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+--- Thread: Remodeling Bases (/showthread.php?tid=21230)
Remodeling Bases - BlueSpawn - 05-31-2009
I'm not sure the proper way to do this, but here goes:
The original developers at Digital Anvil either had awful concept art designers and/or 3 days to create all of the game's spacestations. They are all identical and not very pretty. I am a modeler/texture artist and although I have limited Freelancer modding experience, I'm willing to learn.
My proposal is to redo the current spacestation designs in Discovery/Freelancer by basing them on architectural patterns found in faction ships --- A Rheinland station should look more like its battleship design, not like a station that you see in Liberty, Kusari, Britonia, everywhere-bloody-else.
I also want to take it a step further and organize designs according to current factions. A TAZ owned base in Baffin, for example, should be textured with faction colors in mind and preferably a visible logo.
Here's an example taken from another game (no I do not plan on using this specific design):
![[Image: je_small_7.jpg]](http://img.hexus.net/v2/gaming/screenshots_pc/je/new/je_small_7.jpg)
Note the faction color designation and logo inserted into a "tele-screen." This would add a nice level of variation. It would also make bases easier to remember if they don't all look bloody identical to one another.
For this sub-project I would need a few things:
1. Approval from the community and other developers. (Or does everybody prefer the monotony and lack of variety present in Freelancer?)
2. I can do the modeling and texturing, but I would need help with the modding of the game.
Please keep in mind that I want to stay as close to Freelancer as possible. All of the revamped stations will try to take on the visual look based on faction ships and possibly cityscapes.
Remodeling Bases - tazuras - 05-31-2009
The best way to do this is start working on it. Get feedback from the community with your designs, you can get all the additional help you need by asking here. When you have finished models you can submit them and they may be added, considering the lack of variety in current stations i Am sure they will be.
Also keep in mind that in FL all stations are made out of component pieces, not just one big model. The peices are modeled separately and assembled with a system editor i believe. You should probably ask about this in a specific thread.
One thing I know is crucial is keeping the polygon count down, igiss tries to keep this mod as small as possible and so that it can run on lower end systems.
Good luck and I hope this happens, as I really want to see more station variety.
Remodeling Bases - pragun - 05-31-2009
another thing which i should bring to your notice is that each component's polygon count is taken separately, and not collectively for the whole station. So dont let it worry you if the whole station has a poly count more than the permissible limit.
Remodeling Bases - BlueSpawn - 05-31-2009
I don't know how the development works on this project. I didn't want to just start making everything on my own without knowing if key Developers would approve of the idea.
I'm rather new here, although I've played Freelancer since it came out in 2003. But I've noticed that a lot of folks here have particular ideas as to how things should be. And lots have told me, "leave it as is, you don't know what you're doing."
But if you guys approve, I'm going to ask for a small team. Revamping all the spacestations (and there's going to be a hell of a lot of them considering the faction variety) cannot be done by one guy. Anybody want to join my cause?
Remodeling Bases - tazuras - 05-31-2009
I really think you should make one station, as a concept, to show what you can do and that you know what you are doing. This should really help you get people, and get you some respect from the dev team, which you want before you start taking peoples time when they could be helping them.
Remodeling Bases - AJBeast - 05-31-2009
I'd really , REALLY like to see some replaces , thats for sure.
The pirates bases are good , although seeing some diferent base types based of the same "rock" would be nice.
The house bases need a replace , thats for sure. Doesnt seem that logical that every house has the same components to build statiosn with ...
Remodeling Bases - BlueSpawn - 05-31-2009
Poly count is not an issue. I can keep that fairly low. I'm more interested in Texture resolutions and what kind of texture restrictions the Freelancer engine has.
Remodeling Bases - Hawk - 05-31-2009
Well I'll start this by saying that I'm not a developer, so I have no idea what is actually possible when it comes to designing the mods, but I really like your concepts. Keep at it. If what you have designed is possible to implement I'd love to see it in game. I'm looking forward to seeing a working model of this.
Remodeling Bases - Boss - 05-31-2009
It can do 128x128 or 256x256 if memory serves correct. Anything larger makes for some fairly large .MAT files, which is bad.
DISCLAIMER: I am not a dev, so my word is not final. I can, however, do some rough modeling in Metasequoia if needed.
Remodeling Bases - tazuras - 05-31-2009
' Wrote:Poly count is not an issue. I can keep that fairly low. I'm more interested in Texture resolutions and what kind of texture restrictions the Freelancer engine has.If you dont get a response to this here you should probably post it as a separate thread with a list of specific questions. You may also want to get on skype and start getting to know some dev's better. I know a good deal of freelancer modelers on skype and could introduce you if you like... My skype id is in my profile if you are interested.