Arm, Chair, Head, Mechlab

So, I've been getting a really bad pain in my right arm thanks to my awful posture. I broke the right armrest clean off the chair, and then finally broke the backrest around the time the pain creeped up my neck. So, I tossed the chair out and did some craigslist hunting. I found one for $10 that's so comfortable I think I could melt into it. I've seriously never had a chair this comfortable in my life. It needs one bolt where they lost the lock for the right armrest, but that's all of what, 30 cents?

Because of this, I've tried not to do too much hard core modeling. However, I did decide to work on an interactive mech lab for Mechwarrior Online. What exactly do I mean by "interactive"? Well, here is a quick tech demo:




Not too pretty, and lots of work to be done. Expect it to be multi-platform (Windows, Linux, MacOS) but not mobile.

Sadly, the elevator of all things is giving me problems. Poor Bill never saw it coming. You know, you show up for work thinking the maintenance guys have been doing their job, and you go through the same procedure that you've done a thousand times before. Then this happens:




The doctors said that the swelling will go down in a few weeks, but he'll have to pee sitting down for the rest of his life.

Seriously though, still putting everything together, despite the pain in my arm. I did order an ergonomic mouse and gel wrist pad, so hopefully that will help out for those marathon modeling sessions.

I'll post more when I have it. Until next time!

Mechwarrior Online and Third Person View (3PV)

So, PGI finally added 3PV to MWO, and it's causing part of the internet to burst into flames:

I made the comic in reaction to the, well, vocal reaction to 3PV. It's a bit rough as I didn't want to spend a lot of time on it. But if there is some interest, I could flesh out the characters and add a bit more polish for a full series. To include a full cast of characters and a Mechwarrior Online theme, to be sure (probably even a deeper battletech theme).

Honestly, I'm not overly surprised. I'd rather not have it included (my personal preference) but it is pretty vital as a learning instrument for new players. Certain games, such as War Thunder, have an entire play mode dedicated to new players who don't want to learn hardcore mechanics. Hopefully MWO will be at a point in the future where they can segregate new players for a number of matches (or even permanently if they so choose) in a boiled down environment that's much more forgiving.

That said, the game is still fun, and new players shouldn't have too difficult a time learning if they hop onto a teamspeak server and pair up with veterans. It's definitely for the thinking gamer and relies heavily on teamwork.

Mercpedia Beta

For those of you following our unofficial MWO app, Mercpedia, you can now download the beta on the Play Store. We have some fixes and updates in the pipe already, but keep in mind that it's currently in a beta state.

Though if you do enjoy using it, we're more than happy to accept your donations :).

Leopard Class Dropship

I decided to make the app's "Home" button a leopard class dropship. Then I got a little carried away. Okay, maybe more than a little. This is based on Alex Iglesias' re-design, though obviously changed up a bit.

I think I'll continue working on it and see how much detail I can put in. It's definitely a candidate for 3d printing.

More Icons

I think I'm getting carpal tunnel from all this art. My wrist hurts like hell. Anyway, enough whining, here is another shotgun blast full of art for the Mercpedia app:

Boom Guns

How about something a little more familiar? Boom guns! Autocannons are a bit hit and miss in Battletech, and they're still undergoing a lot of balancing in Mechwarrior Online. Still, they're fun to draw :)

Livestream Online!

About to enter a livestream (5 minutes). You're welcome to come by and watch here.

I'll be working on stuff for the Mercpedia android app for the most part, but I might deviate a little bit. I also plan on doing this for quite a few hours (probably all day) with a couple of breaks in between.

Come check it out! :)

UI Update

We're getting much closer to being done. The UI has a lot more polish and some of the icons have been added (finally):

This is actually moving along rather nicely. Certainly much faster than I thought it would. It's cool what you can learn in a year :)

Gauss Rifle

Doing some more work on the app. I present to thee, the Gauss Rifle. Traditionally it has a round barrel and is more of a coil gun in Battletech. However, the rail gun is capable of higher velocities and is much more suited for defeating heavy armor. This one features a rear loading breach (instead of the usual side loading) and dual liquid cooling modules. Five, massive solid state capacitors store the energy necessary for expelling SABOT rounds at super sonic velocities.

Enjoy :)

Mercpedia UI

Here is a work in progress of the current UI:

Designing a 2d UI using 3d Art

Hey everyone, sorry about the long delay. I've been horribly busy. The good news is, I've been busy making art! I'm not going to add too much detail in this post, but I'll probably do another live stream soonish.

I'm currently working on an Android app for Mechwarrior Online. It will include a full encyclopedia, mech lab, and hyperpulse radio. Plus, if the dev's make an api, a lobby, community warfare map, and news feeds from the game.

When my friend and I sat down to begin making this app, I decided to build all the art in 3d and then use GIMP to apply shading so that it meshes with the UI of the game. The steps are as follows:

1) Create 3d image
2) Filter out background
3) Trim and resize to a factor of 2
4) Apply filter
5) Apply lines
6) ??
7) Profit!

Here is a gallery of what I've done so far: