Ship Graphics

Frames and Angles

Quote

Animate the ship in one full rotation non banked (36 frames).
Animate the ship in one full rotation banked to the left (36 frames).
Animate the ship in one full rotation banked to the right (36 frames).
Render the above 108 frames to one movie or series of pictures.
Run through your RLE conversion program of choice.
In the shän resource, put in 3 base sets and 36 frames per set in the appropriate places, check the 'extra frames for banking' box and you're set.

Ok, for some reason i got 109 frames. 0-35,36-72,73-109. Thats 109 frames right? or is that 110? Well, can someone clarify this for me:
"one full rotation"=360 degrees in which the first and last frame are the same? Becuase the rleds in the stock game dont have it set that way, and i cant figure out how to set it up.
Can somone plz sort of expand on that topic, cuase im really confused.

BTW: Is there anyone with a MAC that could convert my .mov file into a sprite. I will need that done after i figure out whats wrong with my banking animation.

108 frames. 0-35, 36-71, 72-108. One full rotation = 36 frames in 10 degree increments with the first frame pointing straight up and the last frame 10 degrees before that.
Note there is no need to use 36 frames per rotation, this has just been the standard. Larger ships should have more frames.

This post has been edited by Guy : 14 July 2006 - 03:04 AM

I use 72 for larger ships... For really big ones that is still not enough. I've experimented with 144 frame sprites but after a certain point the tradeoff between smooth rotation and rle size gets to be not enough to justify.

Ah ok, well 36 is enough for this ship, its 200x200 and the .mov file is quite smooth. I just need to subtract some frames from it. And then would somone plz convert my .mov file to an rle.... or you could just convert it to the pictures, and as long as its only one picture, i will be fine with that.

Can somone plz tell me how to use the SpinnAPP for Windows from the Addons page... Its not working, and i cant even find the .exe file. I only see class files and one manifest. So uh, are any files missing? <_<

This post has been edited by chronodrago : 14 July 2006 - 09:54 AM

I believe this is what you are looking for. It was in the Utilities section of the Addons page.

...no. That won't work for 3D animations. It only takes a single image and rotates it. It doesn't convert video files. Trust me, I've tried <_< .

Someone really should make an RLE converter for Windows.

@jacabyte, on Jul 14 2006, 08:55 AM, said in Ship Graphics:

I believe this is what you are looking for. It was in the Utilities section of the Addons page.

I beleive i said i found it already, but i couldnt execute the file. I contacted its maker, and he told me to use a java program. Som im ok now, thanks anyways.

@dr-neverhood, on Jul 14 2006, 09:59 AM, said in Ship Graphics:

...no. That won't work for 3D animations. It only takes a single image and rotates it. It doesn't convert video files. Trust me, I've tried <_< .

Works by me, thats alot easier than peiceing 108 pictures together using photoshop.

@dr-neverhood, on Jul 14 2006, 09:59 AM, said in Ship Graphics:

Someone really should make an RLE converter for Windows.

Ya, no kidden. I would except I know nothing about programming.

Oh, oops. Hehehe...

OK!....I use the spin APP and i get a ship upside when its facing you. I have taken the firstimage of the back of the ship at a 45 degree angle. I create a spin using the APP, and it just rotates it. So what do i do? Do i make it a top view of the ship? What degree are the ships of the stock scenario taken at?

I believe I already told you this. It won't work for a 3D animation. Doing a top view would make it look okay on its own, but since the other ships have the 45 degree angle it won't look right.

So far, if you're on Windows and you want a 3D sprite you'll have to assemble it in Photoshop (or another image editor).

Not sure if this what you're talking about. I just scanned the topic. But I've found that it's easier to make a sprite and mask in image ready. You have more control over what you do, and you can make your mask higher quality. To do this: make your model texture it and so on. Then animate it in a rotation of 350 degrees to the right. I used a .mov for the format. Then open it up in imageready, there should be a layer of each of your frames, so now its time to do the math. If you want a 6x6 sprite or if you have 36 frames, multiply the size of your original animation by your 6x6, or 10x10 or whatever (say you have an animation size of 100x100, its like fractions 100 * 6 = 600 so 100x100 * 6x6 is 600x600.) Now you delete all of the frames except the first. And move each layer to its place in order (so your first one is like | then / then -- then \ then | then / then -- then \ then | or |/--|/--| wow pretty :D). Flatten the final image duplicate the layer and use your magic wand tool. Bam! Instant sprites with your control. I havent check this completley so excuse it if its not high quality...

EDiT: Okay now that I've read the topic... You said you don't want to piece together the entire sprite: its not that bad it take around a minute or two, but it gives you the chance to make final changes and useful stuff.

EDIT2: Now I'm inspired. I'm going to make a better version of this. With screen shots. And it shall be: "The Complete Guide to Making a Ship in EV Nova". I think I'll start out with just making it into a sprite and move on from there. I'll also try to make this so you don't need a specific operating system, or in other words cover it for both PC and Mac. Okay, probability of getting this done are pretty slim, like first I should figure out how to make ships more easily and what not to do. If you have any hints/tips etc that you think should be in the guide tell me and I'll put 'em in. With of course noting their creator.

This post has been edited by ibob : 14 July 2006 - 11:18 PM

It's not really necessary to do all that duplicating with layers in ImageReady if your 3D program can just save the animation as sequenced image files.

@dr-neverhood, on Jul 14 2006, 10:30 PM, said in Ship Graphics:

It's not really necessary to do all that duplicating with layers in ImageReady if your 3D program can just save the animation as sequenced image files.

Good point... But some of us have what you may call 'lesser' 3d programs such as Bryce. There is no duplicating of layers.

@dr-neverhood, on Jul 14 2006, 05:48 PM, said in Ship Graphics:

I believe I already told you this. It won't work for a 3D animation. Doing a top view would make it look okay on its own, but since the other ships have the 45 degree angle it won't look right.

So far, if you're on Windows and you want a 3D sprite you'll have to assemble it in Photoshop (or another image editor).

Fine, ill do it the long way. I already had half of it done, its just that for some reason i was short an image somewhere along the line. <_<

Does anyone out there have strata 3d? I might be willing to trade my 3ds max 7 with them.

@chronodrago, on Jul 15 2006, 09:19 AM, said in Ship Graphics:

Fine, ill do it the long way. I already had half of it done, its just that for some reason i was short an image somewhere along the line. <_<

Does anyone out there have strata 3d? I might be willing to trade my 3ds max 7 with them.

I have Strata 7d. Its not hard, or long. Just put some music on and go.

This post has been edited by ibob : 15 July 2006 - 03:01 PM

Whats that? Ive never heard of 7 dimentions. :laugh:

@chronodrago, on Jul 15 2006, 10:47 PM, said in Ship Graphics:

Whats that? Ive never heard of 7 dimentions. :laugh:

If you want 7 dimensions you should study linear algebra.

It does my laundry too

lol :laugh:

@modesty-blaise, on Jul 15 2006, 04:20 PM, said in Ship Graphics:

If you want 7 dimensions you should study linear algebra.

I doubt a game would be able to handle it, nor would the players mind...