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MMC July - the Great Wonder of New Earth
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These pages are a copy of the official truespace forums prior to their removal somewhere around 2011.
They are retained here for archive purposes only.
MMC July - the Great Wonder of New Earth // Work in Progress
Post by Nez // Jul 21, 2008, 2:39am
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Nez
Total Posts: 1102
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The upside of a few days off work last week following my hospital visit was that I got a few days of lazy indulgence which allowed me to finally make a start on an entry for the MMC. Doubt I'll get finished before the end of the week, but never mind.
I was originally considering the Taj Mahal but felt a need to indulge my sci-fi leanings slightly by going with something on a different planet, so decided to embark on a 'new wonder' for our first colony planet, along the lines of the following rough caption (to be fine-tuned):
After 1000 years of suspended animation, a hard drive failure in the database archives and too many council committe meetings meant that construction of a mounument to mark the first extra-solar settlement did not go quite as the colonists had hoped....
Here come a bunch of images to show main elements so far.... |
Post by Nez // Jul 21, 2008, 2:42am
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Nez
Total Posts: 1102
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First off - started with a small zigurrat-type structure (sorry Jeff!)
Added a pseudo-classical circle of columns (sort of cross between Stonehenge and the Parthenon)... columns should be fluted but will try initially with bump map to cut down on geometry...
Add a pyramid (well, why not) with pseudo-classical porch... |
Post by Nez // Jul 21, 2008, 2:47am
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Nez
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Nothing clever in the modelling in any of the above, just primitives and simple swept shapes...
Add to the above a minaret tower (this is pretty much a clone of those at the Taj Mahal, so I kept something from my original intent!) with a gothic flying buttress...
Created another element - based on the Cathedral in Brazil; first bit of 'real work' involved in the modelling here - created a triangle which was swept for the main elements - triangle has double nodes at each apex so that it can be subdivided but keep reasonably sharp cross-section. Infill is a series of circles skinned, although could have delat with this in other ways... |
Post by Nez // Jul 21, 2008, 2:51am
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Nez
Total Posts: 1102
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For a bit of decoration, created a little sculptural item to sit in the centre - just a series of cylindrical bands, rotated rather arbitrarily around a sphere.
Also threw in a giant arch (a bit like the on in St Louis) - re-used the triangle described above but swept to a different path, scaling as I went; only built half and mirrored with 'simple symmetry' plug-in (no mirror modelling in TS5).
Render at the bottom shows the whole assembly so far, with one texture (metalllic for no particulalr reason other than I like shiny) applied throughout.
More to follow.... |
Post by Nez // Jul 21, 2008, 3:02am
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Nez
Total Posts: 1102
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As a bit of a detour from the modelling, I had my rough orientation and landscape formed (see post to follow) and decided to try a 'backdrop' using Terragen, which I've played with for a while but not really integrated well into TS. As a colony world, it couldn't be too alien, so settings aren't too extreme, but thought I'd try something else I've not tried before - a binary sun... I'm not aware of any built-in options to let me try this (would be interested to know if any of the other major landscape apps like Vue or Bryce handle multiple suns or visible moons/planets in the sky for example) so thought I'd have a go at compositing two variants on the same terrain - see images below.
Used two very different sun settings, as you can see, then superimposed using Photoshop with a 'screen' blend mode (or PSP, can't remember which it was!) to get the final result below... actually worked quite welll in this instance.... |
Post by Nez // Jul 21, 2008, 3:23am
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Nez
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Terrain;
modelled a rough rode alignment just by sweeping a cube along a rough path, including a bit of a hill in the distance, created a 'kerb' polgygon which was then swept along the road egdes, manually adjusting for height, rotation etc (which is why it doesn't look very good!).
Created a ground surface as a wide grid and adjusted height of edges/faces to define rough contours required, particulalrly around road alignment. Switched back and forward to sub-div version to check alignment.
Created texture using layered texture; base layer is a shaderlab colour shader ('grime') with general 'rough' bump; second layer uses colour and bump texture maps, generated from an aerial view of a Terragen landscape to get some variation. Probably still need to play with this, was just a first attempt as a place-holder. |
Post by Nez // Jul 21, 2008, 3:27am
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Nez
Total Posts: 1102
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Finally for now; roughed up a couple of rocket objects for potential background use; still need a couple of land vehicles really, but given the amount of polys so far, all the texturing work that needs doing and the length of time this is going to take to render, I'll have to review that in a day or two... Now I'm back at work, I don'thave much time to do any more ironically...
