[High Max]

 

[Thaeris]

The retail Boa actually has several inlets/vents on the mesh or at least on the texture. The only problems with the vents now is the depth of the openings and the foremost vent... which is where the uppermost missile port is supposed to be. 

[hundeswehr]

vent=service/missile holes. 

[Thaeris]

By the way, hundeswehr...

I'm afraid I don't have a welcome beam, but:

WELCOME TO THE HLP!!!

[castor]

Also, the random square greebles don't look so great.

Yep, those certainly look out of place. Another thing I don't like much is the excessive curvature of thruster casing.
Show off, a bit?  But its a war machine designed to be deployed in grim places you'd rather never even hear about.. supposed to look at least mildly depressive

[High Max]

 

[Thaeris]

 

Max, what does that have to do with the model?

The other thing I tried playing around with in the past was making the "spine" on the dorsal surface of the bomber more angular and thus more like the retail model. Believe it or not, keeping the angular spine, though it increases the volume of the bomber, actually makes it look sleeker. This is because it distributes the lateral profile of the ship more evenly, thus making the front end appear less bulbous.

[castor]

I guess he means it doesn't need to look tough cause it fails in being tough?
Well, even if its not completely successful there, adding chrome can only make it seem less so.

[MatthTheGeek]

That's not because the Serapis' armor is made of paper that we made it look like paper

Staying as close as possible to the original concept while adding detail and other nice stuff is more important IMHO than changing the look of a ships according to its stats. The only exception would be the Lilith, which has to look tougher than the Cain, but that's not the subject here.

And to be honest I think you added to much in curves and bulbous-looking here. All this look really nice, but it needs to be bulkier I think.

[hundeswehr]

By the way, hundeswehr...

I'm afraid I don't have a welcome beam, but:

WELCOME TO THE HLP!!!

hi, thanks.

also, i always thought the ship selection/info graphics were really great...and can be a good basis for any high polygon redos:



it seems some of the surfaces need normal maps. you can see dimples on some of the armor platings. some minor recesses at the engine. polygon additions will need to add to the existing details, not make it more curved. the flat, deflective armor tank-like design is what makes it special.

[Thaeris]

That's actually a very good point, and that's not at all a bad screen shot from the ship selection screen. I'd like to think someone would use that to a greater effect...

I personally don't think I'll be able to do that right now; I've got lots of real commitments as well as several other HLP commitments. I'm curious, hundeswehr, do you have any experience with CAD?

[hundeswehr]

no, sorry.

[Thaeris]

No worries.  

Actually, the best way to start leaning, should you care to learn, is to just go out and try some software, much of which is actually quite good and also very much free. Blender is probably the most useful, though I personally have never had the patience to tame the beast's UI. SketchUp is almost instantaneously started... and then seemingly just as quickly inhibited/limited by it's own UI. Wings3D is also a free, open-source program, though I've never used it.

For a balance of functionality and useability, try AC3D. It'll cost you, but it's pretty cheap in comparison to a great many other CAD programs.

Personally, I've been tempted to give Silo a try, though I haven't had time to play with the demo... which only lasts for 30 days.

If you're interested in any of these but can't find what I'm referring to, please feel free to ask.  

[Droid803]

Hmmm that image reveals something to me: namely that that central black region is the cockpit glass that bulges out slightly. It's configuration suggests a single pilot in a standing position or something like the Ulysses (with the awesome motorcycle mount).

I really don't like the two people sitting next to each other. It looks retarded. The only reason I can see for having this is the whole "all bombers have two pilots!" thing...which isn't even canon. If the ship's layout doesn't suggest two pilots, don't force it...

[-Norbert-]

If you really need to put a second pilot in, I guess the cockpit shape would support a sitting arangement like it is done in many modern battle helicopters, where the secend seat is behind and above the firrst seat (like in the Hind, Cobra or the Apache to name just the most "famouse" ones).

[Thaeris]

Those are my thoughts exactly, Norbert. In fact, the view point for the Boa is mounted towards the top the cockpit structure, implying that the WSO (if there is one) is near the bottom of the cockpit module while the pilot sits above him - Just like a helo!

I personally like the multi-crew spacecraft in FS. They just make the ships seem more "real," or what have you. Despite modern weapon systems as we're familiar with being so highly automated, thier complexity has encouraged the further employment of multi-crew fighters; the Rafale and Super Hornet are prime examples of this phenomenon.

[Droid803]

If it doesn't significantly warp the shape of the cockpit (like the two side-by-side pilots do), then I have no qualms about it. It looks interesting and unique, and morphing it looks...bad.

[Thaeris]

I think the last effort of the Boa looked good, but as I've said before, just had too much creative licence taken out on it. Creative licence is good, but only to a point. And, if you eagerly give into that sort of thing, you're going to open Pandora's Box, FSU style. How many arguments have we had over the new Cain model, after all?

[Commander Zane]

Over every Cain model someone worked on.

[Thaeris]

Over every Cain model someone worked on.

Verily. There's many aspects of that model I like, and I approve of it as a whole, but that's "dangerous territory" he's entered into with some of the design aspects, namely the missile launchers. However, that discussion belongs in the HTL Cain thread.