The FringeSpace Project

Posts tagged “FringeSpace

Can You Supersize That?

An extra thick update w/ half the trans fat:

First off for those who don’t watch the forums, the tournament
ended quite some time ago. We’ve awarded the winners as such
and established a internal forum just for the alpha testers.

*Alphas – Note that you need to be signed in to see it*

Secondly, Carl has finished the base texture for the Star Patrol
Capship!

Click on the images for a higher resolution version.

Thirdly, it wasn’t particularly announced, but we’ve added
Megaman ND to the mod team as our resident map producer.
One of the maps we’re working on for alpha is the Fenris Arena.

We’ve also been able to secure someone to make what we needed
in the way of code to get all the original powerups working for arena,
including a new one or two in there as well.

Lastly, all tournament related threads in the forum have been
moved to the archives section in order to better fit the expanded
forum layout.


Update: Star Patrol Cruiser

As promised, here’s some shots of Carl’s recent work on the
Star Patrol Cap Ship.


Team Activity

Just wanted to make a note for those following along
on our progress – since you might not have seen a lot
going on around these hallowed hangers lately.

Starting back around the end of May, most of the Mod Staff
has been off for personal issues or dealing with summer activities.

However, we are still trying to make some progress during this time:

RK is working on porting/rigging all our finished ships into the game;
it doesn’t sound like much, but that’s one giant leap towards a
playable demo folks.

I’m working with Bax(Backslash) to convert over some FS HUD art,
and I’ll be gradually redesigning (updating) the Tachyon HUDs. Our
goal in the long run is to have a unique HUD for each different ship.
If you’ve got suggestions, I’d be glad to hear them in the forum.
I’ve also got a test cap ship to try and texture.

Speaking of Bax, he’s working on the code that will allow FS2 to
display a HUD Tachyon style since not everything works right off as
one might expect. We’ve also been tossing some weapons effects
and ship function concepts around.

Carl’s been diligently working behind the scenes texturing the
monster that is the Star Patrol cap ship. In terms of surface area,
it’s a project hundreds, if not thousands of times larger than a
typical fighter craft.

Nutri is experimenting with learning guitar and other audio related
compositions at this time. He and I were working on modeling, but
due to some program complications we both have decided to drop
that temporarily in favor of finishing out other pressing projects. I’ve
also picked up a guitar, so you can look forward to some unique
collaborative songs in the future featuring Nutri’s great skills with mixing.

That’s about it really… in short we’re still working, but also trying to
coast through the summer’s blazing heat among other things. I hear
fuel cells are running an average of 200 credits cheaper over
at Alpha Starbase. ~_^

Drop us a line in the forums… let us know what you’ve got planned for the summer.


Pirahna

Here’s some shots of the last fighter off the assembly lines.


As usual, click on an image to get a hi-res render.


Visual Progress Report, May


You should be able to see all the ships we’ve got in the works, here.

In comparison to the Star Patrol Cruiser. Cool stuff.


Star Patrol Cruiser.



As usual, click on any of these to see really overkill sized renders. kthx.



It’s kinda scary in this one. Like it’s going to reach out of the render and bite me. Or vaporize me. Or something. Mommy?



Closeups…



Another closeup…



6,475 polies. In the last picture, those 3 little specks are Archangels. Oh, and its 1,511 meters long. No, that is not a typo. I have a fun job πŸ˜€


The Phoenix

Another Carl Gonzalez masterpiece.

All the textures are completed, etc. Yet another for the stable – she’s a beaut!


Archangel Inbound

Hey there Tach fans, the FS Team is pleased to announce another excellent model from our lead modeler Carl – the GS favorite Archangel!

Also in the pipeline to be showcased soon is the Phoenix.
To explain our lack of updates a bit, a number of the team members are making lifestyle changes due to jobs, moving, or computer failure(s). Weather hasn’t been all too cooperative either with Internet services dropping off for weeks at a time.

But we’re still working behind the scenes to bring you the very best.
Like postal carriers “neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these modders from the swift completion of their appointed task” so check back often. Should have a lot of these little obstacles taken care of in a couple weeks.


Update Again

Well, it’s been a while, but we’re still plugging away.

We’re recently finished several ships, and have them entirely ingame. I’ll get some shots of those very soon. We have 6-7 other ships at the modeling stage, as you know, but untextured as of yet; namely, the Gar, the Dart, the Demon, the Mace, the Nighthawk, and two Drone ships. Just reminding you! I’m also proud to announce the Poseidon is at model complete stage now, as well – the latest masterful work by Carl Gonzalez, our Lead Artist.