Does one of these look at all familiar?! ;) It borrows a few styling cues....
The flames were just for fun, trying another shaderlab material - think I need to look at Prodigy's SMC rocket instead for a better effect... |
Post by kena // Jul 21, 2008, 4:49am
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kena
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wow nez. the model itself looks like Disney Earth 2. like what you did with your background. The most difficult thing I've found to do is texture ground in TS so it looks real and not like Half-life or something. Keep up the good work. |
Post by W!ZARD // Jul 21, 2008, 4:51am
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W!ZARD
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Dude! Your architect spent WAAY too long in the cryotank! Talk about hybrid styles!
Your left-hand rocket looks a bit Thunderbird 3 - which is not necessarily a bad thing of course.:D
I like the way it's going though if you're thinking about a future in architectural design I wouldn't give up your day job just yet! |
Post by Jack Edwards // Jul 21, 2008, 5:19am
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Jack Edwards
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Wow, Nez! You're on a roll! :jumpy: |
Post by Nez // Jul 21, 2008, 5:29am
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Nez
Total Posts: 1102
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wow nez. the model itself looks like Disney Earth 2.
:D That's pretty much what I was thinking of! That or Las Vegas.... kind of tacky, mixed up mess....
like what you did with your background. The most difficult thing I've found to do is texture ground in TS so it looks real and not like Half-life or something. Keep up the good work.
Cheers - I know what you mean about the ground, I think that's going to be a challenge for sure - I quite like what Terragen produces and would like a comparable finish, but that's easier said than done - I tried using just a Terragen render (from directly above, at high altitude) to generate a texture map, but can't get a good enough resolution as the free version is limited in it's render resolution. I probably need to star from that but enlarge it without compromising resolution to get a decent result - will play about some more yet... That's why I threw in a more procedural texture too as one layer...
Dude! Your architect spent WAAY too long in the cryotank! Talk about hybrid styles!
Your left-hand rocket looks a bit Thunderbird 3 - which is not necessarily a bad thing of course.
I like the way it's going though if you're thinking about a future in architectural design I wouldn't give up your day job just yet!
Full marks! Dodgy architecture was the definite intent - my 'real' intent is that this might be dubbed the 'not so great wonder of New Earth'.... Hopefuly my own future in architectural design would not be compromised - I actually work alongside architects as part of my day job, so do actually have a fair grounding in more sensible designs - it's fair to say I would personally design something a little better, but perhaps less humourous/interesting...
And yes - Thunderbird 3 was the inspiration for that one - I then recycled/altered the parts I made for that to produce the right hand rocket...
Cheers Jack - I admit it's a little deceptive as that's really work from 3 or 4 days posted all at once - and I probably won't get nearly that much done over the remaining few days! Just wanted to get a thread up to support Dragn, even if I don't get it finished. |
Post by Steinie // Jul 21, 2008, 6:01am
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Steinie
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You put an object in your work dear to my heart.... the St. Louis Arch (or similiar). A couple observations, first the arch is based on a parabola and not a circle, second the bases should be larger and the arch shorter.
I watched them build this sucker day by day so I know! If you get the chance to ride up inside do it.
Your entry is cool!!! |
Post by Nez // Jul 21, 2008, 6:15am
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Nez
Total Posts: 1102
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Cheers Steinie - I did look at the Wiki pages for the arch and was stunned to find you could actually go up the inside of the arch, I didn't know that before; if I ever make it that way I'd definitely give it a go. Would have been really cool to see it being built - I envy you that (I'm a structural engineer, so I love seeing stuff being built!)
I knew it was a parabola - it may not be obvious, but mine isn't built to a circular form, although it's probably not parabolic either, it's just a vague curve... see image below comparing to a circle. It does taper somewhat, but not as much as the original. If I had more time, I might go back and tweak it some more - but none of my structures are supposed to be 'faithful' clones - rather the opposite in fact... due to the method of creation, I'd also have to manipulate each cross section manually too, which would be a pain...
