Well, you could try just texturing in Blender. I don't know what the system is like in Bryce, but it sounds like Blender has a much better texturing system, even just for procedural. And you can export and import from Sketchup, although it does get kind of frustrating some times, as it automatically puts any parts connected to each other as one piece. But all you have to do in Sketchup to fix that is make it so it isn't touching anything. Make the pieces to be colored differently a component (make sure to hit the replace selection with component button), and scale it one percent, or move it .01 units, or some other method of making it so it doesn't touch anything else. Then you export it as a 3d model, Google Earth 4 format. Go to the file in Finder, change the extension to .zip. Open the zip file. Go to Blender, go File>Import>Collada 1.4 .dae. Navigate to the opened zip folder, and go into the contained models folder. Import the .dae contained inside. There's a little bit of model cleanup to do, like deleting all the lines, but afterwards it's ready to texture and render, although you do need to put in a new camera and light.

I tried Lightwave out for a little while; I never bought it, but I used one of the learning versions (I don't remember how they do their trial thing) a while back. It's actually a very, very good program. The biggest advantage it has over blender is that it isn't constantly changing between small releases, but it also sports (if I'm not mistaken) sophisticated explosion options, good UV mapping tools, great modeling tools, hair simulation (fiber fx in lightwave), and rendering and texturing options that exceed blender's internal renderer (although you can pull off similar stuff using Yafray or Indigo renderers). I have no idea how good it's fluid simulation is, or if it has it, but I know that blender's is considered pretty good, if not at the level of flowline. I'm also not sure if it has any sculpt tools that resemble Zbrush. However, it's workflow is designed professionally and is significantly faster than blender's, since blender is (being open-source) constantly changed piece by piece by a number of independent contributors. If you are looking into purchasing a 3d program I also recommend looking at C4D and any of Autodesk's 3d programs.

Well, there we go. I got the model to import successfully after talking nicely to SketchUp for a while and getting it to shape up how it exports OBJs.

FOR ANYBODY ELSE WHO RUNS INTO THE SAME "MISSING POLYGONS" PROBLEM WHEN IMPORTING:
If you are exporting from SketchUp, when creating the OBJ, change the export options so that it will export two-sided faces. I also set mine to triangulate all surfaces, but that's just because triangular surfaces are often easier for most 3D programs to understand mathematically, although it may make renders a bit slower, simply because of the increase of total polygons.

Either way, onto step two: texturing and lighting this bad boy.

(Psssssst!) Pipeline, if you're watching, this would be an AWESOME time for those tips/tricks you offered a few pages back! I've got a basic square texture that I'd like to try wrapping around the object, but I don't even know where to start, and it seems like all the tutorials I find are using previous versions of Lightwave (< v9.0), so none of the tools they talk about are in the same places. Thanks in advance!

I would also just like to note that if I can model the ships in SketchUp and texture/render them in Lightwave, you're going to be seeing VERY cool things coming from me in the near future, although it means I'll need to redo the ship graphics I've completed so far (for rendering sake, at least). Don't worry, that only means maybe eight or so.

Lightwave = Bryce-B-Gone

EDIT: I would also, also like to add that I got a neat little plug-in designed to perform a process known as "greebling"; the addition of random structures/pipes/panels to the outside of the ship, which I intend to have lots and lots of fun with, especially on the NDC models.

This post has been edited by Delphi : 03 December 2008 - 11:54 PM

UPDATES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Very cool looking. And don't worry Delphi, I'll be waiting to see the finished TC.

Very cool, I remember taking a class on Lightwave during high school. Loved the lighting and animation controls, but preferred Maya for modeling organics. For ships on the other hand...

I only see Lightwave listed as at least $500. There has to be a cheaper one... right?

Hey guys, I'm back with another little tidbit. Something I sketched in the last 30 minutes and thought I'd submit for review.

Sorry for the really wacky colors, but I only took one quick photo with my webcam and it didn't exactly expose properly. Inverting the colors brought out the pencil lines better, especially since I sketched this one REALLY freakin' lightly.

The perspective isn't completely perfect, so the whole chassis looks a little twisted; just ignore that for now. Anyway, would you fly it? My tag notes are too small to be legible, so here's a rundown.

Thunderstorm Frigate
DC Type

Primary Nichron cannon mounted atop the vessel, making up for almost 50% of the craft's total mass. Small energy centers located behind main gun, attached to aft engineering section (engines at right of picture). Attached to either side of primary gun are two self-powered pulse turrets for anti-fighter defense. Crew quarters located in lower-slung secondary hull, separated by two-deck fullerene firewall reinforced with outboard rigging of the same material (pictured along centerline of ship's total body). Bridge/command tower located at forward upper extremity of secondary hull, between optional missile racks.

