UFO:Alien Invasion
Development => Artwork => Topic started by: Psawhn on March 19, 2007, 03:00:07 am
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While reading through the Wiki, I got inspired. :D
I don't know if there has been much decided for any hybrid craft (terran-built with alien tech) but this ship here was partly a practice in organic modelling techniques.
(Click on the thumbnails for full screen.)
(http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/th_Mar18_3-4_1.jpg) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/Mar18_orthofront.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/th_Mar18_3-4_2.jpg) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/Mar18_3-4_2.jpg)
(http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/th_Mar18_3-4_3.jpg) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/Mar18_3-4_3.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/th_Mar18_3-4_4gear.jpg) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/Mar18_3-4_4gear.jpg)
And Orthoganal with wires:
(http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/th_Mar18_ortho3d.jpg) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/Mar18_ortho3d.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/th_Mar18_orthofront.jpg) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/Mar18_orthofront.jpg)
(http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/th_Mar18_orthoside.jpg) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/Mar18_orthoside.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/th_Mar18_orthotop.jpg) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/Mar18_orthotop.jpg)
The engines would be antimatter, and they are centered around the center of gravity. They can rotate up 90 degrees, and down 125 degrees allowing it to hover.
The wings were designed to be really curvy. I actually sort of wanted to be reminiscent of a saucer, but it ends up looking like a manta ray or something. :P
The curviness has something to do with alien nanopolymer baking, if I recall correctly from the Wiki.
The two holes on the top are for, uh, whatever. I was thinking some kind of internal "zomg lazers pewpew" or maybe particle cannons or something.
The textures are garbage. I was messing around with vertex paint in Blender. I don't even know if it's an alien or human craft. ;)
So... is there any room for this? :)
Edit: The polycount is quite high: 14k faces. Blender has decimation tools (and I can just turn subdivision down ;) ) if it needs to be way lower for the game.
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it looks very nice - but let's wait what our storywriters say ;-)
btw. the lower the polycount - the better for the game :-D
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I can just re-iterate what mattn said here. Looks very good, but we always need to get this sort of stuff confirmed/checked up with Winter (our story-writer among other things) so it fits into the rest of the storyline of the game.
And of course polycount of 14k is kinda high (I think we could use it that way), but I see lots of places where it can be reduced quite a bit without hurting overall shape to much.
I can help you here - or in any blender related stuff for that matter - if you like. Just contact me.
I'll see what would be a good polycount for such a craft.
If you have the model finished on your side and we get the ok from Winter i can try to make it usable in the game.
Werner
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It's a nice model (although obviously it wouldn't be able to hover with just two engines at the back, as it would tip over ;) ), I think we could use it if the polycount was reduced to something more manageable. Such a simple shape shouldn't take 14,000.
It will also need some serious texturing work to make it look good, but beyond that, I'd be happy calling it the 'Stiletto 2'.
Regards,
Winter
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Actually, I tried to make sure the engines were over the center of gravity. That was one of the main goals from the start.
Well, I did just eyeball it, so it probably isn't over the exact center of mass. I wish I knew a way to calculate the volume of a manifold mesh in blender.
Oh well, let's pretend there's some really heavy stuff on the end of the wings to keep it in balance. ;) Tha or I can move the engines forward a bit more, or add a thruster in the belly.
It has 14,000 polys because I have subsurf subdivision turned on. I was mainly thinking of applying subsurf and using the decimator modifier in blender to lower the polycount, to try to preserve as much of the curviness as I can. (That mesh you see in the ortho views is the optimized subsurf - original polycount but curvy to fit the subsurf.)
Of course, I'd hold on to the high-poly mesh for renders and pictures and stuff if needed. :)
Oh, are there any requirements for the weapon mounts? Or any other kind of module mount for that matter?
I was thinking internal weapons bays on either side of the fuselage. Those holes on the top would reach into the bay. Cannons, lasers, particle beams, etc. would mount inside the bay but come through the holes.
If something like a missile is mounted, the bays can open up and the missile would drop down, like in an F-117 or F-22.
I'm not too sure about TR-20s. I could enlarge the gun hole to let them shoot out, they could be put on a deployable arm, or maybe they just can't mount.
