[Rodo]

yes we kinda do have one.. or had one.

http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=53969.0

[sigtau]

Shivan fighters are extremely hard to model, just going to leave it at that.

So, Hades, any progress?

[Hades]

[Commander Zane]

Blocked. What.

[Hades]

I used filesmelt to host it, I'll reupload it to photobucket.


I'd like to mention that there is stil no head and the engines were removed because I wasn't happy with them, so I'm gonna redo those too

[Commander Zane]

Looks good so far.

[hundeswehr]

looks good. the thrusters are beveled in the front though.

also, forget about see through cockpits. save some polygons and just make the cockpit a gold reflective glass/metal like those instruments they have on armored vehicles.

[ktistai228]

no cockpit you say? Why my dear sir, you must be mad!

[Kolgena]

See through cockpits haven't been an issue for previous HTL models and won't be an issue here.

[Hades]

All right, reviewing the above comparisons, the current HTL is ****. I'd slightly rather have something done from scratch, but I don't think this is a bad use of time at all.

Are there some parts which could be better worked out? Sure. But the detail is all there. The model looks bad as when it was finished, lighting and texture issues, especially texture issues, make it look bad. What this model needs is an overhaul in the texture department, and perhaps the lighting department as well. Unfortunately, I can't do all that much in either. However, the geometry itself still stands up pretty well.

I'd like to mention that it doesn't matter how it looks without textures, it only matters how it looks with textures, since we'll never see the ships without textures in-game.

Also, if you're gonna make a render showing off the detail on a model you might not want to make it so dark/shadowed that you can barely see the ship itself...

As for cockpits, I dunno, I've never modeled one, and I'm not so sure I should add one unless it is actually good enough to use by the player (otherwise, why have a cockpit?)

[Zacam]

The existing model has a see-through canopy, so this one should as well.

[Hades]

Thoughts?

[T-LoW]

Hm, pretty damn awesome maybe?

The pods look like they can be attachted to the Medusa. Really cool when you think of its handling inside a hangar bay (detach the rocket pods so they safe space or for repairs etc).

I hope you can still see all of the details when the texture is on these (is it a bare silver metal texture there or are wing-logos going on those sides as well?)

[Hades]

Thanks.

As for seeing all the detail, you likely will be able to considering the way they're done and UVMaps are a lot better about this. Were the current MVP Orion uvmapped it might look less like a formless brick. There's a part I'm thinking of having a nameplate for (similar to fighters/vehcles in Halo and BSG) which I'm also doing on the Hermes. And yes, there will be insignia, not completely sure where yet, but I think on the side above the three-striped side.

[Thaeris]

The older pods are still truer to form design-wise, with the exception of the fuselage mounting. By default, I have to side with those on that ground. More greebles does not always equal better detail - those ribs that break up the outer pod structure are a good example of that. The current Medusa model does a very good job of placing indentations in the launcher system and vents at their proper points.

[Hades]

The older pods are still truer to form design-wise, with the exception of the fuselage mounting. By default, I have to side with those on that ground. More greebles does not always equal better detail - those ribs that break up the outer pod structure are a good example of that. The current Medusa model does a very good job of placing indentations in the launcher system and vents at their proper points.

It's a shame you actually can't see any of that detail added in the current model.

anyway, since this seems hard to get I'm going to try saying it differently

I make high-poly models of old game models not to make it look almost identical and have a larger amount of polygons, I make a high-poly model that looks different and yet has all the old parts we all know and love. Why would I waste my time on a model which in-game looks almost identical? It's like painting brick red, there's no damned need of it.

Bottom line is, I made a high-poly mesh to be an upgrade, not keep the old geometry which Volition wouldn't have likely kept to either.

[Ravenholme]

I'm with Hades on this, I think there is a mistaken (in my view at least) view which is kinda common in the community that HTL should just improve the quality of the model (Bump mapping, more polyies etc) without improving the quality of the modelling to make those extra polies do more work, to bring out more details and greebles... I'm not wording this very well, I know, because I'm sleep deprived (about 6 hours in the past 3 days...).

Bah.. too little sleep to accurately convey my meaning.

[General Battuta]

i'm battuta, and i'm a hades

[Hades]

note, those two engine flaps are not final, will be redone.

[Rodo]

Redone?
Ok, but FYI they look good.