Intro
Yes, folks! It's the character that made Harrison Ford's career! Dan Bickell has introduced yet another Star Wars character to Quake II.
Note: This picture (among others in this review) is courtesy of Dan Bickell
Originality Original? Well, not much, because he did the same thing with Boba Fett, including the different skins for the three Star Wars movies. (This is exactly why I don't give a rating for originality. It's too subjective and has little baring on the quality of the model being reviewed.) The Model
The Blastech DL-44 model is nearly flawless. The only problem is a slight skinning snafu on the tip of the gun that you can only see at Zoom 5 in SkinView. (Oops! I probably should have saved that for the skin section.)
The main model is not quite so perfect. I do like Han's hands, and they work wonders for the realism of the model, but I can't help but wonder if some of those polys could have been put to better use on the legs and head, which are way to angular. Also, the shoulders have obvious problems where they meet the torso. The base model just barely makes four stars.
The Animations
The animations are very good. I especially like the way Dan used gestures with Han's highly detailed hands. It truly enhances the model. The taunts are all good, and the animation is fluid. I noticed a few minor problems, though. In the stand animation, the neck has a rubbery stretch to the right. Also, I don't care for the run animation. (Yes, I know Harrison Ford ran like that in the movie. It still looks funny.) Lastly, the gun slightly pokes through the holster in a frame or two of the "taunt" animation.
The skins are all very good. They're the ideal sizes and there's very little wasted skin. It's surely a tribute to fine skinning. So what's the problem? Dan Bickell forgot to make sure that the edges of the skin mapping didn't cross over to the skin's black background, so there are little black triangles lining the edges of parts of the model. My guess is that he used NST to generate an outlined skin, then used that skin as the basis for his other skins, not realizing that NST doesn't draw these lines at the very edge of the polygons, but rather just draws approximate lines based purely on the skin coordinates. This edge problem also exists in NST's SkinFX features. Still, Dan should have known better and checked his model in SkinView. Problems like these are often easier to see in Quake II's OpenGL mode.
No sounds came with this model. I suppose some could be sampled from the movies, though. Anyone want to give it a try? Visible Weapons Support
Dan says, "No. Han has his custom Blastech DL-44, and nothing else will fit in the holster." I have to agree with him. I suppose the animations could be changed in the Tris.MD2 to avoid this, but in my opinion it's not worth the effort. Besides, it would spoil the style of the model.
Pack Inclusion
Han Solo's height is nearly identical to the id male model, and he seems to fit all pack requirements. He's definitely in the next pack.
review by Space Dog
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