Oolite Bulletins

Posted: **Sun May 18, 2014 11:36 am**

got several backups... but i think i could recreate it in short time now i have a better idea of how to do it... lol
also my initial calculations were done wrong so i added the landing leg pods and they were way too big.... old tired eye problem...

any way here is the model with pods...

Posted: **Sun May 18, 2014 3:06 pm**

Looking good, I like the cargo bay.

spud42 wrote:
then youtube for not very helpful tutorials... they are either at the very basics or jump to more complicated stuff there doesn't seem to be that intermediate step.

I agree I had the same trouble when I first started building the Stormbrewer...keep after it though you are learning fast. It took me a while to understand the potential uses of the scale and move features. I modified the command module this way...drag selected the edges running to the apex...divided them into I think 6 sections...selected the base of the cone and scaled uniform 20% or so smaller...then selected each 'ring' of points and scaled them to whatever looked right. I'm glad you liked it...have at those engines too.

Posted: **Sun May 18, 2014 3:10 pm**

spud42 wrote:
maybe its just me but i had a heck of a time getting the slope on the cargo pod right. bevel is ok but it is only at 45 deg.... why you cant specify an offset bevel sucks....
then i tried to cut it off with a plane.. no go ... then i tried to collapse it.... nope . then youtube for not very helpful tutorials... they are either at the very basics or jump to more complicated stuff there doesn't seem to be that intermediate step. the manual is dry reading and kind of assumes you already know what the terms mean..so i figured it's only a model what damage can i do so i tried lots of stuff none did what i thought or behaved consistently.

finally it was a simple thing. just move the edge.... pick an axis,press tab specify how far to move it then hey presto....

Pick an edge, and try "slide", its a very cool feature.

Wings 3D is all about experimenting. I have been using it for many many many many years now, and I still seem to learn something new every time I open it up. For everything you want to accomplish, there are probably at least five different ways to do it! Tutorials are good for giving you hints, but really, the only way to learn W3D is to just play with it. Try every command and see if you can figure out what it does. There are still many I haven't figured out!

Here's one of my favorite sites:http://wings3d.com.br/paulthepuzzles/aardvarks.html It's a bit outdated now I think, but has some good ideas to get started with.

Good luck, you have chosen a fairly challenging project for your first attempt! }:]

Posted: **Sun May 18, 2014 3:30 pm**

Stormrider wrote:
Looking good, I like the cargo bay.

spud42 wrote:
then youtube for not very helpful tutorials... they are either at the very basics or jump to more complicated stuff there doesn't seem to be that intermediate step.
I agree I had the same trouble when I first started building the Stormbrewer...keep after it though you are learning fast. It took me a while to understand the potential uses of the scale and move features. I modified the command module this way...drag selected the edges running to the apex...divided them into I think 6 sections...selected the base of the cone and scaled uniform 20% or so smaller...then selected each 'ring' of points and scaled them to whatever looked right. I'm glad you liked it...have at those engines too.

i had a go but decided that i would make my own...

Latest Model

not sure if i should simplify the engines even more? i know its not realistic but this is just basically an impression ... should i make the engine bells come out of individual parts or make it all one piece with the 4 engine bells coming out?

thanks for the link Paradox will check it out in the morning...

i do have a question though.... where the cones enter the stretched spheres in the wireframe the point of the cone is still there in the other mode you cant see them should i try to delete the vertices inside the cylinder? can i? will it make any difference ?

Posted: **Sun May 18, 2014 3:45 pm**

spud42 wrote:
i do have a question though.... where the cones enter the stretched spheres in the wireframe the point of the cone is still there in the other mode you cant see them should i try to delete the vertices inside the cylinder? can i? will it make any difference ?

Yes you can select the faces inside and hide...then Oolite doesn't waste time generating unseen faces.

Posted: **Sun May 18, 2014 5:16 pm**

a screenshot of the latest version..

still not sure about the engines....

Posted: **Mon May 19, 2014 1:52 am**

Coming along nicely.. well done!

Posted: **Tue May 20, 2014 9:01 pm**

indeed, that looks really great!

Posted: **Wed May 21, 2014 4:19 am**

Griff wrote:
indeed, that looks really great!

