[WIP] New Republic Security Droid

[ZanderNao]

Here is the first update from Phazzzer, the 3D artist I commissioned on CGTrader. https://www.cgtrader.com/phazzzer

Step 1: A rough draft first past for basic geometry (we're here at this point)

Step 2: Correct proportions and add lots of detail
Step 3: Use high detail to bake uv/textures
Step 4: Reduce poly down to Jedi Academy limits
Step 5: Hand the model over for conversion to exist in Jedi Academy
Step 6: I'll make reskins and color variants for the lulz
Step 7: Release!

[OCD2]

Unbelievably good.  This will be a great model addition!

For skinning inspiration, there are two variants shown in the show - the gunmetal guy shown on the ship, and a darker oxidized/corroded version in the chop fields where they are overseeing the prisoners.

 

 

 

Eventually, I would like to make an attempt at making the other characters from the prison ship episode.   And then subsequently, make a few other maps from the series, with cool content like this (if I get permissions) as a springboard to other locations shown in the series.

The prisoner chopfields/junk planet would be a fun offshoot with this character - maybe make a prison riot situation, droids vs prisoners trying to escape.

Very cool model.   If you can't tell, seeing the model photo made my morning.

[ZanderNao]

The chopfields would be really, really cool for a duel map or something! I love the way you think, great inspiration.

[ZanderNao]

Also, I should ask that the 3D artist took interest in asking about what kind of weapon the droid uses so I provided picture reference and links...

[OCD2]

55 minutes ago, ZanderNao said:

Also, I should ask that the 3D artist took interest in asking about what kind of weapon the droid uses so I provided picture reference and links...

Nice!    Did you include the stun baton?

 

2 hours ago, ZanderNao said:

The chopfields would be really, really cool for a duel map or something! I love the way you think, great inspiration.

The thing I find appealing about the Mandalorian as mod project material is that a lot of the battles and set pieces are smaller scale skirmishes.  There are a ton of locations that I would like to take a stab at creating.   I thought I would have a map or two done by now,  though my new year has been exhausting - any available hour to work on the map project ive been so drained that I could not muster much effort or clear minded inspiration.      It will be completed, things have just been delayed slightly.    

Though the experience has made me really appreciate all of the effort other people have put into making models, maps, and content.    Its fun, but also a good bit of work!

Really looking forward to this droid model project!

[Teancum]

@ZanderNao could I ask how much the commission cost you? Even if you'd rather reply via private message, it'd be interesting to know.

[ZanderNao]

This one was $250. The droid heads ranged from $100-150 depending on if we were re-using parts from previous models (r2 eyes, dome already there, etc). I don't drink, no one's going out to the movies or anything... Film making is my main hobby and so the investment seems worth it to me. It brings me joy imagining the different stories that I can tell even if I have to wait for the pandemic to be over to make the movies with my film group the way I'm used to doing.

Here's a slight update with corrected proportions and the start on a little bit of the detail work. The 3D artist will also be taking on the GH-17 blaster on his own free will, so that's an added bonus. Keep in mind that we'll see higher poly/vertex count models in the progress compared to what will show up in Jedi Academy. It's part of what makes the textures look so good but still get it into an older game. I've encouraged the artist to share my commissions publicly because I'm sure there are more Star Wars fans than just in Jedi Academy, lol.
 

Edited February 18, 2021 by ZanderNao
Picture change

[ZanderNao]

WIP Progress Pic 3 (pre-JKA-Optimization)

[OCD2]

1 hour ago, ZanderNao said:

WIP Progress Pic 3 (pre-JKA-Optimization)

Amazing!

[ZanderNao]

Alright, here is the final detail update pass. Next steps are to bake the details into textures and then reduce poly count to something Jedi Academy can support.

[AshuraDX]

Looking at the proportions I wonder, is this guy supposed to run on the default _humanoid.gla?

If so some extensive adjustments will be required, the upper to lower arm ratio and size/orientation of the hands are far off. These are things that may be easier to adjust before making a low poly version to bake to.

If you do it the other way around, you will end up with permanently stretched/squished textures around the adjusted areas, which would be a shame considering the quality of this sculpt.

[ZanderNao]

@AshuraDX You are completely right. I raised those concerns (and the fact that the model wouldn't hold the gun in the right place if the arms were too long) to try and keep the artist from backtracking any more than necessary. I also shared and fbx of the Jedi Academy human model A-pose to try and get proportions and angles correct.

Thank you for bringing that up now before we got too far!

[Lancelot]

@ZanderNao @fullkevlar

I took parts from the request topic and put them in here. Hope that's okay.

[ZanderNao]

@Lancelot hahaha, I was so confused when I went to log in and reply, but this makes total sense. Not a problem

Phazzzer used the A-pose model I sent and we're pretty close. I said I didn't care about matching the head to the humanoid skeleton cause it'd just be for the idle animation and better to keep that 1:1 from the source material.

Since the elbows and wrists were close, I asked primarily to turn the hands so the palms face the hips and tilt down a few degrees. The fingers will still probably clip into the wrists, and we might have to shorten the forearm, but it is a lot closer than I originally pictured.

[AshuraDX]

@ZanderNao The most important thing is that the joint locations have to match as best as possible.

From a quick glance at the above picture I can tell that the shoulders and hips are both massively misaligned, hip joints are too high up compared to the humanoid skeleton, shoulder joints are too far outward, legs are too long after the hips are corrected.

Every mismatch in the joints will get progressively worse the more joints are mismatched, as the animations will play around these joint locations any offset from them will be very noticeable and cause the model to look broken apart and disfigured in many ways in motion.

It'd probably be best if you created some small spheres in blender and positioned them at the pivot points of the following bones:

femur, tibia, talus, humerus, radius, hand, cervical and cranium.

These translate to:

Hip, knee, ankle, shoulder, elbow, wrist, neck and head

That should make it much easier to line everything up correctly and ensure a good looking animation result ingame.

the alternative would be a custom rig and skeleton, which comes with its own limitations and issues - especially for multiplayer in vanilla

[ZanderNao]

The texture pass is completed!

This is certainly a complex project with a lot to keep in mind. It's a little weird being a project organizer/commissioner, sort of translating the limitations of JA to try and keep everything working. I had to ask Phazzzer about the poly/vert count because this still looks too good to be true, haha. It'll be put into A-pose to make conversion into game easier. We talked with the mod conversion team about the skeleton issue and reached some compromises. I think we may try in the future to make a more accurate fit or custom skeleton, but given the time/cost/effort invested so far, goal one is to get a working version in game.

[OCD2]

44 minutes ago, ZanderNao said:

The texture pass is completed!

This is certainly a complex project with a lot to keep in mind. It's a little weird being a project organizer/commissioner, sort of translating the limitations of JA to try and keep everything working. I had to ask Phazzzer about the poly/vert count because this still looks too good to be true, haha. It'll be put into A-pose to make conversion into game easier. We talked with the mod conversion team about the skeleton issue and reached some compromises. I think we may try in the future to make a more accurate fit or custom skeleton, but given the time/cost/effort invested so far, goal one is to get a working version in game.

Looks outstanding!

Ive made some good progress on the map recently,  cant wait to see the models in the map!

[ZanderNao]

Getting version 1.0 ready for release. It's not perfect, but it's pretty darn good! Comes with an optional replacement for the blaster to make it a DH-17.

[DarthValeria]

Amazing