As for textures, I need a bit of guidance. :)
Is the hull built out of alien alloys, or advanced terran carbon-polymers or whatever? What colour is it? Does the forming process create colour gradients?
Does paint stick well to the surface? Radar-absorbing paint?
Is there a defined PHALANX colour scheme? Would the hull be mostly bare metal with paint accents/labels/decor, or would the entire thing be painted? (Like black radar-absorbing paint.)
Would the ship go into space? Does it need RCS thrusters? (Funny thing about that - if the engines weren't in the center of gravity, it could use gimballing and differential thrust to maneuver in space)
Does it need heat tiles for re-entry? (Probably not, considering alien alloys, but it's still better to make sure.)
Do the PHALANX mechs wash the ship down and repaint it regularly? Or should the textures be a bit battle-worn and ragged?
Edit: Oh, something else. Should the wings change shape? I can probably find a way to bake that into blender's shape keys, in case the wings need to stretch out for slow flight or pull in for quicker flight or re-entry or something.
Edit#2:
I should have checked what it looks like without subsurf anyways. :D
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/Mar19_lowpoly.jpg)
774 Polygons. Many of those are quads, though. I don't know if quake2 model format supports quad-polygons or if it needs to be triangles.
If I turn it to triangles only, it's 1486 triangles:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/Mar19_lowpolytri.jpg)
It looks pretty ugly with only triangles, though. :P
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Looks very good in low-poly ... this is a perfect compromise between polygons vs. shape.
It looks pretty ugly with only triangles, though. :P
Never mind that glitches .. they will not be visible when it's textured (it's only a shading problem when gourand-shading). Just make sure you do not have overlapping faces, flipped normals or something along these lines.
high-poly: yes, these are perfect for renders, mission intro screens and stuff like that. Eyecandy goood ;)
space: EDIT see Winrers reply below :)
wings shape-change ... currently we display the models in the ufopedia, maybe the hangar (mattn: does this work yet?) and in the future I'd say it will get displayed in the interception screen .. but at what size and in what way that's still open. I believe it may be to much work for to little benefit to make some sort of variable-shape wings. But I'm always open for ideas.
Werner
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Actually, I tried to make sure the engines were over the center of gravity. That was one of the main goals from the start.
Well, I did just eyeball it, so it probably isn't over the exact center of mass. I wish I knew a way to calculate the volume of a manifold mesh in blender.
Oh well, let's pretend there's some really heavy stuff on the end of the wings to keep it in balance. ;) Tha or I can move the engines forward a bit more, or add a thruster in the belly.
I don't suppose it's strictly necessary, but do remember that there'll be a variable weight of weapons in the front. Some small rotatable engines on the 'wingtips' at the back would not go amiss.
Of course, I'd hold on to the high-poly mesh for renders and pictures and stuff if needed. :)
Certainly.
Oh, are there any requirements for the weapon mounts? Or any other kind of module mount for that matter?
I was thinking internal weapons bays on either side of the fuselage. Those holes on the top would reach into the bay. Cannons, lasers, particle beams, etc. would mount inside the bay but come through the holes.
If something like a missile is mounted, the bays can open up and the missile would drop down, like in an F-117 or F-22.
I'm not too sure about TR-20s. I could enlarge the gun hole to let them shoot out, they could be put on a deployable arm, or maybe they just can't mount.
There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of room for internal bays in that tiny fuselage. I know it's supposed to be a light antimatter-powered fighter, but come on. ;)
I think modifying it to have larger weapon bays on either side of the cockpit would make it look more dangerous as well.
As for textures, I need a bit of guidance. :)
Is the hull built out of alien alloys, or advanced terran carbon-polymers or whatever? What colour is it? Does the forming process create colour gradients?
Alien materials. The colour can be anything you like, but it would logically be a darker colour due to the stealth aspect. Highlights and such can be added as you like; you can take freely from alien and human inspirations, as this craft will be a marriage of both.
Is there a defined PHALANX colour scheme? Would the hull be mostly bare metal with paint accents/labels/decor, or would the entire thing be painted? (Like black radar-absorbing paint.)
There is no defined PHALANX colour scheme, since PHALANX uses mostly adopted military and police equipment. As I said, a darker colour is somewhat expected.
Would the ship go into space?
