HD Models

[s13n1]

Lets just move on shall we..

I'm just finishing off the Gun on the Infantry model.

I've been procrastinating over it as i really should have done a hell of a lot more modeling in Max before importing it into MudBox.

Hard surface stuff is really hard to sculpt in MudBox, you need to make stencils to get good results for fine precise details, and there really should be an "orientate to surface" option for the camera, so you can be sure your sculpting is perpendicular to the surface.

There might be though, as i've not yet played with adding cameras.

I've just been adding a wooden grip to the base, some extended wires / cables from the arm and some extra details on the top and sides. I've added lots of scuffs and scratches, because he uses it as a club to beat you. So there's plenty of dents along the edges and blood splatters.



I'm at a point where i really want to subdivide the model again to get some extra polys in certain places, but what i really should do is retopologize first. But im finding the retopologize process a bit hit and miss.

The top detail level is currently just shy of 9 million polys and after retopologizing, it drops to about 3 million. That's perfectly fine, the model could shave a lot of polys off in lots of places, but its actually robbing details from around the eyes and the very fine rusty flaky surfaces.

I've tried adding curves to control the process and adjusting the final count and uniformity, but i still end up losing detail.

I think ill just finish this sculpt off, and mark it off as another practice sculpt, and do better next time. Its only my second sculpt, i cant expect to get everything right this early.

[Sza]

Thats foken awesome It looks now much better! You know what? i will help you Naturally only if you want it. Sorry but you must undersand me i am not a noob... may be a litlle bit (sculpting). Sorry for everything and i am out.

[s13n1]

Thanks.

And thanks for the offer, but things are kind of weird now man, im nowhere near ready for makeup sex.

BTW, i dont think i ever showed the grip on his boots..



Reebok Strogg's ;-)

[s13n1]

This model doesn't use UV's.

It uses PTEX.

More UV res wont fix triangular distortion, more polys will. But the models topology has a limit to how far you can push it. Once you reach that point, the only option is to retopologize, which is a very handy feature of the latest version.

Watch this from 9:17. It will explain what i mean.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4cm9w5p2AI[/ame]

[Sza]

Hmm. So the PTEX seems to be not very good for the q2 models. What about obj? More polys can help a litlle bit too but it will not solve the problem. Almost every q2 model have the same problem if you use these with some sculpting tools, its because of the old skool construction ( i think that MB dont like it ). idk much about ptex so i will simple flatten and fix the uv. I think it was less than 30� or 40� or something like that.

[s13n1]

This is what i've been telling you about over sculpting the mesh.

The more you sculpt and radically change the mesh from the original shape, the further the original mesh distorts. This is not a problem with the models or anything, its a simple limitation of the models subdivision.

Its like smudging the lines on graph paper. Eventually they merge and become distorted.

In that video you see the box get distorted to a point where any more and it will start to tear and look bad. Retopologizing rebuilds the original mesh and takes note of the new sculpting you have done, updating the shape of the original model, allowing you to continue sculpting.

You wont be able to sculpt the original models very much as the UV's will not tolerate it. Trust me. When i tried to bake the high poly detail from pinky onto the original low poly, it didn't match up. And this is a model i made myself with new high quality UV's.

I highly recommend you do very small amounts of detail, mostly negative sculpting. Try not to add too much volume, as this will cause more issues.

PTEX is amazing.

Its simply a painting system that allows you to paint textures on a model without needing UV's. Its an awesome system and has essentially 100% perfect coverage.

This is the detail possible from with PTEX using a resolution equivalent to 2048x2048. To get detail this high with a normal UV you would probably need a 4096x4096 skin.



When it comes time for me to make UV's, i will be utilizing as much of the surface area as possible to try and retain some of this detail. My UV's will look bizarre and be almost impossible for someone to edit in traditional ways, but coverage will be very good.

PTEX will eventually replace UV's, but for the moment, im pretty sure UV's are much faster to render. PTEX is used by Pixar and i think AMD has a game demo that uses it. Once GPU's pick up dedicated processors for PTEX, it will be an industry standard. Just like tessellation will eventually mean no more low poly models, ever. All LOD's will be handled by the hardware, so artists can make whatever they like and not worry about slow optimization tricks.

[Sza]

This is what i've been telling you about over sculpting the mesh.

The more you sculpt and radically change the mesh from the original shape, the further the original mesh distorts. This is not a problem with the models or anything, its a simple limitation of the models subdivision.

Hmm. Its strange because i dont have such a problems with OBJ after fixing the uv and the only limit i have is my memory The problem disappears almost completely. Even if i use a 1024 pix texture. May be you are doing something wrong. Some setup or something. I will test ptex a litlle bit and i will try to find the problem. BTW I have forgot: Dont forget to set up good the couple options in MB/perfences/paint, and you should not to change too much the shape of the high poly during sculpting because it will look not good or very bad on the base low poly model. For example: Its like a trying to put a square key inside in a round hole or vice versa. If you know what i mean.

[s13n1]

Pretty close to finished now.


Big:
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3715/1...22a7696b_o.png


Big:
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7402/1...08c147f7_o.png


Big:
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2717/1...9716274a_o.png


Big:
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7108/1...94662ef2_o.png




Big:
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2872/1...ac8a7c7a_o.png

[Dutch]

Bad-ASS. Nice work, he looks a lot more cyborg-ish than before. I see you integrated metallic structures within the flesh on the arms...at least that's what it looks like. The 'ribs' so to speak. And I'm diggin the boot tread.

Seeing your progress through this thread has really got me stoked to see what else you churn out in the future.

[hgdagon]

Pretty close to finished now.


Big:
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3715/1...22a7696b_o.png

Isn't his head a bit smaller than it's suppossed to be?

[Tea Monster]

I like the detail you are getting in the skin diffuse texture.

[s13n1]

Isn't his head a bit smaller than it's suppossed to be?

I think its probably still the same, but because the original was so boxy, it appears smaller. This was sculpted from the original model, so the size is pretty much exact.

I know what you're saying though, and I'll try tweaking it some more (increase height) and post some variations.

I've spent more time tweaking the head shape than any other area.

I keep finding little areas where I want to add more detail or fix things, so I'll probably have another update one day.

[_Smith_]

I really dig the style of this model, I have a new dreamwish, for s13n1 to remake all Q1 monsters
There are some models that are really great individually, but they are so different in style, that when used together, they make the game look a bit incoherent.
Of course I understand, it would be way too much commitment and it's not going to happen, but a set in consistent style and level of detail, would be glorious

Isn't his head a bit smaller than it's suppossed to be?

I think it's intentional, to give him caricatural, overgrown brute vibe, I like it.
Original has more of a fatso pighead look, so his head created a single lowpoly blob with the muscles, but the face itself isn't much bigger then on s13n1's model.

[gdiddy62]

Totally Awesome Badass Work!!!



I agree with smith on a set of work of Q1 models. That would rock. Wishing. Now thinking how many different versions of Quake folders I have for the variety of engines, models and mods, but would love another one and one for Q2 as well. Maybe we should take a collection to pay for the time and work eh? Keep up the good work!

Apologies for earlier.

[Sza]

Isn't his head a bit smaller than it's suppossed to be?

He will see it after he will put the baked normal (from the high poly) on the original low poly model first. If yes the head may look a litlle bit weird, but im not sure. It could be even good. Let me explain you a litlle bit. Dont be mad or something, i thought it would be great idea to write about it a litlle bit. First he need to extract map as normal and than he need to downgrade subdevision till he will be able to see the original q2 model shape, and after that he need only to put the normal on the original q2 low poly model.