‘Creation of a Plane’ at gamescom 2012

Throughout gamescom we had a lot of talks from developers about the production process of World of Warplanes. However, our players wanted more – they wanted the visual insight to show them how the devs really work. To help remedy this situation, we invited Miroslav Bavanenko (Art Project Manager) onto the stage, to have him show off some 3D models of our in-game planes and to explain the development process in a more hands-on fashion.

He took his place at our workstation which projected directly onto the main screens above the stage, then launched the 3D-modeling application and began to explain:

“Many of our players want to see how we actually create a plane. Most of the time the process starts in the hands of a graphical artist who will draw sketches based on the blueprints that our history consultant teams provide. They might skim through libraries, museums, archives, the internet and more to find reliable data that we can use as the basis for new planes for the game. Our community also helps us out with that, because they are very invested in the game and always are quick to point out inaccuracies. Once the designers have decided which suggestions make it into the final lineup, we start to work on a rudimentary model. In order to create what you see as three-dimensional objects in the game, our artists use either 3Ds Max or Maya – two very common 3D applications. Depending on how much material we have, it takes usually anywhere from one to three days until a first 3D-draft of the plane is finished. At this stage you only see the plane frame with a lot of placeholders and no textures. But it’s enough to begin the testing process, which will involve finding the right characteristics for the plane to match with its original real life equivalent from WWII.”

Switching from a German bomber to a Russian light attack plane he added: “While the gameplay tests continue in the background, our designers keep improving the model. Every plane will consist of multiple sections (front, wings, tail, landing gear, etc.) that can be used to customize your plane by adding modules that will affect the look and performance of your jet.  This means the designers have to build their model in a way that will easily allow for this kind of modification.  However, the same system also allows us to have the plane break apart into pieces when you get destroyed.  So as well as seeing the different parts of your plane take damage but remaining in place, you’ll also be able to see modules get completely shot off if your enemies concentrate their fire on them.”

This drew a huge applause from the crowd who were amazed by the level of detail that went into the creation of our models. Miroslav continued: “Once the modeling process is done, we begin to texture the plane. This means we cover it in textures (a bit like wallpaper) that are placed on the outside of the 3D-model and give the plane color, texture and ultimately its final look. Textures can be created with any kind of graphics editing program – our texturing artists usually use Adobe Photoshop. In World of Warplanes we’ll have three layers of customizable textures on our planes: First, you’ll have the camouflage pattern which you already know from World of Tanks. Secondly, there will be a record layer that will keep track of your performance by displaying stars for the number of takedowns you score. Lastly there’ll be the stencil layer which will allow you to position clan logos and other visuals on your plane. We’re not quite sure yet exactly how the record tracking layer will work, as players will soon rack up thousands of takedowns and we’d obviously run out of space if we wanted to display a star for every one of these kills. But there will be some sort of system that will show off your performance visually on the body of your plane.”

Next he showed off an American ground attack plane to demonstrate how players would be able to use the stencils to personalize their planes: “On the third layer you’ll be able to place patterns, pictures and slogans. You will get to freely choose their position rather than be restricted to certain slots and it will be possible to scale them to make them as big or small as you want. We’ll have a big selection of presets for you to choose from consisting of logos, emblems, famous quotations and even pin-up girls! It is safe to say that if you use all of the customisation features, you’ll be able to make sure that your plane is truly as unique as any cloud in the sky.”

Are you looking forward to customising the look of your plane? Stay tuned to the news for more exclusive previews in the future!