Hard Light Productions Forums
Hosted Projects - Standalone => Fate of the Galaxy => Topic started by: bobbtmann on November 09, 2011, 05:20:50 pm
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Here's an update on the XQ2. I've reduced the size of the paddles coming off the hangars. I also added some tubes on the underside of said paddles, to give larger ships something to dock to.
[attachment deleted by a basterd]
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Love it! Can't wait to see more. I'm liking the capital ship docking arms. The sloping deck is the only thing I'm not sure about, kinda seems like a tongue sticking out.
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... like a tongue sticking out.
;) That was my reference. I find it helps to direct the visual flow, keep it from just shooting off. If it still looks like a tongue after I texture it, I'll get rid of it.
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Looking absolutely fantastic! My only bit of feedback is that if you intend to scale it up to that size, the windows on the upper structure should be made smaller, right now they're several hundred meters wide. I'd suggest removing them perhaps and replacing them with a number of modules similar to the ISD's bridge with a lot of smaller windows.
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Awesome! I don't recognize the ships that are docked face-first...
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Awesome! I don't recognize the ships that are docked face-first...
It's a Xiytiar I made around the same time I was making the Dreadnaught.
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I've started making the main body of the station. It's a bit bigger than the original, feels like it's sandwiching the arms. Here's a small update:
[attachment deleted by a basterd]
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WOW :) Can't wait for this!
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Looking absolutely fantastic! My only bit of feedback is that if you intend to scale it up to that size, the windows on the upper structure should be made smaller, right now they're several hundred meters wide. I'd suggest removing them perhaps and replacing them with a number of modules similar to the ISD's bridge with a lot of smaller windows.
Actually I always figured those depressions would merely be dotted with small windows and maybe some greebling, not be hundreds of meters wide windows themselves.
As for the latest version where they're gone... well, it's up to you two to decide, but I find the new general shape of the top dome to be less aesthetically pleasing than the old one, due to the hamburger style. Of course, I only got one screenshot and one angle to look at, and I suppose it does somewhat counterbalance the squashed horizontal profile the old one has.
Also, I'm hoping you could do something to make those big triangular vertical paddles under the main platforms a bit more exciting. Adding the capship docking tubes to them and making them smaller is a good start, but I think they still need something more. Maybe small hangars capable of holding a single fighter, some other kind of large-ish extra features to make them look like they actually have a purpose, some greebling or antennas at the lowest tips and/or some beams between them to connect them, just to give some ideas.
In any case, it's absolutely great that you're tackling this. :yes: One of the bigger lacks right now is how the only station we got is such a crude WIP.
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The underside:
[attachment deleted by a basterd]
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Looks great, and I like the Xiytiar too :)
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Another update. I've tapered the top and bottom pods, and given them a little bulge in the middle. There's also a bay on the in between the lower pod and the midsection.
[attachment deleted by a basterd]
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Well done. I'm looking forward to the final version of this model. :)
"I want this installation fully operational within the hour"
-Thrawn (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Vt6FiQPfMg&feature=channel_video_title)
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I liked the old hub design.
/me ducks
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I liked the old hub design.
/me ducks
Any reason in particular?
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I'm a sucker for original designs and it's too late for me to give a coherent explanation for my issue with the current hub. I just think the old one fit better.
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So I UV mapped it, and I've given a grey texture. On another topic, my computer has randomly created a new user on my computer. I don't know what it is about, and my documents were changed to read only. The user koti was made when I rendered the AO to texture. Very strange.
[attachment deleted by a basterd]
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That's a good start with the textures.
Btw I recommend to scan your system for trojans, viruses and stuff.
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The user koti was made when I rendered the AO to texture. Very strange.
Ah. That's very likely due to some leftover cruft in the working file from when I worked on it ("koti" == "home" was my user account back then). Dunno how it could possibly cause anything to happen to your files, though. :eek2:
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Ah. That's a relief. It was the location that the render to texture dialogue picked as the save destination.
