Amiga Computing - Commodore Is Awesome

122
Paul Austin bad
goes where
everyone goes
eventually
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never happen to you, but the truth is, just
y ou about can everybody try and light who's it, you ever con bought say a it 3D will
tab pockoge has a bosh at a space ship. Over
the next few issues I'll be taking you through the
whole process from concept and initial design right
through to surfacing and scene construction.
However, before we embark on this epic journey it's
wel worth running through the ground rules of translating
on all too familiar format into a believable
scene.
The first step on the road is put the mouse aside
and pick up pencil and paper. The first mistake
every new intergalactic newbie makes is to rush
headlong into Modeller and instantly start slopping
shapes together.
Before you do any designing take a moment or
two to think about exactly what you're trying to
achieve. Is the ship big or small? What kind of
manoeuvres and interaction will your creation be
expected to achieve? Is it a bad guy or a good guy?
These ore just a few of the basic questions you
should ask before you even start thinking about the
overal look of your masterpiece. To help you answer
them, here are a few basic sci-fi, but more importantly
psychological, cornerstones of believable space
craft.
DESIGN SIZE
The first question is one of scale. Are you designing
a huge freighter or just a smal fighter? If you're opting
for a fighter you'll require on obvious cockpit
area to help clarify scale. More importantly, you'll
need large control surfaces or wing sections to
enhance the feeling of high manoeuvrability. fighter
planes have large swept bock wings, therefore viewers
expect the same high speed look and feel from a
space croft The fact that a space craft needs
thrusters rather than wings has nothing to do with it.
A house brick would be just as manoeuvrable as the
sleekest body shape in deep space, but that's not the
issue - it's all about perception.
The most important thing about a ship's shape is
POSSIBILITIES AND PRACTICALITIES
Assuming you've decided on the nature of your
beast, the next step is to think long and hard
about practicalities. Will your ship need to dock
with others or maybe land on an alien planet? It's
absolutely vital that you run through all the possibilities
in advance. The one thing you don't want
to do is compromise the story telling because your
creation doesn't allow for it.
Another all important consideration for most
people is polygon count. During the conceptual bit
it's all too easy to run amuck designing massively
AMIGA COMPUTING
Paper to
polygons
A cla ssic e xa rnpOe of orga nics a nd the look a nd fe e l of a pre da tor
courte sy of the king of 3 0 spa ce , our ve ry own R on Thornton
its psychological affect. Remember, you're not just a
designing, you're actually delivering a visual
narrative. If it looks mean, it is mean._
Next up comes the good guy/bad guy question. If
your ship is a bad guy it's gal to look the part.
Again, this is simply a matter of psychology.
Basicaly, there are two main styling techniques for
both large and small scale design. For
Freighters/spoce cruisers the general rule of thumb is
that bad guys have a very angular look with sharp
aggressive protrusions and a generally more alien
appearance. Good guys, on the other hand, are generaly
more rounded and have a slightly softer, more
organic look When it comes to fighters the
complete ships that taut: rendering problems further
down the line. What if you need ten ships on
screen simuitaneously, what if you need to show
the ship hurtling over a complex 30 landscape,
will your machine take the strain? And if not, what
can you afford to sacrifice in the original design?
Next month we'll run through the process of
converting your creation from paper into a basic
3D design. In the subsequent issue we'll cover the
importance of detail and how best to fake it with
the aid of textures. •
•
differences are usualy more subtle, but having said
that they tend to be more stringently applied.
Basicaly, good guys tend to be more don like with
large control surfaces and smooth sexy lines_ In
short, the kind of ship every sell respecting sci.li fan
would kill to take for a test drive. Bad guys, on the
other hand, tend to opt for a much more predatorial
look with undertones of either insects or birds of
prey.
Again, this plays on inherent fears in the human
psyche. Creepy crowlies, huge vicious flying creo,
tures with fangs and talons. Perhaps the best example
of this is the innumerable number of bad guys flying
about in ships with down swept, hawk-like
wings.
As mentioned earlier, these are simply rules of
thumb. Essentially, it's a case of knight in shining
armour fights dragon - the only thing you want to
avoid is obvious repetition_ The acknowledged king
of 3D space simulation, Ron Thornton, bases the
majority of his designs on food - which given Ron's
real world proportions isn't entirely surprising
However, even if you examine Ron's masterful
designs, these bosic themes still hold true. His bad
dies, although generaly organic regardless of scole.
all shore an inherent predatorial look, often displaying
shark-like fins, squid-like tendrils, or perhaps spider-esque
construction. Again, all phobia-inducing
premonitions which you certainly wouldn't want to
discover swimming about in your bathtub.