Hyperion

[sitters]

Yeah, no problem, I make it more alien.

Willem

[sitters]

OK, a little bit more alien,

let me know what you think.



Willem

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[bayo]

Hello. In your previous screenshots, maybe, we see it less. Wings look very sharp-edged in the middle. No?

[Winter]

Nice, the only thing I don't like on it is the green circle on the spine. The rest is top notch.

Regards,
Winter

[BTAxis]

I have nothing to add to that.

[DuKe2112]

It realy does look great, but I still think it odd, that now the interceptor got the VTOL Engines but the dropship didn't (;

[sitters]

I think this is better.

Do you like to have two models, one with folding wings and without, or frames in one model
for folding his wings ?

@duke2112 :  I don't write the game, but during a war the engines and weapons can evolve.

@ bayo it's not so sharp, you can better see it at the picture below.

Willem



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[Psawhn]

As always, your work is really good, sitters.

I just want to add a couple little nitpicks - these are my own opinion, not the team's.

1st: Wings on the Hyperion. To me, it seems like their center of lift is too far back for the kind of load the transport can carry. The delta-wing is similar to fighters like the Mirage, but the main difference is how the weight is distributed in the fuselage. I just get the sense that the center of gravity for the Hyperion is located farther forward than the Mirage, in comparison, and this means that it just wouldn't fly. A fix might be to make the wing blend in to the fuselage, kind of like the F-16.

2nd: Cockpits. On both your craft, the canopies seem to be just 'bumps' on top of the fuselage, almost like an afterthought. (The Saracen has this problem, too.) I can't imagine pilots sitting in the cockpit even being able to see below the horizon in level flight, which makes landing especially difficult.
-The counter to this is that helmet-mounted displays combined with TV or IR cameras would let the pilot see 'through' the cockpit and fuselage no matter where he looks. (I think that's what they're trying to do with the F-35).

These are both modeling nitpicks, too, which makes them come at the worst time because you've already textured the two things.


Speaking of textures: Another visual clue to help make something feel human is to put labels and such in a couple places. Things like "BEWARE ENGINE BLAST" and "NOT A STEP", or markings for the fuel access, registration numbers, etc. We don't have to be able to read any of the words. The cargo access is a great place for these.

I also think that the Hyperion still needs some bump mapping. The lighter grey colour helps distinguish it from the Saracen, but it still needs those details to feel alive. I suggest keeping the lighter paint scheme but bringing back a lot of the panelling. Tone back the panels from the previous one a little bit, though - it felt to me like it had too many squares on the wings and on the nose. Keep the grooves for the flaps and rudders, as well as a a trapezoidal shape or two following the wings. The large panels on the main fuselage are fine.

The occasional greeble helps, too. (There are things like pitot tubes, doors for the fuel tanks, navigation lights (when off), EW sensors, and dozens of things I don't even know of. )

These are all just my own suggestions, though, so take them with as much salt as you want.

[BTAxis]

1st:

snip

(I think that's what they're trying to do with the F-35).

Sigh.

Speaking of textures: Another visual clue to help make something feel human is to put labels and such in a couple places. Things like "BEWARE ENGINE BLAST" and "NOT A STEP", or markings for the fuel access, registration numbers, etc. We don't have to be able to read any of the words. The cargo access is a great place for these.

That's not a good idea. We want all the text in the game to be translateable, so we shouldn't put any text into images.

[Winter]

1st: Wings on the Hyperion. To me, it seems like their center of lift is too far back for the kind of load the transport can carry.

Not when you consider much of the weight will be at the back (like all the fuel in the wings!).

Regards,
Winter

[BTAxis]

Except it's running on antimatter, like all alien propulsion craft.

[Psawhn]

Sigh.

That was justification for leaving it as it is, but aesthetically I think the cockpits would look a lot better if the canopies followed the design rules of modern aircraft: pilots having a good field of view, and following the area rule.

That's not a good idea. We want all the text in the game to be translateable, so we shouldn't put any text into images.

I don't think it matters which language it's in, if any. If the text is clear enough to be read, then the best bets are either English (because it's a standard for aviation) or the language of the craft's source country, (Spanish, French, Russian, Chinese, etc.), purely for backstory reasons. The actual content of the labels don't matter, just the fact that they can be seen.
Symbols and colours can be used, too, and those are universal.

Not when you consider much of the weight will be at the back (like all the fuel in the wings!).

I forgot about the weight of fuel, but fuel shouldn't be required in order to maintain stable flight because it gets used up. The engine is probably the heaviest component in the airframe, and that must be what skews the COG back.
I'm also comparing it to something like a Dassault Mirage, which is just a fighter and doesn't have to lug around a squad of soldiers. (But I admit my eye looks at the Mirage and wonders why that doesn't lawn-dart when it flies.)



I mean the Hyperion - the delta winged transport/fighter. That's not antimatter-powered.

[Chriswriter90]

It reminds me of the BSG Viper, but that's not a bad thing.

I could totally see myself cruising the galaxy in that thing.

[BTAxis]

I don't think it matters which language it's in, if any. If the text is clear enough to be read, then the best bets are either English (because it's a standard for aviation) or the language of the craft's source country, (Spanish, French, Russian, Chinese, etc.), purely for backstory reasons. The actual content of the labels don't matter, just the fact that they can be seen.
Symbols and colours can be used, too, and those are universal.

mattn is very adamant about the translation issue, though. Symbols would work fine, but no text.

I mean the Hyperion - the delta winged transport/fighter. That's not antimatter-powered.

Okay. My mistake, sorry.

[Psawhn]

What about symbol-looking things that just happen to correspond to characters in some language or another?

Joking aside, while I think that a translation exception should be made for some kinds of artwork (such as detailing), you guys are the core team. I'm not.

How does that apply to things like numbering? For example, on my fuel tank there's a label that reads "PFL-880B" but it's too small to make out clearly. (On the other side reads "This is a bunch of text that you should not be able to read")