Revision as of 01:33, 23 September 2010

Brief

Create one or more custom prop models for use in a level. The contest discussion thread can be found here.

DEADLINE: Monday 27 September - your entry must be ready for judging before midday GMT+0. It is strongly recommended you submit well before this time in case you run into troubles. Modifications to your submission are welcomed - the newest version of your entry will be judged, although modifications made after the submission date will not be judged.

Requirements

All entries must:

• have been tested by the user in a level
• be to a suitable scale
• be textured
• where appropriate, have collision
• be submitted before monday 27 september midday (GMT+0)
• include their save file (3ds max, gmax or blender save) - this helps judges troubleshoot errors you're having.

Guidelines

Strong entries will:

• fit the art style and canon of Dragon Age Origins.
• make good use of the Dragon Age material system, including textures for diffuse, normal, specular, emissive and heightmap where appropriate.
• contain a placeable and static prop version (affects collision and material only).
• where appropriate, have multiple levels of detail for the model and texture. These are particularly valuable for high-poly outdoor models and high-res textures.
• support lightmapping correctly.
• have a suitable poly count - around 250-500 for small props (smaller than a chair), around 2,000 for medium props (human-size), up to 10,000 for large props (buildings).
• make good use of texture space to maximise pixel density

Allowable

• multiple props in one submission where the submission is themed (ex. pack of chair table and bench, modular-style walls or buildings)

Groups and Prizes

Groups

This contest has only one group.

• 1st place - 15 points, chooses first
• 2nd place - 10 points, chooses second
• 3rd place - 5 points, chooses third
• All other entries meeting requirements - 1 point

To receive an "entry point", your submission must meet the requirements of the contest, listed at the top of this page

Prizes

Please see Community Contest Prizes

Helpful links

• Eshme's import/exporter for 3ds max and GMax
• Video Tutorial - Creating props using 3ds max
• Texture Formats on the Toolset Wiki
• Textures Tutorial for beginners and Advanced (mostly superceded by the above and Eshme's Tools new material functionality)
• 3DS Max 2010 video tutorials - these also largely apply to GMax
• Normal Map Generator
• Texture Reference
• Texture Archive

Entries

For information on how to enter, please see the Entry FAQs

For information on Judging, please see the Judging page.

IMPORTANT - consent to share

By entering this competition you consent to share your work for other community members to benefit from.
Where appropriate, source files should be shared. 
The model *MUST* be your own
You may use DA textures. Do not include these in your submission.
You may use other people's textures, provided they consent for them to be shared (ex. cgtextures.com allows this type of use)
Others may use and modify your work in their Dragon Age mods, though are encouraged to give credit. 
As the entries are judged, local copies will be saved.
If your work is taken down, you consent for it to be re-uploaded, crediting the work in your name.  

Ornate Fountain by mikemike37

DANexus Project Page

An elaborate fountain for rich towns' squares or perhaps mansion-like indoor levels. Support for lightmap. Has collision. Light probe reflection in the water. No low-LOD model. 6,000 polys.

VFX is used to fire water out of the fish and add distortion and give the illusion of water - please don't give bonus points for the VFX, its just there because its kind of the point of the prop heh!

Judges Comments

Judges will leave comments both as contructive suggestions for the entrant and also as impartial guidance for any looking to make use of your work.