Spring RTS Engine

@Zsinj

I'd love to know how this thing is able to turn.

As for the tubes, they're grenade launchers apparently.

@Forb
It's nice, I like the general idea, but it doesn't feel natural. It's probably because of the joints and how blocky it is: it's all straight edges, 90/45 degree corners etc, whilst the legs just go straight into the body with no real indication of joints or attachment, and it's the same with the segments: it looks like they're separate pieces that are intersecting rather than all one big, moving object.

I'd love to know how this thing is able to turn.

By using the left and right tracks

Very innovative.

rattle wrote:

I'd love to know how this thing is able to turn.

By using the left and right tracks

Yes, but isn't the central one going to screw that up spectacularly?

Yeah, the center track screws it. It's going to have a turn radius the size of Wisconsin and torque that center track all to hell when it turns.

Zsinj: No thanks for reminding me.... now i'll have nightmares again.

@ stupid snail tank thing: It can't turn. Even in the movie it doesn't turn, just goes on straight ahead, which is epic fail.

The fact that the guns look like they can't even track targets at its sides makes this... thing, BEYOND GODLIKE FAIL.

Uh can't it turn in place when the center track isn't moving?

I can't think of one design in the EP I-II-III that comes even close to the ones in IV-V-VI. The ones that are derived from the original designs are sometimes OK, like the ep3 jedi fighter, but just cause the one it's based on (tie fighter) was awesome in the first place. But in most cases even they just look watered down and crappified. All the new stuff like this snail thing just plain sucks.

Such designs aren't that unreal actually... It must have turned someway. However, this device had a rubber track which was able to bend and allowed for turns. Metal track will have problems with that.

WTF

@PressureLine:

1. Unless you're really committed to doing animated tracks, I'd do the entire track sections as one part, and do the greebles with the skin, to save on polycount.

2. Looking at Loose's drawing, it's apparent that the track covers go over the ends of the tracks. I assume that's different due to an artistic liberty on your part.

3. both the tracks and the body are slightly too wide, imo, based on Loose's perspective.

@GMN: That's pretty darn cool, dude!

Um, I'm afraid to ask, but what's the polycount like? I can and probably will ruthlessly optimize the arms and legs- the body's the only part where I think it's critical. Still, that's an awesome rendering of that sketch- you may have just convinced me that I need to find time to skin that puppy and get it in game before the next Beta...

@Forb: yaaaar, it's a giant mutant army ant, run for your lives!

Seriously speaking... as a model, it's ok, but my honest critique is that it needs to feel more like a real insect- the joints, the positions and scale of the legs, and the shape of the body all need to get examined, imo, to make it really kick ass. Of course, feel absolutely free to ignore me.

Is that ant model supposed to be a real, actual ant? Or is it deliberately stylized. Because you might want to look longer at your source material. I mean, it looks neat, but it's an ant in the same way that the little stick-figures from Darwinia are people.

Ant limbs are not perfect little cylinders - they have bulges and greebles, same as human limbs. And their bodies are not three perfectly round chiclets, low-poly or not. There is shape that you're missing.

@Argh: 2053 tris

@GMN:

Ouch! I was wanting them to build in squads of 5. Also, I was thinking that they should have flight packs- I haven't done a full ground-air transformer, I think that would be fun...

Expect ruthless edits, I'll probably drop the arms and legs to 5-sided cylinders and round them with Spring, and examine the joint areas to see what can get lost without destroying the look utterly.

It's a very nice interpretation of the concept drawing though, so I'll do my very best to keep it accurate. Very nice work, that's just about perfect for the concept I wanted, and it'll be a very cool addition to the game when they're done!

yuritch wrote:

img4.jpg

That thing is really fucking cool.

in fact, I am modeling that shit for a unit design!

I can and probably will ruthlessly butcher the arms and legs-

fixed

Please don't make the same mistakes again, kinda like what you did to his chopper and a few other models

Nice ant you've got there, Forb, not very natural looking, but, who cares What is it for? Some bug mod/game?
If you are interested, i've got some nice bug models lying around, you may use/modify them if you want.

Argh wrote:@PressureLine:

1. Unless you're really committed to doing animated tracks, I'd do the entire track sections as one part, and do the greebles with the skin, to save on polycount.

2. Looking at Loose's drawing, it's apparent that the track covers go over the ends of the tracks. I assume that's different due to an artistic liberty on your part.

3. both the tracks and the body are slightly too wide, imo, based on Loose's perspective.

1: Whut? Draw me a picture, im a visual learner.

2: Correct, although that may be subject to change.

3: Artistic licence comes into play here again. Proportions taken from the Evolva Flash model. I wanted to give the tank a wide, low profile shape...

That thing would have to turn like a Racing motorcycle (Ducatti or what ppl call Crotch Rockets), where it has to lean into a turn, my guess is that it would also have to slow the track that is on the inside of a turn, being as it turns left, the left track is slowed down, and right side track sped up.

From both appearance and just a fundamental understanding of physics and engineering, this thing would steer like crap with a huge turning arc, and probably have no chance of turning at all if it is not in forward motion, unless somehow the center track can raise itself during a turn.

It also appears it is more of a unit for speedy frontal assaults only, relying heavily on support units to assist its flanks.

Think of it as a Lemming unit :D

Id think this is intended as more of a battering ram than a high mobility unit. Face it in the direction of the front-line in a big push or a heavily fortified position, start the engine and fire at will. When the fightings all over pick it up and drop it at the next battle.