Task 6 - 3D Constraints

Constraints are like set backs or limitations for real time games that the developers need to keep in mind or else their 3D creation might be too good or ahead of the Hardware needed to run it. The 3 examples I will be discussing are Hardware based these are Polygon Count, Render Time and File Size.

Polygon Count

The number of polygons in a model often runs parallel with the level of detail or realism of the model. So the more polygons used to construct a model the 'better it will look' as there is a higher level of detail attributed to the model. For example, the left image is very rectangular in comparison to the high polygonal which is spherical and looks more realistic on the right, However this comes with a cost. This is a constraint as the more polygons there are that appear in render view the longer it will take to render and this means that there needs to be a balance for graphics to playability because other wise they could make the most realistic 3D model but it will take ages to render and so the game will not run smoothly and this effects the gamers experience. 

For the PS3 it alone could manage 275,000,000 but with everything else it drops to just 9,100,000 which dramatically effects the experience if there needs to be more rendered.

 

Render Time

This is very self explanatory as it is the time taken for each frame to render. What is seen as a minimum FPS is 30 frames per second so 30 frames need to be rendered in the space of one second. This can be a huge constraint for 3D animations epically when you look at Toy Story 3 where for some frames it took around 16 hours to render! where as games such as Flappy bird which have very simple graphics and can therefore run easily and quickly on most devices as it has a low polygon count. This can also be a constraint not just from the drop in the noticeable performance of the game and thus giving the player an un-enjoyable experience but also the fact that if it takes a long time to render each frame onto a first copy then it will continue to increase the price of electricity used to run the computers or resources needed.



                             







                                               
File Size
3D modelling often takes up lots of storage and so one reason file size is a constraint is that the models need to be saved somewhere and if the 3D art is not kept efficient then it may have to be spread across multiple discs or downloads. An example of this could be GTA 5 on the XBOX 360 and this was to split the file size up and the file was too big for digital download alone.
Secondly,  it also depends on the amount of RAM available. within everything, at the point when playing the game it needs to read the disc and store it for very fast accessibility. this includes everything from textures to game play instructions. this is why the polygon count and textures need to be efficient to allow space for RAM to store other wise the experience will be very disappointing. this is noticeable in games such as The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and the game would lag so to speak when moving. 

Task 5 - 3D Development Software

new 3D sofwares from 10metzm

Task 4 - Mesh Construction

3D modelling often starts off by inserting a primitive, this is a pre made shape such as a cube, sphere or a pyramid cone as shown above. These shapes act as the start or main building block for more complex models. and their preterites can easily be changed in order to get the desired shape or look.

Here you can see i have added another primitive and rotated the first one to get it into a position I wanted. 

The mesh of a structure acts as the wire frame and the faces on them like the ones on the sphere acts as blocks to either take away or add to the shape by again using either other primitives or more subdivisions. The polygon mesh is made of edges. vertices and faces

After i resized the sphere to my liking, i copy and pasted the sphere to make multiple and placed them into the cone to appear like an ice cream and the slightly re sizing them so they are are not all perfect so that if i came to actually taking this to a rendering stage then it would be more realistic.

Box modelling is when you start off with a set primitive and you refine the image by adding more subdivisions to the primitive to made it more detailed and can be structured in the way you want. This make the shape more complex and this process can clearly be shown below.

Here you can clearly see how by adding sub divisions and then moving them and modelling them you can go from a box to a complex visual such as a head.

Finally, extrusion is another way in starting with a primitive and then transforming it into something with a high level of detail or just to make the design of something. It is done by adding more geometry to the original primitive by either pulling away at the subdivisions or pushing into them to give it indents. For example, my screenshots show how i started off with just a rectangle and by using "ctrl E" or the extrusion tool, i could pull away at the faces subdivisions to make a frame that it was coming out of the shape. although my example doesn't show it being exactly effective in a design idea way, it shows the use of this tool and how you can use it.

Maybe a more easy way to view it is simple on a primitive like the one below in which i just pulled out every other subdivision in one row creating a block to come out of the tube (doughnut) primitive.

Task 3 - Geometric Theory

3D modelling is where a shape placed in a 3D space by various methods and is made up of different shapes. 2 main types of 3D models are called polygonal models and NURBS surfacing which are main ways 3D modelling is achieved in films or the gaming industry.

                                                                    

This is an example of a low resolution polygonal model.                             This is an example of a NURBS model.

             


NURBS is an anagram which stands for Non-Uniform Rational B-Spline and this type of modelling is more versatility used in automotive design and engineering as they are extremely mathematically accurate which is what is needed in these means of work.
Polygonal Models are made up of Vertices's, Edges and faces which all come together to make the wire mesh of a model.

