Merker Member



Join Date: Aug 2016 Posts: 107

Community A-4E Update: May 2018 Community A-4E Update: May 2018



April showers have brought May flowers, but also another update from our team! This month we met our internal milestones and I’m very excited to see this cockpit starting to look like the real deal.



Fire-retardant lining:

I’ve struggled to figure out whether this material is fire resistant or fire retardant (maybe both?), but what I commonly refer to as the cloth lining finally has a new, updated model. This model is both reflective of the finalization of certain objects within the cockpit model, as well as using much better modelling and unwrap techniques due to my increased skill in 3ds and blender over the past year and a half. Plusnine is doing a great job of selling this as fabric; something which I gained an even greater appreciation for after ambitiously attempting to texture myself and failing horribly. I can’t understate how much of an impact good texture work has on models. Unfortunately it’s very much an active work in progress so I can’t share any images, but I promise its really exceeding even my own expectations!





Canopy Frame:

The canopy model is something that has bugged me since we made the switch to a new cockpit model. Originally a very blocky and detail-less model, I’ve since revamped it to include key features seen in our reference examples. As you can see in the pictures below, it really does make a big difference in the quality of the cockpit model. Please note that the texture painting for the solid black and green-outlined models is still in progress and the canopy frame and screws are using solid colors.







Behind the Scences:

Unwraps for all interior objects are now complete, including the new fire-resistant lining and canopy models. Next month’s goals will be to continue texture work for the interior and adjustments to interior and exterior lighting. The cockpit is currently our central concern, given how much players will be staring at it. Fortunately, it would appear that any further cockpit changes will be minimal. After that we’ll be moving to the remaining work on the exterior and bug squashing.



Of course, this wouldn’t be a monthly update if I didn’t have more screenshots to share. Here’s a few based on your requests!



























And with that, another monthly update concludes. Progress is continuing in a comfortable fashion towards release and hopefully we’ll have a firm date for you all soon. At this time, we want to hold off on giving out a date until we can be absolutely sure the aircraft will be in a releasable state worthy of the amount of our skills. Thanks again for all your interest, it gives us a lot of motivation to keep at it! April showers have brought May flowers, but also another update from our team! This month we met our internal milestones and I’m very excited to see this cockpit starting to look like the real deal.I’ve struggled to figure out whether this material is fire resistant or fire retardant (maybe both?), but what I commonly refer to as the cloth lining finally has a new, updated model. This model is both reflective of the finalization of certain objects within the cockpit model, as well as using much better modelling and unwrap techniques due to my increased skill in 3ds and blender over the past year and a half. Plusnine is doing a great job of selling this as fabric; something which I gained an even greater appreciation for after ambitiously attempting to texture myself and failing horribly. I can’t understate how much of an impact good texture work has on models. Unfortunately it’s very much an active work in progress so I can’t share any images, but I promise its really exceeding even my own expectations!The canopy model is something that has bugged me since we made the switch to a new cockpit model. Originally a very blocky and detail-less model, I’ve since revamped it to include key features seen in our reference examples. As you can see in the pictures below, it really does make a big difference in the quality of the cockpit model. Please note that the texture painting for the solid black and green-outlined models is still in progress and the canopy frame and screws are using solid colors.Behind the Scences:Unwraps for all interior objects are now complete, including the new fire-resistant lining and canopy models. Next month’s goals will be to continue texture work for the interior and adjustments to interior and exterior lighting. The cockpit is currently our central concern, given how much players will be staring at it. Fortunately, it would appear that any further cockpit changes will be minimal. After that we’ll be moving to the remaining work on the exterior and bug squashing.Of course, this wouldn’t be a monthly update if I didn’t have more screenshots to share. Here’s a few based on your requests!And with that, another monthly update concludes. Progress is continuing in a comfortable fashion towards release and hopefully we’ll have a firm date for you all soon. At this time, we want to hold off on giving out a date until we can be absolutely sure the aircraft will be in a releasable state worthy of the amount of our skills. Thanks again for all your interest, it gives us a lot of motivation to keep at it! __________________

Former A-4E-C 3D Artist



Logo Credit to Plusnine