Disneyland in 3D!

[Datameister]

Thanks, DisneyMan. Makes me feel better.

It will be fun to see the doom buggies from the ballroom area when you get it detailed a bit.

No kidding! That's one of the things I've been toying with a lot lately, especially since I've been focusing a bit on the ballroom and its environs. There aren't any Doombuggies on the track yet, but I can tell you that it's a rather interesting view. If I get a chance, I'll post a couple of screen captures tonight.

I personally love the gray (or slightly colored) walled colors vs actual textured. Just my opinion.

I know exactly what you mean. It has kind of a nice foam-core-like look, doesn't it? Especially in the renders. The only thing is, this tends to make renders a little confusing, seeing all that mass of shades of gray. The problem is far worse when I'm modeling, since the real-time view of the model is far less sophisticated and the lighting is nowhere near as complex or realistic. It gets very difficult to tell what I'm looking at sometimes.

I may not do actual texturing for much of this, but I'll probably do some basic color changes to help me out. We'll see.

Today's big, exciting changes:

* the passageway that leads up from the portrait gallery to a door in one of the crypts in the queue
* a huge wall that splits a big part of the show building in half, with the ballroom and endless hallway and backstage areas on one side and the graveyard on the other
* more walls in the ballroom area--now I understand how the guests can be mere yards from unseemly backstage areas and yet not see them

By the way--did you guys know that three of the doors on the left wall of the endless hallway are functional doors? They all lead to the walkway, which goes down some stairs into the backstage area behind the ballroom. This is all slightly visible in the last render I posted.

[DisneyMan]

By the way--did you guys know that three of the doors on the left wall of the endless hallway are functional doors? They all lead to the walkway, which goes down some stairs into the backstage area behind the ballroom. This is all slightly visible in the last render I posted

Very cool!

And where does that roll-up garage door goto? I can't recall now where I've seen it -- you have to look to your left slightly behind you.

-mark

[Datameister]

I think you're talking about the one visible to your left as you enter the attic scene. I noticed it myself once, if I remember correctly, and it's in the blueprints. That leads into a large maintenance room; the third photo on this page is a view into the attic from the other side, with that door open. (I didn't take the shot!) The floor of this maintenance room is at ground level; two huge doors open to the backstage area outside. Above this room is a "mechanical equipment room," according to the blueprints I have, and below it is a "storage room." These have the same horizontal dimensions as the maintenance room, but they're both shorter. If I'm not mistaken, the storage room below leads to the area below the attic scene, though I'm not sure exactly what's under there.

[Datameister]

Well, I have been somewhat incommunicado for the last few days, as expected, but not for the reason I expected. I was going to be gone for a traditional family-and-friends camping trip, but a case of mono kept me at home. I'm on the mends now, and even got to do a bit of modeling today. I tackled the slightly complex task of building the columns and arches that hold up the glass in the ballroom, based on WDW blueprints available over at hauntedportraits.com. With that now in place, the ballroom looks closer to real life than ever. Quite exciting, actually. Once I go lie down some more, I'll start a nice fat render so y'all can see what I'm talking about. Unfortunately, there's no real "glass" in the model...yet. I dunno if I'll include that or not.

EDIT: By the way, mono is far from the worst imaginable illness, nor is it truly dangerous in most cases, but please, please, please, do what you can to avoid catching it. Truly nasty stuff.

[Datameister]

And a render! Not as cool-looking as I'd hoped, but perhaps a CM's-eye view would prove more interesting.



Just to make sure everyone understands what we're looking at, let's get our bearings. You can easily pick out the columns and arches in the center of the render; we're actually looking at them from the opposite side you normally would. The dark space through which the Doombuggies travel is barely visible beyond; that dark gray line that seems to extend through the bottoms of the arches is actually the edge of the Doombuggy track platform, a few feet behind the glass. However, appearances can be misleading--so please note that the long, gray, horizontal platform you see brightly lit beyond columns and arches is not the same mezzanine. This is actually the floor for the room for the ballroom ghost animatronics that duel in their portraits, whirl around the ceiling, swing from chandeliers, and do various other stuff above the guests' eye level.

A few feet higher still than that is a squarish floor above and to the left. This is the floor of the "mechanical equipment room," which is above the "maintenance room," which is above the "storage room."

Keep in mind that the so-called endless hallway is visible in its entirety here. The small steps that lead up to it can be seen at the lower right, and the hallway extends parallel to the back wall of the ballroom till it ends--conveniently enough, stopping against the same huge wall that the ballroom stops against. Those of you who are quick will, of course, figure out that the corridor of doors stretches around the bottom of this render to Madame Leota's room, which didn't render very well--all white except for a couple of shadows.

