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Hosted Projects - Standalone => Diaspora => Developer Blog => Topic started by: newman on August 12, 2009, 04:33:11 pm

Title: 2009-08-12 - Colonial Shuttle mkI
Post by: newman on August 12, 2009, 04:33:11 pm
Some of you have recently asked us for a list of ships which will be included in R1, which we were unable to give. Well, you're still not getting the list, but here's one recently completed (well, almost) ship that will make it into our first release: the colonial mark 1 shuttle. For those of you who don't remember, it's actually the first BSG ship you ever see - it's the shuttle that delivers the armistice officer to the Armistice Station in the first scenes of the mini-series. The pictures below are renders, as it needs a few tweaks before I can make in-game screenshots of it. The renders are using the exact same model and textures that you will see in the game, though. Anyway, enough talk, on to the pictures:

(http://i25.tinypic.com/inwmdu.jpg)

(http://i30.tinypic.com/dfacmf.jpg)

(http://i29.tinypic.com/15nnio3.jpg)

(http://i32.tinypic.com/2mh99nq.jpg)
Title: Re: Colonial Shuttle mkI
Post by: Colonol Dekker on August 12, 2009, 04:50:50 pm
Sweet galloping ****flakes!

That is nearly the most detailed model i've seen for FS2.......ever!
Title: Re: Colonial Shuttle mkI
Post by: YIIMM on August 12, 2009, 06:06:41 pm
Those texture maps (bump or normal...I'm not sure of the difference) work really well. Great job :yes:
Title: Re: Colonial Shuttle mkI
Post by: Zex Marquise on August 12, 2009, 08:14:36 pm
I agree, the textures have a nice brushed metal look to them. Excellent model, and liking the transparent viewport :D . I need MOAR BSG.

Makes me wish someone would make a FPS for BSG. *sniff* it will never happen. *Goes to play Elite Force*
Title: Re: Colonial Shuttle mkI
Post by: Locutus of Borg on August 12, 2009, 09:08:10 pm
That looks awesome

in game, will we actually be able to look through the windows there and actually feel like we're looking into the ship?
Title: Re: Colonial Shuttle mkI
Post by: karajorma on August 12, 2009, 10:03:21 pm
Yes. It's no different to seeing the pilot in the cockpit of another Viper in that respect.
Title: Re: Colonial Shuttle mkI
Post by: FraktuRe on August 12, 2009, 10:33:23 pm
i want to marry diaspora <3
Title: Re: Colonial Shuttle mkI
Post by: Locutus of Borg on August 13, 2009, 01:24:54 am
i want to marry diaspora <3
Title: Re: Colonial Shuttle mkI
Post by: Sidestep on August 13, 2009, 01:35:41 am
That's awesome, looks so real I feel like I could reach out and touch it.

Great work Newman, better than anything I've seen for a commercial game.

Thanks for all your hard work Devs and can't wait to see everything in game when you get R1 finished
Title: Re: 09-08-12 - Colonial Shuttle mkI
Post by: Narvi on August 13, 2009, 01:51:30 am
Nice.

Though those are some stubby-ass legs. Can they withdraw into the ship?
Title: Re: 09-08-12 - Colonial Shuttle mkI
Post by: Colonol Dekker on August 13, 2009, 02:19:16 am
More cable on the winch please :nervous:
Title: Re: 09-08-12 - Colonial Shuttle mkI
Post by: newman on August 13, 2009, 03:48:44 am
Nice.

Though those are some stubby-ass legs. Can they withdraw into the ship?

You should probably ask the original ship's designers :P
Seriously tho, I think they're not meant to retract all the way, just retract into those spheres so the undercarriage gets out of the way and has less of a chance of getting damaged while in flight. Reduce the already considerable drag in atmo flight, too.
Title: Re: 09-08-12 - Colonial Shuttle mkI
Post by: Bilal18 on August 13, 2009, 01:23:26 pm
Ah yes i remember..that looks amazing..great work man.. :D
Title: Re: 09-08-12 - Colonial Shuttle mkI
Post by: Richard on August 13, 2009, 01:29:39 pm
Good job  :yes:
Title: Re: 09-08-12 - Colonial Shuttle mkI
Post by: Angreifer on August 13, 2009, 09:56:46 pm
Who would have thought a basic shuttle could look so good! Outstanding work as always, it's this kind of quality that makes the wait for R1 completely worth it.
Title: Re: Colonial Shuttle mkI
Post by: Felix 039 on August 14, 2009, 01:21:14 am
i want to marry diaspora <3
Title: Re: 09-08-12 - Colonial Shuttle mkI
Post by: Master_Drow on August 21, 2009, 04:40:25 pm
I was starting to get annoyed of waiting, now I can see that it will be totally worth waiting.

