Posted: Sun Aug 12, 2007 5:27 pm Post subject:
[RA2] Tech upgrade center
Subject description: Remake of TS upgrade center
I'm currently playing around with Blender lo learn a bit of 3D modeling for something to aim for I'm making an upgrade center for a tech building. Any ideas for upgrade nodes I should make beyond the obvious ion cannon uplink, hunter seeker or drop pods? Bear in mind that the upgrades can pretty much only add superweapons, but with the Rockpatch/NPatch this gives quite a bit of scope now. Also any suggestions for changes in the centre itself (something constructive, not 'its needs texturing')? Last edited by Blade on Tue Aug 28, 2007 5:11 pm; edited 1 time in total QUICK_EDIT
And an airstrike node (calls in airstrike)
Make the upgrading part of it slightly taller. _________________ http://www.ppmsite.com/forum/files/tifansig1_copy_180.png[/img][/url] QUICK_EDIT
A door on the side, a pole (for the tech flag), a bigger radio dish, some windows, something like a pathway, perhaps even stairs here and there. QUICK_EDIT
I like the way the dish looks, its pretty accurate of what it looked like in TS. Door and windows I'll probably do in the textures (when I figure out how to do them right). Any of the other buildings have stairs for scale comparison?
As for upgrade nodes, and idea of what they might look like might help, otherwise it would just end up being a variety of radar dishes (certainly for the suggestions so far).
I thought Blender was GPL, not LGPL. Yeah, its free. If anyone wants me to post the blend file when I've developed it a bit more I will, then anyone will be able to make additional upgrade animations and have them fit correctly. QUICK_EDIT
Thats the kind of mentality that sees windows as the dominant OS, its easily pirated at home so why not use it... because if you run a business then all the people you employ will only have experience of that OS and thus you'll need to pay for licences or risk being audited for compliance. I'd rather use a truely free program and help others use it than help the cause of autodesk or whoever makes 3DS Max now. If people had to pay for windows and it was enforced strongly, the likes of linux would advance a lot faster. QUICK_EDIT
Bit of a bump, but I've played around with some textures and added some antenna. Last edited by Blade on Sat Sep 15, 2007 10:53 pm; edited 1 time in total QUICK_EDIT
It's Kickass! Well done, But I 'd add something at the front wall, like shoot holes and something, but it's still being good _________________ "I thought what I'd do was, I'd pretend I was one of those deaf-mutes" -J.D. Zallinger
Or Should I?" -The Laughing Man
QUICK_EDIT
Okay, another revision... I've changed the texture and got what I think is the correct lighting on it now. I've also increased the contrast quite a bit.
IMO you should replace the remap cooling ribs with a rotating fan (like the TD conyard fans). _________________ SHP Artist of Twisted Insurrection: Nod buildings
Texture is quite bad imo (better than mine, though:P) , but the model is good.
Just make texture as procedural, new Blender versions can bake it into a UV map- no need for Photoshop/Gimp unless you want to put stuff like logos, text on it.
What about low-polygonizing this for Open TS?
Yeah, and if you don't want to, post it, I can . _________________ Time will tell...
Sooner or later...
Time will tell... QUICK_EDIT
Yeah, I agree the texture is a bit rubbish, it is my first attempt at creating a texture for UV map and I'm not all that great at making pictures from scratch anyhow. I haven't quite got the hang of creating procedural textures either. For the main building I was really trying to create a texture similar to the hospitals texture, while the area under the upgrades was supposed to be like the base under the machine shop. I've attached the blend file if anyone wants to help me out then.
So ya I am pretty impressed. How did you end up getting the angle right? It does look pretty damn close.
The lights/shadows look good to me. match up pretty damn good to a quick model I did.
The texture isnt some thing that people who first start get good at the first time. I still suck at it. But im gonna have to pass this link off for textures.
