RIGHT! You asked for this... (sort of)...
PHoD DALEK Variant Progress - DAY ONE.
Firstly, the basic Dalek model proved to be just a little bit too small - I'm 6'8" and I can get inside them, even the slightly smaller 1960s ones, though it's cramped, not that anyone ever claimed being a Dalek Operator was comfortable. Placing the Dalek beside an NWN Human Male convinced me there was no damn way he'd fit. Just didn't look quite right, so I've scaled the model up slightly. Its Scale setting is now 1.1 and feels much more as it should.
Secondly, I tried some VFX, discovered they looked horrible and have thus added trimesh Dome Lights to the Dalek and they look far better. Not quite the right shape yet, but this IS only Day One... So, with a rescaled Dalek equipped with Dome Lights, I attacked the textures for the ten basic Variants already called for by the Modules... Doubtless there'll be more... (Also amended the ambient/diffuse/specular settings of the model).
The Supreme Black Dalek, similar to its apperarances in "Resurrection of the Daleks" and "Remembrance of the Daleks" is the undisputed leader of the Dalek race. (That said, I am slowly working on an Emperor Dalek model as close as my rubbish ability allows to the "Evil of the Daleks" version). The Grey Daleks are the standard warriors and variations of the grey and black colour scheme were the standard in every Doctor Who story post 1960s (except one). They therefore form the majority of the Dalek forces seen in my Modules...
Note:- I completely altered Henesua's texture for the front area where the gun and arm attach, making it the same colour as the bulk of the casing as on "real" Daleks rather than an extension of the middle band. Also added the oval shape that many Daleks have had there over the years too. Dog only knows what it's for.
For the Scientific Cadre, I elected to use the standard colour scheme the Daleks had in the 1960s (though why they bothered having a colour scheme with blues that couldn't be seen in a B&W series I have no idea). I'm quite pleased with the way they've turned out though, as with all of them, this is just the first day's rabidly enthusiastic attack and I will probably waste countless more happy hours poking the texture with sharp sticks and throwing big bricks at it until satisfied with every last pixel. Needing a "Chief Scientist" Dalek, I just played about with the 1960s look until arriving at the Green Dalek version which I quite like, mostly because there was never a Green Dalek in the series and I like green.
These additonal colour variants represent the three Command Units that act as the Black Dalek's lieutenants, heading various missions and taskforces. Primary colours seemed apt even if the gold (well, yellow anyway) version is the only one similar to one that appeared in the series. (Always felt the Gold Dalek in "Day of the Daleks" didn't have enough black on it, so I gave these more black, made them look a bit darker.
Davros, dribblingly mad Creator of the Daleks, had encased himself in a so-called Emperor Dalek shell (which looked like a gigantic air freshener) when last seen in "Remembrance of the Daleks" and this is my progress so far in recreating his spherical, alleged Emperor Dalek guise. This is less because it looked astounding so much as it's a damn sight easier than trying to create a custom Davros model where he can be seen. Thus I can get Davros into the Modules just by sticking a big blob on a Dalek skirt section. Simple. (His life-support chair may look somewhat like the skirt section of a Dalek casing but it's actually a totally different shape). That said, I just MIGHT try taking the skirt section of the Dalek model and jamming an upper half of Human body in it and adding bits, see what happens. Maybe it'd look passable... Davros' White and Gold Dalek faction always made me think of pretentious bathroom fittings, but I felt I might as well keep them looking more or less as they did in the series. Just a bit TOO golden-yellow at the moment, needs toning down a tad... though they're only going to get blown to pieces by the Grey Daleks anyway...
And here we see the All New (though not at all shiny) PHoD Heavy Assault Dalek, which looks more or less like I wanted it to. Basically a single-purpose engine of total destruction. The only sure defence against it is to be on a different planet. (Minor changes included removing the standard eyestick and creating a more robust, armoured version and removing the sucker arm and replacing it with a second gunstick to increase the beast's firepower yet even more, like it needs it with those farcically huge cannons...)
All in all, quite pleased with the first day's progress - still to come, the "Remembrance..." Special Weapons Dalek, the "Evil..." Emperor Dalek which will possibly end up as a Tileset group or whopping Placeable, given its ludicrous proportions, the Dalek Prime (a sort of mobile data archive and tactical control network) and the as yet TOP SECRET Shadow Guild Daleks (which are secret mostly because they'll be revealed ONLY if I can make them look as good as I want them to instead of an embarrassingly lame mess which is possible given the amount of customization required, far more than on the Assault Dalek, and my none too clever abilities implementing it all. The VFX involved are about the only thing I'm confident of being able to get right).
IMMENSE thanks of outrageous proportions to Henesua (and Rolo) for giving me the foundation without which, obviously, none of these Variants would have existed. (Thanks also to Tarot for starting this thread and thus poking sharp sticks into the right places).
Please be advised that I will not be posting vast piles of drivel like this EVERY day or anything. You're safe until next time I have something really INTERESTING to report... eventually, I'll get back to working on the Modules instead of piles of CC for them!
PS:- As you'll gather from the images, I've concluded that you can have at least twenty Daleks on screen, in-game, farting about all over the place without the slightest lag. A tiny flicker when they spawn in but that can be said for most Creature models in any number. So the poly count is fine, even on my Assault Dalek which has pushed the count up rather.
Modifié par PLUSH HYENA of DOOM, 21 avril 2013 - 09:45 .
