Topic: Has the TrekMods team ever released a B'rel/BoP?

[yochenhsieh]

Hello,

Does any one know if the TrekMods team ever released a B'rel or Bird of Prey?
I only found a K'vort by TrekMods team at Battleclinic.com:
http://www.battleclinic.com/docks/dock.php?id=2687

Thanks,

You-Cheng Hsieh

[Atolm-Rising]

why bother with that when WZ just released the new accurate one?

[yochenhsieh]

why bother with that when WZ just released the new accurate one?

Because the k'vort of TrekMods is "only" 2490 polygons, and WZ's is more than 5k.

SFC is not a 3D rendering program, and its 3D engine is old by today's standards. The difference of models with more than 3k polygons is hardly notable, while textures resolution plays a more important part at visual quality on hi-poly models in the game.

However, this is not mean modelers should stop making hi-poly models for SFC, the sky is the limit for you all. It's just that if we only consider in-game quality, somehow polygons is not very important when it's high "enough".

[Atolm-Rising]

Uh excuse me, but that is not exactly accurate.
Its all about your machine...I have a fleet of ships that start at 3k-and bounce up to 13k on some but most fall in the 8K range np...and my PC is over 4 years old...My Laptop is brand new and it does absolutely fine.
If you don't want to use an accurate BoP that's fine...but Accuracy is a trade off mate.
Not to say that low poly is crap...not by a long shot some of the cooler ideas are done in low poly(I should know).

[Wicked Zombie]

That's all a matter of personal opinion as what you may consider "hardly notable" might be glaring to someone else. Someone may consider the stock ships fine as they care about the gameplay more than what the Enterprise looks like. However, others who do care about the quality of the ships would want them to be as detailed and accurate as possible. Some of us get that by texturing in the details, others of us get that by modeling it in, and still others find the right balance with both. Either way is a personal choice and depends on just how much effort we think each ship deserves. Whether or not the users out there notice such differences depends on the individual's preferences and their bias regarding a particular ship.

If the game couldn't handle a 5000 poly B'rel or 9000 poly Ambassador, then nobody would build them at that level. KA, Freelancer, Armada and other games have a limit on the polygon count vs gameplay stability and the modders for those games work around that. SFC isn't quite so restrictive and the game engine isn't as weak as some may think. The deciding factor is the user's computer power, not the game - I myself have been able to run a half dozen hi-res ships at one time without any lapse in gameplay.

No modeler is going to limit themselves to a 3000 polygon cap if they feel their ship needs more and especially if it's a canon ship that requires an extra kick. Textures have their limits and many times, they just don't look good enough in place of modeled detailing - which is, also, a matter of personal opinion.

Anyway, to answer your original question, I don't recall ever seeing a TrekMods B'rel posted for SFC but I remember seeing images of one. If it was ever released, I'm sure one of the ship fanatics around here are bound to have it.

[Tus-XC]

Because the k'vort of TrekMods is "only" 2490 polygons, and WZ's is more than 5k.

SFC is not a 3D rendering program, and its 3D engine is old by today's standards. The difference of models with more than 3k polygons is hardly notable, while textures resolution plays a more important part at visual quality on hi-poly models in the game.

However, this is not mean modelers should stop making hi-poly models for SFC, the sky is the limit for you all. It's just that if we only consider in-game quality, somehow polygons is not very important when it's high "enough".

To give perpsective, if i were to limit my self to 3 k then i would have to cut some polies in some interesting areas.  my saucers alone are about 2k, and thats after the poly cutting.  The difference between 64, 32, and 16 iterations in the saucer is extremly noticable and is something that textures cannot hide.  If i were to place a 3k cap i wouldn't be able to get that one part decent.  As it is all of my models are in the 8-10k range, and since i build using methods that allow me to drop the polies almost at will, i can tell you there is a significant difference in the shape of a ship if you cut its poly count in half.  As wz mentioned textures can only do so much.  You can make phaser strips w/ textures, but they dont' look half as nice as modeled ones, you can attempt to  depth with textures, but it doesn't look half as good (or even right in some lighting) as modeled  sections.  3k is the limit set by the developers, it is not the limit of the game nor is it a limit that needs to be followed.  5-8 k is the sweet spot for tech that is about 3-4 years old with newer computers being able to handle much much more (my computer is 3 years old, and it plays my 10k models w/o a hitch).   

[Rod ONeal]

It's always difficult to tell others what they can or cannot perceive. I used to sell audiophile quality (read really, really, expensive) audio equipment. Lots of experts will tell you that you can't tell the difference between the sound of any properly designed and reasonably built solid state audio components (amps or CD players, for example) and even have scientific evidence (double blind A/B tests) to back them up. I'll tell you right now that anyone who can't tell the difference between a Pioneer amplifier and a Krell is deaf. That's just my oppinion though.
Back to the subject at hand. I love WZ's new B'rell and DL'd it and put it in my game right away. I can also see the reason to want a 2500 poly (with lods) version though, as well.

[Don Karnage]

how many version is there of the BoP?, is there a visual diference betwen them?