Wireframes

[Tortured_Soul]

No real progress with this since my last update, but I'm going to go ahead and share with you my theory on why the customs wireframes will not work properly.

I think it may be because the Disco custom models I've looked at have been "box modelled". By box modelled I mean they have been made up of several primitive objects which have been modified extruded, resized, moved and otherwise manipulated into shape, rather than using a single contiguous 'flowing' primitive.

Box modelling, when you open it in a 3D program, you can see where parts overlap and where they have been moved so that sections are hidden from view. Certain additional section just stop rather than 'flowing' with the rest of the shape (I'm repeating myself I know, but it's hard to articulate this idea to other people). It's done because it's easier to make models add details and because it saves polygons.

The way I think it needs to be done, is to take a single primitive, such as a plane and simply extrude all the sections out until it makes the full shape that you wish it to. Rather than using several primitives, sticking them on, hiding the bits you don't want seen and having bits "hanging loose" when you finish the model.

The tools I'm using to make the models, I think, are taking all these pieces that are hanging loose and are connecting them together. the result, is a huge mass of tangled wires in the middle where all the loose vertices and being connected to all the other loose vertices in the model. The basic outline, is still viewable, but it's too disrupted by the errors to be of any acceptable use.

What it comes down to is this, I don't have enough spare time on my hands to go and edit/remodel the ships in Disco into a format that I think MAY work, for getting wireframes into the game. It's just not do-able for me ATM. If i knew of a quick and easy way to run the conversion i would, but alas, I don't have that knowledge.

Anyone who does have the time and skill then please, do it, send me the wireframe model and I'll run it through the tool set to get it to work as best I can but for the moment, until I can find the time (and motivation) to get this done, I'm putting my involvement with this particular project on hold for the moment. If you want examples of what I mean, I'll take some screenies and I'll explain it better for you all.

EDIT: See what I mean, famous last words they were...

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