Starship Exeter: Exeter Rising" Fan Story mini-series

Well I hope you like what you see.

I've tried to downlaod some models form this site and it says my access is restricted for some reason. Do you have authority to check into it and see where my coming up short may be?


PLEASEEEEEEE???:laugh:

[mikala]

When you are in the download area does it show you as logged in?
If not login again and try to download again.

Thanks...I'll give it a try after I finish this Daz Studio download.

now 32 meg of 115 meg downloaded.....

Mikala, is that head made with Zbrush?
I have that program and I've tried to use it a few times but man, oh man, it gets away from me. LOL!

It does make awesome looking organic meshes though.

[mikala]

Make sure you don't miss out and download Truespace 7 and Blender. Both are under rated and free right now!
Yes it's the start of a Scarran from Farscape. Base mesh in Lightwave sculpted in ZBrush.

Originally Posted by Robert Simmons

Well I hope you like what you see.

I've tried to downlaod some models form this site and it says my access is restricted for some reason. Do you have authority to check into it and see where my coming up short may be?


PLEASEEEEEEE???:laugh:

I get some odd results from this site from time to time myself.
Try this - try accessing the download section from the main forum page.
I know that when it comes to the chat room and the download page, I have to access them from there or else I get error messages.

It works for me, it may work for you.

Originally Posted by mikala

Make sure you don't miss out and download Truespace 7 and Blender. Both are under rated and free right now!
Yes it's the start of a Scarran from Farscape. Base mesh in Lightwave sculpted in ZBrush.

I like it.
It's really creepy looking.
It sort of reminds me of 'Punkinhead' - the original movie, not the 'should never have been made follow-ups'. I mean that as a compliment - I am a huge fan of Stan Winston and the work he has done. He and Harryhausen are like Gods to me. LOL!

I guess I need to get back in ZBrush and see if I can make it work for me.
I've been blown away by everything I've seen from it so far.

Thanks for the "skinny" info. I'll put that information to good use and avoid those "landmines."

Well something didn't go right. I had to drop off line right after my last post right at 35 megs on the downlaod....when the file being downloaded started to copy to my desktop and decompressed. I tried to run the install file and it did nothng. I guess I need to do a redownload.

Bummer about the bad download. Keep at it. Once you get the programs it will have been time and bandwidth well spent.

[gmd3d]

Originally Posted by Robert Simmons

Well something didn't go right. I had to drop off line right after my last post right at 35 megs on the downlaod....when the file being downloaded started to copy to my desktop and decompressed. I tried to run the install file and it did nothng. I guess I need to do a redownload.

Robert perhaps you should look at getting a download manager. some site support them over 56k dial up ..

some times the download manager even when cut off remembers where it ws cut and re establish the download from there. saving you a lot of grief.

I use to use Download Accelerator Plus. adwere on the free version though

here is a link to give you an idea .
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compari...nload_managers

Hey Robert, I found something for you.
It's over at a Lightwave site www.foundation3d.com
You need to register, post X number of posts and be a member for Y amount of time before you can download - but I think you're going to want this mesh.

Go have yourself a look!

http://www.foundation3d.com/index.ph...p13_fileid=547

The file size is small too - 2.46 MB

But this is the part I think will jazz you the most...

Description: She shouldn't need any introduction! This archive contains all the known registry sets from the era!

Yep - That ought to make your job a wee bit easier!

'...Its Green!' - Scotty

[gmd3d]

Thats Fabio Passaros i mentioned here .. but at least you posted a proper link and Image.. thanks


http://www.3dgladiators.net/forums/s...t=22778&page=8

It can be converted to OBJ and imported to Truespace .. for Space shots as it has all the registers Robert needs .. I checked .. I think TS CAN IMPORT OBJ

just send Fabio a PM to ask permission to alter it.... he is a member here ,,,

not sure if he looks in but you never know

I didn't know you had already shared it with him.
I'm not thrilled with the starship I've been using and I was looking for something for myself when I came across the Fabio ship and when I read the description it seemed like it screamed Robert's name. LOL!

I think there might even be multiple ship formations set up in it too.

As for me, I've been looking for something that I can convert into Carrara and get boussards that scream POWER. I keep finding ones that look pretty good in LWO but when I import 'em into my software they turn into AA battery powered boussards. LOL!

I've always liked the ones on the Buckky ship.
Have you seen it before?
The problem with that ship is that it lacks so much detail and I need detail and specularity up the wazoo for my project. (this isn't the same project that I shared the nebula footage - this one needs a TOS era ship)

[gmd3d]

Its a big thread .. really exploded .. (a great sign ) easy to miss my post ..

I think Fabios Connie's where build in 1999.. not sure though .. Warrior would have a better idea .. I did some work on the landing bay some years ago (with Fabios permission) but I never completed it .. LW5 or LW7 .. But I think they would be perfect for Roberts project .. atleast untill he got he hang of the chosen program..


for His Space scene with the Exeter .. he should use TrueSpace 7 as Mikala pointed out .
if he PC has the RAM

the swith to Daz for the character stuff

I agree with you on the TS point.

