Under The Hood — Volume 4

13 min readDec 28, 2024

Work In Progress

Visit “Under The Hood” forum in our Community Discord

Week 13—Moon Creatures: 2D to 3D Case Study #1

Originally, the moon creatures were intended to be hand-animated as 2D sprites. However, it soon became clear that this approach would limit future implementations and the overall project scope. To address this, the decision was made to transition to a 3D solution as soon as possible.

Reinterpreting the essence of moon creatures from their 2D concepts into plausible and feasible 3D models has been a challenging yet rewarding learning curve. This process involved refining default poses, adjusting perspectives, and tackling design challenges for a subset of the 200 planned creatures. Here, we highlight three of them: Sheldon, Tadeo, and Ridley.

Ridley

Ridley proved to be one of the most challenging creatures to translate into 3D. Its design consisted of interlocking armor plates that had to maintain believability and consistency in scale. Early iterations suffered from insufficient curvature depth in the back spines, which, when viewed from behind, became glaringly obvious to users. Missing or misaligned design elements, such as body silhouette holes, further compounded the challenge.

Achieving a design that looked natural and evolved required significant overhauls. The final design needed to suggest a creature that could plausibly exist while staying true to the original concept. Ridley’s complexity made it a standout example of the iterative process required to create polished, believable 3D models.

Tadeo

Tadeo presented a different set of challenges, particularly due to differences in perspective interpretation among the team. The face, for example, evolved from a flat design into a more pointed structure. The creature’s dome, a prominent feature in the concept art, proved difficult to replicate in 3D without significant alterations. To address this, painted lines were removed, and the focus shifted to emphasizing the shell’s shape. The goal was to respect the original concept while ensuring the dome’s rounded nature harmonized with the overall design.

Sheldon

Sheldon’s original concept suggested drooping fins, which evolved into a more mechanical, cyborg-like design. As a hybrid creature with naturally grown, metal-like materials, Sheldon’s design needed to emphasize sharp, defining traits like tapered fins resembling a real shark. Early iterations lacked these features, so adjustments were made to sharpen the angles and ensure the fins were defining elements.

The fin profiles presented issues. A common mistake when bending square meshes into curves resulted in subtle, unresolved remnants of 90-degree angles that disrupted the smooth taper. Additional refinements were necessary to address these flaws, ensuring a seamless blend.

The armor design also required enhancement. Early versions tapered inward due to smoothing processes, which resulted in a less bulky, imposing look. The side gills also failed to align with the concept, necessitating tweaks to better reflect the original vision.

Conclusion

The process of converting 2D concepts into 3D models is time-intensive and fraught with challenges. Each creature’s design demands unique considerations, influenced by individual interpretations of key features. For complex creatures like Ridley, these challenges persist across iterations due to intricate geometries.

Despite the struggles, transitioning to 3D provides long-term benefits. It offers modularity, scalability, and future-proofing that a 2D approach cannot match. This shift ensures that moon creatures will not only meet the demands of the current project but also remain sustainable for future expansions.

Week 14—Racecar: Concept to 3D

The Race Car variant was developed with a focus on high-speed performance, refined design, and functionality tailored to competitive racing. Unlike other transport vehicles, race cars prioritize speed and acceleration, sacrificing agility and mobility at higher velocities for raw power and precision.

The underside underwent optimization to improve topology and detail. Key components such as exhaust systems, wheel scales, and lighting were enhanced to deliver a polished and cohesive look to match our expectations and the inspiring concept art.

The interior was completely redesigned to replace generic seating with racing-inspired chairs. Using professional racing seats as reference, the updated design emphasizes both ergonomic functionality and a visually striking aesthetic, aligning with the performance-driven vision of the concept art.

Multiple window configurations were introduced to improve visibility and allow for player customization. Interior space was adjusted for better comfort and modularity, including single seating options, ensuring the design met both functional and aesthetic standards.

Elevating the concept model to its final form required significant effort. The process was iterative, focusing on making the design modular and game-ready while striking a balance between staying true to the original artwork and allowing flexibility for future customization and stylistic freedom.

