Topic: Osiris Class Rennovation (Read 2740 times)

AlchemistiD · « **Reply #30 on:** January 12, 2008, 11:18:04 pm »

Was looking at the wings. Had to go back and edit a few things, they just looked too knobby.

I made new swanwings that are somewhat beefier than the previous ones. Added more modules along the outer and inner tracks to try to give the ship a more avian feel. (It's called Osiris, so something should look bird-like)

Results below.

::ALCHEMIC EDIT::

Wanted to look at what it might possibly look like when finished. I applied some basic colors and masks for lighting, attachment added.

As for in game flight testing, apparently material colors and illumination masks send the Model Viewer into a seizure,

AlchemistiD · « **Reply #31 on:** January 15, 2008, 03:15:33 pm »

And today I give you...

TOTAL CRAP

So can anyone name a decent smoothing plugin? Or tell me what I'm doing wrong?

F9thCenturus · « **Reply #32 on:** January 15, 2008, 03:32:19 pm »

Wish I could help you. But I still can't make models. You already know more than me.

AlchemistiD · « **Reply #33 on:** January 15, 2008, 04:38:58 pm »

I doubt it, $:-\$

I forgot to mention that the mesh above is a test mesh, I made some basic color textures for the ship and exported it to MOD to look for any problems to iron out (and boy did I find 'em, as you can see above.)

The funny thing is, when rendered ingame in SFC3, it's nowhere near as bad. The same for SFC2, while it's not great in SFC2 either, at least it doesn't give me a seizure when I look at it.

Still looking for advice, but heres what it looks like a-la SFC3's (more powerful?) engine.

Brought to you by Mother Brain's Pretzels. Mother Brain, she'll only blow up one of the planets in your solar system!

Also, I have to ask another question. What are the generally recommended LOD settings? It asks me whenever I port to .mod.

F9thCenturus · « **Reply #34 on:** January 15, 2008, 05:22:54 pm »

Select none. LODs aren't really necessary. SFC3 doesn't use them at all, and not that many people that make models for SFC1/2/OP use LODs anymore.

Tus · « **Reply #35 on:** January 19, 2008, 01:35:40 am »

smoothing is easy really. The issue is that SFC doesn't recognize smoothing groups correctly (it sees everything as either in a singular smoothing group or not smoothed at all). What you can do is use the smooth modifier in max, that should take care of most of the work for you. From there you might need to adjust a few smoothing groups here and there. here are some basic instructions:

1. Go into the modify tab and put a smooth modifer on your mesh
2. check auto smooth
3. Go into the modify tab and put an edit mesh modifer on your mesh
4. select areas that need manual smoothing and reassign smooth groups as neccesary (found in the surface properties rollout)
5. Go into the modify tab and put an edit mesh modifer on your mesh
6. Go to the selection roll out, hit polygon selection (the sqare)
7. scroll down to the surface properties rollout; You will see a button called "select by SG";
click that botton and a window should appear with all the smoothing groups used by your model, select 1 group (just click the number. warning it might not unclick the number (an issue when parts have multiple sg) when you come back into the select by sg, so you might need to do that yourself)
8. go to the edit geometry roleout and click detach, check the box detach to element
repeat steps 7 and 8 till there are no more groups to detach

When you export the smoothing groups will be recognized correctly. This is because SFC smooths by elements, and by detaching them you create a new element. aaah, but you remember you checked the box 'detach to element' right? well this just removes a step, which is you would have to reattach it again if you didn't. the result is the same though, you created a bunch of new elements, and thus sfc smooths those elements correctly because there is exactly 1 sg to those elements. Hope that helps.

Don Karnage · « **Reply #36 on:** January 31, 2008, 07:13:56 pm »

the saucer seem big for the ship.

AlchemistiD · « **Reply #37 on:** January 31, 2008, 09:47:53 pm »

There be bad and hilarious news.

First the bad. After trying out tons of tut's and suggestions (big thanks to Tus and WZ)... well...no joy.

It turns out looking somewhat allright ingame anyway so I'll take care of something else on it for now.

As for the other...that happened while blocking placeholder textures, and I just felt like sharing the fact that the textures from the original Osiris look almost way better on the new model. At least, I thought it was funny.

Tus · « **Reply #38 on:** February 01, 2008, 08:48:49 am »

if you want you can send me the file and i can do the smoothin for ya...

Starforce2 · « **Reply #39 on:** March 28, 2008, 11:42:33 pm »

Phaser banks would look better if they maintained their distance from the raised arc of windows ya got there...

