Started as a comics editor

Chapter 291 Photogrammetry

Avalon.

Tang Yao's office.

"The preliminary data is out."

Li Xue handed the document to Tang Yao: "In terms of sales, 390,000 copies were sold in the first week, generating around 70 million in revenue. In the horror game genre, this is undoubtedly phenomenal, breaking multiple records, but..."

"However, it is still far behind our own online games and mobile games."

Tang Yao took the document and relayed what she had said next, chuckling, "Even in terms of sales alone, it doesn't compare to our previous game, Undertale."

"Yes, the subject matter itself limits its potential... This number is indeed far less than the weekly revenue of our own top online games and mobile games."

Li Xue nodded slightly: "However, this is only the domestic sales figure. The overseas version is undergoing localization at a rapid pace, and the sales should be even higher then..."

"Even including overseas, it probably won't be much higher."

Tang Yao shook her head, not disappointed, but as if she had confirmed something, and replied with a smile: "As expected. Horror games are a niche, high-quality genre. To make such a splash in this field is already an overachievement. What I wanted was never this 70 million."

"..."

Upon hearing this, Li Xue seemed thoughtful: "Popularity?"

"Ah."

Tang Yao looked down at the document in her hand: "ANF live streaming platform, the peak number of online users, total viewing time, and interactive bullet comments of each channel have all reached new highs in the platform's history... Our brand search index, especially the index associated with keywords such as top-notch graphics, immersive experience, technical strength, and single-player games, has shown explosive growth."

Speaking of which.

Tang Yao paused, then gently waved the documents in her hand: "This is much more meaningful than just sales figures."

"That's true."

Li Xue seemed to remember something and chuckled, "Now many well-known review media are speculating about how we managed to produce two single-player games in such a short time, and they're so good. Undertale is one thing, but Outlast is a genuine high-spec 3D game."

But there was no trace of us making this type of game or this high-standard game for the first time... Not only were we adept at the gameplay and atmosphere, but our technical skills were also incredibly mature.

Many players and review media outlets are saying that it's hard to believe Avalon is a mobile game company that's been around for less than five years... Instead, it seems more like an independent game company that started with a dream, and through hard work and perseverance, has finally produced a masterpiece.

The problem is that Avalon didn't go through any hard work or build up its foundation... Instead, it made its way up by making money through mobile games, and then suddenly one day it seemed to have a breakthrough, and instantly released two single-player games with completely different styles.

Many people find this unbelievable, completely illogical... and have even developed an extremely strong interest in our internal situation.

"..."

Tang Yao laughed upon hearing this, and then replied, "Then we must thank Yi You."

"..."

Li Xue was slightly taken aback, then realized what she meant and glanced at Tang Yao: "Yes, thank you, Yi You."

This is indeed one of the reasons.

Their massive layoffs allowed Avalon to practically snag an experienced engine team for free.

But in Li Xue's view, this is not the main reason.

Because an engine is ultimately just a tool. If Avalon's previous mobile games hadn't become wildly popular, then EasyGame wouldn't have been able to go on a massive layoffs to transform its business. Even if EasyGame really did lay off staff due to internal strife, if Avalon didn't have that ambition, it wouldn't have thought of absorbing the entire engine team.

Not to mention that after absorbing the engine team, they immediately and boldly launched high-standard single-player projects, providing them with a comprehensive, hands-on planning solution.

Those outside players, media professionals, and even peers were amazed by Avalon's sudden transformation and the terrifying nature of the company, constantly speculating and proposing all sorts of random reasons.

But the reasons are actually not that complicated.

It's simply because this young and beautiful founder is so incredibly talented...

All the catalysts come from the person in front of you.

"..."

Think of this.

Looking at Tang Yao's beautifully sculpted profile, Li Xue was filled with emotion.

What outsiders perceive as unbelievable and illogical is actually crystal clear to these core members. It's just that the starting and ending points of this clear path are drawn by Tang Yao herself.

Thanks to EasyGame?

That was indeed a significant opportunity. An experienced engine team that appeared out of nowhere solved the key technical shortcomings. But it was just a can of high-quality paint that happened to fall onto the canvas that Tang Yao had already prepared.

Without her keen insight in seizing this opportunity, without her decisive action in taking over the entire team and placing the utmost trust in them, the paint would have remained just paint.

Li Xue was certain that, sitting in Tang Yao's position, very few people would dare to make the same decision as her...

Tang Yao noticed Li Xue looking at her, tilted her head slightly, and asked in a questioning tone, "Hmm?"

Li Xue snapped back to reality, realizing that she had been staring at the same spot for a while.

She looked away and cleared her throat: "Nothing, speaking of engines, Director Zhang Mingyuan's team in the engine group is in high spirits. They submitted a detailed report on the application effects of the 'photogrammetry' method..."