I don't know if DAZ could get a good space shot.
I didn't know Carrara could until a few weeks ago.
My goal with Carrara is to get a space scape that's as good as Lightwave 8 and up.
I'm getting pretty close - at least I think so.

The only reason I've been mentioning Daz Studio to Robert is because it will still work 31 days after he installs it. LOL! That and it's so easy that any chimp (i.e. me) can use it.
LOL!

I also thought that Fabio's ship would be perfect for Robert's project since all of the ships are already named. That should make his job a lot easier. The only thing is tha the mesh might be too nice - I noticed that the ones already used in his project are textureless and have the look of modeling clay.

I've spent the last couple of days banging out the bugs so I can loop an AVI file on the boussards (on the ship Im using) and have them spin at the speed I want.

It's a weird trick in Carrara - I'm used to doing this sort of thing in MAX which IMO is really easy.

[gmd3d]

Textures are important for CGI .. ..very important .. pity I am so bad at it

Originally Posted by Taranis

Textures are important for CGI .. ..very important .. pity I am so bad at it

100% agreed.

Texture is the difference between realistic and cartoon.
I am a specularity fiend because for me, it is the difference between a shot that works and one that doesn't.

Bump Maps are also a magic bit of coolness.

I purchased a killer dragon mesh from TurboSquid a couple of years back and the download was buggered up and the bump map files were not included. I had to wait until TS got ahold of the vender and then hooked me up with the bump map. When I rendered the dragon without the bump maps it looked like a slick wet dragon made of nylon and spandex - with the bump maps it suddenly had tons of nasty and gnarly scales and little etches in the teeth, claws and horns. It made all the difference in the world.

I know that when I render beauty passes of starships (doesn't matter what universe or era) I always look for at least one part of the shot were either a star, the sun, or a running light creates a bit of specularty across the hull. It make all the difference in the world to somebody viewing it.

I've shared my animations with my inner circle for years and when I learned how to do the specularity maps every one of them came to me at some point and told me how much more realistic my renderings were.

Yah, that was a long was to a short point!
LOL!

But yeah, 100% agreed - maps sell the mesh.
Not to say a great mesh isn't a great design... but the devil is in the details.

[gmd3d]

Lighting is also a major importance in a scene .. here is an example ..

Fabio's Connie

first with one source of light .. the others have 3 to 4 light source on it .

Yeah, lights are also very important to selling the scene.
Lights are not my strong point but I'm working on it.

I have a few preset lighting rigs that have been working nicely for me lately.
One is a three point light set up and it seems to do pretty nice shots.

That's why it's great to have a solid team of people creating a project.
A mesh artist for the mesh and textures.
A lighting guy - sort of like a DP in flilm.
and finally an animator to make all the pieces come together.

I think one of the things that was fun for me when it came to shooting the nebula stuff was the use of gold, orange and purple lights on the ship.

[gmd3d]

Well in space shots I use 3 lights mainly.. I keep the globule light low and have a key light my sun .. and fill lights to lift the model up a bit ..

Here is my standard 3 light set up.

1) Key Light: White - 35%
2) Fill Light: Orange - 45%
3) Back Light: Blue - 66%

I didn't do much tweaking for this shot.
Usually I spend about an hour moving the light rig until I get the exact lighting look I see in my imagination. This one however was just a quick set up.

The background is my little stars sphere technique.


Ship Credits: Franz Joseph’s USS Constitution mesh created by Vektor with modifications by me.

[gmd3d]

I like the effect of the bussard on the primary hull

Thanks.
I've been having a difficult time finding a ship with boussards that I like when they're converted into Carrara. Either they turn into a solid plastic looking one or they end up a orange & red stiped circus tent with white dots.

I'll probably stay with this one now.
I added a little orange bulb to the front of each and set the illumination distance to something like 1-2% so that it gave a hint of light but not so much that it overpowers the scene lighting.

I want boussards that seem to burn with energy but I can't figure out how to get that look. I have downloaded 10 different meshes if I've downloaded 1 and they each look great in their native format but when I convert them the boussards just turn to yuck.
I know the problem is me but I've not figured out how to work around it yet.
LOL!

Thanks guys..these look nice.

I redownloaded Daz Studio last night and went to bed. When I woke up and tried to onstall it the installer did nothing. So I am not going to wqorry about Daz since the need for it falls later on my list of things to do goal wise concerning the characters. So for now we'll proceed forgetting all that until later.

