WC2-era ship images

Ironduke

Spaceman
Hi everyone!

I'm stuck with a fanboy Wing Commander table-top project of mine, and I'm finally desperate enough to go ahead and annoy you with my most severe problem: I need good (hi-res) images of nothing less than all fighters, ships and bases appearing in WC2. I wouldn't complain if someone pointed me to some decent WC1 and/or Privateer models either, but let's have a look at the "requirements" first.

Let me say that the CIC's ship database is a great place to grab top-down views and "beauty shots" of every vessel I possibly need. It's just that those are in-game graphics which - of course - become pixelated when trying to size them up. And in fact, I need to size them up by 4-6 times their original size in order to put them to use in my little project. Since I'm neither a 3D, nor a 2D artist, I can't create my own models (like some people here can in a, gotta say that, most admirable way). I also lack the time to give Wings3D a try. (Okay, honestly, I did give it a try, but... well, we don't have to talk about it, do we? I didn't even manage to render at least one 3D model from the WC3D website.)

In a last-ditch effort, I tried to vectorize the ship images and running them through some Photoshop filters. As you can imagine, to no great avail. If you're daring enough, scroll down to the images below to see what I came up with. The result is... shall we say, "quite pop art" instead of "rather weird?" ;) (Okay, so a wingnut should still recognize what's depicted, but that's not the point here.)

Now I won't ask for someone doing the dirty work for me - I know that's selfish, and besides, it's actually a lot of dirty work to be done. But maybe someone has already recreated at least some models true to WC2's look-and-feel...? Or maybe someone has an idea how I could put the old in-game pics to good use anyway? (I think I've almost googled myself to death by now.) I admit I'm clutching at straws at the moment, but any support whatsoever would be greatly appreciated! I've already put a lot of time and effort in this project, and that's why I'm getting a little bit frustrated right now. :(

Wow, I guess I could even use a cheer-up... ;)









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Oh, right, here's for the fearless:

Drakhri.jpg


Epee.jpg


Dorkathi.jpg


Broadsword.jpg


Strakha.jpg




And that's how it could end up looking like (ignore my <irony>amazing</irony> hand-drawn ships and imagine top-down views of ships from WC2 instead):

screen09.jpg


screen10.jpg


screen11.jpg
 
If I may be of assistance, I do have some Items of interest:cool:

Am I right in assuming you need both top and perspective view of the WC2 ships?

Those are the 3D models I have handy at the moment. They are all aproximations of the real deal (to the best of my ability). Something to note, they where created for my own purposes so some of them aren't detailed up close.

If you're interested just point out the ones you need and I'll post some renders here for you.
 

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Wow, will you look at that! Seems like aisle 3 has a well-assorted stock of answers to my prayers... :) That's actually more than I would have hoped for!

Yes, you're right in your assumptions: I need a top-down view for the ship's counter (which will go on a hex-based grid), plus a perspective view for the ship ID card (used to inform the player about the ship's capabilities).
While the counter is standard table-top hex size (1.5 inches iirc), the ID card will be around 3.3 x 2.2 inches @ 300 dpi. So the renders should be around 1000 x 650 pixels, I guess. Don't worry about the level of detail, though - your models already look lightyears better than what I've come up with just as they are.

Do I get a discount if I take them all? ;) (Why's the starbase crossed out, btw?)
Apart from the Tallahassee/Coventry, I really could use all of them. For starters, I'd like to see (and show you) how the Drakhri and the Rapier II work out.

Are you still working on modeling other WC2 ships? I'm thinking especially of the Dorkathi, maybe a civilian transport, and corvettes (Kamekh or Venture, although that last one isn't in WC2).
For now, however, you definitely saved my day! If there's anything I can do to return the favor, feel free to send me a pm! (You could also send me your renders via e-mail, if that's easier for you - just let me know.)
 
The Starbase and the three other models are crossed out in red because I've lost them (frustrating computer problem a while back... I lost even more than is depicted on that picture, but since they are gone, there's no use in showing old pics of all of them)

As for the resolution... my way of thinking is, do them really big so you can scale them down to your heart's content.

the Rapier II and Drakhri:
http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/5264/rapier01lt9.gif
http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/7926/rapier02zi9.gif
http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/949/drakhri01we2.gif
http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/8791/drakhri02io6.gif

I'm all for sharing what I've got on hand.
Other WC2 models as well as replacements for the ones lost are defenetly coming, but I'm doing them on my own time and at my own pace (really really slowly compared to other artist in the CIC forums)
 
Marc said:
The Starbase and the three other models are crossed out in red because I've lost them (frustrating computer problem a while back... I lost even more than is depicted on that picture, but since they are gone, there's no use in showing old pics of all of them)

Wow, I guess here's a chance for me to finally be useful. Check the Reckoning FTP, everything you ever sent me is on there (including the four boxes with the ugly red Xs over them.)
 
As for the resolution... my way of thinking is, do them really big so you can scale them down to your heart's content.
Perfect! I changed the Drakhri and Rapier II ship stat cards in my first post and left the others there for comparison. I think everyone will agree that the cards with your models look way better! ;)

Other WC2 models as well as replacements for the ones lost are defenetly coming, but I'm doing them on my own time and at my own pace (really really slowly compared to other artist in the CIC forums)
Don't sweat it, I'm more than happy about you willing to share the models you've got! I've been working on that project time and again for the last six years, so there's absolutely no need to hurry. :)

Edit: Hm, okay, looks like I can't edit old posts... So the Drakhri is changed in the first post, and this is how the Rapier II looks like:

Rapier%20II.jpg
 
Edit: Hm, okay, looks like I can't edit old posts... So the Drakhri is changed in the first post, and this is how the Rapier II looks like:

You can only edit your posts for the first two hours after you originally made it.
 
