Currently working on Spacecraft models. I started looking over some of the game reference books from Mongoose Traveller. They have deck plans for "Common Spacecraft" which I presume are ships used in Classic Traveller. I will be basing my models off these designs.
I will begin with some of the simpler designs and work my way up toward more complex models. All models will be built for HeroEngine as static models. I may attempt some animated section like retractable landing pads or cargo doors. We shall see how things progress.
The first test ship model has been placed in game. It is the 20 ton Launch. This is just a low detail alpha model for scaling and visualization purposes. This model will be replaced later with a more detailed and animated version.
ReplyDeleteWorked on the Air Raft yesterday. The mesh is almost complete. I need to make some minor adjustments for optimization.
ReplyDeleteNeed to texture the mesh. I will be trying out alpha mapping on the windshield glass to see how that exports into the game.
Once I am satisfied with the Air Raft, I plan to go back to the 20 ton Launch and make some modifications like adding a working iris hatch, animate the cargo bay doors, adding glass windows to cockpit.
I also plan to create the interior as a separate area with the airlock as a transition point. Most ships have airlocks which make it ideal as transition maps for moving between outdoor areas to indoor areas.
Hope to have some of these things in game over the weekend.
I made some modifications to the 20 ton launch. I animated the cargo doors and was successful in exporting the mesh with animation. The only problem I encountered is the animation plays in a continuous loop. This will be fixed later when I figure out how to control the animations.
ReplyDeleteI attempted to create the iris hatch, but that doesn't work well as the iris parts in the open position take up a lot of space and extend beyond the walls of the ship. Will have to find a solution to this as iris hatches are a key feature in the Traveller universe.