Well are we going to be including these things in the games?
It's easier to find out ahead of time because doing it after you've done the texture is much more difficult

thanks in advance

- Mike

What do you suggest?

Can you point me to more information on this BTW? I am using MilkShape and Ultimate Unwrap 3D and need to get a better grip on it.

The last time I asked this question (before Supremacy took over... what ever happened to Gav?) I was told, no. No Bumps, no Speculars...

I can not speak to what it has become, only what it was. If it was time to vote, I'm on the fence: they make 3d rendering that much slower -- and so fleets become a chunk-fest -- but hardware now-a-days is made for this kind of modeling... So... The question is: do you want to make the 3d renderer for old school or new school comps. I'd suggest a double system: one for either or..... Of course, that's only if you ask me for my opinion.

well this is one for mike, he is going to decide on which 3d engine he is going to use, but just about every engine these days supports bump and specular maps, lets wait and see what mike says.

I say bring on the spec/bump maps .

HURRAY!!!!

Speculars and Bump Maps are the shiny bits on the ships aren't they? If so, add them in.

...But does that mean all of the existing model textures will need to be redone?

well not really...though in my case some texturing may have to be redone (re-applying the textures and stuff...just to make everything look proper)

Bump maps and Specular maps are both done in black and white over the origional texture, so it's simply one more texture...

I'll get to work on those then...

Bump maps make things look "higher" like...panelling...you can almost make it look like it was modelled.
Specular like you said are the shiny bits on a ship.

Just dont go mad with bump maps like legacy has done.

yeah I figured that out after hours of work yesterday...

simple route for bumps I think is to do just the panel lines (like the saucer mostly)

Otherwise doing every little panel thing is just ridiculous... (mind you I spent the devestating time trying to do it)

Once I redo (argh yes redo) the specs and bumps for the Constellation i'll post some pictures..
When I say redo, I mean redo because I made them yesterday and for some reason they werent lining up, stupid copy paste bull crap lol...I know why now though, but there was no way to fix them....and as such many hours of going blind on this screen went to waste lol..

You could also use bump maps for the "ribs" in the nacelles and "carved-out" windows. I don't think there are many other uses for them on Federation ships though.

Well some good news and some bad news...i'm having hell making bump/specular on the constellation. Instead I chose the saladin.

First, here she is with and without bumpmaps (for comparison)

Now Specular Maps (they make some panels "shinier" than others, eg one metal more reflective than another)










As one can see both of these things make a difference...speculars make less of a difference by the looks of it...but I think all together it'll look a lot better...that and ingame lighting will definatley change the effect of the specular maps...

Going to take some renders now and I should be posting them all together in about 5 minutes.

and now the final version, thought?

You're gonna do this to the Constellation? My god that ship is going to be amazing when you do it! It's beautiful enough as it is already!

Fireball, your ships are total eye candy.

hahaha thanks MOE! I try my best....

Great work

Looks good.

Don't forget that spec maps are also good for grit and grime: real objects have ugly, worn places.

To be honest, I've never been that good at texturing... Or, to be more accurate, I've never really tried to do my own. I have respect for anyone that has and does. So don't think I'm disrespecting your work, far from it. I wish merely to pass on advise I got from a mentor and friend: spec maps are meant for grit and grime -- indeed, originally designed for it. Bump maps are good for that too.

That's a good point - even the big E had her fair share of blackened bits from Disruptor blasts and whatnot in the films. The Enterprise was certainly in need of a lick of paint before Kirk blew her up.

Grime would help make the ships look just that little bit more realistic. It certainly would for the older classes of ship, anyway. We're used to seeing the more recent designs as being sleeker and cleaner though, so the effect may not be such a good idea for those newer designs.