Iron Ass OXP

[Old Murgh]

Iron Ass Vol.1 v1.01 1024px, replacement version (31.1 MB, April.2022)
Iron Ass Vol.1 v1.01 1024px, addition version

Iron Ass Vol.2 b3 1024px version (18 MB, April.2022)
Iron Ass Vol.3 b3 1024px version (22.1 MB, July.2022)
Iron Ass Vol.4 b1 1024px version (20.5 MB, April.2022)
Iron Ass Vol.5 b1 1024px version (40 MB, July 2022)

Iron Ass Lave b1 1024px version (24.2 MB, April.2022)
Iron Ass Missionaries b1 1024px version (22.5 MB, June.2022)

Iron Ass OXP wikipage

It's *slightly* old hat, but so am I. I have been toying with making my ideal retro core shipset version. Colourless, all darkened metal, with big obvious name signs for the ships. Uniform even. Dystopic and Soviet-like. Except I do like the Smivs flashers..

I had forgotten how pleasant I used to think it was to tinker with models and textures, so it has been enjoyable. I had also forgotten the agonies of managing the pLists, but I think it's all in there.



It is so to speak all old Giles models, except I couldn't leave the Ferdy and Asp alone, those were changed too much for me. As much as possible, the cues are from the “Observer’s Guide to Ships in Service”.



So the Ferdy is long and skinny, and the Asp is wide and right side up. I've been playing with my 2048pxOXP for a little while, I keep seeing some issues, changing little details, but it's slower going now. The 1024 reduction might bring a few surprises.

But how does this look on other machines than mine? Are my techniques embarrassingly outdated? I guess I would like to know. If anyone could help with a little testing or just running the herd through the gallery, any comment and nudge to improvement is most appreciated. There is always plenty that slips by..



I realise the narrow appeal of going so far backwards graphics-wise, but maybe there's a few more like me who sometimes yearn for the simpler times. The Halcyon days, pining for the umbilical cord, etc.
At any rate, any constructive criticism will make me grateful.

[Edited to add volumes and update links]

[cbr]

Aah, a new shipset. Much obliged...

Perhaps release it as an addon shipset too

[Old Murgh]

Aah, a new shipset. Much obliged...

Perhaps release it as an addon shipset too

You're welcome
Yes, I guess when I feel fairly certain any kinks are weeded out and I can't think of anything more to tweak, I'll wrap it as a release version in both replace and addition forms.

[Redspear]

except I couldn't leave the Ferdy and Asp alone, those were changed too much for me

Damn right!... although I'd have tried turning the Moray round myself (to it's originally intended direction I seem to recall).

You beat me to it!

I was in the midst of decoding the hexadecimal model dimensions on Ian Bell's site to recover the original proportions and then work out how to translate the faces into Wings3D.

The only major difference was that I was planning to reinstate the old wireframes and make them (the wireframes) light up via shaders.
That way the simple shapes of the original models would both be visible and recognisable at considerable distance.

Furthermore wireframes would have been colour coded (all somewhat white for visibility but tinted accordingly):

• White - salvage (pods, alloys, splinters)
• Yellow - hazards (missiles, mines, asteroids)
• Cyan - player flyable ships (incl. those without a hyperdrive, the freighters rake in too much cash IMHO to suit being player ships)
• Green - aliens (thargoids, thargons)
• Magenta - system vessels (vipers, shuttles, transporters)
• Red - freighters (pythons, boas, anacondas)
• Blue - stations (incl. rock hermits)

So it would have been as if an overlay provided by the ship's computer for practical purposes (i.e. visibility and identification).
And no engine trails! Just glowing engines as depicted (the engines at least) within the old wireframes with a shader to link speed to glow.

It would have likely taken me a good while however so I may experiment with tweaking with your models and see if I can add something to the screenshots thread.

In any case... Bravo Sir, bravo!

[Old Murgh]

You beat me to it!