Yes, but short orbital missions only.
Does it need RCS thrusters? (Funny thing about that - if the engines weren't in the center of gravity, it could use gimballing and differential thrust to maneuver in space)
If you add two extra articulated thrusters at the wingtips, it shouldn't need extra thrusters.
Does it need heat tiles for re-entry? (Probably not, considering alien alloys, but it's still better to make sure.)
Nope. Alien materials.
Do the PHALANX mechs wash the ship down and repaint it regularly? Or should the textures be a bit battle-worn and ragged?
Stealth paint is not an optional sort of thing. ;)
Oh, something else. Should the wings change shape? I can probably find a way to bake that into blender's shape keys, in case the wings need to stretch out for slow flight or pull in for quicker flight or re-entry or something.
I'm not fussed -- I doubt we'd have the ability or time to show the model actually changing shape anywhere that might be appropriate.
Since it's made from alien materials, though, it will (in the writeup at least) be able to change shape to some degree.
774 Polygons. Many of those are quads, though. I don't know if quake2 model format supports quad-polygons or if it needs to be triangles.
I believe it needs to be triangulated.
If I turn it to triangles only, it's 1486 triangles:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/Mar19_lowpolytri.jpg)
It looks pretty ugly with only triangles, though. :P
Program triangulations tend to turn out bad; see if there are any manual adjustments you can make so that both sides turn out symmetrical. I have to do this in Wings 3d all the time.
Either way, 1486 triangles is WELL within limits. The fewer the better, but you could probably add a few hundred more if necessary.
Regards,
Winter
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I believe it needs to be triangulated.
Yes that is becasue we use the md2 (http://ufo.myexp.de/wiki/index.php/MD2) model format (which only supports tris) for ingame models. Basic support for md3 is there but i have not yet tested it with craft models (and i also need to check if _that_ would support quads). EDIT: fixed some things in this sentence :)
If I turn it to triangles only, it's 1486 triangles:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/Mar19_lowpolytri.jpg
It looks pretty ugly with only triangles, though. :P
Program triangulations tend to turn out bad; see if there are any manual adjustments you can make so that both sides turn out symmetrical. I have to do this in Wings 3d all the time.
as i said above .. most strange affects that come from triangulation are gone when using uv-mapped textures and no grourand shading similar to that in blender. From experience: As long as we have the original (quads) model in blender (or in a format like obj that supports more than tris) we will have no problem at all.
Let the triangulation/exporting be our problem - it'll save you from some hassle. blend files are perfect :D
Either way, 1486 triangles is WELL within limits. The fewer the better, but you could probably add a few hundred more if necessary.
Very true.
Werner
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Sounds encouraging! :D
Let the triangulation/exporting be our problem - it'll save you from some hassle. blend files are perfect
Will do! :D The way it's set up, the only difference between high-poly and low-poly is the little 'x' next to the subsurf modifier. :)
Variable weapon weight is a good point. (I wonder how a Firefly does it with just two engines - they even have a big cargo bay! Talk about variable weight... :P)
How about an extra belly thruster, and a pair of wingtip thrusters at the back like you said? ;)
I could make the belly thruster internal, rotating out when needed. (ie: leave the model as it is for laziness - leave the thruster for renders. ;))
There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of room for internal bays in that tiny fuselage.
That brings up a good point I forgot: size. About how wide should the craft be, yet still able to fit in a small hangar? I guess I don't need to worry about it, considering Hoehrer offered to worry about exporting. :)
I think I'm more curious, so I could model a pilot inside with the right dimensions.
That's another thing - the canopy window. Is a full-length window like that too big/impractical for a glass window, or are there transparent alien materials? (Do I need to worry about it?)
I think modifying it to have larger weapon bays on either side of the cockpit would make it look more dangerous as well.
That's a good idea. I'll work on that.
Stealth paint is not an optional sort of thing. ;)
Oh, I totally want to sig that now. :D
I'll try to keep everything in mind. :) Although, because I'm using a mirror modifier, it'd make it a lot easier if I can finish the geometry before working on unwrapping the UVs.
