Emule kart

[Kinsu]

I would enjoy to make an Emule Kart for STK, but I don't want to work for nothing : I wouldlike to be sure the Emule mascot is released under an acceptable license. The wikipedia page says it's GPL, but there is also a warning : "This work contains material which may be subject to trademark..." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:EMule_mascot.svg. I think it's okay but I wouldlike a confirmation before I begin the work.

Otherwise, would Emule be welcome in STK ? To me, this soft is a kind of symbol of the P2P, and the "war" between majors and pirates. It was a few years ago the most used to share files, and was very popular, everyone used it when I was in high school. Today outdated, but not forgotten, I think Emule in a kart inspired by an old car would create a cool character.

Emule also have a really great mascot, and I find it fits perfectly to the spirit of STK (we could almost add its head as it is now for the icon). Just a little problem : its long ears. I don't know if it would be easy to play a little animation when the kart goes forward, to make them "take the wind"...

Answers, advices, comments and suggestions are very welcome !

[Auria]

Hi,

you could email the emule folks to ask them for permission; generally there is no problem in making a model out of a mascot since you're not reusing their existing artwork.

Regrading integration in STK, if the model is nice-looking, I sure have no issue integrating it

[Kinsu]

Some drafts :

[Auria]

looks nice

[KroArtem]

It reminds me a Beagle kart (a bit), try not to receive something very similar to it. But I like your concept!

[Kinsu]

Yes, the wheels are similar to Beagle's ones on this draft. But I'm not fixed yet on how they will look, I will test different things.
For the models, I took Tintin's "bolide rouge", the alpha romeo P3 and the amilcar gss, with a little modifications as on hot rods.

[Kinsu]

I've already used 3DsMax and Maya before, and I wanted to try Blender. It seems that even for someone who knows a bit about 3D, the most insignificant functionnality in this soft is impossible to find and to use alone

Anyway, Emule is growing step by step :



(The red material is not definitive)

I changed the front of the car to give it a smoother shape, so it does not look like beagle's one so much than before.

[STKRudy85]

Hello, kinsu
I though to 2 things I wanted to tell you :

- You pleased to think to separate the character of the vehicle (in order to re-use character)

- I though that vehicle could be a pick-up or something else to remind emule is a carrier

[Kinsu]

Thank you for your feedback, Rudy !

OK for the separation of the two objects, the car is nearly finished so I will model Emule independently.

For the vehicle, I have already spent quite a lot of time on it, so I am not willing to change now. And to be exact, Emule is not a carrier, but a sender / receiver (among other things)
I chose this style of vehicle, because to me Emule is old-fashionned. I also prefer sticking to race cars for a kart game.

Regarding the animations, I have a little interrogation : Emule has long ears. I can't really make them straight during a race, because of the wind produced by the speed. But in the character selection menu, it would be weird if they were not straight, as the kart is just slowly rotating. Would it be possible to show a straight-ears version in the selection menu, and another during races ?

And to finish, a little pic :


EDIT : English error

[STKRudy85]

For the vehicle, I have already spent quite a lot of time on it, so I am not willing to change now

I though you will say this, your vehicle is great, and I think it must be re-used as a standard in future version
( eg: 1st_choose Player , 2nd_choose vehicle )

I also prefer sticking to race cars for a kart game.

Me not, but it's only my opinion

[Kinsu]

your vehicle is great, and I think it must be re-used as a standard in future version

Thanks a lot !

If anybody can tell me about the selection menu animation, I would be glad to learn it !

[Auria]

hi,

at this time there is no support for having a specific pose in the selection screen, sorry

the kart looks nice otherwise

[hiker]

I chose this style of vehicle, because to me Emule is old-fashionned. I also prefer sticking to race cars for a kart game.

I totally agree with this.

Regarding the animations, I have a little interrogation : Emule has long ears. I can't really make them straight during a race, because of the wind produced by the speed. But in the character selection menu, it would be weird if they were not straight, as the kart is just slowly rotating. Would it be possible to show a straight-ears version in the selection menu, and another during races ?

Not atm, but (most likely after 0.7.2) we could add a marker allowing you to define which frame of the animation to use for that.

Cheers,
Joerg

[Kinsu]

That would be great ! OK, so I can avoid using tricks (as a hat, that I didn't want on Emule's head...) to make it look credible.

If needed, I can try to look out in Irrlicht how to add this marker when I have the time (which means not very soon ). I think I could also use it later for some Irrlicht-based program

[hiker]

If needed, I can try to look out in Irrlicht how to add this marker when I have the time (which means not very soon ). I think I could also use it later for some Irrlicht-based program

The marker will be set in blender (frame marker with a special name), and exported by the kart exporter, so no need to do any programming (though of course we would always welcome someone to help us with actual programming ).

Cheers,
Joerg

[Kinsu]

The marker will be set in blender

Of course, I should have said «change the way Irrlicht loads models in the selection screen (if this is required)» .

So maybe the kart exporter should also be modified a little to include this marker. When Emule is finished and has to be exported, I will have a glance at it to understand how it work, and how Irrlicht in STK loads karts data.

[Kinsu]

Models are finished (around 2600 faces) :

[Auria]

Nice work, with textures this will look great

[hiker]

Regarding the animations, I have a little interrogation : Emule has long ears. I can't really make them straight during a race, because of the wind produced by the speed. But in the character selection menu, it would be weird if they were not straight, as the kart is just slowly rotating. Would it be possible to show a straight-ears version in the selection menu, and another during races ?

Not atm, but (most likely after 0.7.2) we could add a marker allowing you to define which frame of the animation to use for that.

For now I've put a ticket into trac (#130), but marked it as 'later'. Let's see how the kart looks like initially, and if necessary we can schedule this for 0.7.2

Cheers,
Joerg

[Kinsu]

Ok, thank you !

[STKRudy85]

For now I've put a ticket into trac (#130), but marked it as 'later'. Let's see how the kart looks like initially, and if necessary we can schedule this for 0.7.2

I'm interested too: can we plan to

{l Code}: {l Select All Code}

start-salute-pose end-salute-pose

{l Code}: {l Select All Code}

start-running end-running 

?

[Kinsu]

Textured !

[Auria]

Wow very nice, great job!!

[STKRudy85]

idem

[Kinsu]

Thank you !
I've exported the kart with the exporter, it works like a little charm This tool is fantastic : just clic and play !

I am planning to improve the kart making tutorial, firstly by adding a checklist to sum up every point that should be respected before using the kart exporter (eg. reset transform, name wheels models, etc), and then maybe add more detailed instructions. What do you think about it ?