Hard Light Productions Forums

Off-Topic Discussion => Arts & Talents => Topic started by: Kitsune on August 01, 2002, 02:34:36 am

Title: Hey render artists! Got a minute or three?
Post by: Kitsune on August 01, 2002, 02:34:36 am

You might have picked up that I was working on converting FS ships and weapons for use to Dice & Paper for rpg-style play.  

It's going to be online references and as such graphics would be a great improvement over simple text.  

Well I've run into a snag you guys/gals might be able to help me with.

I don't mean webgraphics either, just ship renders specifically so there can be better visual clues to what the ship or fighter is supposed to look like.  

They don't have to be complex, just a starfield/planet/nebula background with a ship or two of the class either cruising along or swatting at enemy ships.

I'd do them myself but engine glows and beams never want to work properly for me.  
(Atmospherics set to ___? check, luminosity set to ___? check,
Render...  Okay, where'd it go?)

Pictures that have already been made that the creators don't mind me using please leave a message too.  (Free pimpage!)

Those who contribute who have campaigns going on with their own ships that would like them included in the rpg write-up just need to give a render or two of the ship(s) in question and their table files (just the ship and weapons used) so I can calculate damage outputs, hull and stuff along those lines.

But they have to be FS1/2 era, not something that happens 100 years later or something.  The ancients, well, they could be included too since their legacy left behind saved us all in the end.

Thanks.

Title: Hey render artists! Got a minute or three?
Post by: wEvil on August 01, 2002, 04:03:00 am

We're already attempting somthing like this with Nodewars (which i'm handling most of the art for), but NW is set in a slightly "skewed" version of the FS universe.

Venom, Styxx, KMN and Aldo all do very good versions of the origional FS ships.  I'd love to help but I jsut don't have the time i'm afraid :(

Title: Hey render artists! Got a minute or three?
Post by: Kitsune on August 01, 2002, 06:54:31 am

Which part are they working on for Squad War?

Converting into an rpg format or getting pictures of every ship available?
I've got some pics of most ships (not fighters) already, it's just they're bland renders done on a black background that don't show up very well. :doh:

I've thought about joining SW but I can't get into the swing of things there to figure out what the rules are aside from 'no powergaming'.  The ship building stuff and whatnot reminds me alot of Master of Orion 2 (dunno bout 1 or 3, haven't played them, (go creativity+luck+charisma!)) with the labels and whatnot for each sub-specialization on weapons and such.

Oh, does anyone know what systems lie beyond the Duhbe (spelling?  Damn fuzzy map) system?

Title: Hey render artists! Got a minute or three?
Post by: wEvil on August 01, 2002, 07:05:32 am

nonono..NODE wars

its in a hosted forum if you look down on the index and at the NW WIP thread in this art forum.

I have nowt to do with Squadwar :p

Title: Hey render artists! Got a minute or three?
Post by: Thorn on August 01, 2002, 11:17:38 am

(http://www.3dap.com/hlp/hosted/tap/thorn/renders/hatshepsut.jpg)

Is that what you're looking for, or a schematic type thing?

Title: Hey render artists! Got a minute or three?
Post by: Kitsune on August 02, 2002, 12:47:29 am

Erf, my bad.  Shows how much I get around either forum huh?

Thorn:
Definitely what I'm after.  Nebulas and whatnot are a lot more impressive and don't hide detail like a flat color can.
And schematics?  Gah!  I'm not writing a technical manual, and I certainly don't expect anyone to try and help me with something on THAT big of a scale.  Sure it'd be interesting to see them all laid out and stuff, but a project like that would take as much effort to do properly as the source code.

(BTW, mind if I use that pic?) :)

Title: Hey render artists! Got a minute or three?
Post by: Thorn on August 02, 2002, 10:05:05 am

Quote

Originally posted by Kitsune
(BTW, mind if I use that pic?) :)

Go nuts... I can make more if ya want...

