Author Topic: HTL Sobek  (Read 34779 times)

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Offline Rga_Noris

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It's released! Comes in three flavors:

Low Quality (1024x1024 maps): http://www.mediafire.com/file/sbucumnkastz6xr/SobekMod-Low.rar

High Quality (2048x2048 maps): http://www.mediafire.com/file/bndc2wdlkewbrt7/SobekMod-High.rar

Ultra Quality (4096x4096 maps): http://www.mediafire.com/file/9dpp52trqigp8wt/SobekMod-Ultra.rar

Special thanks to everyone who tested it!
Special thanks to you bastard forumites that forced me to make it prettier!
Thanks to Hades for the Thrusters and tweaking the underside of the Sobek.

To Install: Simply unpack the RAR into your root FS2 directory, select it as mod, and off you go! Will use mediavps_3612.

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Original Post
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*Rga_Noris opens the oven...









Okay h8ters, feast :)
« Last Edit: October 30, 2011, 05:16:02 pm by Rga_Noris »
I think I'll call REAL Mahjong 'Chinese Dominoes', just to make people think I'm an ignorant asshat.

 

Offline MatthTheGeek

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People are stupid, therefore anything popular is at best suspicious.

Mod management tools     -     Wiki stuff!     -     Help us help you

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Offline Cyborg17

  • 29
  • Life? Don't talk to me about life....
The Sobek will probably be tricky.  It's pretty close to a minimalist design and works well already without HTL additions.  Good luck!  :yes:

 

Offline Rga_Noris

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  • What?
It works well when compared to other retail assets, mostly because the current version in the MediaVP's is indeed a higher poly version. My issue is that it has a lot of common low-poly folies, the main one being "This looks cool, but has no obvious reason to exist." An example would be the pink coloring. What's causing it to be pink? It looks like the nebula texture was slapped on. Seeing as how it is commonly over polies that are seeming to support other structures, I highly doubt it is supposed to be a gas container... on the other had, it does not look like any other material. Point is, back in the day it was fine because we had limited polies and V wanted a pink coloration to the model, explination be damned.

That just don't work these days, which is why many of these high poly verisons are being labeled as remakes as opposed to improvements to retail. Fact is, retail is too old to fly these days, right down to some of the very concepts of the model, and thus need to be redone in order to make any lick of sense in our modern graphic card world.
I think I'll call REAL Mahjong 'Chinese Dominoes', just to make people think I'm an ignorant asshat.

 

Offline Commander Zane

  • 212
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That just don't work these days, which is why many of these high poly verisons are being labeled as remakes as opposed to improvements to retail. Fact is, retail is too old to fly these days, right down to some of the very concepts of the model, and thus need to be redone in order to make any lick of sense in our modern graphic card world.
This on so many levels, I can be certain that what comes out for this new Sobek is going to look righteously kick-ass.

 

Offline Mars

  • I have no originality
  • 211
  • Attempting unreasonable levels of reasonable
It works well when compared to other retail assets, mostly because the current version in the MediaVP's is indeed a higher poly version. My issue is that it has a lot of common low-poly folies, the main one being "This looks cool, but has no obvious reason to exist." An example would be the pink coloring. What's causing it to be pink? It looks like the nebula texture was slapped on. Seeing as how it is commonly over polies that are seeming to support other structures, I highly doubt it is supposed to be a gas container... on the other had, it does not look like any other material. Point is, back in the day it was fine because we had limited polies and V wanted a pink coloration to the model, explination be damned.

That just don't work these days, which is why many of these high poly verisons are being labeled as remakes as opposed to improvements to retail. Fact is, retail is too old to fly these days, right down to some of the very concepts of the model, and thus need to be redone in order to make any lick of sense in our modern graphic card world.

I always thought the pink area was some type of high tech heat sink.

 

Offline Hellstryker

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I always just assumed that those areas were actually exposed internal bits which just happened to have a pinkish light cast on them for whatever reason. If I recall the pink areas are all inset into the hull, so you could actually have the light being cast from the edges of the inset parts inward, if that makes any sense.

 

Offline Rga_Noris

  • 29
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Only the cresent is inset... the rest is flush or outcropped.
I think I'll call REAL Mahjong 'Chinese Dominoes', just to make people think I'm an ignorant asshat.

 

Offline Rga_Noris

  • 29
  • What?
Bump for pics.
I think I'll call REAL Mahjong 'Chinese Dominoes', just to make people think I'm an ignorant asshat.

 

Offline swashmebuckle

  • 210
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I dig it, looks very layered and the additions seem to draw on both the new Hatshepsut and Vasudan fighters.  Only thing I'm not sold on at the moment is the cowling things that come down over the front engines--can't immediately tell what purpose they serve and they don't seem to have the same sweep as the rest of the model.  They help do suggest a big Vasudan face on that last shot though :)

 

Offline Droid803

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Offline sigtau

  • 29
  • unfortunate technical art assclown
I have no complaints thusfar, though I'm interested in how you'll go about detailing the "shell" parts closer to the front (or if you'll leave that up to the texturing), since you're working with a ship that had minimalist detail in the first place.

Either way, it looks good as it is now.  Eagerly awaiting the rest of the model :nod:
Who uses forum signatures anymore?

