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Local TutorialHow to build the Starship Enterprise in TrueSpace 3

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  • scifiericscifieric1122 Posts: 1,497Member
    The part I have circled on these pics has a little indentation into the hull that smoothes out into the engineering section.
    Dude, no pics!

    Do you mean this area?
  • RolibaRoliba331 Posts: 0Member
    Oh thank God! I thought it was just me who couldn't see the pics; I didn't want to say anything, or you all might've thought I was crazy!

    Oh, and Eric, THAT DOES NOT LOOK LIKE A BUSSARD UPDATE! I don't want to be so hard on you, but it's tough lo... Like (ya, that's it.)
  • scifiericscifieric1122 Posts: 1,497Member
    Roliba wrote:
    tough lo... Like (ya, that's it.)
    You couldn't see EG180's images? Perhaps you just can't see my bussard post either ...


    LOL! The emperor's new bussards!

    Tough like. I can dig it! (Thanks for the chuckle, man.)
  • RolibaRoliba331 Posts: 0Member
    "But Mommy, The Emperor isn't wearing any Bussards."

    "Hush now Timmy, he's just a crazy old man. Don't make eye contact."
  • mcmillermcmiller331 Posts: 0Member
    ...The booleans tool is fun and cool when doing simple crap. The more complex the objects, the more a booleans is a pain in the butt....

    Heh, no kidding. It's almost not worth the frustration beyond simple primitives. I gave your gridline mini-tut a gallant try, but it constantly choked my version of TS6.6 over the course of two days... even though I moved every poly and tweaked every parameter six-ways-to-Sunday.

    However, I think I managed to stumble onto an alternative method of cutting gridlines without using booleans on a spun saucer.... If anyone's interested, I'll explain once I try it out one more time.
  • evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804255 Posts: 11,034Member
    scifieric wrote:
    Dude, no pics!

    Do you mean this area?

    There were attachments there when I posted!! I looked at the post right after I posted and there were definitely attachments. I'd like to thank whomever or whatever site error deleted them. And, yes, that was the part I to which I was referring.
    mcmiller wrote:
    Heh, no kidding. It's almost not worth the frustration beyond simple primitives. I gave your gridline mini-tut a gallant try, but it constantly choked my version of TS6.6 over the course of two days... even though I moved every poly and tweaked every parameter six-ways-to-Sunday.

    That's why I had all of those disclaimers when I posted the tut. I literally spent all afternoon getting that beast to work right. I guess I just got lucky. Sometimes, when I'm doing lines like that, I can't get it to work at all. And I would love to see how you did your lines without the booleans. :D

    Here's those friggin' pics that got deleted, even though you knew to which part I was referring. :devil:

    Of course, right when I posted, the site was being a horse's butt, so maybe that's why the pics got deleted.
  • RolibaRoliba331 Posts: 0Member
    There were attachments there when I posted!! I looked at the post right after I posted and there were definitely attachments. I'd like to thank whomever or whatever site error deleted them. And, yes, that was the part I to which I was referring.



    That's why I had all of those disclaimers when I posted the tut. I literally spent all afternoon getting that beast to work right. I guess I just got lucky. Sometimes, when I'm doing lines like that, I can't get it to work at all. And I would love to see how you did your lines without the booleans. :D

    Here's those friggin' pics that got deleted, even though you knew to which part I was referring. :devil:

    Of course, right when I posted, the site was being a horse's butt, so maybe that's why the pics got deleted.

    Ya, it has been somewhat of hicupy monster lately. Again, it's good to know I'm not loosing my mind...

    Hey! that means Eric really HASN'T posted his Bussards yet. Why that sneaky...
  • evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804255 Posts: 11,034Member
    Roliba wrote:
    Again, it's good to know I'm not loosing my mind...

    Well, nobody said that... :shiner:

    :runs:
  • RolibaRoliba331 Posts: 0Member
    I am NOT losing my mind... *shush, i'm telling him. No, I'm sure he's a very nice man. Now hush, or no ice cram for you*

    Gosh I hate it when the liitle voice interupts. It must bother you guys too, right?
  • AlarethAlareth331 Posts: 0Member
    scifieric wrote:
    Did the triangles under the saucer today. Still got the bumps to do but I've go to hit the hay. I'll see if I can post 'em tomorrow. And bussards, right, all in good time! ;) :evil eric:

    Soooo ....

    "tomorrow" was over a week ago.

    I know it's not related to bussards but I'd like to see the saucer finished.
  • scifiericscifieric1122 Posts: 1,497Member
    Yep. Sorry man. Work has been taking an unusually heavy toll. I only get to look in every now and then and suddenly it's another few pages and phone calls and I'm back at it.