AlchemistiD · « **Reply #40 on:** April 02, 2008, 09:04:20 pm »

It's only a placeholder map from the original. Just so I have everything named and assigned.

Sorry I haven't updated in a long time, there's been great deal of stuff going on in my family lately. Plus I payed a visit to family in Ann Arbor, loved Michigan...but I couldn't stay there ; _ ;.

All the people walking around covered with cold weather wear, and I was walking around in below freezing weather, just fine...wearing a t-shirt.

Right now I'm just back from the dentist, had to have a root canal. Funny though how the root canal feels better with no pain meds than the tooth felt before after 500mg of Ibuprofen.

Tus, I'm probably gonna take ya up on that. I'll send it as soon as I'm finished fixing some odd mesh anomalies, and with the yacht module. Came up with a design for the captain's yacht, and it's deployment sequence/mechanics during the two and a half hour flight from Houston International to Detroit Metro.

For right now until the pain meds kick in, I'm going to take out my anger on some poor Genome Soldiers (Hellooo bandanna!) There goes my (mostly) no-kill run of Metal Gear Solid...

Starforce2 · « **Reply #41 on:** April 16, 2008, 08:56:18 am »

maybe the meds will give you some creative visions

AlchemistiD · « **Reply #42 on:** April 16, 2008, 10:21:03 pm »

Quote from: Starforce2 on April 16, 2008, 08:56:18 am

maybe the meds will give you some creative visions

Mmhmm...the dentist kept screwing up when finishing the canal last week (Dentist: "It's not breaking off, get the torch"), the nurse insisted the nerve was dead and that I couldn't feel anything. We had a difference of opinion.

And then they asked me for $400 additional...

On the bright side, the grass is always greener when the (other, competent doctor) gives you some kickin' pain killers. And an old PSM that was lying around the office. (issue #1! XD)

I made a few slightly biggish decisions regarding some other stuff:

The Triton class LC has been redesigned pretty severely, and the model will have to be redone, but the new design fits the ship much better I believe. It has also been renamed to the 'Trident' so as not to cause confusion with the SFB design.

The Mongoose is a death trap with or without camo.

One Genome Soldier is worth 1/100 of a bullet. But beating Volgin with the Cigarette Spray on European extreme is priceless.

I've been working on a somewhat large piece of scenery for use wherever. It's inspired by something I saw on deviantart, a pic called "Peridot", depicting a sci-fi style city. The mother itself is a massive city/space station floating in a luminescent green nebula. The thing is, the station sandwiches the playing field (Think of the first fight with Anubis from ZOE 2nd runner, mixed with a little Blade Runner, and you're not far off). I started off calling it ghost town, and myself clever, but I guess I can't do that now (gee thanks, bungie!). The final design is 500X more complex than I had initially thought it was going to be. It also happens to be awesome, and hard...and awesome...and damn hard....I blame the codine.

Work of course continues on the Osiris. Oh...and Arwings....and Boston.

Starforce2 · « **Reply #43 on:** May 10, 2008, 08:35:56 pm »

hey, you don't care if I still make use of the old one while I wait for the new one to be finished?

AlchemistiD · « **Reply #44 on:** May 11, 2008, 05:20:00 pm »

Quote from: Starforce2 on May 10, 2008, 08:35:56 pm

hey, you don't care if I still make use of the old one while I wait for the new one to be finished?

Have at it, man.

AlchemistiD · « **Reply #45 on:** May 21, 2008, 12:49:49 am »

Double post

Model is pretty much done. Now needs smoothing, and clothes.

...and walkies. Lots of walkies.

Rod ONeal · « **Reply #46 on:** May 21, 2008, 03:13:12 am »

Pretty slick design! It's looking real good.

Adonis · « **Reply #47 on:** May 21, 2008, 11:30:29 pm »

You'd first like to get rid of the smoothing errors on the ventral section.

AlchemistiD · « **Reply #48 on:** May 28, 2008, 05:36:45 pm »

Actually, I'd forgotten to smooth it. Put in a night of work on various things after getting off of work, and I forgot the glaringly obvious. Damn you, biology.

Two items, though no screens this time.

First, smoothing problem fixed. Finally found the root of the problems with the .mod looking all ugly, thumped myself on the head when I found the cause. Fixing is currently underway.

Second, though it's probably a little early, I'm going to ask before I forget: damage mapping...a-la SFC3? Is there a tutorial or ninja butterfly that can help me?

