Edit 13/09/2008: News. Most posts which refer to the flag creation focus on the "Japanese standard" concept or, in general, on "ensign" models.
So I stop working on my 3D flag model. Below are the new ensign concepts.


Note.
The debate on the flag has been divided into several posts and there is some confusion now with notifications of news by e-mail.
Moreover, because of discussions that I have not liked, and events I don't understand, from now I will publish my concepts, if
I will make others, only here in my dedicated topic.
The general discussion in "CTF flags" topic will be however noticed to allow the e-mail notify.
13/09/2008

your_errors wrote:I'm still searching for a valid pedestal (some ideas to suggest?). I think it could be a "only laser based object". That's
because the flag may have a realistic reason to remain standing when flag carrier drop it in every strange point of
the map.

You might want to have a look at my red bow concept post here
I like you orb design, though

Edit 13/9/2008
This message was referring to the old concepts. Canceled





.

Awsome model Errors

These are the concepts of flag (ensign) to which I am working now.
The design is curvilinear and essential as industrial products of last generation, forged into a single high-tech material.
I might add other more complex decorations on bracket and stick. The radius of curved elements, such as major stick
and the two semi-sticks, are still to be reviewed. Those are all concepts not still projects and that means the geometric
properties are still "not correct", as the elements shape's section (front view) of the various pieces.
In this phase I'm working on other variations of generic concepts. But I would like your comments.

Here are the various elements:
1. The Nexuiz logo is a bit shiny hologram, supported only by a laser. It protrudes on the left shoulder of the flag carrier,
but is not very high. The flag carrier will be able to hide behind crates, walls and other objects.
2. Where you see the spherical figure, in the middle of the bracket, there is another laser that is located behind.
This laser is used to "paste" the flag to the shoulders of the flag carrier (3 lasers in total). It also paste the flag to
vertical and high places like the eggandbacon map walls.
3. The pedestal (in red) is a laser that holds the flag stand when the flag was dropped on planar, rolling or angular surfaces.
4. The various reds elements on the stick and the bracket are the pipes that carry "energy" from the inside of the bracket
to all lasers and hologram. The bracket is a container for mechanisms that make the lasers.
5. The stick is diagonal because I think it is more cool on the flag carrier : ) and increases the visibility (like carring a long lance).
6. Essential design for materials forged in blocks for resist to rockets and granades. There are no unnecessary elements.
Could be interesting a second cloth, most ruined and pierced, which replaces this one when the flag carrier was hit by the first
rocket or, better, an hologram simulating a real cloth.
7. The cloth is stuck inside a cavity of its two sticks and does not need hooks or other things, except for two that pull the left side.
8. The ensign is (edit: reasonably) fairly thin and can be placed slightly oblique on the shoulders of carriers, in a more realistic way.
Edit: 9. For all concepts I would want to stay close to measures of the flag currently in use in the game to prevent the flag get out
through walls or objects more than now. In fact you can see a curved shape that remains more than possible inscribed in an
immaginary circle, as the current flag circle.

Other images shows the proportions of the characters in relation with the flag.


Note. You all can easily modify these designs cutting and turning in a different way the sticks, or doing something else. Same thing for textures.
You will see how different can be the same design with small modifications to the inclinations or position of the sticks.
Feel free to post here your modified concept.


Concept 01

Edit: See below for "in game" photomontage of this concept.




Concept 02



Those two models have different curving angle for the cloth's sticks.

Concept 01, variation A



Concept 01, variation B




I'm now working to a concept with diagonal but not curved stick, curves with a different radius and others kind of brackets.

Here are two ensign concepts with "not rounded" major stick.
The stick is now shorter to protrudes at the same height flag carrier's calf (like a carried lance).

Other concepts will be uploaded soon.

Concept 03




Concept 03, variation A

Sweeeeeeet!

