TF2 - Polypack - re.wind
Class: Soldier
Theme: Viking
Reasons:
The soldier is classed as a shock-and-awe class, as shown by his shovel taunt. The history and myths surrounding the viking berserk, or berserker are that of a ferocious highly aggressive warrior that goes out into combat without any classical armour, favouring an animal skin (bear/wolf). Many methods have been argued for causing this aggressive behaviour, varying from mushroom-based potions, to alcohol spiked with a spice that caused splitting headaches the next day, to spirit possession, and other mystical explanations.
Combined, the berserker was a true shock-and-awe fighter class in its day. While he didn't have rockets & shotguns, the melee aspect of the berserker can be applied to the soldier who lacks much melee capability in most situations.
This theme is to encourage the shock-&-awe berserker soldier, going out, taking damage, entering berserk mode and cracking open skulls in a fit of rage, annoyance, and, well, awe.
Also, the soldier already has a stereotypical Viking helmet. ;-]
Items:
#1 - Shotgun replacement
Pillager's pack: Buff-banner replacement.
Contains 3 models: Blowing horn, flag, & back pack
## IMAGES ##
_______________________________
#2 - melee replacement
Lief's Chopper: Viking bearded axe
## IMAGES ##
_______________________________
#3 - Misc item
Berserker's Beard: Its a Viking beard.
## IMAGES ##
_______________________________
#4 - Rocket launcher alternative.
Siege Machine: Shoots grenades skewers on small arrows.
Doesn't need to reload, but has a longer fire delay between shots.
## IMAGES ##
______________________________
Edit: 00:29 GMT+2 june 28th
Ammo for the siege machine and the wolfskin hat are not included but probably will be submitted at a later date when i am satisfied with the hat and and the ammunition.
Theme: Viking
Reasons:
The soldier is classed as a shock-and-awe class, as shown by his shovel taunt. The history and myths surrounding the viking berserk, or berserker are that of a ferocious highly aggressive warrior that goes out into combat without any classical armour, favouring an animal skin (bear/wolf). Many methods have been argued for causing this aggressive behaviour, varying from mushroom-based potions, to alcohol spiked with a spice that caused splitting headaches the next day, to spirit possession, and other mystical explanations.
Combined, the berserker was a true shock-and-awe fighter class in its day. While he didn't have rockets & shotguns, the melee aspect of the berserker can be applied to the soldier who lacks much melee capability in most situations.
This theme is to encourage the shock-&-awe berserker soldier, going out, taking damage, entering berserk mode and cracking open skulls in a fit of rage, annoyance, and, well, awe.
Also, the soldier already has a stereotypical Viking helmet. ;-]
Items:
#1 - Shotgun replacement
Pillager's pack: Buff-banner replacement.
Contains 3 models: Blowing horn, flag, & back pack
## IMAGES ##
_______________________________
#2 - melee replacement
Lief's Chopper: Viking bearded axe
## IMAGES ##
_______________________________
#3 - Misc item
Berserker's Beard: Its a Viking beard.
## IMAGES ##
_______________________________
#4 - Rocket launcher alternative.
Siege Machine: Shoots grenades skewers on small arrows.
Doesn't need to reload, but has a longer fire delay between shots.
## IMAGES ##
______________________________
Edit: 00:29 GMT+2 june 28th
Ammo for the siege machine and the wolfskin hat are not included but probably will be submitted at a later date when i am satisfied with the hat and and the ammunition.
Replies
First version of drinking horn. proper-self-made texture this time.
axe+horn alone on the ground.
axe + horn + glitchty tyrant helmet
If the viking drinking horn is going to simulate something like that, i thought, it would need something comparable. First idea was to create a new backpack, but as the images [don't?] show, it doesn't look that different from the normal one.
So...Thinking about typical viking equipment...round viking shields. Quick test renders.
It has potential, but it looks like a razorback like that, and i won't be surprised if many people expect it to work in a similar way. However, as the "backpack" equivalent for the drinking horn, it definitely stands out enough to not require a 3rd model for when berserk mode is active.
Extrapolating even further, when berserker mode IS active, the shield could be moved to the left hand as a visual representation of the soldier taking 25-50% less damage...
Fine, more progress!
more tf2-esque texture, blood stains, and some wip blood stains on the drinking horn.
I assume it's wood, right?
Your other items should also look a bit more worn.
If they're from the age of Vikings, they'd be antiques.
I don't really like the bloodstains though, and the textures would benefit from a more worn look.
And does the shield clip with the rocket launcher when the soldier's holding it? It looks like it would, so maybe make the shield smaller?
Really liking the horn, i like the axe too, it looks a bit mystical with the patterns though, great stuff anyway
@simski: Yeah, needs more signs of age. first attempt, needs to be TF2-ifized though. Using low-resolution thumbnails from cgtextures, don't need 1200x2000 for a 512 texture that a dozen filters will eventually destroy.
@ large shield: Yeah, agree. keep forgetting the soldier has other weapons...:3 carging a large chunk sort of works, yes. also made it a bit more smaller, but i don't want to get anywhere near to the targe, in terms of size.
Tempted to go with an oxidized copper colour for the twisted strap around the handle as the axe already contains too many browns. Probably needs a few more cuts and other geometry cut out to give e better indication of age.