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Sounds encouraging! :D
Variable weapon weight is a good point. (I wonder how a Firefly does it with just two engines - they even have a big cargo bay! Talk about variable weight... :P)
They even it out with ballast tanks full of handwavium, and Wash's expert piloting. ;)
How about an extra belly thruster, and a pair of wingtip thrusters at the back like you said? ;)
I could make the belly thruster internal, rotating out when needed. (ie: leave the model as it is for laziness - leave the thruster for renders. ;))
I don't think the belly thruster would be necessary. After all, those main engines could probably rotate to provide some thrust forward, and considering they're antimatter-fuelled, they'll have plenty of power.
That brings up a good point I forgot: size. About how wide should the craft be, yet still able to fit in a small hangar? I guess I don't need to worry about it, considering Hoehrer offered to worry about exporting. :)
I think I'm more curious, so I could model a pilot inside with the right dimensions.
Dimensions are still a bit up in the air at the moment. The current Small hangar is not too big, but our mapping genius has managed to cram two Stiletto-class interceptors in there. I personally would like to restrict them to one plane per hangar, so that the small hangar could actually be used for more than one type of craft.
That's another thing - the canopy window. Is a full-length window like that too big/impractical for a glass window, or are there transparent alien materials? (Do I need to worry about it?)
No need to worry about that, just don't go overboard. ;)
Oh, I totally want to sig that now. :D
Go right ahead!
I'll try to keep everything in mind. :) Although, because I'm using a mirror modifier, it'd make it a lot easier if I can finish the geometry before working on unwrapping the UVs.
You can always mirror the model after you've UVed it. Perfect symmetry! *grin*
Regards,
Winter
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Hm, as for the transparent materials, couldn't these alien alloys be so far advanced that embedded cellular computers could detect where the pilot is looking and so change the molecular structure at that point to allow the pilot to look out from anywhere, without letting people look in?
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Hm, as for the transparent materials, couldn't these alien alloys be so far advanced that embedded cellular computers could detect where the pilot is looking and so change the molecular structure at that point to allow the pilot to look out from anywhere, without letting people look in?
That would also restrict the pilot's peripheral vision, which is very important.
They even it out with ballast tanks full of handwavium, and Wash's expert piloting. ;)
Ahh, of course. Silly me.
I don't think the belly thruster would be necessary. After all, those main engines could probably rotate to provide some thrust forward, and considering they're antimatter-fuelled, they'll have plenty of power.
I see what you mean. The engines can move forward, but because the center is still behind the CoG it wouldn't help. But those extra thrusters on the back can actually point up to keep the craft stable.
Dimensions are still a bit up in the air at the moment. The current Small hangar is not too big, but our mapping genius has managed to cram two Stiletto-class interceptors in there. I personally would like to restrict them to one plane per hangar, so that the small hangar could actually be used for more than one type of craft.
I kinda assumed only one craft per hangar. There has to be room around the craft for people to move around carts of weapons and fuel and that.
(Incidentally, I think large hangars should be able to service small craft, but the advantages of having small hangars would be lower maintenance costs and better use of real estate.)
No need to worry about that, just don't go overboard. Wink
All righty then.
You can always mirror the model after you've UVed it. Perfect symmetry! *grin*
That works, but of course the textures would be perfectly mirrored too. "Not a step" would come out to "pets a toN" on the other side. :)
Here's the craft with more bulk and a pair of wingtip thrusters:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/Mar19_OGL1_bottom.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/Mar19_OGL2_front.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/Mar19_OGL3_thruster.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/Mar19_orthofront_wep.jpg
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I kinda assumed only one craft per hangar. There has to be room around the craft for people to move around carts of weapons and fuel and that.
Exactly my reasoning.
(Incidentally, I think large hangars should be able to service small craft, but the advantages of having small hangars would be lower maintenance costs and better use of real estate.)
Nah, they'd have all sorts of incompatible fuel lines and such. Different sizes and all that.
That works, but of course the textures would be perfectly mirrored too. "Not a step" would come out to "pets a toN" on the other side. :)
. . . And your point is? ;)
Here's the craft with more bulk and a pair of wingtip thrusters:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/Mar19_OGL1_bottom.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/Mar19_OGL2_front.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/Mar19_OGL3_thruster.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/Mar19_orthofront_wep.jpg
I likes it. The weapon hardpoints are good, we can put some nice outboard models on that. Are there any more changes you're planning? If not, please go ahead and texture it.
