[Jadehawk]

Hi Folks,

As I mentioned previously, Here is where I am currently with my new Vasudan Fighter/Interceptor.

720 Polys as you see it now:
Gold area is the cockpit glass area.











All the best,
Jadehawk

[Raven2001]

I like it that the profile is thin. That's a very Vasudan trait

But overall, the base shape doesn't look Vasudan to me. Vasudan fighters don't really have aggressive looking "wings", and the general "pods" of vasudan designs "merge" into one another (intersect, without connecting structures). I know that it was probably not the kind of feedback that you were expecting, but I always look at these things from a design point of view and how it fits with FS's design ethos

[Nyctaeus]

I see Cylon... I mean Vasudan Raider .

I like the shape so far. Rear parts of the ship require more polys. Add some smoothness there. I see good potential for post-capella vasudan stealth fighter.

[Galemp]

Vasudan fighters don't really have aggressive looking "wings", and the general "pods" of vasudan designs "merge" into one another (intersect, without connecting structures).

This is excellent feedback, let's talk about it for a moment. It's true that on the Serapis and Tauret there are curved masses that intersect, but on the  Sekhmet and especially the Bakha there are definitely divided hull portions with connectors. It's a stylistic choice--personally I prefer the former--but it's not unheard of.

[fightermedic]

anubis mk 2
me like

[Jadehawk]

EXACTLY!  My Inspiration was the PVF Anubis from FS1. 

While the basic shape is there, it's completely new and I have wanted to do one of my own since wayyyy back when I first saw this in 1998. This is what I hope to be a standard replacement for the primary fighter/Interceptor role.
From my point of view through the years, we seemed to have "forgotten" this shape and I wanted to bring it back in this form I have created. I have always liked the "open wide view from the cockpit seen in many later PVF fighter, Bomber craft and wish to continue that here. So far, I'm looking at 2 banks of 6 guns and again 2 banks of 6 missile tubes like I did for the Shu Mk. II.  Opinions on this?

I intend to use the Blue reactor glows like the Shu and most likely have the Green reactor glows just to give options for you all.
Currently, it's a little bit "fatter" to accommodate 4 guns under the "wings". But I am having second thoughts about this due to the fact they are too far back underneath. I may end up placing all 6 guns on the "wings", two heavy cannons under with 4 standard cannons above. Again, this arrangement is subject to change per input and my feelings of the final placement.

Poly count is currently 960.

The Missile tubes I am still not sure yet to place.....any suggestions are welcomed!

Texture-wise, It's going to be patterned after what I did with the Shu Mk II.

As for everything else, suggestions both good and bad are wanted.

All the best,
Jadehawk

[Raven2001]

This is excellent feedback, let's talk about it for a moment. It's true that on the Serapis and Tauret there are curved masses that intersect, but on the  Sekhmet and especially the Bakha there are definitely divided hull portions with connectors. It's a stylistic choice--personally I prefer the former--but it's not unheard of.

Anubis, Sekhmet, Bakha and even the Ptah break some Vasudan fighter design ethos, yes, but they're the exception rather than the rule. And each of them has a very specific reason about why they break these rules (this is my speculation of course):
Anubis - because it's so small, if it didn't have a vertical profile would be harder to hit than even a Dragon
Ptah - Doesn't have a thin profile, but it's a stealth fighter, so hard to hit as it is without the aim assist and etc
Sekhmet - no thin profile, has divided hull portions with connectors. Because it's a Vasudan/Shivan "hybrid", and also because...
Bakha - no thin profile, bulky shape. I think that :V: decided to change the design style of Vasudan Bombers, to 1. better communicate that they are sturdy ships 2. gameplay reasons, bombers should be easier to hit, and a boxy profile helps with that, and maybe 3. perhaps to hint at some terran influence in the designs?

[Jadehawk]

So....this is where I am currently 


















Six guns, 4 Standard cannons under the cockpit module and 2 Heavy Cannons in the "wings".
Six Missile tubs under the "wings" and the service reload point is also on the central bottom between the missile tubs area.
Six Engines
twin Power Reactor  modules, larger one for the engines and other smaller one for the guns and ship systems.
Power Reactor Modules can work together for various configurations as needed.

Comments? 

Jadehawk

[Jadehawk]

So I went back to this to gain more experience in the process as it's in better shape poly wise. Here is where I am at the moment:

https://p3d.in/jTWiM

6 cannons, 4 standard and 2 heavy. I changed the engine nozzles and they are NOT set in stone. I think they need to be made larger. Hard to see here, but I added the scaling you see in the GVF Shu Mk II but they are more subtle.

Comments?

