Author Topic: Merian-Class and Mogai-Type Warbird (Read 14872 times)

aaron067 · « **Reply #40 on:** January 23, 2011, 04:11:15 PM »

There have been a few hiccups in the porting process since I don't own Bridge Commander and know very little about the game-specific mesh requirements. I learn fast, though! We'll get it worked out in no time.

My recent project has been an improvement, optimization, and re-texture of the Vesta Class mesh that's been released for Legacy and ported over to BC. With the release of some high res renders by Mark Rademaker, I finally have enough detail to create a more accurate texture map and mesh compared to what was released prior to the their release. While I would have liked to model the ship from scratch, reality and priorities demanded that I only adjust the current mesh. It's been optimized from over 22,000 triangles down to just over 12,000, cleaned up to the absolute best of my abilities, and additional structural elements added/changed that were either missing or incorrect.

My goal is to make the textures as accurate as humanly possible (within the limits of my frustration level). Also, now that I've gotten to know the Vesta class much better, I'll be remaking most of the Norway Refit textures to better resemble the Vesta class since it was my original inspiration.

Starforce2 · « **Reply #41 on:** January 23, 2011, 04:55:54 PM »

do you know alot about legacy models?

aaron067 · « **Reply #42 on:** January 23, 2011, 05:44:25 PM »

Not Legacy models in particular, but a mesh is a mesh as far as I'm concerned. The differences really come into play when it's time to export. The real issue with Legacy models is that they're saved in a format that no program can import without a rare and undistributed plugin. So, someone wishing to port a Legacy model has to get a .obj or .3ds version of the mesh from the original author.

deadthunder2_0 · « **Reply #43 on:** January 23, 2011, 10:17:16 PM »

I have heard that some people rip the models out of the game with a "3D" print screen.

Starforce2 · « **Reply #44 on:** January 24, 2011, 12:15:17 AM »

Quote from: deadthunder2_0 on January 23, 2011, 10:17:16 PM

I have heard that some people rip the models out of the game with a "3D" print screen.

Yes, someone was explaining that to me. I was hoping this process would work on high poly mesh renders, the problem is that it recreates an exact replica, and thus you'd just be given another high poly mesh, exactly like the one you already had.

What I was refering to, is if you had experience converting legacy models, because I had some ms3d files I was never able to do anything with. Also I've been handed some by a legacy author though I wont hijack this any further. Maybe aaron, we could hook up over skype or msn some evening to discuss how to sort out the layers of a legacy mesh.

Centurus · « **Reply #45 on:** January 24, 2011, 07:41:51 AM »

I'm really digging the color scheme here.

Vedic · « **Reply #46 on:** January 24, 2011, 09:49:46 AM »

the textures really look...Cannon, even thou the Vesta dosen't have a Cannon Texture Scheme

Are you using this picture for refence?

http://memory-beta.wikia.com/index.php?title=Vesta_class&image=Aventine_rear-jpg

Jb06 · « **Reply #47 on:** January 24, 2011, 12:25:38 PM »

nope guessing this.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1oTNGkUkHgM/TPtyg3jQBjI/AAAAAAAACDQ/bcckE47EMvM/s1600/aventine1.png

~Jb

Vedic · « **Reply #48 on:** January 24, 2011, 01:06:08 PM »

Yeah that Ortho seems more...logical.

aaron067 · « **Reply #49 on:** February 03, 2011, 12:16:05 AM »

Yeah, that image is one of the ones I've been using. It was truly a godsend because all of the other images were either in perspective or had crappy lighting. There still isn't a great view of the bottom of the ship, unfortunately, and Mark hasn't yet replied to my latest e-mail concerning that, but I think I've managed pretty well. I've also kept the texture resolution reasonable, but I'm just not happy with some of what I'm seeing. When I'm finished and Starforce gets a hold of it I think I'm going to increase the res for Bridge Commander.

In the meantime, here are some picture updates. Aligning everything between the top of the spine and the sides of the secondary hull has been a massive pain(!!!), but what I've got is coming along nicely, I think. All that's left for that section is detailing the forward, dark portion. There were also a few additional changes I needed to make to the mesh to better match the original. I honestly didn't think to check the shape of the secondary hull before I started texturing. It seemed perfectly alright at the time, but there were some inconsistencies that I had to correct in order for the textures to be as accurate as possible (which still isn't as close as I'd like).

We've had some severe icy weather the past few days, and I'm off work again tomorrow, so hopefully I'll be able to knock out most of everything else tomorrow.

Vedic · « **Reply #50 on:** February 03, 2011, 12:53:37 AM »

Never knew the Vesta was so...Blue.

Lol, Great Job So far.

Nebula · « **Reply #51 on:** February 03, 2011, 08:40:27 AM »

awesome work

aaron067 · « **Reply #52 on:** February 03, 2011, 09:23:16 AM »

Thanks!

There is certainly a lot of blue, but the more I work on her the more I'm really liking the color scheme Mark came up with.

JamesTiberiusKirk · « **Reply #53 on:** February 03, 2011, 12:56:10 PM »

that looks dang good

aaron067 · « **Reply #54 on:** February 05, 2011, 02:17:03 AM »

There seems to be an issue with the last page of my other thread, so I've started this one until I or a mod can figure out what's going on there.

In the meantime I have an update! I wasn't able to get nearly as much done as I'd hoped, but the dorsal and side portions of the ship are nearly complete. I also discovered that if use Max correctly I can make much better renders for everyone to see...

I've tentatively decided this baby's going to be christened the U.S.S. Palatine, registry NCC-86207. I'm open to other names, though, so long as they're limited to one of the seven hills of Rome or other significant Roman architectural or geographical features, or appropriate historical figures.

Nebula · « **Reply #55 on:** February 05, 2011, 09:20:08 AM »

error noted and will be looked into ;)

In the meantime that Vesta is looking great.

aaron067 · « **Reply #56 on:** February 05, 2011, 11:45:00 AM »

Thanks, nebula. I was trying to post my update with those images when I got some kind of error page. When I tried going back all I got was the blank page that now shows up.

Sean · « **Reply #57 on:** February 05, 2011, 01:22:50 PM »

had to remove last post to make this topic work again. apologies

Quote from: aaron067

Updates! I wasn't able to get nearly as much done as I'd hoped, but the dorsal and side portions of the ship are nearly complete. I also discovered that if use Max correctly I can make much better renders for everyone to see...

I've tentatively decided this baby's going to be christened the U.S.S. Palatine, registry NCC-86207. I'm open to other names, though, so long as they're limited to one of the seven hills of Rome or other significant Roman architectural or geographical features, or appropriate historical figures.

Thanks for the comments so far.

aaron067 · « **Reply #58 on:** February 05, 2011, 01:56:39 PM »

Thanks! The post that was merged into this thread has what got deleted, so no problems there.

Shadowknight1 · « **Reply #59 on:** February 05, 2011, 05:36:14 PM »

That's a very nice retexture! Any chance of also including the Aventine herself?

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Author Topic: Merian-Class and Mogai-Type Warbird (Read 14872 times)