Welcome to the “
Crysis Monthly Update #20", the monthly report for our world-wide community. This month we've been seeing lots of cool Crysis 2 information surface, and we can confirm that yes, the game will be set in New York! We'll also take a look at our 'MyCryMod Reviews', and Inside Crytek Articles, and show some pictures of our Crysis 2 cover articles. And, as always we have the Community Corner complete with the 'Best of Crymod'.
Content: Crysis Monthly Update – January 2010- Inside Crytek Articles from the last month.
- Bi-Weekly MyCryMod Review
- Crysis 2 Magazine Covers
- Community Corner featuring the 'Best of Crymod'
- What's to come?
Inside Crytek Articles
Matthew Lee's Inside Crytek Article in full
Introduction
Today sees another addition to our "Inside Crytek" series. This is a series of Q&A's with different members of the Crytek team, where they answer questions on all sorts of topics. These are not just ordinary interviews though. Once their intro has been posted you get the opportunity to ask them your questions!
This time we are speaking with Matthew.
What do you do at Crytek?
I am an intern character animator. My main responsibilities as an intern are to animate, rig, and skin. I also have to learn as much as I can about the engine, and how to work in a studio environment.
Why did you want to work in the games industry and how did you get started? Do you have any tips for people wanting to get started in the industry?
I wanted to work in the games industry after playing Final Fantasy VII, although I’m not usually an RPG player this game had me hooked from start to finish, and was my initial motivation to make games.
I started out by getting some unpaid work experience as a QA tester for the point and click adventure Broken Sword, and later the first 3D version Sleeping Dragon. But after 1 year of QA I realized that role wasn’t for me, and so I decided to go to university to study animation.
However my choice in university was terrible and I can honestly say I learnt next to nothing about animation from my university. I would definitely recommend looking for a Skillet approved university (in the UK) if you want to study animation seriously!
As I was already on a university course I couldn’t start another so I decided to enroll at Animation Mentor. I can honestly say this is the best school I have attended (even though it is online), and I learnt everything I needed there to get my portfolio up to scratch and more importantly my job at Crytek.
Working on different Mods also helped me a lot with the technical aspects of animating for games.
So my tips for getting an animation job would be:
• Choose a well respected animation school/university
• Read the Animators Survival Kit by Richard Williams
• Join a mod team
• Don’t give up (it took me almost a year on the dole until I got my first industry job)
http://www.mycrysis.com/uploads/medi...atthewlee1.jpg
Why Crytek?
Crytek because they made one of my favorite FPS of the last 10 years!
And as Crytek are always pushing the limits of what is possible, I feel this is the perfect place for me to grow as an animator and push my own limits.
What are the best and worst parts of your job?
Well the best part of my job is getting to do what I love for a living. As for worst parts, days when my brain refuses to work.
What are you working on at the minute?
That would be a secret ;)
What types of games do you like, and what's your favorite game of all time?
There are far too many to name here but at the moment I’m playing a lot of Modern Warfare 2, Team Fortress 2 and Trials 2. Other than that, Crysis, Left 4 Dead, Shadow of the Colossus and FFVII.
What do you enjoy doing when you're not at work?
I love playing guitar and drums and making music in my spare time. I also go to a lot of gigs.
It's up to you!
Now we've asked the questions, it's time for you to ask yours. Just go to this thread and post the questions you'd like to ask. Take advantage of the role the person does, and make sure to ask the right questions. Funny ones are always good, but nothing obscene. We'll pick out the best questions from the bunch and have the communities Q&A up once they're answered.
- MyCrysis Team
Matthew's Community Answers
quote:
Introduction
It's been a long time coming, but now you have the chance to hear from Matthew Lee responding to your community questions. Matthew dodges a question regarding the University he went to, comments on his favorite drink and whether or not a pirate archetype will ever grace the Crysis franchise.
What specifically have you done work on, some "characters”?
For Crysis 2, I’ve recently been working on some motion capture animations for some prototyping. As for 1st person stuff, I haven’t done any of that since I was working with some mod teams (Wolfpack/The Creation mod) a few years ago.
What rubbish University did you go to?
Haha nice try…
What characters have you done work on in Crysis Warhead, and which character was your favorite working with?
As I’ve only been at Crytek for a year now I wasn’t involved with Warhead development. Although I have played around with some of the rigs from back then, so I’d say probably Psycho.
Would you push for at least one character in Crysis 2 to have an eyepatch and hooks for hands?
Yes... sadly, it won’t happen though :(
What is your favorite drink?
http://www.jackdaniels.com
How long will it be before we'll see anything of actual Crysis 2 gameplay/screens?
I believe some pics are in the Febuary edition of PC Gamer US.
- MyCrysis Team
Jamie Bury's Inside Crytek Article in full
Introduction
Today sees another addition to our "Inside Crytek" series. This is a series of Q&A's with different members of the Crytek team, where they answer questions on all sorts of topics. These are not just ordinary interviews though. Once their intro has been posted you get the opportunity to ask them your questions!
