Hard Light Productions Forums
Modding, Mission Design, and Coding => The Modding Workshop => Topic started by: Raptor on December 22, 2005, 03:30:35 am
-
I was going to not post about this till I was finished, but I'm running out of ideas + steam...
And after I, on a whim, decided to try out my first glow map, I just had to show you all ;) Some of you may remember this ship from it's last entrance on this fine forum... remember, this is still a WIP! I'm posting this for feedback and/or suggestions...
http://img456.imageshack.us/my.php?image=hera036hq.jpg
(http://img456.imageshack.us/img456/1853/hera036hq.jpg)
I wish I could have got the dark side darker, so the glows show more... (using a 'reduce_ambient' sun and the 'Realistic light' command line) :sigh:
(http://img527.imageshack.us/img527/2918/hera048bn.jpg)
(http://img354.imageshack.us/img354/6991/hera056jq.jpg)
(http://img357.imageshack.us/img357/1364/hera067bx.jpg)
Those rows took a long time to do... :nervous:
(http://img456.imageshack.us/img456/3328/hera071tj.jpg)
'Stand by to launch. Electro-magnetic catapult charging...' :pimp:
(http://img456.imageshack.us/img456/995/hera083io.jpg)
Now THAT'S a missile tube! :shaking:
(http://img376.imageshack.us/img376/7672/hera094tx.jpg)
Hello? Anyone on the bridge?
(http://img456.imageshack.us/img456/4248/heratex161mc.jpg)
A TS screenie, showing where the dock points for transports will go ATM, and how the Aeolus fits sungly into the cruiser bay (you could get two in there side by side) The Fenris also fits, just...
Current plans are for this as is to be LOD1, while LOD0 will be this plus a subobject that is composed of lots of small bits studded across the ships hull, adding things like engine nozzles, turret rings, outer hatches, raised armour plating (maybe), docking pylons and grapples, stuff like that... Might even have an aminated glow map running down those trenches in the engines... ;7
ATM the ships uses two 2048^2 UV maps, plus the nameplate texture (on this one I changed one to make sure that the longer names will fit). The working texture maps are 2560^2 so that each pixel = half a meter square.
Just in case you missed it before...
THIS IS A WORK IN PROGRESS!
Comments would be very nice thank you. :nod:
-
Looks neat. The hangar needs more detailing (both of them), but I like the concept so far :)
-
Looks good...
But somehow Hades-Like...
Maybe a Hades MK2? I hope this one doesn't get disabled that fast... ;)
-
Break up the blue somehow, looks like a plastic toy spaceship. I like the design however.
-
looks nice, but in my option, if you going to put two cruisers, see you can make the hanger big enough for a corvette size....but how long is that Hera??
-
Mmmmmmm I like.
It needs a good texture over the blue thing though. Blue isn't working good for it. Something like the texture on the Colossus would work there I think.
I like it.
-
Sweet. :D I was afraid that this died.
But, I would have to agree, blue doesn't look right for a warship of this caliber. :nod:
-
Fenris colored something might not be too bad.
-
id go with a darker shade of blue myself. but thats just me.
this looks too much like my grandma's house :D
also go for more variation in the brightness of different panel sections.
-
I think that "another" blue would do it...
Anyone remember the Cerberus from Wing Commander: Secret operations?
It was blue, too...
Make it a bit darker and more noticeable, that this is not plastic but metal ;)
Somehow, with this blue it looks like... I think I better don't say it ;)
Maybe you know what I mean.
-
I freaking LOVE IT!!! Finally the Saturn's big sis shows herself... (again).
Must get...
-
As I understand it, the blue area is everything that has not yet been textured rather than the actual hull colour of the ship. ;)
-
As I understand it, the blue area is everything that has not yet been textured rather than the actual hull colour of the ship. ;)
Correct. I'm aiming for a steely blue-grey colouration, but I think I'll include a range of hues. But... the thought of doing all that armour scares me... :nervous: :shaking:
And yes, it is meant to be adevelopment of the Hades...
-
Do you use Paintshop Pro perchance?
If so, there's a really neat way you can turn the lines you have into decent looking hull plates - I can show you if you like. :) (I used a form of it on the TC-Tri's cutsom details if you want an example)
-
http://img456.imageshack.us/img456/995/hera083io.jpg
been coverting with Madam Boolean ?
-
If so, there's a really neat way you can turn the lines you have into decent looking hull plates - I can show you if you like.
I don't use PP but still I would like to see the technic...maybe its transfarable to other painting tools.
