Movie Ironhide Complete!

Valandar · July 05, 2007, 04:13:57 AM

Unfortunately, it looks like the Quintesson doesn't wanna export.

So, I'm gonna try my hand at one of the Transformers: Cybertron figures:

Unlike most of the other car/truck form TF's, this one isn't gonna have a separate vehicle mesh (yet). Instead he's going to have a melee animation where he backflips, transforming as he does so, then rams the enemy, and transforms back. :D

Blkcasanova247 · July 05, 2007, 05:04:50 AM

Nice! :thumbup:

Valandar · July 05, 2007, 07:05:07 AM

Did I mention that there is no directional lighting in that scene? All the shadows, etc, are in the skin.

And as you can see, I'm about halfway done adding the details.

The Pwime · July 05, 2007, 10:32:13 AM

so...in case you were wondering...

...THAT'S FREAKING AWESOME! :o :o :o

by the way, Val, did you watch the Transformers movie yet?

Valandar · July 05, 2007, 10:59:40 AM

Of COURSE I have.

I STILL don't like the movie designs, but the movie itself was lots of fun.

And hold on a few, I'll be adding yet another new pic in a few...

EDIT!

Here's the finalized skin, from the Character Tool:

BatWing · July 05, 2007, 11:42:13 AM

hey valendar did u ever made a ratchet mesh? 1984?

Valandar · July 05, 2007, 11:49:42 AM

No, actually... but I -DID- make a Ratchet SKIN for the Ironhide mesh.

Ironhide: http://newpowerinc.com/valanderfiles/transformers/Ironhide2.zip

Ratchet skin: http://www.newpowerinc.com/valanderfiles/Skins/ratchet.zip

BatWing · July 05, 2007, 12:07:21 PM

thx valander :thumbup:

Valandar · July 05, 2007, 05:53:53 PM

And here's a nearly final WIP: Launching the chest missiles!

I still have to make the launch FX 2-sided, as well as re-hide the "display box" (used to make the FX visible, but I didn't need it at this angle) and fix a bizarre little quirk that just spawned. Should be done tonight.

The Pwime · July 05, 2007, 06:01:03 PM

Quote from: Valandar on July 05, 2007, 10:59:40 AM
Of COURSE I have.

just checking. :P

EDIT: Forgot to say, those chest missiles are awesome. ^_^

Valandar · July 05, 2007, 06:57:10 PM

Oh, and what do you think of the vehicle mode, from the "Melee_Ram" animation?

MACH 3 · July 05, 2007, 07:44:58 PM

Just the concept of doing that alone was freakin' sweet, but the fact that you were able to make it happen, :thumbup: Awesome work!

Valandar · July 05, 2007, 08:21:57 PM

And since there's been problems with updating at meshworks, go take a peek in the Releases forum. :D

Lunarman · July 06, 2007, 12:29:01 AM

That skin is so good! Not to mention the mesh as well, lol :D

Valandar · July 06, 2007, 12:56:00 AM

Thanks. I recently started using a new technique set when I make the skins, based on making a hi-res version of the model by smoothing it (with smooth groups to delineate sharp edges), and using a gradient global to "bake on"fake shading and what's called ambient occlusion, then save those out as maps to overlay and/or multiply onto the Diffuse skin in question. :D The fine details (like the lights, the grill on the front, and so on) are painted on, while the metal plates are a pattern I set to overlay,as an example.

By the way, I included a "base skin" for the main robot in the zip file. I didn't include one for the extras (the rifle and missiles), but since they're 90% grey, it wouldn't be TOO hard to lighten it up amd turn the red grey. The new proccess makes it a lot easier to make "base skins", you see, so I might be including them in the future.

And if you want alternate skin ideas, BotCon recently repainted the Armorhide toy as Huffer, with an orange main body and blue limbs, and there's going to be a "Sector Seven Target Exclusive" repaint of Armorhide (though with the same name) that has been nicknamed "Nemesis Huffer", since it's charcoal grey, medium grey, and with touches of aqua (like the original Scourge / Nemesis Prime).

The Pwime · July 06, 2007, 04:44:44 PM

OH MY GOD, THAT MISSILE LAUNCH LOOKS INCREDIBLE IN ACTION!!! :o

Seriously, Val...that's gotta be one of the sweetest animations to ever be seen in Freedom Force. Excellent, excellent work.

Also, I took a look at the transform/ram animation at a slower rate in ctool. The transformation is very detailed...the majority of it is all the actual parts of the bot mode just moving into place, and that's just incredible.

:thumbup:

detourne_me · July 06, 2007, 09:45:05 PM

you really outdid yourself this time Val! i love Armorhide!

Valandar · July 07, 2007, 12:57:36 PM

The Pwime · July 07, 2007, 03:00:24 PM

Cybertron: Crosswise or Swindle

Classics: Grimlock, for sure. :D

The Slight Chance of a Movie Mesh: You would be my GOD if you made movie Prime, but really, anything from the movie would be cool. The real gears would be neat, too, in their own way...they'd be very tiny onscreen compared to ANYTHING else, which would be interesting.

vamp · July 07, 2007, 03:12:32 PM

cybertron:Swerve

classics:bumblebee

I wish cybertron-hotshot was a choice. I just always liked him.

