What is that huge thing it looks so familiar

Thats the Drinol

Liking the new Drinol model SOI, keep up the good work

However, looking at the pictures, the mesh part of the FP arms still looks pretty messed up. Perhaps using a higher res texture could solve it (or making it less pronounced)? That's the only qualm i have.

Is that HUD still a WIP (as in are you still having the compass problems)? Looks good so far.
Edited by The Kingx on May 6, 2014 at 04:11 PM

You're totally right about the arms. The techsuit pattern still bugs me even if I tried my best, but I want to try a higher res texture (hoping that the final result won't kill my tag space. Perhaps I could make the techsuit texture a separated bitmap, and fill the armor parts in black there, so that I can keep two textures without too many colors). Also, I found an interesting method that Kirby used on his assault rifle (or whoever made it) in Abandoned City for simulating bumps. I'm gonna try that method and see if it works.




Actually I talked with Jesse, and he said that there's nothing I can do for making the compass move with the player yaw. I decided to keep it move with the player pitch, but I still need to know how to make it colored, and not disappear at certain angles...
Edited by SOI_7 on May 6, 2014 at 04:22 PM

just noticed, there's an unsightly bit of geometry on the stock of the Sniper Rifle, right behind the scope. It's very noticable, but i think you could use that part as a visible heat meter (just a thought)

Do you mean this?



Well, that's not a bad idea actually. Now that I notice it, it also needs better UVs. Do you think the heat meter should be horizontal or vertical? I'm thinking about something among the lines of the H1 Fuel Rod Gun...

Fuel rod gun style? i am totally ok with that

Here it is, I think it came out pretty well:



I have also tweaked the fp arms. I have used a bitmap with a higher resolution, but it still doesn't help for the rigging problems. Anyway, the good news is that, thanks to the method I told you earlier, I got the bumpy, shiny effect I wanted for the techsuit:



I used a better cubemap that simulates lights, and I have played a lot more with the red and the blue channel of the multipurpose map. You should see it in action, though...

Oh, I have also other new things to show. Firstly, I did a new model for the overshield and the active camo. I have recreated the H3 Invincibility/cloaking equipment model, and used it with proper effects:



And, finally, I have some progress about the bipeds. In order,
Final Cortana model:



Revamp of the Carrier Form (I have still a lot of doubts about this...):



Crewmen:



and, finally, Unarmored marines:



In particular, I followed Potterhalo's idea of using the HR marines chest for the Unarmored marines, and I also made a new set of face textures, shared by both the Crewmen and the Unarmored marines. Some of them need some adjustment for the eyes, but it's a start:



The new faces, btw, have been made using some pics I found on Google, and some Photoshop work for making them fit the original models.

Now I'm gonna work on Guilty Spark and the Sentinels. The plan is to recreate the H3 Guilty Spark and the Halo Wars Sentinels.

I feel like if you're going to use the drinol in the campaign then it's going to need a nickname like all other covenant species.

I vote Titan.

Also Cortana's chest seems a bit...large. Could just be the screenshot angle but ummm....yeah.

Also also about the unarmored marines with the chestplate, the rest of em seems a bit nekkid, maybe some shin guards are an order? Otherwise they just kinda look goofy.
Edited by Delicon20 on May 15, 2014 at 10:04 PM

The HUD looks fantastic! So does alot of the tags in general. However, those marine faces, and especially Cortana, do not look that great I find.

Cortana in particular, her breasts are very large and disproportionate to her head (and rest of body), and her face is much more long and unproportionate. Her regular face is much more round afaik. Take a look at the h3 cortana for example:

After looking through the interwebs, I've found something SOI and probably many others might enjoy.

Cut Models For Various Deleted things


Model Of the Kestrel


Blind Wolf Concept and Model



Original Post: http://halofanforlife.com/?p=14080

I found it interesting. I might remake some of those myself.

Lol, they named an animal "Thorax."