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An update, turbolaser and laser cannon:
[attachment deleted by a basterd]
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I guess I'll just keep bumping my post. There's a weird issue with the glow map. The windows are outlined in black, which I don't think I've ever come across before. There shouldn't be any anti-aliasing, since it's just a white square hovering over a black background.
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I don't know what's up with the glowmap off the top of my head, but maybe it's an issue with the texture format; which one are you using?
Anyway, assuming that this isn't just an early WIP: overall I think the window placement is way too dense, especially on the midsection. Even if they are realistically sized, there's just so many of them packed together that I think that especially the midsection the windows begin to look more like some sort of lit circuitry.
Other than that, it's looking awesome. Particularly those lit hangars. :yes:
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I don't think they're too dense, based on the scale I believe this thing is. I mean...those were dreadnaughts parked at it in earlier shots, right? If so, the current window size does a really good job of indicating a proper sense of size for this thing. It's pretty massive.
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I think the problem with the windows is that they are packed in there in such a way that they look like the wall of an international-style skyscraper, with entire areas of the outer surface being comprised of grids of transparent material. The windows you see in SW generally have a non-transparent structural element to make the area look more robust, like the struts between the triangular bridge windows on Star Destroyer bridges or the finer curved segments seen in the big window behind the Emperor's throne in RotJ or the Falcon's cockpit canopy. It does give it an impressive sense of scale though :)
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Well, I'll see what I can do to make the lights feel less like a field, and more like individual windows. Maybe shrink them individually, so there's more space between each one, or making them bigger.
I've scattered a few miscellaneous ports and docks and things across the surface.
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If you're looking for a good ref in terms of the star wars lighting style, I'd suggest this picture: (http://www.modelermagic.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/ilm_star_destroyer.jpg)
While, of course that's an ISD and it shouldn't match exactly, the station is roughly on scale with the star destroyer (okay, slightly smaller, but still similarly sized)
In that picture you can see how it's a very random style, but very sparse as well. I think a similar style would work well with this model.
Also a note, the red lights didn't seem to make it to the final print, so I'd suggest the light all be just that yellowish white.
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Random sounds right, not sure about sparse for this application.
XQ2 is a more or less civilian platform, right? It'd probably have more/bigger windows than a warship. Not sure what would be a better guide. Maybe a Lucrehulk? (http://images.wikia.com/starwars/images/6/68/TF-DCS-ST.jpg) Still, that's more simliar to the ISD than either is to the WCSaga-style windows you've put on the platform. I think the trick is to (1) not have more than a dozen or so windows in a row, lit or not (with maybe some rare exceptions like on maybe three places on the Lucrehulk) and (2) vary the size and shape of windows so they don't look like a high-rise apartment building. I mean, unless that part of the space station actually is supposed to be civilian offices and apartments.
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I guess I'll just keep deleting windows until it looks right.
(http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc433/bobbtmann/Fate%20of%20the%20Galaxy/XQ2_17.png)
I think the texture is more or less done. I might go in and add some more paint, maybe some text and a logo.
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Looks awesome! Are the numbers backwards though?
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Looks awesome! Are the numbers backwards though?
Two quick questions; one, should the writing on the completely shaded pad be glowing like that, and two, where can I go to put you up for an awesomeness award?
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That has an appearance that is both alive and cold at the same time, I love it.
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Nice. Very nice.
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In the interest of composition, I flipped the image. The lettering is not backwards on the model. I'm thinking of leaving the lettering on the glow map, maybe darkening it a bit.
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that would be logical, also great job on it bobb, it will be awesome to see ingame, hmm I just thought of an idea I want to talk to you about
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Awesome work. :yes: Anything interesting to see inside the main hangar?
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It's empty right now.
