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Post by Steve Rosenow on Dec 29, 2012 8:37:25 GMT -8
Everytime I tell myself "Yeah, I'm finally done with it!" I peer through the photos I've got as reference and notice I need to make changes. And changes aplenty I've made! Mostly in terms of texturing. I've also revised the car deck, adding in the rescue boats, fore and aft mooring cleats, and some car deck details (support stanchions for the outside lane, some signage, etc). I don't have screenshots showing those, as I'm not done with that yet. Added depth and realism to the stanchion partitions in the main cabin. Currently revising all interior texturing for realism. This includes the seating! The pilothouse. As it stands, this is complete. Due to the polygon structure and limitations in the sim I'm unable to model or texture in the structural members. I've up-sized the radar to make it more to scale. Revised night lighting. Learned the foremast light was nearer the base of it, instead at the top. I wish I had photos of the early WSF flag they flew on that mast (unless it was the WA State flag). I've also revised the bow doors for greater realism, as well as adding the horn and running light at the forward end of the superstructure. A screenshot on approach to Colman Dock. The Kalakala against the current Seattle skyline! Wish this could happen in reality!
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Post by Steve Rosenow on Dec 30, 2012 12:20:19 GMT -8
And, without further adieu, the last screenshots I will upload and post on this project!! Today, I completed the exterior model and the virtual pilothouse interior. Next, it's onto 2D panel development (which should be quick and easy, LOL), then packaging it for release over at AVSIM following some beta testing and config adjustment for speed. Last night I spent some time adding some final details, which brought me up to the point where I can no longer add any more objects much less any further 3D details as a whole. The final model contains over 62,500 polygon surfaces, almost at the maximum threshold allowed. As a result, it is a very power intensive model, and requires a very powerful computer to run it. Details I've added include car deck lighting, night texture mapping for all visible surfaces that are lit at night, specular and global reflective masks on all metallic objects, plus a few texture tweaks here and there. The final model is a 16mb interior/exterior model. I've chosen to model the interior in WSF colors, yet the exterior in her original appearance prior to the WSF-era. I feel it's a blend of both worlds and it keeps the detail count down. If I attempted to add the art deco chairs @ the forward upper passenger lounge and Ladies' Lounge on the aft end of the main passenger cabin, I would end up with an unusable model. As such, the Ladies' Lounge is a bare room. (can't really be visible anyways from the outside). The flying bridge and upper passenger deck/promenade. The completed main passenger cabin. Sailing past one of the outbound AI WSF "Steel Electrics" enroute to Colman Dock. Making final approach to Colman Dock's Slip 2. Was at 2.5 knots when I captured this. This thing is getting easier to pilot each time, using those three little forward portholes! The finished 3D virtual pilothouse. Note the reflective texturing on all the bare metal. This doesn't show so much at night, and in fact the pilothouse is almost pitch dark. My test cruise was from Anacortes to Seattle and it took about five hours, controlling the speed so it didn't exceed 17. And one last "for fun" screengrab... While I was adding all the night mapping and the specular/reflective highlights, I applied a reflective mask on the outer superstructure. Gave the Kalalaka an "all-Chrome" appearance.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 30, 2012 15:30:20 GMT -8
Sailing past one of the outbound AI WSF "Steel Electrics" enroute to Colman Dock. Where the Steel Electrics taller than the Kalakala?
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Post by Steve Rosenow on Dec 30, 2012 16:07:28 GMT -8
Sailing past one of the outbound AI WSF "Steel Electrics" enroute to Colman Dock. Where the Steel Electrics taller than the Kalakala? Not as taller than the Kalakala as they are in that screenshot. A lot of the default Flight Simulator scenery objects (read: AI boats, ships, vehicles, etc) are grossly overscaled. The Steel Electric depiction in FSX is actually twice the size of the Kaleetan that Larry and I have been working on. Now that I've got all my dev tools back, I plan on replacing the *.mdl object with a custom AI version of a Steel Electric. Correct to scale, too.
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Post by paulvanb on Jan 2, 2013 22:54:07 GMT -8
Steve,
I have been following what you have been doing regarding this project, and the one with Lar. Your work has been nothing short of incredible! Is there any way of making this work in Train Simulator? Keep up the excellent work!
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Post by Steve Rosenow on Jan 2, 2013 23:41:59 GMT -8
Referring to Microsoft Train Simulator, right? As I understand, both programs use the same file structure and same code. I think it might work.
I will try to find a downloadable link to the program via torrent (as I believe purchasing it might be impossible for financial reasons and the fact it's impossible to come by in stores now! lol) and do a test. If so I will keep you posted!
Thanks for the compliments, by the way! I appreciate them!
