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3D Environment

PostPosted: January 5th, 2020, 4:17 pm
by Dezziedc
OK, so I'd been playing around with the idea of turning the Hero Quest world into a 3D environment that people can explore for some time now. I started on the journey about 6 months ago now after finally biting the bullet and committing some time to start. Originally it wasn't going to be a game, but the more I play around with it, the more I think it is a possibility.

I've slowly been building the "Old World" in a 3D environment and the plan is to eventually add each of the Quests into the area where they are located in the world. It's still early days at this stage but I am making slow progress. The world itself is huge so it's taking a long time to build each of the components. And it doesn't help when I restart the build over again when I change ideas. But...… it is getting there. So recently I thought I'd change direction and try my hand at making the "Trial" quest. Or at least using available assets to replicate the environment as best I could. So here are a few early Prototype pictures. I have no doubt this will all change, but it's quite rewarding when something comes together and looks somewhat like what you would image the game would look like. I've gone with a low-poly style for a couple of reasons. Firstly because HQ is a board game that came out before computers were really a thing. So I wanted to stick with that 'retro' feel. Secondly, if this does end up a finished product, I want everyone to be able to play it - no matter what their computer quality is.

The challenge with the world environment and converting it to game play, is coming with viable mechanics and putting together a game outside of the game - if you know what I mean. I've come up with a few ideas but am yet to get to a point where I can implement them. First things first is putting all of the environments together. As you can imagine, undertaking something this large as only one person is going to take a long time.

The main stumbling block I foresee for the future is the assets. HQ has some very specific character models and furniture, and my 3D skills are non-existent. So that will be a hurdle I need to overcome at some stage. So if anyone knows someone who could help out in this space, it would be greatly appreciated.

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Re: 3D Environment

PostPosted: January 6th, 2020, 11:55 am
by Spookyhappyfun
This looks amazing! I'm very excited to see more of the dungeons and hope you give us more updates as you progress.

Re: 3D Environment

PostPosted: January 6th, 2020, 12:04 pm
by lestodante
yeah... I wait the day someone will come out with a real HeroQuest 3D game!

Re: 3D Environment

PostPosted: January 6th, 2020, 7:58 pm
by Dezziedc
Thanks guys. I've built a fair bit of "The Trial" dungeon already. But haven't started any others. Unsurprisingly, if you follow the modular concept of the board game, each of the Quests are easy to put together in a 3D format. You just have to get the dimensions right in the first iteration - then you can copy those same builds into each of the new quests.

What I am grateful for is Hendars Compendium and "The Maze" being a starting point. I'll use the document as a guide for building the Quests - very handy to have an order to follow. The fact that it starts with "The Maze" means that I can continue to use "The Trial" as, well, a trial dungeon - changing and rebuilding it until I am happy with the elements. I can then use the same design elements in the proper dungeons.

One big question I have, is whether or not to retain that modular design. With 3D modelling, the possibilities expand well beyond the narrow hallways and dungeon rooms of the game. So Quests like the Maze could still be built using similar dimensions to the board game, but then others like Prince Magnus' Gold could be transformed into a cave like environment given it's set in the Black Mountains. I like the idea of varying the environments to make each quest something a little different and a sort of expansion to the board game. Also, with the idea that any game would require people interacting on a more dynamic/organic way, we'd want environments that can fit more people in them at once. So things like expanding the hallways in some areas would make it a bit more computer game friendly.

It's really quite difficult because you want to retain the feel and nostalgia of the board game while still making a 3D environment viable for interaction by more than 1 player.

Re: 3D Environment

PostPosted: January 20th, 2020, 4:20 am
by Dezziedc
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Re: 3D Environment

PostPosted: January 27th, 2020, 3:56 pm
by Dezziedc
So I've started on the Maze.

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Re: 3D Environment

PostPosted: January 27th, 2020, 4:10 pm
by Weltenlaeufer
Wow! This looks amazing!

Re: 3D Environment

PostPosted: January 27th, 2020, 6:16 pm
by lestodante
Oh they are so nice! Please take a try by taking a 3D HeroQuest figure from the thingiverse website and adding it to one of your dungeon rooms :redheart:

Re: 3D Environment

PostPosted: January 27th, 2020, 9:49 pm
by Dezziedc
Thanks guys. I'll keep posting stuff as I get it done. Like I said before, it's slow going but I'm getting there.

Lestodante, I had thought about that actually. What I might do is download one and see if I can modify it and paint it up digitally. Might take a while though. This sort of thing is what I'm hoping I'd be able to get help with when it comes to the models.

Re: 3D Environment

PostPosted: January 29th, 2020, 6:53 am
by Dezziedc
Update on one of the rooms above. I'll see if I can get a character moving in the room so scale and size is apparent.

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