Would be amazing to see any of those recreated in CE, that Kestrel in particular.

im looking at the meter you made for the Sniper rifle. I thought you would have made it the entire length of that section rather than just that small stub. I am sad now D:

@Sniper: Ugh, I guess I misunderstood what you meant :/
Anyway, that's not a problem. Here it is:



@Higuy, Mootjuh and Delicon: I got what you mean about Cortana. Today I fixed her face and her... HE-HEM!
Here is the result I got, note that I'm aiming for an H2 design:



Her face is rounder, and the chest is smaller. About the marines, as I've already said, the faces aren't final, because I need to adjust the eyes for a lot of them... the Crewmen suit still bugs me, because it looks too similiar to the original. I'm gonna aim for a current crewman suit, since (except CEA) there aren't more versions of Crewmen in Halo. Also, I'd like some ideas for the Carrier Form. It still looks too similiar to the original :/

@Zobieking: OMG! Those concepts will be pretty useful! I was already going to recreate a sort of ambient creature for a30 (there's an hidden Cortana dialogue about wildlife that I'd like to use), but except the Blindwolves (that both sshers4 and KillahFTW are already doing), I couldn't find any other creature that could have been good for that level. Now, I have more stuff to work. In particular, I'd like to recreate the Thorax (and give it some crazy alien dialogues, like the Lizard from Star Wars: Episode III, for example). I just hope that the tagspace won't hate me for that...

@Echo77: Actually, you gave me an idea about the Kestrel...

Since there are a lot of vehicles that still need an idea for their redesign, in particular the Hornet, I think I could turn it into a Kestrel. As far as I know, they both use the same weapons (machine gun+rockets), and the flying mechanics could be the same as well (luckily Kirby already explained how to recreate a fully working Hornet). In particular, here are the current plans for the vehicles I have in mind:

-Warthog: I'm going to turn it into the deleted Aardvark, though I'm gonna keep it 4-wheeled and without the plasma shielded turret (I prefer the classic one)
-Warthog Gauss: same as the regular variant, but I'm gonna use the HW Cobra color scheme and Gauss cannon model
-Hornet: Modified to resemble the Kestrel, probably I'm gonna use other things from the HW Hornet
-Scorpion: Still don't know. I have thought to make it look like the Rhino, but it is still too similiar...
-Ghost: modified to look like the deleted Apparition from CMT
-Banshee: Maybe I could make it look a bit like the Covenant Bomber (from Zobieking's pic)
-Wraith: modified to look a bit like HW Vampire. The secondary turret will be controlled by the driver, but you'll be able to destroy it
-AA Wraith: same as the regular variant, but of course with an AA battery instead of the mortar
-Spectre: modified to resemble the deleted H4 Spectre/Revenant thing
-Shade Turret: I really don't know...
-UNSC Machine Gun Turret: Modified to resemble the H2 version and the SAW (though not like the H4 version, I'm gonna use some of the deleted concept in some way)

Some suggestions:
•Warthog: Some elements of the Cougar might look good.
•Scorpion: I wouldn't say the Rhino is too similar to the Scorpion. The turret is more centered, as opposed to being mounted farther back. It's larger (51ft long, 30ft wide) than the M808B Scorpion (33ft long, 26ft wide). It has six tread bogeys instead of four, and the rearmost bogeys have large hydraulic braces in order to lock down the vehicle when firing. If you don't want to do the Rhino, though, you could base your design on the earliest iteration of the Scorpion tank:
http://nikon.bungie.org/screenshots/gamestar_apr00/halo_b3.jpg
http://nikon.bungie.org/screenshots/screens5oct99/halo12.jpg
It had a more conventional layout, with a larger turret. It appears to have been outfitted with gun-launched anti-tank missiles instead of a conventional cannon, due to the backblast that appears to be vented out the back of the turret when firing.
•Ghost: Here are two early concepts, one of which features an enclosed cab:
http://halo.bungie.net/images/games/Halo/Gallery/Concept/sketch_034.jpg
http://halo.bungie.net/images/games/Halo/Gallery/Concept/sketch_026.jpg
•Banshee:
•Wraith: If the Vampire approach doesn't work out, here's a Wraith concept that might be useful.
•Shade Turret: Maybe a standalone version of the plasma cannon from the Halo 2 Spectre (bonus points for a man-portable version)?

