scenery

[hhas]

Level scenery will be 3D mesh objects. (What file formats are appropriate? What should we avoid?)

We must use free/cheap off-the-shelf meshes and materials as much as possible, and only build new content where absolutely required by the visual narrative.

We need someone to rummage through known low-cost and free online 3D mesh libraries, downloading everything that looks like it might be useful to us, from ready-to-use set dressings to kitbashable components. Always include URL, description, author, and license from the download page if that information is not included in the .zip (it is frustrating how often it is not).

Favor low-poly meshes as much as possible. Pipes and similar curved surfaces can use higher poly count for smoothness, but we don’t want meshes with high levels of fine fiddly 3D detail unless it’s quick to strip out. (By all means collect interesting high-poly assets too, but we probably won’t end up using them.)

Variety is the spice of life. Even non-mechanical assets like trees and watering cans will eventually be useful to us (we’ll turn The Rose into an aboretum, ofc, and dress it accordingly).

Notes

• Lightweight or destructible items will need basic physics. If it can be pushed around/knocked over/destroyed in the real world, it should support that behavior. Suspension of disbelief fails when glass bottles on a shelf are rocket-proof.

• For now, focus on gathering assets that will be useful in dressing Arrival Demo:

• a once fashionable bar, a bit run down now but still used by crew: bar area with bottles on shelves, tables, light stools, comfy chairs; WC fixtures
• a disused refectory: self-service food counter, stacked tables and chairs
• service ducts: pipeworks, grates, bulkhead lamps
• docking bay, disused, partially stripped for parts by colonists: non-player accessible eye candy, so we can have fun dressing that
• equipment anteroom to docking bay (the room the player jumps down into from a service duct): personal lockers, metal storage racks, barrels and boxes; an empty spacesuit would be a really nice touch (it’ll also look great stored in airlocks)
• corridor miscellany: bits of rubbish, lengths of tubing left by maintenance, machinery components to dress the hole behind a service hatch left open or missing its cover

• For other assets not on Arrival’s list but which look highly useful for later levels, it’s okay to download a few if quick, but in general just make a note of the URL and what’s there so we can go back after Demo to gather them.

• Asset library URLs are probably best saved in the MCR wiki, creating pages as needed to organize.