(I think i'll need to upgrade my graphics card...)
Title: Re: 09-08-12 - Colonial Shuttle mkI
Post by: Thaeris on August 22, 2009, 01:43:06 am
That's glorious, Newman!

Despite its limited appearances in the new BSG, TOS carry-overs like the Mk I Shuttle may eventually do well for a dedicated TOS campaign... Though the original was rather cheesy, to say the least.

...Albeit still a classic...

-Thaeris
Title: Re: 09-08-12 - Colonial Shuttle mkI
Post by: newman on August 22, 2009, 02:54:02 am
I doubt we'll be making a dedicated TOS campaign with daggit, pew-pew lasers, and hairdos that look like shampoo commercials :P There is a much better chance that we'll do a campaign that is set in the 1st Cylon War canon to the new BSG series, though (think Razor flashbacks, etc).
At any rate, this shuttle can still be used by older, 1st war era ships and stations, the idea being that due to the large number of units built over the course of the war, the Colonial fleet hasn't been able to fully replace it with the more expensive 4-engine mark 2 shuttle yet. The original design was kinda cheesy, believe it or not some of the cheese was actually gone with the zoic variant - it's not identical to the TOS shuttle. At any rate I always put it in the "so cheesy it's cool" category.
Title: Re: 09-08-12 - Colonial Shuttle mkI
Post by: peterv on August 22, 2009, 03:08:14 am
Excellent job.  :yes:  :yes:  :yes:
May i ask what's the size of the diffuse map?
Title: Re: 09-08-12 - Colonial Shuttle mkI
Post by: newman on August 22, 2009, 03:09:05 am
Excellent job.  :yes:  :yes:  :yes:
May i ask what's the size of the diffuse map?

2048x2048.
Title: Re: 09-08-12 - Colonial Shuttle mkI
Post by: peterv on August 22, 2009, 03:12:36 am
You should start writing tutorials guys  :D. (i am tired begging for this)
Title: Re: 09-08-12 - Colonial Shuttle mkI
Post by: karajorma on August 22, 2009, 06:01:22 am
I doubt we'll be making a dedicated TOS campaign with daggit, pew-pew lasers, and hairdos that look like shampoo commercials :P There is a much better chance that we'll do a campaign that is set in the 1st Cylon War canon to the new BSG series, though (think Razor flashbacks, etc).

True but it's almost a given that someone will do it as a 3rd party mod sooner or later if we get enough attention. :) Apart from the TOS Galactica the changes from one to the other are basically weapon effects and table changes.

And they're more than welcome to. :)
Title: Re: 09-08-12 - Colonial Shuttle mkI
Post by: newman on August 22, 2009, 06:04:49 am
Oh, sure. And it's almost a given I'll play it, too :)
Title: Re: 09-08-12 - Colonial Shuttle mkI
Post by: Lt.Cannonfodder on August 22, 2009, 07:47:08 am
You should start writing tutorials guys  :D. (i am tired begging for this)
Tutorials on building entire ship from scratch, or specifics like texturing?
Title: Re: 09-08-12 - Colonial Shuttle mkI
Post by: Colonol Dekker on August 22, 2009, 08:06:52 am
Yes. :yes:
Title: Re: 09-08-12 - Colonial Shuttle mkI
Post by: peterv on August 22, 2009, 06:21:05 pm
Tutorials on building entire ship from scratch, or specifics like texturing?