Regards,
Winter
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Great!
I just made a couple of changes since those pictures. All it really amounted to was the mesh topology on the front was cleaned up a bit. The main engines are also a bit further back, but that's shown on those pictures. Also, the intake/holes/things are gone.
Here's a version of the .blend. No textures are on it yet.
https://webdisk.ucalgary.ca/~djetowns/public_html/misc_files/xcomfinter_geometry_release.blend
Currently it's split into different materials just to show different regions.
To turn it into low-poly mode just delete subsurf, convert to triangles, and apply mirror. (In that order. ;) )
Do I need to model the weapon bays? (Doesn't take much - just separate a section and extrude inwards. Voila! Weapons bays! :D)
How about landing gear for the hangar screen?
I'll get started on texturing. I've a midterm and assignments coming up, so it'll probably get delayed a short while.
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Do I need to model the weapon bays? (Doesn't take much - just separate a section and extrude inwards. Voila! Weapons bays! :D)
How about landing gear for the hangar screen?
No need to actually model inboard weapon bays. Maybe some open hatches to imply that the weapons are kept inside the fuselage during normal flight?
A second version with landing gear deployed would be good to have.
Regards,
Winter
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landing gear: what winter said.
general modeling/texturing/uv-mapping guideline: please only use one texture (and one uv map) per model. I know that blender can to a lot more, but the md2 format can't ... at least in most cases.
We have a self-built model assembly to combine several md2 models though (if you are curious search the base/ufos/models.ufo file) For more info on this just ask me or mattn :)
And of course: never ever delete the original non-triangulated and low-poly model :D (duh)
x^2 + 17 = 0
When keeping it real goes wrong.
I think the things you wrote in your sig are just imaginary :)
Werner
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this craft is so cool. looks like U2 bummer :0)
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Took a bit of time. I finished all the geometry that I'll use for the low-resolution mesh. This included rigging everything up onto an armature. All I added, geometry-wise, were bay doors, landing gear, and deploying weapons hardpoints.
https://webdisk.ucalgary.ca/~djetowns/public_html/misc_files/xcomfinter_geom_FINAL.blend
Many objects are separate meshes, to keep track of them easier. For export I will combine them all into one mesh. I'll fix up the hull and make it flush for the flight versions.
I don't know if there are animations at all for the fighters. I assumed there weren't going to be any. I plan to release multiple models, like for the Saracen:
1) Flight Model: All bay doors closed, landing gear up. Engines/thrusters forward thrust.
2) Hangar Model: Landing bay doors open, landing gear down. (Weapon bay doors open? Hardpoints Extended?) Engines/thrusters forward thrust.
3) Combat Model: Only weapons bay doors open, hardpoints extended. Engines/thrusters forward thrust.
In the .blend, you can play around with the stuff.
Scene layer 1: Hull and thrusters
Scene layer 2: Armature
Scene layer 3: Main engines
Scene layer 11: Bay doors
Scene layer 12: Landing Gear
Scene layer 13: Weapons Hardpoints
Scene layer 5 is just an old wireframe model I forgot to delete, and scene layer 10 has all the lighting and cameras.
All the important bones are on scene layer 2, bone layer 1. I've set limit rotation constraints on all of these (except landing gear) so they'll only rotate inside their legal values - so just rotate whatever however to see how the stuff works. The landing gear and main engines have animations on them. Press ALT-A to watch.
Next: Texturizing!
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Hey Psawhn, any word on the texturing progress?
Regards,
Winter
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I've got the entire model unwrapped. The next things to do are to texturize, and then optimize the different models.
I have two weeks left of university, though, so time is in short supply. I'll get it in when I can get it in :).
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Texturing finished! (I hope!)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/April12_texture_ortho1.jpg)
https://webdisk.ucalgary.ca/~djetowns/public_html/misc_files/UFO_AI/stingray_hi_detail_texture_FINAL.blend
Is the link. Those versions are way too high-poly, though. I'm going to provide several optimized versions. In the optimized versions, I'll delete landing gear/bays as needed to lower down the polycount.
