[Vehicle] T-55A Main Battle Tank

[PotatoLord]

So I'm working on this T-55A for some factions that need it (like the Syrian Faction that is currently stuck in development hell), I've only put like a handful of hours worth of work into it so far so it goes without saying that it's super early work in progress but here's what I've got.



It's about 7k tris without the cupola (yoinked from the T-62 model, they're the same irl anyways) and I'm aiming for around the ballpark of 15k once fully complete. I've done 3d for like over 2 years at this point but I'd say this is my first real piece for PR, aside from some very minor work I did for the Indonesia Faction Mod Team. I want to create more models for PR after this one and I've got a few ideas so I'm happy to hear feedback

(I am aware of some inaccuracies with the side skirts, I'm gonna fix that asap)

[InfantryGamer42]

Nice to hear, hope for modeling without issues on this one.

yoinked from the T-62 model, they're the same irl anyways

I do not know. I am pretty sure there are other little differences between two turrets (except of course gun, which you already replaced if I am correct).

[PotatoLord]

Nice to hear, hope for modeling without issues on this one.



I do not know. I am pretty sure there are other little differences between two turrets (except of course gun, which you already replaced if I am correct).

The turrets are completely different, I'm talking about the copula with the machine gun

T-62 copula


T-55 copula


The shape of the hatch may be very slightly different, so I may have to tweak that

[InfantryGamer42]

Ok, I got you now. Model currently looks nice for unexperienced eye. Keep good work! Can not wait for this and Stryker MGS.

[PotatoLord]

Update, I got most of the low poly detail (save for the wheels) nailed, there's still a lot of detail I plan to include on the normal map not yet included though




You can see it's up to 10k tris with the cupola included, this will definitely come in below 15k tris, probably something like 12k in its complete state

[camo]

Nice work! T-54/55 has been sorely missing all these years it'll be great to finally get one in game.

You probably know this but I would say though, before you get too far, to keep an eye out for the endless asymmetry of tanks. Turrets especially are almost never a mirror image. This tank for example has the gun mounted to the right of the centre line of the turret, and the turret is mounted left of the centre line of the hull. Plus the turret hatches don't line up with each other either.

(these pics aren't from the t-55a but from the t-54, t-54b and t-55 respectively but you get the idea)

[Mineral]

Make sure to post some wireframe images so our artists can give some technical feedback as well!

[PotatoLord]

Nice work! T-54/55 has been sorely missing all these years it'll be great to finally get one in game.

You probably know this but I would say though, before you get too far, to keep an eye out for the endless asymmetry of tanks. Turrets especially are almost never a mirror image. This tank for example has the gun mounted to the right of the centre line of the turret, and the turret is mounted left of the centre line of the hull. Plus the turret hatches don't line up with each other either.

I got the gun offset but good catch on the hatches

Make sure to post some wireframe images so our artists can give some technical feedback as well!

These should do, keep in mind that I haven't started optimizing the wireframes for most parts yet as I'm still working on the base mesh

[UncleSmek]

Good job!

[PotatoLord]

Good job!

thank you smek

[camo]

What refs are you using for the cupolas?

[PotatoLord]

What refs are you using for the cupolas?

Just been using top view of blueprints, I haven't finished it yet which is why it looks pretty out of place right now

[KianaKaslana]

How did those rebels get this antique?

[Mats391]

How did those rebels get this antique?

While the T55 is very old, its far from antique. In fact it is in use even by modern armies to this day.

[PotatoLord]

How did those rebels get this antique?

jacked it from the Syrian Army, they keep a lot of their old around because they're not exactly swimming in money. They even kept around stockpiles of StG-44s which were subsequently captured by the Rebels

[PotatoLord]

Casual update




Starting on the baking

[Tim270]

Could you post the UV map? I think you should be able to squeeze more res out of the wheels.

[PotatoLord]

Could you post the UV map? I think you should be able to squeeze more res out of the wheels.

I'm gonna be completely honest, this UV map is a mess and I don't know if I'm gonna be able to completely fix it. When I started this project I was at a completely different skill level and it's just taken me so long, it's kind of frustrating to have to deal with old mistakes.



Those gaping holes are from parts I unwrapped and later deleted, not the smartest thing in the world I know

As for the wheels, I think that's the least of my concern because I just copied them from the T-62 normal currently

[Tim270]

At this stage, its honestly best to repack the uvs and rebake before going further ahead or it will be very noticeable once you try to texture it.

A few things to keep in mind with the UV map. Underside of stuff like the turret face could be deleted, or at least stuff like the underside of the tank, make the uv shell smaller on parts that will very rarely be seen. (give you more space for stuff that is always seen)

Try to keep things square, diagonal uv shells do not resolve as efficiently and take up more space.

I know its annoying to rework stuff, but honestly a new uv map will help a lot. Especially if you use something pack uvpackmaster plugin for blender, this will save you a LOT of time over manually packing. (us the packmaster then manually tweak a few areas if you need to)

I would say go for completely new work - dont take anything off the existing T62 as its not great.

[PotatoLord]

At this stage, its honestly best to repack the uvs and rebake before going further ahead or it will be very noticeable once you try to texture it.

A few things to keep in mind with the UV map. Underside of stuff like the turret face could be deleted, or at least stuff like the underside of the tank, make the uv shell smaller on parts that will very rarely be seen. (give you more space for stuff that is always seen)

Try to keep things square, diagonal uv shells do not resolve as efficiently and take up more space.

I know its annoying to rework stuff, but honestly a new uv map will help a lot. Especially if you use something pack uvpackmaster plugin for blender, this will save you a LOT of time over manually packing. (us the packmaster then manually tweak a few areas if you need to)

I would say go for completely new work - dont take anything off the existing T62 as its not great.

yeah okay, might as well