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TF2 - Polypack - re.wind

1345
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 ##


pillagers_pack_01.jpg

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#2 - melee replacement

Lief's Chopper: Viking bearded axe


## IMAGES ##


Liefs_chopper_01.jpg

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#3 - Misc item

Berserker's Beard: Its a Viking beard.


## IMAGES ##

Beserkers_beard_01.jpg

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#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 ##

Siege_Machine_01-1.jpg


______________________________


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

  • re.wind
    wow, page 3 already. heh...

    First version of drinking horn. proper-self-made texture this time.
    soldier_axe_composite_09.jpg

    axe+horn alone on the ground.
    soldier_axe_composite_10.jpg

    axe + horn + glitchty tyrant helmet
    soldier_axe_composite_12.jpg
    soldier_axe_composite_11.jpg
  • re.wind
    The buff banner actually has 3 separate models: The trumpet, the backpack, and the flag.

    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.
    soldier_axe_composite_14.jpg
    soldier_axe_composite_13.jpg

    So...Thinking about typical viking equipment...round viking shields. Quick test renders.
    soldier_axe_composite_15.jpg
    soldier_axe_composite_16.jpg
    soldier_axe_composite_17.jpg

    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...
  • re.wind
    So what? no comments? :-[

    Fine, more progress!

    more tf2-esque texture, blood stains, and some wip blood stains on the drinking horn.
    soldier_axe_composite_18.jpg
  • Simski
    Make the shield texture more wooden :O
    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.
  • Svdl
    Great looking items! I especially love the horn.
    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?
  • BANG!
    Great items! though the shield might be too big i wonder how you would shoot a soldier wearing that shield or back stab him, you probably couldn't, that might be a problem.

    Really liking the horn, i like the axe too, it looks a bit mystical with the patterns though, great stuff anyway ;)
  • re.wind
    thanks all.

    @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.


    soldier_axe_composite_23.jpg
    soldier_axe_composite_24.jpg
    soldier_axe_composite_25.jpg
    soldier_axe_composite_26.jpg
  • Fragus
    download a more high-res texture of the wood, give it more wearer-damage and it will be great!
  • re.wind
    Done. PLus new axe texture and more rust.
    soldier_axe_composite_28.jpg
    soldier_axe_composite_27.jpg

    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.

    axe_head_02.jpg
  • CrazyChicken
    Great stuff so far I really like what you've done :D
  • Simski
    I personally still think the shield should be smaller.

    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.
  • Buck
    Yeah making it smaller would be cool, the textures still don#t seem tf2ish enough though. Nice theme btw!
  • Baby Stomper
    Simski, as far as I know, Viking round shields were about 2 1/2 feet in diameter. And personally, I think the Targe's small since looks a little dumb.

    I like what you have so far, re.wind, I'd love to use these in-game.
  • re.wind
    Yeah, the texture...I'm going to have to extract and analyse lots of tf2 textures to get a better feel for them.

    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


    soldier_axe_composite_29.jpg
    soldier_axe_composite_30.jpg
  • Buck
    Much better size now :)
  • Steve Schulze
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    Steve Schulze polycounter lvl 18
    The texture strikes me as being a little over detailed for TF2. Have a look at the wood that appears in other areas of the game.
  • Simski
    Simski, as far as I know, Viking round shields were about 2 1/2 feet in diameter. And personally, I think the Targe's small since looks a little dumb.

    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.
  • Steve Schulze
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    Steve Schulze polycounter lvl 18
    Just so we can move on.
    Wikipedia wrote:
    Targes are generally, but not always, round shields between 18 in and 21 in (45–55 cm) in diameter.
  • Rhinokey
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    Rhinokey polycounter lvl 18
    shield texture was best in post #8 you are just overdoing it a lot now,, but even in #8 the blood and metal seem off style.
  • re.wind
    So i sort of cheated and borrowed valve's wood texture. This is only temporary until i can find/make my own that is as good as theirs. Now with wip ao bake. middle metal area not finished.

    soldier_shield_ao_01.jpg
    soldier_axe_composite_31.jpg
  • Bingol
    OMG!!!SO COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!!!
    in my opinion these are the best items!!

    valve could revive the competition betwin scottish demoman and "celtic" soldier :D
  • re.wind
    New axe texture + ao
    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.

    soldier_axe_composite_32-1.jpg
  • adam
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    adam polycounter lvl 19
    Haha, looking great so far!
  • Fragus
    You can use Valves textures as a color palette and a reference, some of the contribute unlocks that have been implemented in the game had Valve's textures, no worries there.
  • Baby Stomper
    Simski wrote: »
    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.

