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I got a couple reasons for that though:
1) It's different from everything else I've done
2) Its only 10x5x3 meters
3) I tried putting stuff over the glass, but it looked better this way.
1) It's different from everything else I've done
2) Its only 10x5x3 meters
3) I tried putting stuff over the glass, but it looked better this way.
I still suggest a large port free blaster fit for this bus; bots don't stay stationary. If the ship gets introduced into the game, then a blaster for it should be easy as cake.
What if the cc area was the space that isn't colored yellow, white, etc? The grey areas?
What if the cc area was the space that isn't colored yellow, white, etc? The grey areas?
I might try that out.
Some work on the emit map. The diffuse is pretty much finished except for some final plating seams and other misc. details:
http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m573/InfinityAmbassador/PossibleSercoBus-Hermesrender5goodlight.png
http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m573/InfinityAmbassador/PossibleSercoBus-Hermesrender5lowlight.png
After I've got the diff and emit done I'll finalize the spec and make the bump.
http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m573/InfinityAmbassador/PossibleSercoBus-Hermesrender5goodlight.png
http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m573/InfinityAmbassador/PossibleSercoBus-Hermesrender5lowlight.png
After I've got the diff and emit done I'll finalize the spec and make the bump.
As far as I'm concerned, this is ready for review:
http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m573/InfinityAmbassador/PossibleSercoBus-Hermesrender6goodlight.png
http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m573/InfinityAmbassador/PossibleSercoBus-Hermesrender6lowlight.png
http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m573/InfinityAmbassador/PossibleSercoBus-Hermesrender6goodlight.png
http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m573/InfinityAmbassador/PossibleSercoBus-Hermesrender6lowlight.png
It looks great.
Suggestion: Take off the caution stripes in the middle of the ship. Otherwise, it looks pretty kickass.
Just a few clicks:
http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m573/InfinityAmbassador/PossibleSercoBus-Hermesrender7.png
http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m573/InfinityAmbassador/PossibleSercoBus-Hermesrender7.png
Looks good, but would it be too much to ask for some renders from different angles? Like behind, below, etc... It's very impressive though :-)
Considering you say it's ready for review, I'm assuming you want more than a pat on the back and a gold star. Though, going by the rest of your posts, you're not going to like what I have to say.
First, the praise: The model looks okay. It's looks a bit more like a mining ship, but I can see governments handing out cheapo mining ships to start off. The model might not be eye-grabbing, but as a super basic ship it doesn't need to be.
~and that's all the gold stars~
I have a problem with the texturing. Well, no, that's not accurate. I have a novella of problems with the texturing. The main point that I want to drive home is that your texturing looks like it has zero thought beyond, "boy, I bet this color and pattern is spaceship enough. DONE". That's not how you make great textures and, honestly, I've seen better renders back in the 90's.
The Caution Stripes
These bug the hell out of me. I, too, think they are great. Eye-grabbing, they are. The problem here is a question of "why". Why the hell would you put them there? What is so unsafe about the surrounding bits of structure that you need to put caution stripes? The engine nacelle are dangerous, but not dangerous enough to label the whole superstructure witch caution tape.
Engineers don't place down caution stripes wherever they think is great- the stripes are there to let people know about non-obvious dangers. Engines are clearly dangerous, no need to label them. You'll instead find caution strips around hatches that might swing down and crush you, access panels that hide away really hot things while a vehicle is running, or that space hooker with several unspeakable diseases you use for your ship's computer.
In addition, the texture is blurry. What resolution did you use for this? Did you put detail into what appears to maybe be wear-and-tear on the paint? Since this is a static render, there is no need to make small or even medium-sized textures be the norm. Up the hell out of that resolution, but make sure not to get super carried away with details that won't show up or even be hinted at when you're back down to a lower resolution. Those will just muddle the texture.
The Team Colors
You're only going to put color paint there? That seems a little low, but excusable if this is actually a legitimate style decision. This is the only legitimate style decision you're allowed, by the way. The rest of the problems here are just poorly thought out features.