I ended up reverse engineering them from the Max script positions. I still need to come up with a workflow for masking the AA image of the structure with a none AA outline to stop blue edges. Out of interest, what technique do you use to apply the textures? QUICK_EDIT
Most of the time I just use UVW mapping. Witch basically unwraps it by a simple shape that you should choose, such as box, sphere, cylinder... ext... It does a pretty good job, but I will find unwrap issues witch I fix latter myself. But as far as making a texture... I don't do that normally... I just use a material as such found on that site I posted, such as a brick or concrete texture. Some times have to spend a few mins in an image editor just to get it to tile. Then any kind of detail such as windows or say a sign on a wall I would just make a box or some thing, or bollean deatils, just to avoid having to paint a texture. Lazyness? Yup! But I think it does an ok job. _________________ MadHQ's Graveyard - Click here!
(Permissions) - (F.A.Q.) QUICK_EDIT
Most of the time I just use UVW mapping. Witch basically unwraps it by a simple shape that you should choose, such as box, sphere, cylinder... ext... It does a pretty good job, but I will find unwrap issues witch I fix latter myself. But as far as making a texture... I don't do that normally... I just use a material as such found on that site I posted, such as a brick or concrete texture. Some times have to spend a few mins in an image editor just to get it to tile. Then any kind of detail such as windows or say a sign on a wall I would just make a box or some thing, or bollean deatils, just to avoid having to paint a texture. Lazyness? Yup! But I think it does an ok job.
Only problem is, the textures that you use are pixelated and rather low res. I think your work could have much cooler results if you used highres, highquality textures like the ones mayang takes. They're like 3000x2000, and the site has everything imaginable. _________________
[quote="Bobingabout"]I've got more naruto porn than furry porn[/quote] QUICK_EDIT
Okay, I've scrapped the image texture and converted it to bump map and worked a bit with procedural textures to get a less even colour. I've also fixed the lighting as it seems I was missing a light. I've also improved the windows a lot. There was also a slight misalignment in the camera for the last one as well. Anyone got any other suggestions/comments on the textures before I work on converting to .shp and test it ingame?
Okay, I've scrapped the image texture and converted it to bump map and worked a bit with procedural textures to get a less even colour. I've also fixed the lighting as it seems I was missing a light. I've also improved the windows a lot. There was also a slight misalignment in the camera for the last one as well. Anyone got any other suggestions/comments on the textures before I work on converting to .shp and test it ingame?
Too low poly! You have UNLIMITED poly freedom! Use it! _________________
[quote="Bobingabout"]I've got more naruto porn than furry porn[/quote] QUICK_EDIT
Any suggestions on what to burn the extra polys on? The original wasn't particularly detailed.
Don't make it go for an exact copy, make it fit RA2! Add a small concrete base, some various barrels, a transformer tower, a more... rugged satellite dish like some people stick in their back yard, maybe a few antennas, some clamps around the upgrade pods to hold it in, a dirtier texture.. _________________
[quote="Bobingabout"]I've got more naruto porn than furry porn[/quote] QUICK_EDIT
Even though the GAPLUG was a modified Dropship Bay... GADROP had obviously been obsolete long enough for WW to "almost" fully re-design it and make it the upgrade centre
However the final GAPLUG seen in TS is not actually the final WW design
this 3d model can be found in the (UK) Firestorm Manual... its quite different, with the main obvious difference is it having a chimney type thing with a stationary oblong radar dish on the front.... take a look blade it would make a nice worthy addition to both TS and RA2
P.S. Nice progress so far _________________ QUICK_EDIT
Okay, I've rounded the building somewhat, made a upgrade pods a bit more unique, added some barrels and changed the texture and colouring somewhat. This image is also in the correct pallet and has had unsharp mask applied to it.
Rounding looks bad imo. As if you drawn this thing in 2D.
Otherwise it's better, but it's no longer TS GDI upgrade center and it doesn't seem as something you could improve much more.
And it's not RA2 either. It looks just like bigger TS one with different texture (which doesn't fit RA2 very well, but it might fit with some TC).
