Star Trek - Return of the Dead, USS Onimaru The Final Build V.7

[Madkoifish]

The panels are extruded the same as all the rest of the ship with exception to the nacelles to which I didnt extrude as much since the surface was smaller and produced exaggerated depth. Likely it is the dark trim I am using that makes them seem deeper. This has bothered me as well but I really do not want ot adjust the panels since it would mean redoing the entire secondary hull again, since the lower section struts etc all use these measurements. Not to mention the saucer and other bits of the ship. 3in extrusion 2in bevel so 5" thick panels with a 3" wide gap.

I thought I uploaded this. I guess I forgot with dealing with my stupid cel again, damned update nag keeps coming back and draining my battery.

[Madkoifish]

Something to bring to head a question; should I take the effort to make the windows all across the ship asymmetrical? IE eg the saucer the left side being different from the right, or should I retain this as something I should do in a few areas only to avoid the complexity and issues of possibly adding symmetrical detail later on?

[Rigel]

I don't think symmetrical or asymmetrical windows is something most people would ever notice, so I think you should go with whatever is going to cause the least problems.

One thought; could you do the windows last, once you're certain all the detail is done?

[Madkoifish]

Well I could but the issue is I wont know when the detail is done though. Always there is something forgotten etc.

I have decided to do some areas in this manner and key structures to give a feeling of.

For now here is a example of some cut in windows, just gotta inset, bevel, extrude, extrude, then bevel, and bevel with no height, then merge merge etc to create the interior boxes and then I will have gots winders.

this thing is becoming a beast to render. Lots of strumming of fingers on ze desk. . .

[Rigel]

Originally Posted by Madkoifish

Lots of strumming of fingers on ze desk. . .

That's why I have a solitaire program always on standby. Test render time; okay, red jack on black queen. . .

[Madkoifish]

With MR I can barely listen to music on my i7, granted foobar eats a lot more ram and resource than winamp. But even browsing the web at times gets lumpy. Max eats almost everything. (granted I could go muck about on my leech box instead.)

[3D_CG]

looking sweet...

better feed your leech box.... hehehe

[Madkoifish]

Well, damn this is taking forever. I started doing my usual airtight boxes where I extrude them off the inner frame of the window holes. This sorta controls bleed and other crap from interior lighting etc. But it is taking forever so I went and extruded simple room boxes off the "glass" objects. In the room box render only the outer right side rooms are the airtight type. The others are the cheapo ones that took only a min or so. As you can see the inner nipple of the window frame has overlaps etc all over. I do not like this but it is far easier to deal with than the work for those 6 rooms that are properly airtight.

SO I dunno.

[Jmoney]

Looks great either way!

I say go with the easier method. You would have to render an "extreme" close-up of the window area at a certain angle with no glow or motion blur to really tell the difference (not to mention shadows). Maybe post some renders at different angles to see how it looks. I'm curious as well.

JMoney

[Madkoifish]

Ok, here we go I finished off that one row. Then rendered it out without any main lights just the ambient skylight so that it better shows the rooms. With the window box I normally set I can "turn" lights on and off sorta by adding lum materials (glows that will light things in a ambient way) Issue is if it is too strong or heavy even interior self ilum itll bleed through the hull due to FG. In animation this gets worse. NOW the open topped boxes the fast cheap ones tend to leak more. You could see this in some of the MUGI renders early on when I was still experimenting with lum mats.

So I dunno the only way to verify is to do a mess of animation renders to solidify if the open box style is a mistake or not, BUT the issue is those renders would likely eat up a better part of 3 to 4 days where those closed windows would take hours.

[Madkoifish]

Ok, those windows are done to a degree, need to adjust the rooms and add in the extensions etc. I also really need to fix up that registry lighting job and add in some light buckets. And yeah those larger windows I am not happy with the angle of them to the vertical bits is a bit ehhh but if I were to adjust them to flow with the hull panels they would be all funk inside, IE each one would be at a higher position on the wall, well ceiling at this stage.

[Madkoifish]

I think it is break time for this thing. Least for a few days.

[BillS]

Here's hoping you get back to it. Its been interesting watching you pull all this together.

[Madkoifish]

Spinning, spinning, spinning, (in the viewport)as I decide where the hell it was that I left off on this and where to start back up. . . . .
AO render to give an idea where it sits as a object sans materials.

I am still on the fence if I should add skylight like windows on the flat of the saucer just below the upper set of phasers.

I think after seeing a bit of this one AO pass that maybe I should look at working in the sensor pits into the saucer rim. I am going to try like hell to finish this up before getting distracted with something else. Got some non trek stuff I have been itching to get on and also that whole "lost" era trek is picking me like a scab. (ENT b~ENT c)

To note I do have a few yuckie, panel cuts that look ugly with windows installed, issues of a non linear curve to the saucer. Not sure if I can correct these now, but I will look into it in a bit. If it involves major redos then I will likely leave it. Oh render 2 that sensor area underneath needs work, does not BLEND well.

hopefully this place wont resize it or recompress it. It appears the png and the optimized jpg took at full size.

[Madkoifish]

Ok, after much screaming yelling and crashing of max I have redone it all and shrunk the pits and respun all the detaily bits.

[Madkoifish]

Well Im short by about 3 or 4 sets here so I will have to redo and add to it but this should give an idea. I had to loose those brackets as expected. Though I could shrink all of these so they fit in the pit better. As it is rendering out, it is looking rather busy. . . . O_o I might have to look at simplifying the outer greebles!

[Madkoifish]

Got lazy and imported some old junk from some older files containing unwarped greebs from the secondary hull. I think they do not do so well here as they did on the larger bits of the ship, almost makes me wonder if I should not re-address those areas of the ship as well. but that is it for tonight. I will likely redo those aft end details to scale better with everything around them. Then consider wtf to do with those sensor areas on the secondary hull.

[Rigel]

That looks grat in close-ups.

[Madkoifish]

New greebles done.

[BillS]

You know... there are times that I almost wish I knew what you were referring to when you talk about sensor pits, sensor area underneath blending, secondary hull.... almost. Its just as fun for me to look at it and go Wow.. that looks cool!


Ignorance is bliss

[Madkoifish]

lol, the sensor pits are just greeble bits. The ones elsewhere on the ship are just places I chose to put these bobs and bits.

[DELTA]

Looks FANTASTIC!

[Jmoney]

Originally Posted by BillS

You know... there are times that I almost wish I knew what you were referring to when you talk about sensor pits, sensor area underneath blending, secondary hull.... almost. Its just as fun for me to look at it and go Wow.. that looks cool!


Ignorance is bliss

LOL! I didn't want to be the first one to say that!

Looking great as usual, and love the added detail!

JMoney

[timtom]

wow!!! amazing!

[Madkoifish]

Ok the really boring $hit.
Started windows then realized i needed to do something about that distorted texture on the panels. . SO I'm slowly cutting them in. Another trip down to the bay area so Ill be on the laptop and likely will not load up the 1million poly project. . . I might but I never get crap done when I'm visiting ppl. Lately been mucking about and doing anything but 3d. Shrug.

[Madkoifish]

wait WHAT!?!?!







finished this crap, now for bed, well after a quickie late night snack of leftover chillis chips and old quaq wif corn in. Prolly regret it later from kramps. DOUH. EXP since this terrible SPeed Racer movie has already given me a bleeding ulcer. (even with 300channels man, it is all crap)

Thought the failinja's p-chan keychain was lol.

[Rigel]

It looks beautiful koi. You never fail to impress.

[Treybor]

lots of little windows.... Great work.