TFU-Styled Stormtrooper Kitbash models

[Giftheck]

Once again, here is another partial conversion, this time in a pack. What I've done is replaced the stock Stormtrooper helmet with the one from the 501st Stormtrooper model from the Wii version of TFU. I have modified it and re-UVed it to fit a modified version of the stock texture. I have also upped the detail on some parts of the model such as the belt.

Also in this pack are my new Jump Trooper, and somebody requested me to do a 501st Stormtrooper too. I've also included a slight update to the Heavy Trooper model (mainly repositioning its backpack slightly, and altering weighting, as well as the new belt)

[spoiler][/spoiler]

DOWNLOAD

==CREDITS==
-Pandemic Studios for the stock models from the SWBF Mod Tools
-Krome Studios for Heavy Trooper and 501st Stormtrooper parts.

[Rayce]

Those look awesome! Great work, man, and thanks for taking my suggestion. 

[Giftheck]

Thanks I personally think the helmet mesh is much better than the stock one. It took me over two hours to properly re-UV it, though. The TFU Imperial unit UVs are, quite frankly, a mess. It's as if they atlased the UVs... and just decided "that'll do" instead of creating a properly joined texture. I guess their thinking was that they were the only ones using the models anyway, but that attitude is pretty bad given how LucasArts liked to re-use art assets between products - those models could have quite easily been used in other games.

I did notice that it seems there's an error with one point being mapped incorrectly in the left arm of the Jump Trooper. I need to isolate that and fix it.

EDIT: If you've already downloaded, just download this MSH and replace the one in the RAR file with this one. Otherwise, the main link has been updated.

Fixed Jump Trooper: https://www.mediafire.com/?fpag4x4lpayksrc

[Delta-1035]

These are awesome, great work dude!

[Giftheck]

Thanks

I've got one more that I'm doing based on this helmet mesh: the Dark Trooper. I'll also see about doing 'high-res low-res' for these: they do seem to cause flip outs to low-res more often. I'm wondering if there's a triangle limit hardcoded for units: somebody told me they reckoned it was four units but I've noticed since I've started using these the only high-res unit is the player's unit.

[Epifire]

Are these designed to work specifically with SWBF1 or 2? If these can work with the rigs in 1 they look tons better than any of the original work/reskins I'd seen before. I don't mean to bash the work of anyone else but I'm pretty critical over the asset quality we usually have to work with.

Curious though, what is the poly count (at least a range that these sit at)? I'm not sure about hard coded poly limits for units, but the most dense prop I've used (a 6.5k turbo laser tower) runs great with multiple onscreen at once. For anything in ZE at that number, you've gotta have a special lowres version to not crash the editor, but with in-game units I think there may be some LOD throttling at fault.

[Giftheck]

They do work in SWBF1 but they seem to cause lowres flipout. Obviously they would have a better time in SWBF2.

Here's what the triangle counts are (from the readme):

-Stormtrooper (2072 triangles vs stock 1651)
-Shocktrooper (2208 triangles vs stock 1877)
-Jump Trooper (new) (2591 triangles)
-501 Stormtrooper (2119 triangles)
-501 Shocktrooper (no lowres) (2255 triangles)
-Heavy Trooper (2627 triangles - The EvoCreen asset I was using prior had 4445)

I'm working on making 'lowres' versions which are the high-res versions just mapped to bones that exist only in the low1 skeleton. So far preliminary tests are promising (no slowdown/lag - this suggests that Pandemic were really underestimating what their engine could handle).

I couldn't go back to using stock Stormies now, though :p They definitely have problems, especially in the helmet area.

[Epifire]

They do work in SWBF1 but they seem to cause lowres flipout. Obviously they would have a better time in SWBF2.

