RocketMan on 14/9/2007 at 16:05
Ok....well thank you for your detailed report. What can I say, when you're right you're right. I don't wish to counter any of your arguements as they are all rational. Instead I'll simply provide a brief explanation as to why I made the choices I did.
First off, this is the very first thing that I looked at when making the wrench:
Inline Image:
http://img211.imageshack.us/my.php?image=realwrenchyb4.jpg...and I quickly threw it away, despite being versed in solid mechanics and knowing that stress concentrations are a bad thing. In fact I thought the inevitably low poly solution to the wrench was not only clever, but made the wrench more dangerous looking and therefore cooler so I wanted to preserve that.
Second issue has to deal with the various features of the wrench that I either changed or omitted. Admittedly, the mistake I made was to use the wrench icon as a reference rather than the world model....big mistake as it turns out. Here's what I used and what I noted as important.
Inline Image:
http://h1.ripway.com/RRRocketMan/system%20shock%20stuff/wdem.JPGInline Image:
http://img511.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ss2wrenchrocketqe5.jpgNotice that this reference image explains some of my choices that the world model perhaps fails to explain. The finger indentations, honestly I just forgot to model and TRIED to texture but failed. The screw is something I put in because I know wrenchs have them and I couldn't make out what the original used, through all the garbage and low resolution. The slant on the handle is another thing I didn't see from my reference but frankly it seems a bit pointless to me anyway. The separate head, again, didn't notice it but for the same reasons that a round head minimizes stress concentration under load, a modular head introduces shear stresses on whatever pins or bearings hold the head to the shaft so...I guess it all comes down to whether a proper remake should make sense from a design perspective or from an aesthetic perspective.
Anyway this is just what I brought to the table initially. In light of this new information that I irresponsibly glazed over (pehaps due to lack of habit) lets just say I would have done things differently to start.
Heh, I guess this turned into more of an embarassment than a contribution.
demagogue on 14/9/2007 at 17:19
You don't have to feel embarrassed.
Modeling is something you learn to do.
Everybody has their early models where they're getting the hang of it.
The measure of your success is how well you stick to it and take good advice to heart ... not the road of misfires that got you there.
I'm working on my first model too, and the first iterations looked stupid. I started paying more attention to photo sources and economical use of polys (as opposed to a more blunt 'use as few polys as possible'), and now it's looking much better. Some good advice by more experienced modelers really helped, too.
I don't want you to feel like this little project is an embarrassment because I don't want to think of my own hassles fixing my stupid-looking first model as an embarrassment. Think of it more like a rite of passage.
Nameless Voice on 14/9/2007 at 17:45
Quote Posted by ZylonBane
* the lever-based adjustment mechanism instead of a thumbscrew
I'm curious how this works?
William Dojinn on 14/9/2007 at 18:17
push a button right below the leaver which unlocks it/pops it slightly out from the wrench head so that you can resize the wrench with just a thumb. To loosen the head I'd assume you'd hold the leaver down which lets the ratchet release.
ZylonBane on 14/9/2007 at 19:10
Quote Posted by Nameless Voice
I'm curious how this works?
No telling, since it's fictional. The jaws may be pneumatic or spring-loaded so that pressing one lever causes it to tighten.
Eldron on 14/9/2007 at 19:19
Inline Image:
http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/7471/wrenchywc8.jpgAs seen in this image, as an extention to what zb showed further up.. This is where the details should pop out, give it geometry, don't bevel as you have done, have the edges be sharp and not one big smoothing-group.
Since it's going to be seen as an fps-weapon, it needs to have modelled details.
Also, (
www.flickr.com) flickr like mad for references on the material, practice and redo.
RocketMan on 14/9/2007 at 19:35
Good that you brought up the bevelling. Actually there are multiple smoothing groups in my model that i chose specifically to accentuate different parts...however I quickly learned that while the edges show up well in max, they do not show up nearly as well in shock, particularly if the details are small. It has the appearance that the whole thing is smoothed out....so next time I won't bevel in cases where it probably won't show up anyway.
@ demagogue: Thanks for the empathy. This is however not my first model. I've made somewhere in the neighbourhood of 50+ with varying degrees of complexity. I think I tend to do better when i'm making something from scratch as there are no constraints on my work....but your underlying message is well recieved.
ZylonBane on 14/9/2007 at 19:57
I for one would love to see the good old SS2 wrench get a high-res makeover, so I hope you don't give up on this so soon.
Eldron on 14/9/2007 at 20:10
rocketman, it might have to do with the exporter not properly exporting the smoothing groups, which would result in the smoothed appearance of a singlesmoothingroup model in ss2,
The shading in ss2 shouldn't differ much from max, normals are normals afterall.
RocketMan on 14/9/2007 at 20:26
I know one thing for sure....not all the tris are getting through. Every time i convert I get these notifications saying that not all the polygons were handled the same....i forget exactly what it says. Point is I sometimes notice small glitches like edges not turned right or missing polygons that result in the merging of adjascent ones. This gives a slightly stretched or distorted look to certain parts. I think its a sign that I'm getting too detailed with stuff when I should be thinking more macroscopic.
Quote:
I for one would love to see the good old SS2 wrench get a high-res makeover, so I hope you don't give up on this so soon.
I'll likely work on it some more but not at the same pace I've been going at for the last couple days. A lot of the other weapons are bothering me too. Ideally i'd like to remake all of them before i play ss2 again but I'll be here till Christmas so to hell with it. I'll play the game with all the great stuff we have now and after that I'll work on more weapons, SHTUP (if you haven't been totally put off by this fine example of my work) and my own projects.
