Model Showroom III - Show Hard With a Vengeance

[[TDN]Mechanis]

just dropping by again, this time with the destroyer....
if you can't tell what the primary weapon on that sucker is, shame on you!
for reference, it's only a hair longer than the carrier.

pics

forgive my bad hasty screenshots...
(Hee Hee... that thar cannon's near as big as a Frigate.... that'll give someone a real bad day....)

this ship brought to you by Trance L. Vania

[Tattorack]

Mechanis, whats the primary weapon on this thing? (couldn't help myself XD )

Ok, so I haven't "officially" started modding Homeworld yet, actually I haven't started
at all.
But since I'm hoping to in the near future I guess that showing off what might come
is allowed:

The Generation I Terran frigate hull (without guns):


Front


Back (EDF F 02 - MN 01= Earth Defense Fleet, Factory two, Model Number one)
Engines don't have glow, just black.


Top. Bottom looks almost the same.

The big hexagonal part(s) are gun slots.
If your thinking "My God! This looks like a shitty heap of scrap metal!" then your thinking
the right thing, because it is (the story as to why it is is a long one, ask if you want to know)

More pics will come when I've textured the light and heavy cruiser.

EDIT: Lance frigate (2+ light laser turrets):

[Zephyr]

It looks an awful lot like a hiigaran platform...

[MelvinVM]

The texture kinda looks bugging

[Tattorack]

Well.... I'm not a texture pro... but it DOES give the general idea...


Hig platform? It's sort of meant to look like a platform...... but not one
from the Higs.....
I've been working on this story since 10/11 years ago and have been
imagining all the ships from the Terran Gen one to Gen four; so I
wouldn't be changing its design because it looks like something that
exsists .

[Tattorack]

The next thing in texture is THIS:


Terran Heavy cruiser.... still not much to look at but since they are generation one
ships this is the way they should be.



The back of the cruiser.
This engine does glow when stationary because of the hyperdrive (this would
be the first warp-capable Human ship)



Top and bottom (small difference).

PS: how do you hide images in spoilers?

[Overmind5000]

The concept is interesting, and the texturing is okay, but the UV laying out may need some improvement. That set aside, it's looking good for a beginner.

As for the spoilers, I cannot for the life of me remember how it was done.

And now, my contribution to the showroom, a High poly Bentusi harbor ship:

Understand I would make it brighter, but I'm too lazy to do so. Also, some other WiPs I made:


Most were modeled in Max, but the turret thingy was modeled in Maya. I am aware the last ship is Starcraft, not Homeworld, but it's a model showroom, right? I don't have the polycounts off the top of my head, and I'm again, too lazy to find them.

[Strider]

Allow me...



50k poly

[Tattorack]

Cool ships Overmind5000.
I'll put my texturing skills (the little I have) to real test if/when I start modeling generation two
ships, since they're not made of welded together reused parts anymore they shouldn't look
like a mess.

Anyway; here is the gen one destroyer/cruiser (the classification depends on the firepower
of the ship):


The next image will the classed as light cruiser because of its extended energy drive witch was
implemented to support the four heavy laser turrets (it also made the ship crawl like a slug):


I'm working on more turrets, and also the transport barge, mining station and fighters.
And they shouldn't look like patchworks .

[Zephyr]

I think there is at least some similarity

Spoiler

That first cruiser looks interesting

[Strider]

Tattorack: It kinda looks like Fallout 3 went to space. The textures that is. I think the rusty look would fit better with some pirates than the mighty military fleet of a planet. If you are going for an extension of a post-apocalyptic plotline like Fallout, where resources are scarce, then it fits beautifully though

[MelvinVM]

@Tattorack,

Do you make UV maps and draw them in yourself?

[ajlsunrise]

PS: how do you hide images in spoilers?

[ spoiler]

Spoiler

[ img][/img]

[/spoiler]

[Overmind5000]

Strider:
I appreciate the reference, but I modeled without blueprints of any type, so there were bound to be some alterations between the two.

[Strider]

hehe sure there was, that is the Hyperion from the cinematics. As far as I understand there are different variations of BC, hell I suspect that each terran faction builds theirs in their own way

Mine can't be used for anything anyway as it is currently way too high poly. putting more than a few into a game will certainly cripple any computer

[Tattorack]

Zephyr: How do you hide images in spoilers!
Never got to take a good look at platforms since they're so useless in-game...
But yeah they kinda look the same, or at least the front parts without the do-thingies.

