WIP: stuff you are working on!

[max power 21]

@namreg: Sweet! it looks awesome!

Hi everyone!

This is my first try at making a model for a game.

Im trying to get my head around edgeloop and lowpoly modelling.

This is what i got so far...critic, suggestions are very welcomed!

http://www.andreaslaessker.com/Misc/oh58d_kiowa_warrior_wire5.jpg

Good start!

Think of geometry as detail. Edge loops, quads, etc are important but not as important as efficiency. The bulk of the side of your helicopter has very sparse information in the form of edgeloops that are very far apart, but near the top, all of a sudden they get very dense but they aren't defining any complex shape. I think you should find a way to even those edgeloops out, or to combine a few of them near the top. You have some edge loops that define the shape of the tail but don't really do much up front, and an edgeloop that defines part of the window, say, then is terminated near the rear. Unless you really must have all that shape information up at the top, those edgeloops that terminate at one end or the other of a fuselage would be a good place to start culling. Non-terminating edgeloops that define detail at both ends will make for a more pleasing wireframe anyways, but undoubtedly the result in game will be indistinguishable.

[rise 0]

@Plaintiff1: Thanks! I worked with it a bit and deleted one edge. This is how it looks now.

U think this will work better?

http://www.andreaslaessker.com/Misc/oh58d_kiowa_warrior_wire8.jpg

[Punisher5555 0]

Getting better rise. Not quite there, but getting better. It is hard to find a nice diagram/blueprint type layout on the internet for the R version of the OH-58D. Most show the old AHIP or early I versions. Keep going. Our community of current and former kiowa crews will greatly appreciate it.

Scouts Out!!!

[maza94 0]

My early alfa polish soldier with new: beta textures, helmet, vest and sholderguards.

Part of textures: hands, pants and boot's it's from vilas old polish pack, but they will be fixed.

[max power 21]

@Plaintiff1: Thanks! I worked with it a bit and deleted one edge. This is how it looks now.

U think this will work better?

http://www.andreaslaessker.com/Misc/oh58d_kiowa_warrior_wire8.jpg

I like that much better, rise.

I'm not sure about the rest of the shape of the tailboom, but you have a couple of contiguous edge loop that goes straight from the windows above the crew to the tail. They seem to define the roundness of the tailboom and the edge of that control cable housing or whatever that is on top of it. If it doesn't disturb the shape that you are going for back there, you can consider merging those two that are very close together after the windows. From this angle I don't know how that would affect you back there, but up on top of the fuselage those edges aren't doing much for you.

[scubaman3D 0]

Here's a BIG project I started. Dasquade gave me some wonderful CAR-L models and I made a Beta mag for it - just for fun.

There's no materials on the CAR model yet.

And before somebody says something about beta c mags not being reliable, forget about it. I don't care

Actually, I don't think they've been validated for use in the CAR yet, but its too damn sweet looking...

MK4 also WIP:

[Average Joe 0]

HAWT.

[nephilim 0]

Hope you can hold up to dasquads standarts..

hes pretty good.

[DaSquade 0]

Thanks Jenny, lets hope he doesn't take over all my standarts (make a lot, but only finish 1%) .

MK4 looks good. Polycount?

Now that the cat is out of the hat:

[scubaman3D 0]

MK4 = ~750 polys.

[Messiah 2]

how many for the SCAR and MK4 then?

[VIPER SHIVA 0]

Wow, those SCAR's look fantastic, and I can't wait to see them in game.

Bravo!

[scubaman3D 0]

The CAR (notice I'm saying CAR and not SCAR - since the name was recently changed by FNH) and the MK4 together, with the Beta C was just shy of 10,000tris - which is heavy, I know. The LODs are really good though and what I'm going to be concerning myself with mostly is optimization. Keep in mind also, that Beta C probably won't end up on the CARs - which will reduce the tris by ~.5k

I'd say about 90% of the work is done, but the 10% thats left will take a while... The normal and spec maps need to be made for many of these things and I want to finish the MK4 as well - since FNH appears to be obsessed with this optic on their CAR.

As far as living up to Dasquades standards - I will be asking him for feed back periodically when I've made some progress with this.

Ultimately, this thing is never going to look bad, because DS did too good of a job on the diffuse and I'm really not going to screw up the normal and spec map that badly...

[Whiskey27 1]

Just a question, why do you have that KAC GL red dot on the side of the weapon, when the weapon does not have a grenade launcher?

Mostly just a question, but honestly looks like good stuff. And I've seen a beta C mag in use before, seemed to work fine to me.

[Panda-PL- 0]

@Scubaman: are you sure the beta mag was not plastic?

DaSquade's work is splendid, I remember borrowing his optics for old 6thweaponpack. The (S)CAR texture is pretty much photorealistic.

It looks pretty bright trough.