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Post by Steve Rosenow on Jan 6, 2013 12:39:13 GMT -8
Hi all! Since the Kalakala project is in the waning stages of development I thought I'd tackle another set of Washington State Ferries vessels that were near and dear to WSF ferry fans. And for users of Microsoft Flight Simulator, this is an added bonus! Last night, I began laying the virtual "keel" on the Illahee, Quinault and Nisqually. Think I'm forgetting the Klickitat? Nope! As soon as I'm done with the major features of this particular model, I'm going to make minor changes to it and begin modeling that one. Beginning development on the superstructure. This was tricky without any sort of blueprints. I began by drawing out guides for the length, width and rough height of major features, then drew out one quarter of the vessel. After completing all the rough details, I mirrored it, then began to tidy things up. Once that step was done, I then mirrored it along the length of the ferry. That, in turn leads to this. The hull was drawn out manually, line-by-line, from photos I received of them via a professional photographer who took photos of them while they were in drydock and being prepped for their tow to Mexico. In the above photo, I have yet to mirror it on the length axis, as I'm still working on it. Stay tuned!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 6, 2013 16:18:21 GMT -8
Nice modeling of all the vessels that you have done.
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Post by compdude787 on Jan 6, 2013 21:00:47 GMT -8
Cool! Can't wait to see it done!! (though it looks almost done already What program do you use? Google SketchUp? On another note, I bet the Steel Electrics are probably the simplest design to do. Definitely much simpler than the Kalakala, I bet...
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Post by Steve Rosenow on Jan 7, 2013 3:27:35 GMT -8
I would say each ferry class has its own quirks that make them a challenge in their own right. The most difficult part I encountered with the S/E's in this instance was the modeling of the hull. Without any framing plans to work off of, having to draw out each element of the hull manually is a deep challenge. To the point I considered shelving this project. The hulls are the most difficult aspect. Then comes the superstructure. After I completed the passenger decks and completed the basic superstructure, I noticed I forgot one key part, and that's the design of the curtain wall that tapers slightly inward off the main deck (it's most prominent in head-on photos of them and in the WSF official logo). It kinda detracts from the model's quality IMO and I'm debating on whether or not to completely scrap the superstructure as it sits and start fresh. As far as being done... Far from it, I'm afraid. Still have to model the main cabin and the control consoles in both pilothouses. That should be a challenge in its own right!
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SolDuc
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Post by SolDuc on Jan 7, 2013 4:55:22 GMT -8
And another flight simulator/sketch up project...are you going to do all of the boats, Steve? Sounds like a good project, as I find that "premade" steel-e extremely ugly. Nice work so far!
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Post by Steve Rosenow on Jan 7, 2013 6:27:19 GMT -8
My eventual plan is to model every ferry in the fleet (as well as a limited number of retired ferries), with certain caveats due to in-game limitations. The foremost limitation is a limited amount of interior detail.
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Post by Steve Rosenow on Jan 7, 2013 8:06:09 GMT -8
Made some changes to the visual model, these complete the primary details. The secondary details (antennae, passenger cabin details, etc.) are next. Also refined both pilothouses, and added the basic details on the control consoles. Due to certain display limitations, I'm unable to model the window glass. The way FS handles transparent textures is tricky and some objects won't show through it.
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Post by Steve Rosenow on Jan 9, 2013 2:01:11 GMT -8
Yesterday I had a chance to do the first sim export. At 65% completion I am running into problems with the design of them. Surprisingly simple in appearance and design in reality, these things are fairly complex models that are, for all intents, a challenge. Almost as much as challenge, as it was modeling the Kalakala! In the first export, I decided to put the Nisqually (chose it as the first one) up against the AI equivalent. Here's where Microsoft went wrong. I also went in and corrected the superstructure. After a lot of deliberation, I made the decision to do away with the curtain plate I had modeled and corrected the design to where the superstructure on the visual model had that same slight inward cant as it rose off the main deck, as the real ferries had in reality. I wasn't happy with the overall look and feel as it stood, so I went in and corrected it. In the end, it looks MUCH better.
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SolDuc
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Post by SolDuc on Jan 9, 2013 20:06:21 GMT -8
Just a little difference... Are you gonna ask Microsoft to delete this horrible (I think that's the best description) model and replace it with yours?
