Think of this thread as something similar to conceptships.blogspot.com for the Sins community. Basically, a way for the community to share what they have created whether it makes it into a mod or not.
At a minimum post a screen shot of your model in blender, xsi, 3d object converter, etc or in game. If you have a name for your ship or story behind it, even better.
We are looking forward to seeing what you have created!
Interested in importing your models into Sins?
Visit http://soase.weebly.com/modeling.html (thanks myfist0)The soase.weebly is a compilation of many of the hard to find topics created by many experienced soase modders and extensively added to by myfist0. Check it out, you won't be disappointed.
From the beginning of this thread IskatuMesk has wow'd us with his models and ultimately released a video of his creations in Sins of a Solar Empire. This particular model was my favorite in the beginning and still stands out.
SivCorp looking to stretch new ideas from existing models managed to create several menancing models including the fantastic Vasari version seen here: (Vasari Flagship Sonar Kal'd used in the Distant Stars Mod)
It's my thread so a few of my stuff...
Lancer, that's what it was called. I couldn't remember, but I did remember it had a Vampire Arc or Arc Cannon or something arcing. It wasn't my 'go to' unit, but it performed admirably in the thick of battle. I consider that game to be the strategic Starcraft and spiritual predecessor to Sins.
Update to one of my more recent models, added more detail to the hull and also made it longer. Do note... this thing is 28k polys
Another note you'll notice is that the wings are not rounded anymore, I found an error in that part of the model and the only way to fix it was to delete part of the wings and redo them again. I do say all 4 of them are equal and fit without any errors.
Next 3 pics show more detail I turned off the lines instead of doing what a normally do, this way more detail of what I've done is shown.
Well, my turn to show my last model...
It is for a Star War empire mod, and called "Golan IV" starbase, a upgrade from the "Golan III" space defense platform( http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Golan_III_Space_Defense_NovaGun )...
140 xx-9 heavy turbolaser ( begin to seek them on the pic below ), 80 proton torpedo ( the little square everywhere ), galaxy gun ( front gun ), 8 ion pulse canon ( below the door ), ship yard, hangar, and more... ready for kill the Titan from the upcoming sins rebellion... almost maxed out the weapons hardpoint limit ( 200 of 240 )...
Modeling done, segmenting done, UV optimization and texture for the neutron star, and the two ring ( giant force harvester : http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Force_Harvester ) done... Auto UV for the rest... ring and star rotate...
Huge optimization allow the model to use 33% less memory that a TEC or Vasari starbase, 66% less memory that a Vasari starbase... use 3 texture set, one 2048x2048 for the body ( like a capitalship ), one 1024x1024 for the ring ( like a cruiser/frigate ), and one 512x512 for all weapons ( like a fighter )...
Will post a new pic at a later stage, when texturing is fully done...
That's very impressive Thoumsin. Nice job!
I wasn't aware that we were able to assign multiple textures to a single mesh in Sins. I always assumed it had to be all in just one.
-dolynick
ForgeTools documentation, Modding_XSItoSins_ModdingSupplement.pdf ... page 16 and 17...
Heh. I've gone through that document before and I just missed it I guess. I know it's normal to have multiple materials, I more meant that I thought it was a Sins limitation that everything had to be in one set of textures. It's funny though because I use clusters all the time just for normal texturing - I find it's just much easier to cluster them then use the cluster to select the polys in the UVs that way rather than clicking/selecting them manually every time. I suppose that's a byproduct of the way I texture though (IE, badly), since I usually pull things apart in the UV to make it easier to work on in Photoshop (and end up wasting a lot of space too).
What I'm not sure of from the document is why the cluster is necessary (by that I mean, mandatory) for the second set of materials. It probably isn't but the document doesn't say. I would think that you should be able to add a 2nd material without having to cluster it first if you wanted. The cluster would definitely make it easier to work with anyways though.
That's a really, really nice model Thoumsin!
As for myself, just finished the mesh of a second Xin titan, the Charybdis:
A remake of the earlier Leviathan, armed with three titan-grade proton beam emitters, swarms of regular combat drones plus special heavy-duty Praetorian Drones which only the Charybdis can spawn, superior in every respect to the regular Assault Drones.
And of course, the black hole generator capable of producing hull-crushing gravity tidal waves in a huge area around the Titan. Ready to kill any puny star bases standing in its way.
8208 polygons, with a single 2048x2048 texture.
In preparations for making new Xy ships I have begun work on fixing up and revising the old GoreKhan revision 2 model. This beloved ship started as a B5 Primus kitbash about 8 years ago. Since then it has been hand modeled several times over.
The old model was a mess, but I opted to fix it instead of try to remodel it. I don't remember how I made the model to begin with, so I don't feel I am prepared to try to rebuild it from scratch. I think I have done a reasonable job of fixing it, but my work is far from finished.
Well, yours are nice too... your organic shape are great and use not so much poly... when i have made the B5 minbari cruiser, my curve was not so soft and i have use 15k tri... i am working on the Vorlon planet killer ( soft curve ) but i am already at 30k tri !!!
My next big model will be a "junk yard"... something with 50k tri and a huge map 4096x4096 like the PSI starbase... will have enough different "junk" element in it that somebody will be able to build a full line of ship/structure/starbase ( everything ) for a race... somehow, a construction kit for modeler... select the piece you wish, duplicate/resize/move/rotate, combine, save, and the model is done... no need to segment/UV/texture... race build this way will have a very low memory use, one single texture set of 60 mb for all the race models...