Eventually, that green space at the top right will be the graveyard scene. I may have to rely on the elevation plans for the WDW graveyard, and I don't know how identical those are...

Oh, one more interesting thing. The boundaries of the loading area--that dark, boundless limbo of mist and decay--are clearly visible in the render. The loading platform is the little strip of gray at the very bottom right, with the first hill ascending towards us and to the left. Then that enclosed green area next to it is where the floor of limbo will be. For the time being, you can see a bit of a backstage hallway in progress that leads behind the loading area and under the endless hallway.

Enjoy! Questions, comments, suggestions, photos, and blueprints are always welcome.

[BassBone]

Nice woik! Sorry to hear about your illness.

[Datameister]

Thank you. As I said, I'm on the mends now, but wow...that was honestly the sickest I've ever been. Feels great to now have what feels more like a mild cold. Hey, you're getting over a bug yourself, right? Hope you're feeling better.

Here's another render. Smaller, but I wanted to get it up quickly. This is one you or someone else requested, BassBone. It's an uber-wide-angle shot looking back at the Doombuggy track, from the POV of a CM standing on that little balcony above the table in the ballroom. Please realize there are still plenty of walls missing from this area, and none of the exterior walls are currently visible either.

Anyway, you can easily see how the area where the Doombuggies travel is actually the second floor of a three-story area. That blue square at the dead center of the render is actually the opening that lets the Doombuggies glide from the seance room to the ballroom; that gray platform that extends across the middle of the image to the right is where the Doombuggies go. Seven feet above that is a ceiling; above this are some of the animatronics. Below the Doombuggy track is another area for animatronics, including the dancing ghosts and the organist. Please realize that this bottom floor area isn't actually as big as it looks here; there's an important wall missing down there that will separate the rather small animatronics room from the adjacent storage room.

Oh, and I've said it before, but just for reference, the Doombuggies are just a foot or two above ground level when they pass by the ballroom. Enjoy! I hope to have even another render up before I go to bed.

[lashbear]

This is fantastic and really entertaining stuff - I'll never get to go backstage in the mansion, and this is like a dream come true !!!

Hey ! It is the year of a million dreams, right ?

[BassBone]

Wow! I've always wanted to see how the three levels relate. Thank you!

[Datameister]

I'll never get to go backstage in the mansion, and this is like a dream come true !!!

That's exactly why I do all of this. Though I still haven't quite let go of the dream of working as a CM for a short stint at some point...

Wow! I've always wanted to see how the three levels relate. Thank you!

Hey, no problem. Trust me, I enjoy it at least as much as you do. :P It's very cool for me, too. What I find rather interesting is how the area the Doombuggies pass through is only seven or eight feet tall, whereas the lower and upper areas are both taller.

Glad you guys are enjoying this, too! If we're all lucky, the latest render--another random shot looking toward the Doombuggy track--will be ready for me to post before bed. Otherwise, 'twill have to wait till morning.

[Datameister]

I had to let the render finish overnight. Consider yourselves forewarned...this is a tall one.

The camera is floating a ways above where the granny-in-the-rocking-chair ghost sits. We're looking back through the glass to the Doombuggy track. The circular track for the seance room is visible in the distance, brightly lit. Follow it towards into the shadow, where the platform goes off to the right side of the image. The floor of the third level is right at eye level, a little ways above the Doombuggy track. One thing to notice is how high the walls go near the top of the image; these show you how tall the third story of this area is. It's actually rather roomy when compared to the Doombuggy track area.



See that bright rectangle near the middle, toward the left? That's a doorway from Madame Leota's room. It gives access to a very small backstage walkway that goes right towards us, ending with that vertical barrier you can just make out in this render. See the U-shaped hole in the barrier? There should be a ladder right there that allows CMs to climb down to the animatronics area, ten feet below ground level. I think I'll build that ladder today, since I've already got to do a similar one for the side of the show building. May as well build them in bulk.

[goodguy20k]

Sweet! Keep getting over your illness, man! (But don't get TOO healthy! You'll go out and "get a life" and miss all this time to model! Just kidding. )

I love these views! Great work!

[BassBone]

Beautiful

[Datameister]

But don't get TOO healthy! You'll go out and "get a life" and miss all this time to model!

Nah, no worries there. I actually get more done on the modeling while I'm healthy. The sooner I'm truly well, the better.

[Datameister]

And another render! Just a little random shot of the control tower, loading area, portrait hall, emergency exits, and so forth.



If anyone's getting bothered by the large inline images, let me know so I can start just posting thumbnails.