I'll post my latest, not really much work done. Specular and noirmal.

Enjoy.

[scubaman3D 0]

Just a question, why do you have that KAC GL red dot on the side of the weapon, when the weapon does not have a grenade launcher?

Its for the EGLM he made, which is not in the picture - guessing it was an oversight...

@Panda - are these things plastic ??!?!!

[Panda-PL- 0]

@Panda - are these things plastic ??!?!!

You mean you haven't checked?

http://www.betaco.com/page.asp?pg=sM16/M4

Mostely thermoplasic with steel additions.

I think they are.

[scubaman3D 0]

oops

edit:

I guess I just assumed it was metal, since I have a drum magazine for a rifle at home that's metal - though admittedly, its not a Beta C mag

[Messiah 2]

Return of the Jackal

A bit more work done. Textures are complete (not including dirt and scratches yet, thats still to be done as always), but thanks to swift88's recent trip to DVD2008 for some reference pictures, I now need to add the comms/ecm locker on the back as well as a couple of outriggers for comms antennas.

Otherwise, time for normal and specular maps. She's a chunky girl, weighs in at just under 10k, but the jerry cans, at4's and weapons are all proxys, so theres a bit extra to factor in there. 

[DaSquade 0]

@Scuba: Polycount for the MK4 is very good imho, knowing its build.

@Ebolax: The reddot sight is like Scuba said indeed for the included EGLM. It was an old pic i found, lets hope Scuba doens't kit them wrong as the file i sended contains almost all MK16 variants with some gadgets.

@Pando: Texturing never was my cup of thee and i have to admite i did use a photo with heavily photoshopping, although it was for the upper only. As for the 'brightness'...i have lots of reference pictures going from the 1st untill the 4th generation, including some military testbuild pictures and i have to say they come in various desert colours . I went for the latest and most common desert tan, witch tend to go with a slightly pink tint. Like i told Scuba, PSD more or less are open for background colour so tweaks can still be made. In the end, rvmat will influence it also afaik.

As for the overall polycount. For those who know me, i find it hard to leave out details. In the end the stock (S)CAR isn't that high poly, afaik around 4k. It are the scopes, lasers and additional accesoirs can bring the total polycount up (roughly 1k per item).

But like said, i did my best to provide enough lods with nice transition to compensate it. Also the texturecount is fairly optimized...although some items where made seperated as they can serve on other weapon platforms.

Old pic of EGLM variant

Wireshots can be found in the folder aswell for those who are interested:

SCAR gallery

@Messiah: No comment on the Jackal mate. Looks as it should in current workprocces. By the way, could be wrong, but didn't i send you my swedish variant once. Was just wondering is so if you make use of it as reference or how it compairs with yours in dimensions etc...Just wondering as it would be nice to know how accurate it was. I suppose you also had to work of pictures without any actual data. Keep it up.

As for polycount, afaik it should be ok. I remember i ended on a good +15k with weapons and detailed cockpit. Tube construction, open structure, multi weapon platform etc are killers anyway.

[Messiah 2]

You sent me a picture a while back of the Danish one you had modeled, but as with all things UK, the MoD decided to purchase their own version of the supacat, so besides the chasis and the basic rollbar, its fairly different.

I had only the very limited photos available on google/mp.net (Before DVD2008 I think they numbered 8 of the british version and 8 of the danish), so worked by eye (no available blueprints) and also created a 'scale' box (i.e. the known length, width, height) to make sure things were hopefully in proportion. Otherwise its a lot of trial and error and a lot of alterations as more photos were published.

As you said, the amount of roll bars, bracing and open nature means its very hard to make a nice looking model without going into the +10k range.

[USSRsniper 0]

DaSquade, nie work on the SCAR, now all we need is GRAW style missions and soldiers  

[scubaman3D 0]

...now all we ened is GRAW style missions and soldiers...

Lets hope we never get either

Anyways neph, is the MK4 worthy to be on the CAR?

This model has 8647 tris in the 0.000 lod and 5559 tris in the 1.000 lod, so I think we're in good shape with that.

[nephilim 0]

Quote[/b] ]Anyways neph, is the MK4 worthy to be on the CAR?

LOL!

Well it looks alright.

8k tris might eventually be a bit TOO much for 3rd person use.

but for first its alright.

then on the other hand it sure wont be used in a massive way like an ak or m16/m4

@messiah

very nice jackal u got there.

the texture is a bit bland for my taste tho.

pretty factory-new, but it guess youll change that

[Messiah 2]

oh yes, plenty to do on the dirt/scratches side of thing. The buldozer screen grab loses a lot of the detail there is (there is dirt smudging and water marks around hatches etc). Unfortunately, or at least in my case, buldozer seems to mimap stuff blurry quite soon after getting any sort of distance away.