    I promise, I will get it done.
  • JedilawJedilaw0 Posts: 0Member
    Alareth wrote:
    Soooo ....

    "tomorrow" was over a week ago.

    I know it's not related to bussards but I'd like to see the saucer finished.

    Feel free to write it yourself.

    Not being mean, just pointing out that these tutorials are being provided as a free service, in addition to what the authors have going on in real life. Makes no sense to gripe at someone who falls behind "schedule" on a free product.
  • scifiericscifieric1122 Posts: 1,497Member
    You guys are alright! :lol:
  • AlarethAlareth331 Posts: 0Member
    Jedilaw wrote:
    Feel free to write it yourself.

    Not being mean, just pointing out that these tutorials are being provided as a free service, in addition to what the authors have going on in real life. Makes no sense to gripe at someone who falls behind "schedule" on a free product.

    I wasn't griping and I didn't intend for it to come off that way. With all the bussard chatter is was more of a nudge back onto topic.
  • chronochrono0 Posts: 1Member
    mcmiller wrote:
    Heh, no kidding. It's almost not worth the frustration beyond simple primitives. I gave your gridline mini-tut a gallant try, but it constantly choked my version of TS6.6 over the course of two days... even though I moved every poly and tweaked every parameter six-ways-to-Sunday.

    However, I think I managed to stumble onto an alternative method of cutting gridlines without using booleans on a spun saucer.... If anyone's interested, I'll explain once I try it out one more time.
    Well TS 6.6 does have that nice little tool that allows you to save your selections..... ;)

    ..... so you might wanna look up that olde MAX tutorial that was on the oldeeee SFA site! ;) :p
  • JedilawJedilaw0 Posts: 0Member
    Alareth wrote:
    I wasn't griping and I didn't intend for it to come off that way. With all the bussard chatter is was more of a nudge back onto topic.

    Point taken. No worries! :D :cool:
  • scifiericscifieric1122 Posts: 1,497Member
    mcmiller wrote:
    However, I think I managed to stumble onto an alternative method of cutting gridlines without using booleans on a spun saucer.... If anyone's interested, I'll explain once I try it out one more time.
    I'm interested! How did you do it? I too know the heartbreak of boolean subtraction. :(
  • evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804255 Posts: 11,034Member
    scifieric wrote:
    I'm interested! How did you do it? I too know the heartbreak of boolean subtraction. :(

    OK, so how did you do that indentation I was asking about? And don't tell me booleans subtraction, it looks like hammered poop when you do it like that. I don't need a tutorial, just a quick description of what you did.
  • scifiericscifieric1122 Posts: 1,497Member
    Uh oh. You're not going to like the answer!

    After you have your basic engineering hull, you create three object the same shape as the "arms" but longer. Boolean Add them to the engineering hull so that they stand out a little bit from the hull. Now, take three exact same objects and place them to just go into the hull a little bit and boolean subtract them.

    That's how I did mine!
  • dan1701adan1701a2 Posts: 0Member
    scifieric wrote:
    Uh oh. You're not going to like the answer!

    After you have your basic engineering hull, you create three object the same shape as the "arms" but longer. Boolean Add them to the engineering hull so that they stand out a little bit from the hull. Now, take three exact same objects and place them to just go into the hull a little bit and boolean subtract them.

    That's how I did mine!

    Same here, only first I did the Boolean subtraction, then I added the "boxes" to the front of the hull. I had to do some fancy editing, though, to keep them from protruding into the cap on the end of the hull (where the "amp rings" reside). It was tricky lining them up, too, so there was no "lip". Basically the way I did those boxes was to take the outlines from Alan Sinclair's blueprints, then extruded them to get the rounded corners (but not filletted...that would make every corner rounded).

    Hey, maybe I should write a tutorial? :p
  • scifiericscifieric1122 Posts: 1,497Member
    dan1701a wrote:
    Hey, maybe I should write a tutorial? :p
    Actually, there's no "maybe" about it! ;)
  • dan1701adan1701a2 Posts: 0Member
    scifieric wrote:
    Actually, there's no "maybe" about it! ;)

    Oh, wow....that means I've got to start the project all over! Oh, the humanity!:o

    Actually, it won't be that hard...other than the screencaps. I'll give it some thought.....
  • evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804255 Posts: 11,034Member
    Yeah, I don't like the answer. ;) I think I'll work something out. What I did on my model before the last one was similar and it looked like garbage. I think I'll have to work something else out or just skip doing the indentation like Franz Joseph's blueprints and the Star Trek: The Magazine model and blueprints.
  • dan1701adan1701a2 Posts: 0Member
    Yeah, I don't like the answer. ;) I think I'll work something out. What I did on my model before the last one was similar and it looked like garbage. I think I'll have to work something else out or just skip doing the indentation like Franz Joseph's blueprints and the Star Trek: The Magazine model and blueprints.

