Considering, what I've seen out of the terrain guys recently, I just knew it was coming!
The art here is really cool, already. But, with a skin editor coming out 'over there,'
why waste time making something for 'them' when AH is where my squad is? I probably will, though, just to test my 51 panels out.
I just made a brand new model for the 'D.' I measured very precisely every panel line. As far as detail goes I didn't go so far as exact placement of rivets (yet, and I stress 'yet'), but it is pretty close already. With that it is possible to make image maps straight on. You can't do that on a real airplane, say from underneath? Finally, all of the panels can be reassembled into a skin. This is not a paint tool, either. It's photorealistic!
It doesn't pay for art guys to use this approach, because we'd never get enough airplanes to look right. It takes as much as two weeks to make a plane and only then after you have completed tons of research. After that you have to render the panels. That requires about two hours per panel, so a B-29 would require a lot more time, then a 51, in rendering. If you find an error you have to start over. Once a base render is done, squadron markings take fewer panels in modification. During, all of this rendering time, your system is busy and you cannot fly AH, email, or play Quake. The results, though, are astounding.
A fighter that you are familiar with takes about two weeks. I did an HE-111 once, that took over a month to do accurately. Perhaps, I'm spending too much time in detail, but the results are worth it to me.
I know there are issues. Whereas, I prefer to have the planes as pretty as possible, if it is going to effect any aspect of AH adversely, then I vote against it. If it is a logical progression of the sim, though, I'm ready when you are.
Pretty planes ain't everything.
Voss 13th T.A.S.
[This message has been edited by Voss (edited 01-02-2001).]
