Project Dragonfly Redux

[OvalDreamX]

So when OpenOrbiter was announced, I thought it would be a good idea to use that opportunity to practice modelling a bit. So I did the dragonfly. Turns out I still need a lot to learn (specially on the uv packing front) so the craft doesnt really look good in orbiter. So Ill leave it here if someone wants to finish it or use it for whathever. Both the blend file and the msh and textures for orbiter.
Theyll be the rar and zip files on this drive link
Note: For the blend file youll need decalMachine to see and bake the decals

A couple of renders:






Model detail:


And heres how the model (and my poor texture bake) looks ingame (beware of reshade on screenshot):

 

[n72.75]

So glad you posted this.

The Dragonfly was always a fun vessel and a great demonstration of the kind of complex vessels that can be implemented under the Orbiter API.

 

[OvalDreamX]

The Dragonfly was always a fun vessel and a great demonstration of the kind of complex vessels that can be implemented under the Orbiter API.

Yeah! I actually wanted to do a 3d vc for it when d3d9 gets proper cockpit shadig or skybolt gets integrated into openOrbiter. It feels so much like a real spaceship with all those systems and switches.

Hopefully someone will be able to finish this messy model of mine haha

 

[N_Molson]

Very good idea, that one definitively needed a good lifting !

 

[jedidia]

Problem is, some parts of the dragonfly's panel don't actually work anymore, and you'd have to rewrite pretty much the entire panel to address that (it's still using an Orbiter 2006 style panel. That's not the reason it doesn't work anymore, I don't think, but it's way outdated...).
As for the model, I'd just use materials for the girders instead of textures. Either you make their pollycount really high, or there's just no way to unpack them in a way that doesn't look horrible when applying a texture.

 

[OvalDreamX]

Problem is, some parts of the dragonfly's panel don't actually work anymore, and you'd have to rewrite pretty much the entire panel to address that (it's still using an Orbiter 2006 style panel. That's not the reason it doesn't work anymore, I don't think, but it's way outdated...).

Yeah, thats why I used the past tense haha. Also I realized my modelling skills are not up to game asset standards so I dropped it

As for the model, I'd just use materials for the girders instead of textures. Either you make their pollycount really high, or there's just no way to unpack them in a way that doesn't look horrible when applying a texture.

Great tip! How would you do it? I just added a normal to make them look more 3d

 

[N_Molson]

Great tip! How would you do it? I just added a normal to make them look more 3d

There's an interactive material editor that comes with the D3D9 client. For some reason it was named "D3D9 Debug Controls" or something like that, but it allows you to modify the properties of materials (like metalness). You access it in Orbiter through the F4 menu.

A little detail : I don't think the nozzles should have "goldfoil" MLI on them. It would likely melt or prevent the nozzle from dissipating heat.

 

[jedidia]

Great tip! How would you do it?

As far as I know, you just don't give them a diffusion map and configure the material properties. In D3D9 client I think that might involve some 2x2 pixel maps with a grayscale to set things like reflectivity, but I'm not sure.

 

[OvalDreamX]

A little detail : I don't think the nozzles should have "goldfoil" MLI on them. It would likely melt or prevent the nozzle from dissipating heat.

Im generally very obsesive with details but that one flew completely over me hahah