[mandobardanjusik]

ok hello everyone, I am working on some models here,(as well as hoping to join the team) but I need some help. I have no trouble in the replication stage, but I could use your help and advice in making these ships fit in better in their designs with the rest of the movie ships.
First is the Scimitar assualt bomber, I made most of the mesh a while back but I finally got around to adding some more of the fine details. and there are no pics of the engine section so I am open to any suggestions, but remember, this is NOT technicly a tie as it has only a single engine(but a ton of missile and bomb launchers) also sorry if the render quality isnt perfect, I am new to clay rendering (in case anyone is wondering I use max 9)
ok here is the link as well, in case you guys were wondering about where in the expanded universe this craft is from http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Scimitar_assault_bomber . also I will post my next general ship on this thread after I recive and respond to feedback on this ship

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[mandobardanjusik]

oh and interesting fact, the  command pod on this bomber doubles as an escape pod, and this thing can be upgraded to have a hyperdrive

[chief1983]

Nice clay renders

[mandobardanjusik]

thanks chief, any comments on the ship itself?

[brandx0]

Well the modelling is well done, my only suggestion in that department would be to put those grooves along the cockpit into the normal map, they're too shallow to need to be on the model itself, and that would free you up enough polies to make the cylinder 24 sided, rather than the 16 you currently have.  Also the raised ribs along the front guns don't need to be on the model, nor do the indents in the bomb tubes.

The design itself isn't bad either, it's one of those rare EU designs that manages to fit mostly into that Star Wars style.  There are a few things that make it stand out though:

1) The giant engine at the back just doesn't really seem to fit in with the rest of the imperial designs.  It's even bigger than the rebel engines.  I'd come up with a different propulsion system, maybe make it a TIE-style (yes I'm aware that it's supposed to have one engine, not two, but it's the EU so it's fair game for redesigning)
2) The solar panels on all of the TIEs have at least one flat, greebled area.  There is a small circular greeble which is present on every single TIE, this one, And I think it'd help to break up the shape of the wing a little, make it less polygonal.
3) The way the wings connect to the body doesn't seem very imperial either.  I'd suggest replacing it with something along the lines of the TIE Advanced, which has a cylindrical bridge attached to a flat plane.  This would give you more opportunity to add some detailing into the texture as well, with more to draw inspiration from.
4) A minor one, but one that you made on this model that doesn't appear in the original references, the cockpit of every TIE has the ribs every 45 degrees, starting from perfectly horizontal and vertical spars.  Yours are offset 22.5 degrees, so there are no horizontal or vertical spars.  I think it would work better the original way.  In addition, if you want to make the cockpit glass identical to the other TIEs (this is something I'd suggest) there is too much forward protrusion.  See here.

All in all, my biggest suggestion for you, if you're looking to get your stuff in our game, is to start small, get one model up to our standards and totally complete before tackling multiple projects.  Many suggestions we have will be on such things as your modelling or texturing style or method, and so they'll likely apply to all models you make.  Save yourself some frustration and get one done the way we need it so you don't have to go and redo every model you've made.

[mandobardanjusik]

ok here is another fighter of mine, it is a reimagined version of the R-41 Starchaser http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/R-41 . In case you were wondering, no that was not the original intent, but it is a long backstory, and it no longer matters anyways. yes, the dual rotorary cannons are being removed and the evil R4 is either being removed, or replaced. and yes I will nicen up the engine section adn thicken the wings. Ok so any comments advice or tips. and yes, it will have the same armenant as the R-41 of 2 lasers, a pair of ion cannons, and dual missile launcher,. yes I will post new pics after more advice is given, and the model is fixed

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[-Norbert-]

I suggest giving it another number. Either R-42 or R-41B or something, to establish it as the Starchasers succesor or upgrade.
I'd also make the flaps (or however it's called) that go up and down from the tips of the wings a bit smaller and make the flaps at the base of the wings a little taller.

But it already does look very cool as it is.

[mandobardanjusik]

well, technicly its up to chief or Brand-x, as they are nto against reimagining, but we will find out later,. oh and if you were looking at the pic names, ignore those, that was just my little nickname for the model. it is still the R-41 starchaser

[mandobardanjusik]

ok to better defend my ppoint of having this as a reimgained R-41, I removed the extra optional, or needed to be removed details, and pulled out an actual R-41 replica model I made and made these two renders to emphasize the similarities. (yes the engines can use some adjustment, as can the laser length, but put thta under improvements needed) again feel free to give advice, and tell me which pices from the earlier version you would like me to keep (wings, stabs, astromech, etc.). and the varying lengths arent really a problem, as this thing is 16.5m long (the Y-wing is 16m). oh and of course allow for some artisitic differences

edit: frontal pic to show engine entakes, Ion cannons, missile tubes

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[chief1983]

It's pretty good, but I'm not sure how I like how every forward protrusion is pointy.  It looks vaguely like a murder weapon.

