Anyway, this will be a progression thread. I hope to post a shot of the work every now and then (at least once a day). It's sometimes fun to see how a model develops and what things simply get deleted and redone.
For those interested, this si being made in 3D Studio Max 7. The render is simply a skylight with shadows selected. The wireframe is achieved by making a black cloneof the meshes and applying a lattice modifier.
[ September 19, 2006, 03:24 PM: Message edited by: Fulgrim ]
Posted by Mars Needs Women (Member # 1505) on :
Nice. Is it for a game like Empire at War?
Posted by Fulgrim (Member # 1906) on :
I'm not sure what Nim wanted it for. Aiming for about 2,000 polygons for the basic model, then I'll see how much detail I can cram in with a higher limit.
Although it's totally an �ber-ship, I do remember fondly making those rebels pay for their insolence in this ship. I do think I prefer the wings facing outward better, but I'd love very much to have your project change my mind.
In Strata there's a way to make an object into a "shape" and so you can place instances of those shapes (even bilaterally flipped versions of them) and make changes to one and have that be reflected in the other. Does Max let you do this? Seems like it'd come in handy for, oh I dunno, one or three things on there.
Keep up the good work, we'll look forward to seeing your progress (Arrrrr...)
Posted by Fulgrim (Member # 1906) on :
Yeah, you can clone objects as either a new object or an instance. Instances all share the same 'masteredit' so to speak, so anything you do to one affects the others.
So, in my model the three wings are instances, the 6 guns are instances, etc.
Nice! I just recently got TIE Fighter working on my computer again. I've already started showing my 6 year old son how to fly....
Posted by Fulgrim (Member # 1906) on :
Looking good - it's starting to make that transition from blocky-cartoon looking thing to something with some substance. How did they get in those things? Does the front 'window' swing open? Through the back?
I gather they didn't need astromech droids like the X-wings did and the Jedi Fighters in AOTC and ROTS did, oh and the Naboo fighters in TPM.
Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :
There will be a swing-lid on the top of the pod, just like on the standard TIE.
Posted by Fulgrim (Member # 1906) on :
Looking good. I always wondered how access to the top hatch was managed with that wing in the way.
I've always preferred the TIE Avenger and TIE Phantom over the Defender, but it's a nice design, and I tinkered with something like this (with the inverted wings) some years ago. It does look better, IMO, than the original config.
Unrelated observation: You have taken your screen-name from the D�mon Primarch of the Emperor's Children... I must destroy you now.
--Jonah (aka Peregrinus, Lord Inquisitor of the Ordo Malleus of the Emperor's Holy Inquisition, Scion of Mount Athos, Master and Commander of the Grey Knights, etc. )
Posted by Fulgrim (Member # 1906) on :
I actually own www.fulgrim.com so its a name I tend to use for my alias too, naturally!
[ September 20, 2006, 11:32 AM: Message edited by: Fulgrim ]
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
quote:(Although using radiators in a vacuum isn't the smartest engineering choice either.)
Perhaps I'm missing something, but how else would you do it? Waste heat is a big problem for spacecraft and there's no other way to move heat around in vacuum.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
You'd think they could channel it towards propulsion- the TIE is supposed to thrust on propellant, so maybe some solid fuel sourse could be heated by the excess?
An intresting variant Fulgrim (welcome aboard), but the other version allows for far greater "visual scanning" by the pilot. Also, i'm pretty sure these are supposed to have the proton torpedo launchers on the wings (between the two solar veins).
Alfred Wong (a master modelmaker) made this cool Phantom TIE and Jason Daily made this awesome CHiss Clawcraft.
I dig the Chiss ship a lot- gives the pilot a good field of view and looks so damn cool!
Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :
No, on the Defender the launchers are in the chin hardpoint. And they are adaptable to any warhead, not just proton torps, since the ship was created for "Star Wars: Tie Fighter". Msybe you're thinking about that fanboyish "Interceptor"-schematic floating around in the early 90's, which gave the TIE/In ten lasers. Cute, but it had the drawback of not being supported by either the movies, the books or the games.
