Hard Light Productions Forums
Community Projects => The FreeSpace Upgrade Project => Topic started by: StratComm on September 28, 2005, 10:57:54 pm
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*hop*
(http://www.duke.edu/~cek6/mystery1.jpg)
(http://www.duke.edu/~cek6/mystery3.jpg)
(http://www.duke.edu/~cek6/mystery4.jpg)
It's obviously not complete, and I'm actually posting this to get general opinions on the change I'm making to the style. Oh, and first person to name the ship gets a cookie ;)
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looks nice.......kinda has a beam cannon install, but its the docking bay correct??
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The docking bay is my addition. Just big enough to accomodate a pair of Hermes pods, nothing else. And it doesn't have to be a docking bay, there's nothing stopping me from filling that with windows since it's shielded from most directions. And that's the dockpoint on the front.
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Hipocrates?
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Ding! Cookie for Redmenace!
I'm trying to figure out how to attach the lower pod right now. The :v: model is one of the worst in terms of actual detail.
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For reference...
(http://www.fuerzaimperial.com/vehiculos/capitales/fragata_n-b.jpg)
Alternatively you could reduce it to an open framework with elevator tubes and occasional intermediate decks. The pods are supposed to be seperate and easily sealed off, anyhow.
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I say don't look at the V model hardly at all, it is a crime.
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That's actually precisely what I'm leaning towards (the open lattice with tubes connecting small box-like nodes) though I'm a tad bit worried about the polycount that's going to ential. At any rate, the front isn't really what worries me at this point, to be honest, as the engineering section is going to be an absolute nightmare.
EDIT: Bob, I'm intending to use the :v: model for spacing only. All of the geometry is going to be completely reworked, as it does look like ass.
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Does the ship actually, you know, show up in the game? It's been a while, I admit, but I don't remember seeing it, or at least not very often.
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then you model looks better already.
if you'r worried about small details ramping up the poly count, don't forget about detail boxes.
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Originally posted by Rictor
Does the ship actually, you know, show up in the game? It's been a while, I admit, but I don't remember seeing it, or at least not very often.
It's in Dunkerque and Apocalypse at least. Derelict also uses it once or twice, a bunch of missions in Homesick have them, and I'm sure a number of other campaigns do as well.
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Excellent :)
I was hoping you'd pick this one up after you mentioned it on SG - it really has some potential to be a cool High poly job, and it looks like it's getting there already.
One thing I would suggest though is to keep the Nebulon similarities under control - the basic design of the ship is similar certainly, and I'd say someone at [V] had it in mind while this was still in the design phase. But you don't want the final model ending up too much like it - a tip of the hat is good, taking the entire thing off, not so good. Also, it looks a lot more solid than the nebulon in the V model and the concept art - I don't think it would carry over too well if you went for the nodey sort of look.
(http://www.geocities.com/alpha_quadrant_project/conceptpics/GTM_Hippocrates.jpg)
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When in doubt, follow the concept art!
Seriously, when deisgning an HTL model, let your creaticve liscence soar! But be wary the tale of the man who flew too high!
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I'd follow the concept art. Keep the blocky, Terran look, don't be tempted to StarWarsize it.
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I'd say... use Aldo's Lost Souls thingie as a "look at" item as you go with it.
(http://www.sectorgame.com/aldo/media/gtd_carrier.jpg)
It's not the same by a long shot, but it's rather similar and there are a few things they should have in common.
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That is actually a really good piece of concept art too.
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Don't forget to fix the LOD enteries in ships.tbl! The Hippocrates has values appropriate to a small fighter, not a cruiser sized vessel. Makes it annoying subject to pop in....
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I must be missing something here. How does that ship in the first post look anything like a Hippocrates? Or is it only a part of it? :confused:
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It's only a part. But for the life of me, I can't figure out which one.
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Looks like the bridge, with an added docking tube.
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The docking tube isn't added, it's just made bigger. It wasn't tall enough to get one human through, so in the name of sanity I turned it in to a proper docking tube.
Also, since we're refering to that change, I'd like to point out that I can't really find any evidence that :v: intended it to actually be a dockpoint. Unfortunately that's where the dockpoint actually is, which is one of the main reasons I've had to redesign the front as radically as I have.
And for those of you who can't figure out where this fits in the big picture, you may find these useful:
(http://www.duke.edu/~cek6/backend1.jpg)
(http://www.duke.edu/~cek6/backend2.jpg)
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Mock-up time. I refuse to believe those connecting fins should just be fins, and they are way to small to support habitable space. So here's a (very primitive) concept of the two ways I'm thinking of addressing it. The first is a more aggressive treatment, while the second retains the fin but uses it as the backbone for additional room-like structures. Any thoughts? Remember, both of these are just mock-ups.
