[REL] Squid launcher

[LGN1]

Hi gap,

absolutely great work

I'm looking forward to seeing the finished launcher!

Best, LGN1

[LGN1]

Originally Posted by Fahnenbohn

Where is the squid launcher on the destroyer ? I don't see it ...

I think it's the white object at the stern (starbord side). It looks to me like a single, three barrel, tilted squid for re-loading.

Best, LGN1

[gap]

Originally Posted by tomfon

Wow!

Great work, gap!!!!

Originally Posted by Fahnenbohn

This is just perfect mate.

Originally Posted by Anvar1061

SSS

Originally Posted by makman94

thats ,absolutelly, wonderfull work here

thank you Gap

Originally Posted by LGN1

Hi gap,

absolutely great work

I'm looking forward to seeing the finished launcher!

Best, LGN1

Thank you guys, I appreciate your support. It motivates me to keep on with this little project

I am already at a good point of the UV-mapping work. Finishing it will take a bit longer that it usually does though, because I need a non-overlapping UV channel if I want to use it both as diffuse and ambient occlusion map (for the reason I explained a few days ago). Arranging all the details of the model and making them to fit the UV-space takes time.

Originally Posted by Fahnenbohn

Next part is the animation for the projectiles...

Well, I think SH's DC projectiles are animated automatically, based on where barrel nodes are placed on the thrower model, and on their rotation values. These on turn will depend on which kind of controller LGN1 will decide to use and, in last instance, on which combination will show more effective in game. As anticipated by LGN1 himself, some compromises will be required because the Squid mortar worked as a thriple K-gun under some respects, and as Hedgehog launcher under other respects, but we don't have a controller specific for it in game.

Originally Posted by SquareSteelBar

The World According to Gap

You are correct: this is just my interpretation of the real thing, as I had to judge many details and proportions by eye, based on the few, small pictures I had available. It took longer observing and comparing those photographs, than actually shaping the model. If not identical to the real squid launcher, I hope the model, once finished, will get close enough to it.

Originally Posted by Aktungbby

The "squid pro quo" in this case!

LOL Aktungbby

Originally Posted by LGN1

I think it's the white object at the stern (starbord side). It looks to me like a single, three barrel, tilted squid for re-loading.

Best, LGN1

Yep, you are correct. Navweaps' caption is wrong in stating that that destroyer was fitted with two squids. It was just one on the stern and slightly to starboard

[gap]

Hi guys,
the new squid launcher is 99% ready

Since my last report, the following features were added to the model:
- UV coordinates for texture mapping;
- diffuse map;
- ambient occlusion map (overlayed on the diffuse).





Please note that the above previews were rendered using high resolution textures (6144x6144). Before release, I will resize them to a resolution more acceptable to our GPUs. For similar reasons, we might decide to reduce model's polygon count (current: 11,311 polygons, 17,356 edges, 6,411 vertices).

Besides optimizing model and maps for game usage and dat file editing, there is still a couple of maps I want to add:
- normal map (does anyone know if SHIII normal maps are greenish as SHIV ones?)
- specular map.

Stay tuned for updates

[LGN1]

Great work, gap

I'm looking forward to combining your model with my work!

Best, LGN1

[Fahnenbohn]

No news here ?

[gap]

Originally Posted by Fahnenbohn

No news here ?

Sorry for the delay Fahnenbohn, I have just sent a PM with attached files to LGN1

[LGN1]

Great news, gap!

I have just sent you a pm!

Cheers, LGN1

[gap]

Originally Posted by LGN1

Great news, gap!

I have just sent you a pm!

Cheers, LGN1

Thank you LGN1, I have read your pm. By the way, I took the liberty to advertise this project on the subsim FB channel:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/2599.../?notif_t=like

[Fahnenbohn]

Did you manage to create the animations of the 3 charges thrown in the airs ?

[gap]

Originally Posted by Fahnenbohn

Did you manage to create the animations of the 3 charges thrown in the airs ?

Charge animation will depend on how LGN1 will decide to set the squid launcher. If he will manage using the K-gun ccontrolle instead of the hedgehog one, there are good chances that the squid launcher can throw the right number of charges, and at the correct angles. In my model each of the three barrels has an elevation of 45 deg; the top and the bottom barrel are pointing right ahead, whereas the middle one has a rotation of ca. 6.5 deg on the vertical axis. Model bones should be set accordingly. The problem with k-guns is that they cant be used as forward-throwing weapons in game. If they are set like this, the AI can still fire them, but it wont hit amything. On the contrary, if the hedgehog controller is used, we lack control on the number of charges thrown, and we cannot set which trajectory each individual charge will follow

[Fahnenbohn]

Originally Posted by gap

Charge animation will depend on how LGN1 will decide to set the squid launcher. If he will manage using the K-gun ccontrolle instead of the hedgehog one, there are good chances that the squid launcher can throw the right number of charges, and at the correct angles. In my model each of the three barrels has an elevation of 45 deg; the top and the bottom barrel are pointing right ahead, whereas the middle one has a rotation of ca. 6.5 deg on the vertical axis. Model bones should be set accordingly. The problem with k-guns is that they cant be used as forward-throwing weapons in game. If they are set like this, the AI can still fire them, but it wont hit amything. On the contrary, if the hedgehog controller is used, we lack control on the number of charges thrown, and we cannot set which trajectory each individual charge will follow

Yes, I understand. It's a big problem. In SH3, are the depth charges fired when the destroyer is above the submarine, or when the DC launcher is above it ?

[tomfon]

I guess this is hard to tell since it depends on the destroyer's ability to determine the submarine's position correctly. It would be hard to know whether the destroyer has an accurate fix on the submarine.



Maybe it doesn't depend on the relative position of the two vessels, at all. Could it be that the destroyer drops its depth charges a few seconds after it loses contact with the submarine?

[gap]

Originally Posted by Fahnenbohn

Yes, I understand. It's a big problem. In SH3, are the depth charges fired when the destroyer is above the submarine, or when the DC launcher is above it ?

I see what you are getting at. This is an intetesting idea: if the game took thrower's and submarine's relative positions as reference for firing the DCs, we could move squid launcher's hardpoints (on the escort models) forward, and accordingly move throwers' nodes/meshes backwards. This way we could trick the game into using a k-gun as an hedgehog. Nonetheless, as noted by tomfon, it is possible that dc racks/k-gun's position on the ship are not considered at all. This can be discovered only by testing.

[Fahnenbohn]

Originally Posted by gap

I see what you are getting at. This is an intetesting idea: if the game took thrower's and submarine's relative positions as reference for firing the DCs, we could move squid launcher's hardpoints (on the escort models) forward, and accordingly move throwers' nodes/meshes backwards. This way we could trick the game into using a k-gun as an hedgehog. Nonetheless, as noted by tomfon, it is possible that dc racks/k-gun's position on the ship are not considered at all. This can be discovered only by testing.

That's exactly what I mean.