Arleigh Burke class destroyer

[DoctorWho 106]

I know that some great ships hve been developed recently by CA modders (Ticonderoga class, F122), but there's one that would be nice to see in game. It's Arleigh Burke class destroyer. Is anybody working on it? Or maybe someone has some plans about it?

 

 

[Icarus999 70]

I agree, it would really round out the fleet.

[Fubar512 1,350]

I was playing around with a crappy, low-poly model of one over two years ago....sent it to a 3D guru, and that was the last I heard of it: http://combatace.com/topic/38557-uh-dave/page__view__findpost__p__263930

[colmack 662]

Fubar512 Hey Fubar can i have a copy of her to use as a placeholder till one comes out?

[Icarus999 70]

That looks like it would make a fine addition to the blue side fleet. I bet Whiteboysamourai would work his Aegis magic on that model if we asked him. this would be a nice complement to his Ticonderoga class ships.

[Fubar512 1,350]

Fubar512 Hey Fubar can i have a copy of her to use as a placeholder till one comes out?

 

Sure, but be forewarned, it has no animations.

[colmack 662]

Not a problem the shape is menacing enough for me

Edited June 21, 2011 by Fubar512

[Fubar512 1,350]

Not a problem the shape is menacing enough for me

 

 

Check your PM inbox

[colmack 662]

TY!!

[colmack 662]

Got her in game need allot of number changes to line up effects n such but now she is slicing through the water.

[+WhiteBoySamurai 1,094]

That looks like it would make a fine addition to the blue side fleet. I bet Whiteboysamourai would work his Aegis magic on that model if we asked him. this would be a nice complement to his Ticonderoga class ships.

 

I'd love to, and in fact an Arleigh Burke was going to be my second project after the Tico, but I had read that post a while back saying that Fubar was doing one.

[+WhiteBoySamurai 1,094]

Nope, I didn't forget about this topic.

 

As soon as I took a close look at the model, I can see why Fubar sent it to a 3D guru-- I'll have to play that role for now. No disrespect to the model's author, but this model needed SERIOUS clean-up before it could be remotely usable in the sim. I'm talking BP oil spill level of clean-up (but with less environmental damage).

Here's the condition I got the model in:

• The polygon count was extremely high (roughly 40,000) in comparison to the relative amount of detail. It turns out the entire model had duplicate faces, which had to be removed by hand for it to even render properly.
• Furthermore, nearly everything that ought to have been a texture was instead a separate object cut into the mesh. This includes all of the deck lines on the bow and helo deck, every single door, vent, panel, and even the railing posts. SO many railing posts... Basically, I tore down much of the deck and nearly the entire superstructure (which needed to be reshaped anyway) and rebuilt them.
• The hull was overall the right size and shape and a good starting point. But, there was some serious misshaping issues (perhaps from the conversion process) that couldn't be fixed with smooth modifiers. With that and the aforementioned gaps in the mesh, I just said "screw it," deleted the bow and large chunks of the hull, and rebuilt those sections myself. It still needs a little tweaking IMO.
• Lastly, the hierarchy was an absolute disaster. Over 500 separate objects, hardly any of which needed to be separate entities, and none logically labelled. "Group058" and "Object739" and so on. After angrily mashing the delete key, I ended up replacing everything except the mast and antennas. I intend to use some parts I had been working on for a big Ticonderoga overhaul, but other parts I made/am making specifically for this ship. I may be able to salvage the original railings, but I haven't decided if it's worth it.

Again, to be clear, I don't mean to bash the original modeller. Overall it was a good-looking ship that served as a time-saving starting point. But modelling in Sketchup is obviously done quite differently, and to much different standards than models intended for use in a sim, and all the parts worth salvaging required lots of menial work. I thought it would be useful for others to know what sort of stuff I had to do.

 

So, here's what I have currently.

 

There's still a lot I need to add, but she's sailing just fine.

 

Lastly, while the fourth of July has come and gone in my timezone, I thought some of you might appreciate some fireworks.

[Fubar512 1,350]

A suggestion: Create one clyindrical node below deck level (so it's not visible externally), dead center of the FWD VLS cell, and name it "VLS_Launch_tube". Fire a PM at me and I'll explain why

[+Florian 394]

Hey, Fubar, seems your inbound box is full! Could you explain it here, or shoot me a PM?

[Fubar512 1,350]

Hey, Fubar, seems your inbound box is full! Could you explain it here, or shoot me a PM?

 

Message sent

[+SkateZilla 49]

prolly woulda been better off building your own from scratch.

[Icarus999 70]

Nope, I didn't forget about this topic.

 

As soon as I took a close look at the model, I can see why Fubar sent it to a 3D guru-- I'll have to play that role for now. No disrespect to the model's author, but this model needed SERIOUS clean-up before it could be remotely usable in the sim. I'm talking BP oil spill level of clean-up (but with less environmental damage).

