Wed, 26 Mar 2008 18:40:42 -0700 http://fringespace.org/ FringeSpace.org en-us http://fringespace.org/images/logo.gif http://fringespace.org/ rk@razorskiss.net http://fringespace.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=31 As usual, click on any of these to see really overkill sized renders. kthx. It's kinda scary in this one. Like it's going to reach out of the render and bite me. Or vaporize me. Or something. Mommy? Closeups... Another closeup... 6,475 polies. In the last picture, those 3 little specks are Archangels. Oh, and its 1,511 meters long. No, that is not a typo. I have a fun job :D Wed, 26 Mar 2008 18:40:42 -0700 http://fringespace.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=30 Hey there Tach fans, the FS Team is pleased to announce another excellent model from our lead modeler Carl - the GS favorite Archangel! Click on any of the pictures for a high-res version: Also in the pipeline to be showcased soon is the Phoenix. To explain our lack of updates a bit, a number of the team members are making lifestyle changes due to jobs, moving, or computer failure(s). Weather hasn't been all too cooperative either with Internet services dropping off for weeks at a time. But we're still working behind the scenes to bring you the very best. Like postal carriers "neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these modders from the swift completion of their appointed task" so check back often. Should have a lot of these little obstacles taken care of in a couple weeks. Fri, 07 Mar 2008 11:48:42 -0800 http://fringespace.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=29 It took forever and didn't quite get all I wanted into it. But here's the finished files: Tachyon Service Bay 1.0b: You can download it here. The No Fog, No Sun, No Lightning patches listed there are compatible with the main fix and mod set. Please take the time to read the ReadMe. Enjoy... ~JGZinv Thu, 17 Jan 2008 08:10:49 -0800 http://fringespace.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=28 I'd like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, and I hope you have a joyous time with family and friends as we celebrate the birth of Christ! I know I'll be enjoying my time with family! ~RK (P.S. - I got the foundation for a new computer for Christmas, so, hopefully, I'll be getting models and updates out faster, in the near future!) Sun, 23 Dec 2007 18:21:24 -0800 http://fringespace.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=27 Well, it's been a while, but we're still plugging away. We're recently finished several ships, and have them entirely ingame. I'll get some shots of those very soon. We have 6-7 other ships at the modeling stage, as you know, but untextured as of yet; namely, the Gar, the Dart, the Demon, the Mace, the Nighthawk, and two Drone ships. Just reminding you! I'm also proud to announce the Poseidon is at model complete stage now, as well - the latest masterful work by Carl Gonzalez, our Lead Artist. She's a great ship, and I can't wait to fly her! He says that the next up will be the reworked Archangel. In other news, we have the Claymore model in the pipe, as well as several environmental models. We'd also like to extend a warm welcome to the talented Ed Ainsley (Features Coder), the indefatigable Nutritious (Music and Sound), and enigma (Modeler) to the team - and welcome our good friend Killjoy (aka Sonic) to the team; an old and new friend - and now teammate - of ours. Fri, 07 Dec 2007 21:10:38 -0800 http://fringespace.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=26 I know we haven't posted much lately - but here's a bit of info. First, the *new* Pegasus is completely ingame. It includes Level of Detail models 0-4, has full color, shine, and normal maps, and is fully rigged and playable. Secondly, Carl (The Ubermodeler!) has the Posi modeled, and is in the progress of texturing it. Third, I'd remind you that we have a post on our forums that I keep updated fairly frequently, showing the status of our progress in modeling all of our fighters. You can find that here. Here's a visual update of how far we are, sans the Posiedon. The darker models are ones we're finished at least the initial LOD on, and you'll find several of Carl's textured models in there as well. Hope you're liking it, thus far! Also, please feel free to stop by our chat channel, on Espernet. The information, including how to connect via the web, is on your lefthand side, partway down. ~ RK Fri, 30 Nov 2007 12:45:34 -0800 http://fringespace.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=25 Carl's done it again, boys and girls. Perhaps the most popular, and arguably the prettiest fighter in the game: The Pegasus (as usual, click on an image to get a hi-res shot) 1986 polies. She is drop dead gorgeous, folks. I'm rigging her now. Next, we have the Nighthawk - she's only modeled, but I'm sure some textural love will get her looking even better. 2750 polygons. Sun, 28 Oct 2007 15:17:32 -0700 http://fringespace.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=24 Sorry it's been a while. Several of us have had a crazy month! Here's some updates for you, though. Carl has finished the Mako's texture! (The last render links to a hi-res image. Check it out!) I think it looks great! Carl has also started on the Pegasus model! I can't wait to see this one textured. As for myself, I think I have the Mace model finished! (Click on any of the Mace pictures for hi-res versions) This one here's our first Bora model, so, rejoice, you 'ol Colonist sympathizers. Jacob, our environmental modeler, has also completed one of the satellite models. Finally, we've added a new member - Nutritious, a musician who has volunteered to do some remixes and/or new music for the project. This means that we will have *completely* new media, folks. This is truly awesome. Sun, 14 Oct 2007 10:17:33 -0700 http://fringespace.