SA Requests

[SickAlice]

I do. I thought to try an old trick where I used to install the game to it's native directory and FFX to it's which where different then point them to each other. In this case on Win 10 the directory it tries to install to anyways isn't a valid directory at all (includes special characters). Not a huge deal right now anyways, more focused on making models and such.

[SickAlice]

Okay gearheads, I need help figuring something out. I normally use reference material to build 3d models from 2d objects. The art in comics can be choppy as is the case here. So this engine? Motor? What am I even looking at here?

Here's somethings I know:
- This is the Spider-Buggy
- Somehow this doesn't resemble a buggy engine at all but rather a kart side mounted engine?
- Stated as engine on panel
- Company noted as Corona Motors who wants a non-polluting engine advertised by Spider-man. The name is a shot out to a natural motor known as a Corona.
- The structure resembles a sand rail/dune buggy but you can customize engines the same as you can and ATV/Go Kart
- The comic book guys had specific loves of the era. One was VW which this has a basis in.
- Another is Steve McQueen and this is based on his custom buggy from Thomas Crown Affair (VW based). Spider-man shouts out McQueen in the comic book.
https://petrolicious.com/articles/steve-mcqueens-meyers-manx-dune-buggy-just-sold-for-456k
- It bears a combined likeness especially the tires and exhaust to McQueen's Baja Boot.
https://www.thegentlemanracer.com/2018/04/steve-mcqueens-baja-boot.html
- The two exhaust are side mounted, notable feature. Always to the passenger side as shown in the two bottom right pictures.

Ty for anything that figures it out, I have no clue what I'm supposed to be modelling here. I'm putting it off until last and working on the frame and other bits until then.

*Edit: added more images, bottom left is a little more sculpted looking. I just don't know still, it looks an axle with no engine attached. Sort of.

[Randomdays]

Hey SA

Some information here that might help; http://thetinkersworkshop.blogspot.com/2017/10/blender-3d-vw-dune-buggy-project.html

The version I started out with was from the 3d Warehouse. I've found that for things like vehicles, its a good place to search, as well as the GrabCad.com site, and maybe cadnav.com

RD

[SickAlice]

I was wondering about the original model for texturing reasons. But again much of it isn't useful here bc SpMb doesn't conform to standard stuff. It is Manx based, I know this much and there's a lot of Puma GT in the design right? But the engine is just not that. Or is it? I came across a book online called Marvel Vehicles Owner's Workshop that has blueprint layouts for Marvel vehicles, better than the old source material from Handbooks I have collected. Anyways SpMb is in it and it doesn't provide a good angle on the engine but enough that it is typical there. A few other details too. However the idea is to match the work to the comic art and the art is well, lacking. In fact I noticed later artists after Andru abandoned it and just made the back of the buggy the back of a conventional sports car instead. Another thing though not what I need info on, I just need the look like I did with the Spider-Signal is it doesn't work. Like at all. Physically the engine would be inside the seats. Also physically the driver and passengers legs would be inside the front engine (it also shouldn't have a front engine but does because it's a comic book I guess). The frame, tub and engine also don't physically work, not like a custom buggy should.

You'll pardon I don't learn to learn about buggy's and RV's mate, I already learned all there is to know under the sun. Knowing this stuff is always the first thing I do when making a model. Like when I made a penguin model I learned everything about penguin biology and how their bodies move for example. So as of now I literally know more about building karts and buggies and the history of it then I should lest I end up making one myself (I've had the desire since I was young actually and I may end up moving back the desert and having use for one).

Anyways so what I'm asking about here is the above pictured, not the one the model you linked is based on (which is based on Manx actually as well, caged type engine which the SpMb isn't). SpMb engine is based on "something else". I just can't tell what the artist (Ross Andru) based it on exactly and I'm asking if anyone can make out what it is supposed to be then? It's not a dune buggy/sand rail engine, I can tell that much. Now again I have one prepped to use if it comes down to it but I'd rather strive for accuracy to the comic book counterpart. Likewise the other place mentioned game model of Spider-mobile abandoned the engine and went with a different concept to match a toy the made for it instead (toy has no engine but instead a grapple hook line and a cage). So at the end I'll use it but then the problem is a standard buggy engine does not actually fit the comic book SpMb design (how does it attach to axle? It makes no sense at all and it couldn't) so I'm going to have do something that looks weird. Minding that the player is going to spend most of the time looking at the back of the vehicle right?

