RMS Titanic Mod.. Question.!

[slap]

I was wondering if anybody could let me know if they have any information on maximun model sizes ? I have begun to make the rather huge hull of the Titanic, (see Pic) and it being so large got me thinking. I can make the model export from 3dsMax to Milkshape no problems as a 3ds file and then convert it into a HL compatible mdl. That is the easy part, my question is this, the Titanic's hull was almost 3/4 of a mile long, so modeling this intricate shape in hammer is not really viable imho. So I decided to make it a model and bring it into hammer as a rather massive prefab and turn it into a static Brush, which will then allow me to place the hammer made deck geometry inside the prefab hull and treat it all as one huge map. Is this a good, and the only way to get a really huge piece of complex geometry into hammer? The model is all patch so when I export from Max to Milkshape it isnt to bad on the poly count, around 3000 so far for the hull shell. Any pointers on this plz..!
For those that are wondering, I am going to be making the whole of the RMS Titanic for HL2 as the engine will allow me to proerly express intricate geometry coupled with good lighting and bump/spec/normal maps etc..It will take quite a long time, probbably 3/4 months but I believe the end result will be worth it. The detail on the ship will be nothing short of insane. Im doing all decks and every room in the ship based on good detailed Blueprints. Plenty of self made prefabs will make up the bulk of the interior and decking, could even have cables/ropes blowing in the wind on deck...Ok, thats it, of now to make a couple of davits and a huge moring chain for the deck..

 

[eddie500]

don't think any1 knows the max size but if it is to big can't u just scale it down?

 

[simon]

just take screenshots of the movie, you see more than enough to model it completly.., if the HL² will be able to handle the big ship, i don't know, you want to surround it some water also, so in total it's going to be one hgell of a map the titanic was not THAT big, they make alot bigger ships now, it was big for it's time, so don't make it TO big

 

[The Dark Elf]

Well to get it into the engine atall, your going to have to triple those poly's, which will double the amount you've got.. The engine may still not "see" models/props and so would continue to calculate anything infront of you even if you can't see it (major slowdown)

I really think you should email Gabe and find out for sure though, but I don't think its a good idea to basically model the entire map as a prop. I don't think it could handle it. Though it would be cool if it did as I'm not much of a fan of creating anything in Hammer either

You mention turning it into a brush.. What software/plugin will you use to do that? I've heard rumors of some plugin somewhere that can turn some 3D file format into a Hammer .map file (but minus any texturing), but as yet I've never heard of anyone who's actually got it or used it.. Though I once knew a guy who was writing one for Lightwave, but I've no idea if he ever succeeded in finishing it

 

[eddie500]

that would be so cool if u could convert a model to a brush to use in hammer

 

[Mr. Coffee]

Unless you plan on letting the player leave the ship you shouldn't have to model the hull at all. The perimeter of the ship is completely convex, and thus it should be impossible to see the ship's hull from the deck (unless of course they jumped overboard).