Hi all! (maybe sorry for my bad english) i am new here and need some advices!
here are my model of new medigun - The Mangrinder.
But i have no idea how to create and add texture to my model and compile all this stuffs into one MDL model!
It's hard considering everything has been done or created, so its a bit tough coming up with something that someone else has not seen done before so :P. But I will not give up ! @ant helm looks great, the top part reminds me of rocketeer as well :O love your texturing.
PSS @roninsmastermix what is a easy way to do electrical wires, like the ones you've done for your mech arm, was it just created from a cylinder and edge extrusion then bending verts, or did you create a spline and make it renderable ?
PSS***
Whipped up something quick, will do 2 more helm styles to try to get the right style for him, let me know what you guys think. Was thinking about adding some connecting tubes from his ears to the jetpack.
I made the wires with extruding verts. I know it's easier with spine wiring but mine had to go through a hole on the elbow so it was easier with just extruding the wire. I suggest spine guiding it.
I'm not going to lie, I don't like the concept of that jetpack for TF2, I don't see how it could fit in visually or into gameplay. It's a nice model though :P
I love that spy outfit though, I'm not a fan of the others produced after the rogue was released because people are clearly just jumping on the bandwagon but that one fits in perfectly as well as being modeled nicely <33
I've done a little work to the thermos but I'd like to get some crits on the texture I did for that beta model.
I'm a complete nub in photoshop, started in it 6 months ago, before that I was using the gimp , not sure how I'm doing here, I think TF2 is a relatively easy thing to make basic textures for like I am so I guess I'm lucky in that sense and to be honest this is one of my favourite textures I've done for a model but I just want opinions before I move on with the model and remap then texture it
Well gameplay it could fit in pretty decently let me explain :
As a soldier you have no problem rocket boosting, even shoes to prevent damage from the blast, so to further extend that type of play style, I came up with the of a short burst /hover when your falling down so you can slow your decent and have a tad bit more control mid air/coming down. I'm designing two different themes of gameplay, rocket boosting soldier and direct hit soldiers that rely on aim then splash damage.
I didn't post it because it was posted a few pages back but yeah, it's easier this way
I'm just smoothing out and finishing the model now, removing sharp edges and at some point, detaching the top and bottom so I can model how they connect, the inside and a few laughable animations
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Something I'll say in reguards to a post a few pages back, one of you said it looked a bit bland and gave an example of a rocket attachment for super fast drinking and make it stand out. I get where you're coming from but what a lot of people don't realise is that our models are going into an already "complete" working game, our stuff needs to fit seamlessly in and a lot of the community models simply don't because the authors wanted them to stand out.
I think that our models fitting in seamlessly is more important than people noticing our stuff from the other side of the map
I'm the one that said that and while I agree with your statement, your flask is just...a flask. It needs something more! Anyway get it in-game so we can see some phong on it.
This was posted way back and submitted then , never got accepted...
On a similar note, my first mecury helmet didnt get accepted because it was too similar to a certain golden age speedy dc character's helmet.
Well that's lame. I mean, it's a traditional Mercury helmet, they're all gonna look the same one way or another.
I'm not going to lie, I don't like the concept of that jetpack for TF2, I don't see how it could fit in visually or into gameplay. It's a nice model though :P
I was toying with the idea myself recently. Id suggest the way to use it would be a non damaging rocket jump. Allowing for a second blast in the players desired direction and maybe damage for plowing into someone could make it more useful.
So, I'm super late to the party on TF2 items, but I thought I would give it a shot. Going to do a riot gear set for the demo man.
Here's the first item (grenade launcher pistol):
I still need to add screws, and make some misc. adjustments based on feedback before I UV it. C&C plz
I really like this, but to fit TF2 style you might want to exaggerate some areas/skew. Also, you want to make sure it fits with his animations (unless you are making your own)
I can't wait to see what else you come up with, keep it up.
@Ron S
I submitted this 6-9 months ago. Never heard anything. I know it's close to the rocketeer but I also made some big changes. Still looking forward to the feedback system they said they were working on.
