Hard Light Productions Forums
Hosted Projects - Standalone => The Babylon Project => Topic started by: IPAndrews on June 05, 2005, 05:33:45 am
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I appreciate that people tend to have different skills. It is rare to find someone who can model, uv, texture, and convert all by themselves. So TBP ships are generally developed by more than one person. The development process tends to work as follows.
1. Someone with modelling skills creates some LOD0 geometry
2. Someone with uvmapping skills maps LOD0
3. Someone with texturing skills paints the LOD0 maps
4, Someone with modelling skills creates some lower LOD geometry.
5. Someone with uvmapping skills maps the lower LODs.
6. Someone with texturing skills paints up the lower LODs.
7. Someone with modelling skills creates some debris and destroyed subobjs from the textured LOD1.
8. Someone with conversion skills converts to a .pof
9. Someone with table editting skills creates a table entry.
So I've split the jobs that need doing into catagories. Geometry jobs, uvmapping jobs, etc... If you wish to contribute simply look in the appropriate thread to see if there's something you can help with.
By the way:
The reason we produce a LOD0 only model first is that the uv maps of the lower LODs tend to be based off the uv map of LOD0, and you can only be sure the uv map of LOD0 is finished once the final textured version of LOD0 is done and everyone is 100% happy with it.
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This is time I really hope that I could even do one of those jobs.
I don't even have a reasonable table edit skills. Usually I just copy other ship's entry and modify it. :(
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You can use Google can't you? Well there's no excuse for not helping :). Keep an eye on the reference material thread linked below. If someone needs ref material for a particular ship you can help them out immensely by trawling the net for high res pics of the ship. I know that personally I can't work at all without decent ref material.
The thread is here:
http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php/topic,33101.0.html
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Originally posted by Primus
This is time I really hope that I could even do one of those jobs.
Then pick up a free modelling program, an UV mapper or an image editor and start playing around. Everyone has started from somewhere and you can learn if you are motivated enough (ok, I can't UV map but I can tell you modelling is very easy once you learn the tools).
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Actually I started looking reference material instantly when I saw the thread. :)
As for modelling, I have TS (3.2 & 6.5), GMax, Blender and Wings. But I haven't played with them much. Maybe now is a good time to start. :)
I've tried UV mapping, but I won't try again. :nervous:
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You'll probably find TS easier to learn with than GMax or Blender.
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I would start with GMax as it would be easier starting from scratch rather than having to relearn a load of stuff
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Well putting us back on topic, for the purposes of modding TBP I want him to learn Truespace. It's more convenient for us ;)
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Yeah. I rather play with TS. To me it's more clear than GMax.
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I'm in. I have 3dsmax 6 and Right Hemisphere (for model conversion).
I'm pretty good at model conversion and uvmapping.
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Nice to have you onboard Cyberkada. Please feel three to browse the sticky threads and see what needs doing.
Using 3DSM doesn't seem to be a problem. You just have to make sure that the geometry you submit does not have holes. The "cap hole modifier" seems to sort that out. From my experience working with our other new guy Maverick.
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I have a EAS Hermes and an Avenger carrier (In 3DGS mdl format) that I could probably port over (needs work as the poly counts are very high)
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Could you link to some information on these ships. They sound non-canon. That's not necessarily a bad thing but on the other hand it would still like to know a bit more about them. Also where are the models coming from?
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Avenger-AoG design for one of the EA's first carriers, introduced in the late 2100's and a veteran of the Dilgar and Minbari Wars. Carries 48 Starfuries.
(http://www.wolfsshipyard.mystarship.com/Drawings/Earth/Avenger.gif)
Hermes- Based on the drawings in "Ships of the Fleet", an Earth Alliance courier, lightly armed, intended to run if discovered.
(http://www.wolfsshipyard.mystarship.com/Drawings/Earth/Hermes.gif)
Pic's and info are from Wolf's Shipyards (http://www.wolfsshipyard.mystarship.com)
Hope that helps a bit :)
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Well, I have to say that both are ugly. :ick:
But if they make it into TBP, good. :)
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Well actually we have a textured Poseidon already so we may as well have the Avenger. Since the Avenger appears to be an earlier version of the Poseidon.
The Hermes though is pretty horrible to look at. Does anyone actually want this ship?
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It's just another shuttle class...
Though sometimes variety is more than welcome...
If it wouldn't need too much trouble from TBP I wouldn't mind seeing that "flying brick" in-game ;)
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Originally posted by aipz
If it wouldn't need too much trouble from TBP
Well it has to be considered that any time people spend working on something for TBP it could be spent working on something else... It's up to Cyberkada though at the end of the day. If he wants to port these things to TBP that's great. I'm happy to consider using the Hermes and I'll certainly use the Avenger.
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One ship that would be a cool non-cannon addition would be the EA Monsoon class assault gunboat. It looks like the EA equivalent of the Defiant. If you do some exploring at some of the websites listed in the reference material, you'll probably see it.
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That's very nice but wouldn't you rather have all the canon ships first?
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That statement I can agree with.
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Sorry for bothering, but did Cyberkada actually port over the models?
If it's confidential I apologize :nervous: ...
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It's in 3DSM format according to his post, and he'll have a hard time porting that. Although if he wants to do so and can provide models which look nice with an appropriate poly count and all the bells and whistles (lods, debris etc...) I'll use them. Sure I'll use them ;). I'll consider anything people are willing to throw at me that meets those criteria.