Here is a variation with large cloth. The angle of the stick is increased to look more like a lance. The Nexuiz logo protudes on the carrier's shoulder.
Probably I will change the position of hologram's laser. Could be near the red ball on the bracket.
The red ball coincides with the midline of the back of carrier's shoulders.
This concept could appear too large, but remember that the flag will be covered by the carrier's body.

Another concept coming soon.


Concept 04




Edit.
Hologram position changed. The "internal" curve of the bracket is not yet good, but makes the idea.

Concept 04, variation A

Here is some modify with two linear sticks.
Length of the elements and their radius inclination aren't definitive (as for other concepts).
A variation could be a shorter below stick, creating an oblique cloth.


Concept 05




Concept 5, variation A

I would like to start making photomontages to adjust the defects of concepts and see as they look "in game".
If you have any beautiful screenshot of Nexuiz characters please post here or link.
Only from behind, front, behind/side or front/side views. Whole player's body.
I need images with full Nexuiz visual effects on. Possibly without "menu' notice" or other written things on the player.
The player's color is not important.

Thanks : )

Well, I've made some when I had free time, but they aren't that good (and not always whole body).

Woah, i like those screenshots! The last one looks really mean and scary.

I'm wondering what your signature is hinting at.. or maybe it's just a coincidence to have read it after seeing those cool shots..

Thanks goes to Jlue. He was the ingame "model".

What a surprise! Some of them are really beautiful (Marine character is ugly but your photo is good too).
You both did a good job. I certainly can use some of them. Thanks Fisume and Jlue (that beautiful model for photographers : )
You all continue to send your screenshots of the various characters.
There are so beautiful that we should open a dedicated topic (a photopic? eheh) and really a photoalbum can
be a useful tool for many purposes (like mine now).

good idea

Something like that: http://www.alientrap.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2721

would be great.

"Screenshot of the Month"

This could be an initial summary of the previous concepts. The elements have flat profiles.
For a more realistic effect, the traditional cloth could be a hologram (a real cloth not resist a rocket : )
The entire structure is forged into a single high-tech material and there are no welded or added
pieces to the main. So remain valid all the indications that I have given above, in the first concept upload post.

Edit: A concept based on a different idea will come soon. In particular I'm trying to find a bracket that does not
interfere with the pipes on the back of Xolar, Nexus and Mulder as even with the Lurk and Reptile armored shoulders.
For the next drawings I'll try to use edited Nexuiz screenshots because it' better to see directly how will looks "in game".


Edit:
I did this to follow the thread of ideas that I had in mind. The good thing that came out is a flat profile of the elements (but
not the general shape).


Concept 06

While I was working on the completion of the above and new concepts, my brain was fired by this... ide... concep... uhm... madness.
Of course I do not propose this as a flag concept but simply makes me laugh a lot and then I show to you.
Name of the concept? Mmm ... looollinex! The Nexuiz logo (if someone does not see it) is the whole ensign.
I did it and I reject it!






More serious things will comes soon : )


Edit:
Mmm... usefull as decorative object?

That actually looks pretty good.

Edit:
These are examples of the concepts I have previously shown, adapted to the needs of Nexuiz.
I haven't added textures and light effects so the various elements are better visibles (infact it might seem a bit "flat" but isn't it).
Laser pedestal is off because the flag is carried.
I chose to use Mulder as "model" because is the larger character in Nexuiz so he is the one who more cover the flag with his body.

Added features:
1. Thickness expanded to be more visible in side views (more than half of the flag currently in use). The cloth was transformed into a 3d object too (box or ellipse based).
2. Red and yellow elements hanging over the shoulders of flag carrier for the front view.

Removed features:
1. The hologram on the shoulders of the carrier described in my first post. That's because I want still valid proportions of the flag
and flag-player currently in use. So the player can hide as it does now in the various maps.

Corrections can be made only testing "in game". But my job ends here because I do not have the software needed to export
in Nexuiz the meshes that I could do with Blender.
I present only a few variations: rounded and squared (the rounded are my favorites : )
The mono color Nexuiz logo increases the ensign's visibility on long distances because there is more red surface visible.
The hologram variation is only for to show that probably isn't a good idea for a good in-game visibility when effects are off. Anyway here is.


