Interview with Chris Wise from Virtual Mechanix
posted 05/02/06
Virtual Mechanix is an Australian company that produces authentic and highly detailed 3d models of cars, you may have seen a few in Project Gotham 2. Shane had a chat with its owner, Chris Wise about the process involved.
For our readers do you mind giving a short run down on who you are and what you do, and where you do it from?
The business (Virtual Mechanix) specialises in providing 3D car models for driving games.
I operate the business from my home office and fortunately (thanks to the power of the Internet) this type of business can be operated from practically any location, so we chose Noosa.
How did you first get into 3d modelling and more specifically, modelling cars?
I began exploring 3D as a hobby around the time of the first generation of Windows 3D apps, 1992/93 if I remember correctly. I've always loved cars and motor sports so obviously the first object I tried to create was a car. The turning point for me was when racing simulations began appearing on the PC such as Geoff Crammond's Grand Prix and Papyrus's first NASCAR title, it was about that time I decided I wanted to do this for a living. I sold my business, studied for a year and then managed to get a job working for a Melbourne based games developer. After a few years gaining the experience I needed, I decided the time was right to get out and pursue the car modeling contract work.
Where do you get your reference art for your work? Was it difficult to arrange access to the more expensive, obscure cars such as the TVR models and the Enzo Ferrari that are featured in PGR2?
The developer supplies all the reference material.
They'll organise a factory field trip to take photos etc or if the car is no longer in production they'll sometimes have to source the car from a private collector to arrange a photo shoot.
Naturally I'm very envious of the guy's at Bizarre who got to go to the Ferrari and TVR factories.
Is it possible for you to describe the process from that first polygon to finished model? Are there certain steps that you follow for each car or does the process flow differently from car to car?
I spend quite a lot of time examining the reference before I begin modeling in order to determine the best way to go about it. I use a variety different modeling methods depending on the shape or the reference supplied.
Sometimes I'll begin with a simple cube and build up the detail by adding vertices and edges until it eventually forms into a completed car, or other times I'll trace the shape from a side or top elevation image, extrude it and go from there. If I have cross section details (as you find on some blueprints) I'll trace the cross sections with splines and then skin them. Some car manufacturers allow us to use the actual CAD models used for production, these are extremely high detail NURBS models, often consisting of hundreds of separate objects, but once converted to polygons, they're great to use as a template so the lower detail in-game model will end up as an exact replica of the real thing, right down to the nearest millimetre.
After the main bodywork, wheels and interior are finished; the next step is to work on all the damage components, lights, bumpers, mirrors, body panels etc.
Once all the modeling is finished I'll paint the textures, apply them and set up all the parameters needed to test the car in the game test build, in the case of PGR2, this was done with an Xbox debug kit although with some console games I have to test the cars on a PC through a specifically designed test engine.
These cars take on average two weeks each to complete from start to finish.
What software do you use? Is it off the shelf or do you use some custom written tools?
The software used depends on the format required for the art pipeline. Although I've used a range of off-the-shelf 3D programs over the years, Softimage is my personal favourite and luckily I've been able to use this program for the majority of games I've worked on. Most developers use standard packages for object creation and write their own tools (if needed) and exporters.
How many cars did you create for PGR2? Are you allowed to let us know if there were any left out from the final game, and what they were?
I modeled around 20-25% of the total, none were left out.
How many games have you modelled cars for?
Five driving games in total, but unfortunately one of those never got released.
Out of all the cars in Project Gotham 2 that you created, which one would be your favourite and why?
That's a difficult one to answer, possibly the Lotus Exige because it was such a difficult shape to model, and I was quite happy with the end result. As for my favourite car in the game, probably the Corvette Stingray or any of the other American muscle cars, I love the way they handle plus that glorious V8 rumble they've managed to capture so well :-)
From a modeling perspective, I really like the old classic sports cars, they're the ones I get the most enjoyment from modeling.
How did you come to work on PGR2 and Racing Evoluzione and how did you find the guys at Bizarre Creations to work with?
Basically, I research game developers who are known to produce driving titles, I contact them to see if they're interested in outsourcing car models, if they are then we negotiate a price/schedule and if all goes well, a contract.
For Racing Evoluzione I modeled a car as a sample, and then negotiated a contract, that's pretty much expected when you're unknown to them. The aim then is to establish trust with the developer, deliver to schedule, ensure the quality doesn't slip, in general try to build a good repore and in doing so increase the chance of getting more work.
Working with Bizarre Creations is fantastic, they're extremely professional and the bonus is they're a real nice bunch of people.
I spent some time at Bizarre with the PGR2 team late last year and believe me, they're like one big happy family and very dedicated to their racing games, honestly I can't speak highly enough of them.
Are there any little tidbits you can let us on about downloadable cars for PGR2? Loads of Aussies would love to see Aussie cars, especially seeing as Sydney is already in the game. Any word on if Holdens or Fords might ever be available?
Sorry, I can't comment on anything related to downloadable content.
The PGR2 team are well aware of Australian cars (especially since my visit) but since I'm not involved in any licence issues or in the decision making process I don't have a say in the content, all I can do is offer recommendations... which I do from time to time ;-)
We thank Chris for his time and as a special exclusive for Xbox World Australia.
