Fish

IIRC the tool is a plugin for Maya that was written by Obsidian specifically for the project (don't quote me on that though).

I know you guys are just trying to figure out a basic workflow for this right now, but I want to give you a heads up. If and when Obsidian releases the export tools for PoE, you will need to use Maya to make your scenes. The Streamtile tool was written for Maya and utilizes the MIA_X_Passes materials for Mental Ray to export the various render passes. Edit: You can build the scenes using whatever 3d application you want but it will need to be rendered in Maya using Mental Ray and MIA_X_Passes materials.

The process for environment content creation for PoE is fairly involved and will require maps rendered from 3d geometry. What you have here will unfortunately not work. A normal map generated from a bitmap image (and any subsequent maps created from that normal map such as AO) will not contain correct information that the game needs. Some of the maps you've generated are also incorrect. There have been a couple backer updates that got into the tech details, you can see an image that shows the different render passes here: http://media.obsidian.net/eternity/media/updates/0079/pe-passes.jpg and the update has some info on how the render passes work https://eternity.obsidian.net/news/update--79-graphics-and-rendering- The 3d renders provide information that the engine needs to display everything correctly (per-pixel occlusion, dynamic lighting, VFX, etc) Running an image through bitmap>normal software will give you very inaccurate information and a lot of things won't display properly or work at all.

Many people start in QA and work their way into a position in another department. I'd be honest and say that your end goal is a career as an artist. The interviewer may actually ask you where you see yourself in the industry in 5 years. I don't think anyone would expect that because you are applying for a QA position that means you will want to do that forever.

There are a lot of expenses that medical insurance does not provide for....

Look at character art in current video games. Browse portfolios of professional character artists. Peruse 3d art forums and see what other people are doing. The bottom line is that your work needs to be comparable to professional video game artists' work. These are the people you will be competing with to land a job at Obsidian or any other studio, so their work is the benchmark.

http://forums.obsidian.net/index.php?showt...crates&st=0 Crates, and everyone's role involving said crates, discussed at length.

I think that mostly is a result of the air being thick with smoke in that part of the level (the building is on fire)

what about a hidden crate level, and hidden inside the crate are cats. Possibly ninja cats?

Nah I work on AP. And really I just wish there was a Chick-Bagging skill. I'd settle for a Grope skill, though.

One of the skills is Stripping. The higher you level, the faster your clothes come off. I believe Avellone alludes to this skill on page 49 of the article. "...your pants will be off. Clothes will be scattered around the room and you will have had a great time." It works best when used in conjunction with the Chick Bagging skill.

I can't speak for anyone else but I played NOLF and NOLF 2 and both still rank high on my list of favorite FPS games.

Actually we checked with Sandler and he said he's sick of it and never wants it back.

somebody's got to test them

Nah, there's just this guy in a box there who collects our mail. No one knows where we really work.

Hi. I'm Fish. I make crates.

Oh noes! I've been spotted! *hides inside crate* This makes me wonder if the NDA covers outright lies about the game....

I believe we already have something like this. Only instead of a warehouse, its just a giant crate. And inside, you fight evil crates who take cover behind crates. The goal is to rescue a crate. We're debating whether to have the rescuable crate on top of a crate, or inside a larger crate.

What if the secret was that Alpha Protocol was just an elaborate hoax, and we've got all your hopes up for nothing? Would you want to hear that, or would you want to continue living in ignorant bliss? Either way is fine. Personally I prefer ignorant bliss.

yay :D I feel all warm and fuzzy now.

Coke is very unpleasant when it travels out the nose. Damn you and your awesome sense of humour! I was going to make a joke about coke and its direction of travel through the nose, but thought better of it