[Eviscerator]

And let the whining begin!

Ignore it Raptor. Your work on this thing is awesome. It prolly will not run on my primary system either, but I will upgrade so that it will.

[Lynx]

Eh, I don't think it has so much more detail than other high poly ships out there to justify bying a new computer(unless all the other high poly remakes run slowly on you PC). This just shows what correct UV-mapping and good texturin can make a difference. You could take the stock model of the Hecate and with good UVmapping ad detailed high res textures(no Volition tiles since they suck rotten eggs, best no tiles at all) it would look light years ahead of the original without more polies.

[Eviscerator]

I agree. But I was gonna upgrade anyway.

[Raptor]

Originally posted by Getter Robo G
Holy **** on a shingle! I don't think this thing is gonna run on my system!!! I love it so much

Originally posted by Eviscerator
Ignore it Raptor. Your work on this thing is awesome. It prolly will not run on my primary system either, but I will upgrade so that it will.

TO be honest I'm not sure it will run on mine either:nervous:  But thanks for the praise:D

1.4 Ghz Celeron processor
340 mb RAM
Geforce 5200 FX PCI[EDIT]checked and corrected[/EDIT]

But with only -spec and -glow, the max fps I get is:
37.5 fps


The same as when I only  had 128mb of RAM
:wtf:x2

Particles (particularly the trails from hits on hostile fighters) cause MAJOR slow down.  And the system is a bit buggy sometimes:hopping:

[Gregster2k]

Who cares? Everyone should be granted the option of an "uber quality" and a "average computer" version of this ship. Heck, all HTL bustin' ships should be offered in an "uber" and "average" version.

In other words Raptor, make one version of the GTD Hera as you are doing it right now, and then afterwards, release a second version with a much lower detail level and polycount...the second, "faster" version would be optimized so that your system runs fast with it (over 60 fps).

Don't pay any optimization notice to the first version.

[Roanoke]

seems odd the leading edge of the engine pods is round but the rear end is square cut....

[Gregster2k]

but that looks cool! its a part of what makes this ship so l337.

EDIT: ONE MORE THING about the advantage of releasing two versions of this ship:

The first version (the giga high polygon one with no attention paid to framerate) would be suitable for use as a BENCHMARK between people's different systems. FreeSpace 2 OSP is so sensitive to video card and CPU arrangements that the presence of a high poly ship can determine whose rig is better.

Plus, as video cards and CPU's get better, we won't have to redo this ship to improve it, we'll have a high polygon one waiting for us to "grow into" with our gaming technologies. It's only going to get faster, so we might as well plan ahead, eh?

As for the second version I propose, yes, that one would be designed for use on general FreeSpace 2 campaigns and the like and as such would be dumbed down in detail to be fast.

[Raptor]

Okay, new pic, testing out various ways of doing the armour plating.  PSP7 user.  Opinons please.



I would import the tech description I've written, but it's just too LONG

[TopAce]

Simple textures rule!

[WeatherOp]

Don't worry Raptor, there is no such thing as too much detail. Well, maybe Lo-mac, but keep up the good work.

I give it Three  Thumbs up, but sadly I only have two.

[Roanoke]

I'll stick my neck out and say embossed.

[Jonathan_S47]

I think the Embossed area looks better. The Edge Enhanced area just looks horrible.

[karajorma]

I'd say embossed too.

[c914]

Same here: Embossed part of ship looks better

[Roanoke]

*does the victory arm pump thing*

[Raptor]

Thanks peps.  I was leaning towards the embossed look too.

I've had a look back at my second stab at texturing this beast.  Now I know what I did before, I should be able to the plating better;)

[Setekh]

Out of those options, embossed for sure; but I think you could play with it further and extend the depth of that texture. Give it some more character, perhaps add some more overlays.

[Lynx]

Yeah, but the tone overlays shouldn't be too dark and not too much contrast to retain a flat, metallic look for the plates.

Volition tiles are a good example how you *shouldn*t do things like bringing out the edges of structures too much, overly roughening up the plates making it look like cobblestones. The best tile is those used on the Deimos though even they are not great.

[Woolie Wool]

Originally posted by Unknown Target
Actually, it IS totally realistic to think that (for a commercial game developer). Why do you think PC games are just NOW starting to be able to compete with console games? We had the power before, why did we never use it? Because game developers had to curtail their usage of new technology, to keep their games runnable on older systems.
Why is it realistic to think this only for a commercial developer? Because commercial developers have to reach everyone: that's their bread and butter. So if they dont' reach the low-end crowd, they'll cut out half their profits. However, a mod project, while it would be nice, doesn't have to do it because he doesn't have anything particularly important, at least monetarily riding on it.

They're more than catching up with console games. PC Doom 3 is so much more impressive than the XBox version that it's not even funny. The XBox version has NO normal mapping at all and vastly inferior lighting and detail.

[Woolie Wool]

Originally posted by WeatherOp
Don't worry Raptor, there is no such thing as too much detail. Well, maybe Lo-mac, but keep up the good work.

I give it Three  Thumbs up, but sadly I only have two.

I once played a Doom level with over 25,000 linedefs and 3,000 monsters (the map was called Deus Vult) that made my Athlon 2700+ and Radeon 9200 beg for mercy, so I disagree about there never being too much detail.

Even worse was this map that had a tad fewer linedefs and sectors but was much smaller in the physical size of the play area (so the linedefs were more densely bunched together) and was filled with scripting, ambient sounds, and moving **** that made my comp run like a slideshow.