[Roanoke]

Final update before unwrapping & texturing:







had to go on a serious low-poly diet. Down from >3000 to 2056. Still a little high but hey. Just hope the simple simon cockpit glass will cut it.

[Roanoke]

Oh, should I keep the Skull 'n' crosssbones in the texture ? I think it's silly as there's no reason for it to be there, but then it would be moving away from the  design.

the "mouth" at the front is staying by the way ('cos it looks cool, like on planes)

[m2258734a]

It's up to you whether you want to take that out or not. While it has been a predominant feature I have noticed on the Loki since I first started playing FS2, so has the "02" on the side of the Herc II. Don't take my word for it, but I think the work that you have done to update the model is all that matters.

BTW: is there a reason why you count down so much on the polys? I thought that high polys did not necessarily affect the frame rate of gameplay.

[Roanoke]

still needs to be as low as possible, especially fighters where there are lots of them about.

[StratComm]

Single texture for fighters really is more important ultimately, but a poly budget isn't a bad thing to try to adhere to.

I'd say keep the skull, since the amount of crap I've taken over the '02' issue tells me that people really want the textures to stay consistant.  It's usually covered by the insignia anyway (something else that people apparently still want) so unless you move the insignia to not be so huge (a good thing, IMHO) then I wouldn't move the skull.

And I still say the little ends of the pods should be pulled out to match the original.

[m2258734a]

I understand... excellent job! 

As for the "02", I didn't bring that up to complain about it, only to use it as an example of a fighter which does not stay consistent with the original texture, which is not a bad thing. Sorry for any misunderstandings.

[Taristin]

Yeah, the engine pod thingamaroos need to be pulled out. That's the only gripe.

[Roanoke]

thingamaroos

is that a technical term ? 

[neoterran]

 

Just wanted people to keep talking about the model, don't kill me cause you were expecting it to be done....

[IceFire]

Looks great....always liked the Loki despite it being fairly weak as a fighter.  I sort of wish it got more use over just being a target.  But a nice craft to do a full upgrade on.  Definately paid off!

[Mars]

I always wondered how early the GTI had the Loki... could they have used it during the Terran - Vasudan war?

[neo_hermes]

it was prolly used in Scouting/Raiding parties during the T- V Wars. they could have used it during a whole series of escapades but it's all classified and prolly destroyed.

[Mars]

Actually I just played the mission where they introduced the Loki, it apears to have been the newest prototype in a long study of stealth fighters technology.

During recovery of the Einstein's escape pods in Beta Aquilae, unidentified fighters attacked your wing. The results of our inquiry are puzzling-the vessels are Loki-class fighters, GTI design and manufacture.

GTI research and development created the Loki-class fighter at a top-secret installation, location undisclosed (The Jotunheim?). The prototype of a stealth fighter project, the Loki is designed to elude detection by all known sensor arrays.

[aldo_14]

Actually I just played the mission where they introduced the Loki, it apears to have been the newest prototype in a long study of stealth fighters technology.

During recovery of the Einstein's escape pods in Beta Aquilae, unidentified fighters attacked your wing. The results of our inquiry are puzzling-the vessels are Loki-class fighters, GTI design and manufacture.

GTI research and development created the Loki-class fighter at a top-secret installation, location undisclosed (The Jotunheim?). The prototype of a stealth fighter project, the Loki is designed to elude detection by all known sensor arrays.

Why newest?  Prototype would, to me, just mean it was the first operational design they'd made with the various stealth concepts (etc) covered by their R&D project.

[neoterran]

once this and the iceni are done, we really need a new set of mediavps !! 

[starfox]

once this and the iceni are done, we really need a new set of mediavps !! 

Don't forget the Ravana...

[Mars]

That's what I was thinking with the HTL Ursa, but these things usually come in waves, starting up and finishing up at ~ the same time.

[Vasudan Admiral]

About time too. The Loki is just simple enough to let you get really bored of the shape, but complex enough to make it a bit tricky to do. At last I can move on to either the Arcadia or Valkyrie!

Anyways, I've learned a ton of how to texture with this one - especially while doing the mechanical areas of the engines. I really like that technique.

Download - 2.5 megs

For the newbies, to install it simply extract the files using WinRAR, place the .pof file in Freespace2\mediavps\data\models, the .dds files in Freespace2\mediavps\data\maps and the .ibx file in Freespace2\mediavps\data\cache.

Note: I have NOT included the cockpit textures - those can be found in the HTL Zeus package since they've not been changed further. It DOES have an insignia that appears to work, but I turned it off for the pics.

Onto the piccies:










If you add "show ship" to the Loki's flag list in the ships table, this is what you'll see:


And a couple of other images:
Extra Pic 1
Extra Pic 2
Extra Pic 3
Cockpit View 2

And finally, an old & new comparison, because the old one really sucked:


If you find any bugs, lemme know ASAP - since the next MediaVPs are around the corner, we really need this thing to be in perfect health for them.
And there you have it. Enjoy.

[ARSPR]

Great work, downloading now   

Please, before you start another model, could you make an animated glow for your Lucifer? (I also posted it here).

[Raven2001]

Excellent material as always VA