As she spoke, she turned her gaze back to Tang Yao's face, unable to hide her admiration and emotion. However, she didn't say anything praising her, because she felt that if she continued in that direction, the two of them would start arguing again.

Tang Yao is perfect in every way, except that she's quite shy...

Ok.

Let's save it for the next trip.

While thinking expectantly, Li Xue handed another document to Tang Yao.

"Oh? Photogrammetry?"

Tang Yao eagerly accepted the documents.

Then, she looked at the key comparison image in the report—two pictures, the left one being a high-resolution scan of a metal pipe covered in thick industrial oil and rust, with extremely rich detail.

On the right is the in-game real-world model processed by the Morningstar engine.

What's amazing is that the game model is of very high quality, basically reproducing every bit of rust from the original photo, and is much, much better than expected.

The quality is also exceptional.

From the perspective of pure reproduction, this is already comparable to or even surpasses the level that staff can achieve by manually modeling.

The quality of Outlast speaks volumes, but seeing the actual photos and model images still leaves one in awe.

“During the middle of the development of ‘Escape’, Zhang Mingyuan’s team applied photogrammetry on a large scale based on your suggestions.”

Li Xue explained, "They organized a special team to systematically collect various real-world objects, calculate physical 3D models using massive amounts of photos, and then efficiently integrate, stylize, and adapt the materials and lighting models using the powerful material processing system and lighting model of the Morningstar engine."

According to him, this technology has significant advantages in terms of efficiency and realism, and it also greatly shortens the construction period, ensuring high-quality delivery of art assets within a tight timeframe.

The immersive horror that players experience, where they can almost touch the filth and decay, largely stems from this physical realism.

Zhang Mingyuan believes that this solution is mature in efficiently handling complex realistic materials and achieving rapid model building, and can be promoted in subsequent projects.

"Hmm...that's good, but two hundred SLR cameras."

Upon hearing this, Tang Yao breathed a sigh of relief, then put down the documents in her hand, her thoughts suddenly shifting in another direction: "Just standing there feels quite scary."

"..."

Li Xue was taken aback, then said with a wry smile, "Isn't this the idea you came up with?"

"That's scary too."

Tang Yao gently shook her head.

Photogrammetry is a technique that extracts three-dimensional measurement values ​​from two-dimensional data. Simply put, it is the calculation of a three-dimensional model of an object using photographs.

This is generally used to generate rough models of terrain or buildings. When used in game development, it can greatly reduce the pressure on modelers and thus shorten the project time.

Tang Yao initially learned about this technology from Capcom's Resident Evil 7.

She later discovered that Black Myth also used the same approach, namely, to accurately capture the three-dimensional information of the real world through various means such as lidar and photogrammetry, and generate high-precision three-dimensional models.

The reason why the ancient buildings in Black Myth have such realistic visual reproduction and high-precision details is due to this technology.

The models built using this technology have very strong texture information and a high degree of realism.

And it really saves a lot of money... and can greatly improve efficiency!

Otherwise, like the temples in Black Myth, the models would easily have a hundred million faces.

If a building were created on a computer based on a real-world building, the production cost for a single structure could be hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars, and it would take more than six months to complete...

I reckon any project team would collapse.

However, if real-scene scanning is used, the efficiency can be improved exponentially. Tang Yao mentioned this idea when she talked to Zhang Mingyuan from the engine team... and Zhang Mingyuan later verified it and found that the model scanned using this method was of excellent quality and high efficiency.

So soon, Avalon bought over two hundred SLR cameras and set them up, creating a room that Tang Yao considered hellish...

Although it's scary.

But the effect was indeed very good.

The messy modeling inside the mental hospital in Outlast was mostly done using this technology.

Although the game Outlast doesn't yet display the Morningstar engine logo, its quality has already proven the engine's maturity. If all goes well, Outlast will be the first game to feature the Morningstar engine name and logo.

but……

"such a pity."

Tang Yao shook her head slightly and muttered to herself, "We can't scan things that don't exist in reality, otherwise the efficiency might be even higher... Wait, how about we form a crafting team?"

"Ok?"

Li Xue was having trouble keeping up with Tang Yao's train of thought.

Tang Yao did not answer, but lowered her head slightly, seemingly lost in thought.

Then, she suddenly stood up: "I'll explain to you later, Miss Li. I'll go to the engine department first."

……

The location of the engine team.

Tang Yao soon met Zhang Mingyuan.

"Made by hand?"

Zhang Mingyuan looked at his young and beautiful boss, somewhat bewildered: "You mean...?"

"Most of the things that don't exist in reality."

Tang Yao explained: "Photogrammetry... or more accurately, real-scene scanning technology, must rely on things that exist in reality. If something doesn't exist in reality, then of course it can't be modeled using this method. For example, rotting chunks of flesh, disemboweled corpses, and all sorts of strange shapes."

But I think these can be achieved through real-world manufacturing methods for scanning and modeling.