(http://www.duke.edu/~cek6/nodey.jpg)
(http://www.duke.edu/~cek6/filled.jpg)
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I like 2 better, 1 just loks weird.
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Definately the second as it keeps the original shape.
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Maybe something intermediate? Take the thin connecting boxes you have in the first one, and angle them so they follow the edges of the original slope. In other words, connect those larger boxes on the diagonals.
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I'm not particularly fond of that actually. It comes out looking like those couldn't be elevator shafts and corridors.
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Hm. Are those boxes even big enough to be rooms?
If so, perhaps just have them connected horizontally to the main elevator shaft for circulation purposes. Then use the diagonal beams and girders only for structural support.
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I've actually got a little two-meter-tall block I'm using as a proportionality test. Those blocks really are too small, but the ones I'm actually considering using are big enough to be two decks tall. What I think I'm leaning towards is actually a different kind of hybrid; the horizontal connecting bars with the "fin" as a thin structural brace in between everything. If I end up doing it this way it will be detail-box modeled so that the detail needed on the rooms won't be rendered at medium range.
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Bumpage :p
So I'm still having the hardest time with the Hippocrates. The thing refuses to go together like I want it to. Small update though.
(http://www.duke.edu/~cek6/progress1.jpg)
And, since this is basically in deadlock right now, I've started playing with another small project. There's detail in the map to work from, so this one will not take nearly as long.
(http://www.duke.edu/~cek6/medusa.jpg)
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And, since this is basically in deadlock right now, I've started playing with another small project. There's detail in the map to work from, so this one will not take nearly as long.
If that's what I think it is, you are my hero.
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I like the vertical connection on the Hipocrates you settled for.
The Medusa cockpit looks top notch :yes:
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Moving along... I'm keeping it blocky, as it's just not the medusa if it doesn't have hard lines. There are a few spots around the cockpit where that will change, but the overall squareness won't go away. At least not on my watch. I'm considering the engines and missile pods done, and have started work on the body. The hardest part looks like it's going to be the connectors to the pods; the texture implies something in there, but I can't make out exactly what.
(http://www.duke.edu/~cek6/medusaprog1.jpg)
(http://www.duke.edu/~cek6/medusaprog2.jpg)
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Looks fantastic and you finally get a sense of scale... those pods are massive.
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not as big as the ursa ones...
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But come on, you can almost launch Ulys out of Ursa bays... :)
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I seriously hope either you or someone plans on hi-rezifying those textures. *shiver* Ew.
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i'll do it
you want me to do it?
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It's already 512x1024, so I'm not sure what you'd do with it. It's not like the map that we have is wanting for detail. And for the record, I'm about 80% done I think.
(http://www.duke.edu/~cek6/medusaprog3.jpg)
(http://www.duke.edu/~cek6/medusaprog4.jpg)
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Is there anything you can do to smooth out the area where the neck meets the main body? There's a huge triangle right there, and you can't look at the model without seeing it. :blah:
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<replaced with current update>
Ok, opinion time :)
(http://www.duke.edu/~cek6/medusaHTL1.jpg)
(http://www.duke.edu/~cek6/medusaHTL2.jpg)
(http://www.duke.edu/~cek6/medusaHTL3.jpg)
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how many tri's is that?
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Lots and lots. I haven't actually done a hard count recently and I just closed Max up for the night. I'm guessing that it's in the neighborhood of 4000 though.
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How 'bout making those thruster paddles into separate sub-models, so someone can get them animated, triggered to control movements.
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How 'bout making those thruster paddles into separate sub-models, so someone can get them animated, triggered to control movements.
Now that would be pretty cool. Hell, if you got that working, you could do the same thing to the Herc 1's thingies.
Opinion: YAY! Now I can destroy capital ships with all the fancy glory of a high poly bomber.
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How 'bout making those thruster paddles into separate sub-models, so someone can get them animated, triggered to control movements.
Unfortunately not only will I not be doing that, I don't think that's ever going to happen. While it would be cool, I'm forced to remember that this is supposed to take place in space, where a rudder would do precisely squat at controling motion, and that there will be both a glowpoint and a nebula trail on the tip of those things that would get messed up to hell and back if the rudders were animatable. Of course, the modder in me also says no because I'm trying to keep everything under a single render call so that it's faster. The only thing not on the one map is the pilot (seperate submodel) and the glass (small TGA texture) and with the polycount issue that I'm forcing I'm not breaking it up any farther.