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The interior of the XQ2 Space station is now in progress:
The main hangar bay:
(http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc433/bobbtmann/Various/XQ2_19.png)
(http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc433/bobbtmann/Various/XQ2_18.png)
The bottom hangar, for fighters and military ships:
(http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc433/bobbtmann/Various/XQ2_20.png)
The top hangar, for small shuttles:
(http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc433/bobbtmann/Various/XQ2_21.png)
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So cool! Don't forget the white glowing rings around areas open to space :D
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"Um, sir, who left all of the pink styrofoam YT-1300 cutouts in the hangar bay?"
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So cool! Don't forget the white glowing rings around areas open to space :D
You mean the Magcon Field Integrity Indicator Lights? Those're fun!
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A little update:
(http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc433/bobbtmann/Various/XQ2_22.png)
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Love the nods to the DS, very iconic :)
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Hmm, looking at it now, I think I need to scale done the the textures. They make the space feel a bit too small.
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Could you place a Tie or an X Wing, just to see if they fit well in the hangar ? ^^
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I saw shots of a YT-1300 fitting in there earlier, so I'm sure the snub fighters can :)
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Hmm, looking at it now, I think I need to scale do[wn] the the textures. They make the space feel a bit too small.
certainly without anything that's fixed in terms of scale for the eye to recognize, it looks small. You probably could keep the textures just about the same if you just made sure that a half-assembled YT-1300 or something obviously human-scale (control booth with visible chairs with or without persons in 'em? Maybe recessed into the sides of that ring in the hangar roof? Sort of a cargo traffic control tower?) was visible...
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certainly without anything that's fixed in terms of scale for the eye to recognize, it looks small. You probably could keep the textures just about the same if you just made sure that a half-assembled YT-1300 or something obviously human-scale (control booth with visible chairs with or without persons in 'em? Maybe recessed into the sides of that ring in the hangar roof? Sort of a cargo traffic control tower?) was visible...
I might have to make some additions to the mesh as well. The control boot would be cool. It would be a bridge between our game and the Freespace main hall. Though I disagree about the texture. With smaller lights, the space does feel a bit bigger.
(http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc433/bobbtmann/Various/XQ2_23.png)
(http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc433/bobbtmann/Various/XQ2_24.png)
Of course, now there's too much repetition with the lights, so I might have to vary them a bit. Delete the odd one here or there
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I like the change more than my previous post made it sound like I would. However, now that they're all shrunken and down just at the bottom of the wall, the hangar looks like an oppressive place. The shipboard landing bays seen in the films all concentrated light sources near the top of the wall/on the ceiling or else distributed them evenly across the vertical space. If those panels are going to continue to function as they are in the current configuration, I'd suggest adding small auxiliary light spots around the tops of the walls. It might just be the large quantities of dark gray in your coloring, but it now feels really dim and oppressive.
Also, is the horizontal seam in the hangar door indicator light intentional?
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This is an imperial station. It's supposed to feel oppressive. :)
Also, I think that the lights should stay regular as they are. It fits well into imperial style.
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I dunno, I'd kind of like to see it a bit more brightly lit, like the death stars' hangars:
(http://gwiezdne-wojny.pl/grafika/2004/lip/dvds2.jpg)
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This is an imperial station. It's supposed to feel oppressive. :)
Imperial stuff don't try to look oppressive. They try to look formidable, grandiose. To quote Tarkin : "the effectiveness of the Star Destroyer stems from not only its massive firepower, but from its size." You definitely need a feeling of space, even if that space might be wasted doing so. Lots of lights help giving that feeling of space, like in the screenshot above.
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Imperial stuff does, however, tend to panel the lights allllll the way up the wall, like in Brand's picture... Hey, just my $.02.
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Wasn't that station also used by civilians in XWA? Or is the station (Harkin station if memory serves me) around which you butted heads with the Ekindu another one?
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Wasn't that station also used by civilians in XWA? Or is the station (Harkin station if memory serves me) around which you butted heads with the Ekindu another one?