Jadehawk

[Nyctaeus]

Open it in Blender, open Properities window, find Modifiers section, and add Edge Split modiffer. I dunno how smoothing in Wings works, and... I doubt if it's working at all .
Also, don't make guns magnifold with rest of yhe model. It's a waste of polygons.

[Jadehawk]

Betrayal, Thanks for the pointers man!
Took me a bit, but got the Edge Split Modifier working!

Looks wayyy better.

https://p3d.in/frWMM

Ok guns manifold? You mean meshed into the main body?

Thanks and
ALl the best,
Jadehawk

[Nyctaeus]

...and now try with bigger angle . You have 35 as default angle value in Edge Split settings. Try 55 for example. Also make sure you have "Sharp Edges" option selected. It's also in Edge Split options.

You will see much more smooth edges, similar to original. Now mark edges you want to be sharpened, press ctrl+w [or ctrl+e, I don't remember which one xD] and select Mark Sharp. Sharpened edge should be displayed as skyblue in edit mode. Now go to object mode and see how it looks .

Why like that? Edge Split is a very good base to make proper smoothing for your model. While proper adjusted Edge Split will do much of the work for you, it's not perfect. Many edges will have to be manually marked for the modiffier to be split. It's easy and very intuitive. Just adjust angle value and mark lines sharp till you get what you want . I can tell you that in case of smoothy, vasudan or shivan models, bigger angle and most of the manually marked lines are often the best way.

As for the guns, delete the faces that connects guns to main body. Now target faces of empty space [should be a quad] and press F to make a face here. Your gun should be not "meshed" into main body, and uses less polys. It's now "non-magnifold" part of the model.

[The Dagger]

Adding those cuts in the shape is a good idea (those kind of steps) but I'd ask you to make them larger. Right now they are not visible enough, they should stand a lot more (marked in green).
Also, you should try to keep your quads roughly squared (not too slim or elongated or skewed. If they are too skewed, make them tris or change the topology. You have some slim quads that could use some extra edge loops (in red). On the other hand, I feel the cockpit has too many quads, you can try deleting some edge loops over there.
I also feel the connection between the "body" and "wings" is a bit too smooth (those details you added help though!). Adding a sharp angle or a decorative element (a raised surface or carved part) into the blue line would help.

[Jadehawk]

Guys, once again much thanks!
DAGGER, The Cockpit has that many quads as it was my attempt to smooth the glass before Betrayal showed me the divine ways! I saved many different versions of this model so I would not lose key points incase I had to backtrack. Gaining knowledge from you experienced Modders and sharing them here really makes it very worth while. I'm encouraged to coninue on my journey here creating the GVF Satet MK I. She was a Hunter Goddess and protector of Ra With her Bow and Arrows.

All the Best,
Jadehawk

[Raven2001]

I think that overall, the details you have there are too small. The engines, gun barrels, the extrusions. They are barely visible, especially if you zoom out and see the model at the same distance you would usually see a fighter. Don't be afraid to exaggerate those elements! It's necessary!

Also, you have a main shape, and you limit yourself to extruding what you already have. Make use of the "cut" tool (don't know the name in Blender. It's a tool that allows you to draw edges point by point on surfaces) to design how you want your extrusions to be, and then extrude.

[Jadehawk]

Point taken, you confirmed my underlying feeling about that. Glad it was noticed so I spent the day re doing quite a bit of the model.

end result for the day...

https://p3d.in/csj9A

guns, missile tubs are 150 to 165 % Larger now. Engines are redone and also larger too.

Keep the opinions coming fellas

All the best,
Jadehawk

[fightermedic]

the extreme spikes at the very front of the arms don't look too great in my opinion
i think you should remove some of that spikieness, flattening it a little

[Aardwolf]

You can control hard/soft edges in Wings3D.

In edge mode, "Hardness" brings up options to set an edge to hard or soft. I've got mine bound to H and Shift+H... check out "How to Define Hotkeys" in the Help menu if you want to know how.

In object mode, use "AutoSmooth" (advanced options dialog lets you specify threshold angle). But be warned, AutoSmooth will override any edges you've set manually.

Then turn on smooth shading (default: TAB to toggle) to preview.

[Jadehawk]

fightermedic, I'll take a look at what you're saying when I get home. Aardwolf, thanks for the information! I'll look into that as well

This is why I love it here, you folks helping along things makes it all worth it.

All the best,
Jadehawk

[Jadehawk]

Spent most of my time on the missile launcher area under the fighter. Right now I'm concentrating on the configuration. then I'll take care of the imperfections and other stuff.

https://p3d.in/LEKby

Jadehawk