 

Offline Cyborg17

  • 29
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(I made sure to compare with both the Retail and previous HTL POF's)

From the viewpoint of knowing the Sobek as relatively sleek ship:

The way you're handling the v shape on the head works better than the last version.  It makes more sense visually and structurally.  The secondary bridges over and under the neck was a really smart move.  It was logical from the textures (on the bottom) and it provides a secondary structure to the neck.

I don't like how far off the outcropped slabs are from the hull.  It makes the ship look less smooth and more like it had some recent upgrade with added hull plating.  But this can be mitigated with textures so it's not a big deal.

I'll take the tail joints, but I don't like the curved lines on the fins. They're very obvious now, very attention grabbing.  Textures can probably mitigate that.  Or there may be another pattern to handle that while maintaining your theme and style.

At first I was pretty upset about how exposed the forward engines were until I looked at the original and saw for the very first time that they were just as exposed in that version, only it was the texture that was supposed to show it and not the the model.  Big surprise there! I think I see where you're also getting the justification for the extra hull plating protection for those engines.  So, it may take some getting used to, but I'll take them. (They look pretty cool, anyway.) But they don't match the rear engines which are a little overdone, IMO.

If I had to suggest one change, it would be to the nose near the engines. I would change the second outcropped layer so that it went in an almost straight line right above the engines and then after the engines made a more gradual curve to where it ends now.  This seems like it would be more faithful to the original, while preserving the layered look and the engines you've created.  The way it curves now is one of the largest changes from the original design and affects the entire visual perception of the ship.

EDIT: If this were an original model, I would only say that I didn't like the line patterns and the rear engine details.  Otherwise, you've made a beautiful, detailed, alien-looking corvette.
« Last Edit: September 28, 2011, 09:05:43 pm by Cyborg17 »

 

Offline Commander Zane

  • 212
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I like how it's turning out, but primarily I really enjoy the engine detail.

 

Offline esarai

  • 29
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Sweet jesus, dat hull.

Looks beautiful, my only concern is that the newly added 'axles' the outer fins have been mounted on seem flimsy.  Could we try beefing them up a bit to make it feel more sturdy?
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<Axem>he threw out all those tax collectors at the temple
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Offline Trivial Psychic

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This may be a bit premature, but have you given any thought to the turrets, as I assume you're not gonna just paste on the original hexagonal button turrets?  You may wish to draw inspiration from the Hat, as I assume you are attempting to make some visual similarities between the designs.
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Offline Black Wolf

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Hrmm... well, the model itself is interesting - the detailing is kinda cool I guess but... I'm sorry...I just don't like it as a Sobek. And I know that that's not very constructive, and I know that it'll be seen as useless criticism, but honestly, that's my overall impression. I wouldn't say i hate it - there are lots of good bits - but the overall impression, notsomuch.

I think the main problem I have is that it loses what I see as the basic concept of the Sobek - a big, heavily armoured head and engineering section that overlays the tecchy bits underneath. I think the fins and the head should maintain their smooth, unbroken look, in order to imply that they're heavily armoured - as it stands, the layering reduces the impact of that significantly. Detailing and greebling can go nuts in the tecchy parts, but the armour should, IMO, remain very basic. Also, while I can see that you've tried to retain it, the funny U/V shape on the top of the head is considerably diminished here, despite being one of the Sobeks most noticable features, and its no longer recessed into the armour, which seems like an odd decision.

I do like the engines up the front, and as has been mentioned having them exposed is implied by the original model.

The rear, it's not so bad - I can't honestly say I like the wheels, though that's probably going to be a person to person thing. Again though, the terraced armour plates on the projecting fins look wrong - should be retained as solid IMO. The neck is interesting, quite decent actually, no complaints there.

Yeah, so for me, the head and tailfins are the most problematic. Do with that what you will.

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Offline Rga_Noris

  • 29
  • What?
You should note the the U/V shape on the head is only recessed in the current HTL version... its just a pink boomerang flush with the hull in the retail version, so you should take a look at the retail version and then see what you think.

I think I will solid up the tail fins a touch... after stating at them, they look more like maple leaves then armored fins.

"I think the main problem I have is that it loses what I see as the basic concept of the Sobek - a big, heavily armoured head and engineering section that overlays the tecchy bits underneath."

I must have missed my target, as I thought this concept was what I had. Look at the back end... you have armored plates covering the techy back end, which was clearly the way V had it, so reference the retail and you'll see what I mean. The front is, again, one solid armor plate with another U/V shaped armor plate on top as a nod toward the old U/V shape. What does strike me as odd is that you say my choice to not indent the U/V is odd, yet you then want me to have it be one solid piece.

You and I are also getting very different vibes from what the original intended... you say it was supposed to be one large armored piece up front, yet the indented (or non... as in retail) signifies some sort of break in the armor, especially when you look at the texture they used there.
I think I'll call REAL Mahjong 'Chinese Dominoes', just to make people think I'm an ignorant asshat.

 

Offline Kolgena

  • 211
Perhaps build some hull superstructure around/under the two big vslash turrets? Otherwise, looks fantastic.

 

Offline Rga_Noris

  • 29
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This may be a bit premature, but have you given any thought to the turrets, as I assume you're not gonna just paste on the original hexagonal button turrets?  You may wish to draw inspiration from the Hat, as I assume you are attempting to make some visual similarities between the designs.

Well, I made the turrets to the Hatty, so no worries here.
I think I'll call REAL Mahjong 'Chinese Dominoes', just to make people think I'm an ignorant asshat.