As far as textures go, I tried to produce a scheme similar to that of the F-22 - daylight sky camoflague. I also put a voronoi texture to try to make it a bit alien - considering there are alien materials at work.
There may be a few artefacts, as the original texture is 2048x2048. The gimp .xcf file is almost 13 megabytes!
Luckily the 512x512 .png is 291KB (It's packed into the .blend above), and the .jpg is 159 KB. :)
https://webdisk.ucalgary.ca/~djetowns/public_html/misc_files/UFO_AI/stingray_texture_lores.jpg
I also thought of a better name than Stiletto 2. How about Stingray? The shape (and colours) kind of bring to mind an aquatic creature.
So, any comments, crits, suggestions?
Edit: Okay, making the lopoly flight model was easier than I thought.
https://webdisk.ucalgary.ca/~djetowns/public_html/misc_files/UFO_AI/stingray_lopo_flightmodel.blend
The polycount went up a bit higher, though. This one's about 1840 tris. Is that too high?
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Texturing finished! (I hope!)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/April12_texture_ortho1.jpg)
So, any comments, crits, suggestions?
My only criticisms are that the texture looks so uniformly bland, and the colour scheme doesn't resemble alien technology at all. And is that a big black seam on the front of the cockpit? Whatever it is, it looks like a badly aligned UV map.
The texture needs a bit more detail, especially in the cockpit, cockpit mounting and the main engines. Right now they're all too samey, indistinct, too much like the rest of the outer skin. The cockpit just sort-of grows out of the fuselage, except it has those really thin framing bars which have absolutely no detail or 3d feel to them. Like they're just grey bits painted onto the canopy.
I want to see some nice heavy-duty joinings there, maybe even the outlines of bolts, to give this thing a bit more impression of speed and solidity. Some texture greebles won't hurt either. Even the B-2 stealth bomber has more body detail: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:060622-F-5040D-162.jpg
I also thought of a better name than Stiletto 2. How about Stingray? The shape (and colours) kind of bring to mind an aquatic creature.
Nice name, works for me.
Edit: Okay, making the lopoly flight model was easier than I thought.
https://webdisk.ucalgary.ca/~djetowns/public_html/misc_files/UFO_AI/stingray_lopo_flightmodel.blend
The polycount went up a bit higher, though. This one's about 1840 tris. Is that too high?
1840 would be fine, I think.
Regards,
Winter
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Aah! Greebles! That's the whole reason I applied the mirror on the hull - so I could apply them asymmetrically! I forgot! I'll definitely throw a bunch of those on there.
Strangely enough, that's not a UV seam across the cockpit. I think it's a badly placed cockpit strut, and bad lighting. I'll move it and readjust the lighting.
As far as the wings go, I wanted to get a streamlined, stealth paint-type look. I'll try making up a new alienish texture and making it more pronounced.
Of course, this is my first texture job in... 5 years? And I only made half a handful back then. I'm learnin'. ;)
I'll get right onto work.
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Aah! Greebles! That's the whole reason I applied the mirror on the hull - so I could apply them asymmetrically! I forgot! I'll definitely throw a bunch of those on there.
Heh, yeah, even our Saracen interceptor has to have some greebles to look interesting.
As far as the wings go, I wanted to get a streamlined, stealth paint-type look. I'll try making up a new alienish texture and making it more pronounced.
Streamlined/stealthy and alien can both be had -- the point was to make it look more like the UFOs we already have. In an ideal world all the art kind-of ties in together.
Of course, this is my first texture job in... 5 years? And I only made half a handful back then. I'm learnin'. ;)
Heh, I know your pain. ;)
Regards,
Winter
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How's this for alien-looking?
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/th_april13_texture_ortho4.jpg) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/april13_texture_ortho4.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/th_april13_texture_ortho3.jpg) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/april13_texture_ortho3.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/th_april13_texture_ortho2.jpg) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/april13_texture_ortho2.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/th_april13_texture_ortho1.jpg) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/april13_texture_ortho1.jpg)
I still have yet to put on decals/greeblies. I redit the cockpit struts, and put rivets in them. The material's shadeless for this render.
The seams are hard to make, uh, seamless. It's quite a new experience for me.
