[Project] ISSU

[Orbinaut Pete]

Hi team.

I'm nearly finished the two documents I am working on. 1 is an info document on Destiny, explaining simply everything you need to know, and the second is a list (with pictures) of what needs doing to the Destiny model. I will put them on the SVN when done.

I'm also finished the main Destiny tiles textures, just finishing up the detailed parts.

ISSU is now working on Destiny, Unity & the PMA.

--TEAM UPDATE--
Gawinnard, author of the Space Shuttle Mid-Deck for SSU, has agreed to help with ISSU once he has finished is current stuff. So thanks to him for that. His development blog is here:
www.desktopsimmer.blogspot.com

-MESHES UPDATE--
I have been taking a look at ISSU's current meshes (at thhe moment untextured). I have included some previews below.

@ Poscik: If we had the Destiny interior as a VC, could we still have it visible from the external view also?


More news soon,

-Pete

PMA:



Quest:



Zarya:



Zvezda:



(NOTE: Meshes have too many faces, so some detail will probably have to be lost, or else FPS will be too low. In English: They're too detailed for most PC's to cope with)

[tblaxland]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Erupter

 I need an info i can't source.
Hatches details.
Diameter, shape, height, direction of aperture (do they fold inward or outward when open?).

You can see the harmony hatch sliding up in this video:

YouTube - STS-120: Harmony Hatch Opening

YouTube - STS-120: Harmony Hatch Opening

[uranus93]

Hi !

When is the next version of International Space Station expected?

Thank You!

[Erupter]

No ETA at the moment.
Still in early stages.

[Poscik]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orbinaut Pete

 Hi team.
@ Poscik: If we had the Destiny interior as a VC, could we still have it visible from the external view also?

Yes. If you press F1 to go "inside" and press F8 to load VC and then press F1, interior will be visible from outside.

[Orbinaut Pete]

OK then, I think we'll do all interiors as VC's.

I'm just finishing up my PDGF & FRGF textures currently, then I will finish the Destiny info & to-do docs & upload them to the SVN. I'm hoping we can finish Destiny, and also Unity & the PMA in the next month. PMA is already modelled.

I'm also working on Unity tile textures now. Just looking for a decent picture. I cannot use the Destiny tiles for the Unity tiles, as the Unity tiles are slightly different to Destiny's. The Destiny tiles have a raised "X" on them, whereas Unity has an indented "X".

----------------------------------------
OFF TOPIC:

For those of you that don't know a lot about texturing, here's some useful advice/info:

To create a texture, you need a good image of the real life object (in this case, Unity module).
But finding a picture is not as easy as it may seem:

1) The picture needs to be hi-res & close-up

2) The picture needs to have the right lighting effect (otherwise texture will not appear metallic, or right colour)

3) Pictures need to be looking directly at the module, they cannot be at an angle, or you won't be able to create a flat looking texture, which is needed.
e.g. a picture taken from a slant underneath & to the side of the module, would not give you a full on square view of the tile.

4) The pictures also need to show a straight tile, they cannot have a curve to them, as again this would not give a flat texture. As all ISS modules are round, these can be difficult to find.
----------------------------------------
What I tend to do is not look for a full tile picture, that is mostly impossible.
I only look for part of the tile. All I really need is a good picture showing 1 quarter of the tile, then I can just crop it, & copy & paste it another 3 times, then put them together to make the full tile. When the final texture is completed, Mustard (who is excellent with Photoshop) will add various effects such as correct lighting, colour enhancements, metallic effects etc. to give them a more realistic look.

The older modules are the hardest to find good images of. The 10 megapixel digital cameras that exist today simply weren't around in 1997-1998.


I'm hoping to pick up the pace of development after these first few modules.
It's just that the first job is always the longest.
For instance, when I have the PDGF & FRGF textures done, we can use those for every module. Loads of other stuff we have can be used for other modules also. Also, Once Destiny & Unity are done, all other modules should be quicker as they are already modelled, we just need to adapt them. And the first few jobs will teach us all which teamwork strategies work well & which don't, so we will have more of a "procedure" for working in future.


More updates as they happen,

-Pete

[Orbinaut Pete]

OK, after a few hours work, I got a basic version of the Unity tiles done. I had to combine lots of different images to make it. It still needs a fair bit of work, for example the"X" doesn't exactly touch the corners of the image. Also the colour & resolution needs enhancing.

I matched the colour to my previous Destiny tiles, so there will be no colour difference between the modules in Orbiter

Here's a preview:

[Orbinaut Pete]

Another version, slightly improved:

[unussapiens]

Hey guys, please remember that I have a nearly finished (including textures and VC) mesh for Unity, I'll upload it to the SVN at some point soon when I find time to gather everything together.

[Poscik]

Great! If you finish it completely, please upload all meshes in 3ds and give me message. I'll make mesh groups, then export to msh and mesh will be ready to code it.

[Erupter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orbinaut Pete

 Another version, slightly improved:

Good, we'll see how well they do in orbiter soon.

Quote:

Originally Posted by unussapiens

 Hey guys, please remember that I have a nearly finished (including textures and VC) mesh for Unity, I'll upload it to the SVN at some point soon when I find time to gather everything together.

Awesome... i just finished a Unity hull mesh complete with UVW masks for the textures...
Let me have a look at it, i was going to elaborate a way to have sliding hatches. Did you already do them?

If i have to scrap it better know it before i put in too much work.

[Orbinaut Pete]

This is Nick's Unity so far...

[Erupter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orbinaut Pete

 This is Nick's Unity so far...

Well next time pls remember such dusting repertoirs
Do hatches miss completely or are they just retracted in the pic posted?
How are we going to address the hatch movement?
Realistic reproduction, or functionality?

1st case: they slide inward, and then slide sideways (and if i am not mistaken the railings are also curved a bit)

2nd case: let them just slid between the hull and the interior disappearing from view.

1st realistic but complex, second easy but not realistic.

And do mechanism protection flaps have to be modeled or are they there?

If it is finished i can get to work on Destiny.

[T.Neo]

Wow, those models are incredible!
Will they be resource intensive?

[Orbinaut Pete]

Erupter,

Firstly, sorry for not mentioning Nick's Unity to you - I had actually forgotten it until today

For hatch movement, we'll go with the first option. Poscik is handling all animation stuff. I'm working on a diagram to show how the hatches should open, so I'll upload it here when done.
So all I need you to do is to make the hatches a separate group.
I already have hatch textures done for both internal & external side. I'm currently producing a to-do list for Unity as well. The interior needs some work, mainly just texture upgrades, & updating the axial docking ports.

I am also working on textures for a dock cover, which will have animations to open the protective petals + stow the cover inside the VC once the hatch is opened. So again all those will need to be separate groups. Poscik has offered to handle all the grouping work.

I'll make the Unity plan my first priority, as it won't take that long to type.


--TEAM UPDATE--
Mustard has e-mailed me to say that he is now available to work on ISSU

So here's the current modelling team:

. Erupter
. Marco Gavanezzi
. Unussapiens
. Gawinnard
. Mustard

Once I get the plan's for Unity & Destiny done, everyone can pick a task they would like to do.


-Pete