Difference between revisions of "Art"

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*For methods you can use to convert XLS files into GDAs, see [[compiling 2DAs]].
  
 
== Art sources for the Single Player campaign ==
 
== Art sources for the Single Player campaign ==

Revision as of 23:19, 28 January 2010

Game Art in general is created via various external Applications, 3rd_party_extensions ,and with the Dragon Age Toolset. Which you will need depends only on the type of Resource.

Sound and Music is covered in the Article: Sound and music

Overview

Overview.png

Creating content to be usable with the Toolset can probably be separated into 2 fields. That is the actual Resourcetype, and telling the Toolset about it.

For example a Model in itself is only a set of files, while 2DA's assign ID's and kind of like a place in the "Shelf" which is what you are seeing in the Toolset. Otherwise it wouldnt be able to tell what a given Model is supposed to be. Furthermore, the Toolset will get to know Properties once it knows which kind of Model it is.

  • Art Resources are the Files that exist in the Filesystem.
  • Two-dimensional Arrays (2DA's) are compiled Excel Tables, containing various Data about the Resources.

Art Resources are, with the exception of Level layouts, only indirectly linked to what you see in game. A Model has to be applied to a Item, a Facemorph to a NPC, etc. This whole Art category ends for the most part once the Resources are available to be used in the Toolset. Anything you make with the art resources there is a matter of Design.

The diagram illustrates the general outline of how each of these types of resource is edited, processed, and used by the game.

Art Resources

Art Resources are all Art created and stored into the Dragon Age Filesystem. Creators of Worldmaps will need Art Resources to shape them with Models, while creators of Facemorphs need Models of Faces. With that ,they are also creating Art Resources.

Art Resources include the following, but not exclusivly:

Main Article: Art Resources

Any Art Resource is also made available to the Game Design Process, where Game Designers create Designer Resources like Characters.

Models (Art Resource)

Models are the smallest Pieces in Art Creation, that make up any visible Entity in the Game, consolidated into the complete visible appearance of the Gameworld by the Worlddesigner.

Walls, Houses, Creatures are all made up of one or multiple Models. They are as such 3d Meshes, created using external modelling Applications, which export them into a gamereadable Format.

Main Article : Model

Level/Area layouts (Art Resource)

Level layouts (also called Area layouts) are another Art Resource in itself. They are a simple world Design, that includes nothing more than wide Terrain with Trees, Lakes, Bridges, and pratically a playground where any game can take place. Dragon Age play-areas are based on such Layouts.

Models is what makes up a layout for the most Part. Terrain, Lakes, and Weather are however unique to the Level Editor and can only be created with it.

Main Article: Level editor

Note that Level layouts are non interactive. Interactive Areas are build based on these layouts, and described in the Article Area.

Two-dimensional Arrays

2DA's contain various Data not only for Art Resources, but for the whole game as well. 2DA's are packed into GDA Filetype, which are generated from XLS (Excel) Files. With the Toolset come the original XLS Files, to be editable and regenerated to GDA to allow for modding. They can be found at:

(Dragon Age install dir)\tools\source\2da
  • Main Article : 2DA
  • For methods you can use to convert XLS files into GDAs, see compiling 2DAs.

Art sources for the Single Player campaign

Many Art Resources are processed and binarized, therefore not in the final product in its source form.

For size reasons the sources for the levels, head morphs, and visual effects projects used in the Single Player campaign were not included with the toolset installer. You can find these available for download at the Single player and core resource source files project.