This time we are speaking with Jamie.
What do you do at Crytek?
I’m a Senior Animator, currently working on Crysis 2.
Why did you want to work in the games industry and how did you get started? Do you have any tips for people wanting to get started in the industry?
I’ve always been a huge gamer ever since owning a Spectrum 48k and always knew I wanted to work in computer games.
I started out wanting to be a programmer and even went to college to learn to program before realizing I hated it – in the end I scrapped it all and moved into Quality Assurance working at Bullfrog and started to learn to animate in my spare time.
Eventually several games companies later I got my big break and was offered a junior animator position and just kept going from there! :)
As for people interested into getting into animation in the industry, just work as hard as you can – make your show reel awesome and try to be in the right place at the right time.
http://www.mycrysis.com/uploads/medi...jamiebury1.jpg
Why Crytek?
I still remember the day I picked up FarCry during a lunch break from work and played through it pretty much in one sitting, years later I had been looking forward to Crysis coming out, I even saved money for a new computer and waited until it was released before buying my new rig.
Accepting an opportunity to work here was a no-brainer really, I love the games that are made here plus there are a lot of cool ladies and gents to learn from.
What are the best and worst parts of your job?
Best parts?
Seeing your animation work in the game.
Delicious Thai food with the other animators on Fridays.
Learning new things from brilliant animators.
Making a game you look forward to playing.
Worst Parts?
Distinct lack of Thai food Monday – Thursday.
It’s sometimes very cold and dark near my desk.
I miss living in the UK sometimes.
What are you working on at the minute?
Animations for Crysis 2 – I’m pretty sure I’m not allowed to say much more than that.
What types of games do you like, and what's your favorite game of all time?
My favorite games are first person shooters, at the moment I’m playing Borderlands, InFAMOUS, Heavenly Sword, and Resistance 2 (I just got a PS3 so I’m blowing through loads of PS3 games at the moment).
Favorite game of all time would easily be Quake / QuakeWorld (the original, none of this Quake sequel rubbish)
What do you enjoy doing when you're not at work?
When I’m not animating at work I’m….. Animating at home, watching animated films or playing games.
Also I’m learning to use ZBrush, learning to script in C#, learning to make iphone games and destroying my kitchen with horrible cooking attempts.
It's up to you!
Now we've asked the questions, it's time for you to ask yours. Just go to this thread and post the questions you'd like to ask. Take advantage of the role the person does, and make sure to ask the right questions. Funny ones are always good, but nothing obscene. We'll pick out the best questions from the bunch and have the communities Q&A up once they're answered.
- MyCrysis Team
Jamie's Community Answers
quote:
Introduction
Welcome back to our latest Inside Crytek Article, here we have our selected Community Questions set by our members here at MyCrysis.com. Jamie gives an insight into the animation software he uses, the color of his house, favorite book, kitchen utensil and much more!
What colour is your house?
It’s a small 2 bedroom apartment for my Girlfriend and I, it’s a white apartment and fairly sterile looking.
What animation software do you use?
At home I’m primarily a Maya user as it’s my favourite package (although I’ve never used XSI so that could possibly change).
What animation packages did you start out learning? Also, did you do most of your learning from books, or the web in general, if web can you provide links?
I originally started out learning animation in 3dsMax and that’s the package my first job was using – I pretty much did most of my learning from books (Richard Williams Animation Survival Kit and also the Paul Steed books) as well as showing friends my work and getting critiques. As far as web resources the keithlango.com pose to pose tutorials really helped explain a workflow for animating and I still use those principles every day, he also sells video tutorials which I have sometimes watch during lunchtimes at the office. Eventually I took the animationmentor.com course which was fantastic.
What's your favorite kitchen utensil?
Rolling pin, before I got that I was filling empty bottles with water and using that to roll pizza dough…
What's your favorite book?
Raymond E. Feists “Magician” or possibly the David Gemmel “Jerusalem Man” trilogy, I’m a big fantasy book fan.
If you had to chose a different job/company what would you chose?
Different job? Hmmmmm stop motion animation would be something I’d be really interested in – I love animation but sometimes crave something a bit more physical. 3D sculpting could also be good!
Do you ever take you work to your home?
For example: you need to finish something but didnt make it. do you take it home to finish it in weekends?
You never really take work home physically as it’s too difficult as you may not have the correct animation package at home, if something needs to be finished then I’ll just stay an hour later to get it done. Mentally though I often take my work home and think through all the problems, thinking of better ways to approach an animation before the next day!
In the event that you were to give away all of Crytek's secrets (future games etc.) what would Crytek do to you (aside form being fired)?
Well being fired would be bad enough but I imagine being fired for leaking something wouldn’t help you with your career or finding new jobs!
What specifically is your favorite food? We know you like Thai, but what dish exactly is your favorite? I ask this because your article hints a lot at a food obsession.
You can’t beat good old steak and chips.
How do you feel about small, fat mammals with well-rounded rumps?
