X-Com Rifle

seir

Hi, few weeks ago in my free time I've started modeling an X-Com rifle model in high poly. As you remember, UFO1 was and old game so there's no proper, hi-res references. Most of the weapon's details are taken from reference pics of modern weapons. Only the main shape (but a bit modified to be more user-friendly) is taken from X-Com:



Seriously

Here's a progress so far:



the weapon on the "reference" had weird proportions. I've modified them a bit to make it more like AK47 but still with fat and heavy style.

I see that the single/auto shot "thing" is in a wrong place. Will move it later.

seir

Litte update:
- added laser rail (way to short but I don't want to cut the barrel cover
- added laser aim (WIP)
- fixed the fire type switch
- added that thing that throws away a shell-case

seir

Update:




Aim stuff is ready, new barrel, added X-COM text on the side plus some details.
Now it's time to model trigger, trigger guard, stock and the grip.

ivanzu

The red dot sight is way to small when compared with the rest of the rifle.

AlexCatMasterSupreme

Yeah the sizes are way off man.

Nistrum

Yeh rds is way too small, however i love the idea you have for incorporationg the stupidy large barrel from the origional lol nice fix lol. And i feel the text would be better added with the nvidia filter later tbh

SaferDan

I assume this is the high poly? Those edges seem super tight! Though it could be your render setup.

seir

Hi guys, thanks for feedback!

@ivanzu, Nistrum, Alex: Red dot stuff needs to be way bigger. Will do that. Are there any other scale issues? I want to move magazine deepter into the body. The text will be removed, adding it later on 2D texture will make better effect. Actually it should be sunken.

I've heavly modified the proportions of original gun because it was very cartoon-ish. It's hard to get proper sizes from a bit of pixels I used AK47 as a background blueprint.

I will made comparison with different rifles. Will work on the proportions Any ideas what rifles would be good for reference?

@SaferDan: Yep, it's hipoly, is that something wrong with edges?

Farfarer

I believe picatinny rails (think that's the name) are of standardised dimensions across all weaponry (21.2mm across - a little less than an inch), so that things that attach to them can easily be mounted elsewhere (see: http://photos.imageevent.com/smglee/cltactical/huge/NATO-RAIL-Feb-08.jpg ).

Currently the scale of yours makes the weapon huge in comparison. About 3-4 inches thick, 8-9 inches tall and the handle being larger than most people's hands...

SaferDan

Yeah they are really tight! Racer445 demonstrates it best! You just need to bring those control loops back a bit!

Nistrum

thats an awesome image. stolen for my ref file lol

seir

@SaferDan: oh, I see now! Thanks!

BTW I'll post an update in next 2 weeks, now I'm ultra busy

seir

I'm back after... more than year?! Finally I've got myself into finishing the HP version, and I'm planning an LP bake. I've fixed the proportions as you guys mentioned. I've left some edges really tight, it's hard right now to fix that and I'll keep it in mind when making new model. This one will be fixed on normal map with photoshop. So... the screen:

seir

Update: fixed some proportions and red dot sign position, the RDS rail is smaller (just like in modern arms), holder is much smaller, trigger added, some minor fixes.

Stormfreek

Hey man are you modelling from reference by any chance? Would it be possible to see the reference?

I hate to be that guy but your edges are really sharp. It may be a combination of your edge loops being too close to the edge you are hardening, and your render set up. I think this would be a good move to get better baking results!

Mathis

Weapon itself looking good, but in my opinion there are still some problems with the proportion.

The Holo sight still seems a little small, same with the shoulder rest. Just made a little comparison with your gun (the red one) and a scar (grey).

seir

Stormfreek: Yep, I know the edge problem and will try to fix them but there are places that will take few hours fix that. I'm a bit hurry so I'll try to fix it in Photoshop. The "biggest" reference for me is the gun form the original game but I'm taking weapons parts from different guns, mostly MP7, AK47 and some random rifles.

Mathis: Wow, nice. I've checked the AK47 to get the proportions and I've seen I had the barrel to short but as you mentioned the Holo and the shoulder rest is far to small. Thanks for noticing that! Will do!

seir

Finally got some time to finish the HP version. The proportions are mostly fixed, mostly... I'm not sure about the magazine and the shoulder rest, it looks a bit big on SCAR, AK47 have it a bit smaller. Here are the images:






Starting with LP and after LP, texturing. I'd like to prepare a white-gray, desert camo and classic grey versions.

seir

...and the render. Aim is bigger now:

Gazu

I like it
Cant wait to see it textured.

Kroma!

It's quite hard to read the surface to pick out any errors due to the flat looking material you are using. If you present the model with a high specular material then it will be easier to read the edge width and spot pinching that could cause you some baking problems.

Here is a nice mental ray material that can show your wireframes too.

At the very least you could go with a standard Max default material and bump up the specular to around 70 with a glossiness of about 20. Play around with the values and lighting setup and it should make your model look better and make it easier to critique.

You could then use this to make some quick screenshots if you don't want to wait for render times.

Hope this helps

seir

Kroma! wrote: »

It's quite hard to read the surface to pick out any errors due to the flat looking material you are using. If you present the model with a high specular material then it will be easier to read the edge width and spot pinching that could cause you some baking problems.

You're right, I've never liked the 3DSMax materials in any kind, I used the material you've showed but I have the same problems with brightness as guys from that thread.

Kroma!

Hmm the lightness problem seems to appear towards the end of the thread with some people putting it down to new versions of Max. I don't know what else you could try apart from revisiting the Max materials. Here is an example of mine using the setup I said in the previous comment. Also using Direct3D viewport and hardware shading, I believe.

seir

That's a viewport screenshot? Nice, I could try to work on materials but right now LP mesh is the priority.

PogoP

Yeah, turn on hardware shading, and enable Ambient Occlusion.

Also, try darkening your material diffuse colour, and bumping up the spec/glossiness a bit. And work on your lighting too, just one strong orange key light and a couple of blue-ish fill lights, and you'll get a much better render in the viewport!

Kroma!

Yeah just a screenshot, GrabViewport helps with adding some AA to make it less jaggy.

It doesn't take that long to set up; I wrote a very simple script to do it for me and put it on a button on the toolbar. Currently it only works for the model you have selected - multiple selections don't work but I will eventually improve it.

--Kroma's Specular Standard Material setup v0.1

$.wirecolor = [0,0,0]

$.material = StandardMaterial()

$.material.diffuse = [100,100,100]

$.material.specularLevel = 70

$.material.Glossiness = 20

I also have another one with just a standard diffuse so I can switch between them.

And then what PogoP said, use some orange and blue lights to get that nice contrast going.

seir

Hah, cool guys, thanks! No time for procrastination, I finally managed to make a nice material, still not perfect but really I want to finish the model and present it in engine.

New render:


Low Poly quick render:


Low Poly viewport wires:

Mephasto

Nice work!