[headdie]

Imperial grey with blue or black markings.  The grey would give it more of a working vessel look where as white of the lambda is more of a ceremonial look which goes against the AG's sharp end of battle role

[Thaeris]

No red, please. Imperial blue-grey with dark blue trim would work; if you go with a two-tone scheme, you might consider a lighter grey in some areas.

[TomShak]

Yeah I'm not big on the red ...

[brandx0]

TomShak, do you think you could post up a few wireframe pics, as well as orthographic views of the model from front, back, side, top?  I'd love to take a closer look at it.

[TomShak]

You'll have to ignore "Commander Steele", he's for sizing purposes

[brandx0]

Sorry to be demanding, but could I also get the ortho shots in a shaded view?  Thanks TomShak.

Also, what program are you using?

[TomShak]

Not demanding at all, I'm glad to receive any feedback

I am using Blender for the modelling, which is free and apparently somewhat popular for doing Freespace models.

[Thaeris]

I will note that keeping the six-panel cockpit has an advantage here, as the pilot might appreciate a little more freedom in movement, if you know what I mean. I'd increase the length of the nose as well, if possible.

I think increasing the breadth of the vertical stab might also help the appearance a bit.

[TomShak]

So now I need some advice on modelling. This could be Blender specific or maybe it's not ... anyway I'm trying to add some bump map detail to the wings ... When my bump map is viewed from a "high" angle it looks great, loads of bumpiness.



However this effect disappears quite rapidly once the camera angle becomes even a bit flatter.



This hardly looks bumpy at all. Now obviously normal maps are not the same as actually adding real surface detail, and as you start to get very close to being flat on the surface it will be apparent that it isn't bumpy. However, my understanding is that the normal map should be giving a much bumpier appearance in the second image than it actually is ....

Can anyone confirm this?

[FreeSpaceFreak]

AFAIK, that really all depends on the material lighting settings. I don't know which settings in Blender would be comparable with the FSO ones though. Try decreasing (or otherwise playing with) your diffuse reflections and specular hardness, that might help.

[brandx0]

It looks as if the light is coming almost directly from the camera.  Because a normal map only approximates shading, if the lighting is coming from the camera, the effect won't be noticeable except in cases where there's a face that can reflect that light back.  Try a different lighting setup, put the lights on an angle from the camera and you'll be able to see it.

[TomShak]

Doesn't matter where the light is positioned, the problem is the same ...

[TomShak]

Raised this on the blender forum, I'll see if anyone there knows ....