Title: Hey render artists! Got a minute or three?
Post by: Kitsune on August 02, 2002, 10:16:31 pm

Thankee Thorn.

And if you want to make more please do.
Make 'em smaller than 800x600 to help keep the filesizes down so pages won't take forever to load.  (56k friendly, 300k max)

I've already finished the Deimos, Leviathan (fenris too, gimme 5 min to change a couple things,) Poseidon and the Colossus...  And writing out where what weapon is on each ship (or at least the direction it faces) is time consuming.  Plus having to hodge-podge an extra 18 turrets or so onto the Col. cause the cutscene adds up to 82 while the game says 64.

So if you can spit some of those out for the webpage to get started it'd help.

~Kitsune

Title: Hey render artists! Got a minute or three?
Post by: Thorn on August 02, 2002, 10:28:52 pm

I could make a 200x150 thumbnail to a 1024x786 image....
takes all of 30 seconds...

Title: Hey render artists! Got a minute or three?
Post by: PSYCHO on August 03, 2002, 01:44:57 pm

Quote

Originally posted by Kitsune
Thankee Thorn.

And if you want to make more please do.
Make 'em smaller than 800x600 to help keep the filesizes down so pages won't take forever to load.  (56k friendly, 300k max)

I've already finished the Deimos, Leviathan (fenris too, gimme 5 min to change a couple things,) Poseidon and the Colossus...  And writing out where what weapon is on each ship (or at least the direction it faces) is time consuming.  Plus having to hodge-podge an extra 18 turrets or so onto the Col. cause the cutscene adds up to 82 while the game says 64.

So if you can spit some of those out for the webpage to get started it'd help.

~Kitsune

Hey why dont you use model view and capture the Image it shows all the weapons and thier FOVs

Title: Hey render artists! Got a minute or three?
Post by: aldo_14 on August 03, 2002, 04:17:27 pm

Why not grab some of the pics off of the :V: website?

I have a few things that fit in with the FS2 style... the Aurora, Agamenmon, Scarab (pre-FS2 Vasudan stealth prototype) and Berserker are probably close to 'proper' designs (the Berserker was from a V concept), so i can probably rustle up a few renders of those....

anyways, certain dimensions required? (say 640*400 for big ships, 320*200 for small)...and maybe a specific background for each species?

Title: Hey render artists! Got a minute or three?
Post by: aldo_14 on August 03, 2002, 04:20:39 pm

Quote

Originally posted by Kitsune

Oh, does anyone know what systems lie beyond the Duhbe (spelling?  Damn fuzzy map) system?

(http://www.3dap.com/hlp/hosted/reciprocity/images/nodemap2.gif)

Sorry 'bout the overlays (trying to set down fleet regions), but AFAIK the system map stuff is canon.

Title: Hey render artists! Got a minute or three?
Post by: Kitsune on August 03, 2002, 05:45:03 pm

Well, the :V: Website does have some good stuff, but they too have some generic black backgrounds which make it almost useless to look at if a ship is dark.  It hides shapes and whatnot.

Thorn's already provided me with each cruiser and corvette except the mentu.  Yes, fighters are a must too, and sizes, as long as you can make out detail of the ship image sizes aren't too big a worry.  Not to mention the low-poly fighters don't require huge images for detail either.

I still need destroyers (minus the hetsheput (grr, spelling), the mentu and the fighters (FS1 and FS2).

If anyone feels like donating action shots and renders that'd be coolness as well. :nod:

Title: Hey render artists! Got a minute or three?
Post by: Pera on August 04, 2002, 09:33:33 am

I checked my hard drive and found a couple.

They are the Orion and the Aeolus, the one of aeolus is sort of an action pic :) I put in both full 800x600 renders and 320x240 thumbnails.

here (http://www.3dap.com/hlp/hosted/tap/pictures/pics.zip)

If I'll end up doing more of them, I'll send them to you too.