Improving some low-quality original objects?

Nameless Voice on 25/11/2014 at 00:02

Quote Posted by R Soul

The EP already has the fancybed object, but I've never been too keen on it. So yesterday I finally got round to making my own version:
(http://s912.photobucket.com/albums/ac326/rsoulinternet/Dromed/newfancybed.jpg)

Inline Image:

http://i912.photobucket.com/albums/ac326/rsoulinternet/Dromed/th_newfancybed.jpg

The texture names aren't the same as the originals, so if you want to compare it with the original/current EP version, just rename my bin filename.

Since I had to edit this anyway, to make it use the old texture names (and tweak the UV mapping a bit), I decided to do some extra work on the textures too:

Inline Image:

http://i.imgur.com/fn4WmKN.gif

Inline Image:

http://i.imgur.com/FYmMx7r.png

R Soul on 25/11/2014 at 00:31

I think the gaps between the threads are far too big. It might look better with that layer shrunk and tiled.

While I'm here I'd like to point out that my emergency lights didn't make it into the latest EP:

Inline Image:

http://i912.photobucket.com/albums/ac326/rsoulinternet/Dromed/emerglts.jpg
(http://catmanofiowa.com/RSoul/emerglts.html)

And some of the Victorian doors require smooth shading for their materials.

Nameless Voice on 27/11/2014 at 01:36

The two wall lights look great, but I'm a little unsure about the ground emergency light.

Does the original model only have 5 sides because they didn't have enough polygon budget to make it round, or simply because it's meant to be pentagonal?
Personally, I'm leaning towards the latter.

Any chance of making a pentagonal version? I'm not sure if the pole under the light should also be pentagonal, or if it should be round.

Updated alarm light textures:

Inline Image:

http://i.imgur.com/WaPw5F5.png

Inline Image:

http://i.imgur.com/YGUjDVP.png

Inline Image:

http://i.imgur.com/BYxmUcO.gif

R Soul on 27/11/2014 at 02:00

A round shape allows it to sustain knocks and other collisions with less chance of it getting broken.

Melan on 1/12/2014 at 12:09

The angular shape gives the object its own character, though. It is a fine line to walk, but slightly "blocky" objects look great in an industrial setting.

Yandros on 1/12/2014 at 13:06

Wouldn't it make more sense for those lights to be octagonal, given the texture and how it's mapped?

R Soul on 7/12/2014 at 01:41

To me, a 5 sided shape never looks like it has character. It just looks like an attempt to keep the poly count down in the late 1990s. I do see the point about an angular look. Before NewDark I started to think arches and 'round' towers should either be 8 sided (aligned by sides), which looks like a deliberate architectural choice, or made with the 3-cylinders method to make a good curve. I felt that 10 sided cylinders were neither here nor there.

Anyway, I have bowed down to the utterly relentless peer pressure and made an 8 sided ground emergency light:

Inline Image:

http://i912.photobucket.com/albums/ac326/rsoulinternet/Dromed/el_unlit_zpsf633f224.jpg

The original object inherits Render Type: Unlit, which you see in the above image. Only the light should be lit, and once again the materials allow this for your own missions:

Inline Image:

http://i912.photobucket.com/albums/ac326/rsoulinternet/Dromed/el_shaded_zps50579ef9.jpg

Here is the download link: (http://catmanofiowa.com/RSoul/emergL2_8sides.zip)

LarryG on 7/12/2014 at 02:12

I like it.

Nameless Voice on 7/12/2014 at 14:48

Ah, I made a five-sided version last week.

Inline Image:

http://i62.tinypic.com/t840tt.jpg

I also added a gamesys DML to override the unlit property and set self-lit, so that the metal point is suitably dark and only the lamp part glows.

I think I added a slightly bit of glow (20%) to the metal to compensate, but nowhere near the 100% glow that the original had.

PinkDot on 7/12/2014 at 20:45

@NV - I like the way your metal part still has some brightness, without being fully lit nor pitch black.
But I don't really understand how would you want to see 5 sided objects in this game anymore? I don't see anything intentional in 5 sided cylinders, unless there was a pentagram design on top of it or something.