Machinima

CS 5964/6964

Homework 1

Introduction

Welcome to CS5964.  This assignment is about learning to use Hammer to set up a scene (see the resources page for useful links, including the starting project, map, and mod files).  We will assume that the actual set already exists.  In our case, we have modeled our class room (it is the map web102.vmf in the zip file which is the movie stuff and web102clean.vmf is the one without all of the extra movie material, just the set).  This is an INDIVIDUAL or PAIR assignment.

Here are the two maps (web102.vmf and web102clean.vmf).  Copy them to your computer and just use the Source SDK and Hammer to get started working on them.  Don't forget to use the -engine ep1 launch option for the source sdk.

I will package up the textures for Bob and Mark and place them here. You should copy them to the materials/models directory of your HL2-ep2 game files. The zip file was created in the models directory, so make sure that you copy it into the appropriate directory structure.

Task

Using Hammer, edit the we102clean map as follows:

1. Add doors that open and close to the back of the room.  Make the doors default to being open.  In order to do this, you will have to read up about how to make doors.   Try to choose a door skin on the prop_rotating_door that is as close to what is in the class room as possible. Note - you can use also use a func_door and create your own brush to more closely model the class room door with a window and everything (5 points)
2. Add lights, props, textures, and whatever else you need to make the room more interesting (mostly these should be prop_physics, so when you touch them, they move) so the room looks like our class room. Note, the version that we give you to work on has Bob and Mark and the other code removed so you have a clean slate to work with.  As per the bonus, we are going to give bonus points for most realistic and more "imaginative" so choose a theme and go for it.  (10 points)
3. Add some other random characters to be around the room (at least two other characters).  They can just stand around and that is just fine.  (5 points)
4. Fix the textures out in at least the hallway so it looks different than the orange and black (5 points)
5. Program Bob and Mark to start out in the hall way in the middle.  Have them both walk into opposite doors and walk down to the front of the classroom.  (10 points)
6. Add a camera in the hallway that shows the Bob and Mark together.  This camera starts the scene.  (5 points)
7. Add a second camera on a path that shows them walking into the room and then pans around to the side watching them as the make it to the front.  Make it so the second camera is triggered as one of them goes into the classroom.  Also, make sure that your camera shows the room reasonably well so we can judge the bonus points below.  (10 points)
8. Make a movie of your scene.  At this point, don't worry about titles or anything else, just get the action into a movie file.  We want either an AVI or WMV or MOV.  We want it to be720x480.  We prefer the XVID/DIVX codce for Windows or quicktime for Mac

Note - as long as you do things that we can somewhat relate to the points above, feel free to improvise. For example, if you want Bob/Mark to start apart, come together and then walk into the room, that is fine. Whatever you want to do. Also, if you want to take it further (like use faceposer, or add audio, or sound or whatever, feel free). We love to see you push the limits. 

Bonus

• For 5 points, make the doors start off closed, and program the first NPC to open the door and then walk into the classroom.
• Finally, we will give up to 15 additional points to the 10 best room designs and camera shots (we will compare the designs, choose the top 5 and then allocate points).  Five of the best designs will be in the "realism" category.  It is for those of you that create the most realistic room.  The other five are the most creative design.  Let your imagination go wild and create something "interesting".  It is your choice what you do. 

Acceptance Tests

1. In order for the teaching staff to properly administer this class, you must provide us with a secret ID of your own choosing (something no more than about 10 characters long) that we will use in our grading spreadsheet.  Please create a file, call it info.txt and place in it a single line which is your chosen secret ID.   YES - you make your own secret ID.  Please, do not use anything offensive.  :)
2. Handin your modified map source file (the vmf file) and your movie file.
3. Lastly using the print screenshot capability, turn in a screenshot file that shows off the best view of your room.
4. Use the handin program on a CADE UNIX machine to hand in your solution.  Remember that the first argument is the class name, the second is the homework name, and that is followed by the files.  In the past, we've had problems when you use the web interface to hand in files and those files include spaces.  So, make sure that you do not have any spaces in your file names.

                handin cs5964 1 info.txt web102clean.vmf room.jpg web102.avi