I'd like to know if they are worried about copywrite. if they don't like the model/tex. if there's an issue with not seeing his face...
As far as copy write issues there are hats like Dappers (obvious Dr. Suess hat, etc..), Not seeing face... most hats don't block face entirely but few do...
.ps, there IS an extra zero in the polycount on that image
Baddcog right now there are WAY to many tris in that hat, the general guidslines as leilei stated are 800 tris though you could push over that(but by not too much).
Baddcog right now there are WAY to many tris in that hat, the general guidslines as leilei stated are 800 tris though you could push over that(but by not too much).
arghh, I even wrote in that post it was a typo... I'd really expect people around here to be able to look at the wires and see that it is not 15,000 tris anyway.
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Yeah, I know 'I hear this every time i post. But here I go again.
First, the 800 rule is as old as the 'art style' rule. Both have been broken consistantly since about the time hats have come out. Most hats are well over 800, some are even up to 5,000. So 1500 really isn't that high.
Second, the reason I did that many is for shading. With the shiny metal/cubemaps in game it really does look much better. having those extra verts. It was not done for no reason, it was very purposeful.
I honestly think the tri count (the actual count 1560) is NOT the reason it hasn't been used. As stated above most hats are at least that many, some quite a bit more.
If I cut tris I lose shading/reflective quality and roundness of the helm. if I only cut tris from the mouth area I would get shading weirdness instead of smooth shading, and would only shave maybe 40 tris from that area. Worth it for visual quality loss, not imo.
Also pretty sure I used the same size tex as other hats. Either way Valve got the psd, tga, vmf, vmt... They could easily resize if they saw fit and lose probably almost no visual quality.
ok guys, I am working with my first hat for the pyro so I am a noob in this, since this is the TF2 section i din't knew where else to post it so I am posting my question here.
I am modeling my hat in Autodesk Maya 2012, and I want to know if I can use the Combine tool to join my diferent meshes in just "one" mesh and then export it to TF2 (combine tool just join the meshes but not the geometry) or I have to use Boolean Union to join all the geometry? thx a lot
Second, the reason I did that many is for shading. With the shiny metal/cubemaps in game it really does look much better. having those extra verts. It was not done for no reason, it was very purposeful.
1.5k triangles is reasonable but you can cut that down to ~1000 easily without sacrificing in-game quality that much. the fingers of the characters are extruded rectangles, but they look round enough (from distance)due to being one smoothing group and the lovely phong material shader.
ok guys, I am working with my first hat for the pyro so I am a noob in this, since this is the TF2 section i din't knew where else to post it so I am posting my question here.
I am modeling my hat in Autodesk Maya 2012, and I want to know if I can use the Combine tool to join my diferent meshes in just "one" mesh and then export it to TF2 (combine tool just join the meshes but not the geometry) or I have to use Boolean Union to join all the geometry? thx a lot
Yes you can use combine as long as its 1 object it will work, pralls exporter on the other hand is hit or miss.
Well, a normal could work for the ribs, though not as well imo. I think they are large enough to be seen in game. But I don't think it would help for the vert lighting at all, no more than just smoothing groups.
And the Tf2 icon bevels are just painted. so no need for one there.
The lens holes, possibly could look pretty good with normals. Still normal maps themselves are pretty rare on models. The new statue head melee has them, as do a few other times.
But is it worth it? Hammer can handle polys pretty good, and sure more equals less performance, but an extra layer in the shader with a normal map is also going to have a performance hit.
I just don't know if I see having a normal be beneficial enough to replace the polys with. But I do know that if a normal was used it would definitely require the higher res tex (nothing looks crappy like a low res normal map).
ok guys, I am working with my first hat for the pyro so I am a noob in this, since this is the TF2 section i din't knew where else to post it so I am posting my question here.
I am modeling my hat in Autodesk Maya 2012, and I want to know if I can use the Combine tool to join my diferent meshes in just "one" mesh and then export it to TF2 (combine tool just join the meshes but not the geometry) or I have to use Boolean Union to join all the geometry? thx a lot
I don't use Maya, but I'm sure it's just like attaching in Max. it is fine to have multiple mesh parts attached together (see the wings on my helmet above). They clip through the main mesh some and are just clones and attached.