-
Heh, to be honest, if you've done any sort of plate texturing you'll have similar if not better techniques, but this one is really useful when you have the outlines of the plates ready. :) (that and I really should write it down so I don't forget it again)
Anyway: For PSP 9, you do the following:
1) Set colour 1 to a dark grey & colour 2 to pitch black
2) Flood fill the entire area you want to turn into plating (if you have pre-existing plate outlines in place, make sure they're on a separate higher layer or something)
3) Set colour 2 to use this (from BW) (http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y184/VA--Twisted_Infinities/Misc/Scorred.jpg) or a similar sort of texture with an angle of 38, and a scale of about 48
4) Apply it to your solid filled base colour (the whole thing) twice or so to get the desired brightnes of that bit of hull.
5) If you havn't already, create your hull plate outlines (I've found black, 1 pixel wide, no AA lines work best) and make sure they're a raster layer.
6) Merge all the layers so the outlines are on the same layer as the background hull.
7) Magic-wand-select (tolerance = 40, no AA) each individual plate outline you want to raise (if you've never heard of the wand, it's basically a 'select all connected pixels of colour X, with a tolerance factor)
8) When all the plates you want to raise are selected, use the bevel tool to raise them all. I found the following properties to work best for the plating effect: Straight slope, Width = 3, Depth = 2, Shininess = 28, Angle = 39, Intensity = 43, Elevation = 46, Light = White, All other settings = 0
Result:
(http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y184/VA--Twisted_Infinities/Misc/PlatingDemo.jpg)
And that should do it. Now, I'm sure all the texture Guru's here are looking at this shaking their heads in pity, but it provides a decent base technique, and needless to say, you can fiddle with any part of it to best suit your ship. ;)
-
OK thanks...works similar in PS.
-
I'd blur the line layer when you're done.
Those maps will end up a bit boring, but this is sure an effective way to create tile maps with a low ammount of time and work.
-
I'll have a play...
Though to be honest it's not the converting to plated look that worries me. It's putting in all those base lines to start with... :shaking:
I wonder... VA, you up for a challenge? ;7
been coverting with Madam Boolean ?
Well, if you know a better way to insert a round hole in an angled flat plane, tell me.
-
I'd blur the line layer when you're done.
I could never quite get the blur looking right, and then gradually came to like how sharp the unblurred lines make it look. :)
Those maps will end up a bit boring,
Heh, no doubt about that. ;)
Iv'e found it most effective for smaller detail related texturing and such, but yeah, it should definitely not be used as the only type of plate on the whole hull. ;)
I wonder... VA, you up for a challenge? ;7
No sorry, going away on holidays today. ;)
-
No sorry, going away on holidays today. ;)
Well, how about when you get back?
Seriously, I doubt I can get this ship done soon. Texruing is just not my strongest skill. Oh I can do little bits, fine detail, but the rest... I somehow expect to have done (If I do everything myself), if I go for a proper texture job, around 2010... :sigh: :(
-
been coverting with Madam Boolean ?
Well, if you know a better way to insert a round hole in an angled flat plane, tell me.
In TS ? Um, couldn't say. One good idea (probably too late now) is to enclose the area to be cut so any surface errors are containd. Plenty of decent ways in Max, if you have access to it. Don't mind sharing, if it's any use to you.
Having said that, sometimes you have no choice but to use 'em.
-
First try with VA's plating idea... (would have done this sooner, but got... distracted)
(http://img71.imageshack.us/img71/2652/heratex174ej.jpg)
Any warping is due to angle/image compression.
-
Hmm, the plating looks quite ok - great for a first try too. :)
However, the texture on the plates themselves is what's making the whole area very heavily tiled. I'd say either increase the size of the texture you're filling the plates with, or reduce the contrast of it to make the existing tiled patterns less visible.
Other than that I'd recommend more general detail to the whole area just to break up the plating somehow. It just needs something different on it, if only occasional different brightness plates. Especially at the central areas where the supersturcture rises up. Those shouldn't really be plated in the same way.
The warping that is visible is a bit bigger problem though. I can see there's not much to be done about it in this case, but in future remember that plating (or most sorts of texturing actually) that goes over a warped surface will usually look really fake from angles at which the warp is visible. The [v] Hecate is a prime example of this sort of warping looking ugly.
To make the ship seem more real and 'built' instead of modeled and textured, it is very important to ensure the model doesn't have places where a texture just couldn't look right (usually non-flat surfaces), and also that the texture's features are guided by what's beneath. Ie, if there's a ridge, ensure the textures will highlight this rather than trying to flow right over it. That sort of thing. :)
It's a good first step though, so keep at it. :D
-
Layer in that blue colour of the rest of the ship and i think you have got the makings of a winner there, keep going :nod: :yes:
-
HOLY ****!! tis beautiful!
aye, she's a fine ship.[/scotty]
-
First try with VA's plating idea... (would have done this sooner, but got... distracted)
http://img71.imageshack.us/img71/2652/heratex174ej.jpg
Any warping is due to angle/image compression.
going in the right direction :yes: