Stuff I've been working on.. New Sovereign, among other things

[Villain]

An easier method would be to use a reduce-polys plugin or something. Lightwave does a pretty good job of preserving mesh quality even when cutting models down by 75%, I can't even begin to imagine the tricks Max could do.  Either way, ship looks awesome.

[Nebula]

An easier method would be to use a reduce-polys plugin or something. Lightwave does a pretty good job of preserving mesh quality even when cutting models down by 75%, I can't even begin to imagine the tricks Max could do.  Either way, ship looks awesome.

eh... Max already has that... it's called optimize mesh... XD

[Chronocidal Guy]

Yeah, and trust me, it fails miserably most of the time... Although, I suppose part of the trick there is reducing BEFORE mapping the mesh... 

And yep, I do plan on releasing both.  They'll be different LOD models.. I might include 4 LODs on this one, but I'll have to make them all match really well, and actually texture them separately once I make the texture maps up.

[TheConstable6]

What then are the plans for the Sov-alike with the cool pylons?

[JamesTiberiusKirk]

Yeah, and trust me, it fails miserably most of the time... Although, I suppose part of the trick there is reducing BEFORE mapping the mesh... 

And yep, I do plan on releasing both.  They'll be different LOD models.. I might include 4 LODs on this one, but I'll have to make them all match really well, and actually texture them separately once I make the texture maps up.

by the way... will you make nemesis textures or fc/insurrection ones like on your 1.0 ?

[eclipse74569]

by the way... will you make nemesis textures or fc/insurrection ones like on your 1.0 ?

He's already stated he was probably going to use the Nemesis renders and possibly trace over them.

[Chronocidal Guy]

Sorry for the long absence, been doing a bunch of stuff lately.

No real pics yet, this is the part I really hate... UV mapping.

It's not so much a hassle on some designs, but the Sov is just NASTY.  So many goofy layers and stuff to add detail to, and and it's near impossible to map the hull without warping the hell out of the texture.

Plus, I may have made the main hull a little too skinny, so I'll have to check on that before I get too far into the texturing.

Either way though, I really wish I could pull all the textures from those renders.. but it's not going to be that simple.  Some of the stuff has to be reconstructed from scratch, since those huge warp pylons make it impossible to get a solid side view of the rear hull.

I'm building up references from those pics, but I have no idea how I'm going to do this yet.

[Shadowknight1]

Well, I have no idea what most of that means, and since I have no idea, I must assume it's difficult.  So best of luck CG!  Hang in there!

[WileyCoyote]

It's not so much a hassle on some designs, but the Sov is just NASTY.  So many goofy layers and stuff to add detail to, and and it's near impossible to map the hull without warping the hell out of the texture.

I've been there.

Either way though, I really wish I could pull all the textures from those renders.. but it's not going to be that simple.  Some of the stuff has to be reconstructed from scratch, since those huge warp pylons make it impossible to get a solid side view of the rear hull. I'm building up references from those pics, but I have no idea how I'm going to do this yet.

Trace a small section of the aztec panels, duplicate and rotate them all over the ship. It worked for me. It's a bit tedious but the final result is well worth it. I've attached a small sample of how I'm retexturing CG's Sovereign for another BC project. You might get a few ideas.

[Chronocidal Guy]

Well, the real trick to the Sov's aztecs is that they're multi-layered, so that looks good so far

Here's the thing though.. as long as I have the renders... I'm having an internal debate over whether I should attempt to trace them straight.  By that, I mean manually duplicating every panel I see. 

See,I really don't want to do what I did last time (making a pattern and mapping it around the saucer and such) because it's too random where it places panels.  Looking at those renders, there's a definite structure to the panels (especially on the main hull, which is where my troubles mostly come from.. the saucer's a piece of cake by comparison).  I want to try and make those patterns as accurate as I can, preferably without going crazy. 

[WileyCoyote]

Here's a better example. You will indeed go crazy by manually creating every little detail. You could "fake" it well.

[moed]

That looks real nice Wiley.

Take your time CG... and take lots of breaks in between.

[Chronocidal Guy]

Ok, here's the main predicament..

The structure of the main hull is a royal pain in the arse to model, let alone map.  Basically I'm hitting on the reason I wanted to remodel the thing from scratch in the first place... unless you build the hull divisions into it, you have absolutely no reference point to make straight lines.

I'm thinking I might remake the lower body and area around the pylons now, just to make the mapping more friendly.  As of right now, I don't have any natural places to break the mesh, and there are no reference points to line up the windows.

Ok, I'm backing up what I have so far, but the lower and rear hull are goin goodbye.  Remodel commencing in 3, 2, 1...*deletes*

[eclipse74569]

Well good luck on that CG compared to me you're a model god LOL I only hope to get to your level of models

[Bren]

We should really restrain ourselves from calling him a god, before it goes to his head and he starts smiting people.

Wiley, that texture work is superb, reminds me how much I'm looking forward to my pre-ordered improved-paintjob re-issued Diamond Select Enterprise E!

[Morgan]

We should really restrain ourselves from calling him a god, before it goes to his head and he starts smiting people.

CG hasn't given any indication that he's like that...

Good luck with the remodeling CG. I look forward to seeing it when you've got it ready. 

[eclipse74569]

CG hasn't given any indication that he's like that...

Good luck with the remodeling CG. I look forward to seeing it when you've got it ready. 

It's a joke

I too look forward to seeing more

[Bren]

It's a joke

Quoted for truth, and to dispel any doubt.

[086gf]

We should really restrain ourselves from calling him a god, before it goes to his head and he starts smiting people.

Wiley, that texture work is superb, reminds me how much I'm looking forward to my pre-ordered improved-paintjob re-issued Diamond Select Enterprise E!

So when did Art Asylum become Diamond Select? That would explain why that ship(actual model) is the exact one that i've already had for years.

[Shadowknight1]

So when did Art Asylum become Diamond Select? That would explain why that ship(actual model) is the exact one that i've already had for years.

Art Asylum did the sculpt, but it's distributed by Diamond Select Toys.

Back on topic, I can't wait to see what this Sovvie will look like when you've perfected her CG.