For instance, is that wear-and-tear I spy? One of the easiest way to make a model look edgy is to beat up the paint a little, right? I can actually get behind that, that's OK. What isn't is this poor excuse for what is either scraping or corrosion. It doesn't look like wear on that paint, it looks like the factory workers got sloppy and tossed on a coat of paint in ten minutes before heading out to catch unspeakable diseases from your ship's computer(that harlot). Why is this paint worn or chipped away? Did something scrape across the surface of the ship and gouge scratches into the paint? Is it just age, where the paint becomes detached from the hull and flakes off? How many planets had to line up to get such uniform corrosion on both sides?
The Light Things?
What are they? What are they there for? Why are they strips instead of blinky lights? Why is one red and one green?
The Ship's Body
The specular map? Yeah that doesn't look like a map and more like a specular dip. Even a clear coat on a vehicle doesn't drown out differences in specular between materials. There is nothing interesting about that specular. Specular should be used to highlight the differences in different materials, levels of corrosion, or levels of wear.
The same with the gray, lifeless texture on the body of the ship. Is the ship's armor made out of pure boring? Boring enough that it will just tire out all the munitions used against it's hull? I mean, that's what it looks like. What is that armor supposed to be made out of? If steel, that doesn't seem like the right color. If ceramics, still not there. Is it painted, or did the factory run out of hull paint? Is it some exotic material? If so, how does that look?
And I am assuming the bump mapping is supposed to look like armor plating? Who in their right mind would choose randomly shaped sheets of boringum for armor plating? I get that the bump map is supposed to add visual complexity so that people don't realize how flat the ship really looks, but you could have put something up that looks like it had a reason behind it. Though I might not be wrong, the armor plates might be the flat stuff, so smooth between plates that you can't see any boundaries(how high tech and organic sounding!), but then the only other thing I can think those random strips of 45-degree tubing could be is... tubing. And if it's tubing, why is it there? Where is it going? Where is it coming from? Why does it intersect so much?
And why are the engine nacelles not bump-mapped? Or the cockpit? That would be a good place to add some interesting pieces- as long as you added them because they serve some sort of function. Beyond that, I'm not even sure what those white boxes are supposed to be.
Summary
In short, in case people skip the above and go straight to here, I think your texture work is not very good at all. It's flat, it's boring, and it seems to have no thought put behind it- I don't know what that fictional flim-flam might do, there isn't even basis for guesswork there. The details that actually do exist are bland, uninspiring, and they look like you threw them on so you could earn gold stars for completion.
If you continue work on this, and you should(I think you've made a pretty good start), keep in mind that even though it is a pretend spaceship in an imaginary futureland, it still needs thought behind it so that the texture is interesting and logically designed. What you have now is hardly finished, unless you have a time machine and intended on posting it on your geocities page.
First, the praise: The model looks okay. It's looks a bit more like a mining ship, but I can see governments handing out cheapo mining ships to start off. The model might not be eye-grabbing, but as a super basic ship it doesn't need to be.
~and that's all the gold stars~
I have a problem with the texturing. Well, no, that's not accurate. I have a novella of problems with the texturing. The main point that I want to drive home is that your texturing looks like it has zero thought beyond, "boy, I bet this color and pattern is spaceship enough. DONE". That's not how you make great textures and, honestly, I've seen better renders back in the 90's.
The Caution Stripes
These bug the hell out of me. I, too, think they are great. Eye-grabbing, they are. The problem here is a question of "why". Why the hell would you put them there? What is so unsafe about the surrounding bits of structure that you need to put caution stripes? The engine nacelle are dangerous, but not dangerous enough to label the whole superstructure witch caution tape.
Engineers don't place down caution stripes wherever they think is great- the stripes are there to let people know about non-obvious dangers. Engines are clearly dangerous, no need to label them. You'll instead find caution strips around hatches that might swing down and crush you, access panels that hide away really hot things while a vehicle is running, or that space hooker with several unspeakable diseases you use for your ship's computer.
In addition, the texture is blurry. What resolution did you use for this? Did you put detail into what appears to maybe be wear-and-tear on the paint? Since this is a static render, there is no need to make small or even medium-sized textures be the norm. Up the hell out of that resolution, but make sure not to get super carried away with details that won't show up or even be hinted at when you're back down to a lower resolution. Those will just muddle the texture.
The Team Colors
You're only going to put color paint there? That seems a little low, but excusable if this is actually a legitimate style decision. This is the only legitimate style decision you're allowed, by the way. The rest of the problems here are just poorly thought out features.