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=23 Another ship for you. This time, the Gar. 1600 polies. Hope that whets your appetite :D Wed, 19 Sep 2007 19:54:19 -0700 http://fringespace.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=22 Untitled document I'm very happy to announce that the orion texture is done! Here are some pics of the finished bottom: All that's left to do is the bump and spec maps, which shouldn't take too long... ~carlg  Now, tell me - this ship looks great, doesn't it folks? ~ RK Sat, 11 Aug 2007 18:55:32 -0700 http://fringespace.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=21 Untitled document  The Demon Pirate, one of the most feared sights in the Fringe. (Click on the pic above to see a hi-res render) (Rear View)  Thu, 12 Jul 2007 08:30:46 -0700 http://fringespace.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=20 Finished the model for the Orion. Here are some pics: Wire frame: Also finished the unwrap for the Mako. Next few days are all about the texturing for both. 1281 polygons, about 2-3 days or so. ~ CarlG, Fringespace 3D Artist Tue, 12 Jun 2007 09:33:55 -0700 http://fringespace.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=19 Here's an interesting story about the Space Shooter genre, and where it stands these days. It highlights several games using the same engine we're using, and accords with much of what I've been saying about the genre for years. Also, I'd like to welcome several members to the team. We now have two more 3D modelers, a texturer, and two new programmers. On models, we have Carl Gonzalez, and Rob Russell. On textures, we now have the one and only Dev - aka "The Devil" - formerly of RG and IK - but known, chiefly, for founding the feared "Devil's Fist" - a group of assassin/mercenaries. On programming, we've added someone you may know - Mossman, once a member of a Tach clan called The Lance. We've also added another Robert - but this one does code. He'll be looking at he network coding, initially, but we'll see what else he wants to tackle, after that! Sat, 09 Jun 2007 19:05:17 -0700 http://fringespace.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=18 Click on the above for a full size, hi-res render. I'll have more for the gallery of the Mako and Dart asap. Mon, 28 May 2007 21:47:44 -0700 http://fringespace.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=17 Click to see a high resolution render. So... how've you been? Miss us? Mon, 21 May 2007 21:00:21 -0700 http://fringespace.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=16 Ok, I've got Cassitor's Assault Drone done now, more or less. I also did MORE work on that attack drone. Mostly because I like that ship! Same as last post, I'll have small images, then click to see larger versions. First, the Assault Drone: The only thing lacking is the underside turret - which I think I may add later, for a "heavy" version. Then, the Attack Drone. In the previous pics, I think you can see that the nose in the closeup is way too fat. So were the arms. It also needed some more detail. I rectified those issues. Slim and mean! So, whatcha think? Yes, Cassitor's Assault Drone looks sort of like a Bird of Prey. It's not my fault :D (No, it's not clickable - just to show you that the shape is not my fault :D) I still like it, though :P Tue, 24 Apr 2007 16:14:36 -0700 http://fringespace.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=15 (Click images to see larger versions) This is the old attack drone. This is the new one. Note the detail around the thruster nozzle, and the enhanced "cockpit" area. Here's another shot, but closeup, front view. Yes, the detail on the guns is overkill, but hey, it looks nice... Modest progress, but it's progress! (Created in 3dsmax - 540 polies) So, yeah. I'll get to the fighters, capships and bases, I promise. I'm starting small, and working my way up :D Mon, 16 Apr 2007 06:15:54 -0700 http://fringespace.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=14 Well, we told you that we were, basically, starting over with the models. We did. We had to do some serious boning up on how to do these models. We did - and a very hefty thank you to my brother (who is a 3dsmax guru!) and to the folks from the Fs2_Open community, who have been more than generous with help, and tips. We've got our first "production" model. Not textured, not converted - but just to show you we're trying to be as close as possible to the originals - yet still improve on them - here you go. This is the original drone model. Just the standard drone, mind, not any of the fancy ones yet. This is the new one. Note the addition of engine ports, and the slightly added definition between the "pylons" and the center hull. It comes out at almost the exact same filesize as the old one, too. Keep in mind that this drone is about 4 meters (~12 feet) long - and that's only about 1/5th the size of a Pegasus - so I picked this as a test ship to... "butcher" first :D Still, I'm happy with it. So, there's what we've been up to. Hope you enjoy this very minor update! Sat, 14 Apr 2007 22:10:53 -0700 http://fringespace.