Strider: Apparently to understand the ships you should understand the story behind
(I'll try to keep it short):
After going through a 100 year world war, witch ended in rebellion against the leaders,
the Human race was thin and scarce, but the rebels that were left went through a long
process to re-establish civilization and re-integrate the other part of the Human race
that became savage murdering scavengers.
At long last things started becoming better and a ban was put on weapons, the Human race
swore never to fight themselves and annihilated any weapon they could get their hands
on.
Things went on prosperous from then with "re-greening" Earth, industry moving to Mars
and even an orbital station around the nearest star, Alpha Centuari.
Until the Craal came....
The Craal were like Humans (though, not looking like them), went through the same kind
of war, but instead of making a better living they decided to unite and create a vast empire
in the stars, starting with Humans who they deemed weaklings after they observed their
progress. The Humans were enslaved since they had no weapons anymore and the Craal
was 127 years superior in technology.
But they underestimated Human willpower, so soon after enslavement small break-outs
started witch eventually turned into the first Human defense force, using stolen Craal
laser weapons and remade old projectile weapons.
Comm tech of the Craal was not so advanced, it would (at this timeline of the story) take a week
or more for a distress signal to reach Craacaarc from Earth, so when it arrived the Humans
already conquered back Mars, and when it was actually believed, the Humans already built a
space defense fleet from all the sabotaged Craal ships and old factories.

And that is only the beginning, my story doesn't stop at the end of the Craal war......
Like I said; been working 10/11 years on this.
(trust me though, Human (later called "Terrans") will make a lot more nicer ships later on)

Finished

----------

Wow! Four new posts since I started writing!?!

OK: Thanks ajlsunrise for the tip.

MelvinVM, that depends on what you mean:
I downloaded a whole bunch of pictures of metal and "splotched" the together
with Gimp.
(I wanted to show an image but Imageshack is now slow for a reason)

[Krnt]

@Overmind:
I Love the High Poly Bentus Tradeship.

And Strider's Battlecruiser is just too Awesome for anything. LOL!

[Tattorack]

Spoiler

upload finished of heavy bc texture.

[Tattorack]

Problems with Homeworld will not stop me modeling!
The Generation one EDF fighter MK I:

Spoiler

The solar panel are to power the solar particle ion repulsor engine
(such an engine exists by the way and is currently in development by NASA).

[Carl]

TIE fighter much :P.

Cool concept even if it would never work . I need to get back into modelling again but IRL's all upside down ATM, will see about it when things settle down a bit.

[lmsmi1]

Speaking of models, does anyone know where I can get custom .obj files of like space ships and airplanes (free)?

[Tattorack]

TIE fighter much :P.

Yeah I know, but I made this ship when I was 9
years old, and didn't want to change much on the
drawn down story ideas I had then .
So... its here to stay.

[Carl]

I didn't mean it in a bad way, just gave me a chuckle was all .

[Tattorack]

I didn't mean it in a bad way, just gave me a chuckle was all

Didn't take it badly..... I guess I just like giving explanations

[Tattorack]

Nobody posted ANYTHING!?
Well then, allow me:

Spoiler

Looking better than the first few? That's because these were made before the war.

Hope someone else posts a creation; I've been cruising the show room and found some
amazing creations .

[MelvinVM]

The texture doesn't look like the ship got constructed, but rather a paper wrapped around it.

[Overmind5000]

I'm gonna have to agree on MelvinVM on this one. Instead of taking photoshop filters or pre-made texture bits, I recommend drawing the textures by hand, and I know of an excellent batch of tutorials for modeling, normal mapping, and texturing in 3ds max and Photoshop.

Here's for the modeling and UV layouts:
http://vimeo.com/11052708
Here's for the texturing:
http://vimeo.com/11100774

I'm just giving out advice on texturing is all.

[MelvinVM]

I'm gonna have to agree on MelvinVM on this one. Instead of taking photoshop filters or pre-made texture bits, I recommend drawing the textures by hand, and I know of an excellent batch of tutorials for modeling, normal mapping, and texturing in 3ds max and Photoshop.

Thing is, drawing textures yourself, even if they are just drawn with a white background and black lines, looks a lot better rather than copy-pasting images on the UV map.

You need to think about the ship, why are the welding lines here? why are there welding lines on the sides? The construction of the ship is important, random lines copy-pasted will get you nowhere becuase a random welding line construction would just let the ship fall apart after it hits a little space dust.

[Tattorack]

Spoiler

The Star Destroyer also has a "random slapped on" look.
Enterprise NX-01 Also has this same look from the smaller panels, no real pattern.

Spoiler

And then there is also Battlestar Galactia (Glactica?)......

I'm just giving out advice on texturing is all.

Appreciated, and I'll take a look at the vids; they'll probably help with my ships later on, thanks.
But right now I got them looking pretty much like I want them to (that's the reason why I started
with Gen One ships, tried making Gen Four ships but because they require a lot more complex
textures they looked like crap).

[Zephyr]

The textures on both those ships tend to follow the lines of the ship

[Tattorack]

Here's for the modeling and UV layouts:
http://vimeo.com/11052708
Here's for the texturing:
http://vimeo.com/11100774

No 3d max, no photoshop.
Blender 3D and Gimp .

[Overmind5000]

You can apply the topology teachings learned in 3ds max into any 3d software, including Blender, and the same applies to Gimp. (not 100&, but still relatively the same.)

[jkberna]

I haven't posted anything here in a while, so here's what i'm currently working on the Hw1 to HW2 MOD.
This is the most important ship on the mod so i would really like some constructive reviews.

[Zephyr]

That is very nice

[Siber]

Jkberna: I think you'ev misinterpreted the foot of the concept art, and are getting further away from the original with each step. I'm reasonably sure the foot of the concept is nearly flat, just like the original model, and the fact that its slightly in perspective is just throwing you off.