For instance, is that wear-and-tear I spy? One of the easiest way to make a model look edgy is to beat up the paint a little, right? I can actually get behind that, that's OK. What isn't is this poor excuse for what is either scraping or corrosion. It doesn't look like wear on that paint, it looks like the factory workers got sloppy and tossed on a coat of paint in ten minutes before heading out to catch unspeakable diseases from your ship's computer(that harlot). Why is this paint worn or chipped away? Did something scrape across the surface of the ship and gouge scratches into the paint? Is it just age, where the paint becomes detached from the hull and flakes off? How many planets had to line up to get such uniform corrosion on both sides?
The Light Things?
What are they? What are they there for? Why are they strips instead of blinky lights? Why is one red and one green?
The Ship's Body
The specular map? Yeah that doesn't look like a map and more like a specular dip. Even a clear coat on a vehicle doesn't drown out differences in specular between materials. There is nothing interesting about that specular. Specular should be used to highlight the differences in different materials, levels of corrosion, or levels of wear.
The same with the gray, lifeless texture on the body of the ship. Is the ship's armor made out of pure boring? Boring enough that it will just tire out all the munitions used against it's hull? I mean, that's what it looks like. What is that armor supposed to be made out of? If steel, that doesn't seem like the right color. If ceramics, still not there. Is it painted, or did the factory run out of hull paint? Is it some exotic material? If so, how does that look?
And I am assuming the bump mapping is supposed to look like armor plating? Who in their right mind would choose randomly shaped sheets of boringum for armor plating? I get that the bump map is supposed to add visual complexity so that people don't realize how flat the ship really looks, but you could have put something up that looks like it had a reason behind it. Though I might not be wrong, the armor plates might be the flat stuff, so smooth between plates that you can't see any boundaries(how high tech and organic sounding!), but then the only other thing I can think those random strips of 45-degree tubing could be is... tubing. And if it's tubing, why is it there? Where is it going? Where is it coming from? Why does it intersect so much?
And why are the engine nacelles not bump-mapped? Or the cockpit? That would be a good place to add some interesting pieces- as long as you added them because they serve some sort of function. Beyond that, I'm not even sure what those white boxes are supposed to be.
Summary
In short, in case people skip the above and go straight to here, I think your texture work is not very good at all. It's flat, it's boring, and it seems to have no thought put behind it- I don't know what that fictional flim-flam might do, there isn't even basis for guesswork there. The details that actually do exist are bland, uninspiring, and they look like you threw them on so you could earn gold stars for completion.
If you continue work on this, and you should(I think you've made a pretty good start), keep in mind that even though it is a pretend spaceship in an imaginary futureland, it still needs thought behind it so that the texture is interesting and logically designed. What you have now is hardly finished, unless you have a time machine and intended on posting it on your geocities page.
Scuba.....this is exactly the kind of post I need. Fewer "gold stars" and more honest review.
Looks cool. I started reading Scuba's post, but damn... I'm only allotted to read ~50 words on a forum post and he ate those up pretty quick. but i have to agree with him (mostly, maybe, i didn't read ALL of it). Knowing Inc, he would say you still need to put more work into it. Keep it up! step by step you're getting there.
> The Light Things?
> What are they? What are they there for? Why are they strips instead of blinky lights? Why is one red
> and one green?
I could be wrong, Scuba, but I think those are supposed to be navigation lights. However, if they are, then they are inappropriately placed on the craft, since the red and green lights ought to be placed on the port-most and starboard-most surfaces, respectively. Furthermore, on a spaceship there should also be additional sets for the bow/aft and dorsal/ventral sides.
> What are they? What are they there for? Why are they strips instead of blinky lights? Why is one red
> and one green?
I could be wrong, Scuba, but I think those are supposed to be navigation lights. However, if they are, then they are inappropriately placed on the craft, since the red and green lights ought to be placed on the port-most and starboard-most surfaces, respectively. Furthermore, on a spaceship there should also be additional sets for the bow/aft and dorsal/ventral sides.
Yup. The red and green lights are navigation lights, which Iv'e always liked, and the white ones are supposed to spotlights.
Oh! I am pleasantly surprised at my original wrongness. As for the lights, thanks vIsitor for clearing that up. Terran, like he said, they are in the wrong place for navigation lights. There are regulations on where these things go because they have a purpose and a meaning. Placing them on the top like that defeats the purpose.
