Get started in autodesk’s Stingray

Matthew Doyle reveals how to set up and start creating assets in Autodesk’s new game engine, Stingray

Matthew Doyle Matthew is a game maker, and passionate about 3D and 2D art. He enjoys building worlds and making characters that inspire. Helping others learn the tools is also a daily part of what he does. www.matthewdoyle.com www.stingrayengine.com

With Unreal Engine and Unity hogging the scene it can be difficult for a new app to break in, but Autodesk is making some inroads with its Stingray platform. Released in August 2015, Stingray is an easy-touse real-time rendering software and 3D game engine that works well with Autodesk Maya LT softare.

For this tutorial you won’t need to know anything about game engines – the goal is to introduce you to the software and how to set it up. We’ll look at importing files from Maya LT directly into Stingray as well as covering the core features for setting cameras, animation and creating and using Flow nodes.

Stingray’s not only aimed at game artists, either. Its real-time capabilities mean it’s good for use in most 3D visualisation.

If you’re completely new to Stingray then visit Autodesk’s site for a free download of the software at www.autodesk.com/products/ stingray/free-trial. You can download more free project files to help with this tutorial at www. autodesk.com/makegames/gamekit. And of course, follow along with the video walkthrough you’ll find at www.bit.ly/206-sting. Before we begin you’ll need to set up Interop with Maya, Maya LT, and/or 3ds Max. Stingray works really well with all Autodesk software.

In order to get started, go to C:\ Program Files\ Autodesk\ Stingray\[your version number]\ extras, and run Stingraydcclink2016.msi to install the plug-in that enables Interop. In Maya and Maya LT, you’ll find the Stingray menu at the very top. Now we’re ready to go, so let’s get started! For all the assets you need go to creativebloq.com/vault/3dw206