Sunday, December 18, 2005

S Set Cab and Tangara Progress

Ive been working on the Tangara, but it doesnt look much different, so here are a couple of pics of the latest S Set Cab additions. The first is from the front. Any polys that cant be seen from the inside have been deleted, which is why you can see through the walls from this angle. As I mentioned earlier, I added the chair and fire extinguisher, from Auran samples. I also added the data logger and crew air conditining controls (probably the most important controls on the whole train). I have a few more bits and pieces to add (drivers door, for one) before Im ready to start on the controls and finer detail.

The second picture shows the view from the back, looking forward out through the front of the train. You can't see the ceiling in either shot, but its there. There will be multiple camera angles (if I can figure it out) for driver and guard, since due to the seperating wall, you wont see most of my hard work from the drivers view. There is a lot more work to do, and it will look much better than this when finished and textured. (Right now only the chair and extinguisher have any textures on them). I'll also be adding the glass, so dont panic, the windows will be included.

I cant bellieve how boxy and basic these cabs are, compared to the Tangara. You wouldnt want to be claustrophobic driving one of these!

Tangara
Ok, some basic Tangara news. I went to the ARHS Research room today. I thought they closed at 4pm, and arrived just before 3pm. They close at 3pm. doh! I had a few minutes and managed to grab a set of plans for the Tangara, but alas, no bogies. I have an alternate source for bogies plans that will hopefully come through soon, so its not a complete loss. I also grabbed the plans for the A8 type stations (1914 brick building, like the ones at Redfern, though technically they're modified A10's) The A8's are found on island platforms all over the network, so that is where I plan to start on the platform project, once I get some time. I browsed through the V Set plans, but there are so many variations I didnt have time to choose what I wanted. I'll go back to get those (and some other stuff) in the new year.

So anyway, back to the Tangara. Since the last picture I have added the window frames on both the upper and lower deck. I also spent a lot of time hand optimising the polygons, and managed to reduce the poly count by over 200!! It went down to around 1400 polys for a while there, until I added the window frames - then it went back up to 1680, but at least its not 1880! As Ive said before it will shoot up when I add the seats and other detail, but will be manageable. Thats about it really, the only visible difference is a few extra window frames - not enough to justify a screen shot, but a lot was done that wont be seen. Also now that I have the plans, I will have to spend some time adjusting various measurements by tiny amounts so that it is more accurate.

Gotta go. Enjoy. Posted by Picasa

2 comments:

george broussos said...

Is it a model you are making or a real tangara? If it's not real do you any one that might make one or any other cityrail trains? Are you also making carriages or do no someone that does?

Wylie said...

Its a 3D virtual model - ie: made in a computer. Its for a train simulation game called Trainz. Just about all modern games and even movies use these kinds of models.

I don't know anyone who makes actual models of these, but I do know that some people do. There are a few Tangara models (and some V sets I think) stored in Redfern Workshops (last time I was there anyway) that have been displayed at various Cityrail open days. Ive also seen a lot of models of diesel and steam locomotives at these kind of exhibitions. Im not sure of the scale, but these are usually about 3 or 4 feet long... Perhaps 1/20th scale ata rough guess.

Im making all the carriages for the Tangara, and other trains, and when completed they will be available for download so that they can be run in the Trainz simulator.