I've uploaded the pilot from my Seraphim model as a seperate OBJ mesh for those interested in using them for your own models.
Click on the picture to download a RAR file that contains two OBJs, their MTL files and two base textures. They are just greyscale ambient occlusion maps I'm afraid but it's a base to get started on, should you need one. I'll post some proper textures here for the models at a later date. Feel free to post any custom textures you make for the models here aswell.
The two objects are the pilot and seat in two scales. One is six unit scale - for if you measure your Oolite in feet like the original Elite. The other is 2 units scale for if you measure your Oolite in Metres.
Each model is identical and is exactly 130 triangles. They could probably be simplified even more if you have the inclination.
Consider these public domain or whatever the hell - basically, you can do what you like with 'em. mod them, re-texture them, redistribute them etc. A credit would be nice, if you do but I won't be contacting my lawyers if you don't - you get the gist.
Each model is identical and is exactly 130 triangles. They could probably be simplified even more if you have the inclination.
I'm not an artist, but the first simplification would be a legless model. I imagine that typically that's all one would see when looking into a cockpit.
Each model is identical and is exactly 130 triangles. They could probably be simplified even more if you have the inclination.
I'm not an artist, but the first simplification would be a legless model. I imagine that typically that's all one would see when looking into a cockpit.
Are you allowed to fly a ship whilst drunk?
Last edited by DaddyHoggy on Thu Jan 22, 2009 2:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I'm not an artist, but the first simplification would be a legless model. I imagine that typically that's all one would see when looking into a cockpit.
That depends entirely on what shape the cockpit is. On my Seraphim it's a big bubble so the whole pilot is visible.
Naturally, in a jet-fighter style cockpit you would delete unwanted sections such as the back and underside of the chair and, as you say, the legs - assuming you wouldn't see them from the top either.
I've provided them here whole so that the options are available to you.
In most cases, however, you wouldn't have a cockpit, as it would be somewhere inside the ship. The ability to switch between different views in a player ship suggests that in Oolite pilots are not looking out of actual windows, but have a screen in front of them. For this reason it has been suggested long before (probably by Selezen, or one of the other designers; I don't remember) that the blueish spots on the (original) ships are not actually windows, but solar panels or something of the like. So there would be no pilot to be expected behind them.
This is really useful scarecrow, I was considering doing a size comparison chart and I needed a human analogue. This will be very handy with a little adjustment. (It's really tricky to find a decent human figure on the internet these days which is surprising). Right I've stood him up and set him to be about 5'9 I'll post the file here when I get home 1unit=1meter.
Last edited by ClymAngus on Fri Jan 23, 2009 1:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I don't necessarily disagree with Commander McLane, but cockpits are one of the easiest ways to give an impression of the scale of a ship, and so I tend to use them on my models. A large black blob near the nose suggests a one or two man fighter, wheras a thin strip of black on a superstructure suggests a large cruiser.
It can also change the 'feel' of a ship. Here's a weird example. The Trident shuttle and Gemini escort share essentially the same fuselage. In the Trident, the cockpit is just a black strip of texture that covers the top of the nose section, looking out with a wide field of view. In the Gemini, the cockpit is towards the middle and (to me at least) makes it look more aggressive and determined. It's pretty much the same principle as predators having their eyes facing forwards, and it's a simple but effective trick.
Download Resistance Commander plus many other exciting OXPs HERE
So probably the supposed cockpit windows in Oolite are nothing but paint, applied to the ships by clever marketing experts!
I just put some humans in standing on top of a ship or two (in wings). I didn't realise that a cobra mk3 cockpit would have had room for a on suite bathroom with jacuzzi, wrestling ring, disco, pool room and 2 separate bedrooms.
Assuming 1 unit = 1 meter; Our idea of the size of these ships is a little on the small side. The cobra cockpit glass alone would cover about 2 floors if tilted straight. These things are huge! It's length alone is 5 meters shy of a boeing 747 (have you ever been close to a 747?) I don't even want to think about the size of the stations. There is room I feel for a size demonstration on the order of this: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Tfs1t-2rrOM
Relative size of your ship is important to keep in mind when texturing. I'll post the cobby pictures when I get home.
Last edited by ClymAngus on Fri Jan 23, 2009 3:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
So probably the supposed cockpit windows in Oolite are nothing but paint, applied to the ships by clever marketing experts!
I just put some humans in standing on top of a ship or two (in wings). I didn't realise that a cobra mk3 cockpit would have had room for a on suite bathroom with jacuzzi, wrestling ring, disco, pool room and 2 separate bedrooms.
Assuming 1 unit = 1 meter; Our idea of the size of these ships is a little on the small side. The cobra cockpit glass alone would cover about 2 floors. These things are huge! It's length alone is 5 meters shy of a boeing 747 (have you ever been close to a 747? I don't even want to think about the size of the stations. There is room I feel for a size demonstration on the order of this: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Tfs1t-2rrOM
Relative size of your ship is important to keep in mind when texturing.Hey Ramirez have you got an .obj of the "shuttle" I'd love to test the size of your cockpit against a 5'9 dude and see what it looks like, It might be a bit of an eye opener!
Although the Cobra Mark III does seem out of proportion to other ships, Selezen once explained to me the discrepancy. In a nutshell, the Cobbie 3 is (was) the pinnacle of modern technology, utilising the concept of 'Plug In and Go' modules, such as EEUs, NEUs, ECMs and whatever else. Note that similar-sized ships, such as the Python do not get all the same options as the Cobbie 3. This is because the 'older generation' ships were not designed with adaptability in mind, they were built to do a specific job and they did it, but at the cost of not being able to keep up with modern technological advances and the space they would require.
So, a lot of the space in a Cobra Mark III is dead space, there simply to allow some interesting new gadget to be installed five-ten years in the future. So why the hell not fit a mini gymnasium, null-g jacuzzi and auto-bar?
<thinks> This could be a good 'money-waster' option for ships: the Luxury Living Space Upgrade. </thinks>
Well just doing the maths was a bit of an eye opener, OK cobby mark 3 cockpit window size (this is the redux texture that's bundled with .72)
Take a cinema screen, the kind you find marked as "screen 1" in most cinemas (eg the big one). Tilt it roughly 45 degrees so the bottom is facing away from you. Now shrink the hight down so the top is 1-2 feet above your head and the bottom is at floor level
That's about the size of a cobby main window, effin huge.
Personally I think ships that size are way cool. It's a texturing challenge sure but it's a good way to get your head round the vastness of space. The kind of sizes reflect a reasonable amount of room for a number of people to exist in, live and have spares for major ship components. A ship becomes an island instead of just a boat. It also means there are some ship opportunities at the nano end of the spectrum that currently only a few people are looking into.