Polygonal models are more commonly used in the film industry. these are made up of vertices's which are like the corners of a shape, edges which are lines that connect the vertices's together and faces.
Vertices's are the 3D points in a XYZ space and by changing these you alter the shape of the model all together.

Edges are what connect the vertexes together and act as the wire mesh and in-between are faces and the number of these are the polygon count. These edges are the outline of the model and are naturally straight however you can use a tool which curves them.

3D coordinates space and axes, this is where the vertexes are placed to look 3D and changing the coordinates will change the shape. The Z axis is what makes the model 3D by the optical illusion of giving it depth.

Task 1 - Applications of 3D

3D is becoming more and more popular within media as it is almost the next step in to the technological future by making things more realistic and all round experience enhancing. It has been almost 100 years since the first 3D film was made and still there are many technical problems with it and so it is not perfect however weather it be in games, film or tech; 3D is becoming more popular for people who want new exciting experience. It requires specialist equipment for making and watching which is why it is deemed to be so expensive.

3D used in Film

Film uses 3D in order to entice the viewer into the film itself and to feel more involved with it as they are almost part of it, this also in many cases makes it shocking and more realistic. Having said this, it comes with a price and costs more for the experience. However Avatar being one of the most successful film of its kind using 3D to connect the viewer into the fantasy world and be at one with the action. 3D is made by using models which doesn't need to be textured as that is done somewhere else, what makes it 3D is actually an illusion when wearing the glasses as the filters allow each eye to see the object/ 2D image at different angles making it appear to have a structure. This is known as stereoscopic vision. so when filming they film using 2 different lenses next to each other like the positioning of our eyes giving he same effect. It wasn't always done like that though, 'the adventures of shark boy and lava girl' was a 3D film that came out in 2005 and was filmed using one red filtered lens and another blue filtered lens that when 2 projectors were merged together and the filter glasses were worn, the images appeared 3D.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

3D used in TV

TV has also incorporated the 3rd dimension but with these smart TVs you also have to buy specialised glasses. How it is achieved is similar to film as there are real life actors and so the TVs polarise the original in order to get separate images and again each of the lenses are directed to one of the images and the other focuses on the other one so essentially looking at 2 different screens with slightly different angles. One show that was premiered on sky and was available in 3D was David Attenborough's natural history museum alive, in which prehistoric animals came to life by 3D modelling which is an example of a slightly more complex 3D but the realist were amazing with the museum practically coming to life. Finally Darren Brown's 3D specular was on channel 4 available to watch in 3D but many people found that wearing the glasses can become irritating and give them headaches.
A new way of improving 3D TVs is their curvature which isolates the central image and acts as though what they are seeing is through their actual eyes.

 

3D used in Games

Games it is all constructed starting from a mesh which acts as the outline and a skeleton for the object. this is because they need to be intractable and nothing is worse than bad glitches where something just is 'ant down to grasps with everything else making it either un accessible or just annoying. additionally, the only 3D assets within games have to be closed polygons where as how many polygons are used depends on the gaming console or hardware rather than, than the game engine. having too many polygons will make the game hard to run and that is why new ways of making the environment graphics look ascetically pleasing and possibly intractable ie- grass that when u walk sways and adjusts to your footsteps whilst maintaining a low polygon count.

 

3D used in Design

3D design within the production of products is extremely useful as it means that 3D virtual models can be tampered with and even virtually tested which means that when it comes to physically making or building them, time isn't wasted as they already know the specs online, they can also examine any faults within the product or change it if it doesn’t look like they initially wanted it to, for example, when making a model they can see areas of weakness which can be adjusted so that either more material is there so that it is less likely to be damaged. Additionally, the models can be seen in a 360 degree world without spending money on resource in real life which they may not be able to use again. Finally, it means that the 3D model can be printed out, yes printed out with a special 3D printer which saves money as it doesn't take many people to operate a computer to send it to a printer and make sure everything goes smoothly! 

3D used in Medicine

3D is also now being used for medical purposes, for example in Spain a man who was suffering from cancer got treatment by having some of his body replaced with perfect fitting titanium sternum, this was achieved by them scanning his body to get the right dimensions and then re scanning where needed and thus they could see what was needed and reconstructed it. Along with this full prosthetic limbs are being made which is quicker and in the long run cheaper than the lengthy process it used to be. Finally when proceeding which surgery, they can use 3D technology to actually know how far away they are from something via the cameras inserted.

      

Displaying polygon animations from 10metzm