Photoscan used for scanning environments and characters for upcoming game

[Andrew]

Hopefully you guys find it interesting what we're cooking up here using Photoscan. Some interactive scan samples included in the article.

http://www.theastronauts.com/2014/03/visual-revolution-vanishing-ethan-carter/

Cheers,
Andrew

[EMULAT3D]

Great stuff Andrew! Really looking forward to seeing more from this project. 

[Andrew]

Thanks!
Unreal4 holds a lot of promise, but without a sizeable team of programmers I wouldn't recommend taking the leap just yet (unless it just for visualizations with light scripting). We are experimenting with it a lot so that we can hit the ground running a couple of months from now, when it matures enough for us to port the game to UE4 (and target more platforms). Hopefully we will get to improve some scans in the process as well, a couple of them from the preview are almost two years old, I (and Photoscan) have come a long way since

Andrew

[EMULAT3D]

Thanks for the reply Andrew! In my original posted I asked if you guys were looking into UE4, but then saw on your site that you've been in development for several months now in UE3. I work in games for training and our current project is UE3 based, but we did pick up a few shiny new licenses of UE4 to mess with.

Once again, great job. It's exciting to see photogrammetry being used more and more in the gaming industry...and one thing is consistent...Photoscan is the tool of choice.
 

[Mfranquelo]

Incredible work Andrew. *clap* 

[bmc130]

Awesome Andrew! What approach do you use to capture the larger cliffs and so on?

[Andrew]

Approach to scanning bigger things? In short - lots and lots of photos with enough overlap and with hope for lighting conditions not to change throughout
It sometimes helps to not only shoot entire thing from consistent distance that will give you target fidelity but also take some snaps from slightly larger distance - helps with aligning photos in problematic areas, but it can at times decrease accuracy of alignment - quite tricky.

-Andrew

[bmc130]

ok cool:) do you have any way, trick, of knowing you got enough overlaps in picture? I find it very hard when covering larger areas that it is very easy to miss out in overlap. Are you using a qudracopter or similar?

[Andrew]

So far we survive without drones but they are on the shopping list You can achieve quite a lot with tall monopod and wireless trigger.

As for overlap:

- I tend to shoot for too much overlap rather than too little,
- I try to be really aware of what each photo captures, memorize features and make sure they end up in next frame
- I am really methodical about moving along captured geometry. I try to shoot in rows, I tend not to get distracted with cavities (and such) that require additional photos, I get back to those later.
- I try not to shoot multiple camera angles from same position, it's better to just move your (camera's) position
 
Hope that helps!

[bmc130]

thanks andrew, every tip I can get is helpful! Tried capture 10m of ground cover today and got lost after three photos haha.

Andrew or anyone else, do you know of any monopod/tripod that will get the camera further up than just 2m from ground?

[chadfx]

a monopod lifted over your head is taller than 2m ;-)
and the camera can be triggered with a wired or wireless remote

some wifi controllable cameras will even show you a live view to a smartphone remote app, very handy!

there are even taller pole mounts that are available, but they can get a bit wobbly or unstable, so usually not good if you are dealing with slow exposures. some people will hack something tall out of a 'painter's pole', too...if you are looking for a cheaper option. some of the photo oriented ones can get pricey.

[Andrew]

That's exactly what I meant, lifting your monopod over your head and triggering via wireless trigger in your hand. Depending on your height and how tall your monopod is, you can take photos from 3.5m, give or take. Of course you need to compensate for camera shake (you're NOT gonna be able to keep it steady), and framing what you don't see can be tricky.

[admir]

Great stuff guys. Glad to see more gamedevs using amazing Photoscan for their games. Makes sharing tips and approaches easier.

Admir

[Marcel]

Awesome stuff!

How did you do the tops of the buildings like the rooftiles on the church? Is this all shot from ground level?

[Andrew]

Luckily the rooftops were sloped and could be photographed even from ground level, but I did shoot them from some distance, and with camera raised high on monopod (height of approximately 3,7m).
Drone would certainly help though