EDIT: Changed my decision to swerve.

Valandar · July 07, 2007, 03:42:35 PM

Meh, I never liked him, mainly because the toy has a very awkward shoulder arrangement. Like I said, I didn't get a lot of Cybertron, mainly because I was a little shallower of pocket.

As for the Movie characters, the potentials are:

Real Gear Longview

Real Gear Zoom Out

Real Gear Booster X-10 (Not likely, unfortunately, as I don't have the time to make brand new animation sets right now)

Possibly more as I get them.

((The Real Gears would actually be about 2/3 human height, for ease of game play. More on them later))

Jazz (based on Deluxe Jazz)

Bumblebee (based on 2008 Deluxe Bumblebee - not available until later in the month)

Ironhide (based on Voyager Ironhide)

Ratchet (based on Voyager Ratchet)

Barricade (based on Deluxe Barricade)

Brawl (based on Deluxe Brawl)

Wreckage (based on Deluxe Wreckage. Note: Though not actually a character in the movie, he was one of the intended characters)

IF I did Prime, it would have to be based on the Leader Class, and I only have the Voyager class (smaller, much better oseability and overall a nicer toy, but not as "movie accurate" in its transform scheme, leaving it with a large 'backpack')

Now, as for the Real Gears, here's what I was thinking:
Basically, since they have no guns or anything, their "Idle" pose would be, instead of just standing around, laying around in object mode. Melee Idle would be unaffected, and the original idle would be available via hexxing as "idel" or some nonsense like that. The ranged animations in the 'standard Transformers' set that have guns would have them doing something funky based on their alt mode instead - as an example, Zoom Out would become a video camera that shoots, Longview would turn into his binos and shoot, and so on. Sound good?

Oh, and these meshes WILL have a "Handle" node if I make them, so if you prefer a more G1 flavor you could hex them to the size of a typical Minibot. :D

The Pwime · July 07, 2007, 03:49:55 PM

Out of the movie toys, I've got: Deluxe Jazz, Deluxe Barricade...and... Leader Prime. If you need pics, videos, anything...I could make some. Of course, it depends on if your actually interested in making Prime, and I don't want to sound like I'm trying to force it on you.

...Even though I am. :twisted:

Just kidding. :P

And the real gears have got me excited. You've already figured out an awesome way of putting them in the game (animations, size, etc). :D

Valandar · July 07, 2007, 03:54:35 PM

What would I need?

To be TOTALLY honest?

The physical object in front of me with my ruler as I measure specific areas (PER part) down to the half-millimeter. >.< Sorry, I can't even just give you a list of pieces and measurements to take.

vamp · July 07, 2007, 04:04:24 PM

Quote from: Valandar on July 07, 2007, 03:42:35 PM
Meh, I never liked him, mainly because the toy has a very awkward shoulder arrangement. Like I said, I didn't get a lot of Cybertron, mainly because I was a little shallower of pocket.

Oh well, It really doesn't matter who you do. It is still gonna be an amazing mesh. And don't worry about the deepness of your pockets. I don't even have pockets(figuratively speaking of course).

The Pwime · July 07, 2007, 04:58:31 PM

Quote from: Valandar on July 07, 2007, 03:54:35 PM
What would I need?

To be TOTALLY honest?

The physical object in front of me with my ruler as I measure specific areas (PER part) down to the half-millimeter. >.< Sorry, I can't even just give you a list of pieces and measurements to take.

Haha, alright then...I'll just buy another one and mail it to you. ^_^

Okay, sorry, forget it... -.-;

:lol:

Valandar · July 07, 2007, 05:30:07 PM

*shrug* It's how I made the Armorhide mesh so accurate.

Revenant · July 07, 2007, 07:24:31 PM

Hey Valandar, that render looks completely awesome as-is...

[spoiler]

[/spoiler]

... did you do anything to it to get those soft shadows? I've tried a bit of 3D modelling before, in Poser and Bryce, but that is amazing looking! Is it something you can do in 3DStudio?

Valandar · July 07, 2007, 07:50:06 PM

It's something you COULD do in 3D Studio... version 6 or higher, unfortunately. I did it in a program called X-Normal, and it's called an "Ambient Occlusion Map". It's basically rendering a high contrast soft lighting scene directly to the texture template instead of to a picture. You get a nice greyscale map that you can then overlay, multiply, or whatever on top of your original texture maps.

If I had the Skillz, I could take Male Basic, ramp up his polycount and shape muscles into him, then use that to 'bake' an Ambient Occlusion map that would have the end result of acting like a greyscale base skin.

The Pwime · July 07, 2007, 08:53:25 PM

And the Armorhide mesh IS extremely accurate. Absolutely beautiful in-game as well, I might add.

PS. I took a look at the mesh in nifskope, and...I love how he even has a ball joint under his neck. :)

Valandar · July 07, 2007, 08:58:42 PM

Quote from: The Pwime on July 07, 2007, 08:53:25 PM

PS. I took a look at the mesh in nifskope, and...I love how he even has a ball joint under his neck. :)

That's actually something the "real" Armorhide doesn't have, but was needed for the way meshes animate in FF.