Battlezone Forums

I'm really ploughing through models at the moment. Finished this mesh in less than 3 hours, and more than pleased with it. Here's the model. I've also figured out a way to give the lens a 'flare' if you look directly at it with a modified hardpoint light, which is a nice touch. The device is small, stealthy and quiet, making it incredibly hard to detect unless in your direct line of sight.

Scan Mode:





Defensive Mode:



Without Core:



Backstory... again. The AAN SPSD (Self-Propelled Sensor Drone) is a computer-controlled recon device used in the AAN Infantry and Vehicular divisions. As the AAN's infantry divisions became more advanced and an excellent support unit, the AAN developed a remote-control sensor drone to aid in scouting when vehicular assistance wasn't available. The drone can be delivered in many forms, wether built from a recycler or armoury loaded with its blueprints, delivered as part of an assistance package, or ordered as space-ground pod-drops from an orbiting carrier.

The Sensor has two (morphable) modes, which most of the time it will choose of its own accord, but modes can be forced by its commander. In scan mode, the device has a long radar range and an active radar, and can also paint the closest target. Its secondary mode allows it to defend itself from light infantry, although usually it is ineffective. In this mode, the droid folds away its antenna and sensors, and a small battery-powered laser emerges from underneath its armour. This laser is more of a deterent than an offensive weapon, but may provide means for the drone to escape. In this mode the sensor also boosts its armour resilience and reduces power to the ball-thruster.

Because they often contain sensitive data, sensors self-destruct when they recieve too much damage. They also rely on control from their transmitter unit, because of this, the probes only have a limited range. If the transmitter is destroyed while a probe is active, the probe will either self-destruct, shut off power and go dormant, or hold its ground in attack mode. Such behaviour is random and chosen by the .dll should such an event occur. Probes cannot travel beyond the transmitters maximum range.

Sheeit, thats enough of that... Thoughts?

Portal 2!

No, really, when the gun comes out, the hatch is too seamless and shows no sign of its existence.

SINCE it is pretty much seamless like Z noted, you should have 4 lasers, or at least 2 pop out whenever it goes into secondary mode...

OR, it could have only 1 laser in secondary mode, but when it goes out of transmitter range, and it morphs into attack mode, THEN it could pop out the 3 extra lasers, to have 4 total. By way of explaining this, you could say that when it goes out of transmitter range it reforms the biometal sensors and instruments into laser guns, and blows up when it runs out of ammo because it's not used to all the heat generated by the 3 extra lasers...

I probably wouldn't be able to fit four lasers in there, it looks deceptively large in that render but is really just as tiny as a pilot... perhaps a little bigger to get all the detail. They are only meant to be weeny and pathetic

The barrel does unfold and poke out too, but I quite like the suggestion of having two lasers, but in the same compartment, and with shorter barrels that don't need 'unfolding'.

Making the hatch more visible could always be done with the texture too, it sits at ~1,800 polygons at the moment, although I plan to force LOD's on for Serenesis thats still quite a lot, and for a small model too.

Small models will be seen up-close by the player in many instances, therefore it is best to go with extreme detail up close but LOD it pretty drastically past even a 40 meter threshold. Take the modern FPS stance here. Some of the humans seen in modern FPS games can range from 13,000 - 15,000 each in LOD0

343 guilty spark anybody?

Not square enough.

TheJamsh wrote:I probably wouldn't be able to fit four lasers in there, it looks deceptively large in that render but is really just as tiny as a pilot... perhaps a little bigger to get all the detail. They are only meant to be weeny and pathetic

...

well, I still think it'd look cool if it had two lasers pop out in attack mode, even if they are 'weeny and pathetic'...

VSMIT wrote:Not square enough.

Best response yet

I'll go out on a limb here and say that it looks too good. Doesn't fit in the BZ2 universe with our angular ships.

I see what you mean. Hopefully the higher-poly ships to go with it break up the rift a bit.

paint it orange!

ugh, no...

nah, wouldn't fit in with the new AAN colour scheme

All they have to do in the AAN is click a few buttons on the recycler and they have a new color scheme. The designers (us) have the hard part