Edit: Some useful inspiration may be gleaned from the links found here:
http://forum.halomaps.org/index.cfm%3Fpage=topic&topicID=45109

Edited by Echo77 on May 16, 2014 at 07:53 PM

Cortana looks like she has down syndrome.

y u do dis to chest
Edited by Oskarmandude on May 16, 2014 at 07:41 PM

Modifying equipment is one thing, it's probably a bit harder to modify a humanoid biped and still make it look natural.

Correct, expecially when you mess with a low-poly model e.e

Anyway, I have some updates. Firstly, I have fixed the marine faces. You can compare them in this pic (old on the top, new on the bottom):



Moreover, I have made a "clone" of the H3 Guilty Spark: same textures, same glowing side rings



Then, I've made a HW style Sentinel reskin (reference pic: http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120222194543/halo/it/images/7/7f/Halo_Wars_Sentinella.jpg). I have also managed to make it use my versions of its weapon, so that I didn't have to make them part of the biped model. The best part, though, is the plasma shield:







And, finally, an edit of the Brain Form. I have made it more gruesome and bloody, taking inspiration from the Guardian from Dead Space (for example ripping out his mandible and eyes), added more heads, and I've also made new dialogues for it (couldn't find something better, unluckily it's a sort of pure form, so I can't make exposed bones and tissues like the Combat Forms...):





Now I'm gonna make the Brute Combat Form

Looks cute :3

You did a very good job on these. I'd never have expected to see a revised Proto-Gravemind.

I love the white membranes and the faces popping out of the Brain Form, but I'm a little bothered by how straight and (apparently) stiff the dark red tentacles/arms/whatever-those-things-are is...

Before I make any suggestions (especially concerning the texture.. I mean, extra blood vessels? what?), what is that supposed to be, exactly?

I believe the "tentacles/arms/whatever" serve as anchors, securing the Brain form to its environment and ensuring that it doesn't topple over. One would imagine that they would be kept under tension for this reason, and if that were the case, then it would make sense that they're straight and stiff.

He seems to have replaced the greenish Flood "blood" with traditional red.
Edited by Echo77 on May 21, 2014 at 10:59 PM

Ah, that makes sense. Thanks! xP

Actually my Flood still have the classic greenish blood, but the veins are red because (following the H2 style) the infection makes them more evident... in fact, in H2 the Flood had red veins, and green blood.

Anyway, I have an important update...

Say "Hello" to our new friend: the Brute Combat Form!





I made it modifying the original CMT Brute model, following my Flood style. It has everything needed to work: model, damaged perms, collisions, animations... everything. It is also fully working with the actor_variants (though I still need to mess with them, in order to make it different from the other Flood Combat forms in terms of behaviour):



Speaking of the animations, I used zteam's H3 Flood Human animations, though I had to modify them in order to fit the Brute proportions. Other than that, they work like a charm (and yes, I have also fixed that annoying bug that made the Flood freeze after resurrecting).

And, btw, I have also made HD body parts for the Combat forms; now you can actually recognize which piece you have destroyed:





(Shame that I can't give the same armour color to the garbage pieces, though :/ )

Now I need to work on the Juggernaut, and then all the bipeds (except the secret ones) will be ready, and I'll be able to go on with the equipments, the sceneries and the vehicles!

No more WIPs??? I miss them

Don't know how I missed all the flood stuff, its really cool!