Concept 01, toyzed series 01 (rounded).




Concept 01, toyzed series 01 (rounded), variation A.




Concept 01, toyzed series 02 (squared).




Concept 01, toyzed series 02 (squared), variation A (hologram).

nice =) i like the shape of the "stick" on the first pic best. the translucent flag on the last one is preddy sexy, combine those

Mix for tZork and some 3D effects revisited.

Edit:
The main difficulty is that the logo inside the hologram is properly read only one side (if the hologram is a 3D object into a light, but
if it is a texture, there are no problems). If there is a way to solve this problem, I do not know it.
It could be an alternative to replace the logo with a ruined cloth floating in the center of the hologram.
The hologram can then play the "relic" of the first flag of cloth used in the first battle of Nexuiz and destroyed (eheh a new flag that has a long tradition).


Concept 01, toyzed series 01 (rounded), variation B (hologram).



(I'm not sure but maybe, a few years ago, I killed Kenny too; Twice : )

Very nice, your_errors. Much better than the current "flag"!

Thanks a lot guys : )

In order not to complicate the ensign preview, I drew flat elements. In fact the result may seem too broad, "fat and heavy".
Now here's some of the possible section frontal views for both gray "sticks" and red protruding elements.
Anyway consider that diagonal and "returned" sides could create shadows or dark colors, and less visibility in general.
Of course you can imagine other possible changes.


All concepts , all toyzed series, 10 variations

Perhaps those could be where the flag stands at the red/blur base?

KillaGrunt wrote:Perhaps those could be where the flag stands at the red/blur base?

Edit 2:
If I understood correctly you suggest to use the drawings of the elements section for to project a solid pedestal instead of the laser.
But the problem is that a pedestal attached to the shaft of the flag, to be realistic, should be large enough to support the weight of the
flag. In this case very large because the flag is diagonal. This could become ugly to be seen when the player carries the flag.
Another solution would be a detachable shaft from pedestal when the player takes. But then it would reappear "magically" every
time the flagcarrier drops the flag along the map. This is why I thought to larser: it's a simple light that turns on when the flag
remains standing somewhere and goes off when the player captures. So there are no objects that appear and disappear "magically"
but only an element inside the flag itself, so it remains a single object that does not need other items.
Anyway a pedestal increases the extent of the shaft. I would want to stay close to measures of the flag currently in use in
the game to prevent the flag get out through walls or objects more than now. In fact you can see a curved shape that remains
more than possible inscribed in an immaginary circle, as the current flag circle.
I hope that I explained well the idea.
Of course you can post here your alternative ideas or drawings.

What???

Today I found this beautiful screenshot by fabz0r here:
http://forums.alientrap.local/viewtopic.php?t=65&start=780

So I have the opportunity for a front view of toyzed series.
[edit] Here I tried a "mirrored" position for the flag.

Here it is:

Same concept in different position. Added a protruding rotating "hologram" of Nexuiz logo.

Some variation about previous concept.

Added:
- Different bracket and its bottom stick.
- An experimental main "hologram cloth" containing a smaller damaged "real cloth".
- A little emitter for the Nexuiz logo hologram.

your_errors wrote:Mix for tZork.

The main difficulty is that the logo inside the main "cloth" hologram is properly readable only one side (if the hologram is a 3D object into a light, but
if it is a texture, there are no problems). If there is a way to solve this problem, I do not know it.
It could be an alternative to replace the logo with a ruined cloth floating in the center of the hologram.
The hologram can then play the "relic" of the first flag of cloth used in the first battle of Nexuiz and destroyed (eheh a new flag that has a long tradition).

Concept 01, toyzed series 01 (rounded), variation B.

This is a variation on the bracket. Its proportions are a little too extended in this image, but makes the idea.
The bottom part of the bracket is no longer curve, or just a bit.


Concept 01, toyzed series 01 (rounded), variation C