You can only edit your posts for the first two hours after you originally made it.
Okay, that might explain it... :D Thanks for the clarification!

@Marc: Coming along nicely! Now that I have some light and medium fighters, I'm experimenting with the scaling. Fitting both an over 900m long capital ship and a 10m light fighter on a 1.5in hex base in a reasonable relation is a bit tricky... ;)
I think I worked something out, though. It won't be wholly true to the original scale, of course, but it should get the job done. I'll post some pictures as soon as I've got some of the bigger bogies like the Sabre and the Broadsword, and maybe a mid-sized vessel or capship. :)
 
the Sabre:
http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/8753/sabre01xc3.gif
http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/1276/sabre02ty5.gif
the Jalkehi:
http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/1583/jalkehi01lb6.gif
http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/2638/jalkehi02mu5.gif
the Broadsword:
http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/1673/broadsword01km0.gif
http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/3258/broadsword02py6.gif
and the Grikath:
http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/668/grikath01kq3.gif
http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/91/grikath02qo2.gif

Wow, I guess here's a chance for me to finally be useful. Check the Reckoning FTP, everything you ever sent me is on there (including the four boxes with the ugly red Xs over them.)
Thanks for the reminder, and it's one possibility I might very well use :)
But I thought I might try and remake a lot of them... work on making them better, just look at what I was able to do with the Bengal
redosg3.gif
 
Hey, you're faster than I am! :D

I did a line-up of all Confed and Kilrathi fighters I've got so far (again, thanks to you!). I've scaled them according to what felt right and what's reasonable for a hex grid. You'll notice the Ferret and Epee - as well as the Sartha and Drakhri - are equally long, for instance. While that may not be overly correct, I simply had to make some compromises to fit in the smaller craft.

The Jalkehi sure felt smaller to me in WC2, but I don't know... It's supposed to be a heavy fighter, and the CIC database tells me it's 25 meters long, so that would leave it pretty much on par with the Sabre. The Grikath, on the other side, seems a tad too short in comparison (cf. cockpit sizes). Any opinions?

(On a side note: While I definitely want to leave the black outline around each fighter's silhouette to make it look more cartoonish, the outline is only half as thick in "reality." I scaled the fighters down by 50% for this image, but couldn't reduce the outline respectively.)

Anyway, aren't they sweet? :D
Fighter%20Line-Up.jpg
 
Looks incredible! finaly some use for these things :)

I agree about the cockpit size of the Grikath, but as you said, you have limited space in those hex and besides; realism has to make way for practicality some times.

the Clydesdale:
http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/6610/clydesdale01yl7.gif
http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/9886/clydesdale02pj9.gif
the WC2 Depot:
http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/1025/wc2depot01oc1.gif
http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/8052/wc2depot02vl6.gif
the Bengal:
http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/6146/wc1carrier01hj1.gif
http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/9413/wc1carrier02mv9.gif
the Privateer Refinery:
http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/4712/privref01ul6.gif
http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/2179/privref02fz1.gif

And last but not least, my absolute favorite, the Confederation Dreadnought:
http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/607/confed01xm5.gif
http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/5241/confed02ul5.gif

and now what I have left is my non-WC canon ships... the ones that look, smell and feal like WC, but are not. I've got a few of those.
 
and now what I have left is my non-WC canon ships... the ones that look, smell and feal like WC, but are not. I've got a few of those.
What exactly are we talking about here? I guess there's a big enough gap to be filled concerning transports, corvettes, light carriers, installations, the likes. Obviously, there must be more ship classes in the WC universe at that time than what we get to see in WC2. So whatever you've got that's WC2-ish enough, I'd at least be glad to take a look. Besides, you already made me curious by now... :D
 
No, no new transport ships or corvettes either... sorry. I was referring to the WC3 ships I repainted in WC2 colors. It comes from the fact that they are all supposed to be old desings from the start of the war and further back.

the Ranger:
anim01ja2.gif

the Ajax style Cruiser:
anim02as6.gif

and the Sheffield style Destroyer:
anim03gx7.gif


But I beleve you said you weren't interested in those.
Anyway that's pretty mutch everything I can give you. The only person who could give you more renders is LOAFhttp://www.crius.net/zone/member.php?find=lastposter&f=15

I'm currently working on remaking the Paradigm and giving it the WC2 paint job but it still needs some turrets before I can texture it.
anim04yd8.gif
 
But I beleve you said you weren't interested in those.
I said that? Seriously? I must have been out of my mind at that time... :p
Joking aside: I just love that Ranger-class! The model is great, and it would blend in perfectly. (Excellent work there, Marc!) Plus I'd take a carrier class other than old Bengals and state-of-the-art dreadnoughts any time... :)

As far as the "Ajax" and "Sheffield" are concerned... Well, you're right, they're supposed to be there anyway (like some Arrows and other craft we simply don't get to see in WC2). And given the fact that you already got those meshes done, I'd say "why not?"

LOAF got renders? :confused: I never knew he's a 3D artist as well, or did I get you wrong again?
I'd rather stick to your renders, however, and your renders only. For a simple reason: I prefer a unified look. Better to lack some ship classes than to have all renders, but with different styles from different artists.

Which reminds me: How can I give proper credit to your works? I believe there's more than one "Marc" out there... :eek: ;)
 
LOAF got renders? :confused: I never knew he's a 3D artist as well, or did I get you wrong again?
I didn't mean it in the sence that LOAF is a 3D artist, it's more like, LOAF has a reputation of having a vast amount of WC information (texts, facs, resarch and sometimes original renders)

and my full name is Marc Pageau. it's french and usualy doesn't translate very well in english-
I'll get those renders up in a little while.
 
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