|
Post by ogmodon on Aug 31, 2014 1:00:33 GMT 1
|
|
|
Post by kellyshero on Aug 31, 2014 10:59:19 GMT 1
Stunning models as always Major Thank you!!.....and given the volume of quality work you have given us (and are still producing) you have nothing to apologize for!! I know you are really busy and still recovering so please don't consider this anything other than an interested enquiry, but any news on a release date for the Churchills? Thanks again
|
|
|
Post by Major Pain on Aug 31, 2014 12:20:11 GMT 1
Thanks guys
The Churchills Series is planned for a 10 model set right now. Part of the project follows each Production Line on the tree. There are basically three different branches the Churchill were produced under.
The base tank is mostly the same between all models. The slight differences are difficult to see in BK scale, but nevertheless, weapon changes and other items are key to the success of this Series.
As everyone is aware... part of my projects plans are to provide the WW2 historically correct variants for each production set I deliver. So if you need the first Cromwell to be used in combat, you got it. If you need all of the possible tanks the US deployed at Normandy, you can find about 90% of the Shermans, from the M4A1(75) to the M4A3(76)W, with M32s and M34s... Artillery Prime and TARV models.
So the Churchill is a huge project in itself... The tank base model is still making me beat my head against a wall...... mostly due to the detail and components required. Once the base is complete... then the rest is gravy...
I like the NO Button... made my day actually...
|
|
|
Post by kellyshero on Aug 31, 2014 14:35:50 GMT 1
Thanks for the update. Sounds like one hell of a job!! Keep up the excellent work
|
|
|
Post by Major Pain on Aug 31, 2014 16:16:37 GMT 1
I know it is hard for many of you to conceive what is involved in building 3D models.
Let me try to help you out with this.
This is my method only and does not represent all 3D artist in the world. There are some that do exactly what i do, but I'm not naming names...
So again... this is the MAJOR PAIN METHOD OF CREATING 3D MODELS. Google it! You will not find it. lol...
1. After I define or decide what the project is going to be about, I begin by reading and researching. On most models, I try to acquire the best blueprints or images, check the variants and make sure all measurements are in Metric. The research does not usually take a single day, but perhaps two or more depending on what it is.
2. The second thing I do is look at my library for parts that may apply to the new Model. This can be anything from tracks and wheels to truck beds or tires and wheels. Over the years, i have created a vast Parts Library of about 250,000 individual parts. These are separated by Several Key Categories:
A. Armor B Auto & Trucks C. Artillery D. Aviation E. Trains
In each of these categories there are sub-categories.
A. Armor
1. Animations 2. Hulls 3. Suspension 4. Tracks 5. Turrets 6. Locators 7. Weapons 8. Wheels 9. z_Turret_xx - GunCarriage_xx
Each part may be further defined by its name within other sub files in each category. I try to keep the Library Current with a image of the part and approximate size. This is important because some parts may be used to create a new part... like a M26 Turret wouldn't need much rework to create the Sherman T23 Turret. They both derive from the T23 Prototype Tank; hence the name of the T23 Turret for the Shermans with the 76mm gun. However... in that case, the T23 Turret came first, The M26 Turret was derived from it.
Consider the German PzIII and PzIV tanks. There were many parts from the PzIII that were used in the PzIV. So when you look at a PzIII, remember it inspired the PzIV. Compare the turrets and hull tops and you will see it. I started the Pz Series, and about two weeks later. I began the base PzIV model from PzIII parts. So as I worked on the PzIIIs, I used any parts possible over to the PzIVs.
At this point, the Library already contains about 75% of any parts for any future models. It is rare that I have to create a majority of the parts for a project, I already have them, or something that can be easily changed.
3. I lay down the base model... I create a gauge that can be used for scale sizes and measurements. Sometimes I might bring in a blueprint to MAYA and let it create the hull for instance. This is not my prefered method because it is prone to mistake and requires a lot of rework. It will give me the correct scale, but there are times that a part will need a massive modification. So I usually build the part from scratch. The top hull and bottom hull are the easiest parts to create... if i don't have a suitable part in the library, I build one.
4. Tracks and Wheels. I have most every type of track and wheel in the library. After I import what I need, I only need to scale and position. The original BK models had Tires with 8 or 10 sides. Mine will have anywhere from 12 to 20... depending on the level of detail I need. The larger the wheel, the more sides. I want the player to see round wheels... not 8 sided polygons. At this point I may work out the suspension if it is something that can be seen. The Sherman for example has two types of very distinctive Suspensions... VVSS and HVSS. The later tanks had the HVSS... the M4A3E8 variants. If the suspension is not seen, I don't add it... Example Tiger I has overlapping inner and outer wheels... you cannot see the suspension through that design.