Cheers for the feedback. I've been catching up on what I've missed on the forum whilst I was away the last week and need to get over to your entry to leave a comment there too... |
Post by Dragneye // Jul 21, 2008, 9:43am
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Dragneye
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Statue on the zigurrat! Statue on the zigurrat :D |
Post by rjeff // Jul 21, 2008, 3:22pm
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rjeff
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No worries Nez..I more than likely will not get mine done in time..with work and all...the only thing I see that you may be going to touch on is the stairs that go into they pyramid. They just kinda go nowhere. I like what I am seeing..this just seems to be out of place. |
Post by Nez // Jul 22, 2008, 2:25am
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Nez
Total Posts: 1102
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Heh, Dragn, are you offering a statue?! ;) I think it's safe to say I won't be modelling a statue...
Jeff - I know what you mean about the stairs intersecting the pyramid - I was debating whether to introduce an entrance structure into the pyramid at this point, but the whole thing is suposed to kind of look like a giant balls-up, so not sure at the mo...
Kn=ocked up a few more buildings for the background - not part of the monument but just as part of the scenery. Intended to have a bunch of dome structures of various sizes as 'habitats' or whatever - how many will possibly depend on how bad the poly count is coming along... the domes aren't good for that as they've got an 'exoskeleton'. Have to confess that the modelling for these was made easy by using a plug-in I have for TS4 called 'metaobjects' or something like that, which produced the dome shapes and the external structure frames - a bit of tinkering and instant objects :D
Other structure is something a bit more dramatic, again for the background; use is unspecified/undecided, just wanted something to contrast with the domes; it's crudely based on a cathedral in Liverpool which I thought could look cool in a sci-fi setting...
Shaders and lighting in the renders is just for fun, haven't decided on final appearance, just used a pre-set lighting setup from another scene... Still need some ground vehicles and to crack on with textures etc... |
Post by Dragneye // Jul 22, 2008, 6:07pm
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Dragneye
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:-D I doubt I'll be finished with this in time. REALLY wanted to try this in zbrush; but then, I've never really built anything in zbrush, :-D
Cool deal about the plugin. The domes seem really cool.
btw - THANX for the support with my first ever chairing of a Challenge. I DO appreciate it very much. :D |
Post by Nez // Jul 22, 2008, 10:57pm
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Nez
Total Posts: 1102
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No worries Dragn, returning the favour after all ;)
I don't think I'll finish either - I've left myself too much to do, particulalrly texture-wise as I just kept modelling more stuff!
Threw some slightly better textures on the domes, and started my trucks - not quite what I originally envisaged but nicely chunky and utilitarian... So much to do, specially as I won't be able to do anything Friday. |
Post by Nez // Jul 23, 2008, 4:10am
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Nez
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One more teaser shot - this is a preview of the scene coming together, with the right hand side (i.e. the bit without the 'Wonder').
Have also provided a closer view of the trucks as they don't really show in much detail...
As time is very short for me now, I've thrown some rough textures on my trucks, road, etc and done my all-important road-sign... I should really add some line-markings to the road for safety sake but that may not happen as I have to do some texturing for the Wonder itself, which ought to take precedent....
Really I should have done some proper UV mapping for some of this stuff, but mostly that hasn't happened (excpet the smaller domes which I unwrapped with UVMapper Classic). As a lot of the detail stuff from the last few days is in the background (with some slight fog to try to tie in with the Terragen backdrop) I figured I get away with simpler textures for the most part...
Need to get on with the main structures and sort out some proper lighting - current lighting is a crude set-up for approximation.... then I can hopefully get a beauty render done... |
Post by Georg // Jul 23, 2008, 4:39am
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Georg
Total Posts: 270
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Aarg! Left hand driving! :D
Just kidding, you have done an amazing job, Nez. It is becoming very nice, I particularly like these dome structures. Take care your road sign is not blocking the view (as they often do).
Georg |
Post by Nez // Jul 23, 2008, 4:53am
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Nez
Total Posts: 1102
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Well I'm in the UK, had to be left hand drive! :D
It's obvioulsy in 'New Britain' based on the UK-style roadsign too.... talking of which, yes, I had to position the sign quite carefully - the main view will all be to the left of that, which I haven't shown in the preview above. Originally it was obscuring the minaret tower - when I moved it further right I ended up having to move the mast on the hillside as that got hidden... hopefully it's about right now.
