A new Galactica model ... again...

[DocCharly65]

Since I mostly keep my posts in the animation area, there's seldom necessity or possibility to show single renders.
But today I have a complete mass of them with a big and long background story because:

It just started with this: I watched the remake of BSG on TV and saw the back of the Galactica... I checked and compared what I saw with the original old version and found out that I didn't like my renders any more. The thrusters looked wrong... not too bad but wrong and "unfortunately I found the best Galactica (TOS) by jujuvenile for 11$ on CGTrader. and I love it! It has even more of all the little details pipes and boxes and was almost perfectly textured. 

Have a look:

Old on the left side, new on the right side - most important the correct thrusters:

 


The problem now: The model is scaled and sized quite different in many details.

All in all I have to re-render approximately more than 20.000 frames of several tens of animations. But I don't want to moan - I wanted that model and believe me - it's worth it. 

[DocCharly65]

Some examples:(As above - Old on the left side, new on the right side)

 


 


 


As you can see the new BSG is almost double size (I anyway corrected dimensions a bit)

[DocCharly65]

Unfortunately (or fortunately? ) the hangar for all my Viper and Adama scenes looks quite different as well (and I think better and busier)

(again: Old on the left side, new on the right side)

 


 


In order to take the new hangar design into account, I added over 100 new objects and of course also had to move the Stargates. An opportunity for new POV:




The biggest challenge (which I was able to master, however) was to keep the the more than 100 animated running lights of the old version ... I was really scared to redo all that...

On the other side when possible I exchanged the original 2DRT Marines with reanimated MIXAMO versions which run and walk a bit better (24 Frames instead of 30 and loops not in place)

[DocCharly65]

Also I will have to redo some rally really old renders...
As you can see, meanwhile some Klingons came along the way. I corrected some Enterprise details like the color mistakes of the Warp Engine Nacelles and I found out that the LeXX shall be about as big as Manhattan... so it's almost 100 km away from the camera and there's still the tail in the picture

 

Amazing changes in the relativ dimensions.
... and many many many other animations/frames to redo. (while of course the Terminator animations are running in he background    )

What a monster busy 2020 

[Kadri]

The newer images do look indeed better

[Dune]

Quite a difference indeed, but what an enormous task ahead of you. I don't envy you (not for the work anyway). Reminds me a bit of the SF book I started to write when I was 25 or so. After several years I reread and got new information, so a lot had to be rewritten. Years later (book never finished) I reread again, and had to rewrite a lot again...... neverending story.
I hope that will not be the case for you, Nils. But I think it's worth the investment, as this film will undoubtedly be a once-in-a-lifetime experience and somthing that you want to feel good with after it's published and done.

[DocCharly65]

Thanks to you both

Ulco, I almost forgot: With this model I first time had a special success with a former suggestion of you

I had some work before but it came out ok with my own created illumination maps (instead of adding light sources and light spots):


Because of the clean and almost perfect texturing/mapping of the Galactica model I could do project a rendered picture into the texture map.


The finished illumination map works quite ok and saved a lot of render time (and made the animations less complicated)



Thanks again for that suggestion (3 or 4 years ago )

[Dune]

Can't remember what I suggested, but I'm glad it worked out! You have a good memory anyway

[j meyer]

Cool new model.
Are the sizes correct? In relation to the 'official' sizes and in relation
to the other ships? Just curious.

[DocCharly65]

Thx Jochen

I tried to keep most sizes "realistic".
In the last time I often compared hints and posts all over the internet and though very variing results I should have quite "ok" values overall.
EG the Galactica should be approx. 3 x the size of the Enterprise TMP
the Klingons Ktinga could be about same size like the Enterprise

The space dock is actually too small but a change of this would cause too many following changes including light conditions etc., I would have to do. It was much smaller in my first tries and I remember the effort

This is an early try from 2015 ... 


...leaving THIS space dock you would hear the same noise as in Galaxy Quest, when the Protector was first time driven by Lt. Laredo  


In the beginning I used just the size of the ships windows to get adaequat dimensions. Meanwhile I have another good control instance by testing closeups with e.g. walking/acting people if the models e.g. have doors.
Anyway as long the sizes are at least plausible for me I am satisfied.

[j meyer]

Testing with people seems to be a very good method to get the correct sizes.
Keep it up Nils.