Like back license plate for *spoiler* I know it's a license plater and do not need to know what a license plate is or how it looks on some other vehicle. I needed to know what the specific one looks like and exactly how it's attached to and positioned on the SpMb. All I could find where blurred shots or ones obscured by lighting glare. I figured this one out last night, was very pleased with myself lol but just to make the point of what of I'm saying. I'm not down with just grabbing any old car out there, making it red and blue and calling it Spider-Mobile. This is comic book licensed and signature stuff, everything down to the way a characters face is contoured is what makes the character what it is, anything else is not the character and this is what I strive for in game here. Like when I make a Wolverine or a Batman or one of their signature belongings for example I want you to look at it and know that's what it is. Not I colored a car black say and told you it's a Batmobile. You know how the Batmobile looks. You know how what version looks and the little details down to the wheels and so on. Likewise you know how Wolverine's hair looks. I could stick any hair on there, I cheated a long time ago and tried using Ink's Beast hair for Wolverine for example and just colored it black. But you know, totally not Wolverines hair and chops, you could see it on the model.

So ty but not what we need for this. If anyone knows what the thing pictured in the images I put here that would be cool. If not I'll get by. On a related note where is the download for the original model? I don't see it on the page.

Extra question if anyone see's it I'm still looking for any info on what the fire and smoke breathing statues in front of the Great And Powerful Oz actually are. Not info like "they look like dragons or gargoyles or something". I get that much, I know what a statue is and I've spent hard time researching this thing down to reading any material on the set and prop design that went into that scene of the movie already. I'm looking for actual source material that I can physically look at those things in detail. To date I haven't found a single reference picture online that at least isn't blurred so badly when zooming in there's no way to make the details out. Ty to anyone that knows this. I had that one sitting unfinished for years, passed it between four different hard drives now actually and hate that I can't finish it just over the one missing detail. I'd like to make it before my mother passes away since it started as something for her. Well mostly to get her to take interest in this stuff I do and possibly support me while I was doing it for work though the latter part is in my past now (already went to school and worked in Hollywood on this, yadda yadda).

[Deaths Jester]

Okay gearheads, I need help figuring something out. I normally use reference material to build 3d models from 2d objects. The art in comics can be choppy as is the case here. So this engine? Motor? What am I even looking at here?

Here's somethings I know:
- This is the Spider-Buggy
- Somehow this doesn't resemble a buggy engine at all but rather a kart side mounted engine?
- Stated as engine on panel
- Company noted as Corona Motors who wants a non-polluting engine advertised by Spider-man. The name is a shot out to a natural motor known as a Corona.
- The structure resembles a sand rail/dune buggy but you can customize engines the same as you can and ATV/Go Kart
- The comic book guys had specific loves of the era. One was VW which this has a basis in.
- Another is Steve McQueen and this is based on his custom buggy from Thomas Crown Affair (VW based). Spider-man shouts out McQueen in the comic book.
https://petrolicious.com/articles/steve-mcqueens-meyers-manx-dune-buggy-just-sold-for-456k
- It bears a combined likeness especially the tires and exhaust to McQueen's Baja Boot.
https://www.thegentlemanracer.com/2018/04/steve-mcqueens-baja-boot.html
- The two exhaust are side mounted, notable feature. Always to the passenger side as shown in the two bottom right pictures.

Ty for anything that figures it out, I have no clue what I'm supposed to be modelling here. I'm putting it off until last and working on the frame and other bits until then.

*Edit: added more images, bottom left is a little more sculpted looking. I just don't know still, it looks an axle with no engine attached. Sort of.

The bottom pictures are def axles! As for the original buggy it was loosely based off the Meyers Manx fund buggy with the engine mounted in the front - under the blue hood - and a regular crankshaft type setup for driving the axles.edit( it is a drive train setup, the circular section is yikes the main shaft runs through the axles under the body - think like a big rig gravel haulers' trailer has the shaft from the front to the back axles and it spins from the hook up with the truck but this monks up to most likely the fly wheel or such on the engine instead. Not exactly a good description, i know...would be easier to show on a real car.

The globe pic you had shown wondering about earlier - is the spider-signal which is mounted on the roll bars. While it isn't the best picture available - it misses the back setup - if you can get your hands on the 2009 edition of the official handbook of the marvel universe number 11' the Spidey mobile has a section in there for it with a moderately good side/tired quarters picture. Hope that helps. Unsure though cause only kind of know what you are looking for...do wonder if the 89 handbook had a breakdown on the buggy...must check...