Guinea pigs are awesome, I have 3 beautiful little squeaking ladies waiting at home for me right now.
Do you like partying at events like the gamescom? I for one was at the Crytek Party during the last Gamescom and you guys did a good job
I’m actually fairly antisocial and don’t like to party, I actually don’t drink alcohol so feel a bit weird at those things!
- MyCrysis Team
MyCrymod Review
The MyCryMod review took a bit of a twist this month with the winners being announced from our Christmas event, there were multiple winners and lots of additional prizes. The MyCryMod review is now temporarily on hold but keep a close eye on MyCrysis.com for it's return in the future!
quote:
Introduction
Today we announce the winners from the MyCryMod Holiday Review!! This time around we are giving out some great prizes from Roccat (as well as the usual Crytek merchandise), there's mousepads, bags, a USB hub and much more!
This is our last MyCryMod review for the time being, make sure to keep an eye on the news section for when this event may reappear in the future!
The MyCryMod Holiday Review Winners
While we had originally planned to give out prizes to the top 3 reviews, we decided to continue the festive spirit a little bit longer and extend the prize giving to the top 4 submissions. The final standing for our holiday review period is;
- [1st] the_man550
- [2nd] No One
- [ - ] callofduty511
- [ - ] maniche
the_man550 wins first place and in addition to the Crytek merchandise will also receive some Roccat gear. All other winners listed here have earned themselves some Crytek T-Shirts and other goodies.
Below is an extract from the_man550's review, the full post can be found
here.
quote: About FCFort
The mod (which is not to confuse with the ongoing ‘Project Far Cry’ by the way) includes a whole bunch of new models as well as textures to be able to mimic the original levels as good as possible. They were all done by d33dub and he no doubt succeeded with his endeavors; all the custom contents I’ve found are very well done. I’m especially impressed by the big communications building. Additional custom assets includes sound effects, ancient cannons and various buildings etc .
Additional Information
If you have any feedback or suggestions regarding The MyCryMod Review please post them here, we are very interested in your thoughts on the event so far and how it could be improved.
Thanks to all participants!
- MyCrysis Team
Crysis 2 Magazine Covers
Various magazine covers were confirmed for Crysis 2 during January with many more expected to follow! Below we have a collection of some of the magazines complete with small snippets from the articles inside. Be sure to keep an eye out for more magazine covers in for Crysis 2 in the future!
quote: PC Gamer: Far Cry and Crysis are both set on tropical islands - will Crysis 2 break out of that mold?
Nathan Camarillo: As the screenshots in this article show, we are applying our expertise to a new style of "jungle" which we will discuss more in the upcoming months, but it is definitely far from tropical. We are very excited to introduce Crysis-style sandbox gameplay to a different, yet ultimately familiar environment.
quote: The nanosuit allows expression in the deadliest ways imaginable. You're free to shift among its four modes, allowing access to superhuman abilities tat are both active and passive. Crytek hasn't exactly nailed down the names for these modes, but each is based on your intent rather than a series of powers. Infiltration mode, with its camouflage and noise-dampening elements, allows for subtlety. In combat mode you can access bursts of speed and superhuman strength for devastating melee attacks.
quote: The next issue of PC Games will reveal the first German Crysis 2 cover.
And it comes with a bunch of details all around the game. Our editorial staff visited Crytek’s studio in Frankfurt and came back with amazing screenshots, the team got exciting information about the missions, the technology and last but not least the Nanosuit 2.0.
Best of Crymod
The Best of Crymod roundup, showcasing the brilliant creations produced by our talented community in the form of assets, levels, and modifications; this roundup ensures that the truly excellent work receives the recognition it deserves. We're often surprised by the innovation and creativity exhibited by the community, and with this in mind, let's take a look at three of the recent highlights.
Procedural Dirt Shader
Forum member
sebastian___ has been developing a new shader for Crysis based off the original frozen layer used in the ice levels. It allows full customisation of all the properties and we have some screenshots below to demonstrate it.
Shock and Awe Level
ItalianPride has recently released a new update for his urban warfare map based off the popular Call of Duty franchise, in which the Korean Peoples' Army has invaded the Middle East. Some of the latest screenshots are below.
Meagshina Island: Operation War Time
Rockbr34k has recently posted some new screenshots of his latest level design project. It is now nearing completion, and the we'd like to showcase some of the latest images here.
We'd like to once again compliment the above modders in their expertise in creating these exciting new assets. Remember, produce something equally as good and you could end up in the next roundup!
Related Links
- News Thread #1:
[WIP] - Dirt Shader
- News Thread #2:
[Release] - Shock and Awe
- News Thread #3:
[Update] - Meagshina Island: Operation War Time
What's to come?
Although there are many cool and exciting things coming up for you guys, we cannot go into too much detail just yet, however, next month should be a good one for all of you who are eagerly awaiting the release of Crysis 2! So stay tuned, be sure to keep up to date with us on MyCrysis, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube!