She’s a great ship, and I can’t wait to fly her! He says that the next up will be the reworked Archangel.

In other news, we have the Claymore model in the pipe, as well as several environmental models.

We’d also like to extend a warm welcome to the talented Ed Ainsley (Features Coder), the indefatigable Nutritious (Music and Sound), and enigma (Modeler) to the team – and welcome our good friend Killjoy (aka Sonic) to the team; an old and new friend – and now teammate – of ours.


Just a quick update

I know we haven’t posted much lately – but here’s a bit of info.

First, the *new* Pegasus is completely ingame.

It includes Level of Detail models 0-4, has full color, shine, and normal maps, and is fully rigged and playable.

Secondly, Carl (The Ubermodeler!) has the Posi modeled, and is in the progress of texturing it.

Third, I’d remind you that we have a post on our forums that I keep updated fairly frequently, showing the status of our progress in modeling all of our fighters.

You can find that here.

Here’s a visual update of how far we are, sans the Posiedon. The darker models are ones we’re finished at least the initial LOD on, and you’ll find several of Carl’s textured models in there as well.

Hope you’re liking it, thus far!

Also, please feel free to stop by our chat channel, on Espernet. The information, including how to connect via the web, is on your lefthand side, partway down.

~ RK


More models

Carl’s done it again, boys and girls. Perhaps the most popular, and arguably the prettiest fighter in the game:

The Pegasus

(as usual, click on an image to get a hi-res shot)






1986 polies.

She is drop dead gorgeous, folks. I’m rigging her now.

Next, we have the Nighthawk – she’s only modeled, but I’m sure some textural love will get her looking even better.






2750 polygons.


Models, models, and music.

Sorry it’s been a while. Several of us have had a crazy month!

Here’s some updates for you, though.

Carl has finished the Mako’s texture!




(The last render links to a hi-res image. Check it out!)

I think it looks great!

Carl has also started on the Pegasus model!




I can’t wait to see this one textured.

As for myself, I think I have the Mace model finished!





(Click on any of the Mace pictures for hi-res versions)

This one here’s our first Bora model, so, rejoice, you ‘ol Colonist sympathizers.

Jacob, our environmental modeler, has also completed one of the satellite models.

Finally, we’ve added a new member – Nutritious, a musician who has volunteered to do some remixes and/or new music for the project. This means that we will have *completely* new media, folks. This is truly awesome.


The Gar

Another ship for you. This time, the Gar. 1600 polies.

Hope that whets your appetite πŸ˜€


Orion

 

I’m very happy to announce that the orion texture is done! Here are some pics of the finished bottom:

All that’s left to do is the bump and spec maps, which shouldn’t take too long…

~carlg

 

Now, tell me – this ship looks great, doesn’t it folks?

~ RK

 

 


Demon Pirate

 

 

The Demon Pirate, one of the most feared sights in the Fringe.

(Click on the pic above to see a hi-res render)

(Rear View)

 

 


Carl’s Orion

Finished the model for the Orion. Here are some pics:

Wire frame:

Also finished the unwrap for the Mako. Next few days are all about the texturing for both.

1281 polygons, about 2-3 days or so.

~ CarlG, Fringespace 3D Artist


The Mighty Mako

Click on the above for a full size, hi-res render.

I’ll have more for the gallery of the Mako and Dart asap.


The Dart

Click to see a high resolution render.

So… how’ve you been? Miss us?


Drone goodness.

Ok, I’ve got Cassitor’s Assault Drone done now, more or less.

I also did MORE work on that attack drone. Mostly because I like that ship!

Same as last post, I’ll have small images, then click to see larger versions.

First, the Assault Drone:

The only thing lacking is the underside turret – which I think I may add later, for a “heavy” version.

Then, the Attack Drone. In the previous pics, I think you can see that the nose in the closeup is way too fat. So were the arms. It also needed some more detail.

I rectified those issues.

Slim and mean!

So, whatcha think?

Yes, Cassitor’s Assault Drone looks sort of like a Bird of Prey. It’s not my fault πŸ˜€

(No, it’s not clickable – just to show you that the shape is not my fault :D)

I still like it, though πŸ˜›


Okay, it’s about time for some progress.

Well, we told you that we were, basically, starting over with the models.

We did.

We had to do some serious boning up on how to do these models. We did – and a very hefty thank you to my brother (who is a 3dsmax guru!) and to the folks from the Fs2_Open community, who have been more than generous with help, and tips.

