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[max_thehitman]

You are an amazing 3d artist!
It looks so beautiful 

[taskf53]

We do not feel cramped on this vessel.

Best regards.

[duffys tavern]

Big boat for our big jets. Thanks karla, she really looks swell.

[Seb]

Thank you for your work, he promises to be a great ship.

[karla]

USS Nimitz modelled in Blender

Modelling and mapping is almost complete. Many minor fixes need to be made and minor details will be added to enhance the pilot's environment. A test export to the IL-2 game demonstrated that this level of detail can be handled.

Unfortunately, the same test in game showed up a significant texture bug because of the Blender exporter - again (see https://www.sas1946.com/main/index.php/topic,44899.0.html). The flight deck 6144 x 2048 texture map was reconfigured into three 2048 square maps to test a hypothesis, but the texture defect was still given. So, it looks as though a laborious process of Blender - GMax - text editing will have to be carried out once the final model is completed.

[duffys tavern]

Wow, What a flight deck! Unbelievable karla. I know these things don't always run according to schedule, but If she turns out to be ready by the 1st of the year, maybe the A-6 might be ready by then as well. What a combination that would be!

[Seb]

Wonderful carrier. 
Amazing work.
Thank you

[karla]

I thought it might be appropriate to formalize the workflow for this model - mainly to keep it as a safe record, here, for myself.

The workflow shows a step-by-step progression but, most often, each stage was followed by additions to, or refinement of, some of the previous stages. This was especially the case with UV mapping and texture mapping.

The majority of work was carried out in an up to date Blender 2.76. The model then had to be transferred to Blender 2.49b to get ready for BBExporter.py for some of the objects. The critical objects that are most visible in the game will have to be - unfortunately - laboriously cleaned up by processing through GMax. Anyway, what follows is the method that best suited my situation.


USS Nimitz CVN-68 carrier modelling workflow

Blender v 2.76
   Background Images for reference drawings
   hull rough
   hull split
   hull refine
   flight deck rough
   flight deck refine
   - start UV mapping with Gimp 2.8
   sponsons
   hanger doors
   whips
   catwalks
   lifeboats
   stern hanger
   hull railings
   netting
   stern
   weapons
   JBDs
   island
   bridge
   bridge decking
   bridge galleries
   bridge railings
   control
   flight bridge
   main mast
   foremast
   main mast beams
   main mast platforms
   ladders
   spotlights
   antennae: hf, uhf, vhf, ehf
   radar: sps48, sps43, spq9, sps67, spn46, sps49, sps65
   radomes
   pa loudspeakers
   doors
   lockers
   piping
   crane
   mules
   handling equipment
   catwalk equipment
   LSO station
   crew
   water wastes
   bridge fine details
   flightdeck fine details
   hull fine details
      
Blender v 2.49b
   clean up objects
   triangulate quad faces
   duplicate appropriate objects and simplify to create LOD models
      name as object_name-01 .. -02 etc
      parent to relevant object
   duplicate appropriate objects for shadow models
      name as object_name-sh
      parent to relevant object
        add simple boxes as collision models
      name as xobject_name
      parent to relevant object
   add hooks
      name as _object_name
      parent to relevant object
    ensure no vertex normals problems
       select the Object, Modify /Edge Split /decide a suitable angle, say 88deg /Apply; then go into Edit Mode /select all vertices on   the Object /Mesh /Normals /Recalculate Outside
    create simple object
       say, a cube; add material; name as 'node'; parent all Objects to 'node' (use Outliner shift+LMB+drag to left of datablocks/ RMB/ Select to select relevant Objects)
    select and export 'node'
       using BlendyBlendy Exporter by The_WOZ v 0.7 - which will export hier.him and all .msh files containing shadows, collisions, hooks in a single operation


IL2 1946 CUP
   test hull and flightdeck
   test majority
   test RC_1
   test RC-nn

EDIT 20Nov16 - node export
EDIT 17Nov16 - update conversion process

[max_thehitman]

All I can say is.... AMAZING ! 

[Type83Fighter]

Thanks for all the updates, it is a beauty!

[duffys tavern]

Any idea what additional mods might be necessary to run her under 4.12?

[karla]

view in Blender

Thanks for the comments chaps.

The workload has been higher than usual this past month with lots of fixing, refinements, additional fine detail modelling and texturing and it's about time to end the Blender phase and try and get her into the game. LOD, collision and shadow meshes have also been created and parented and exporting of the parented meshes via blendyblendy.py has been attempted with many errors given. Quite a lot of manual editing and fiddling to do with this exporter,  BuggyBuggy and GMax before we can see any images from the game. We should start getting some IL-2 images in the next month.

@duffy - She should run under 4.12 as well as CUP.