Hard Light Productions Forums

Community Projects => The FreeSpace Upgrade Project => Topic started by: General Battuta on October 14, 2015, 08:06:09 am

Title: Bring back 3D thruster models
Post by: General Battuta on October 14, 2015, 08:06:09 am
They look way better than 2D thrusters, and furthermore, they are hot and sexy
Title: Re: Bring back 3D thruster models
Post by: General Battuta on October 14, 2015, 08:06:30 am
I want to date a 3D thruster pof.
Title: Re: Bring back 3D thruster models
Post by: Hades on October 14, 2015, 08:13:23 am
(http://i.imgur.com/uvXL3dS.png)

agreed

e: i should have mentioned, above thruster work is the work of dahblount
Title: Re: Bring back 3D thruster models
Post by: mjn.mixael on October 14, 2015, 09:11:47 am
I made updated maps for 3D thrusters that are included in the MediaVPs. We just need someone to go through and add the actual geometry to the models. That's not going to be me for quite some time.
Title: Re: Bring back 3D thruster models
Post by: DahBlount on October 14, 2015, 09:25:13 am
I already tried the MVPs thruster anims.
(http://i.imgur.com/mxOdfzy.png)

With the method I plan to use to update the thruster geometry, all the detail gets drowned out. The only way to fix this would be to either use less geometry, which leads to quite a bit of empty space in the thruster, which looks poor, or to increase the transparency on the anims.

Diaspora modelled thrusters look awesome, but they have a bunch of geometry and very transparent anims, so I would prefer the latter option from above.
Title: Re: Bring back 3D thruster models
Post by: General Battuta on October 14, 2015, 09:42:40 am
You're a cool dude MjnMixael and also you DahBlount.
Title: Re: Bring back 3D thruster models
Post by: mjn.mixael on October 14, 2015, 10:25:25 am
Uh, DahBlount, you just need to alter the UVs to use more of the blue part of the flame than the white. I can alter the textures as well, but they won't be in a MediaVPs for... well.. who knows when that will be.

Actually, given that those thruster textures were rendered back before bloom was a thing, they probably do need some alterations. But yours are all blown out because you have highly contrasted color settings. We can't make textures for your specific color settings, we have to find a balance.
Title: Re: Bring back 3D thruster models
Post by: DahBlount on October 14, 2015, 11:08:34 am
Indeed, I did forget about that, I even made a sticky note to see how changing the UVs would change the effect in game. I'll do a quick test with that. There was apparently some discussion about making a feature to support multiple thruster anims. I can already think of a way to do that, so I'll start working on that soon.

Tidbits of discussion that I got:
Code: [Select]
<Hades> so an idea for thrusters
<Hades> the inner-most plume has the aggressive and active retail style thruster plume and the outer ones have the diaspora, semi-transparent and 'calm' effect
<Hades> but i dunno how possible mixing them is
<The_E> Have to check that
<The_E> But if it isn't, we can make it
Title: Re: Bring back 3D thruster models
Post by: General Battuta on October 14, 2015, 11:54:47 am
If there's no new MVPs for a while we'd ****ing hell yeah do this in Blue Planet.
Title: Re: Bring back 3D thruster models
Post by: mjn.mixael on October 14, 2015, 12:28:40 pm
Unfortunately, there has been next to no progress on anything with the MediaVPs. We rely heavily on the community to make new things. We just package and test them to release them in a unified modpack. The only thing I've seen on here is some sporadic work on the new Orion and a few hints at a new Dragon. If you all want a new MediaVPs... go PM your favorite 3D/texture artists and tell them to get to work. :)

(Not me, though.. I'm busy trying to get my mod finished.)
Title: Re: Bring back 3D thruster models
Post by: DahBlount on October 15, 2015, 02:11:51 pm
Mission ****ing accomplished:
(http://i.imgur.com/DepqfE0.png)
Inner flames are current MVPs, outer flames are Diaspora Bolitho anims.
Title: Re: Bring back 3D thruster models
Post by: mjn.mixael on October 15, 2015, 02:46:37 pm
Now that looks sweet. Nice work.

Now go do the rest of the MediaVPs ships.
Title: Re: Bring back 3D thruster models
Post by: DahBlount on October 15, 2015, 02:53:59 pm
Well, this raises possible issues, as from directly behind, the thrusters look kind of crappy without proper glowmaps, I can try and modify each ship to use them, but it may take awhile without the original psds or xcfs.
Title: Re: Bring back 3D thruster models
Post by: headdie on October 15, 2015, 02:57:33 pm
Legends
Title: Re: Bring back 3D thruster models
Post by: DahBlount on October 15, 2015, 05:23:08 pm
Final Medusa thruster design?
(http://i.imgur.com/ZCjHRel.png)
Title: Re: Bring back 3D thruster models
Post by: Col.Hornet on October 15, 2015, 05:33:56 pm
Are they a bit bigger and more intense then these ones on the previous picture?

I must say that in some models, modeled thrusters look very good. But if you decide to make them, the model must be good. I mean everything near the exhaust is well visible so you can't just make a random circle-like nozzle with random texture and say "mah, don't care, the thruster will cover it anyway" :P

For well made high poly models... I say YES :D
Title: Re: Bring back 3D thruster models
Post by: DahBlount on October 15, 2015, 06:15:13 pm
Overall, it's larger yes, but I redid the UVs to use less of the MVPs anim so they weren't as bright and aggressive.
As for your worries, the Medusa does have modeled engines, they just need glow maps to look better with the way I have the textures set up.

A good example of modeled thruster design would be the Sobek from Diaspora.
(http://i.imgur.com/Cy2DPjZ.png?1)

The Sobek has glowmaps, and combined with post processing hides most of the apparent layering from behind.
(http://i.imgur.com/KRelJJU.png?1)
Title: Re: Bring back 3D thruster models
Post by: perihelion on October 19, 2015, 07:37:32 pm
Man, every time I see that ship it hits me all over again.  That is one SEXY beast!
Title: Re: Bring back 3D thruster models
Post by: Mongoose on October 19, 2015, 08:30:46 pm
dat ass