Lol. It feels like I'm 16 years years late! And yet I did sense a certain urgency

I was in the midst of decoding the hexadecimal model dimensions on Ian Bell's site to recover the original proportions and then work out how to translate the faces into Wings3D.

The only major difference was that I was planning to reinstate the old wireframes and make them (the wireframes) light up via shaders.
That way the simple shapes of the original models would both be visible and recognisable at considerable distance.

Furthermore wireframes would have been colour coded (all somewhat white for visibility but tinted accordingly):

• White - salvage (pods, alloys, splinters)
• Yellow - hazards (missiles, mines, asteroids)
• Cyan - player flyable ships (incl. those without a hyperdrive, the freighters rake in too much cash IMHO to suit being player ships)
• Green - aliens (thargoids, thargons)
• Magenta - system vessels (vipers, shuttles, transporters)
• Red - freighters (pythons, boas, anacondas)
• Blue - stations (incl. rock hermits)

So it would have been as if an overlay provided by the ship's computer for practical purposes (i.e. visibility and identification).
And no engine trails! Just glowing engines as depicted (the engines at least) within the old wireframes with a shader to link speed to glow.

Now this sounds extremely cool. I certainly didn't beat you to any of this. That's a great project. I played a little with fluorescent skeleton lines on the emission maps, for a bit of this effect, but in the end it was all about the simple iron look for me. Also I am still clueless about all things shaders.

It would have likely taken me a good while however so I may experiment with tweaking with your models and see if I can add something to the screenshots thread.

In any case... Bravo Sir, bravo!

Looking forward to seeing it.
And thank you very much, Sir.

[Old Murgh]

Perhaps release it as an addon shipset too

I guess there's really no good reason to wait with that bit.
Addition version available, and seems to work as it should.

[cbr]

If the models are available in wings3d you can easily make a wireframe/em map based on the uv map.

Or as seen in the above examples do this in the emission_map ( needs 4k resolution for a sharp line )
by drawing the lines yourself ( 6px ) by guessing the borders

I guess there's really no good reason to wait with that bit.
Addition version available, and seems to work as it should.

[Old Murgh]

If the models are available in wings3d you can easily make a wireframe/em map based on the uv map.

Or as seen in the above examples do this in the emission_map ( needs 4k resolution for a sharp line )
by drawing the lines yourself ( 6px ) by guessing the borders

Hey, that's some fast remixing.
So this is achieved with emission maps at 4096px?
My own experiments in this direction ended when I felt the lines wouldn't consistently go exactly where I wanted them when seen up close, and then to end up at 1024px can be a little cruel.

How is it that the laser barrels in some of your pics have such a warm hue? Do you replace them with your own golden guns?

[cbr]

So this is achieved with emission maps at 4096px?

Yes sir!

How is it that the laser barrels in some of your pics have such a warm hue? Do you replace them with your own golden guns?

Well that's not a feature, my graphics card needs an explicit emission or illumination map which the core objects do not have a.t.m.
otherwise it gives objects this dull gold appearance

[Redspear]

Hey, that's some fast remixing.

cbr doesn't hang about

If the models are available in wings3d you can easily make a wireframe/em map based on the uv map.

Or as seen in the above examples do this in the emission_map ( needs 4k resolution for a sharp line )
by drawing the lines yourself ( 6px ) by guessing the borders

I was thinking more... (crude mock-up ahead)




Looking great in the shipyard or via external view is one thing but it really can be another thing in combat.

So no need to lose the cool stuff you might only see in close up but likewise no need to lose the clarity and visibility at long range.
The problem in the 8-bit days was that everything was a ball of dots at long range, visibilty however was great.

Wireframes would need to glow so as not to be lighting dependent. Then from almost any range and within almost any lighting conditions it would be clear that that there is a player flyable ship (cyan) and (with a little experience) would soon become apparent that it was a moray.
Currently no shipsets can offer that IMHO.

[Cholmondely]

An interesting question: why would anybody want to?