Anyway, give your input/comments. I like this whole ribbed effect I sort-of alluded to in the middle of the vehicle. I'd like to expand on that and add something like that to more of my ships, if possible. Makes for a very dramatic, almost baroque feel, as I could see it on future models.

That's way too cool. Both concept and design are beyond impressive.

Glad to see you're still active Delphi!

I do enjoy that! It looks wonderful! I can imagine using it to crush my enemies! And then laughing!

Don't worry, guys. I'm still working on Delphi. I've just been doing a lot of the boring writing that makes the universe functional (desc files, etc), so there hasn't been much to show or report.

Either way, I'll be doing this for a while, so just check in from time to time and see if there's something new; no need to keep your eyes glued here or anything.

Glues eyes to thread

I am very glad you are still working on this. this will be the thing that makes me play evn again.

QUOTE (of doom @ Feb 28 2009, 12:34 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Glues eyes to thread

I am very glad you are still working on this. this will be the thing that makes me play evn again.

Delphi, let me know if you ever need a good writer.

I am so excited to see this plug!!!!

How about a progress report? % et al. ????

Thanks!!!

QUOTE (Cesseran @ Mar 3 2009, 06:30 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I am so excited to see this plug!!!!

How about a progress report? % et al. ????

Thanks!!!

As a percentage? I'd estimate 10%. There's still a huge amount to add, but as far as concept work goes, I'd say that's around 80%. The only troubles I ever really run into are creative blocks, either while writing or drafting ship designs. You should know by now that I tend to drastically change my ship structures from week to week, but I think I may have settled on a style I like (but don't quote me on that).

Actually, here's a sample. From SketchUp, as usual. I'll usually post the example models in here before rendering, so that I don't give away too much of the visual style when you actually play the game.

It's the first purely science-related cruiser I've modeled, and I'm so far pretty happy with it. I'd say it fits well with the Typharic from a few pages back there. The large angular structure atop the vessel houses an immense sensor system, specialized in breaking up system interference. As such, in game the vessel has such a powerful scanner that all but the most radio-contaminated systems will appear clear as day on the radar. The array can of course be stripped out, and I'd expect most players to remove it simply because of its mass (75% of the vessel's total available mass), but it cannot be replaced, except with lesser scanner systems, and the vessel doesn't exactly corner on a dime, so it may be a nice addition to have in conjunction with perhaps a long range turret of the Nichron persuasion. The vessel comes with an array of science-related defenses, of course, which may prove more useful than simple brute weaponry, but to each his own. To be honest, the vessel probably makes best use of the fact that it can be purchased without an advanced military rank, and it carries an immense amount of cargo, space usually reserved for research materials and colonists, when needs be.

Either way, back to the starship forge I go!

Oh, by the way, I discovered a new method of texturing using Bryce. I know I was trying Lightwave for a while there, but it's just far too complicated for how many renders I have to churn out. At the low resolution they'll be viewed in (overhead view) there's just no point in making them overtly crazy-detailed to begin with. I learned that there is a way to carry color/shade differentiation over from SketchUp and into Bryce, while still applying a full wrap-around texture. As a result, things such as different-shaded plates or pipes can be made darker against the regular hull color, allowing a much higher level of model detailing simply through the use of a color fill in SketchUp. I'll be testing this on the science cruiser, as it has a lot of separate portions I'd like to stand out against the massive aft of the hull.

That ship looks very cool, but the sensor array kind of makes it look... I don't know, off balanced. Perhaps you could add some additional structuring to the bottom or the back?

I agree entirely with Shlimazel; absolutely stellar job of modeling, but the sensor array seems a little off somehow. Perhaps if you slanted it towards the back of the ship instead of the front so it kept with the general aesthetic of growing front to back?

I must say i Disagree with Shlimazel and Archon it doesn't look enough like a sensor array to be a sensor array as something else it works fine it just doesn't look like sensors.

QUOTE (Shlimazel @ Mar 4 2009, 07:50 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That ship looks very cool, but the sensor array kind of makes it look... I don't know, off balanced. Perhaps you could add some additional structuring to the bottom or the back?

QUOTE (Archon @ Mar 4 2009, 10:23 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I agree entirely with Shlimazel; absolutely stellar job of modeling, but the sensor array seems a little off somehow. Perhaps if you slanted it towards the back of the ship instead of the front so it kept with the general aesthetic of growing front to back?

QUOTE (of doom @ Mar 5 2009, 07:41 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I must say i Disagree with Shlimazel and Archon it doesn't look enough like a sensor array to be a sensor array as something else it works fine it just doesn't look like sensors.

hmmm.... something does't add up here....

Personally I think it looks awesome, he said it HOUSES a sensor SYSTEM, not that it is one, or an array for that matter... I like it a lot, I can't wait to see a colored and rendered....

This post has been edited by Cesseran : 06 March 2009 - 10:34 AM