Photogrammetry is indeed a high-quality and efficient solution, but it is not without its drawbacks.

The first drawback is that it cannot scan things that do not exist in reality.

The second one is hair, such as hair and beard. The photoshopping and modeling results in a bunch of weird, incomprehensible things, which can only be completed manually in post-production.

Secondly, there's basically no way to solve this now.

But the first point is different.

"I understand."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Mingyuan realized what was going on and said thoughtfully, "That's true... The 'Escape' project team encountered this problem before. Many things that don't exist in reality need to be modeled manually, which reduces the efficiency that we've worked so hard to improve."

But then again, isn't making props in real life also time-consuming and labor-intensive? Reproducing those odds and ends by hand would be quite troublesome, wouldn't it?

"So I need you to verify it."

Tang Yao nodded and replied, "Looking at the overall calculations, does this approach save time or waste time in terms of workflow?"

"understood."

Zhang Mingyuan took a deep breath: "Then I'll give you a plan later... But in which project should we test it? Escape? That seems a bit wasteful, and 'Left 4 Dead' has already ended..."

"Um……"

Tang Yao slightly raised her snow-white chin, thought for a moment, but she didn't have any good ideas for the time being: "You prepare first, I'll think about it some more. If I don't have any good ideas, then making corpses for escape scenarios is fine too, anyway, they should be able to be used in other projects later..."

"it is good."

"Thanks for your hard work."

That concludes the important matters.

Next comes the preparation.

Tang Yao turned to leave and go check on the "Escape Route" project team.

But before leaving, she suddenly remembered something and chuckled, "By the way, the name and logo of the engine for the next game, Left 4 Dead, will be officially revealed soon."

Say it.

Tang Yao then left.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Mingyuan froze on the spot, as if a pause button had been pressed, and all his movements were frozen.

After a while.

He then realized what was happening, looked gratefully at Tang Yao's retreating figure, and breathed a long sigh of relief.

The next game, its engine name and logo, have been officially revealed...

These words collided and combined repeatedly in his mind, eventually converging into an incredibly clear fact—Morning Star, the culmination of countless efforts, countless days and nights, countless technical challenges, and even the resentment and desire to prove themselves again after being laid off from EasyGame, is finally going to be proudly engraved on the opening sequence of Avalon and presented to the players!

This is no longer an internal technology demonstration, nor is it a report circulated internally; this is a true public debut!

It will be tested by the market, evaluated by players, and scrutinized by its peers.

Its name—Morning Star—will no longer be just a code name within the project team, but will become an official symbol of Avalon's technical prowess on the game industry map!
so good.

Zhang Mingyuan recalled the long report on the engine's future development that was easily discarded at Eyou; he remembered the day he was laid off, standing outside the Eyou building with a cardboard box, feeling lost and resentful as he watched the bustling traffic; he remembered Tang Yao's trust when he first joined Avalon; he remembered the sleepless nights the team spent tackling the most difficult technical challenges, and the moments when they finally conquered each obstacle...

All the hardships, grievances, and pressures seemed to find an outlet at this moment, transforming into a heavy and burning sense of pride.

so good……

Zhang Mingyuan couldn't help but think about it and began to look forward to that day.

……

at the same time.

Easy Travel Building, top floor.

Jin Feng looked at the overwhelming posts on the screen about Avalon's new game "Outlast," and watched countless players discussing how Avalon had managed to do it.

Somewhat confused.

He could tell that Outlast's performance wasn't very good.

At least compared to mobile games and PC games.

Not too good.

but.

The buzz surrounding Avalon this time has exceeded his expectations. Data on the ANF platform has exploded, and discussions on various forums and social media remain high. Avalon's brand image, especially its technology-oriented image, has been significantly elevated!

Players and industry professionals alike are praising it!

They say that Outlast's graphics technology is extremely mature, with lighting effects, environmental details, and physical interactions... It's completely unlike what a team that's venturing into high-specification 3D horror games for the first time, or even previously only making lightweight mobile games and pixel-style games like Undertale, could have done.

They even mentioned the realistic sense of filth and oppressive space, demonstrating a very sophisticated technical approach with no trace of a novice's awkwardness.

Many are even speculating whether they have powerful technical support behind them...

But this only confused Jin Feng even more.

Avalon? Top-tier graphics? Technological prowess? ???

No.

Are you all in the online game industry? Or mobile game industry? What gives you the right?
Avalon has only been around for a few years. They started with mobile games and made money smoothly all the way. Where would they have found the time and resources to accumulate this level of technology? A gradual accumulation of experience? They never did!

So why?
Jin Feng couldn't understand it.

Did they spend a lot of money to buy customized services for the business engine?
It seems like this is the only possibility...

just.

For some reason, Jin Feng felt uneasy.

He felt as if he had forgotten something very important, but he couldn't remember it at the moment.

(End of this chapter)