I'm quite pleased with how the domes turne out, especially as a plug-in did almost all the work! :D I just had to cut the bottoms off, so to speak, to save geometry. |
Post by Jack Edwards // Jul 23, 2008, 3:10pm
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Jack Edwards
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You're a modeling machine Nez! Great work! I have a feeling that this project will be seeing an upgrade in the near future as well. ;) |
Post by Dragneye // Jul 23, 2008, 6:21pm
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Dragneye
Total Posts: 602
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Wow! Dude... how fast do you work, or, how much sleep have you gotten lately? :D
You're creating some very cool ideas and models here. Great job! |
Post by Nez // Jul 23, 2008, 10:58pm
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Nez
Total Posts: 1102
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You're a modeling machine Nez! Great work! I have a feeling that this project will be seeing an upgrade in the near future as well. ;)
Heh - I wondered what on earth you were on about when I read this earlier - I always open the forum on the WIP section, so I hadn't heard the news, so I was mighty perplexed!
I think it's safe to say that this scene won't be benefitting in the next few days as it would be too steep a learning curve, so as an MMC entry it won't get a major upgrade, but at least I may have a chance to re-visit and improve after the deadline... Hopefully I will at least get to post a proper tS5.1 beauty render though as my submission...
I'm still totally stunned about the news - what a blinder! That's going to give 3DWorld something to talk about... |
Post by Nez // Jul 24, 2008, 3:10am
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Nez
Total Posts: 1102
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And thanks too for the positive comments; I'd like to think I'm a moderately quick modeller, when the ideas are flowing - providing I stick to what I know modelling-wise (primitives, swept polys, booleans etc) - I'm much slower when it comes to SDS etc. I suppose this basically harks back to the fact that I started out on older versions of TS beofre all the new-fangled tricks became available...
Means that I can churn out that kind of stuff moderately quickly (not like Prodigy mind!) although I can't texture and light them nearly so fast! But whilst that means I can deal with the kind of models that don't need to be seen too closely, the real close-up stuff which is better done with SDS and more refined methods are more difficult for me - which is why the SMCs are such a challenge! The focus usually needs to be seen close up, as a particular object, which I find much harder to produce quickly! Still, it's been great to help push me along...
Still trying to get 'final' lighting resolved, but in the meantime here's a quick shot of the 'wonder' with some stone textures thrown on, and a 'pre-viz' of the final view with my stop-gap lighting and no post-process for DOF... hopefully I can get improved lighting sorted in the next hour or so so I can post a final shot for submission... |
Post by Nez // Jul 24, 2008, 6:03am
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Nez
Total Posts: 1102
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Well this will be the 'submission' image for now, best I'm going to get in the timeframe as I won't be able to do more tomorrow (I've spent too long on it when I ought to be doing other stuff as it is...). Nothing is quite as good as I'd like, especially the lighting, but it should be a bit better than the above version... The truck doesn't look very good at that distance either... Spent too long modelling on this scene, but then I left starting a bit late...
Have added some (very gentle) DOF for foreground and distance; slight fog included in base render using TS foreground shader option. Was considering adding a bit of lens flare too, but not available in the version of PSP I have here (I'm used to the photoshop effect) but it can be a bit cheesy anyway, so not a major loss.
Was a lot of fun though; if I manage to sort the upgrade in the near future (PC dependant...) I might be able to revisit and do a better render... |
Post by Steinie // Jul 24, 2008, 6:10am
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Steinie
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I think you did a great job Nez! Good Luck! |
Post by Nez // Jul 24, 2008, 6:13am
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Nez
Total Posts: 1102
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Thanks Steinie; I forgot to add the caption, so here it is with that added... |
Post by TomG // Jul 24, 2008, 7:00am
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TomG
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Hahha I like that caption! I liked the image before, but that just makes it for me. BTW, the spaceship reminded me very much of a thunderbird, I think it was TB1 but it may be 4, so long ago now - not sure if that was deliberate?
Tom |
Post by Breech Block // Jul 24, 2008, 12:54pm
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Breech Block
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Truly a great piece of work Nez. TBH, when you posted your first first piccies I thought this was going to turn out to be a bit of a scrappy project. But just how wrong could I have been, it all works beautifully and I just love the Gerry Anderson style trucks and spaceship (Now there's a real good subject for a modelling competition). Good luck in the voting. |
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