[Deaths Jester]

Update: 89 handbook doesn't have spider mobile. In certain pics - both here and in comics - the engine seems to move about depending on who and how it is drawn. Some have it front based under the hood while others have it attached to the seas axle with the engine soon in the picture reversed ' the fire walk on the back of said engine is facing outwards with the fly wheel (the one in the engine pic) facing inwards...with the exhaust mounted on the side instead.

The 09 handbook has the same pic as when human torch first presented Spidey the vehicle but larger and without any background clutter.

I feel like i have seen an ortho of it somewhere but i could be dreaming...

Hope that helps...if was me, i'd do a rear mounted motor seeing as physically there is more actual room there than in the hood section...though pics of the undercarriage - the very few poor ones available seem to show some form of block - engine (?)...got no idea really - under the front end too.

Also got to realize....comic book artists back then didn't really worry about things making sense with vehicles...as long as it passed the eye test (that looks like a buggy) and was "cool" then all was good...

Again...hope it helps...

[SickAlice]

This is all very helpful. Anything to help me form the 3d shapes in my mind and sculpt them. I get how the axle runs, easy enough to look at broken down buggy's. Lucky that part I don't have to detail, I'm giving it the basic frame inside of the tub that was shown being put together by Human Torch and Spider-man in the old comic. In fact I finished the bed tonight. Also made the spider-signal in under six minutes flat. I found a great picture of it in a Spidey Super Stories issue. It gives me an idea to work with. Mostly I think I'm going to give myself some rope and just make it nice to look at in game considering how lacking the art is, so long as it captures the look in those pictures, at least the original Andru stuff. It's full under the hood in a much later Spider-man/Human Torch comic but it doesn't make sense and not really how it's otherwise depicted. Same as the conventional closed rear in certain comics I mentioned like Spider-man/Deadpool and Black Cat. Choice is again to stick with the design the original artist ran with. It was the most used and iconic.

The ortho you seen was probably here. I'd love to get my hands on copy of this actually. Again here it doesn't give a great view of that rear mounted but it's visible and in this it looks like the standard type a Manx style buggy would have.
https://spiderfan.org/review/comics/books_encyclopedia/marvel_vehicle_workshop.html

[Deaths Jester]

That is in fact the ortho I was looking for and yeah, looks very much like a standard Manxy style remounted engine.  While not a great view, it does give you more of an idea on how the engine would be mounted - with the flywheels and belts facing inwards (accessible probably by fold down seats) and the exhaust having been slightly extended/rerouted to point out the back end. 

Def agree that giving yourself some rope on how it comes out - better to look nice and close than run into problems that makes you tear out your hair.

[SickAlice]

I have the idea now. Following your lead I found some buggy's where the axle extends out and the engine is mounted behind it. So if in this case the engine would mostly be obscured by the fiberglass. Noted an odd design, like the aluminum frame is inside the fiberglass tub from the bottom view as opposed to the normal tub resting on the frame. So rope of course as did the artist. But I got the visual in my head now.

[SickAlice]

Just so I said it and aren't tossing out the help, I did try a few different things now. The fun part of doing most models is learning about the subject matter, in this case a lot of different engine designs and history as well a lot about Meyers's work. However every time no matter how nice it looked it it just wasn't what's in the comic there. So I did something unusual and instead made "whatever that is". I just stared at that and made a 3d model of it as is. It looks fine at any rate. Just an odd approach to take though.

[SickAlice]

Thanks for the help on that one especially DJ. I now understand more than I probably need to about sand rails and karts and can't stop thinking about ordering a kit and trying to build one lol. It won't happen, my mother would pitch a fit if I took over a garage bay for that and likewise invested in it. A sidenote this is very popular in this region, at least the custom kart end and there's tracks in the neighboring towns for it.

So request for a version of The Shocker with a flight/hover animation where he points his fists at the ground and launches himself off with his blasts like in the comics and was commonplace for a lot of Spider-man villains in the late 80's. If it doesn't exist no biggy, I may or may not build this anim myself depending on how it will look in the end. I might be imagining all this but I could have sworn at some point somebody like WB or CB actually answered this very request for someone here already. Note I'm in and out from the community so it's tough for me to keep track of things. TY to anyone who knows anything even if it's that it doesn't exist. Or if they can pull this off better than I can for a muscular_tall, not news that I'm below the grade when it comes to doing animations.