Week 15 — Construction Vehicles: Building the Future

When it comes to building a sustainable outpost on the Moon, having reliable construction vehicles is crucial — even if they’re not built for speed. Each of these specialized machines brings a unique capability to the construction site, helping to ensure that every job, big or small, gets done efficiently. Below, we introduce our fleet of concept vehicles, designed to tackle the diverse demands of lunar construction.

Forklift

The forklift is indispensable for moving crates, pallets, and materials with ease. Though not the fastest piece of equipment, it excels at precise handling and organization, making it essential for any operation that requires frequent lifting and shifting of supplies.

Backhoe

Equipped with a front loader on one side and an excavator bucket on the other, the backhoe is a versatile machine suited for digging trenches, laying pipes, and handling debris. On the Moon, its multifunctionality ensures that construction teams can accomplish multiple tasks with minimal downtime.

Dump Truck

With a large bed for transporting rock, soil, and building materials, the dump truck is the workhorse of the site. Its sturdy design and reliable tipping mechanism enable it to unload cargo quickly, freeing up time and manpower for other tasks.

Cement Truck

This vehicle keeps concrete in perfect condition during transit, ensuring consistent pours for foundations, walls, and other structural elements. While its drum might look slow-rotating, that careful motion guarantees the cement’s quality and stability, a vital ingredient for building on challenging lunar terrain.

Scissor Lift

Focused on vertical access, the scissor lift allows workers to reach elevated areas safely. Ideal for tasks like installing solar panels or performing maintenance checks, its stable platform and steady lift mechanism compensate for the Moon’s lower gravity.

Excavator

Built for heavy-duty digging and earth-moving operations, the excavator can handle substantial volumes of lunar regolith. Despite its slower pace, it delivers impressive force and precise control, making it key to shaping the Moon’s rugged landscape.

Standard Crane

The standard crane excels in lifting large, heavy components, such as structural beams and prefabricated modules, with unmatched reach and load-bearing capacity. Its towering height and long boom make it essential for assembling expansive and towering structures on the Moon. While its movements require careful planning, its efficiency in handling high-altitude tasks ensures progress on the largest projects.

Hydraulic Crane

The hydraulic crane is a compact yet versatile workhorse, designed for heavy-duty lifting in tighter or more confined workspaces. Its advanced hydraulic system provides greater robustness and precision, making it ideal for tasks requiring fine control or maneuvering delicate components. Though it sacrifices some reach compared to the standard crane, its adaptability and smooth operations make it indispensable for specialized and intricate construction challenges.

Conclusion

These vehicles are our initial concept models, each tailored for a specialized role in lunar construction. As we continue to experiment with and refine the gameplay, expect these models to evolve. Our aim is to combine functionality with fun — striking the perfect balance between realistic design and engaging, slow-and-steady building action on the lunar surface.

Week 16—Algorithmic Painting: Luna Lands

Traditional NFT paintings typically involve static layers of attributes — such as adding cigars, transforming a smile into a frown, altering eye expressions, introducing zombie-like skin, or changing background colors. For our land plots, however, we aimed to push the boundaries even further.

We are developing a groundbreaking algorithmic painting system for Luna land plots that not only generates unique visuals but also saves metadata for export into physical-world spaces.

To accomplish this, we created a world-building tool that allows us to paint areas of interest directly onto the sprites. These masks serve as filters, determining the specific content that appears in each designated area.

In the second phase, we save and bind this data to the underlying image at a lower resolution, creating a 2D grid that maps out distance and density across the landscape.

The final result of this approach is akin to a heat map used in procedural generation. By filtering layers and masks from each element, we define the presence of various features such as caves, special rocks, and mini craters. These elements are selected and refined based on volume to ensure a cohesive and dynamic environment.

All final position data is stored as a “virtual stamp” within the Colony game, enabling us to accurately place these elements within a 3D space. While some adjustments will be necessary to account for obstructions caused by taller structures, our objective is to achieve the most seamless and accurate translation from 2D designs to a vibrant 3D world.

The final result should strike a balance between artistic representation and user experience, ensuring expectations align with reality. The goal is to deliver an authentic virtual experience with minimal interference or surprises.