Thank you Sir, but i must say i hope one day it will come up to the standard of your ships.

EDIT: latest model

was not really happy with the engines , just spent hours online to see how to cut the top off a cone only to find the easy way is to use BEVEL !!!! how counter intuitive is that !!! here i am looking for ways to "cut" the top off..... any way if no one thinks the model sucks or has any improvements then i will attempt to figure out how to UV unwrap this sucker. and start to paint/texture it..

Cheers Cmdr Cowen......

wish i could change my display name now... lol

edit: must learn hoe ti spell.....lol

Posted: **Wed May 21, 2014 8:18 am**

have you seen these tutorial vids spud? (the Mamba in under an hour ones) - Dertien made them to go alongside his recent shipset project - they're full of really great wings3d specific tips
https://bb.oolite.space/viewtopic.ph ... 3&p=212501

Wings isn't a modeller i use much but it looks really powerful.

Posted: **Wed May 21, 2014 9:02 am**

thanks Griff , i will check those out. i am happy with the model now so i need to "make it pretty".
I used wings cause i tried blender and it was too complex for me to start with , but maybe it would have been easier. Who knows.

i do have a question for you though if you dont mind.

The OXP wiki/how to says textures in .png form and a standard size of 512 by 512. does the entire model have to be on just the one texture sheet? or can you have multiple texture png's?

Posted: **Wed May 21, 2014 9:30 am**

no you don't have to put it all on one sheet, you can have up to 8 'materials' per mesh and each material can have its own uv sheet and texture. I think in wings you switch to polygon mode*, select the polygons you want to assign a material too then right click and i think there's an option 'material' in the pop up menu, just type in a name for the material and hit enter and you'll see it appear in the outliner view (Window > Outliner from the top menu)

*You can also select in item, edges or points mode, but you have to switch to polygon mode before the material option appears on the right click menu - you switch between the modes with those four buttons along the top menu

Posted: **Wed May 21, 2014 9:46 am**

some pics of the model.

Posted: **Wed May 21, 2014 9:49 am**

spud42 wrote:
The OXP wiki/how to says textures in .png form and a standard size of 512 by 512...

You can also use multiples for better resolution. 1024x1024px or even 2048x2048px are OK although lots of textures this size can strain the graphics on smaller or older machines.
You can reduce the file sizes in various ways, such as removing the alpha channel if it is not used, or try changing the final image from RGB to Indexed (but be aware this won't work well for any textures involving colour gradients and subtle shading etc). I think there is also a program called optiping or somesuch which some of us use but haven't tried it myself.
The model is looking good, by the way

Posted: **Wed May 21, 2014 11:26 am**

thanks,
been youtubing for a tutorial on uv mapping and found a decent one. he is unfolding a military cap and has problems with it but it is very informative.
i was wondering how to combine the separate parts on to the one map. towards the end of part 2 he does this and as usual its doh! that was easier than i thought .
here i was trying to drag or move the second part to the first sheet.... selcet all, then combine! then scale and move around to taste.....

link here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrV_YFn ... KPtcEoctQD

baby steps......but i can sometimes be persistent...

Oolite Bulletins

Eagle transporter [Release] and Mulga MkII[WIP]

Re: My Space 1999 homage to the Eagle transporter [WIP]

Re: My Space 1999 homage to the Eagle transporter [WIP]

Re: My Space 1999 homage to the Eagle transporter [WIP]

Re: My Space 1999 homage to the Eagle transporter [WIP]

Re: My Space 1999 homage to the Eagle transporter [WIP]

Re: My Space 1999 homage to the Eagle transporter [WIP]

Re: My Space 1999 homage to the Eagle transporter [WIP]

Re: My Space 1999 homage to the Eagle transporter [WIP]

Re: My Space 1999 homage to the Eagle transporter [WIP]

Re: My Space 1999 homage to the Eagle transporter [WIP]

Re: My Space 1999 homage to the Eagle transporter [WIP]

Re: My Space 1999 homage to the Eagle transporter [WIP]

Re: My Space 1999 homage to the Eagle transporter [WIP]

Re: My Space 1999 homage to the Eagle transporter [WIP]

Re: My Space 1999 homage to the Eagle transporter [WIP]