[Droid803]

Once upon a somewhere someone asked me if I would ever replace the BP ships or whatnot in DE with something else. I kind of said something along the lines of "no, not really unless someone made them for me and they have the exact same turret layout so they're drop in replacements because they don't really bother me". But I realized something - it did bother me, but for a different reason. You see, I'm still using Steve-O's original model with the fifty billion textures for the pre-refit version and it makes me want to blow out my brains every time I look at the maps folder...

So while I was thinking of a way to "fix" that - I tried baking everything onto one map, but it didn't exactly turn out nicely at all...not to mention the horrendous amount of work required to re-rig all the turrets from scratch while lagging like hell because of the texture instance data etc...

This happened.




Yeah this is exactly what it looks like.
I'm re-building the Commonwealth Tethys-class Armored Artillery Cruiser, as it's pretty much the most prominent Commonwealth vessel, and having it share a model with BP's UEFg Narayana while being in a *totally different universe* is a bit offputting, as some people have noted. This is a rebuild of it along the lines of Aesaar's Vengeance-Pattern GTCv Diomedes, designed to be a drop-in replacement while offering visual distinction. This will also allow me to make a pre-refit version somewhere down the line and phase out the horribly resource inefficient non-optimized version. I don't intend this to look "better" than the Narayana, I'm pretty sure that's just not possible. But I want it to look *different*.

An effort has been made to keep things more or less visually consistent while being a completely different model. Emphasis has been placed on a more robust, armored look. Key inspriations come from the original Narayana/Tethis (obviously, as it must have the same turret configuration to not break existing missions), and the Zann Consortium's Aggressor-class Destroyer from Star Wars: Empire at War - Forces of Corruption. It's basically what would happen if the two had a bastard child, both of them being ships with the BIG GUN BIG FUN mentality.

No, I did not copy any parts from the original, I modelled this from scratch. Yes, it's rather similar. No, I don't care - it kind of has to be. "come up with something yourself dammit" - well I did - the rotators - you can tell because they have trilateral symmetry. Yes **** it everything original I make has trilateral symmetry SUE ME.

Is this an abomination I should abort immediately?
Even if you say so right now I'd probably keep working on it because I blew my "day off" on it >.>

[ssmit132]

Well it's certainly not going to be an abomination unless you keep that colour scheme, which I'm sure you won't do. Those guns in particular look pretty awesome. As you said it does resemble the Narayana but in my opinion it looks different enough; it will certainly fit well with the Impervious, depending on how you texture it.

One thing that I'm confused about, though - those pink parts (which in the second image are moved out the way), do they cover the mint-green parts that appear to be the rotators you mentioned?

[Droid803]

Yeah they are an armor brace that goes around the habitation modules (because otherwise they're a huge vulnerability )
They rotators are sized so they can rotate freely within the brace.

[SypheDMar]

I think it looks pretty good!

[Legate Damar]

This will have the same in-game performance?

[TwentyPercentCooler]

...that's actually pretty hot. I like the tougher and more utilitarian look.

[MatthTheGeek]

But I realized something - it did bother me, but for a different reason. You see, I'm still using Steve-O's original model with the fifty billion textures for the pre-refit version and it makes me want to blow out my brains every time I look at the maps folder...

And why are you using it instead of Esarai's nuRayana ?

[An4ximandros]

He probably enjoys a challenge.

The ship looks nice, though I personally find the Krayt Aggressor Class cannon armor a little... out of place, could be a little more interesting (some holes, tubes that carry coolants in case of overheats or something could be neat to break up the blandness.) I am sure you can come up with more ideas.

[Dragon]

And why are you using it instead of Esarai's nuRayana ?

He's not using it instead, he's using it along with the new model. There are two versions of this ship flying around in DE.
Regarding the model, I like it. The rotators seems a bit small (I really liked the big, vertical ones), but that's about it.

[NGTM-1R]

If people can't handle public assets they have bigger problems than the texture overload. 

[Droid803]

But I realized something - it did bother me, but for a different reason. You see, I'm still using Steve-O's original model with the fifty billion textures for the pre-refit version and it makes me want to blow out my brains every time I look at the maps folder...

And why are you using it instead of Esarai's nuRayana ?

I am using the optimized one >.>
I'm using a kitbash of Steve-O's original as the re-refit version (read: No artillery guns version), and rather than re-kitbash the optimized version thus requiring me to edit the textures and UVs anyway I figured it'd take about as much time to make a new model from scratch, seeing as then I'd be able to work with an untriangulated mesh, and start the texture from scratch and thus have a "source" file and not have to play around trying to get things to look right from an existing flattened texture (which is annoying). The main issue is that I can't remove an AO bake from the existing texture so that there won't be phantom shadows, which means I have to texture from scratch anyway, which means I might as well make a model from scratch and get something a bit more unique because texturing is the -=PAIN IN THE ASS=- part.

Regarding the model, I like it. The rotators seems a bit small (I really liked the big, vertical ones), but that's about it.

The rotators are small for two reasons:
1) So that it fits inside the armor brace without having to make the brace wtfhuge
2) so that AI fighters won't get mangled by it

He probably enjoys a challenge.

The ship looks nice, though I personally find the Krayt Aggressor Class cannon armor a little... out of place, could be a little more interesting (some holes, tubes that carry coolants in case of overheats or something could be neat to break up the blandness.) I am sure you can come up with more ideas.

Hm...I'll see if I can make the armor a bit less flat an bland, but I think that will probably come from the texture more than anything else.

This will have the same in-game performance?

It must have by necessity.
I'm not going to massively edit every mission with it in it to make sure they're still balanced.

[The E]

This model is sweeet

[Nyctaeus]

I love Agressor-inspired one as much as I loved original Agressor. Nice work

[Droid803]

Just UVmapping it now so have a comparison shot


UVmapping is at about 70%
AndrewofDoom will be texturing it to make sure its somewhat consistent with the FT FF Impervious' style (as he textured that one as well). Unless he bails out on me in which case he'll never hear the end of it. *nag mode engaged*

After that I'll be working on the pre-refit version, the Tethys-class Command Carrier (this might have the big rotators back, and the armor plating stripped off, and the big guns replaced with launch catapults)

Should I make the over-armor destructible? Might not look strange though.

[MatthTheGeek]

Y u no p3d.

[Droid803]

p3d when I get home okay? I'm at work and this was a render from last night right after I merged everything for UVmapping. XD

[Dragon]

Should I make the over-armor destructible? Might not look strange though.

Partially. I was thinking something along the lines of pre-modelled holes that could be blown open. The piece is too big to be destructible as a whole.

[Droid803]

http://p3d.in/pqj2y

p3d of it, missing a bunch of turrets but sue me too lazy to put them back I don't need them for UVing.
**** why is it have to be obj
max obj exporter is derp and rotated it like a moron
so rotate it yourself LoLolAOlOloloL!!11!!1oneoneone1!

also seems to hate my two ****ing booleans

i hate obj

in comparison the dae looks fine, so ****ing obj. or max obj exporter.
one is ****. i donno which and i don't care

[Rodo]

looks quite good

[Droid803]

Well, I've shipped it off to AndrewofDoom to texture while I work on debris and -destroyed subobjects.
Next update should come from him...(or from me when it's done if he doesn't post any WIPs).