Booleen would add a lot more polys and make it messier. better to float that geometry and attach/combine into one mesh.
I would say don't normal map it and I doubt you will as it's a few months old and you were just using it as an example. Valve have been actively trying to remove normal maps from items where they barely contribute and this seems like a good example of that. They removed the custom normal maps on a few of their own items back in November (Gunslinger, Frontier Justice) and have used the flat normal on a few hat submissions that had been submitted with a custom normal map.
but an extra layer in the shader with a normal map is also going to have a performance hit.
Not really. TF2 is *COVERED* in normal mapping, a normal map on a hat isn't going to send FPS to hell. Why Valve is removing normal maps now is beyond me... maybe for space in the cache files to fit within 4gb fat32 file limits?
Not really. TF2 is *COVERED* in normal mapping, a normal map on a hat isn't going to send FPS to hell. Why Valve is removing normal maps now is beyond me... maybe for space in the cache files to fit within 4gb fat32 file limits?
Hat and Weapon wise most items use the effects/flat_normal texture though to save on texture memory. Barely any hats/items use their own normal maps.
can I use normal maps for TF2?, I've seen a lot of hats that I am pretty sure are over 800 polygons cuz they are very spherical and with some detail, how else would I achieve something like that with 800 polygons? o.O well growing up the polycount but I am not sure if they accept hats over 800 polys?
can I use normal maps for TF2?, I've seen a lot of hats that I am pretty sure are over 800 polygons cuz they are very spherical and with some detail, how else would I achieve something like that with 800 polygons? o.O well growing up the polycount but I am not sure if they accept hats over 800 polys?
Besides that, I had a question that seemed to be skimmed by in the last page. Is there any particular reason not to use floating geometry? Both in TF2 models, or in general? I've seen a lot of effort and extra verts/polys used in making certain assets only one mesh - but I can't seem to think of a very good reason not to use floating geometry on anything that isn't rigged.
Replies
here are my model of new medigun - The Mangrinder.
But i have no idea how to create and add texture to my model and compile all this stuffs into one MDL model!
Hell yes!
[ame]
I love that spy outfit though, I'm not a fan of the others produced after the rogue was released because people are clearly just jumping on the bandwagon but that one fits in perfectly as well as being modeled nicely <33
I've done a little work to the thermos but I'd like to get some crits on the texture I did for that beta model.
I'm a complete nub in photoshop, started in it 6 months ago, before that I was using the gimp
As a soldier you have no problem rocket boosting, even shoes to prevent damage from the blast, so to further extend that type of play style, I came up with the of a short burst /hover when your falling down so you can slow your decent and have a tad bit more control mid air/coming down. I'm designing two different themes of gameplay, rocket boosting soldier and direct hit soldiers that rely on aim then splash damage.
I didn't post it because it was posted a few pages back but yeah, it's easier this way
I'm just smoothing out and finishing the model now, removing sharp edges and at some point, detaching the top and bottom so I can model how they connect, the inside and a few laughable animations
---
Something I'll say in reguards to a post a few pages back, one of you said it looked a bit bland and gave an example of a rocket attachment for super fast drinking and make it stand out. I get where you're coming from but what a lot of people don't realise is that our models are going into an already "complete" working game, our stuff needs to fit seamlessly in and a lot of the community models simply don't because the authors wanted them to stand out.
I think that our models fitting in seamlessly is more important than people noticing our stuff from the other side of the map
Head to this thread if you're interested:
http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1387931#post1387931
Well that's lame. I mean, it's a traditional Mercury helmet, they're all gonna look the same one way or another.
I really like this, but to fit TF2 style you might want to exaggerate some areas/skew. Also, you want to make sure it fits with his animations (unless you are making your own)
I can't wait to see what else you come up with, keep it up.
I think the beveled edges are way too small and will almost get lost once textured.
Other than that, the rails on the top and bottom seem out of place in Team Fortress 2's time and art style.