Some of the changes are fairly nice. I'm a bit iffy on the exact greebling of the bridge tower, but more detail there is welcome, as is what I can see if the changes to the harvester dock area, though I think the 1.1 model looks better there than the 1.2. The extra detail on the top surface of the ship is fine too. Do I see modeled defense gun turrets along the back of it? If so, thats cool as well.

The extra detail on the door is nice, and the higher texture resolution really shows there. I think, however, that you're going overboard with the increased texture contrast, and it hurts the ship in places, most heavily on the changed colors of the brown areas, and in making areas of smooth transition into sharp black lines. The brown areas just above the bridge are beginning to show some serious texture distortions, too, that are quite unsightly.

If yous till want more feedback down the line, even larger pictures to compare would be helpful with such a large and important ship.

[MelvinVM]

The Star Destroyer also has a "random slapped on" look.
Enterprise NX-01 Also has this same look from the smaller panels, no real pattern.

They are not random at all, all those "plates" you see there are based on construction plates of aircraft and vehicles, because ships that size can only be constructed out of more parts rather than one.
On a second note, both the enterprise and the star destroyer have textures that flow together and are not randomly slapped on by a random image.

[jkberna]

Thanks for the feedback Siber, i posted a larger pic, but the forum resized it:s you can see the original at http://www.moddb.com/mods/homeworld-...es/mothership1

But i have to disagree with you about the foot of the concept being nearly flat, on the right concept with perspective view i could get it wrong, but the left concept is a clear left view.
You are absolutely right about the contrast, i know theres still a lot of work to do, i'm trying to decide and finish the geometry before moving on further with the texture. One of my main doubts is the bridge, should i just add more detail like i'm doing, or should i remake it like the concepts, maybe that's going to far...

[Tattorack]

Alright I'm back again with a new model:

Spoiler

The front

And the back.

No I didn't mix the front with the back, in "real life" the dish of a probe
is always pointing Earthward.
Propulsion? Some thrusters, or otherwise its just launched int to space
to float.

[gthompsn]

that looks quite good...

[Tattorack]

Thanks!
Somehow, despite the fact I painted everything of this texture
myself, I was finished very fast.

[Tattorack]

A WIP of the Craal turtleship:

Spoiler

No texture, no turrets.......

[MelvinVM]

Those blocks could be replaced with texture, as it conflicts with its high complexity compared to the engine.

[Tattorack]

Well... the engine is supposed be nice and round; its the only nice and smooth part of the whole ship.
And in the concept (well, I can't show you because I didn't scan any of my concepts) the "shell" of
the ship should be with allot more blocks... but my computer couldn't handle that... and I don't think
Homeworld either....

[MelvinVM]

I think you should remove blocks in general and replace them with texture details.

Well... the engine is supposed be nice and round; its the only nice and smooth part of the whole ship.

The design as I see it right now shows me a ship that doesn't look like its build from the origin, but more 2 pieces of different ships glued together as they create a contrast without a certain meaning.

I said this so many times,

A design doesn't need text like "it's supposed to be this" or anything like that, a real design tells what it is by looking like it.

And Yes, homeworld can handle it.

[MelvinVM]

SUDDENLY, MODELS!
Double combo to keep this thread rollin

[Tattorack]

Is that....... something with a large missile launcher?

I think you should remove blocks in general and replace them with texture details.

So, what would be the point to give the illusion of having blocks on the ship if its very well possible
to just make them? Because, the is supposed to have those blocks.

I said this so many times,
A design doesn't need text like "it's supposed to be this" or anything like that, a real design tells what it is by looking like it.

Well its obvious enough what it is, I just said "Craal Turtleship".
And besides, I'm not going to change the design, that would be changing one of the most iconic ships of the Craal.
I've been drawing my aliens and ships to go along with them long before I started modeling, and just because something that doesn't
look for what it is doesn't tell much about anything:
I have a (yet to be modeled) ship from another race that make ships look like luxury cruse-liners, whilst they're few of the most
deadly kind.

[Proripper]

If I may give some advice Tattorack; it can help to have a flexible mindset, that way when given criticism you can use it to develop your ideas. I agree that the ship does have a very distinctive design, but then again there is always room for improvement. I would love to see what else you have planned for the Craal.

Just my 2 cents

[Pouk]

Oh right, I forgot I can post pictures here... (Melvin you just reminded me with your "keep this thread rollin", as we once discussed keeping the thread fresh) So here we go if I might:

Nassar Heavy Plasma Corvette:



Nassar Probe:



All are of course renders, except for this collecion of in-game pictures of the probe.

[Tattorack]

Proripper: well...yes, an open mind helps, but I'm 100% content with this one, that's why I modeled
it first before all the other Craal ship; I was sure I was going to get it right.
The other ones though are open for discussion.... I'm still doodling stuff on paper for them (I've got
an underlying design... but that's as far as it goes).

Pouk: That's a probe!? (Why am I surprised like this?)
I get the notion its pretty well armored.

[Pouk]

It is.