That definitely sounds like an interesting idea, looking forward to seeing the end result. It wouldn't work with organic models, but it would work with modular/scrapheap ships... even better would be multiple "sets" (hulls, turrets, wings, struts etc.), and multiple materials... in fact you have just given me an idea...
Work on the GK revise is almost done.
I also began updating the World Eater.
Nice need to learn how to detail my ships in the way you do yours
Extrude. And then Extrude some more. Then, Symmetry. Then Extrude again. Aaaand done. I have absolutely no sophistication in my technique at all. I just hit buttons until stuff looks good. It usually doesn't. So, I try again.
LOL, I've been making use of the bump function in the program I use. It was how I got those canyon like features onto that last ship, which I then proceeded to get rid of some extra lines that made it look weird when I went and smoothed them out to make them more rounded.
@Iskatuk...love the world eater.
@Thoumsin...really original design--nice to see someone actually make something unique and technically detailed.
@Eternal...really like your model but suggest make the lower half different from the upper. It's too pretty to waste.
Some very nice work displayed by all in the numerous post previous. Really looking forward to playing / viewing the mods when they are done.
Some Pics of a model( Textures unfinished) that I have been doing, just to take a break from what I have been doing to stop my head exploding. It started out as a model for ZombiesRus5's mod, but I may have got carried away with the mesh density and texture file size. It consists of 16790 polygons and 4096 x 4096 texture files. Might be able to reduce them some. Estimated time of completion - end of the year / start of next year.
I will not worry too much about the poly count... GPU was never a problem in sins... CPU and memory is a other story...
For the texture size, who can use a lot of memory, a good manually UV optimization can help a lot... in the case of my starbase, when compare with a auto UV, the ring are optimized at 947% and weapons at 1415%... not yet finish the optimization on the main body UV but i am already at 300%...
A UV optimized at 300% mean that a map 1024x1024 with UV optimized will be able to show the same amount of detail that a map with 3072x3072 with auto UV...
Will post some screenshot when the UV optimization of the main body is done for show the huge improvement...
Actually I already am ahead of what you were thinking, the bottom rounded area is different then the top area. I changed the top mirror look of it to be slightly different, IMO I made some small details that pretty much point out that it's the bridge area. My last Pic in that post points out that area in specific.
Besides, I was thinking strategically now, what would be the first place an enemy would try to strike at to cripple the ships ability to move and operate? That would be command and control which is located in the bridge. Having nearly identical locations on the top and bottom of the model actually would make sense because instead of 1 location the enemy might aim for they instead have to choose between two locations.
Also making a change to the model, the mirror part of the top would be a good way to pretty much rip apart the whole model and make me have to do it all over from scratch, your basically destroying 30% of the hull and that's a drastic change I plan on not doing. Model is still a work in progress as it will change over time as do my skills at modeling. Details will be added to make the top and bottom parts look different from one another over time.
Started on the Capital version of the Gorekhan.
And finished the World Eater.
Having work on warship during 9 year, i can certify that bridge is not the more important location... in fact, everything who is done on the bridge can be done elsewhere...
The real important place is the CIC ( center information combat )... there you found all the radar/sonar console, weapons console, communication, etc... location is usually just at the water level, in the middle of the ship... only way to reach it is to fully destroy the ship first...
Pretty sure that if some day, we have space battleship, configuration will be similar
Yeh, I'm not too worried about the polycount. Almost all of them are triangles and I should be able to reduce them by 20% I think.For the texture size, who can use a lot of memory, a good manually UV optimization can help a lot... in the case of my starbase, when compare with a auto UV, the ring are optimized at 947% and weapons at 1415%... not yet finish the optimization on the main body UV but i am already at 300%...A UV optimized at 300% mean that a map 1024x1024 with UV optimized will be able to show the same amount of detail that a mapwith 3072x3072 with auto UV...Will post some screenshot when the UV optimization of the main body is done for show the huge improvement...
Most of the model, about 2/3 is already at 200% and the other 1/3 is at 400% already with symmetrical overlaps of the UV's. I'd be very interested in how you get such high % as 947 & 1415. I have made a model with 800% the "Dyseg" pictured below.
I'm not sure how I could go any higher. I look forward to seeing your method, thank you.
Well, the 947% is somehow similar to your "Dyseg"... mainly, the rotating ring can be cut along eack axis... 8 group of pieces who can be overlaps and it is already 800%... for reach 947%, it is only a puzzle job, arrange overlaped pieces for reduce white wasted area and use a max of the map surface...
The 1415% is easy to explain... 120 identical turret and 80 identical missile pod... it is a lot of overlap... in fact, turret and missile pod use almot the half of the poly from the model...
Body will be at 300%... several symetrical pieces and some puzzle work... nothing more... no magical trick...
Ah! yes this is how I do it also. I have to try and make some of the details a bit less I think, I may be able to do 2048 x 2048 hopefully without changing it too much.
Having a maritime career also, I would say that the engine room (Propulsion , Power generation, steering control etc.) is of equal importance.
By the way I really like that World Eater IskatuMesk. I think that would make an awesome star base too.
Iskatu, as usual, I like your models. The World Eater is absolute evil.
SZ0, I was going to say that I like your first ship that looks like a Vasari/Advent hybrid of some type, then you desided to put up your Dyson dealy-o. The texturing and all is absolutely beautiful. Hopefully if you bring down the detailing any, it won't look less awesome than it does now.
Now, the final version of my work. Do not judge too strictly.
This is the first flagship - the battleship. However at the end of my creation fashion, indeed, apart from the creation of the ships I can't do anything else.
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