[wip] Photon Cannon
NecromanZer
Join Date: 2002-11-01 Member: 3407Members
Join Date: 2002-11-01 Member: 3407Members
<div class="IPBDescription">replacement turret</div> 511 faces...
but created using truespace 4, when i port over to 3ds max its going to use triangles instead of squares, that might double the face count :|
i need a good skinner and animator - for the animations i want the 3 circles to helix up from a cyndrilical shape, so i created them helixed dunno wether it would be better to have them modelled as cyndrilical shapes...
but created using truespace 4, when i port over to 3ds max its going to use triangles instead of squares, that might double the face count :|
i need a good skinner and animator - for the animations i want the 3 circles to helix up from a cyndrilical shape, so i created them helixed dunno wether it would be better to have them modelled as cyndrilical shapes...
Comments
the pole part comes upwards, from the idle state, and a blue ball of photon energy is shot at the target from that diamond thingo
That said, the model looks great. I'm not sure how you want the cylinders to work; it may be better to make them simple rings.
1022 triangles (if it indeed does go up that high) is far too much for a building, and especially for a turret. /: Some suggestions:
1) the helices.
--Reduce from 3 to 2?
--Reduce the polys so they are either rectangular or diamond-shaped in cross section.
--square off the ends.
(It won't be as pretty, but a good skin will take care of it.)
2) the base.
--Possibly reduce it to 6 "feet" instead of 8.
--Remove the faces on the bottom of the model if you haven't already.
--the "ring" of the base that intersects the feet is about twice as complex as it needs to be. make it an octagon, with the points hidden inside the feet; the difference will be barely noticeable. Additionally, let it clip right through the feet, rather than merging them (it may already be like this) - you'll save polys in both pieces.
3) The "turret." Not much to be saved here.
--Let the four "tines" surrounding the crystal come to points instead of flattened tips - save you 32 faces right there.
--(maybe) reduce the tines from 4-sided to 3-sided - merge the two edges closest to the crystal on each tine.
--(super maybe) Reduce the structure from 4 to 3 tines, and the support post from 8 to 6 sides.
I'm not sure what Truespace does by default when creating cylinders, but max creates a vertex in the center of each end of the cylinder, making the ends look like sliced pizzas (polys radiating outward from the central vertex). If you delete that vertex and rebuild the faces without it, you can save two polys per cylinder. I suggest it because you have a lot of cylinders.
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Attached:
1) example of my cylinder-reducing thing, since I'm sure my explanation was confusing. It's not a big savings, but every little bit helps.
2) Quick concept for making a photon cannon closer to the dimensions of a standard NS turret. Rotating cylinders to make it nice and trippy. (:
I'm sure you could easily modify your current photon cannon to look like that drawing Necro.
anyway thats a damn good concept coil - i was thinking of having the structure "flat" as in SC - for the idle state, and have the 2 bands rotating slowly, then when it tracks and enemy the turret rises up and the bands could either helix upwards or rotate as in your diagram, that would be up to the animator (i can't animate yet but ill have a shot at it.
btw its totally un-optimized, as im not very good with low poly work <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo-->
and i can't delete faces from the bottom of the objects while im working in truespace, then the corresponding vertices dissapear...
1) While it's likely he's making it for the protoss conversion, it's polite to ask first.
2) "i will try and skin it just find me the perfect texture" ... skinning is defined, by most people anyway, as creating a texture to apply to a model. It's not simply a matter of finding an existing texture - most of the time, you have to make it yourself.
3) thanks, but I've got to finish up my school work, graduate, and attempt to get a job. I've also got my own set of replacement models I'm already working on.
um i'll leave this for a bit xexe^, and do the nexus for CC, fully, like model, then skinmesh, skin and animate... so i can gain some good knowledge...
Zerg fit the maps beter, look at feed water hive, how would Protoss fit-in there?