58 replies to this topic

[Golan]

Nice animations. How did you make those?

[Vengence]

I used 3DS Max 8 for everything so far. Problem is that I made those on these college computers. My personal computer with all the tools and resources only has 3ds max 7. Meaning I cannot use these for my mod unless I upgrade.

The walking is all keyframing. The shooting is mostly particle effects.

[soviet_deso]

Vengence, on 14 May 2007, 16:41, said:

Well have you considered how much I'm multitasking in ? I'm a modeler, animator, coder, concept artist, designer, story writer, and skinner all in one. Inevitably some of those are not as good as others. Just keep in mind that at least I have the skinning and UVW unwrapping knowledge covered, even if they aren't as good. So far, in psd format, the Dark Star texture is a 55mb 800x800 file. while one of my other ones is a 65mb 2048x2048. Chances are if you divide those you get an understanding of how much better my dark star skin is compared to the other.

Also look at the EA Artists, they have employees specializing in a particular area and look at me, I'm doing everything with the help of other people. I read that the Tripod used several basic underlying textures for detail. In my mech I have about 6 to 8 overlaying textures to provide small details and dozens of other layers for more individual larger details. I have enough layers and details to fill 60mb, think about it. Even for a 2d image, that is alot of details and I wouldn't be surprised if I go to the 100mb range.

Hmm well i doesn't really matter how big your PSD file is, or how many different layers you use. And your saying that your texture is 800x800, personally i can't believe that i thought it was 512x512 or less because there is a lot of stretching and its not very detailed, but since you are a multitasker i guess its ok, but you should still concentrate on several things that you may want to improve as an example skinning, but so far nice stuff, i really like your animations

[Vengence]

You can blame my impatience on the part of the stretching more or less. Also my unwrapping is not perfect. The torso uv is considerably small compared to other parts. Big mistake, and that torso was supposed to have lots of detail and on such a small uv resolution they don't show very well. Not to mention that this mech is fairly asymmetrical meaning more UVs needed to be put in reducing the overall space even more.

For one, this is a super close up of the toso. Notice the panels and bumps going down the length.



Now we zoom out a tiny bit. Wtf, where did all the small bumps go!? You can't see them because they are so small. Big mistake on my part. The large panels behind the cockpit are still visible because they are so big.



Now we zoom out alot. The large panels on the sides of the mech are still visible because they are the single largest pieces of detail on the entire torso.



Personally I see my only fault is in SIZE. Not detail. My features are so small in many places that they are unnoticeable when zoomed out or when in motion. Even with normal mapping.

[Judgement]

Wow. That is some amazing stuff you have going on right there. Love the mech. No criticism can be given. Cept the little toes look wierd with that texture. But ill live.

[Vengence]

Been a while because of college. We are in the final projects right now. The usual, last sculpture, 3-D Models, exams ect. I have a small update... well rather an old one. This model was originally made for ZH and is only 900 polies.



This is the Whitestar mech. The counterpart to the Darkstar. Ingame this mech will be a tough one to tame and control properly given its special abilities. For one it is the single fastest ground unit in the game, the most powerful mech in the medium class, and it can boost around and jump over obstacles. Unbalanced? Can it be spammed? Nope. There are several key weaknesses. For one this mech is very expensive for a main battle medium class. Costing 1800 per unit it can be a resource hog. Even worse is that the Whitestar's similar, the Mustang, only costs 1350 and cannot win in direct combat. Why? Because the Whitestar's armor is shitty. The thing may cost alot but has less than a quarter of the armor of the Mustang. So why bother? Because the Whitestar is just THAT fast and powerful. It is an omnipotent mech, effective against everything hence why it is also pricey. Infantry, vehicles, and aircraft are all vulnerable. Still, the armor still sucks so bad you can take one out with a few cannon salvos. Hit and run tactics are absolutely key to using this unit unless you allow yourself to waste several thousand credits worth of mechs.

When the time comes I will create a comprehensive unit list, full and partial story digest, faction history and tactics, and balancing stats. Trust me, the balance system is strange but should work out just fine. Right now I don't have enough new content.



As I said above, this model was originally for ZH. I will have to remodel this however the outline is just perfect. The upgraded model for CNC3 will have at least 1200-1400 polies. Also the skin is old. Much older than the Darkstar's.

Edited by Vengence, 23 May 2007 - 17:30.

[Vengence]

Sorry for the double post but I just like this picture and the mystery
Hunter, Chris. Don't talk. You already know and fear

[Nexolate]

I can't believe I only just found out about this.

Dude, first of all, your Models are wicked sick. Seriously, I was just astonished by the level of detail and realism you incorporate.

Secondly, the two Animation Videos you realeased? Astonishing. Those are some of the best Walker Animations I've seen in a long time. My only criticism is that the Dark Star seems to lumber so much that it looks like the Pilot wouldn't be able to walk straight for a few days.

All I can say is, this mod is the embodiment of everything I've ever dreamed of in RTS Modding. I congratulate you and look forward to seeing further updates full of win.

EDIT: Sorry about the resurrect. Didn't realise there was a newer thread. >_<;;

Edited by Nexolate, 08 June 2007 - 08:50.

[Vengence]

Thanks , and yes this is an older teaser thread. I'm trying to work out what concepts stay in or leave at the moment and I only have a few redesigned models made. Post at the other thread for now and hope I get hosting .