On building entire ship from scratch if possible. Thanks in advance.
Title: Re: 09-08-12 - Colonial Shuttle mkI
Post by: newman on August 22, 2009, 06:58:40 pm
To be honest, there isn't much point in a tutorial on building BSG spaceships. To build them, you need to know how to 3d model and texture - not just BSG ships, you need to know how to do that in general. So most tutorials that deal with game modeling and texturing would do. There isn't a magical shortcut that will make you able to build ships for diaspora without going through the motions of becoming a 3d artist first, I'm afraid.. And to do that you need to select your apps of choice, then google any tutorials you can find and get loads and loads of practice. We can only help with specific problems once you already have the basic 3d artist's skill set.
Title: Re: 09-08-12 - Colonial Shuttle mkI
Post by: peterv on August 22, 2009, 07:53:35 pm
My bad, i didn't mean tutorials about technical things, or especially BSG spaceships.
What I'm interesting in is mostly the "aestheticall approach", meaning the balance between polycount/maps, tricks about normal, glow, shine maps etc. In this particular model, i was very impressed by the fact that at first i thought that it should be a monster from the polycount perspective. A closer look (and faith to the teams skills) convised me that i was wrong.
Furthermore, I'd love to know your secrets for the creation of the "metallic feeling" (i only know one method that VA was kind enough to share with me).  :)
Title: Re: 09-08-12 - Colonial Shuttle mkI
Post by: newman on August 23, 2009, 04:40:29 am
Those are specific questions. I'll see what I can do, if there'll be time..
Title: Re: 09-08-12 - Colonial Shuttle mkI
Post by: Lt.Cannonfodder on August 23, 2009, 06:17:55 am
As far as texturing tutorials go, I've found this to be one of the better ones: http://www.jamesodonnell.info/dingo_tut/index.html
Title: Re: 09-08-12 - Colonial Shuttle mkI
Post by: IronForge on August 23, 2009, 07:22:43 am
Do we get to fly it?
Title: Re: 09-08-12 - Colonial Shuttle mkI
Post by: Felix 039 on August 23, 2009, 09:03:11 am
Fly? Like...

Campaign Mission: Run like hell, get to extraction point with no less than X% Hull?

Multi: Escort Mission
Title: Re: 09-08-12 - Colonial Shuttle mkI
Post by: newman on August 23, 2009, 10:39:28 am
The problem with that is, it's basically a slow moving, not very maneuverable flying brick. The AI would find it pretty hard to miss it even with the player doing everything he can to avoid getting hit. Missions like that would get frustrating, fast.
You need two things to have a proper flyable ship: a high detail cockpit, and a good reason for that ship to be flyable. Other then that, it's just a matter of a table tweak. I doubt you'll get to fly it in R1, but as development progresses she might get a cockpit and we might come up with missions that warrant the player flying a shuttle. I for one always wanted to make a custom modified, armed variant anyway. But that definitely won't happen before r1 is out.. For now it'll just be Cylon fodder :)
Title: Re: 09-08-12 - Colonial Shuttle mkI
Post by: StarSlayer on August 23, 2009, 12:12:23 pm
Baltar: Sir, the possibility of successfully navigating an asteroid field is approximately 3,720 to 1.
Kara Thrace: Never tell me the odds.
Title: Re: 09-08-12 - Colonial Shuttle mkI
Post by: Colonol Dekker on August 23, 2009, 06:12:53 pm
As far as texturing tutorials go, I've found this to be one of the better ones: http://www.jamesodonnell.info/dingo_tut/index.html

The guys quite accomplished :yes:
Dunno if he worked on Homeworld though.....:shrug: maybe.
Title: Re: 09-08-12 - Colonial Shuttle mkI
Post by: peterv on August 23, 2009, 07:26:04 pm
As far as texturing tutorials go, I've found this to be one of the better ones: http://www.jamesodonnell.info/dingo_tut/index.html

Many thanks, this looks like a very good one  ;)
Title: Re: 09-08-12 - Colonial Shuttle mkI
Post by: Narvi on August 24, 2009, 03:25:31 am
Maybe you could be using a gun turret to ward off Raiders?
Title: Re: 09-08-12 - Colonial Shuttle mkI
Post by: newman on August 24, 2009, 04:05:27 am
Not on the original military version. But like I said, maybe on a custom modified one.