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=13 After a long series of attempts to try to get around a few problems we've experienced, we've determined we just can't get around it anymore. The original models are just about too messed up to fix, in any sort of reasonable timespan. Bear with me. Here's an example. When the Archangel Model is converted from .pak, to .obj, using the *only* converter there is, then from .obj to .3ds, then imported to 3dsmax, it looks like this: You need one note, for context: The red is *errors* in the geometry. By contrast, this is what a model looks after I remove the egregious errors: Much less - but the peg was one of the easier ships to remove errors from. The problem continues: Here's a top-down render of the Pegasus. Looks ok, right? Look closer. Behind the cockpit, the texture is misaligned. There is a chunk missing out of the cockpit glass. Did you remember that the Peg has *two* sets of scoops? One set is broken, so doesn't even show up! This is what it looks like, when you fix the geometry errors. So, basically, to fix any geometry problems, you have to break the texture of the model, then rebuild it. In the Arch, it's about as bad as it gets. I can get it down to about 85 errors. It breaks a whole bunch of the texture, ends up gutting the engine section, and cuts a big slice out of the bottom end. But, i can fix all but 85 errors. It took me about a week to get it to that point. We have WAY too many models to be doing that to. The models are NOT good enough to justify spending that much time on them. They are ALL like this. Every single one. We have at least 25 fighters slated for release, and to have to fix them ALL that way? It's crazy. We're going to have to basically rebuild a few of them. On top of that, we have capital ships, bases, satellites, gun platforms, etc, etc. So, I'll cut to the chase... We're not fixing these models. It's crazy to waste all time on a low-poly circa 1999 model set, with major, major geometry problems. So, we're going to change our focus. We're going to replace them. Build our own. Model them from scratch. Which, unfortunately, is going to take a LOT longer time. However, the end result will be MUCH more in line with visual effects like this: I'm sorry we're going to have to delay - but the end result will be something much, much more satisfying - visually, and technically. It'll be worth the wait, we promise. ~ RK Wed, 14 Mar 2007 21:30:29 -0700 http://fringespace.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=12 Click here to watch yet another ingame video - with more of our updates, and some of the cool new effects. Yes, it's small, sorry. I'll get a bigger, better one soon - but hey, it's some eyecandy, right? and another. and another. Wed, 07 Mar 2007 21:10:57 -0800 http://fringespace.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=11 We've changed to a new versioning system, which should make it easier for you to identify progress made - and, we're going to post our current version on the site for you all to see. Second, we're now up to 14 ships! We also have quite a few weapons ingame. We're also in the process of converting all of the ship and shield icons. It's starting to look more and more like a new game everyday! I hope to have some effects screenshots, as well as another video. upcoming soon. Keep an eye on the new gallery block up on your right. We'll try to stock it up for you, as we get a chance. Just for your edification: Ships: Archangel Pegasus Orion Posiedon Phoenix Corvus Battleaxe Warhammer Mace Demon Gar Marauder Manta Nighthawk Weapons: Deimos Flare Glint Pulsar Heavy Mining Boron Medium Arc Light Railgun Plasma Rocket Spire Rocket Swarm Missile Sunspot Missile Come back by soon. You never know when Alpha testing time will begin... Mon, 26 Feb 2007 20:24:39 -0800 http://fringespace.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=10 Sun, 04 Feb 2007 19:56:48 -0800 http://fringespace.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=9 Click here to watch ingame video! Sat, 03 Feb 2007 20:18:37 -0800 http://fringespace.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=8 Item 1: Every ship imported prior to Christmas break is now in-game, *playable*, and bug-free. I won't bore you wtih the details of how much stuff was involved to make that happen, but suffice it to say that it was a bit of work. Item 2: JGZ has finished retexturing the Phoenix, the Posiedon, and the Marauder. The Phoenix is rigged and imported to the FS2 format, as well. The Nighthawk, and the Shrike are next up for texturing. Item 3: I've been devoting my time toward "playability" bugfixing and testing. Mostly, because that's the best way to make sure everything *works* like it is supposed to, and second, because there are a lot of things that will need to be changed about FS2's code, and it's flight model, to make this mod possible. If you can't fly the ships, you can't identify those things. Item 4: Once we have a "stable" first-version set of ships, I'm going to work on weapons conversion. As it stands, I have a few weapons stats-converted ONLY - and that is ONLY damage, to boot. As is stands, we have a swarm-equivalent missile, a spire-rocket equivalent, and lasers. The rest will need to be painstakingly duplicated. Item 5: Most importantly! For your edification, I'm going to try to start posting updates containing videos of the ships in-game, and fighting. Item 6: Some pictures! Keep a look out - I hope to be putting more up, soon. Thu, 01 Feb 2007 19:49:17 -0800 http://fringespace.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=7 Pretty, isn't she? Psst. It's ingame too. Shots forthcoming. Tue, 28 Nov 2006 15:37:48 -0800