[Dragon]

Looks very pirate-y. Which isn't bad, Black Sun or Telnoss Sindicate would most likely be seen using ships like that.

[CountBuggula]

Mando - I'd really like to see what you can do with the feedback Brand gave you on the Scimitar.  I think that model has the best potential of what you've shown to fit into the look and feel this mod is going for, and I want to see you focus on that to see it through to completion.

After you've got that done, I think you've got a good start for a re-imaged R-41, but one thing at a time.

[mandobardanjusik]

sounds fine by, I can make most of the fixes tonight, its not overly difficult

[mandobardanjusik]

ok new update on the scimitar, I have made the new changes to the scimitar as recomended by Brand. this includes: new rounder cockpit module with proper window alignment, additional pipes(noticed on the ref) a much smaller engine exhaust more in the style of a tie, even if it like 2-4 times the size of one, a couple additional details, new wing braces, and a nice outerwing gimble, that is similar, but a bit different than the one on a normal TIE

also interesting note, this thing has about 10x the firepower of a TIE bomber  because it has about 20 missile and bomb tubes. and like I said, fixes were easy, the rendering on the other hand takes forever

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[mandobardanjusik]

warning, warning, new era fleet approaching, consisting of 9 old republic fighters, a thranta, a sith interceptor, and a mandalorian kandosii from the Great hyperpace war, the great sith war, the Mandalorian War and the Great Galatic War.
hmmm, what do you guys think of all these ships? dont worry, I didnt make all of these last night, these are some ships I have been making and piling up for 2 RTS mods I have been piling up for a while. some of these are still WIP, and some do need improvement, but they arent coming to this mod, at least not yet. thought I would show you guys some more of my work, though wouldnt be interesting if we added the ancient part of the Old republic era to this mod? but, then again who know what will happen, tell me what you guys think of these ships of mine. oh and none of these are to scale with each other, (especially considering most of these are fighters, a gunship, and a shuttle, whereas the Kandosii in back is a dreadnaught, that is 1360m long), they are just all around the same scale so I can show you the detail. and if you think it would be cool to see these in this mod, do tell, and if you have any questions, or want any wiki links to any of these ships and or close ups, ask me. and I just realized if the Old Republic were to be added I have already made about 80% of republic fighters , all pre-new sith wars of course.

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[rhettro]

Nice work.

[CountBuggula]

ok new update on the scimitar, I have made the new changes to the scimitar as recomended by Brand. this includes: new rounder cockpit module with proper window alignment, additional pipes(noticed on the ref) a much smaller engine exhaust more in the style of a tie, even if it like 2-4 times the size of one, a couple additional details, new wing braces, and a nice outerwing gimble, that is similar, but a bit different than the one on a normal TIE

also interesting note, this thing has about 10x the firepower of a TIE bomber  because it has about 20 missile and bomb tubes. and like I said, fixes were easy, the rendering on the other hand takes forever

Much better - I like the changes.  I'd say now that with the smaller engine exhaust, that whole section needs some more detail.  Stick some engine bits or greebles or something in that area to make it more interesting.

[mandobardanjusik]

ok I have a few Ideas, I will do them later, then add a pic to this. any other comments on my OR era ships?

[mandobardanjusik]

ok added a final bit of greebling to the engine section, did an indent, and added a bit of piping, here is the pic

now a question for zoo keeper: can you tell me what I need to do from here to prep the model for getting it ingame, and can you link me to any proper tuts on the forum as well if you want ( and no, I do not need UV mapping or texture tuts, I actualy made a UV mapping tut), and I will do what I can to prep it, though you will ahve to do the actual final checking and prepping.

the next ship I will prep to get ingame, will be one of mine that needs a bit of mesh editing to make it look like the original ship, but does have a finished skin, I will tell you what it is later

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[mandobardanjusik]

ok, so I luckily have a skinner friend of mine who wants the scimitar for his FOC mod, so I will send that to him for skinning tonight, though I am doing the engine specific stuff. unless there are any further changes that you guys want, in that case I will wait