Improved Detroit Class mesh

[Thomas P]

I always liked the elegant simplicity of Bernd's Detroit class and was one of the earliest ships I did. Never liked the textures (I was in my copy others stage). Now I do things my way and don't care too much what people say about my work.

ANYWAY - Bernd has also and coincidentally updated the ole girl and so her she is so far.

[skyhawk223]

Nice! I like the texturing. Looks a little odd with that one nacelle.

Looks great....except that it has one nacelle...j/k

[Thomas P]

It's an asymetrical approach - like a Blohm and Voss airplane!

ahhh so its part of the design...i see...i was teasing you about not cloning the other nacelle on there before you posted the pic...but if its part of the acutual design...then i look like an ass

[Thomas P]

Sorry - my sarcasim script is offline - it is I that is the ass.

(I must now go off and clone the missing parts)

HA HA

Does Bernd have a starship class that uses the same primary hull so you can "de-Mirandize" that Detroit? Nice pic of the BV, by the way. Did the Romanians actually fly those things too?

[Thomas P]

Welcome back Masao!

No, he does not but thanks for the idea Of Course I have so many projects laying around the hard drive I'll probably never get to it.

I wondered about that too when I first saw the image (it is a 3D model BTW). I have a number of Luftwaffe books at home and this is featured in two. I don't recall how many axis forces used it. It was very popular with the crews that flew it, as it was very stable and highly maneuverable. As you know, the generals could not understand how an asymmetrical aircraft could really fly and had it cancelled.

[Thomas P]

More updates - still need a few more details and finish off of the textures. I am still trying to come up with a suitable, TOS style, bussard that is simple to make. The best one I ever did was for the Hyperion but it has too many parts! (It's also animated)

Any way:










And a few close ups - I think it holds up well as you zoom in:

Top Rear View

Under Rear View

Nice work! you use max right? what material settings do you use.? if you dont mind me askin....

[Thomas P]

Dedicated MAX 2.5 user (because I can't afford an upgrade and I don't want to learn how to use LW )

Material settings? Hmmm.. hard to answer because I can take the question too many ways. I tend to rely a lot on maps applied to multi/sub-object mesh elements. The various individual 'slots' tend to each have either blend or mix textures. It can be hard to track it all and of course each model has it's own unique set of textures.

As far as settings go I tend to deviate from trends. I have read numerous tutorials from folks on the web and in some MAX books. The texture settings are all for or are derived from real-world imagery. That is, textures that would exist because of weather, light and environmental conditions. These approaches work great on cars, planes, buildings and people. I just don't think they work great on spacecraft. I look at NASA photos and never see all that detail that gets crammed into Enterprise's A, B, C, D, E.......

I like to leave the specular at about a value of 25 and the shine at 5. I will then play around when I figure out what the material really is. If it can wear or be effected by light (bear metal vs soft rubber) then I modify the settings or soften or add spec maps.

Is the answer in there?

I suggest that you make the registry a bit larger. The registry on TOS cruisers generally cover an arc of about 90 degrees. Rather than just increasing the space between letters, you should make the letters bigger. Other than that, it looks swell. I especially applaud your decision to add a second nacelle.

[skyhawk223]

You've really done a nice job on this model. I like how it is simple, yet the textures make it look detailed.

yes that answers my question..thanks...so you make your own textures?

[Thomas P]

Yep - I make them all myself. All the glory or all them blame - that's my motto!. (I do lift emblems and such from Masao though )