Skeletal unit resource pool (GPL)
Moderators: MR.D, Moderators
After some minimal changes I've put that low poly soldier up on the same page I put everything else. It's 438 tris and with some alpha the rifle could be made to look like an M4/16. Sure, I'm throwing away like 550 tris by going that low but it's meant primarily for GINTA, not this competition.
@Keithus:
See the sourcecode for the Strider from NanoBlobs for a good idea on how to animate that puppy. I really must say that four-legged units with their legs at 45-degree angles, while they seem to be popular designs, are very hard to animate convincingly, because it's a very awkward set of stances.
See the sourcecode for the Strider from NanoBlobs for a good idea on how to animate that puppy. I really must say that four-legged units with their legs at 45-degree angles, while they seem to be popular designs, are very hard to animate convincingly, because it's a very awkward set of stances.
Cheers Argh, will do.
Truth be told I did make it with four legs because anything with more than two legs is just plain cool. Also It makes sense to have four legs and upwards for balance and stability issues. I mean look at the krogoth, sure its cool but it could never actually walk. Actually come to think of it alot of units cold never walk in real life...... The hammer couldn't ever walk. The can is plain riduclous aswell in the fact that it doesnt just roll down a hill....... Anyhow I am off at a tangent, the point is I dont really know what I am trying to prove anymore.
On another note, has anyone fiqured out how those three legged droids in Star Wars (Episode One) ever walked or did they just roll around everywhere?
Truth be told I did make it with four legs because anything with more than two legs is just plain cool. Also It makes sense to have four legs and upwards for balance and stability issues. I mean look at the krogoth, sure its cool but it could never actually walk. Actually come to think of it alot of units cold never walk in real life...... The hammer couldn't ever walk. The can is plain riduclous aswell in the fact that it doesnt just roll down a hill....... Anyhow I am off at a tangent, the point is I dont really know what I am trying to prove anymore.
On another note, has anyone fiqured out how those three legged droids in Star Wars (Episode One) ever walked or did they just roll around everywhere?
About over half way through my moddel...
If any of you have seen a warhammer deamon prince... well its based on one of those (or a conversion I did on one involving an eagle head, a big pointy stick, and a odd claw...) I think I may go a bit over the 1000 though...
So I wont be able to add in his extra arms.
aGorm
If any of you have seen a warhammer deamon prince... well its based on one of those (or a conversion I did on one involving an eagle head, a big pointy stick, and a odd claw...) I think I may go a bit over the 1000 though...
So I wont be able to add in his extra arms.aGorm
img118.imageshack.us/img118/74/striderbotzn5.png
I was inspired by the 4 legged robot, to make my own. This one was going to have six legs, but because of the leg complexity, 6 legs without a body were 2000 tris. So I made it with 3 legs. The final result is exactly 1020 tris.
I will be uploading the model soon.
I was inspired by the 4 legged robot, to make my own. This one was going to have six legs, but because of the leg complexity, 6 legs without a body were 2000 tris. So I made it with 3 legs. The final result is exactly 1020 tris.
I will be uploading the model soon.
Last edited by Shogoll on 29 Oct 2006, 05:00, edited 1 time in total.
I think that the bigger problems with the design (which I find very whimsical and creative) are:
1. Putting the gun underneath the body would lead to it shooting through the legs fairly obviously.
2. The legs look far too frail to possibly be strong enough to push that massive, fat body around.
3. I have severe doubts as to how this thing would be able to move IRL. While three-legged designs are certainly possible, they are either centered around a hopping motif (see the kangaroo, where the tail serves as a stabilizer during jumping motions and landing) or would incorporate a body that twisted as it allowed the front to tip forwards a few degrees and then back again as the front-most foot gained traction, leading to a whirling gait with most of the force centered on the "ankle joints".
In short, I have real problems believing in the functionality of this design. I could see it with a third "leg" that actually served more as a tail and just raised up during motion and fell when the unit stopped moving... a design where the rear leg curled like a spring, driving the unit through the air, and the front legs were basically just shock-absorbers... and other plausible variations on the kangaroo's basic locomotive scheme, but none of them make a belly-gun very likely to work out ("oops, Sarge- the shocks failed, and we bent every barrel of the main gun").
All of that said, it was very cheering to see an original design for once, even if you just made it because of polygon scruples
1. Putting the gun underneath the body would lead to it shooting through the legs fairly obviously.
2. The legs look far too frail to possibly be strong enough to push that massive, fat body around.
3. I have severe doubts as to how this thing would be able to move IRL. While three-legged designs are certainly possible, they are either centered around a hopping motif (see the kangaroo, where the tail serves as a stabilizer during jumping motions and landing) or would incorporate a body that twisted as it allowed the front to tip forwards a few degrees and then back again as the front-most foot gained traction, leading to a whirling gait with most of the force centered on the "ankle joints".
In short, I have real problems believing in the functionality of this design. I could see it with a third "leg" that actually served more as a tail and just raised up during motion and fell when the unit stopped moving... a design where the rear leg curled like a spring, driving the unit through the air, and the front legs were basically just shock-absorbers... and other plausible variations on the kangaroo's basic locomotive scheme, but none of them make a belly-gun very likely to work out ("oops, Sarge- the shocks failed, and we bent every barrel of the main gun").
All of that said, it was very cheering to see an original design for once, even if you just made it because of polygon scruples
I think it would move 1 leg forward a bit, than pull the rear leg forward a bit, than move the other frontal leg forward. Than it would pull that frontal leg forward again, than pull the rear leg forward, and than the first frontal leg forward, and so on.