Edit: Here's a more zoomed in view of the cockpit. You can see the rivets, and the not-so-nice bits.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/april13_texture_ortho5.jpg)
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I think it looks much better, but I don't like the colour of the cockpit. It doesn't really seem to fit with the rest. Maybe too bright, or just the wrong shade of blue. I'd go with a quite dark gray.
Keep it up.
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I tried to base the cockpit colour off of the Saracen's. Either way, after staring at it for hours I've gotten too used to it. :P
I've also got a bit of decal work done on the engines. The engines don't have the alien texture on to separate them from the hull better.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/th_april13_texture_ortho_engines.jpg) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/april13_texture_ortho_engines.jpg)(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/th_april13_texture_ortho_underside.jpg) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/april13_texture_ortho_underside.jpg)
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I tried to base the cockpit colour off of the Saracen's. Either way, after staring at it for hours I've gotten too used to it. :P
I've also got a bit of decal work done on the engines. The engines don't have the alien texture on to separate them from the hull better.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/th_april13_texture_ortho_engines.jpg) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/april13_texture_ortho_engines.jpg)(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/th_april13_texture_ortho_underside.jpg) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/april13_texture_ortho_underside.jpg)
I like what you've done with the engines, there, though I too have doubts about the cockpit colour (definitely needs darkening).
If you're doing any further greebling on the body, could you try and get it reminiscent of our Scout/Fighter/Harvester UFOs? That's the feel we're hoping to capture, that this thing is derived from things that are alien, but made to fit the human imagination.
Regards,
Winter
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The only thing I don't like is the fact it has wheels. Wouldn't it be better if it was landing vertically, without wheels - but with some engines that make it hover down? If you know what I mean.
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The only thing I don't like is the fact it has wheels. Wouldn't it be better if it was landing vertically, without wheels - but with some engines that make it hover down? If you know what I mean.
It's always better to have wheels. Most heavy helicopters have wheels. Haven't you ever wondered why?
Regards,
Winter
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We'll we're talking about totally different civilization and technique here so I don't compare it to the human ships/helicopters/etc. that much. It was only a suggestion, you're the guy behind the story and game world.
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We'll we're talking about totally different civilization and technique here so I don't compare it to the human ships/helicopters/etc. that much.
You should. The aliens follow the same laws of physics as we do, which say that non-wheeled landing gear tends to drag and gets bent when supporting lots of weight -- and just imagine trying to make a crash landing with static struts. There's no antigravity or other sci-fantasy stuff in the UFO:AI setting, so when you discount that and consider the drawbacks of static landing gear, then wheels are the logical option.
Regards,
Winter
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This is actually a human craft, based off of alien technology. That means we get to put in a pragmatic aspect onto it. :) (It also means comparisons to existing human ships/helicopters are valid. ;) )
If one or both of the engines go out, then the craft will have to make a conventional landing. It could probably make it home on only one thruster (the things at the back), but it can't land vertically with it. ;)
One of the main goals I had when designing the craft was that it could land vertically. The engines were originally placed right on the center of gravity, but Winter's suggestion of thrusters at the back let me move the engines further behind. This also let me have more room for the main 'fuselage'. (Well, as much of a fuselage as you get with a flying wing.)
The main engines were always able to rotate downward 125 degrees, past vertical, so they can point downwards to hover. Because the engines are behind the center of mass, the two thrusters at the back point upward to balance out the craft.
So, really, we get the best of both worlds.
(Incidentally, because the engines can also point up 90 degrees, the craft can hover upside-down! I don't think that landing upside down will be standard procedure, however. :) )
I like what you've done with the engines, there, though I too have doubts about the cockpit colour (definitely needs darkening).
If you're doing any further greebling on the body, could you try and get it reminiscent of our Scout/Fighter/Harvester UFOs? That's the feel we're hoping to capture, that this thing is derived from things that are alien, but made to fit the human imagination.
Right-o. I'll make the cockpit darker.
I noticed a lot of the existing alien texture greebles are rather square. I went more with that the alien materials needed to be curved when they form. (Or was that only the kerrblades?)
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I noticed a lot of the existing alien texture greebles are rather square. I went more with that the alien materials needed to be curved when they form. (Or was that only the kerrblades?)
That was just the Kerrblade, and Kerrblades are not made from Alien Materials. :P
The curving is also automatic as part of the Kerrblade heat treatment process, not a deliberate thing.
