Intro The #6 Model is a Custom PPM made for an individual named Race Lancaster. Now anyone with a name like Race has got to be cool. However, rarely have I known of Q2 players sufficiently awe inspiring to make Model authors provide a model just for them? Mr. Lancaster must be a fearsome talent indeed. Continuing the cartoon references, the model made for him is an amalgamation of a couple of mid eighties Saturday morning offerings, Apparently, according to the rather epic length readme file, the character started life as a Snork (from a saccharine Hanna Barbera series by the same name), cyborged and mutated by the Decepticons as yet another transforming villain to aid in their conquest. The Decepticons, and the design cues of the metallic parts of #6 follow the themes of another 80's offering, The Transformers (more than meets the Eye.) So with that as sufficient background, let's take a closer look at the little specimen. The Model
The model weighs in at slightly porky 701 polys but under the good taste limit of 800 by 99 triangles. The mesh density was very even, showing a lot of good design techniques. The model shows it's "toony" roots in not having a complex silhouette, or a lot of extraneous detail what is there is all used and it shows well the modelers intent. Joints are articulated and don't bunch up, showing a good amount of extra faces at the joints. The lower legs and feet, as well as the hand show detail that would otherwise leave this model quite "blocky". The weapon is dull, but quite serviceable. It's a good mesh and rates a solid four stars. The Animations
The Animations were a mixed bag. On the whole they were fluid and moved from key pose to key pose without any spastic tics or jumps. In detail, however some flaws show themselves.
The 'Standing idle' looks like the animator made a calculation error. Instead of building the cycle, one frame longer than he needed, putting a copy of the first pose into it, and then exporting all but the last into the ASC, It looks like he made the fist and last identical, which gives the model a noticeable 'hiccup' at the endpoints of the cycle. All the animation ends and for a 10th of a second, the model freezes in place, a minor, but not unnoticed error. Still, one should not be idle very often in Quake2. On the plus side, there is good secondary motion on the snorkels at the top of his head.
The run was competent, though a little stiff. But given that he is a cyborg this is excusable, The secondary motion of the snorkels looks to be delayed on frame to long, and they bob exactly out of phase with the run step. This could be a matter of taste, but the fact that he has such a 'light run' makes the bobbing of his snorkels look a little too delayed.
The Attack looks odd, and he appears to be firing about 30 degrees to the left of his front facing, and he spends one frame recoiling, and the rest fiddling with the (immobile) slide of his weapon. Also the Pistol grip of his weapon passes through the back of his hand at a couple of points, usually minor, but if a black Pistol grip passes through a Yellow glove, it becomes a distraction. Not good.
His pain animations are all decent, and serviceable, looking alternately like he was slapped, punched in the head, and hit in the back of the neck.
The Jump shows good ballistics, but poor 'squash and stretch. The model recovers too quickly from the jump landing, A little more compression would sell the move better, and would serve better the double duty (jumping and falling) this maneuver is used for in the game.
The flip was amusing as it was the 'crane move' straight out of Karate Kid.
The salute was Crisp and Clean (BUT LEFT HANDED! SALUTES IN THE MILITARY ARE GIVEN WITH THE RIGHT HAND!) ID precedence prevents me from docking this, but it is a good move.
Like most of the Transformer, and Macross based PPMs. The Taunt frames are used in a transformation, and since this model is part Decepticon, he transforms into a cute little Mini Bike. Nicely done, but why is only his back wheel rotating?
The Waves is weak, Not bad, it's just that it doesn't 'read' over a long distance. Waves are used in team play to inform teammates that the area the character is observing is clear and for them to move up.
The Point looks like more of a threat, than for an indication to look in a particular direction. For #6, it's very much in character.
The crouch has a very nice edgy and paranoid quality to the movement and the stance. But the Crouch Walk is a disaster in that his posture looks like he is scooting himself forward in an invisible office chair. His center of mass is nowhere near his feet when he moves forwards. Not good, The rest of the crouch animations are acceptable.
The death animations are very good, and the bisection and final stagger of the disembodied legs was a nice touch.
In Conclusion, the animation was competent, but the lacked a certain spark and had a couple of errors that lead me to give it only three stars.
The skins are a perfect example of how to do things right. From the four times re-use of the Boot segment of the map, to the four times use of the Tire texture on his shoulder, to the undistorted proportions of the face, to the little but quite legible Decepticon logo on his back, show a lot of thought and planning in the arrangement of the skin. Looking at the skin it would be clear to anyone with Paintshop Pro, not only how to skin this, but a decent idea of what it would look like afterwards as there is a minimum of distortion in it. The work itself by Skin Author (and Q2pmp regular) shows quite a lot of skill, in that at no time does the skin show it's 256 color limitations. The colors are as they should be. There are 3 skins, One of an angry, pallid, corpselike cyborg, Snork, the second of a costume of the character, showing a zipper up the back, and a final 'G-rated' skin, just showing a more normal 'California Navel Orange' colored Snork in cyborg gear. All show proper design cues from the transformers as well, looking proper, without the deadly flatness of color that most cartoon derived skins on Q2 models. Toons may not be to everyone's taste, but just on the quality of workmanship, these deserve 5 stars. Sounds
The sounds are competent, clear and original, and true to the toony origin of the Snorks, however there is an unfortunate overuse of the sounds. The vocal talent should have stretched themselves more in producing these, mercifully, they are short. Three stars and a half. Visible Weapons Support None, but he readme state it as "none (yet) so there may be Vwep in this model's future. Pack Inclusion Nothing in this model raises any issues against its eligibility. Even if it is a custom model for one player, It should be in the pack if that player wishes to visit strange servers in far off lands. It should be in.
review by Scott Ruggels
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