    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.
  • Simski
    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.

    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.
  • re.wind
    Drinking horn, Now with a leather strap.

    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.

    soldier_axe_composite_34.jpg
  • EVIL
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    EVIL polycounter lvl 18
    as long as the shield does not take away from the soldiers silhouette (it should be recognisable as a soldier from the silhouette only) it should be fine
  • Simski
    re.wind wrote: »
    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.
  • re.wind
    I don't know simski. I really don't know...i somehow connected onions and vikings, probably in one of those discovery/nat-geo/other documentaries. xD

    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...;)

    soldier_axe_composite_35.jpg
    soldier_axe_composite_36.jpg
    soldier_axe_composite_37.jpg
  • Priest of Syrinx
    Haha, that looks totally awesome! I must have that beard! xD
  • Buck
    I gotta tell you the beard wont work, it will not follow the movement of the jaw as there are no facial bones. you could attempt to make a big one that covers his entire mouth so you don't notice the clipping.
  • Svdl
    Like Buck said, the beard moving with the mouth is not possible, so maybe make a moustache big enough so there's no noticiable clipping when his face moves? This way you could still see his facial expressions to some degree.
  • re.wind
    figured as much, Ah well, back to the beard-making board...



    p.s.: Wolf hat.

    soldier_axe_composite_38.jpg
    soldier_axe_composite_39.jpg
  • Priest of Syrinx
    This is what viking beards looks like. : D
    But i wonder if hiding the mouth movement with beard will look good... >_>
  • re.wind
    blah, max crashing is a perfect time for me to hit the hay...>_>

    I guess i could add a manly moustache to that beard...

    soldier_axe_composite_40.jpg
    soldier_axe_composite_41.jpg
    soldier_axe_composite_42.jpg
  • Buck
    It looks odd to say the least :/ Not your fault though.
  • Baby Stomper
    Yeah, kind of like a robber's bandanna. I think you can get it to work out though.
  • Y_M
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    Y_M polycounter lvl 10
    That beard needs some kind of moustache definitely. Wolf needs more of an open mouth so we can see some teeth, making it much more vicious looking
  • re.wind
    Yes, i realized while falling asleep that the beard lacks any definition near the mouth, which is making it look like a, well, face mask or robber/thief's mask.

    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.
  • re.wind
    reworked axe texture to more closely fit the palette. unsure of the direction of any rust lines.

    New beard with moustache with ao, improved wolf hat with ao.
    soldier_axe_composite_48.jpg

    Hat = 442 triangles
    beard = 478 triangles

    soldier_axe_composite_49.jpg
  • fastturtle
    I'd give some thought to making that beard go up into where his hats would cover it. It's looks a little silly just stopping there.
  • re.wind
    cartoony fur is annoying.

    soldier_axe_composite_50.jpg
    soldier_axe_composite_51.jpg
    soldier_axe_composite_52.jpg
    soldier_axe_composite_53.jpg
  • Fragus
    hat textures need work. draw them by hand
  • re.wind
    It is done by hand. I know it's crap. :[
  • Blueplastic
    the wolf hat needs to cover his eyes.
    like all hats from the soldier :)
    about the beard...i don't like it but new axe texture is much,much better ^^
  • dickless
    I think the wolf's head needs to be bigger and also come down and cover his eyes, the beard is improving though.
  • re.wind
    reworked beard & wolf hat without textures. much more pleased with the results this time.



    soldier_axe_composite_55.jpg
    soldier_axe_composite_56.jpg


    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.
  • Baby Stomper
    This is coming along great. I hope to wear your items one day. Good luck on the beard and wolf textures. I would help if I knew anything about texturing.
  • Naso
1345
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