Barad-Dur

from Elemental Forums

I know what you're thinking, that this is a thread about my idea of essence-imbued fortresses, but you're wrong!:P

Actually, I am "building" (modeling) Barad-dur, and I thought I would show what I have so far. In case you haven't noticed, I really like LotR. And I think that Barad-dur from the movies looks amazing. So, I decided to model it, so that when we eventually get the full 3d experience (January or whenever) I would have the fully modeled and textured Dark Tower to put in game.

I have been working on this on and off for the last couple of weeks, and now the modelling is "complete." I say "complete" because I want your opinions on how it looks and what should be changed before I start texturing it. So obviously, the texture hasn't been done yet.

So, anyway, here are some pics of the model:

The top:

Top looking down:

Base:

And the whole thing:

It was very hard to find good (large with high resolution) pictures online of Barad-dur. The best I could find was a picture of a physical model someone made, which I have included below. I also popped in Return of the King, and took screenshots when I got a good veiw of it. Unfortunetly, it doesn't have many good shots of the whole tower, only the top with the eye, but I did get a really nice one with Mt. Doom in the background that makes a great desktop, which again, I have included if you want to look at it.

When you compare my model with the movie, you'll notice I took some "artistic liberties" Namely with the big rocky mountain type thing kind of serves as the tower's foundation. To be honest, I have no idea how to model/texture rock and get to look good, so I just left it out and tried to go with what I would imagine it would look like if the rock wasn't there.

Also, since we have no idea what format Elemental will use for models, it is possible that all this will come to nothing, but hopefully it will one day be seen in game.

So what are your thoughts? Is it ready to be textured?

 

 

 

elemental
51,219 views 25 replies
Reply #2 from Elemental Forums Top

I think you did an awesome job. I would've been able to tell what it was right away had you not made a description. I really like the aerial (top down) look. I hope you are involved in an LOTR mod when this game comes out.

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Reply #3 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting CapnWinky, reply 2
I think you did an awesome job. I would've been able to tell what it was right away had you not made a description. I really like the aerial (top down) look. I hope you are involved in an LOTR mod when this game comes out.

Thank you. I intend to at the very least help out the LotR mod, although I might just call dibs on it and take charge of it now:P But I haven't decided yet*_*

Reply #4 from Stardock Forums Top

looking good kyogre!  I'm totally stoked to see it ingame!

Reply #5 from Elemental Forums Top

indeed. the editor options look like they will allow for some amazing conversions.

 

Looking forward to seeing more. Gret stuff kyogre!

Reply #6 from Elemental Forums Top

it does look good.  ready to texture it?

Reply #7 from Elemental Forums Top

Looks awesome.

PS. I am also a huge LotR fan. :D

Reply #8 from Elemental Forums Top

Sweet model.  I'm impressed!  k1

Reply #9 from Elemental Forums Top

Looks great. One thing I noticed: On the screenie with the base, the small tower in the front with the bridge going to it seems to be very flat. intent or accident?

Regarding the file format: One of the Stardockers said somewhere something about "firing up 3DSMax or Maya". Maybe this will help you out regarding which format could be used.

Reply #10 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting MilConDoin, reply 9
Looks great. One thing I noticed: On the screenie with the base, the small tower in the front with the bridge going to it seems to be very flat. intent or accident?

Regarding the file format: One of the Stardockers said somewhere something about "firing up 3DSMax or Maya". Maybe this will help you out regarding which format could be used.

It's actually not as flat as it looks, but that screen shot doesn't do a very good job of showing it.

As for the format, I don't have either 3DsMax or Maya, so that's still up in the air. Plus, who knows how fortresses will work, game-mechanic-wise? They could be broken into pieces that can be individually targeted or something.

Reply #11 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting kyogre12, reply 3


Thank you. I intend to at the very least help out the LotR mod, although I might just call dibs on it and take charge of it now But I haven't decided yet

For any LotR mod  I recommend doing each nation individually for release...  otherwise it will take many months until all pieces are finished.  I'm sure many will be eager to fight against Sauron and his armies, hopefully it will be possible to provide an immobile channeller to represent the evil eye.

Reply #12 from Elemental Forums Top

For any LotR mod  I recommend doing each nation individually for release...  otherwise it will take many months until all pieces are finished.  I'm sure many will be eager to fight against Sauron and his armies, hopefully it will be possible to provide an immobile channeller to represent the evil eye.

I hope whoever ends up working on the LoTR conversion doesn't focus solely on the 3rd age. I'd love to be able to play against Sauron in the flesh and blood as Gil-Galad or Elendil. Or even go back farther and put us in control of Nargothrond or Gondolin versus Morgoth. That might be hard to do, though... :P

Reply #13 from Elemental Forums Top

The developers are using Maya. There should be export plugins for most modeling programs.

Reply #14 from Elemental Forums Top

NICE! Any chance I could eventually get you to do some modelling for my Metroid mod project? (I saw you on my thread a while ago, so I know you're interested)..... and how did you get that screenshot?!?! It's waaay higher-res than anything I've been able to get with the camera-pointed-at-the-screen approach....

Reply #15 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Scoutdog, reply 14
... and how did you get that screenshot?!?! It's waaay higher-res than anything I've been able to get with the camera-pointed-at-the-screen approach....