5. At this point, I have the base model about 60% complete. I still need to add Hull hatches, doors, scopes, ports, antennas, exhaust, etc... Most of these parts will come from the library when I need them. For me it is important to get the Base correct because everything after this point will either make the model look like the real thing, or it will be a do-over... Turrets are quite easy to build, but most designs have already been added to the library. Again, I might only have to rescale and tweak the turret a bit to make it work.
6. Ok, now it either looks like what I planned or I have to go back and see what I did wrong. I'll admit that this happens about 20% of the time. That is the problem with being a perfectionist at the level of detail I want to include. If you compare some of my early work... it should really be updated... the level of detail is very poor. Example: The Dodge WC Series. The Tires/Wheels could be better, the base model needs some slight curve issues resolved. The UV was laid out badly... compare it to the later trucks.
My UVs (Skins) are pretty straight forward... each part category is assigned to a specific part of the UV. On trucks, the wheels are on the bottom toward the left side... cab are just above with their associated parts, fenders, hoods, canvas tops, etc... Truck beds occupy the top toward the left side with associated parts to the right. Trucks with guns may not have the same bed parts; they use a bed called gunbeds. These have been pre-built for most trucks already and used over and over... the skin work brings out the different looks... but the parts are mostly the same.
Hopefully, I have created the UVs along the way. The parts in the model are approaching around 100. And at this point I have to consider the poly count. If I'm reaching my threshold of 1mb, then the detail will be reduced, but usually at this point only large parts and the suspension system are likely around 300 to 400 kb.
7. Time to detail. I start adding the detailed parts that make the model stand out. Without these parts, you must depend on very good skin work to make it look right. I hate painted on hatches, engine grilles with a door or plate and stuff like that. The grilles must be painted, but some relief with hard edges adds to the detail.
8. At this point, if this is a new model that has about 25% or more new parts, and perhaps 10% modified parts, I have around 12 hours in this model, and we are only 90% done.
Now we need to either build a animation set for it or use one that has been defined already. This is a very time consuming part of modeling. Some guys can create the animations in an hour... I can't. I want more effect in there. Trucks don't get the treatment that tanks get.
I blow off the turret, in about 11 different animation frames. Sometimes the turret lands pretty close to, or on the hull . Other Times it launches a good distance. The death animations are controlled by the AI using a random function. So you do not know what you are going to get each time. This that are familiar with random functions understand what seeding is... Animation 3 seems to be the most common...
I might add that this animation design concept will need to change in GEN II. I plan to add a couple of new levels of damage and each level will have its own effects and animations. I have been playing with this already with some positive results. The concept for this is based on the artillery's use of 1.mod, 2.mod and 3.mod. i add 4.mod and 5.mod... which means... model builder will need to help me out bigtime to get models into the release. I'm hoping the base code for this and other changes will be ready around November 1st. But these guys will need to start with a fresh RT with new codes added by a patch. This is when the fun will begin.
I digress...
9. Time to add the weapons, turret platforms and gun carriages. The turrets here should not be confused with the Turret that sits on the hull. This is the control turret that we add constraints to... telling it how far it can turn -/+. Tanks usually traverse 360 degrees, so the constraint we program is -360/+360... which is changed to a binary code in the Tanks 1.xml. The gun carriage is used to elevate or depress the weapon. The values here depend on the weapon... main guns can depress -5 to -15 degrees and elevate from +1 to +60. AA guns might elevate near +90 degrees. It is the combination of the turret and the gun carriage that give the tank the ability to track a moving target or turn and elevate at the same time to fire on a sitting target.
BK Models did not always have both the turret and guncarriage which allowed the weapon to acquire a target without moving the tank itself, either turning of or moving forward or backward. The arc of the weapon will determine the position of the tank if both parts are not defined. Most BK tanks do not have the guncarriages for any weapons... which severely limits their fire capability.
So keep that in mind during a tank rush... The MGs will only fire on anything directly in the line of fire.... and the main gun will have issues acquiring targets when moving... because each little change in position means the AI must recalculate the fire pattern and range.
10. Time to Alpha Test the base model. This is my job... I just want to make sure it moves right, the turret turns and the gun elevates. I have a special map that tests each model against a building, infantry, and armor. Each area of armor gets tougher... there is one resupply area... so this is a sandbox test.
11. Time to send the model to the BETA TESTER. This guy does everything i already did but looks for issues. He literally tries to break the model and looks for anything that does not function. At this point, i have perhaps 24 to 36 hours in this model.
12. Begin to build the other variants if not already in the bin. Because each model I build is based on a pre-designed platform, this process goes pretty quick... then each is given its own 1.xml. I hardly use the ResEditor to export my models... If everything was built correctly, I already know how the locators and parts are numbered. This numbering can be seen in the 1.xml... some are locators and some are just parts. If you see ModelPart="14" ... then it is likely a hull, turret, gun carriage or weapon. Locators will look like this: EntrancePoint="15" . Points are locators that we add for a purpose... ModelParts are specific parts which have some kind of constraint and instructions.
