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Ok, I said cost, but I mean polys. These are some ideas I am fielding before I begin rebuilding a specific steam engine I started in secret some time ago. To be exact, back in June.The engine has tons of detail, and I realised that no matter what I did it would be a poly hog, even at the smallish size. (It's only a 2-8-0) So, I came up with the following. If you know they won't work, tell me, or if you have ideas, I'm open to them. Some of these ideas may work on other's projects, so feel free to them if you can use them.1.) Alpha channel wheel details. (spokes) 2.) Alpha channel rods. (The guides for the piston, and yoke can be made from 1 block and then alpha'd to resemble seperate parts.) 3.) Texture some details. 4.) Simple wheels without flanges. 5.) Simple details in some cases. (Rectangles in place of cylinders.)Any other ideas? For an idea, please see the D&H E6 diagram in the June MR
>1.) Alpha channel wheel details. (spokes) Workes great, you can make the side of the wheel from a square and alpha it circular and you wil save many polys.>2.) Alpha channel rods. (The guides for the piston, and yoke >can be made from 1 block and then alpha'd to resemble >seperate parts.) Won't look as great if you want them to look 3D.>3.) Texture some details. Obviously you need to apply textures to your parts! Using the texture to show a part that is not depends from case to case how well it will look. Rivets and panels you make with textures, other small parts might work well also but you need to try it.>4.) Simple wheels without flanges. If you do it as said in 1.) you don't need to skip the flanges. Make the inside face square oversize compared to the wheel and you can make the flange through the alpha channel with out the need for any extra polys.>5.) Simple details in some cases. (Rectangles in place of >cylinders.) Use cylinders with as few sides as will look good. In some cases (wheel axles) I use five sided cylinders (for sides will be obvious it is square but not with five). Use poly smothing and it will not be as obvious you are using less sides. Without smothing it will need lots of polys to look good. To save some more polys you can cap the ends with a rectangle and use transperacy to make it round.>Any other ideas? For an idea, please see the D&H E6 diagram >in the June MR Look how others have made their engines. I use these techniques on my Heisler to cut down on polys. Polygon smothing is vital to use if you want it to look good. A model with smothing will look better than a model without even if the latter has much more polys.
I've thought about the square wheel sides, but have always been reluctant to do it for fear I'd screw SOMETHING up. I've been looking at the diagram really close and I think, many of the small piping details can made with textures. There are a few, like the throttle linkage and some other pipes that are too big to do like this though. One problem I see coming is the pistons. I've always had problems making good looking pistons.I'll post some progress reps soon as I figure out how to get a screenshot from GMAX
Here's a trick I tried on one of my first cars, the NS MOW Gondola.Background: I had originally done the sides with ALL texture based details but I thought the ladders looked horrible. They also extended abit above the very end of the car since it was angled.Anyway, I needed to create a low poly ladder that looked as of it had round rungs. I used cube prinitives but I shifted them on th Z- axis ( The direction the longest dimension was going) by 45 degrees.. When modeled, this simple step makes the CUBE look like a rounded rod. Great technique for handrails.Pete Willard
Triangular tubes work well too, when poly-smoothing is used, for grab-irons and rungs, etc. Turning them on their axis so that the flat is facing inward, gives the impression of a round tube. All the tubes on the Milwaukee Boxcab use triangles, including the pantograph and roof railing parts. And triangles are easy to work with; bending and shaping complex angles is made easier with less faces/points to manuever around. I'm a big believer in alpha use, even in making flat shapes. The open streetcar uses alpha channels for the lacey looking seat brackets and end-supports. This saved an immense amount of polys. I made a version with 3d parts first, and it was just too "fat" and this is what made me try the alphas. The fender under the ends was also 'fabricated' using alphas. Texturing plays a BIG part in conveying curved and detailed parts. Get to know all you can about your graphics program. Practice, practice, practice! Timtimmuir@wcn.net
Electric Railroad 3D Models Sumpter Valley B&B Gang Willamette Valley Route (No timetable for release)
When modeled, this simple step makes the CUBE look like a rounded rod. Great technique for handrails.Pete Willard
