[CooperHawkes]

i'm not one of the model wizards.
but i have to say: this looks nice.

[Angelus]

this looks nice.

indeed.

What's the poly/ tris count so far?

[rscaper1070]

It's pretty heavy. Just over 41k with the thruster section only 1/3 done. I've been trying to skimp on details as much as I can though. The spine of the ship is another problem. It's supposed to be a bunch of cylinders grouped together but that would probably mean an additional 10-20k. I have an idea to try to fake it though. Still I think I'm going to have to dig in and try to find savings where ever I can.

[Ace]

I'd use this version to make normal maps, and use a version one LOD less than this as LOD0 for the game.

[rscaper1070]

So should I just go full tilt boogie with the details and worry about the poly count later?

[karajorma]

Also, not sure if you're aware of this, but there were two variants of this ship, the differences being the number and placement of those round docking clamps things.

Further to what Newman said, it's worth pointing out that you're actually modelling the version that WASN'T in the episode Scar.

Yes, BtRL actually refers to the Monarch repeatedly in the final mission when the Monarch is actually the same class as the one you are modelling and not the six legged version. That's due to the fact that the version that actually worked best changed multiple times during development (including once after voice acting had started) and it was too much work to actually fix it.

[rscaper1070]

I'm not sure I understand what you are saying. I'm using this page as reference : http://www.meshweaver.com/portfolio/Battlestar_Galactica_Modelling.htm

[YIIMM]

What they mean is that there are two, visually distinct mining ships.

The Majahual, which was the ship seen mainly in Scar, has this arrangement for its legs.

The Monarch, which is they type that you are currently modelling, looks like this.

Cosmetically, it can be easy to miss if you aren't looking out for it.

[rscaper1070]

Ok, that makes sense. The only reference I was able to find for the other variant was this:



But this on has only five feet.

It's an easy fix though.

[newman]

Which app are you using, and how are you texturing and UVW-mapping wise?

As for those renders.. could definitely use at least some ambient occlusion to get the detail more visible. I'd suggest losing the green, too - it doesn't work so well with resized thumbnails - that color gets murdered by the compression so the thumbs look bad. I'd suggest doing clay renders in some neutral gray-ish color.

[rscaper1070]

I'm using 3ds max. I've just started learning how to model and have only mapped one model so far. I just found a really good set of tutorials so my skills are set to improve. You're right about the clay render, I noticed somethings right away that needs to be tweaked here and there. I need to figure out what can be handled by normal maps because this thing is up to 60k polies.

[Colonol Dekker]

V nice.
What tutorial set are you using?

[newman]

Well, as for Diaspora, unfortunately we only let in people who can do the holy 3 well enough - modeling, unwrapping, texturing. Doing otherwise only created problems in the past. Nothing preventing you from learning by doing, however, so you shouldn't stop on this one.
Back to the model. First let's check we're talking about the same number - in Diaspora (or indeed any game) the polycount actually refers to the triangle count (can also see that by setting it in the statistics configuration window for the viewport). This is the number that is actually important as all meshes are triangulated when being converted to POF (no, that doesn't mean you should work with triangles from the start, keep using quads but keep an eye out for the tris count).
Secondly, while the model does look ok, don't get me wrong but it doesn't look like it should take up 60k - can you post a few wireframe shots of the ship so we can get an idea of the mesh topology?
Thanks.

[Shade]

I'd guess it's all those small details on the underside, since they're modelled in. Many of those could be done in the texture with a normal map, though, or at least simplified and then polished off with the normal map. There are a few such details on the topside as well, but below is where the real savings are to be had.

That aside, great looking model. Can't wait to see it unwrapped and textured

[newman]

I'd guess it's all those small details on the underside, since they're modelled in. Many of those could be done in the texture with a normal map, though, or at least simplified and then polished off with the normal map. There are a few such details on the topside as well, but below is where the real savings are to be had.

Until I see a wire, I have to disagree. Most of those greebles are actually simple shapes that shouldn't take much tris at all so I wouldn't normal map them just yet. Like I said, need to see a wireframe to get an idea where all the tris went. In the end it could really be those shapes in case rscaper spent a lot more tris than needed on them, but to be sure we need those wireframes. In any case the ship doesn't look to me like it should take up over 60k in it's current state.
Also, rscaper, don't forget to check if 60k is a triangle or polygon count.

[rscaper1070]

Just touching base here a little. You were right, the 60k count was the tri count, the poly count was still over 50k though. I ascribe that to my inexperience as a modeler. I've been diving into Digital Tutors and have been learning a lot so I think I'm going to start from scratch and see if I can't create a more efficient model.

I never had any thought of joining the Diaspora team really. What I really want is to play the game and since assets are what you guys need I thought I'd try to put a shoulder behind it. So when I put together an efficient model that looks good I'll post it here.