Here's the condition I got the model in:

 

• The polygon count was extremely high (roughly 40,000) in comparison to the relative amount of detail. It turns out the entire model had duplicate faces, which had to be removed by hand for it to even render properly.
• Furthermore, nearly everything that ought to have been a texture was instead a separate object cut into the mesh. This includes all of the deck lines on the bow and helo deck, every single door, vent, panel, and even the railing posts. SO many railing posts... Basically, I tore down much of the deck and nearly the entire superstructure (which needed to be reshaped anyway) and rebuilt them.
• The hull was overall the right size and shape and a good starting point. But, there was some serious misshaping issues (perhaps from the conversion process) that couldn't be fixed with smooth modifiers. With that and the aforementioned gaps in the mesh, I just said "screw it," deleted the bow and large chunks of the hull, and rebuilt those sections myself. It still needs a little tweaking IMO.
• Lastly, the hierarchy was an absolute disaster. Over 500 separate objects, hardly any of which needed to be separate entities, and none logically labelled. "Group058" and "Object739" and so on. After angrily mashing the delete key, I ended up replacing everything except the mast and antennas. I intend to use some parts I had been working on for a big Ticonderoga overhaul, but other parts I made/am making specifically for this ship. I may be able to salvage the original railings, but I haven't decided if it's worth it.

Again, to be clear, I don't mean to bash the original modeller. Overall it was a good-looking ship that served as a time-saving starting point. But modelling in Sketchup is obviously done quite differently, and to much different standards than models intended for use in a sim, and all the parts worth salvaging required lots of menial work. I thought it would be useful for others to know what sort of stuff I had to do.

 

So, here's what I have currently.

 

 

There's still a lot I need to add, but she's sailing just fine.

 

Lastly, while the fourth of July has come and gone in my timezone, I thought some of you might appreciate some fireworks.

 

 

 

Thanks for working on this

[colmack 662]

WBS

Thank you, I never realized that, there was that much work in a conversion from Sketchup to make it usable in game, you have put allot of work into the DDG USS Pot Committed

Edited July 4, 2011 by colmack

[+WhiteBoySamurai 1,094]

Thanks for the support, everyone.

Just an FYI, I eventually intend to do the following variants, complete with decals for each ship (because I'm a masochist):

 

Arleigh Burke FltI (DDG-51~71)

Arleigh Burke FLtII (DDG-72~78)

Arleigh Burke FLtIIA (DDG-79~90)

Arleigh Burke FltIIA+ (DDG-91~115)

Kongo (DDG-173~176)

Atago (DDG-177~178)

Sejong the Great (KDX-III) (...maybe)

These won't just be copy-pasta jobs, mind you. There are significant structural differences in the ships and they will be properly represented.

A suggestion: Create one clyindrical node below deck level (so it's not visible externally), dead center of the FWD VLS cell, and name it "VLS_Launch_tube". Fire a PM at me and I'll explain why

 

I tried to message you, but your inbox is still full I guess. Could you send me a PM explaining this and how to use it, please? I love learning new tricks!

 

 

[+CrazyhorseB34 937]

Great! cannot wait!

[Wrench 9,846]

nice to see JMSDF represented!!! be perfect on the Kamchatka map! (and modern Korea, too!)

[+WhiteBoySamurai 1,094]

nice to see JMSDF represented!!! be perfect on the Kamchatka map! (and modern Korea, too!)

 

Yeah, I'm really excited about doing the Japanese Aegis ships. I'm probably the only person on this board who's actually been aboard a Kongo, so I like to think that makes me uniquely qualified.

 

Here's a render of the new Mk41 VLS hatch I made for the high-detail LODs of the Burke and Tico.

Each one is a modest 68 polygons, but of course that means they'll add thousands to the completed model. (96 and 128 cells) I think it might be worth it for anyone who likes to zoom in real close to the ships (or fly helos off of them, for that matter).

 

 

 

[+WhiteBoySamurai 1,094]

Here's my new Phalanx model I just completed and installed on the Burke. I spent a lot of time on it so I hope you guys like it. It'll be retrofitted to my Ticonderogas as well along with other visual improvements at some point in the future.

 

Quick question: Is it possible to do weapon animations for ground objects? It would be cool to make the barrels spin when it shoots like the GAU-8 on the A-10.

[Fubar512 1,350]

Here's my new Phalanx model I just completed and installed on the Burke. I spent a lot of time on it so I hope you guys like it. It'll be retrofitted to my Ticonderogas as well along with other visual improvements at some point in the future.

 

Quick question: Is it possible to do weapon animations for ground objects? It would be cool to make the barrels spin when it shoots like the GAU-8 on the A-10.

 

Dude, that's awesome! Not sure about the gun animations on ground objects, but a quick perusal of the groundobject.dll should provide an answer.

[+PureBlue 71]

The Phalanx looks great!

 

I tried modelling one the other day, and it turned out pretty basic, I think you've caught all the details..