Intro Ah, this brings back those memories. I remember watching Transformers on TV when I was a kid. It's a car! it's a van! No! it's Hubcap! Well, I went looking all over the net for a pic of the original Hubcap, but alas, to no avail. Probably because he states it's a version of Cliffjumper but with a different head. So now all you Transformers fans (and maybe a few cults here and there) can play a transformer in Quake 2. This model was made for the Quake 2 TC, Transformers Quake, so fans and cults if you don't know about that go there too (also in related links section) Although I couldn't find any hint of him on the site, that's what the author said, so I don't doubt him. This model was originally a test player model for the Transformers TC, but a good one at that! He says they didn't really think about the taunts or anything, being a test model, but still, it turned out just fine. Well, on other issues, I guess it's not the most original idea, though, considering there's been multiple Transformers in Quake 2 before. But, originality doesn't count. Here at the Q2pmp, we just decided, "Screw originality! Get to the damn models, will ya?" :) Which was a good decision, really... oh, wait, I'm droning off again. Let's get to the point. Let's whip out our... uh... reviewing belts and get started, shall we? The Model
Hubcap is a thoroughly enjoyable model in numerous ways. He's built perfectly... what I mean by this is the author built him in a way where he can actually transform, adding to the animation effects. I do, however, have some problems of my own with how blocky it is. I guess robots are blocky, not being curved like humans and all, so this really doesn't take down on the score. On the upside of things, I can see the author (wondering why I never say his name? It's too long!) spent time going through his model and getting rid of wasted polygons, especially in the wheels on the shoulders and arms. This thorough poly-cutting job lead the poly count down to 611. One problem I saw was the waist... square. Perfectly square. This lead to the disabling of ANY torso twisting whatsoever. There was also a bit of polygonal interference in the legs, but that's hard not to do with a robot. The head is one of the best parts of the model, saying so because it's shaped perfectly like a Transformers head (I've seen my share of those), having the big ear slabs, the flat face, and the helmet. One last thing to say: the fingers could have been made separately, allowing finger animation, like what you see in the Han Solo model. Instead the hands are balled together, causing that sticky-finger... uh... bally look. Four stars. The Animations
The animations being created in Character Studio are exceptionally good. The animations are smooth, with not even a hint of "jumpy" problems. The stand, especially, making HubCap bob up and down while looking back and forth. However, some of the look a bit silly. Take the run, for example. His torso is back in one frame, then the next violently flies forward. The jump looks a bit strange, as well, and the point looks as if he's dancing from the side. Plus I don't seem to understand why Hubcap hovers above the ground for the wave animation. Another flaw I saw is when he crouching he really doesn't get much shorter, only about a head's length shorter. The flipoff was good. Hubcap completely transforms into car form, which was very interesting at that. The death animations were among my favorite, having certain parts of HubCap fall off and bounce around on the floor. Well, most of these flaws are minor ones, and don't really affect the score much, so I'll give the animations four stars for being well thought up and smooth.
The skins are another good part of the model. They add shading but not too much to keep the cartoon look inside. They are 256x256, just how they are supposed to be, with almost NO wasted space! The fact that there are six skins ups the score as well, even one for the green CTF team. The best skin, or the one I was most fond of, at least, was EvilBastard's creation, the chrome evil-like skin. The CTF skins contained inside jokes, which I myself didn't understand ;) They say things like "3t CTF CW" on them, which I don't know what the hell that is supposed to be, so I'll leave that for those whom understand. There was something else I didn't quite comprehend, though - there is a skin entitled "dead" that is a black and white version of the normal HubCap skin. Maybe this was trying to have a chrome look, I don't know. Overall they were all good skins, with good design and layout. These skins deserve five stars.
[r13 note: the CTF skins have the names of the two biggest models sites, the Bodyshop and the Q2pmp, written on them. Its not really a deep joke or anything, but it's just ole Phunky having a bit o fun. ]
There is no current sound pak for HubCap. Visible Weapons Support There is VWEP support for HubCap, even for the weapons from the Chaos DM mod! Some of the weapons are even re-designed, with new models, skins, etc. Pack Inclusion What? Is that a joke? Of course, HubCap will be included in the models pak.
review by BloodRedJack
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