Here's what the triangle counts are (from the readme):

-Stormtrooper (2072 triangles vs stock 1651)
-Shocktrooper (2208 triangles vs stock 1877)
-Jump Trooper (new) (2591 triangles)
-501 Stormtrooper (2119 triangles)
-501 Shocktrooper (no lowres) (2255 triangles)
-Heavy Trooper (2627 triangles - The EvoCreen asset I was using prior had 4445)

I'm working on making 'lowres' versions which are the high-res versions just mapped to bones that exist only in the low1 skeleton. So far preliminary tests are promising (no slowdown/lag - this suggests that Pandemic were really underestimating what their engine could handle).

I couldn't go back to using stock Stormies now, though :p They definitely have problems, especially in the helmet area.

Yeah those numbers should work fine in either one, considering how much I've been able to cram into a single asset alone.

Here's my theory with all my own tests in SWBF with meshes. Most of the LOD systems in place really don't seem to make that much sense for our computers (then or now for that matter) but you gotta remember the crappy hardware it was also supposed to run on with the consoles back then. Since I think they were the same assets across the board, one can only suppose the strict limits were in place to make sure the same version ran across all platforms. They had like only a year to work on each title so I really can't bash them for using a single version for the sake of saving time.

Although if you were to make some kind of mod (for BF1 at least) to overwrite existing stormies with your base white version there, I'd pick it up in a heartbeat.   

[Led]

local links

http://www.swbfgamers.com/index.php?action=downloads;sa=view;down=1299


http://www.swbfgamers.com/index.php?action=downloads;sa=view;down=1300

[Giftheck]

Yeah those numbers should work fine in either one, considering how much I've been able to cram into a single asset alone.

Here's my theory with all my own tests in SWBF with meshes. Most of the LOD systems in place really don't seem to make that much sense for our computers (then or now for that matter) but you gotta remember the crappy hardware it was also supposed to run on with the consoles back then. Since I think they were the same assets across the board, one can only suppose the strict limits were in place to make sure the same version ran across all platforms. They had like only a year to work on each title so I really can't bash them for using a single version for the sake of saving time.

Although if you were to make some kind of mod (for BF1 at least) to overwrite existing stormies with your base white version there, I'd pick it up in a heartbeat.   

These will be used in my Expanded mod.

I'll be uploading a V2 at some stage, so stay tuned.

[Epifire]

These will be used in my Expanded mod.

I'll be uploading a V2 at some stage, so stay tuned.

Definitely. And with your permission (with due credit), I'd love spice up my default imp sides with these in my Kejim Outpost still in the works. Generally I'm really not a fan of the radically altered skins/models but just more like a quality boost while keeping the original look. That's why I think these look perfect, because their increase is subtle. Just too bad I don't know of any packages that do this for the rebs.

Not wanting to jack your thread or anything so I'll try and keep this short. But if you ever want a hand with modeling or want a tester, feel free to give me a holler. Cause you've definitely got a fan here. 

[Giftheck]

Of course you have my permission to use them: that's what I posted them for

[Ginev]

Amazing work man.This will come handly to my Battlefront "3" project i am working.Keep up the good work.i am making full recreation of what we lost with Free Radical battlefront 3

[411Remnant]

By anychance is there a plain white armor texture for the TFU stormtrooper? I would really like to do more with texturing if possible. Also in mesh viewer, for some reason it seems like the ph1 clone trooper is merged with the models so how. I was told its possible to get rid of them and it would make the file sizes slightly smaller.

[Giftheck]

By anychance is there a plain white armor texture for the TFU stormtrooper? I would really like to do more with texturing if possible. Also in mesh viewer, for some reason it seems like the ph1 clone trooper is merged with the models so how. I was told its possible to get rid of them and it would make the file sizes slightly smaller.

Um, the Stormtrooper is already plain. Just check the first screenshot. Or do you mean the 501st Stormtrooper? As for that, no, not yet anyways.

As for the 'merging', what do you mean exactly? I have merged pieces of the Clone Trooper for certain variants of the unit, yes. If you're referring to how the units are set up, I'm using the "Unit template Beta". I render the PH1 Clone Trooper model, where the bones are stored, as non-visible, before I export.