Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/863766
j u ly . a u g u s t 2 0 1 7 c g w 1 9 perienced NASA's Active Response Gravity Offload System (ARGOS), a bridge/crane- like apparatus designed to simulate reduced gravity. There, the group played a demo version of the game and a version they had altered for NASA that would enable astro- nauts to get a more accurate feel for moving around and using tools in this altered-gravity environment. "That was our first test run of what we could possibly do in the future in terms of training," Scheurle says. BUILDING SPACE The game is experienced from Ana's point of view. "Our challenge is to get a person comfortable and used to moving around in an environment they have no concept of, as opposed to a VR game in which you move in a way that is close to a human experience," says Scheurle. Hindering the motion further is the fact that the EVA space suit is extremely large and cumbersome, and the artists had to tweak the animations based on reference videos to incorporate the restrictions. In addition, the player has to adjust to seeing the environments and objects through a viewport in the virtual helmet. The group is prototyping some new suits in collaboration with NASA and is building new environments to test them. As Scheurle points out, it is easier to prototype in VR than to have the actual material tested in a laboratory. The overlay on the helmet display was used for prototyping in collaboration with NASA as well. All the assets in the game were built in- house by the Opaque artists based on pho- tographs the team took during their visits to NASA or from other sources during their extensive research. "We've watched hours and hours of astronauts in training. We also watch all the NASA space walks. They are amazing reference material for how mission control speaks to astronauts on the ISS and best practices for [performing tasks], such as tethering yourself," explains Scheurle. Sometimes, though, photos and refer- ences do not always provide a complete picture. According to Scheurle, it is oen difficult to figure out which tools are currently used on the ISS. "For instance, last week I researched the bags they take with them on space walks, and there are so many kinds that they use," she says. A call to NASA's Hyper Reality Lab answered that question. Nevertheless, the need for accurate infor- mation is seemingly endless. And some of the biggest challenges the artists face result from the limited ability to access informa- tion and references. "Even aer our visits to the NASA facilities, we found it quite difficult deriving information about specific assets and content. Largely, we were accessing photos, PDFs, and schematics, and following URL breadcrumbs online," says Deniz. "We did, however, re-create some assets to degrees of fidelity that were praised by some personnel from NASA, and in other instances, like that of the NBL (Neutral Buoyancy Lab), have given us avenues for greater collaboration." Currently, there are two environments within the game: the ISS and the NBL under- water training area that contains a replica of the ISS. As Art Lead Stefan Allaki notes, while a lot of movement and gameplay technology can be shared between the envi- ronments, the art assets are unique to each. Modeling of the ISS was generally done within open-source Blender, however the team began transitioning to Autodesk's Maya as the project shied focus from the demo to the game, making it a better solution for animation in that it is compati- ble with the Maya-to-Unreal Engine 4 rigging tool set. Texturing is done with Allegorith- mic's Substance; the ISS is built using com- plex tileable materials as well as individual assets handcraed within Substance Paint- er. The artists also use the Adobe tool suite, in particular Photoshop and Aer Effects. Epic's UE4 serves as "mission control." The ISS is the most complex asset, with many different detailed sections and materials, notes Allaki. "It's a delicate mix between complexity and readability, with only so much information you can throw at the player before it becomes an overload," he says. "The only way to build an asset like this is with careful planning." In fact, there was a long pre-production phase that entailed gathering the relevant references OPAQUE'S REALITY-BASED SPACE IMAGERY.