The two thousand star systems of the Cooperative once enjoyed a golden age of peace and prosperity, and perhaps the wealthiest of them can still pretend to. The trade ships that once safely travelled between planets now have to be well armed and escorted to fend off pirate attacks, from small-time criminals desperate for their next meal, to powerful robber barons extracting tithes from everyone who passes through their space.

The Cooperative's police force, concentrated near a few influential planets, can no longer maintain order. The mercenaries they hire for a few credits a kill are too few, too unreliable to do so either. And in the darkness between the stars, an old enemy lurks, fearless, perhaps waiting for order to collapse entirely. (http://www.oolite.org/)

In the days before piracy and Thargoids, yes, of course! I want to show off my Fer-de-Lance and make everybody knows that I've got one and is envious that I've got one. But nowadays? Suicide. When I run into pirates - they immediately know my top speed, probable weaponry & equipment, etc. etc.

Not a good idea, surely!

But it does look good!

[Redspear]

An interesting question: why would anybody want to?... Not a good idea, surely!

They needn't, as I tried to explain here:

So it would have been as if an overlay provided by the ship's computer for practical purposes (i.e. visibility and identification).

They're not painting luminous edging on their ships, rather your ship's computer is recognising what is on it's scanner and placing a wireframe overlay (colour coded) to make your (i.e. the pilot's) life easier.

But it does look good!

If that's the case then make up any damn reason you like.
I happen to rather like the one I've already suggested.

[cbr]

Thicker neon lines are more forgiving 'ingame'



Only outlines or overlay?



As overlay ( emission/illumination ) effect it could be toggled via .js by changing from regular em_map to 'tron' em_map.
( a Tron Visualisation and Recognizing Module )

And there we are, colo(u)ring a purpose build iron ass shipset

[Old Murgh]

Wireframes would need to glow so as not to be lighting dependent. Then from almost any range and within almost any lighting conditions it would be clear that that there is a player flyable ship (cyan) and (with a little experience) would soon become apparent that it was a moray.
Currently no shipsets can offer that IMHO.

No, you're right. Your colour coded "projected" wireframes idea should address that as well as any visual solution could, I reckon. The jury is still out on the aesthetic pleasure sum of the final result

An interesting question: why would anybody want to?..
In the days before piracy and Thargoids, yes, of course! I want to show off my Fer-de-Lance and make everybody knows that I've got one and is envious that I've got one. But nowadays? Suicide. When I run into pirates - they immediately know my top speed, probable weaponry & equipment, etc. etc.

Doesn't that go to the core of what kind of spacer spirit a Jameson holds upon venturing into the great void? If one's heart is full of fear and neurotic angst, it will surely soon end badly, and this line of work was ultimately ill-chosen. The Jameson who goes out there from a motivation of ship vanity but little else can't last much longer. An audacious Jameson however, has a fighting chance.

And there we are, colo(u)ring a purpose build iron ass shipset

Tronified within 48 hrs!

As overlay ( emission/illumination ) effect it could be toggled via .js by changing from regular em_map to 'tron' em_map.
( a Tron Visualisation and Recognizing Module )

It's certainly a bold expression. I suppose the lines would have to be that thick for there to be any long-distance effect.

But if one could do that, could it be made as a separate OXP that works with any others that adhere to the same models with same UVmap geography, or is that stretching it too far?

[Redspear]

Thicker neon lines are more forgiving 'ingame'

Exactly!

Only outlines or overlay?

Well, the idea would be a 'targeting' overlay, so having it be on or off would make sense, the question then being what activates the 'toggle'?

ID mode might seem obvious but then it would turn off if using missiles...
Making it primable could be an option but then I've never really used primable equipment so I don't know how well that would work...
Tying it to a piece of equipment is another option but then we've got enough of those cluttering up the place I think...

I wouldn't have it 'replace' the default texture however.
Think of it like a targeting reticle that actually adapts to the target itself - so rather than a bounding box we have an outline, and rather than one target it outlines everything.

Because the outer lines overlap with other model faces, they might need to be thicker still, however...
Splendid!