Kind of related and I may just be imagining this too but there was a way to assign a sort of standard FX to a character in maybe Editor wasn't there? So like FX for when a character is flying or running and such? I thought there was something that just had to with naming conventions, I know I can trick the game using that for other purposes. If so or if not is cool eitherway, it's just been a long time since I played with that part of all this and I don't really remember half of what is and isn't, lost all my old notes and stuff a couple harddrive and site crashes back now.

[Deaths Jester]

Not a prob, SA, you did a lot more than I anticipated with the little I could give you.  Looks awesome!!

[Randomdays]

Shocker -

CB did a Shocker off of Vertex's Space Ghost with a lot of gauntlet activated animations.

While there's a few skins out there and the "male_muscular_gauntlets" mesh, the only other dedicated mesh I know of for him is "M_SM_Shocker" in detourne_me's spiderman character backup rar. It's got a lot of nice animations in it with fxs on the gauntlets. No readme in it but it looks like it might be off of a Havok base.

It might be usable with a little work on the kfs

[SickAlice]

Thanks DJ. When it's a new area of study I tend to go deep just because of that, history of buggy and rails here of course. And just certain ticks I have that I know aren't needed like in my brain the engine parts have to move, the tires have to move when it's in motion. They really don't of course, most of our vehicle tires don't but well, I think it was my education and job training just kicks in at that point so for me it does. Looking at the thing in motion and not seeing the tires move was driving, no pun intended me nuts. Then of course once I'm investing real time as opposed to just churning something sort of useful out I am going to have fun with my time. Else the order of minding skinners and skopers. That's just always something I will do going forward. In this case I made an entire set of 3d models from scratch and texture assignments so I had to think about someone else looking at it saying to themselves "uh, how do I even texture this part of it?" you know? So I don't want to put that problem out there. Nor add a malfunctioning part that others end up skoping from nif to nif. I can see a piece or two floating around that was my fault and I knew better but out of pure laziness I let it slide. That's about the reason for the detail.

RD, thanks. I know about those ones. Space Ghost specifically because we were working on at the same time but didn't know it and he beat me to the release so I hung mine up and move on, I think right there to helping him with the penguin request. It might of the last time we spoke other than the Spider-Mobile itself which is why I felt a strong obligation on this project. It's partly a nod to him. However I know it doesn't have the thing I need here. Musc is typical mb so blaster type is widely available, the rest of the animations aren't even on my mind. Just that exact one and well, I'm not that good at it. I can look at and know the thing is just going to come out weird looking and I'm going to cause bugs and have to work it over several times. Since it isn't that important to have and more a thing I want to throw in for kicks (and people to use in hero files if they want) it isn't pressing. More just an "if it is already out here" or if "someone here knows exactly how to this exact thing and could walk me through the steps". Because otherwise I know I'm going to do things like mess up the clavicle positions and such and then...days later I will fold my hands, delete the keyframe and just the copy I will have that has normal hover/flight. The more I thought about it too, not much mind you, I have been terrible ill this past week (I literally lost two whole days, yikes) and had other obligations and study (fungus and nematode relationships for a science institution, don't ask it's boring stuff), I actually do need to know about the FX trick I brought up. Because of course if there no FX attached to the animation in play there actually is no point of doing this at all right? And of course I'm not going to put an FX in the character nif for the obvious reasons there. It was just a thought anyways that came up when look at comic panels for reference, same went for Shriek with that same move though again she only seemed to use that move one single time.

I'm sure you get this, it's all detail orientation until the moment you're figuring out exactly how much time you will have to devote to it and then often it's like "Nah, I really don't think this is worth three nightly sessions". I guess we'll see when I'm further along on the Shocker. Not too long though since I made some of it already while doing the Spider-Mobile. Same topic I am real inspired now to pump out more vehicles and see what can be come up with there. Anyone has any specific ideas they've had in their hand feel free to pitch them out, I'll probably be open to taking them up. I'm already on the Turtle Wagon and several other signature vehicles, some MOTU though they don't tend to conform to car standards (dreading creating those Attack Trak wheels actually) and so on so forth. I was stuck on those but learned what I need to on this project to get myself over the hurdles in those projects. At any rate lucky it's winter. Also that I was allowed to by a plow this year so I'll have a good amount of time for all this now. Not blessing the pandemic mind you but likewise being stuck in place has granted me more time for this stuff as well.

