Topic: Odd thought for a set of models

[Jwest]

If someone has already tried this, or if people think it's a stupid idea, tell me. If not, can people direct me to free modeling software that does what I will need it to do?

As a former player of Redstorm Rising, one of the stylistic things I don't care for (in some moods) is the gorgeous detail in the ships. It's beautiful detail, but in my mind space combat is *not* that up close and personal, it's more a matter of long distance strikes across deep space. Mind you, even when I found I couldn't run the model I downloaded, and actually play at the same time, I loved how gorgeous the models looked, but at the same time . . .

I'd like to try to make a set of low poly models that are actually *designed* to look like computerized projections of tiny ships - kind of like the deathstar graphics and maps, with (for lack of a better term) "projection lines" to show where the actual ship is, compared to the "projection". Somehow green wireframes is what comes to mind.

Questions - first of all, how are collisions handled in SFC - I would *like* for a collision to only be registered if the "point" intersects with a planet/asteroid, as opposed if the projection intersects. I don't know enough about this to know if this is feasible or not.

Second, is there any reason it's not feasible to put all the hardpoints for something like this in the "point" source? Actually, come to think of it, how *does* one put hardpoint in these models? Come to think of it, if I want the weapons to be set in the same mode, I'd want them to emrge from the projection anyway. Have to think about it.

Third, is there *actually* any correspondence between the Damage Meshes and the areas that have been damaged? Although the obvious result of putting a Yellow mesh on the "projection" for light damage, and Red for heavy works perfectly well visually, this would be much cooler if it actually corresponds to damage in some visually apparent way.

I don't know - this may be a stupid idea, but *I* think it could be made to look rather cool, with corresponding changes in the weapons graphics and other systems. Thoughts, comments, critiques?  - JW