First off I would like to say a big THANK YOU to you guys for being helpful in the footwork you are providing. My firstchoice if model that i would prefer to use would be Dennis Bailey's Exeter. But it I think is a fair assumption that it is unavailable given how much work he put into it. ( You just don't hand out that kind of investment like candy...) I like his model best even better than Brothune's model of the Defiant seen in "In a Mirror Darkly". The next best I tihnk I've seen thus far would be the one evil genius 180 has made, and if he is willing I would like to use his since it it the closest next to Dennis's to anatomically and overall in it's match to the origional 11 foot shooting model of the TOS Enterprise. I'll check out the lightwave mdole that you mentioned to give it a look first. But as for now.....Until then falls to doing the markings for each ofthe ships. For me it is a mandatory prerequiste that he models match as closely as possible to the 11 foot model in TOS so they will stand out less. I very much like the footwork digging up the models you presented images of here. The one earlier posted looks almost perfect with the exception of it missing the markings. I's also would prefer to not use specularity and alot of hte small lighting like we see in "The Moition Picture" since i am trying to conterfiet 1968 Anderson quality TOS Trek effects shots. We're not talking the same old stock shot angles and beuty passes, but try to match the look as if they had done the shots in these storyboards. (I know that is a tall order. Dennnis's Exeter passes that test for me without all the flaws that pop up in the final optical prints.) That goes for how htey lit the models back in 1968 as well.

So now my focus is now...

1. Getting permisison to use evil genius's 1701 mesh....
2. Modifying it to hte appropriate markings for each ship.
3. finding WindRAR or Winzip to decompress the Klingon model. I tried looking but could not find WinZip orWinRAR. If someone can email it to me I can downlaod it to open the Klingon mesh I have.

4 Then we can start to opening up a Fed modle and begin to manipulate it in Wings like evil genius said and then he or anyone can lead me though how to mode the modle around and the camera and the lighting.

5. Then from there I owuld like to learn to model the phaser, photon and Romulan plasma into the shots with the mdeshes and learn how to nanimate them.

6. Then I would like to then learn to render the shots for final output to flash.

Special note: Even though these will be technically "unfinished" animatics...I would VERY MUCH like to push them to as close as possible to finalized shots as much as possible. That way if nothing else is ever done with them to take them to a full finished level, then they would be close enough to not look bad in rough form.

That seems the game plan. So first on the list is.....

1. Getting permisison to use evil genius's 1701 mesh....

I hope he get's the oppurtunity to downlaod and watch the Exeter episodes to prep reading my stories so he knows what his mesh will be used for. ( That is if he is willing. I can't push faster than things will happen. One step at a time..)

Thank you all......

'...The one earlier posted looks almost perfect with the exception of it missing the markings.'

If this is in regard to the single image I posted earlier you might want to consider that it does come with every single marking from every single Constitution class ship of that era.
Instead of them being on the texture, they are physical meshes themselves which you 'import' into the scene with the model and they will 'glue' themselves to it.

If I read your comment wrong then disregard this - but if I read it right... well, again you might want to have a look at that mesh. From what I've read of your intentions this is what you are looking for...even if you don't know it yet.

And EG's Trek meshes are killers.
I have a nice collection of them myself!
LOL!
I've even rewritten an entire sub plot so as to involve one of them in a Trek project.

I has just pulled it up on the lightwave page when you posted. I'll register over there tongiht as you recommended. IT's perfect minus the markings. But if they already have all the markings to marriy to this mesh...then great! I wasn't dismissing using it. I was more dissuaded fro musing it due to it being ANOTHER SITE I have to go through the motions and register and wait. I'll do it and I wasn't pooh poohing on your suggestion. For me it how much effort yeild so much results. If I think effort is > results...then I usually balk due to time constraints. If effort is = or < results then definately I hop on and excercise a option. I'll do it later tonight after I get my son in bed. My wife has been becoming unnerved with me spending more time on this keyboard than with her. But my thinking is...hey if you're gonna watch TV and ignore us...then I should be free to do as I please. At least I am TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH SOMETHING! And maybe the son can watch while I'm in the process of investing hte effort.


Everything's cool Fretslayer.....

Okay...just registered on the Lightwave forums. I'll try to downlaod the free demo. After 60 days and it expires...can I install it again?

Can you reinstall it after the demo runs out?
Yes and no.

Yes, but you won't like what you have to do.
No, once installed the software makes a registry key that keeps track of that info and when the demo period is up - you've had your time with it.

I didn't think you were 'poo-pooing' my suggestion - and honestly - you wouldn't be the first nor the last so I put nothing on that - My post was to make sure you were aware that the 'missing' stuff was anything but.

It's probably something I'd get yelled at for saying - but you know - there are some people who already have that mesh and rumor has it they post here and I heard somebody say it could be me - now if somebody were to hook up with that guy via MSN instant messenger there would be a pretty good chance they might share the file.

*wink,wink,nudge,nudge...say no more, say no more*

Well anything is appreciate. And you guys have ponied up some rather handsome options. I'm trying to find the new members thead on the lightwave forums.