If you want to make it good for RA2, start from scratch and redesign it a bit. Look at Exodus or ROS models for instance. You can get much nicer results with RA2 resolution. (or even Tiberian Oddysey, which uses the hell out of TS resolution)
Look how those mods' structures position various building parts. Not just pipes/cubes/whatever without any meaning.
Don't take this as some overcritical post, I'm just saying it's time to move on. _________________ Time will tell...
Sooner or later...
Time will tell... QUICK_EDIT
I think it needs a logo somewhere, maybe a flag on one of the poles, a cement base around it (look at ra2 con yard) and whatever you're gonna upgrade it with. _________________ Please, read the signature rules of the forum. QUICK_EDIT
Here is a version without the edges, though I think I might have overdone the brightness/contrast. I think I'll leave this for a little while now since I still don't think I've got the texturing right to match the other RA2 tech buildings (which is what this is intended to be). When I come back to it I might consider the redesign. I've also attached the blend file for anyone who wants to work on it further (its the rounded version, but just remove the subsurf modifier to flatten it). Anyhow its all part of the learning process for me, might have a go at making a voxel next and then an infantry. On the up side I've also figured out how to get an AA's image without it AAing to the background in blender now using key rendering and the compositor to change the alpha layer to one from a none AA render.
I've redesigned the upgrade centre for RA2 now, opinions on work so far? I've kept the original design as a part of this and I think it works quite well.
Nice design. A bit minimalistic when you compare it to other RA2 buildings.
(Still, if you made a mod with all buildings this size, it would fit)
Reminds me of RA1. _________________ Time will tell...
Sooner or later...
Time will tell... QUICK_EDIT
I've redesigned the upgrade centre for RA2 now, opinions on work so far? I've kept the original design as a part of this and I think it works quite well.
The textures are too smooth and shiny. UV unwrap it, and email that to me, and I'd be happy to skin it. _________________
[quote="Bobingabout"]I've got more naruto porn than furry porn[/quote] QUICK_EDIT
Unwrapping is, imo, the hardest thing in Blender. Anyway, look for "Mark Seam" in edit mode. Should be Ctrl+E or Shift+E or Alt+E.
After you made your seams, go to UV face select, select everything and finf "unwrap" somewhere.
However, I think there's a much better way:(There's no tutorial for this and I only barely remember, but you should find it)
One of the scripts (don't remember which one) unwraps your model into absolutely unreadable, but very space-saving net. Once you have this, make a "bake render" and you get a texture created for that UV map (or for any UV map you unwrap- usable as base for gimp/photoshop edited texture) from the procedural textures.
Of course, since this UV map is unreadable and your texture is all over the place, it's no worth editing in a 2D graphics editor and you have to do all the texturing in procedural.
Once you learn how to make good procedural textures and use this method, you save both unwrapping and texture drawing time.
Still, for the best texture, unwrap it, random generators can't do everything. _________________ Time will tell...
Sooner or later...
Time will tell... QUICK_EDIT
If I was just going to use procedural, why would I bake the texture?
BrianPrime... Which bits would you be looking at texturing? The buildings I assume and maybe the base (though I think the base is okay personally)? Just so I know what objects I'm unwrapping and what I can leave alone. QUICK_EDIT
If I was just going to use procedural, why would I bake the texture?
BrianPrime... Which bits would you be looking at texturing? The buildings I assume and maybe the base (though I think the base is okay personally)? Just so I know what objects I'm unwrapping and what I can leave alone.
Everything except the plugin nodes. _________________
[quote="Bobingabout"]I've got more naruto porn than furry porn[/quote] QUICK_EDIT
Looks _very_ nice.
You could improve the windows (make them mesh instead of texture, and use yafray's raytracing with high antialiasing) _________________ Time will tell...
Sooner or later...
Time will tell... QUICK_EDIT
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[RA2] Tech upgrade center
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