I submitted this 6-9 months ago. Never heard anything. I know it's close to the rocketeer but I also made some big changes. Still looking forward to the feedback system they said they were working on.
I'd like to know if they are worried about copywrite. if they don't like the model/tex. if there's an issue with not seeing his face...
As far as copy write issues there are hats like Dappers (obvious Dr. Suess hat, etc..), Not seeing face... most hats don't block face entirely but few do...
.ps, there IS an extra zero in the polycount on that image
Will the upper lip clip?
you really overdid them, it's unoptimized as hell (no wonder). You have loads of edges that define nothing (the mouth area).
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Yeah, I know 'I hear this every time i post. But here I go again.
First, the 800 rule is as old as the 'art style' rule. Both have been broken consistantly since about the time hats have come out. Most hats are well over 800, some are even up to 5,000. So 1500 really isn't that high.
Second, the reason I did that many is for shading. With the shiny metal/cubemaps in game it really does look much better. having those extra verts. It was not done for no reason, it was very purposeful.
I honestly think the tri count (the actual count 1560) is NOT the reason it hasn't been used. As stated above most hats are at least that many, some quite a bit more.
If I cut tris I lose shading/reflective quality and roundness of the helm. if I only cut tris from the mouth area I would get shading weirdness instead of smooth shading, and would only shave maybe 40 tris from that area. Worth it for visual quality loss, not imo.
Also pretty sure I used the same size tex as other hats. Either way Valve got the psd, tga, vmf, vmt... They could easily resize if they saw fit and lose probably almost no visual quality.
I am modeling my hat in Autodesk Maya 2012, and I want to know if I can use the Combine tool to join my diferent meshes in just "one" mesh and then export it to TF2 (combine tool just join the meshes but not the geometry) or I have to use Boolean Union to join all the geometry? thx a lot
Use a normal map
Might work on textures a bit and the AO bake on the rocket is a bit wierd atm.
Yes you can use combine as long as its 1 object it will work, pralls exporter on the other hand is hit or miss.
Well, a normal could work for the ribs, though not as well imo. I think they are large enough to be seen in game. But I don't think it would help for the vert lighting at all, no more than just smoothing groups.
And the Tf2 icon bevels are just painted. so no need for one there.
The lens holes, possibly could look pretty good with normals. Still normal maps themselves are pretty rare on models. The new statue head melee has them, as do a few other times.
But is it worth it? Hammer can handle polys pretty good, and sure more equals less performance, but an extra layer in the shader with a normal map is also going to have a performance hit.
I just don't know if I see having a normal be beneficial enough to replace the polys with. But I do know that if a normal was used it would definitely require the higher res tex (nothing looks crappy like a low res normal map).
I don't use Maya, but I'm sure it's just like attaching in Max. it is fine to have multiple mesh parts attached together (see the wings on my helmet above). They clip through the main mesh some and are just clones and attached.
Booleen would add a lot more polys and make it messier. better to float that geometry and attach/combine into one mesh.
normal mapping the ears and mouth grill wouls still be a good idea.
messy cropped, enlarged, & pixilated-artefacted edit.
Not really. TF2 is *COVERED* in normal mapping, a normal map on a hat isn't going to send FPS to hell. Why Valve is removing normal maps now is beyond me... maybe for space in the cache files to fit within 4gb fat32 file limits?
Hat and Weapon wise most items use the effects/flat_normal texture though to save on texture memory. Barely any hats/items use their own normal maps.
This time I textured it myself!
Mooph ! MHMmph.
Yes you can, go for it.
Well, just compile your model over the name of another model.
Also, if you are trying just to test your items, you might want to use the item_test map (or test_item map, I forget)
Look here for ref. http://www.tf2.com/post.php?id=4850
Replaces all pyro miscs.
"I wanted orange. It gave me lemon-lime."
Nice little item there man.
Besides that, I had a question that seemed to be skimmed by in the last page. Is there any particular reason not to use floating geometry? Both in TF2 models, or in general? I've seen a lot of effort and extra verts/polys used in making certain assets only one mesh - but I can't seem to think of a very good reason not to use floating geometry on anything that isn't rigged.