RocketMan on 10/9/2007 at 17:39
Personally I'd like to keep it as close to the original style as possible. You may point out that I haven't been doing that to a T but my experience is limited so I'm doing what I can and taking some liberties here and there. Still I liked the shape and form and deco of the original enough to redo it with the intention of increasing polies to make it look more geometrically detailed and/or more continuous as well as to make it prettier on the texture side of things. With my abismal texturing skills I found this easiest if I made many textures. That way I wouldn't have to worry about UVW distortion or artwork as I can cut and paste individual images pretty easily.
I know plenty of you have issues with the new wrench and I'd like to please the majority but again...one thing at a time. :)
BTW, even though i don't have a picture or anything yet, I just finished making the jaw a distinct modelled piece and the yellow paint is now much darker although I didn't dirty it or anything because I thought I should wait on that in case it gets replaced all together.
RocketMan on 11/9/2007 at 02:38
Update:
-Lower jaw now visibly separate from the other forged piece
-Minor texture realignments and mesh topology changes for slightly shorter "tongs"
-Vibrant yellow toned down to a dull golden colour
Progress will be on hold at this point pending feedback and/or assistance since I feel I'm approaching a skill barrier.
(
http://h1.ripway.com/RRRocketMan/system%20shock%20stuff/wrench_b3.rar)
Ninjit_Turak on 13/9/2007 at 01:12
why bother?
RocketMan on 13/9/2007 at 01:59
why bother what?
why bother with a new wrench?
...cuz i feel like it that's why
RootbeerTapper on 13/9/2007 at 03:59
Hey Rocketman I like the wrench model but the texture needs some work. I was wondering if you could do a pool cue model?
would you be willing to try?
RocketMan on 13/9/2007 at 15:20
You want it that badly huh? :p
Yeah it wouldn't be too much trouble. I'd recommend you or somebody else texture it though.....we all know I can't cut i these days. Gimme a day or so and I'll have something ready. Got some RL to deal with.
RocketMan on 13/9/2007 at 21:51
I took some more criticisms to heart and made a couple more moderate revisions. This will be the final release for this mod. Hope it finds a use for some of you.
(
http://h1.ripway.com/RRRocketMan/system%20shock%20stuff/RocketWrench.ss2mod)
Changes:
-Darker/dirtier yellow
-New texture styling for the teeth (more polished and less ceramic looking)
-Slightly improved blood that doesn't look as much like a nosebleed
-Fixed a transparency problem with the grip
ZylonBane on 14/9/2007 at 03:34
Okay, here's my big long post. Sorry this took so long to get around to.
To start with, we have a bog-standard adjustable wrench:
(
http://img211.imageshack.us/my.php?image=realwrenchyb4.jpg)
Inline Image:
http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/1261/realwrenchyb4.jpgPretty much every adjustable wrench in the world looks 99% like this wrench, and there's a good reason for that-- as engineering challenges go, the adjustable wrench is essentially "solved". The shape of these wrenches represents a near-ideal compromise between strength, weight, functionality, usability, and durability. So when some modeler on the SS2 development team was assigned the task of creating a wrench, there were two main constraints--
1. It had to recognizably be a wrench.
2. It had to be low-poly.
And this is what he came up with--
(
http://img514.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ss2wrenchdu9.jpg)
Inline Image:
http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/9786/ss2wrenchdu9.jpgAll things considered, this is an impressively clever design. The modeler knew he didn't have the polygon budget to recreate the parts of a wrench that are normally curved, so he flattened them out and then textured them in such a way as to give the whole thing an intentional appearance (as opposed to, say, car tire models that only have eight sides).
So it's impressive, but it also poses an odd challenge to anyone looking to upgrade it-- How does one smooth out the model without discarding what makes it unique?
The SS2 wrench appears to have the following distinctive characteristics:
* the bright yellow color
* the level mounted in its handle
* the rubberized grip (with finger indentations) covering the end of the handle
* the lever-based adjustment mechanism instead of a thumbscrew
* the separate head and handle (instead of a single piece like most wrenches)
If all these characteristics were retained, the excessively angular parts of the wrench could be smoothed out, while still having the model look like the wrench we all know and love--
(
http://img519.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ss2wrenchoverlayub6.jpg)
Inline Image:
http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/862/ss2wrenchoverlayub6.jpgThere's even some room for improvement to the base design here. In real wrenches, the jaws are supposed to be the same length, and perpendicular to the back of the, umm... "mouth". Also, the handle could be beveled out. This detail is already present in the texture, but could be implemented in the geometry as well.
So let's take a look at RocketMan's model...
(
http://img511.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ss2wrenchrocketqe5.jpg)
Inline Image:
http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/8448/ss2wrenchrocketqe5.jpgThe first thing I notice here is that it's signficantly smaller than the default SS2 wrench. I think this was a smart move, considering that the default SS2 wrench world model looks to be about five feet long, yet looks barely over a foot long when you're holding it.
If you consider this wrench as a straight update of the SS2 wrench, it has several problems:
* The rubber handle doesn't angle forward, and doesn't cover the end.
* The jaw adjustment mechanism has been replaced with a thumbscrew.
* No effort has been made to smooth out the angular parts of the head.
* The jaws are completely wrong. No offense to RocketMan, but I wonder if he even bothered looking at a real wrench while modeling this. Real wrenches don't have fangs, dammit.
* The detail of the head being a separate piece from the handle seems to have been discarded.
I'm not going to comment on the texturing, since that's easy to fix. Overall, I'd say the model is salvageable, but needs some fundamental reworking on the head.
catbarf on 14/9/2007 at 03:40
Very good analysis, ZB!
Eldron on 14/9/2007 at 05:58
I'll just be the asshole artist and say, there's alot of things with this model that won't be fixed without experience, even it being the most simple model in the game, next to boxes, to recreate.
It will just end up a highpoly lesser version of the original.
Anyway, I'll be back later with a more helpful post than this can ever be :x