AlchemistiD · « **Reply #49 on:** June 05, 2008, 09:35:50 pm »

Double post FTL ; _ ;

Despite some minor difficulties and mesh glitches, work is continuing apace. Will probably start texturing tomorrow or Saturday, depending on whether or not the app flakes on me again.

Apologies it's taking so long, feel dumb.

In other news, was forced to listen to m-bop and then who let the dogs out, while driving, station wouldn't change, require Dragonforce NOW.

LOOK SHINY THING!

Fallen_Warrior · « **Reply #50 on:** June 06, 2008, 02:40:18 am »

oooooh shiney....

, very nice dude

AlchemistiD · « **Reply #51 on:** June 07, 2008, 06:17:17 pm »

Irritation.

Curiosity: Is it a sign of insanity when you're beginning to haggle with your 3d app?

Texturing is going well...if by well you mean bat$#!+. Allow me to explain.

I'm at the stage where the texture maps are being applied (using the original's images to make sure a lot of stuff is lined up), but my backwards hand-me-down of max refuses to play ball on texturing this thing. I've been trying for the better part of a day. I thought to check the .nif and there everything was, assigned perfectly. So I imported the .nif and exported to .mod, and looked at the model in the viewer, textures perfectly assigned but no lightmaps. Imported the .mod BACK into max and re-added lightmaps, exported to .mod AGAIN, refreshed the viewer, perfect.

I may go insane using this method, but I'll probably be in good company, so ON WITH THE TEXTURING.

.::EDIT::.
Okay, it seems that this tactic causes more mesh errors than you can shake a Drill at. So I'm forced to try a different tack.

Do do doriru...do do do do doriru....

AlchemistiD · « **Reply #52 on:** June 19, 2008, 08:52:05 pm »

Double Post 2: Fail Harder

~~Messing~~ ~~Screwing~~ ~~Experimenting~~ Messing around with the textures, finally settled on a style.

Planning stuff. Devious stuff. Evil, devious stuff for it eventually.

Sent a postcard.

AlchemistiD · « **Reply #53 on:** October 01, 2008, 03:55:31 pm »

Scratch is always a wonderful thing isn't it, when you have to start from it again?

Ok, perhaps not entirely. The truth is, I haven't been working on this model at all lately, this whole year has felt like one brick wall impact after another. Lately I haven't been able to enjoy much of anything. Recently I pretty much had to force myself to ignore everyone around me and pick up my X-Box controller and just play something and try to have some fun. As luck would have it, I ended up partying up with some halfway decent players in Halo 3's matchmaking in Team Slayer, and it ended up being an all-night session. It didn't bring me out of my funk completely, but it was awesome to know there's still people in matchmaking who aren't a foulmouthed 10 year old who screams at their parents, and complains when they lose.

Back to the model, it's been bugging me for a while. Not just that it's still not finished, I wanted to get this out there way faster, but there's little things about the model itself that still just bug me. The top two:

Model hiccups like this:

It's not very noticeable up close, but it's enough to give me pause from far away, where it becomes impossible to miss:

Around the nacelles...it gets just as ugly up top too. I don't feel right about leaving it like that, so I've been practicing with Boolean cuts/welds and plan to reassemble the model from the spare parts I've kept on hand (spriter's habit I guess. We tend to leave a lot of spare parts lying around "just in case they come in handy.") Bottom line, reassembling it could probably be done in about 2 days, but it will probably be done with that stage next week, since I work all this weekend.

The other hang-up I have, is the Stardrive:

Bottom line is, I don't feel good about it either. I don't like the way it turned out, and every time I look at the model up close, I keep getting hung up on it. It seemed fine at first, when I really had no idea what I was doing, but now...every time I look at it, I feel like I can do better. So this week I've been concentrating on building something close to it in shape, but smoother and easier on the eyes. It's not finished yet, but here's where I'm calling it, today:

It's going to be a bit closer-in to the primary hull in terms of the neck's length. I feel much better about this one, and I think it will fit better with the nacelles/saucer than the first.

That's all for today, later!

.::ALCHEMIC EDIT::.

(Dec 7th)

Sorry it's taking so long. I'd lost my job and have been looking for employment. All I can do is wait now for the interview, and I'm really nervous. Fortunately, I've had some time recently to work on the mesh, and a little extra.
The Torpedo Turret has been redone, and I built the mesh for the ship's Galleon, the Iris (Think of a huge runabout stored in an underside compartment in the turret.)

That's all I have for now, so here's a cute furry creature popping up through a woman's cleavage.

News:

Author Topic: Osiris Class Rennovation (Read 2740 times)