i will guess 10 pixels (4 for the strip, 3 below and 3 above). For a smoother look subtrac one pixel from the radius above and below.

(it ha to be read in a monosace font for the "images" to look properly)

[ReaperMan]

HiPhish, on 25 September 2013 - 07:17 AM, said:

How do you make the sprite sheet? I have the basic shape and I'd like to view it as a voxel in 3D before I begin colouring it. Currently i have each leayer of the voxel as a layer in my image editing application (Pixelmator). Is there a plugin for Gimp maybe? Otherwise I'll have to arrange all the layers by hand, which sucks.

You have to do it by hand. I would of lined them all up before you edited each layer, it makes it easier.....
-Anyway here is how to do it, lets say you sprite is 25x30 pixels at its biggest and you want the voxel 9 layers deep.
-First make sure the sprite fits in a 30x30 square.
-then multiply the 30 pixels by 9 .... that gives you 270 which is the length of your strip.
-Now just place your 9 30x30 squares in that and you have your strip for strip2voxel.

HiPhish, on 25 September 2013 - 07:17 AM, said:

Also, regarding colouring, what should I do about gloss? The stool's sprite has some nice lighting and shading drawn onto it, should I replicate that as well? On one hand it might not fit with the actual lights in the level, on the other hnd neither does the sprite. Plus, a stool without any gloss or shading would look pretty boring and bland.

Keep the shading, no gloss.

I made a wood stool a long time ago you can take a look if you are interested. As well as some old stuff.

http://www.mediafire...rott_voxels.zip

[HiPhish]

I have found a better way, I use Sproxel to build my models in 3D right from the start and then I save it as a PNG, and it just so happens that Sproxel's way of stoing voxel models as PNG is exactly what strip2voxel wants. I still have to add the black background manually, but that's fine. Hoever, now i have another problem:

The pivot point of the model is in one of the corners instead of the centr of the X-Z plane. I tried it with the sample chest images and the same thing happened. Is there a way to "trim" the model somehow after it is built? Your models and the models from Slab are fine, it's just the ones I built with strip2voxel. Once i get the workflow down I will start colouring the model.

(It looks like Slab has a problem with hollow models, those holes shouldn't be there. I guess I'll have to fill it up. Making hollow models is less work in Sproxel than filled models)

[ReaperMan]

Go to tools and adjust the pivots to center it.

You can also hollow fill the model.

[mxrtxn]

For anybody else interested in making voxels for duke: Just in case you want some slab6 tutorials, here are some I found on youtube, althought the examples are not about duke nukem, they still might be helpful:







Hope you´ll find them useful

Cheers

[mxrtxn]

Reaperman, here´s a voxel from the original Shadow Warrior (not the addons) that you could use as the surveillance camera. (curiously I never saw it in the sw game)




Here´s the download link:

http://www.gigasize....get/dr7zkrrqgvb


Hope you´ll find it useful