[Vertigo 7]

kk will do

[Vertigo 7]

ok i think im done for now with the mesh. I'm installing CS2 atm, would it be advised to get the UV Map from LU?

[chief1983]

I believe LU carries a better recommendation than TS's own UV ability.

[Vertigo 7]

yeah i cant sort the UV map in TS like LU can... I'm starting to pull some of these UV's out of the model... I hate to ask for more hand holding here but when it comes to my ability to draw i suck =p I needa know whats the best way to create a normal map and how >.>

[chief1983]

I saw your other thread on modding, hopefully some of that helped.  But for that, the best way you're going to learn is by experimentation.  Just see what different things on the map do to the model, you're going to need some way of rendering it so you can see the results of your mapping.

[Vertigo 7]

i can render it in LU, i think... havent made it that far yet... this mapping is kickin my ass for some reason. i sorta figured out what i'm doing but not really... when i preview it in the plugin in photoshop, i see 2 lines around the panel and i cant for the life of me figure it out... it looks like the panel rises then dips, sort of making a bowl

[Vertigo 7]

I just wanted to give an update as to what's going on. I think i'm going to make some changes to the way the model was built as i've seemed to pick up a few techniques in photoshop to better bring out some details. As it stands with a bajillion faces in a confined area its a pain in the ass to texture so i'm gonna try to make it a bit easier to do.

[chief1983]

Yup, fewer faces mean easier texturing.  That's one reason we were trying to impress on you the importance of minimizing faces as much as possible.

[Vertigo 7]

brandx - what rendering program do you use to beable to apply all of the texture maps to an object?

[brandx0]

I use 3D Studio max for all my modeling and rendering, with the VRay rendering engine, though occasionally I use Mental Ray

[chief1983]

How's this looking Vertigo?  Any more problems?

[Vertigo 7]

ehh well... LU is giving me fits. I've been trying to combine UV maps of sub objects to make the materials used more efficient but every time i save and reload it, it breaks them back apart... also its acting weird like when i do a box mapping, some edges are missing so ive had to resort to face mapping on some parts... its just driving me nuts =p

one other thing im trying to do is rethink how the wing is connected to the s-foil but the wing pivoting from -15 deg to +90, i can't make it look right. 

[MR_T3D]

how about just up 75 or so degrees, it doesn't neeed to be vertical, and the eventual hull MAY get in the way

[Vertigo 7]

no the joint is far enough out that the wings can be vertical. they are sposed ta...

granted thats from the original TIE fighter game but that's also what i'm basing the majority of the design from

[MR_T3D]

okay, i saw that pic a long time ago and thought that they were not vertical,

looking forward to the model

[chief1983]

How's this coming along?  Still tweaking it?

[Vertigo 7]

ok just to let all interested parties know. Since my last post i've gotten overly fed up with truespace and its inability to maintain any sense of stability. A buddy of mine from school hooked me up with max 09 and i've been messin around with it and i'm in love. For the last couple of weeks i've been working on a Constitution Refit model, more or less as a get to know max kinda thing and if i would stop procrastinating I would be done with the lod0 mesh of it.

I'm having some issues with collada import/export and i've gotta figure out exactly how UV mapping works in Max and all that jaz. Once i can get beyond those humps, i'll beable to finish the model up and start over on the XG-1.

So anyways, that in a nutshell is the haps. I didn't forget and I haven't given up =)

[Galemp]

I can help you out with that, I've used Max for years. Contact info's in my profile.

[Vertigo 7]

awesome =D prepare for a bajillion questions

[chief1983]

Or stop by IRC and bombard everyone there.