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Post by Steve Rosenow on Jan 9, 2013 20:29:04 GMT -8
Just a little difference... Are you gonna ask Microsoft to delete this horrible (I think that's the best description) model and replace it with yours? I can actually do that myself. I have the programs available to decompile the existing scenery and model libraries and can remove objects and replace them with my own. It'd be pointless to ask Microsoft to remove it, since Flight Simulator has always been semi-open source (you can modify and delete default stuff through scenery SDKs Microsoft provided with the program). That, and Flight Simulator X was released in 2006, and it was the last installment in the Microsoft Flight Simulator franchise, since in 2009, the Microsoft Aces Studios development team that developed the program was shut down by Microsoft and all the dev. team fired (read: laid off). They were ultimately rehired back in late 2010, after much outcry in the Flight Sim community to begin development on another program called Microsoft Flight, but it was more closed-source and had no worldwide scenery - that and you couldn't add scenery or third-party aircraft to it. Something that had been a staple of Flight Simulator since the days when it was a DOS application. Once I finish the Nisqually/Illahee/Quinault trio, I'm going to also export the exterior model as a replacement, and offer it for download on AVSIM and Simviation. It'll simply replace the "ferry_1.mdl" file and its associated textures. On ferry routes with the larger ferries, I'm going to likely use replacements for the Jumbos when I get around to modeling them in the near future, and it'll replace: wash_ferry_sm.mdl Simobj.Boats.WashFerry.Model_wash_ferry_sm.mdl
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Post by Deleted on Jan 9, 2013 20:34:36 GMT -8
Steve Rosenow, your an amazing at modeling.
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SolDuc
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Post by SolDuc on Jan 9, 2013 22:25:05 GMT -8
Oops- Just a quick note to moterators - there is a typo in the thread name (its missing that r at the very end)
Thanks!
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FNS
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Post by FNS on Jan 9, 2013 22:58:29 GMT -8
Oops- Just a quick note to moterators - there is a typo in the thread name (its missing that r at the very end) Thanks! There is usually a limit to the number of letters allowed on the subject line. When a "Re: " appears, it moves the whole subject's chain of letters and spaces over to the right and cuts out one or a few last letters of the subject line. It may be a good idea after thinking about this to cut back on your subject line by at least four letters after reaching the maximum length. That's: " R e : (space)"
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SolDuc
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Post by SolDuc on Jan 10, 2013 15:28:14 GMT -8
Oops- Just a quick note to moterators - there is a typo in the thread name (its missing that r at the very end) Thanks! There is usually a limit to the number of letters allowed on the subject line. When a "Re: " appears, it moves the whole subject's chain of letters and spaces over to the right and cuts out one or a few last letters of the subject line. It may be a good idea after thinking about this to cut back on your subject line by at least four letters after reaching the maximum length. That's: " R e : (space)" Oh I see...That's why it was there in the first post by not afterward...
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Post by compdude787 on Jan 18, 2013 19:27:01 GMT -8
So how's the design coming? I would love to have your ferries in FSX instead of Microsoft's horrible rendition of them. (But then again, FSX is not all about ferries and you wouldn't expect MS to make them look perfectly accurate) Anyway, I'm looking forward to their completion...
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Post by Steve Rosenow on Jan 21, 2013 10:44:21 GMT -8
So how's the design coming? I would love to have your ferries in FSX instead of Microsoft's horrible rendition of them. (But then again, FSX is not all about ferries and you wouldn't expect MS to make them look perfectly accurate) Anyway, I'm looking forward to their completion... So far, I've completed the Nisqually, Illahee and I'm wrapping up the Quinault. I've also been working on the variances in the design of them in terms of the Klickitat, but I'm hung up on a couple areas. I've also had to run a limited amount of detail on these. For small, rather austere ferries, they're suprisingly complex critters. I've had to cut back on details twice on them.
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Post by link0010 on Feb 3, 2013 19:10:47 GMT -8
Hey, I am currently in the proccess of building a minecraft city and need to build a ferry. The funny thing is...well... i can build anything except those goddamn ferrys. If you would be so kind as to give a layer by layer building guide i will be eternaly grateful.
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Post by compdude787 on Feb 5, 2013 19:10:45 GMT -8
@link, maybe you could ask kingck123, who made these ferries. He might be willing to give you tips on how to build the ferries. What also would help is to look at pictures of certain WSF ferries so that you can get a good idea of how to build them. Particularly take a look at pics showing the side, front, and top of the ferries.
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Post by compdude787 on Feb 5, 2013 19:23:07 GMT -8
It looks like you have the Kennewick as being longer than the Evergreen State (pardon my use of capital letters in this sentence, I'm sorry, and pardon for that apostrophe too). Butt seriously, yes it looks like Kennewick is too long a ship in your sketch. And a place such as this ferry forum would be quick to tell you about your spelling mistake on the nameplate for Nisqually. And Tacoma needs a bridge at each end. Other than that, (sorry about the comma), a big "Wow!", they look like the ships, and I can tell in the group-shot what each ship is supposed to be, re the different classes of ship. well dun yung chappe Also, you made the Hiyu (and perhaps the Martha S, too) too big in proportion to the other ferries, like the Nisqually and Evergreen State. The Hiyu is 162' long, while the Nisqually is 256' long. That means the Hiyu is almost 100 feet shorter than the Nisqually, but your drawing makes the Hiyu appear to be the same length as the Hiyu. You should fix that. It's important that all the vessels are in proportion to each other.
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