I know you don't want it to be as small as the Targe, but currently I feel it's too big to replace the backpack :O
The small size of the Targe is after all a very humorous element.
I like what you have so far, re.wind, I'd love to use these in-game.
As for the shield, typical round shields could cover an entire viking's body, but that's obviously too big, and unfit for tf2. Making the shield too small makes it difficult to see from the front. Then again, the buff banner isn't exactly highly visible to enemies either, so it has a certain amount of surprise element to it --for the enemies. A small shield could hence work.
However, once deployed, the buff banner does have a big flag on the soldier and those bright yellow particle effects. This part will need some ideas.
1) hold and keep the drinking horn in the left hand untill berserk expires
2) move shield to left hand until berserk expires, as a visual representation of the decrease in damage taken, and speed increase.
3) ??????????
Anyway....pics. Yes i'm a render whore. :P
If he's going for historic accuracy, he kind of threw that concept out of the window when he decided to base his model on the Tyrant's Helmet.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viking#Horned_helmets
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horned_helmet#Viking_Age_misconception
What you think of the Targe's size is a matter of opinion, and many people such as myself find it to fit the TF2 universe better by being humorously small.
in my opinion these are the best items!!
valve could revive the competition betwin scottish demoman and "celtic" soldier
tweaked horn texture + ao
still not pleased with the axe's texture. Too much rust? more orange tones?
removed the twisting metal bit, didn't look right. The gibberish text on the side is younger futhark, language of the vikings. may convert it into mesh data instead.
Well, everyone and their baby sister knows that the horned helmets are a myth, but it's still an icon and even the old Hollywood-style horned Vikings had reasonably accurate shield sizes. It's not like there's a common misconception or myth as a base for making a tiny Viking shield. There wouldn't be any sort of base behind it to even make a joke, like with the horned Helmet.
Like you said, the appearance of it is a matter of opinion, and in my opinion, re.wind shouldn't change course and try to appeal to the "lol it's so randomly small and silly XD" demographic of the contest judges. If he were making a pack based on Gordan Freeman, what reason would there be to making his crowbar unproportionally large? Or his glasses the wrong color? Or giving him the wrong haircut? The appeal is supposed to be that it's a Soldier as Gordan Freeman and not that he did Gordan in some whacky way.
The Targe really isn't so far off from realism, it's just that a small shield doesn't appeal to me and it looks weak. I think that re.wind's Viking shield looks good at a large size, (like how he did it in his 6th image post) it is appealing and looks powerful. The fact that it's simi-accurate to history adds to the appeal.
re.wind: I think the new texture looks fantastic, however, I still think that the old size looked better. It made the Soldier look a bit more "tough." Keep it up, and keep posting more renders please! I'm hoping your pack will make it.
Edit: As for the axe, maybe try some inlaid patterns again, but like how they did the Spy's Ambassador. Probably hard to do and I have no clue on how to do it, but I think that would be the best look personally.
You seem to think I only want the shield to be small because it would be "funny".
This is not true.
I feel that a large shield covers too much of the Soldier and generally looks out of place in TF2.
The Targe fits in because it doesn't ruin his silhouette, yet it's still a subtle indicator to his distinct Charge attack.
However this shield is too big, it makes Soldier less interesting to look at, it's a lot bigger than the backpack it's replacing, and it's not even trying to be subtle.
The Targe being "funny" is merely a nice bonus, and the whole point of it being funny is how you would expect a tiny shield not to be as resistant as Demoman's Targe.
Also, TF2 really don't need that much historic accuracy.
The game is not at all very realistic, you should simply feel that it would make sense in the comical world it is.
The shield i have now is fine, not too big, not too small.
Also, i have this weird impression that vikings ate onions. lots of 'em, which made me think of an onion grenade (Jarate+buffbanner). they ate onions, yes, but thats about it. it's not particularly in the [stereotypical] spirit of vikings. It does sound funny, though.
As a Scandinavian person with at least some knowledge of our historical past, all I can say is... what :S
I'm liking the leather strap on the horn though.
Instead, soldier now has a wip twin tail beard. 512^2 temp texture because i'm lazy, and it's been uvmapped as an L...
470tris, about 5/8ths of the limit i'd say. I could add some sideburns i guess...and some ornaments at the beard tips.
Now to learn how to add jigglebones...;)
p.s.: Wolf hat.
But i wonder if hiding the mouth movement with beard will look good... >_>
I guess i could add a manly moustache to that beard...
The wolf hat is 20 triangles under 800, and almost always lack a lower jaw. Teeth will be added, along with other tweaks and changes. Tempted to place two X's for eyes, freeing up many triangles and giving it a silly nature. Vicious -yes, but still has to be in tf2's style.
New beard with moustache with ao, improved wolf hat with ao.
Hat = 442 triangles
beard = 478 triangles
like all hats from the soldier
about the beard...i don't like it but new axe texture is much,much better ^^
Also, thinking about some alternative to the gunboats and rocketlauncher, just to get a more complete class pack.
Gunboats would be some heavy leather/wood near steam-punk design. not viking but Mann Co. decided to help with the soldier's peculiar collection of fake viking items.
rocket launcher and shotgun though... doesn't work at all i'm afraid.
http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100211032514/leagueoflegends/images/thumb/5/5b/Udyr_OriginalSkin.jpg/1000px-Udyr_OriginalSkin.jpg