Models giveaway
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Oh and use FBX, so much better for max users.
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Yes LS but that’s as easy only when doing a “general” texture where usually an automatic uv unwrap solves the problem but if you want to make a proper texture, you’ll need a proper uv layout, arranged manually so that it is easy to paint and also not to have problems when making normal maps, having it look clean and not cluttered and stuff like that.
If I were to release all my models with a default kind of texture it would only take me minutes to texture them but I don’t want to do that, cause I either map the UVs the proper way or I don’t do it at all.
Making a good and clean uv unwrap is pretty time consuming but I can do it if I want to (afterall I did it so many times before), so that’s not the actual problem. Main issue is that I don’t like doing “general” textures and at the moment I also lack the skills to make “realistic” looking hull textures, they always end up looking more like plastic than metal so I prefer not to waste my time making textures that might not even be used by a dev for their mod or game in their original form made by me. Most modders here have the know-how to make textures so that means that even if my model will be used in 2 different projects it will look different because it was textured by 2 people with different tastes and variation is always a good thing. -
Most modders DON’T have the know how to make proper textures. Of all the skills in the general modding community, texture artists are the second most scarce, behind proper high-level programmers.
I’m telling you, you sound just like me about 3 years ago. ‘I can do it, but I don’t want to.’
What’s really happening here is that you aren’t satisfied with what you can do (you’ve said as much), therefore you don’t like doing it… therefore you won’t get better at it. Making a metallic texture isn’t hard, it just takes a few tricks. They’re stupid obvious, but easy to overlook. I am going to keep harassing you till you try. Someone did the same for me, and I hated him a bit, but it was worth it.
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Hehe then you can keep trying mate but it isn’t going to happen any time soon
Besides, why even try this hard to get better at this thing when I have no future plans in this line of work. I plan to take things one day at a time, whatever happens happens, that’s one thing I learned from my recent motorcycle accident where I’m still amazed I actually escaped rather ok. -
Automatic UV doesn’t work for me especially when working with your older models (no UV at all). I just tend to like customized UV for the models which points out your ‘every modder has a preference’ statement. Most of your textured models are unaltered but if they aren’t, I texture them to my own preference. Hehe guess I’m used to it since Furball never textures his models anymore, it’s a non-issue to me. Just keep creating great models and I will keep UV mapping them accordingly.
When you do texture them like he said, usually the modders will keep those textures intact, even I do…
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SolCommand wrote:
Hehe then you can keep trying mate but it isn’t going to happen any time soon Besides, why even try this hard to get better at this thing when I have no future plans in this line of work. I plan to take things one day at a time, whatever happens happens, that’s one thing I learned from my recent motorcycle accident where I’m still amazed I actually escaped rather ok.Ah bollox! I adopted that attitude when I had an argument with a lamp post at 80mph 12 years ago, since then I’ve achieved nothing in particular that I hadn’t already achieved back then.
Put it into perspective! You might feel like you’ve cheated death, and you’re probably thinking more about what might have happened (but didn’t), than what actually did happen. Truth is, you’re fine and you still have the rest of your life to look forward to, so dream, and dream big!
I had a heart attack last year and finally woke up. Time is not something to waste away with a whatever happens happens attitude, make plans and make things happen otherwise nothing ever will
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I need examples of what FL will accept for new player ships. Anything like that?
What is the max poly limit for a typical player ship in vanilla FL? I’m using a budget module for Blender.
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There’s no limit. We have 100k models, there are 1M models floating around (not that that’s going to run very well), it’s all up to who you’re targeting and what kind of budget you think you can work with.
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if you’re going by standard rules, 3-6k polys for a fighter, 10-30k for a capital. If you go by my rules and also use the Max .CMP exporter, I shoot for ~10k polys for fighters, and anywhere between 40-150k polys for capitals. Also note that if you’re going to use higher count models, use aggressive loding to keep performance on older machines, if you care about supporting legacy hardware.
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Sizer wrote:
if you’re going by standard rules, 3-6k polys for a fighter, 10-30k for a capital. If you go by my rules and also use the Max .CMP exporter, I shoot for ~10k polys for fighters, and anywhere between 40-150k polys for capitals. Also note that if you’re going to use higher count models, use aggressive loding to keep performance on older machines, if you care about supporting legacy hardware.Dang, what graphics card do you use, a Quadro?
BTW, your modeling and texturing tutorials, how can those same techniques be applied to a VHF?
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That level of detail doesn’t require a powerful card. I used to model like that on a mid-range mobile card. As for my tutorials, honestly, it’s just a matter of adjusting your scaling. It’s the same stuff… just make a fighter. Number one thing is to use reference material. I’ve got years of experience, so I can pull something out of my ass and have it turn out ok. But even then, to make a truly excellent model, you need reference material. Concept art, photos of real life machinery, etc.
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I can’t provide my own ref material, and I will certainly not use anyone else’s reference material. I’m not the best modeler, and never will be. I’ll just end up killing scratch work, and end up with an empty portfolio. It’s no wonder why I never got the game development career I should have got. I have a fear of commitment, I fear of having to put my personal life behind, to work as a lowly unskilled laborer, leaving no time to practice my skills.
I’m telling you this, because my parents think I could only afford the bottom tier, because they think I don’t know how to handle myself in public. I’m sick of being babied all my life, I want to make a difference in the world, but I can’t do it the way people tell me to!
EDIT: Ok, I’m sorry I doubted myself, I’m at a stage where my parents need me to grow up. I can make reference material, I just need to know how to do it, all I have is physical medium, a scanner, a tablet, yet I have a problem with concentration.
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You don’t always need to make it yourself. It helps if you can draw, but Google is your best friend. Find artists and styles you like, take influence from them. I like Syd Mead (Aliens, TRON, Blade Runner), Andy Probert (Star Trek I, TNG), Fractalsponge (Ansel Hsiao) (High-res SW work, The Essential Guide to Warfare), and Rob Cunningham (Homeworld). It’s about immersing yourself in your chosen aesthetic. I love 80s futurism and sci-fi films. I watch them all the time, and sketch and model while I do it.
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Also, just about every modeller out there started by using existing artwork as a basis, often just making a perfect replica of the thing. It’s how you begin. You can’t reasonably expect to start off from zero and instantly make a work of art.
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The way I sometimes do it is I go and search for a bunch of images on google, pick a few favorite ones and then I start making a model based on those. I take the wing design from a concept, the rear from another concept, the front from somewhere else etc. and in the end I have my own cool model to show for.
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How about I make partial refs (i.e. outline only) that way I’ll decide how to mold it from the initial shape. I’ll need help making the textures afterwards.