I disagree with the FOV-thing, TIE pilots don't exactly sit right up to the cockpit window, and this design isn't much more visually encumbered than a standard Interceptor. If you regard this Defender's wingtips as encumbering, you must hate flying X-Wings, what with that long-ass nose and pointy barbecue forks everywhere. Besides, I fly with my instruments. (IFLYNAVY!)
If you're wondering why I'm defending this design so much (and in case you missed it), I'm the one who asked Fulgrim to build this thing. I've been kicking it around in my head since 1995.
The target silhouette of the original TIE/D is almost as big as an imperial Gunboat, and it looks like a prissy dragonfish with its wing panels turned outwards (esp. in sideview). Also, where you see visual compromise, by tightening up the silhouette I see hull protection. The TIE/D has a strong hull rating in the game, what's to say some of it isn't in the wings? Fortunately, since this is an inofficial interpretation shaped by my choices, I say some is in the wings. If not by design then by modification.
For the rest, I adher to Cartman's doctrine.
The chiss are good, even if they also enjoy telling everyone that. I like the Clawcraft for its distinctiveness and power, even if it got the latter by compromising agility, but you can't say it hasn't got the most cluttered FOV of all the TIE variants, unless one peers straight ahead at all times. Daily made a very nice ship, goes right into the pics folder. But he hasn't done his studies, the secondary barrels on the wings aren't lasers, they're maneuvering jets, for pulling off smartassed stunts, like Jagged Fel enjoys.
Posted by bX (Member # 419) on :
Looking good. Nice details. Curious to see some temp textures. Gonna do a cockpit? Maybe not with 2000 polys. The hatch is just asking for a giant thumb to push in while sliding back.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
Nim: Skipray Blastboat. Kick yer ass. Posted by Mars Needs Women (Member # 1505) on :
quote:Originally posted by Jason Abbadon: You'd think they could channel it towards propulsion- the TIE is supposed to thrust on propellant, so maybe some solid fuel sourse could be heated by the excess?
An intresting variant Fulgrim (welcome aboard), but the other version allows for far greater "visual scanning" by the pilot. Also, i'm pretty sure these are supposed to have the proton torpedo launchers on the wings (between the two solar veins).
Alfred Wong (a master modelmaker) made this cool Phantom TIE and Jason Daily made this awesome CHiss Clawcraft.
I dig the Chiss ship a lot- gives the pilot a good field of view and looks so damn cool!
The clawcraft is the sexiest spacecraft I've ever seen. Couple that with fact that its agile and it packs a punch. When I first saw it I was like Ooh and Ahh.
Jason: That's kinda apples and oranges, a four-man crewed shuttle, but maybe I'll take that bet. Flying tank vs. Apache Longjohnson.
I'd go in the skip if I wanted to raid convoys with torps and expect to take a lot of hits, but use my Defender in the space superiority role.
Posted by Da_bang80 (Member # 528) on :
That's nice, The Defender was always one of my favorites. The Clawcraft looks sexy too. I've been wondering what it actually looked like since reading the NJO books.
Way back in Design Studdies in High School I made a schematic in AutoCAD of the E-Wing using the piccie from the "Essential Guides" book as a reference. It turned out pretty good and I wish I still had it. I also drew a piccie of a Timberwolf from Battletech using AutoCAD. I spent three days working on it and when I finally printed it my instructor was so impressed he gave me a hundred percent for the assignment I didn't even know I was supposed to be doing. Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
He just liked your innocent 'lil butt. Posted by Da_bang80 (Member # 528) on :
Ya, that could be it as well. He was kind of strange, walking out on us so he could go have a smoke, putting JD in his coffee(or putting coffee in his JD, however you want to looks at it), and I'm almost sure he was the one who put acid in my history teachers coffee that one day...
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
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