We’ve got our first “production” model. Not textured, not converted – but just to show you we’re trying to be as close as possible to the originals – yet still improve on them – here you go.

This is the original drone model. Just the standard drone, mind, not any of the fancy ones yet.

This is the new one. Note the addition of engine ports, and the slightly added definition between the “pylons” and the center hull.

It comes out at almost the exact same filesize as the old one, too.

Keep in mind that this drone is about 4 meters (~12 feet) long – and that’s only about 1/5th the size of a Pegasus – so I picked this as a test ship to… “butcher” first πŸ˜€ Still, I’m happy with it.

So, there’s what we’ve been up to. Hope you enjoy this very minor update!


More Progress

(Click images to see larger versions)

This is the old attack drone.

This is the new one.

Note the detail around the thruster nozzle, and the enhanced “cockpit” area.

Here’s another shot, but closeup, front view.

Yes, the detail on the guns is overkill, but hey, it looks nice…

Modest progress, but it’s progress!

(Created in 3dsmax – 540 polies)

So, yeah. I’ll get to the fighters, capships and bases, I promise. I’m starting small, and working my way up πŸ˜€


A Dilemma

After a long series of attempts to try to get around a few problems we’ve experienced, we’ve determined we just can’t get around it anymore. The original models are just about too messed up to fix, in any sort of reasonable timespan. Bear with me.

Here’s an example.

When the Archangel Model is converted from .pak, to .obj, using the *only* converter there is, then from .obj to .3ds, then imported to 3dsmax, it looks like this:

You need one note, for context: The red is *errors* in the geometry. By contrast, this is what a model looks after I remove the egregious errors:

Much less – but the peg was one of the easier ships to remove errors from. The problem continues: Here’s a top-down render of the Pegasus.

Looks ok, right? Look closer. Behind the cockpit, the texture is misaligned. There is a chunk missing out of the cockpit glass. Did you remember that the Peg has *two* sets of scoops? One set is broken, so doesn’t even show up!

This is what it looks like, when you fix the geometry errors. So, basically, to fix any geometry problems, you have to break the texture of the model, then rebuild it.

In the Arch, it’s about as bad as it gets.

I can get it down to about 85 errors. It breaks a whole bunch of the texture, ends up gutting the engine section, and cuts a big slice out of the bottom end. But, i can fix all but 85 errors. It took me about a week to get it to that point. We have WAY too many models to be doing that to. The models are NOT good enough to justify spending that much time on them.

They are ALL like this. Every single one. We have at least 25 fighters slated for release, and to have to fix them ALL that way? It’s crazy. We’re going to have to basically rebuild a few of them.

On top of that, we have capital ships, bases, satellites, gun platforms, etc, etc.

So, I’ll cut to the chase…

We’re not fixing these models. It’s crazy to waste all time on a low-poly circa 1999 model set, with major, major geometry problems. So, we’re going to change our focus.

We’re going to replace them. Build our own. Model them from scratch.

Which, unfortunately, is going to take a LOT longer time. However, the end result will be MUCH more in line with visual effects like this:

I’m sorry we’re going to have to delay – but the end result will be something much, much more satisfying – visually, and technically.

It’ll be worth the wait, we promise.

~ RK


Just a little fun with explosions.

Click here to watch yet another ingame video – with more of our updates, and some of the cool new effects.

Yes, it’s small, sorry. I’ll get a bigger, better one soon – but hey, it’s some eyecandy, right?

and another.

and another.


Still Chuggin.

We’ve changed to a new versioning system, which should make it easier for you to identify progress made – and, we’re going to post our current version on the site for you all to see.

Second, we’re now up to 14 ships! We also have quite a few weapons ingame. We’re also in the process of converting all of the ship and shield icons. It’s starting to look more and more like a new game everyday!

I hope to have some effects screenshots, as well as another video. upcoming soon. Keep an eye on the new gallery block up on your right. We’ll try to stock it up for you, as we get a chance.

Just for your edification:

Ships:

Archangel
Pegasus
Orion
Posiedon
Phoenix
Corvus
Battleaxe
Warhammer
Mace
Demon
Gar
Marauder
Manta
Nighthawk

Weapons:

Deimos
Flare
Glint
Pulsar
Heavy Mining
Boron Medium
Arc Light
Railgun
Plasma Rocket
Spire Rocket
Swarm Missile
Sunspot Missile

Come back by soon. You never know when Alpha testing time will begin…