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WIP HMS Bellona (1760 version)

When I see this ship, Rule Britannia keeps playing in my mind...probably because this class of 74 ensured that it was a reality for such a long period of time :napoleon Nice work with the stern gallery particularly, Can't wait to see it afloat in engine!
 
I think we should keep all original measurements/distances. The bounding box of the player should be reasonable, like a average man during that time, and not 2x1x1 meters like in current games. Maybe 1.7x0.8x0.4m?

The Bellona looks awesome so far!
 
Captain Armstrong said:
When I see this ship, Rule Britannia keeps playing in my mind...probably because this class of 74 ensured that it was a reality for such a long period of time :napoleon Nice work with the stern gallery particularly, Can't wait to see it afloat in engine!
Click to expand...
I still can't help but feel this ship is contributing to a somewhat biased ship line-up... but she's just so pretty. :wp
 
ODemuth said:
I think we should keep all original measurements/distances. The bounding box of the player should be reasonable, like a average man during that time, and not 2x1x1 meters like in current games. Maybe 1.7x0.8x0.4m?

The Bellona looks awesome so far!
Click to expand...

Yes, what the players bounding box is maybe not fit through, we solve easy with the physical proxy.
 
I found some time to work on the ship last week, and now I've completed pretty much all of the modelling I set out to do for the sake of getting the ship ready for testing.
I've added the railings, ladders between decks, rudder and stern gunports, which now gives the model enough of an outline and functionality for the time being.

Bellona_WIP32.jpg


Bellona_WIP33.jpg


Bellona_WIP34.jpg


Bellona_WIP35.jpg

The rudder took me a while to make, partly because deciphering the plans was harder than I thought, and partly because it's such an awkward shape.
If I've made any mistakes, please let me know.
Bellona_WIP36.jpg
Bellona_WIP37.jpg
The model still lacks a vast amount of detail (and structural reinforcement :wp ), but all of that will come later down the line.
What I still need to do is finish off the collision meshes, a couple of LODs and the buoyancy mesh, and after that I can add the gun firing points before exporting to Unity.
I'm currently knee-deep in some assignments for my studies for at least the next two weeks, so with a bit of luck, I might be able to have this ship in-engine over the Christmas period.

And at some point, I hope to share some images with you of the models I'm making for college in 3ds Max, as and when I come close to completing them.
They're completely unrelated to ships or Hearts of Oak, but at least you'll be able to see what's been eating up a lot of my time lately. ;)
 
Looking very good so far. I'm getting the strange feeling that my Endeavour isn't accurate enough.... :bounce

Could you post some wireframes? About the same images as above and maybe a gun port close up? I'd appreciate that.

P.S. get rid of the surfaces, they look awful, and get back to the hvide planks ;):p
 
Though of course still incomplete, the vessel just has a aura of being well put-together. She'll need it it with all the blockade duty, storms, and French Broadsides she'll see ;)Can't wait to see her afloat in-engine!
 
ODemuth said:
Looking very good so far. I'm getting the strange feeling that my Endeavour isn't accurate enough.... :bounce
Click to expand...

GNAAA, what a question... Its a GAME Oli, please dont forget.

@Armada: Very good work! Did you not think about the masts from the FTP Ive upload? Maybe its a fast fit in your ship. Shouldnt be so much changes on them.
 
ODemuth said:
Looking very good so far. I'm getting the strange feeling that my Endeavour isn't accurate enough.... :bounce
Click to expand...
Indeed you're right. I'm pretty sure you missed out on a wood stain on her port bow, just under the waterline.
The real ship did have that, unless I am very much mistaken. :razz

Yes, I am messing with you. Mwuhahahaaaa!!!!! :whipa
 
@ODemuth: I'd say your Endeavour looks more than accurate enough, to me!
Accuracy is very hard to pin down, anyway, as I'm sure you know. I reckon some parts on my Bellona are slightly off because of discrepancies in plans, and comparisons with the NMM model, but at the end of that day, I'm just happy if she looks right. If I can make her more accurate than any other Bellona in previous video games, even better. :p

I'll get some wireframe images for you later.

@Captain Armstrong: I think Mr Slade should take most of the credit for that. ;)

@Wedori: My focus so far has been on the hull, mainly so she can be tested for buoyancy calculations in Unity and then used as a floating battery.
However, I will take a look at your masts and see if they can be fitted easily. :)
 
Here are some wireframes as requested:

Side profile textured:
Bellona_WIP38.jpg


Side profile un-textured:
Bellona_WIP39.jpg


Stern view showing rudder and waterline:
Bellona_WIP40.jpg


Close-up of gunport amidships:
Bellona_WIP41.jpg
You'll probably notice some of the edges look misplaced where the hull is split across the waterline, but this is where I've merged some vertices to prevent shading anomalies.
Also, the ornamentation beneath the quarter galleries is a bit rough around the edges, and I'm planning to revisit that at a later stage.

If there's anything else in particular you want to see a wireframe of, let me know.
 
That's really good polygon usage. Really inspirational. I can image adding all the deck beams, knees and standards will be quite an undertaking. I can't wait for new pictures.
 
I've now added Wedori's masts to the hull, which fit remarkably well when scaled up by 50%. I only had to raise the bowsprit by around 5 degrees and adjust some of its parts to compensate, but the rest matches the plans quite closely.

Bellona_WIP42.jpg

Alternative link.

Bellona_WIP43.jpg

This scene has directional and ambient light applied, so the colours more closely resemble how they will appear in Unity.
Alternative link.
I didn't realise these masts would increase the overall polycount by 60% though, so I will have to ask @Wedori to upload the LODs, if possible. :wp
I tinted the masts' wood texture to roughly match their original colour, but if they should be a specific colour for this ship, please let me know.
The gold texture on the bow and stern looks oddly out of place next to the mast texture, so I probably need to change that as well.

A few weeks ago I also added the beams for each deck apart from the main deck, which for the time being will be the lowest point the player can reach.
I gave these a red texture, except for the white under the poop deck, based on what I could see on the NMM wooden model. Again, if anyone knows better, please say so.

I started adding the bulkheads for the poop deck and forecastle, and will finish those next. Then I'll probably add the remaining exterior details, and create the proxies and remaining LODs. I already have three LODs for the hull (including the base mesh), so I'll aim for that with the other parts for the first Unity-ready version of the model.
 
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Unfortunately I see no pictures :D Anything broken?

Well, if you need LODs, I can do this. But when I do this, you need to refit the masts into the Bellona. The LODs depends to the rendermesh.
Em, and they rise the polycount by 60%? I remember the theme of my maybe too high poly assets but so its only need to create them one time. LODs break high Polycounts nice down.
 
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