Skip the hardware middleman, press PRT SCR on your keyboard, open MS Paint, and press CTRL+V or click Paste on the Edit menu.

Reply #16 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Scoutdog, reply 14
NICE! Any chance I could eventually get you to do some modelling for my Metroid mod project? (I saw you on my thread a while ago, so I know you're interested)..... and how did you get that screenshot?!?! It's waaay higher-res than anything I've been able to get with the camera-pointed-at-the-screen approach....

Maybe. I can make no promises:P  But I can probably do a model or two for you, but not for a while.

For the screenshot, I just hit the Print Screen button, opened Paint, and copied it in.

Quoting pigeonpigeon, reply 12

For any LotR mod  I recommend doing each nation individually for release...  otherwise it will take many months until all pieces are finished.  I'm sure many will be eager to fight against Sauron and his armies, hopefully it will be possible to provide an immobile channeller to represent the evil eye.


I hope whoever ends up working on the LoTR conversion doesn't focus solely on the 3rd age. I'd love to be able to play against Sauron in the flesh and blood as Gil-Galad or Elendil. Or even go back farther and put us in control of Nargothrond or Gondolin versus Morgoth. That might be hard to do, though...

Is it bad that I'm already thinking about how to make that work when we don't even have a beta yet?;P I can just imagine the possiblities...

How about this? I hereby stake my claim in the LotR mod. Sometime in the next couple days (probably the weekend) I will create a thread for the mod (I even have a name for it already:P ) detailing my very basic outline of my ideas. Of course, since we don't have a game yet, it will only be 3d assets for a while, but it can't hurt to get a head start on it now.

Reply #17 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting GW, reply 15



Quoting Scoutdog,
reply 14
... and how did you get that screenshot?!?! It's waaay higher-res than anything I've been able to get with the camera-pointed-at-the-screen approach....


Skip the hardware middleman, press PRT SCR on your keyboard, open MS Paint, and press CTRL+V or click Paste on the Edit menu.
Tried the direct approach, but it doesn't work with Wii or GameCube discs. Or maybe it does, and I'm just not doing it right..... anyone?

Reply #18 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Scoutdog, reply 17
... Tried the direct approach, but it doesn't work with Wii or GameCube discs. Or maybe it does, and I'm just not doing it right..... anyone?

Beg pardon, Metroid-ignorant and didn't even consider a deck being involved.

Reply #19 from Elemental Forums Top

How about this? I hereby stake my claim in the LotR mod. Sometime in the next couple days (probably the weekend) I will create a thread for the mod (I even have a name for it already ) detailing my very basic outline of my ideas. Of course, since we don't have a game yet, it will only be 3d assets for a while, but it can't hurt to get a head start on it now.

Ok, I lied}:) I found the time to make the post tonight, so here it is: https://forums.elementalgame.com/363259 I am calling the mod Lord of the Elements. All of my current ideas for it are detailed in the post. Let me know what you think.

Reply #20 from Elemental Forums Top

Just a little update on progress. It's going very, very slowly. If you're waiting to see the final product, don't expect anything for a couple weeks. And once the beta comes out work on Barad-dur will probably grind to a halt for a while:P

Reply #21 from Elemental Forums Top

Kudos to you, Kyogre12.  I'm jealous that I don't have any program to do 3D models with. 

Anyways, I hope you make a good mod.

Have you already made your own Middle Earth map for this mod?

Reply #22 from Elemental Forums Top

How many polys is it? If it's over a few thousand, I'd highly recommend trimming it down/optimizing it. Heck, even if it isn't, I'd still optimize it so it plays well with others better.

Reply #23 from Elemental Forums Top

If you get that into a mod you will be my favorite person EVER! That would be epic just EPIC for a capital city, if that does not strike terror into Elemental then nothing will!

 

I wish your channeler could have the choice between switching between a spiritual form and a physical form, being able to have the "Eye of Polistes" would be epic!

Reply #24 from Elemental Forums Top

 

Quoting Trevornator, reply 21
Kudos to you, Kyogre12.  I'm jealous that I don't have any program to do 3D models with. 

Anyways, I hope you make a good mod.

Have you already made your own Middle Earth map for this mod?

That was all done with a free program, the XSI Mod Tool. Do a quick search, it shouldn't be too hard to find. And yes, I have a map of Middle Earth, and it's hosted on Impulse::Reactor https://forums.elementalgame.com/363259/page/5/#2724079

Quoting sagittary, reply 22
How many polys is it? If it's over a few thousand, I'd highly recommend trimming it down/optimizing it. Heck, even if it isn't, I'd still optimize it so it plays well with others better.

I don't remember the exact number, but I'm fairly certain it's over 10,000. Might even be around 15,000:P . I was waiting to find out what the "rules" are regarding models for Elemental before doing any serious optimization (though it can certainly use it). Still, I doubt I will be able to make any significant changes to the number of polys, but we'll see. Hopefully it won't kill the game:P

Quoting Polistes, reply 23
If you get that into a mod you will be my favorite person EVER! That would be epic just EPIC for a capital city, if that does not strike terror into Elemental then nothing will!

 

I wish your channeler could have the choice between switching between a spiritual form and a physical form, being able to have the "Eye of Polistes" would be epic!

Don't worry, it will be coming. Even if it cause the game to come to a screeching halt:P And it might take a while to finish...