@Caboose:

Not bad at all for the poly count. Looks a little challenging to skin but I'm sure the final product will look outstanding. Great job!

@ JSNCalif and Argh

Thanks for the comments! It's actually my first complete model that i've ever done. For some reason, modeling was fairly easy for me to pick up. As for skinning...

Lucky me! I'm working with a dev team, and others will be skinning for me

As for finishing it up: Does anyone know how to use 3D Studio Max 7? Im using that instead of Gmax, and personally i think its 100x better. The only problem is that I dont know if it can be used in the same way as Gmax or Milkshape to package, set, and add hardpoints. Any input on that?

Caboose_K7,

Nice model of the Serenity and not too bad on the polys it appears, pity you are intimidated by texturing.. as you have probably realised modeling is only the first step.. that model deserves a great texture job, it would bring it to life.. Texturing well is the really hard part of modelling.. and you should persist and learn it.. it's very rewarding if frustrating.

As to your question on max 7 there may be a max 7 to milkshape converter.. there is one for max 5.. (it works well.. there is a link in dowloads to the site ..) If there is none available then its export in .dxf or .3ds and import into milkshape from there.. with the inherent problems of incorrect orientation and reversed faces. Max does not do hardpoints very well.. it truncates the names and from my limited experience with max 5 .. does not handle multiple groups well.. it can be a joy to model in once you adjust to the interface.. it certainly bevels and duplicates like a dream, but navigating it initially is cumbersome.. for finishing, hardpointing etc .. milkshape is easier.. and it must be used to export a .cmp..

@ Argh,

It is probably time I contributed some of the texturing methods I have learned in more recent times, as there are a variety of methods that can be used apart from UV mapping.. particularly for detail area's. Also, if anyone is interested.. I could do some stuff on texture creation in photoshop.. and the application of decals and artwork etc..tho most of the stuff I know I learned to do from tutes on the net.. however there is an aged metal thing I found that looks really cool.. well I think it does anyway.. lol so if you want any help/contributions ..

Harrier

Here is a the Raptor from the New BSG I did for Galactica: Hellgate Mod, I've also done a Viper Mk VII and a few other odd and end ships to be in the same mod, and will be working on the new Cylon Basestar soon...







Edited by - _xXx_ on 11/8/2005 10:01:01 PM

@xXx

Hey im really digging the BSG Raptor. It looks very nice. The only thing I would say is (if possible) change the tan color to the more silver/gray color like in the show? But the model is very nice. Everyones low-poly count ships look so nice i dont know how u do it...


As for me, ive FINISHED my Serenity model...at 2:05 AM to be exact. Now its time to....learn how to skin *cries*

@Harrier:

I'm looking forward to any new material you may have to offer- that last ship was really pretty

@Caboose:

Counting on your dev. team to get something like skinning done ... is not a good plan. Really, skinning ain't hard. Just follow the tutorials, and you'll be fine.

@xXx:

Since you're new to showing off your work here, I'll try not to make you feel bad- this effort is really pretty good, but could be improved, so don't think I'm trying to trash you, k? This is just a critique.

That said, the model looks a lot prettier in the raytrace than in the final version in FL. This is pretty typical- if you want to see one of my models in a raytrace, I'll do one in Poser5 and show you what cool can look like Seriously though... while the skin is adequate, to really reach a professional standard I think you need to take the raised areas and use beveled edges on those layers, taking some care with them so that they look right and use a unified light direction (this is a pain, but well worth it).

This will give those areas a much greater feeling of depth and realism when seen in the game engine. The grilles and other recessed areas should have an Inner Shadow applied (assuming you're using Photoshop 6+, otherwise airbrush it in GIMP or whatever) to give them a feeling of depth, and the skin needs some gentle, subtle dirt rubbed in (I suggest color 0B00000 and a very light airbrush touch) and some staining, etc. Nothing too overwhelming- ships don't have to look trashy- but just a bit here and there to give the different parts have more lifelike feel. Little drips and stains can really add quite a bit of life to a model, and they hardly take any time to airbrush up.

At any rate... this is a very nicely-modeled ship, and the skin, while not to my taste color-wise (um, we all know I'm addicted to jewel tones, so I don't claim my taste is "good" hehe) could really be very good with some minor detailing and some touches to improve the realism. Overall, this is a good effort that could really be spectacular with less than an hour's additional work

@Argh

Oh, I understand it's critique. I'm not new to either modelling or texturing. The textures were more an excercise in getting my "Everything by hand" skills up. I may do an update to the textures at a later date using a High Poly model for the details. Long process to explain, but more of my work is on Dragonfyre Studios Freelancer Modelling site, one ship in particular I took great lengths to explain how I took a High Poly model and used it to add details to the low poly in game model.

@_xXx_

That model is rockin but I agree with Argh. It looks too pretty. Almost like some spoiled rich kid took dad's keys and went out to loot in the middle of the night.
Try pulling your texture back into photoshop. Create a new layer then set your colors to black and white. In the new layer go to the filter thing and choose render clouds. Make this layer about half opacity and play with the contrast a bit. I think that will make your killer model have that dusty, broke in look.
I'm definately not knocking the model. It's hella cool.

hey all i've redone my last skin to make it look a little better so check it out but don't expect too much

Edited by - arton alpha on 11/10/2005 6:49:46 PM

Okay I reallly need help skinning this thing. I dont know why, but I couldnt get milkshape to load the textures that I had made for this model and...well I dont know what to do. I did my best to follow the Skinning Tutorial but I guess it just wasn't enough.
Anyways, i've already gone ahead and divided up the ship into groups and color-coded it all. Tell me what u think!

PS I added a few more details while I was at it. Notice the little dome at the top of the ship. Its for show =P



Edited by - Caboose_K7 on 11/10/2005 11:13:55 PM

awesome model
just a suggestion but do you have the view points in milkshape set to show textures or did it give an error message?

Caboose, it looks like you've done a very good job breaking the model up into groups. It looks great so far! What version of Milkshape are you using and what kind of image files are you using for the textures? Older versions of Milkshape don't support .DDS. Try resaving your textures (you can even use .bmp for now, then just edit the .MAT to use the .tga files instead of the .bmps) or reinstalling Milkshape if you can't solve the problem. You've done a great job on it so far and I'd love to see what you can do with this

Ive broken the model up into even more groups to make it easier to texture.

And im using MilkShape v. 1.7.4. But i have a problem. My demo time has run out, and I can't use it anymore. Anyone know of a way around it? Or another program I can use?

Edited by - Caboose_K7 on 11/12/2005 4:42:41 PM

sorry- either pay up, or re-format the hard drive and start over

Chris Bates
Lead scripter,
Stargate BFM: Freelancer