I know the greebling of the alien craft tends to be quite square, but I'd like to see at least some of the characteristic 'alien green' on your model in some shape. The shape doesn't really matter, as long as it looks right. ;)
Regards,
Winter
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(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/april14_texture_ortho1.jpg)
Here's a new cockpit, and base texture redone to look more like aliens.
I still have to do alien greeblies - I'll make some straight-angled bumpmaps and stuff for that. I also still have to put on paint decals.
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to be honest i would prefer a bull texture to be more in the style of our already existing ufos - see the gallery for some shots.
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(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/april14_texture_ortho1.jpg)
Here's a new cockpit, and base texture redone to look more like aliens.
I still have to do alien greeblies - I'll make some straight-angled bumpmaps and stuff for that. I also still have to put on paint decals.
I really like the texture, but I have to agree with mattn in this case. It still doesn't look enough like the alien style we already have laid out in the existing UFOs.
The cockpit looks brilliant, though, very nice work on that.
Regards,
Winter
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The funny thing is that this last one I tried to get it a lot closer to the existing alien texture.
(http://ufoai.svn.sourceforge.net/viewvc/*checkout*/ufoai/ufoai/trunk/base/models/aircraft/ufo_small/alienship1_engines.jpg)(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/stingray_texture_shrunk.jpg)
The base texture I have is actually 2048x2048. I'll shrink it down for the release version (the one above is how it looks like shrunk), but here's a clip from the wing at full detail:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/stingray_texture_base.jpg)
I can add some of the glowy green bits, too.
Edit: comparing the two side-by-side, I can see the differences in the overlay. How was the original texture made?
Edit#2: Here's the entire wing at 512x512:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/stingray_texture_alientex.jpg)
And at 2048x2048: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/stingray_texture_hires_v9.jpg
Edit#3: Got some more alien greeblies. (I know it's "Greebles," but "Greeblies" is fun to say.)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/th_april15_stingray_alien_2.jpg) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/april15_stingray_alien_2.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/th_april15_stingray_alien_1.jpg) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/Psawhn/Blender/april15_stingray_alien_1.jpg)
If you guys like the alien-ness, then all that's left are human decals.
(I'm so happy I figured out what GIMP's Hard Light layer setting is for: bump maps! Apply your bump map onto a 50% grey layer with Hard Light on, and it looks just as if you applied the bumpmap onto the actual image!)
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Release!
After working on the model over IRC with Winter, the textures for the game release were finalized. (I still want to throw on more paint decals for renders and that, but they're likely to be too small to matter in-game.)
All the files can be found here:
https://webdisk.ucalgary.ca/~djetowns/public_html/misc_files/UFO_AI/
The two important files are stingray_lopo_flightmodel.blend and stingray_texture_lores.jpg.
The model is optimised for flight, with everything sealed together.
The polycount is a bit higher than before, at 1752 triangles.
Be careful before downloading the source .xcf file if you're on dialup - it's a whopping 33 Megs! It got this big because it's a 2048x2048 image with 27 layers.
The high-res version of the .blend needs a bit of documentation. Many of the components are on separate layers, and are locked so that the only way to move them is through the armature on layer 2.
What other model types do you need? The high-res version has animatable engines, thrusters, bay doors, landing gear, and weapon hardpoints. (The hardpoint extends down to the bottom of the bay to allow things like cannons and rocket pods to be concealed inside the weapon bay.) It's easy enough to optimize models of any combinations of states.
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We have a list of needed models here:
http://ufoai.ninex.info/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1302
If you can animate, maybe you'd consider modelling and animating the alien flying robot? Or the small wheeled human scout drone?
Regards,
Winter
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I was already planning on blocking out a couple designs for the hovernet. (That's what the flying robot is, right?)
My skills aren't quite up to animating organic thingies, yet, but mechanical stuff I can do.
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I was already planning on blocking out a couple designs for the hovernet. (That's what the flying robot is, right?)
My skills aren't quite up to animating organic thingies, yet, but mechanical stuff I can do.
Yes, but under absolutely no circumstances whatsoever -- EVER -- is it going to end up being called 'hovernet'.
Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid name . . .
Regards,
Winter