SOI, you is beautiful modder :3

I just needed a bump :/
Well, actually I've been really busy due to the university, and probably I won't be able to work on my stuff before the 23th of this month, after the last exam. The stuff I'm gonna show you is something that I did around the end of May, so it is really old, but I think you'll find it interesting as well.

1) I have finally fixed the compass. I messed with all the settings in the hud tags, and it seems that the problem was the color function. After some tests, I got the result I wanted changing it from "multiply" to "subtract". Now the compass is finally colored, and doesn't disappear anymore. There is only a little problem: at certain angles, it becomes blue instead of cyan, but that's not a big deal.

2) I have finished a thing that I always wanted to see in Halo CE: the Flood Juggernaut!







The story behind this thing is simple: the Juggernaut is available in the Flood Campaign, hidden in the tags folder (it seems that Beachparty did it), but it has been rigged with the Carrier Form boneset, and it wasn't even good enough, since its UVs were flipped (WTF). Other people did a working Juggernaut (like Kirby), but they never released it, so I wanted to do it by myself.
I initially fixed the UVs, then made a new boneset, then rescaled the model, made a new collision and finally a new set of animations. Don't expect the best animations on the forum, but at least they're... passable.
In the collision, I gave to the hands an indistructible material, and I did a crouch animation in which the Juggernaut covers his face in a defensive pose:



And, lastly, I did a custom set of dialogues, recording and modifying some inhales on YouTube (thanks to greg079 for his suggestion).

3) Since the Juggernaut was the last biped I had to do (excluded the secret ones), I started working on the sceneries. For now, I just did some of the a10 sceneries:











On a side note, some parts are still solid gray because I still have to mess with the a10 BSP textures, so they'll be fixed later.

Now, I'd like to make a video about the Juggernaut, but I still need to mess with the actor variant. Now it acts basically like a simple Combat Form, with the only difference that it runs at you faster when it berserks, and has a letal melee.
Does anyone here have some experience with actor variants, and can give me some tips for making it more savage and different from the other Flood forms? I'd like some tips for the Brute Form and the Drones as well, since they still look like reskinned sentinels...
Edited by SOI_7 on Jul 17, 2014 at 09:02 AM

If you require, blood splatter effects or gun fx.

Pm me or xfire: ssflanker303

#bump

How's progress?

Nothing special to show atm, I'm still messing with the sceneries. Anyway, I've just uploaded a little video that you'll find interesting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-92U3caULzA&list=UUqeSNPrKO74SMtNwvvtoOtQ

Your flood makes me realize just how freaking painful an infection would be D:

I wonder how feasible just punching the things off once they latch on is? I mean MC can just walk on them; they can't be that durable. The biggest problem seems to be that the tendrils are extremely effective at what they do - latching on to your sorry <posterior> before turning you into a zombie. Therefore the effort at removing them as seen in 343GS is pretty futile if not in full body armor (where the aforementioned will at least have a few seconds of difficulty). So if you encounter one in fatigues, my best guess is the most effective tactic is to either use a firearm once it's on, or just give it your best right hook to pop the thing.

Of course, that's discounting just how well an infection can take without a Flood physically aiding the process. Given that the death of the form post-transformation constitutes a fatal injury for both it and the host, one would think this would constitute an effective halt to the process. But I'm unsure as to the effects of Flood biomaterial already in the system...what exactly would they do? We've established that it's likely useless without the parasite itself being physically attached. The Flood describes itself as the 'next evolution', so I'm rather fearful that these residual foreign cells and chemicals will then do their best to terminate the host.

Even if that's not the case, and they simply attempt to continue their mission, it's almost certain they'll target the nervous system first and inevitably inflict catastrophic damage. Therefore we need to find a way to neutralize these cells before they can pose a threat to the host. Perhaps boost the immune system? It's previously been unable to be much in the way of a defense, but with a bolster I'm sure it could handle the invaders.

Flood spores can infect and transform a potential host, but that takes a while.

It would be somewhat similar to what you are thinking of, except the spores would probably be a lot more effective and potent.