Unreal Universe Monsters! Lets make some art together!

[_Lynx]

Rocket's main distinction from the other projectiles like bullets, cannon rounds, bombs etc is that they are self-propelled. Just this. Longer rockets do tend to be more aerodynamically stable, but shape is not as critical.

[papercoffee]

Oh ...I wasn't emending rapfamily4. Sorry, if it came across like it.

I like his little stubby rocket design. For a Brute rocket I would only make it 10% slimmer ...no maybe just 5%

[rapfamily4]

Hello, thanks for the feedback. I scaled the rocket as papercoffee suggested. I like the result (to the right)!



It's still a work in progress prop, though. What do you think about the current material?

I could also try other solutions as Darkloser suggested...

[Darkloser]

Your work is really good @rapfamily4, it's just not what I would define as a rocket.

When thinking rocket the first thing that come to my mind is a rather slim (proportionally to it's length) self-propelled explosive device. Here you show a shorter but way more fatter/heavier explosive, so the first word that come to me when seeing it is "bomb" (like mortar shells, or those dropped by planes).
Aside from that, technologically speaking, it seems a little behind compared to what the Skaarj could bring. I could definitely see it in the hands of most human-affiliated factions, however.

So far what I see is that :

With an engine to launch it/propel it.
Don't get me wrong, it possess it's own kind of fun. I like throwing canister on my enemy's faces !

[rapfamily4]

Thanks again for the feedback!

@Darkloser
The canister joke is both fun and inspirational: imagine a Brute variant with incendiary ammunitions (xD)!


And I'm saying that rocket could be a variant since I'm beginning a new one following the suggestions of Darkloser.






Which one do you prefere?

[rapfamily4]

Hello, I'm back with some updates! I worked on the Brute rocket low-poly and material.
A friend of mine suggested me to create a glass chamber with an energy core inside, to make this rocket more hi-tech. Do you like his idea?
This is the result in the UE4.

[papercoffee]

I like the plumpness of your first rocket and can imagine it as some kind of mortar projectile. Something that haven't to fly straight a long distance but in an arc. Your second version looks more like a stubby missile. With the right tech lighting can it fit to a Brute very well.

[rapfamily4]

Thanks papercoffee.

I'd like to show you the progresses I made on the glass material, following the steps of this tutorial. I also set refraction, so the energy core is distorted in the distance.




It's still a work in progress material, but what do you think?

[rapfamily4]

Hello everybody!

I updated the Diffuse texture and the materials a little bit. The glass has Refraction and I played a bit with Fresnel! I also put an Emission map in the core: as you can see it glows in the shadows! I'm going to add more detail on the diffuse texture and solve some minor issues I found on it. I also think I can improve shading with Metallic and Specular maps.






What do you think?

[thatscrawnyki]

Looks pretty cool, there is a setting that will make your glass look better it's called surface translucency volume. Something like that.

I do think the material is probably too complex for something that won't be seen up close. Not saying you shouldn't make it look good just that it may go unnoticed in practice.

[Darkloser]

It's a nice little sci-fi rocket you got there. Really the modelling and texturing is nice (I like glowing things !).

I, however, still have my doubt that it's actually fitting for the Brutes.
If I was strict on the model, I would suggest you to simply look at one of the old Brute texture. It possess shells strapped to it's shoulder belts showing what kind of projectile they use. Specter-owl even add this detail on her drawing :


Also another detail to notice is the similarity beetwen the Brutes' rockets and the Eightball's rockets in Unreal. One possibility is that the Eightball might initially be a Skaarj weapon, so the Brutes' rockets will probably look closer to that (one theory is that most weapons are from Skaarj origins, mainly the Eightball, Flak, Ripper/razojack, and maybe the Stinger). But since this are just theories, you can totally skip it.

Now I don't want to stick completely to the original design, and even wish it evolves. Mostly, I want the Brutes to have some details that reminds that they are originally a creation of the Skaarj, and that most of their arsenal come from them.
One of the thing that can play is the textures : Skaarj tech and structures use rather consistent palette, with something ranging from grey-ish to brownish metal, and green lights (red for writing sometimes). I think relooking at AS-Mothership in UT2k4 or the last levels in Unreal might be a good inspiration for that.
They also convey a good level of aggressivity (look at the Razorjack and Razik, even their logo consist of sharp blades) that should be present.

TL;DR : Really nice rocket model, but not what I want to see for Brutes.

[rapfamily4]

Thank you for the feedback!



@thatscrawnyki
I know it could seem unpractical putting so much effort on a model that moves at a high speed and covered by flames, but I think it's cool to add the good amount of detail when there aren't time restrictions. When I examine content in the UT editor I get more or less fascinated to see a certain level of detail. For instance, I found out that there's a steel tag attached to Samael's boot with personal data printed on it. I thought to myself: "Woah, that's cool!".

Trust me: I LOVE details like this. xD

Obviously, I'm not arrogantly saying that I have the master skills to do things such as those, but I'd like to try to do them when I have the chance.

Regarding the complexity of the materials, I hope they do not heavily affect performance... D:



@Darkloser
I read all your post: I think I've got work to do now! xD
But first, I'd like to read other feedback before starting a third rocket (woah, we are making a collection here!), even though I think a lot of suggestions you wrote are valid.

[rapfamily4]

But first, I'd like to read other feedback before starting a third rocket (woah, we are making a collection here!), even though I think a lot of suggestions you wrote are valid.

Those are all LIES! >:3

I tried to model a third rocket with the shape of the ammo seen on the classic Brute texture.
I wanted to fit this model to Spectre-owl's armor, too. I hope it's noticeable...



What do you think?

[papercoffee]

Now THIS is interesting. Are those shapes on the side supposed to be folded fins?

[rapfamily4]

Thanks for the appreciation!

Yes, those are folded fins! I wanted to make them as straight as possible. Now the projectile should fit in the barrel of the Brute's cannon correctly. This latter particular is absent in the previous models.

I'm going to use beige/brown shades for it, as Darkloser suggested.