Textures and polygons are the flesh and bones of a visual simulation. Stretching this analogy more than is comfortable, take a look at your arm, leg, or other favorite body part. If there are hairs there, they serve some kind of function or would be relegated to minute, vestigal features; even vestigal parts indicate there was some necessary function there at one point. The color of your skin? There is a reason why it's not blue or purple. Unless it is, and then there is a good reason it looks like that too. The pores in your skin too, they are there for a purpose beyond mere decoration.
Certainly, attractive skeletal structure is important! The same can be said of the polygons that make up a mesh. But most of the overall visual cues are in the flesh. How it's shaped, why it is shaped that way, what color it might be, which sort of skin texture is affecting the visual quality- and when and why? The same with a mesh- most of the visual cues are in the texture/bump map/specular map/normal map/* map. The texture on the Hermes doesn't answer why it looks the way it does or how the ship might actually function.
And that's really, really saddening.
Textures and polygons are the flesh and bones of a visual simulation. Stretching this analogy more than is comfortable, take a look at your arm, leg, or other favorite body part. If there are hairs there, they serve some kind of function or would be relegated to minute, vestigal features; even vestigal parts indicate there was some necessary function there at one point. The color of your skin? There is a reason why it's not blue or purple. Unless it is, and then there is a good reason it looks like that too. The pores in your skin too, they are there for a purpose beyond mere decoration.
Certainly, attractive skeletal structure is important! The same can be said of the polygons that make up a mesh. But most of the overall visual cues are in the flesh. How it's shaped, why it is shaped that way, what color it might be, which sort of skin texture is affecting the visual quality- and when and why? The same with a mesh- most of the visual cues are in the texture/bump map/specular map/normal map/* map. The texture on the Hermes doesn't answer why it looks the way it does or how the ship might actually function.
And that's really, really saddening.
Hey, Terran, plz post other aspects of ship? How are its back, bottom and right sides? Is there a large rear door/bay for easy (un)loading?
About "caution stripes", I really don't like it midship. Keep those near "engines" and remove or reposition the other one.
RP-wise, this could become an "alternative" Serco Bus, easily achieved by Serco newbies, while a "similar" design would be sold by Aeolus as the first mining ship with an integrated mineral scanner...
Serco Hermes mk.1
Weapons: 1L
Cargo: 20
License: 1/-/-/-/-
Stations: All Serco, including training sectors. Also from Aeolus stations.
Serco Hermes Miner mk.2
Weapons: 1L + integrated mineral scanner
Cargo: 22
License: 1/-/1/-/- Serco, 1/-/1/-/1 Aeolus
Stations: Serco mining stations and Aeolus (they only have 2 barracks, so there it should require license 1/-/1/-/1)
All remaining stats should be similar to regular EC-89 bus.
What? No mining license required? Since this is the first mining ship, and mineral scanners are almost free anywhere, I think this way it does fine, as long as you only sell mk.2 at mining stations!
About "caution stripes", I really don't like it midship. Keep those near "engines" and remove or reposition the other one.
RP-wise, this could become an "alternative" Serco Bus, easily achieved by Serco newbies, while a "similar" design would be sold by Aeolus as the first mining ship with an integrated mineral scanner...
Serco Hermes mk.1
Weapons: 1L
Cargo: 20
License: 1/-/-/-/-
Stations: All Serco, including training sectors. Also from Aeolus stations.
Serco Hermes Miner mk.2
Weapons: 1L + integrated mineral scanner
Cargo: 22
License: 1/-/1/-/- Serco, 1/-/1/-/1 Aeolus
Stations: Serco mining stations and Aeolus (they only have 2 barracks, so there it should require license 1/-/1/-/1)
All remaining stats should be similar to regular EC-89 bus.
What? No mining license required? Since this is the first mining ship, and mineral scanners are almost free anywhere, I think this way it does fine, as long as you only sell mk.2 at mining stations!
I like those stats. I'll post those orthos (you asked for orthos, right?) later, when I'm awake.
Nice ship design and general conception.
Those orthos I promised, before I get to work retexturing. Might see if I can fix some distortion I noticed earlier too:
http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m573/InfinityAmbassador/HermesOrthos1.png
http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m573/InfinityAmbassador/HermesOrthos1.png
I hope devs will take your work into account ;)