In the games, there was a ton of varaints of these stations iirc, and they were pretty much used by all factions. BTW, the ship's name was Enkidu, probably inspired by a character from the Sumerian myth "The Epic of Gilgamesh".
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Imperial stuff does, however, tend to panel the lights allllll the way up the wall, like in Brand's picture... Hey, just my $.02.
So take the smaller lights and repeat them all the way up the walls.
Also, based on the death star shot there should be lights on the bottom of the hanger entrance as well.
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So I haven't put lights on the upper portion of the walls yet, but it is still in consideration. I've also decided that since the lighting in the hangar never changes, I'm drawing the tromp l'oeil panels directly into the diffuse map. I'm thinking of doing away with the hangar-normal map entirely. There's also a little desk on the far wall. It even has little chairs.
Today was a day of discovery. Did you know that, in Photoshop, if you draw a point with the brush, then shift+click somewhere else, it makes a straight line?
I've also found a way to get rid of the aliasing on my textures, with out re-sizing and Gaussian blurs and whatever. Just rotate it a few degrees, then back again. Gets rid of the jaggies like a dream. Seems obvious now that I know it...
(http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc433/bobbtmann/Various/XQ2_26.png)
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Did you know that, in Photoshop, if you draw a point with the brush, then shift+click somewhere else, it makes a straight line?
Handy, ain't it? :p
It gets better: if you use the Pen tool, Shift-clicking gives you 45 degree angle control (while, obviously, painting a line). Perfect for panels. And then you can either fill or stroke the path. :D
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So I haven't put lights on the upper portion of the walls yet, but it is still in consideration. I've also decided that since the lighting in the hangar never changes, I'm drawing the tromp l'oeil panels directly into the diffuse map. I'm thinking of doing away with the hangar-normal map entirely.
Be warned, my lasers and I intend to add additional intermittent light sources to the inside of the hangar. *ka-pew! ka-pew!*
There's also a little desk on the far wall. It even has little chairs.
snip
YAAYYYYY!
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bobbtmann, your PM inbox is full and I have questions. Make some room there or come to IRC. ;)
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The glow maps are a-rendering! Sixty five percent done, in only 27 hours. Area lights look good, but they take a while.
edit. Finished, only to realize that I hadn't used my bump map.
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It looks great, just seen in on SVN.
BTW, Sensors01 submodel is glitched, it's hard to describe, but you can see the inner surface of the globe instead of outer.
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it's hard to describe, but you can see the inner surface of the globe instead of outer.
Sounds like a simple case of inverted normals on those polygons. Takes about 2 seconds to fix :)
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Dang, I thought I had managed to find and fix all the objects with inverted normals. Oh well, I'll fix it at some point, let's first see if any other issues crop up.
Sounds like a simple case of inverted normals on those polygons. Takes about 2 seconds to fix :)
Easy for you modellers to say. :blah: Sure, applying the fix to my working file takes 2 seconds, but after that the re-conversion through PCS2 takes a few minutes, then generating a new cache file takes about 5 minutes, and committing cache and model files (~30mb) takes another 5 minutes. Anyway, as I said I'll wait and see if anything else needs fixing or adding so that I don't need to do that several times.
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Easy for you modellers to say. :blah: Sure, applying the fix to my working file takes 2 seconds, but after that the re-conversion through PCS2 takes a few minutes, then generating a new cache file takes about 5 minutes, and committing cache and model files (~30mb) takes another 5 minutes. Anyway, as I said I'll wait and see if anything else needs fixing or adding so that I don't need to do that several times.
Once the rockets are up, who cares where they come down? That's not my department, said Wernher Von Braun :D
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As Dragon gave away, this is now converted and in-game, although the final texture update is still pending. Here's a few screenshots.
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[attachment deleted by a ninja]
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It's time to recreate the battle from the Intro of TIE Fighter. :)
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Textures remind me of nBSG. Not a bad thing.
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I've uploaded the textures.
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Cool. I'll take a look shortly.