This would probably be possible because of the flexibility of it's 3 joint legs. If the operator wanted it, it could lay it's self down in a spread eagle position, or raise it's self up into a strider like form.
I put a crappy rig on it, and put it into a small pose.
I'll also see what I can do about the more detail, and the size of the legs.
LE ARTISTE IMPRESION
Is this version better?
This would probably be possible because of the flexibility of it's 3 joint legs. If the operator wanted it, it could lay it's self down in a spread eagle position, or raise it's self up into a strider like form.
I put a crappy rig on it, and put it into a small pose.
I'll also see what I can do about the more detail, and the size of the legs.
LE ARTISTE IMPRESION
Is this version better?
The angles for the rear leg, as designed, wouldn't allow it to flex forwards. However, you could give it a cycle where it did a "hand-stand" on the front two legs, swinging the rear leg forwards as the front legs pivoted backwards, and then make it bound forward on the rear leg with the front legs moving up and pivoting forwards rapidly. To make this at all realistic, the body would have to tip forwards during the period when the forward legs were traveling backwards, then backwards to bring that rear leg into landing position, and undulate up and down with the changes in angles of the leg joints to properly show the push/pull cycles. It'd be very difficult to script right, but possible. Try animating your rig and not have it "skate", and you'll see what I'm talking about- IRL, it'd move in a series of small leaps, with a one-two-one cycle, but the overall travel would resemble an inchworm's.
Other, less annoying options would require changes to the design of the rear leg. For example, you could make the rear leg have pistons that changed the length of the "shin", allowing you to get rid of the need for the body to change angle/height as it moved, which would help make it a better firing platform.
You could also replace the leg with a wheeled skid, allowing it to use the front legs in a more traditional cycle, but realistically it would need to angle the body during each "push" segment of the cycle so that it'd stay realistic and not just feel like it was skimming the ground. See the Springer's animation in NanoBlobs for an example of this technique- it's very subtle, but it really does add a LOT to the realism of the animation.
Other options:
1. Instead of a leg, provide lift for the rear mass through fans, rockets, or even balloons. Same engineering principle as a skid, and IRL it'd be impractical, but it might be visually interesting.
2. Have the rear leg's joints designed to curve inwards, and curve it severely to miss the ground during forward motion.
3. Have the rear leg wave from side to side while rising, then fall and flex backwards. Realistically, the body would then need to counter-twist on the Y axis to maintain course and balance, which would be hellish to script, but it'd certainly be unusual.
At any rate, the main thing I see here is that that rear leg needs to be designed to do its job, which is not the same job as the front legs. Good design principles lead to a lot of semi-plausible solutions- it's mainly a matter of figuring out the practical issues of execution. Personally, I like the idea of a piston-equipped rear foot- it'd be the easiest thing to script, and it'd make sense IRL. For an extra-realistic touch, it could turn slightly opposite the front foot that is "pushing" at the time, giving the viewer the sense that the forces are all in balance.
I know much of the above may seem silly. However... go look at how realistic and fluid the animations in NanoBlobs are. Each one was built to very carefully take into considerations real-world issues, such as always having at least one foot on the ground, balance, and using mechanical motions that aren't possible in the animal world to do things that are very complicated in animals but could be simpler in machines, such as the piston-leg approach to the Archer, the de-tuned walk-cycle of the Strider, the bouncing steps of the Strider, and the rippling motions of the Square and Spire Rooks
Other, less annoying options would require changes to the design of the rear leg. For example, you could make the rear leg have pistons that changed the length of the "shin", allowing you to get rid of the need for the body to change angle/height as it moved, which would help make it a better firing platform.
You could also replace the leg with a wheeled skid, allowing it to use the front legs in a more traditional cycle, but realistically it would need to angle the body during each "push" segment of the cycle so that it'd stay realistic and not just feel like it was skimming the ground. See the Springer's animation in NanoBlobs for an example of this technique- it's very subtle, but it really does add a LOT to the realism of the animation.
Other options:
1. Instead of a leg, provide lift for the rear mass through fans, rockets, or even balloons. Same engineering principle as a skid, and IRL it'd be impractical, but it might be visually interesting.
2. Have the rear leg's joints designed to curve inwards, and curve it severely to miss the ground during forward motion.
3. Have the rear leg wave from side to side while rising, then fall and flex backwards. Realistically, the body would then need to counter-twist on the Y axis to maintain course and balance, which would be hellish to script, but it'd certainly be unusual.
At any rate, the main thing I see here is that that rear leg needs to be designed to do its job, which is not the same job as the front legs. Good design principles lead to a lot of semi-plausible solutions- it's mainly a matter of figuring out the practical issues of execution. Personally, I like the idea of a piston-equipped rear foot- it'd be the easiest thing to script, and it'd make sense IRL. For an extra-realistic touch, it could turn slightly opposite the front foot that is "pushing" at the time, giving the viewer the sense that the forces are all in balance.
I know much of the above may seem silly. However... go look at how realistic and fluid the animations in NanoBlobs are. Each one was built to very carefully take into considerations real-world issues, such as always having at least one foot on the ground, balance, and using mechanical motions that aren't possible in the animal world to do things that are very complicated in animals but could be simpler in machines, such as the piston-leg approach to the Archer, the de-tuned walk-cycle of the Strider, the bouncing steps of the Strider, and the rippling motions of the Square and Spire Rooks