And it's just over 3700 tris, for the record. Plus pilot, turret and barrel submodels, it's a little over 4300.
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^thrust vectoring.
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Ya, thrust vectoring in space is concievable, but your modding concerns are valid.
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Excellent. What was your inspiration for the cylinders in the pod linkages?
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It's already 512x1024, so I'm not sure what you'd do with it. It's not like the map that we have is wanting for detail.
how about i make it 1024x1024 and look at it just cause im bored, see what i can come up with, at least fix up the colors
it wont be like the pegasus, with the cooperation, you finish the model, and i'll make the texture suit it a little better
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Excellent. What was your inspiration for the cylinders in the pod linkages?
Interestingly enough, the original maps themselves. They imply some sort of structure inside the interconnect that runs from one end to the other, and I figured cylinders would be the best option there. I'm sure I've seen it in some other model, but I can't begin to figure out exactly where.
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Done!
medusa.zip (http://www.duke.edu/~cek6/medusa.zip)
(http://www.duke.edu/~cek6/screen0258.jpg)
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nice......very nice...
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Verrry Terranish and super nice...
Dual cockpit looks pretty cool.
Little out of topic here, but what is the status of HTL Ulysses ?
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I personally agree with the terranish feeling.
Thumbs up for it!!
:yes:
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my favorite bomber! :D
the only thing i don't like is the turret. :nervous:
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I'd like the turret, if it would face forward, not upward...
But still, the model is truly outstanding...
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Way cool :yes:
(http://n.ethz.ch/student/ebuerli/download/htl_medusa.jpg)
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:D
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Good stuff; I just wished you took a bit of creative interpetation over the cockpit and added some modelled plating.
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I love it.
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I'd like the turret, if it would face forward, not upward...
But still, the model is truly outstanding...
Animation code.... (http://www.hard-light.net/wiki/index.php/Animation_Code)
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I bet the pilot is feeling horribly exposed in that tiny tin can of a cockpit of his.
It's nothing about the HTL version, I understand that that's just what Medusa looks like. Still, the bulky rear and the sleek, tender, tiny cockpit seem somewhat humorously constrating to me.
But at least he's a bit farther from the engines/weaponry when **** hits the fan. Not that it matters. WE FIGHT TILL DEATH FOR HONOUR GLORY AND EMPEROR
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Actually, with cockpit view enabled, it feels VERY secure. Bars all around you.
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Good stuff; I just wished you took a bit of creative interpetation over the cockpit and added some modelled plating.
I bet the pilot is feeling horribly exposed in that tiny tin can of a cockpit of his.
It's nothing about the HTL version, I understand that that's just what Medusa looks like. Still, the bulky rear and the sleek, tender, tiny cockpit seem somewhat humorously constrating to me.
But at least he's a bit farther from the engines/weaponry when **** hits the fan. Not that it matters. WE FIGHT TILL DEATH FOR HONOUR GLORY AND EMPEROR
Talk to :v: about ship design, not me. The cockpit is actually huge, much larger than it needs to be even for two men, and since my stated goal was to improve what I consider an already great design the last thing I was going to do was to start messing around with the proportions and shape of one of the two essential features of the Medusa. And besides, the LOD transition from LOD0 to LOD1 is VERY smooth, and LOD1 is just the old LOD0 model.
And while I never intended this thing to be used with cockpit view enabled (they're there for show for when you're trying to plant lasers up their exhausts, really) I'm glad they work ok for that.
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Nothing against your modelling, StratComm. I understand your decisions to stay true and respect that, it's just what I would have done in your place.
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words
I know, it wasn't directed at you.
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Spectacular!
Now we just need the Athena, Apollo, Ursa... ;)
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This is good.
Very good.
*downloads immediately* :biggrin1:
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Spectacular!
Now we just need the Athena, Apollo, Ursa... ;)
I *may* do the Athena. But I doubt I'll do it justice.
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oh noes! a vasudan making a terran ship! :shaking: :p
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You did a great job on the Serapis, so how about doing the Horus, complete with offset cockpit?
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Pretty neat (the medusa) , I would just have made the black part of the pods bigger than the gery parts and not the other way around because, well, that's just how it is usually, on missile pods.
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You HTL guys are all so awesome.
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Yep.
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awesome :D
one question, how do you turn the cockpit view on?
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Add "Show Ship" to the flags section of the ship entry in ships.tbl, either with a TBM or just by editing the master table.
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thankee