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WIP - HMS Shannon (1806) 38 guns

Alex Connor

Alex Connor

HoO Team Member
3D Artist
My first 3D modelling project :)

Started her for PotBS, but looks like it will be very hard to get her into that game (timeframe for models has been extended, but dev team is currently 3 people and none of them can import a model), so now for Hearts of Oak, CoAS, etc.





Working in Sketchup for now, very easy to learn, this being crucial for a complete beginner :D

Will have to import to Maya to complete her ofc.

Captain Armstrong is helping me with plans and indepth knowledge of the class :)
 
Not bad for a first attempt! She's shaping up nicely. :onya
Could you show a wireframe image, perhaps? Or let us know how many polygons the model has so far?

It might also be worth asking Captain Armstrong about sharing textures for the model.
I'm sure he could give you some of the ones he uses, which would make things easier by the time the ship needs to be converted to the game's GM format.
 


Sketchup has no ploycounter but tells me the model has 6124 faces, which should translate into a similar number of tris, I've been careful to avoid 4 sided polys, only main and mizzen masts use them (and not for spars or details).

Should be possible to improve efficiency a lot, for example the stern gallery windows are currently using slightly over 1k polys, I can reduce this to 250 and improve the appearance with a little reworking :D

Can models with PotBS mapping be used? I'd like to stick with that if at all possible.
 
Alex Connor said:
Can models with PotBS mapping be used? I'd like to stick with that if at all possible.
Click to expand...
Some of our model experts would be able to confirm, but considering that several of our newest ship models were made for PotBS originally, I don't expect that to be much of a problem. :doff
 
I'd recommend finding an accurate plan for the rigging.There are some major details that need fixing, although you can get to that later. Good work so far, though.
 
Slightly better? :)


Captain Armstrong has given me an excellent sailplan, blame all errors on my lack of knowledge ;)
 
That looks like a pretty good mesh, to me. :thumbs1
It's actually fine to use quads (4-sided polys) when modelling and just triangulate the model before exporting. That's how I prefer to do it.

Using PotBS mapping is ideal. It's definitely an efficient method, and many of our ships in the Storm games now use various PotBS textures.
 
Thanks :)

Certainly room to simplify the hull mesh but I'm not expecting a huge difference in polycount, the hull including keel is only 2k atm, and even if I reduced that by a 3rd that's 660 from a total budget of 80-90k I've seen quoted on some existing models...

Anyone have some cannon in 3DS format? Sketchup can't import Maya, and I have this urge to give the Shannon her teeth :D

Worked out what I'd done wrong with the spars, sailplan looks a lot better now.
 
I'm not saying you should try to simplify the hull - that polycount is fine - just that working with quads is sometimes easier, for me at least.
In your case, you should probably stick to triangles now, anyway. :)

Can you import FBX files? I have some cannons in Maya that I could export, though I'm not sure I can export to 3ds format.
 
So far so good! i'll gather some useful textures to send to you. I would add more vertical divisions to the quarter galleries if possible, to give it a more refined shape. In my POTC/COAS version of the Hebe i only have 3 vertical sections for the quarter galleries, and I've upped it to six for the Hearts of Oak version. the improvement in shape is remarkable! (I'll reveal the new Hebe soon, just want to finish UV mapping what I have first) These wireframes of Bava's HMS Southampton show a good way to distribute the quarter gallery divisions, as well as the detail on some other high-poly areas like the head.

http://s810.photobucket.com/user/Chapmanfan/media/Southampton/1-2.jpg.html
http://s810.photobucket.com/user/Chapmanfan/media/Southampton/2-2.jpg.html
http://s810.photobucket.com/user/Chapmanfan/media/Southampton/3-1.jpg.html
 
Hadn't even noticed the Quarter Galleries were curved...

Better? :D




Think wireframe pics are the best way to learn how a more experienced modeller works :)

I'm debating the stern chasers...

Some Ledas seem to have them, others don't, even within the first batch of the class. Stern chasers are useful for PotBS, probably less so in games without "magical" skills. Their presence will decide how much decoration I can use on the stern gallery...
 
Definitely a better shape!:onya but it looks like your UV maps still need some fixing. oftentimes the stern chasers would have gunport lids covered with decoration, essentially looking as though there were no ports there for most of the time. they usually hinged downwards, unlike the maindeck gunports. on other ships they would simply cut right through whatever decoration was there. The inclusion of the ports probably depended on the builder, and they could be cut in later in life too. The decision to actually mount chasers would've been up to the captain when fitting out.
 
After having substantially reworked the hull mesh 3 times now (not to mention smaller adjustments), and having to start over on the UVs each time I'm leaving well enough alone until the shape is 100% final :cool:

Made a new head to the early Leda plans. Still needs the head seats and protective rail.





Still kicking myself for starting with the Unicorn's plans, had a completely different bow profile, not to mention the problems getting the rear of the hull to line up with the stern gallery... :rolleyes:
 
Rigging still could use way more work, but the hull's shaping up nicely. The proportions still look a bit off as far as individual spars are concerned. CA might be able to help you with that stuff, since I'm very, very busy for the next few weeks.
 
Post Captain,
could you explain more? the sparplan I gave alex appears accurate to me. The dimensions of the rig are very British. In a few weeks time I can compare the dimensions to the standard dimensions for British 38 gun frigates.

Alex,
Makes sense about the UVs! The new head looks great! :)
 
Post Captain said:
Rigging still could use way more work, but the hull's shaping up nicely. The proportions still look a bit off as far as individual spars are concerned. CA might be able to help you with that stuff, since I'm very, very busy for the next few weeks.
Click to expand...
Did you see this picture, or are the spar lengths still incorrect here?



My initial error was including the studding sail booms into the spar dimensions, this is now corrected, and to me the spars appear accurate to the plan.
 
Quick question, how are faces handled?

Are double sided faces supported? If yes, how important is it to have all faces correctly orientated?
 
Double sided faces are not supported, it is very important that you have no double-sided faces! And yes, all faces must be correctly orientated.
 
Right, thanks :)

Sketchup automatically shows back and front faces, I presume Maya has a way to delete these back faces?
 
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