13. Test the entire Series and build the objects.xml and tidy up the 1.xml files.
14. Release!
Because I sometimes get bored working on a new model, or its variants, I tend to move to other projects for a while. I do not like waking up when I'm asleep when an idea or concern makes me get up to check something. So new projects that you might be aware of might takes several days to a week. A few very complex models took over a month because of several issues...
Example Pries Series II.
As you know.... that model has a six man crew... so I had to do some things a bit different. The base model was built in a few days... mostly since it was an overhaul of the Series I. Series one used what I call Exploded Soldiers... which means each joint was in the model... shoulders, elbows, thighs, knees and ankles. Manipulating the Soldiers joints is how I create the poses I need for a model. So if you were to go to the source files on these soldiers... and separate... you'd have around 30 individual parts. Wow. i can put them together in the correct parent/child hierarchy, but most will not be able to understand what is going on. So a exploded soldiers does not have any parts merged or connected... it is only combined together based on the hierarchy.
My new soldiers are little different. I predesign arms and legs in various positions and add them as need to the trunk or main body. Then I add a head and some kind of helmet or cap. Once I have the parts I need, and make a few adjustments, I begin to create one single part from the parts... I only have to merge any two vertices on two parts for these two parts to become one. Sometime, I have to merge many vertices to make the appearance look correct. This is true on the arms to the shoulders or thighs to the butt.
You will see more of these new soldiers... in the skins... with many new kinds of helmets, caps, berets, etc... i reduced the amount of space the soldier requires by changing the part layout and added an area for a Nation's most used helmets and headwear. I also do this with GEN II in mind.
So now you have a basic knowledge of the MAJOR PAIN METHOD OF CREATING 3D MODELS.
I expect all of you to build a tank by sundown...
Later...
|
|
|
Post by Quintaxel on Aug 31, 2014 17:49:09 GMT 1
Great post Major! I've always been curious about how you build your models. How about posting (on occasion) some screenshots of the different steps in the creation process?
|
|
|
Post by Quintaxel on Aug 31, 2014 18:04:33 GMT 1
Nephilim, I was not thinking of a tutorial. Just some screenshots to get a better understanding of how this modelmaking is done. I have neither the talent nor the ambition to make models . I admire MP´s work and I´m just interested in how they are created.
|
|
|
Post by Major Pain on Aug 31, 2014 18:21:32 GMT 1
Thank you guys...
Correct, I am writing a Tutorial... Third in the Series of the How To...
And Nephilim hit the nail exactly on the head. I will show the basic steps and how many things work, but not necessarily using my method. My method would not be helpful to a new prospective artist... it would be like trying to learn Greek if you speak English in a couple of days... it is just not fair to do that to the reader.
My style and method has been developed over several years. My purpose was to not just build models, but very detailed models. I will make the distinctive difference in the Tutorial.
Because most of my work in other game platforms is focused on very detailed work, I point out that this is where the future will be. I approach the Tutorial from the aspect that the new artist should not lock himself into any one platform, and the tools and methods shown here can be applied to almost every other 3D Software Program.
So the main focus will be on very basic methods with each step leading to more involved degrees of difficulty to increase the students toolbox and knowledge. MAYA 4.0 and 4.5 were cutting edge years ago... but they have been surpassed by new software. But, as far as models are concerned for BK... the imagination is the only limit to what can be done. I have found the game fairly forgiving in regards to very high poly counts... but this could be limited by the machine you are using...
Thank you Nephilim
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 31, 2014 20:11:59 GMT 1
What more or less asking our friend Quintaxel is: It is a brief introduction to how we got to the creation of these beauties Quintaxel ¿is not it?
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 31, 2014 20:18:27 GMT 1
This more or less is what I am doing myself in my thread as my tutorials are created step by step, and asu time way these are released for download. Greetings to all.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 31, 2014 20:28:38 GMT 1
I have to apologize Major Pain, for having made a butcher shop with his 3D model.
|
|
|
Post by Quintaxel on Aug 31, 2014 20:39:57 GMT 1
Well I just wanted to get a general idea of you artists work. We always get to see the end result but rarely get a view "behind the scenes".
|
|
|
Post by Major Pain on Aug 31, 2014 20:57:35 GMT 1
Someone suggested I complete the Humber...
How about I screenshot that project?
|
|
|
Post by Quintaxel on Aug 31, 2014 21:20:26 GMT 1
Sounds like a great idea to me. MP productions presents "The making of the Humber"
|
|
|
Post by ogmodon on Aug 31, 2014 23:01:27 GMT 1
Someone suggested I complete the Humber... How about I screenshot that project? Good idea. It's always nice to see work in progress
|
|