[Randomdays]

Going thru some things - Iceman AA has a hover animation with his hands down that might work well for Shocker.

[SickAlice]

You mean Ink I think, well Gren actually. He made all those animations, that one was called male_basic_iceslide_X originally, now iceman_x. We just use their keys and make skins, well I'm trying my hand at making some new ones (working on Lady Death right now, I really created a lot of tedious work for myself with this one). But yeah, that's actually a great choice. I feel bad for not even thinking of it. Muscular tall are male cape compatible but I "think" it might be an older keyframe where we used some oddball nodes? Though it wouldn't be a big chore to add that to two animations. Add I'm pretty sure those Iceman keys have the slide added in the keyframes and I can just toss it out and use it as a free slot to bring in the needed cape node without much work. Thanks for this. He's pushed down a ways in my que so it won't be soon. I also have to figure out the FX thing, I guess I'll just do some experiments. I think it was "hero file name", underscore and then animation name in the Editor but it's been a long time since I did this, before the second game was ever released.

[Randomdays]

Doing some more indexing and saw another possible choice. Dreamerzoid's Sleepwalker hex uses Taskmaster cordless kfs. Its Fly #4 looks good and no ice to worry about.

[SickAlice]

I would just use TM Cordless then. Like AA's or my own skopes/hex (the latter are best avoided, the program we used back then had a tendency to break nifs) it's better to use the original to avoid dirty data. Also I said I want the iceslide slot. Else Taskmaster has it's own legacy and signature and doesn't play well with other nifs. It causes in game crashes/absent animations. If you ever work with that one the way to go is Ink's Exodus. It's compatible but retains the lost old Azbat animations, I assume he used the Taskmaster Max file to cook that one. Just in case you ever have to work with those TM nifs, Exodus is where you'll find their area animations and such that are notably missing. Important of course since the Spider-man and other nifs tend to be in that same legacy.

Else I'm good man and thanks. Like I said this isn't a big thing and low on my to do list. I think the ice slide anim will be just fine, I know it's compatible with those old male basic nifs. Pretty much somewhere in a month or so I'll be doing a fast batch of Spider-man characters and that will just be a two minute thing and if not it just won't happen. It was just a thought that occurred to me while reading a Superior Foes issue where he used that move. I can remember that much. Well being amazed when he first made that iceslide, I recycled it on multiple skopes of course. It's a very underutilized piece to be honest, you can make all sorts of neat effects with that thing.

[Randomdays]

No problem SA. I'm just going through a lot of characters as I index them and noticing things.

I haven't really looked at it, but I wonder if one of the Terra meshes with the "rock" animation appearing, Fusion for one I think, is based off of that as well.

[SickAlice]

Again that's cool, I already said I know where I'm going with this. MBIX will work fine.

[SickAlice]

Info request. Does anyone know how to check the signature on keyframes? A pain is importing animations for them not to be used in game due to a signature mismatch. As it is I tend to shoot in the dark and keep checking in game to see if they'll actually work (they'll show up in CTool but not be selectable in the game itself) which takes a very long time. Ty if anyone knows where to look in the keyframe, say in Nifskope.

[SickAlice]

Looking for:
Cloak by Beard
Black Knight by Gren
Ghost Rider by X-Dud

ty.

[bearded]

https://drive.google.com/file/d/15udUA1ie6JzX7dXjYU_ou_y-iPnJK1wN/view?usp=sharing

[SickAlice]

Thanks.

[bearded]

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1f4-RQndpLphII5PdIbuv7QkBy4mvCB8s/view?usp=sharing

Is this the BK you want? I used to have XD's GR, but I don't anymore.

[SickAlice]

Yes, that's totally the one. Thank you.

[detourne_me]

Here's X-Dud's Ghost Rider
https://www.mediafire.com/file/c1ke6tm1q9b5spn/-GhostRider.zip/file

[SickAlice]

Thank you.

[SickAlice]

One more, sorry to be a bother. If anyone has male-hunter. That one I need a bit more than most.

[mal19uk]

I found this link that is still live. Not totally sure if this is what you are looking for but worth a try.
http://www.mediafire.com/file/xuv9c7660ca2c5x/Male_Hunter_V2.7z