    The problem with Booleans is that, if you're using a skinned shape, you have nothing behind the outer skin...it's all hollow. If, however, you're using primitives, you have something behind the outer skin (and fewer poly errors) to work with.
  • evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804255 Posts: 11,034Member
    Yeah, I use trueSpace 4, so there is no skinning, they started that with trueSpace 5. I just have primitives to work with. However, the booleans in trueSpace (any version, it seems) sucks badly. I use it as little as possible. Usually I try to find other methods of doing anything I think I can do without a booleans.
  • chronochrono0 Posts: 1Member
    EG180, have you looked at that plug-in for TS4 that looks like it allows skinning?

    Free Plug-ins
    Studio UTAHIME / STUDIOA?A?A‧P
  • evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804255 Posts: 11,034Member
    Thanks, dude. I'll have a look. :D I'm always on the lookout for new plugins. Part of the problem I have is that most of the plugins for tS 4 are for 4.3, but I have 4.2. And, since this program was given to me, I can't go to Caligari and get the upgrade because I didn't buy it from them. :mad:
  • chronochrono0 Posts: 1Member
    From what I understood 4.3 was released as freeware in a magazine not that long ago. ???
  • evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804255 Posts: 11,034Member
    Supposedly, 5.2 was the one that was going to be released in 3D World Magazine, but that was BS. Somebody started that rumor on the Caligari forums as an April Fools joke.
  • scifiericscifieric1122 Posts: 1,497Member
    This portion of the tutorial is a jump ahead for those who have specially requested it. In PDF form, it will come at the very end of the final tutorial.
    The main cylinder for this portion of the tutorial is a placeholder. Please ignore the fact that the edges are too rounded. The important section is the forward nacelle warp dome holding area.

    This is a much more complex shape than it would seem at first look. In the past I have constructed the warp engines out of primitives but with experimentation found that the final warp dome effect is best served in a recessed area, so I make it from a lathed spline.


    Look at this image from the National Aeronautics and Space Museum's Silver Hill restoration facility (which I did not know was renamed the Garber Facility) from the IDIC page.

    The IDIC Page/Garber Facility

    The first image shows the front end of the warp engines without the warp domes in place. These were presumably destroyed and new glass hemispheres were manufactured. If you look closely you will see that there is a "lip" running around the inside of the front of the warp nacelles.

    I believe these photos were originally taken for an accompanying article in the Star Trek Giant Poster Book magazine that stated the back plates behind the flashing lights had bits of broken mirror to help with the effect of the flashing warp lights.


    [examples=Nacelle Lights]

    Here is a nice arrangement for the sort of effect we are going to demonstrate:

    USS Enterprise - The Original

    Scroll down to "The Nacelle Effect". The colors are off on the lights but you'll find that you can find examples in screen caps for almost any color arrangement you want.

    Petri Blomqvist has one of the better thought out nacelle effects. You can see some examples of his work here:

    The IDIC Page - CGI Trek II

    [/examples]


    Since TrueSpace does not accurately handle lights or flares (even with plugins) we will have to replicate each of the visible aspects of the warp effect.

    The effect was created with:
    1) A mix of stationary flashing and steady Christmas tree lights
    2) A spinning set of curved "blades"
    3) All inside a "frosted" glass hemisphere

    The reason the recessed area of the warp nacelle is important is that the lights themselves are not directly visible on side views of the engines but they are visible on three quarter and head-on views.

    To create the recessed area, I created a spline with rounded edges for close-up renders. This spline has a recessed area equal to the outer bevel of the warp engine. I do not know if this distance is necessarily accurate but it will serve our purpose.

    spline01.jpg

    After lathing the spline, you may wish to easily remove extra faces by performing a Boolean operation with the Object Intersection tool and a cube that is larger than the forward warp engine section.


    spline03.jpg



    spline04.jpg



    Save your scene. We're going to make a new component.

    Looking at images from the series, I've tried to guess the size of the lights and their glow. I know that what I have has got to be incorrect compared to the original model but the end effect is what I'm after.

    [FONT=&quot]First, generate a cylinder primitive. I went overboard and set the cylinder poly count very high on my Enterprise model but for this tutorial there is really no need to go higher than 10 [FONT=&quot]longitude[/FONT][FONT=&quot]. If you create a smaller version of the same cylinder, you can use it for placement of your lights, although my preference is to create a 5 point polygon and then duplicate it and rotate it 180 degrees. One will be a reference for our white lights and one will be a reference for our color lights. I'm using two 5 point polygons to position my "lights".

    lightplacement.jpg
    [/FONT][/FONT]
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