And another remodel attempt. This time with already added texture... well texture1 atleast. No reflection-tex yet, so no upspring or even ingame screenshots. But other than that, its quite finished... ( no tex2, needs a few additional details in tex1. script, wreckage etc...). Well still further than the other things i tried for ZK :) The idea was to give the unit a more complex reloading-cycle. Hope you guys liek it. If anybody want to tinker with it, here is a link to the .wings and tex1 rar. http://www.file-upload.net/download-8220687/defender.rar.html   
+8 / -0
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I think the base is far too large and the gun is far too small/generic (most of the gun is just a white box). I basically like the current Defender, it has the Gun:Base ratio required to be distinctive. Most of this Defender is base and the stem is very thick unless you look closely so it looks a bit tough. I like the idea of an exaggerated reload animation. A bit of an issue is that people might expect the hitvolume to move too. That said, this is a lot better than other turret remake attempts so more in this style would be good.
+1 / -0
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this turret but on a single thin central pole would like great, like a proper sentry weapon current defender is distinctive like a coldsore on the face of a beautiful woman, if it can be replaced I think the mourning period will be short
+1 / -0
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I really like the concept of the animated reload, nice! If the problem is that the turret looks too tough, could it be fixed by removing the 4 support poles of the gun? This would leave only the 2 main supports.
+0 / -0
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Mounted this way, the shafts conceal the gun in silhouette, but there are other ways of making the "gun" more distinct - like, coloring it different.
+0 / -0
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I think the current Defender just needs a bit of a texture improvement, no?
+0 / -0
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No. It clearly needs better reload animation in my opinion.
+1 / -0
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In keeping with the reload idea could we have a single retractable piston in the middle of the turret? Also I think it would be good to mount the turret horizontally and open it up a bit to show the missiles. Much like the current Defender. I quite like the reload idea, it mainly needs to look a lot less sturdy. Here is a picture 
+3 / -0
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Been thinking of exactly that GF. Heck, it would even be doable with the current version if it had somewhat of a baseplate...
+0 / -0
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Also the base I drew is just a placeholder type thing. I think the base in the OP is reasonable. Also teamcolour would be good on top of a thin and wide Defender. One of the side flat spanner things would be a good size for the holder. Also note that the Defender can float so retracting arms have to telescope rather than poke below the ground. Also a second base which can be swapped in when the unit is built on the sea would be nice.
+0 / -0
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well, I see that this version doesnt get much love. no prob, I will use it in some other way and make a new one. The only good point of the current defender-model is that its easy distinguishable from other units, thats what this one lacks, I admit that. But other than that, sorry the old one is just ugly.     GoogleFrog: wouldn´t your example mean that the turret would have a big baseplate again? also, it would be to close to the old design which is... imo... ugly. Why can´t the poles poke below the ground? Its water isnt it? Or just because it looks strange? It would add quite some polies to make those poles into telescope poles. I have an idea which should both look flimsy and have the missiles more visible as in the previous version. I will also include something to make it float able, totally forgot that on the current version :)
+1 / -0
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quote:
The only good point of the current defender-model is that its easy distinguishable from other units |
This is my top priority. This is why I want really big and non-generic guns. The gun is usually the distinguishing part of the unit. The small white box of this new Defender has no obvious features. The current Defender is basically all gun, has large missiles poking out and has its missiles visible from the top. It's best if the pole doesn't poke below the water because then it can't spear submarines. But if the pole is short enough then I suppose people are unlikely to notice. My design would be able to use something about the size of the rotating bit in your baseplate. The four feet on the corners are not required. I really like the reload animation idea because it would be quite an obvious visual cue and it gives a good reason for the turret to not be firing.
+0 / -0
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I prefer Muffe version because the center of gravity of the head appears to be centered with the pivot, which is good engineering. Having an offset center of gravity creates a moment around a moving part, which should be avoided whenever possible. It looks distinct enough to me, even just by the base.
+1 / -0
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This looks much cooler than the model currently in use. Perhaps it could be made to look more distinctive and fragile by scaling the gun so it's much longer and taller?
+0 / -0
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ok this is just to show how the new model i thought of would work. Its in a very very early stage, the base the dimensions the turret etc are just a rough sketch. This way the defender would carry 4 missiles per salvo, but that wouldnt be a problem... ?  http://www.bilder-hochladen.net/files/7t4v-5l-084b-jpg.html
+0 / -0
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3 or 4 shots do matter. the unit is cheap and widely built. it does 1-shot or 2-shot some units, so just switching the model is not working here. the unit must be adjusted itself. i consider it balanced as it is right now. but thats just me.
+0 / -0
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oh, good point. Didn´t thought of that. well, there are other ideas for 3 shot versions. But that will have to wait until next weekend.
+0 / -0
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I much prefer that style of turret but the base is a bit strange. It won't be able to reload at any orientation. It has to keep pointing at it's target for two reasons:
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Readability, it is good to know what the Defender is planning to shoot at as soon as it reloads.
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Game mechanics, I don't want to to have an advantage when shooting in a certain direction.
The Defender is one of the most vital core units which. A lot of very important balance is done in terms of it. I don't want any behavioral changes with a model switch because it would probably invalidate stuff in the raider game which would mess up everything else.
+1 / -0
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If the latest defender model is placed on a swiveling base, I would think that would ensure orientation is preserved while reloading while still improving the readability of the reload animation.
+0 / -0
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