Website Relaunch: Vince-T's Modding HQ 2019

[Vince T]

Relaunch.jpg

OK, first of all, apologies are in order: While I've been working on the new website for ages, I had been planning to open it with a new release. However, IRL matters threw me a bit off-schedule so I'll have to deliver that at a later point. Won't be long now, promise!

So, about the new site: I've decided to move away from a static HTML-based site to something more accessible and easier to maintain and update.

So how does all this fit together?
Until recently I was hosting two websites Vince T's X-wing HQ and The Blue Phantom Project. which were both kinda similar in functionality and setup. Both provided OPT downloads with one focusing on general stuff and WIP, also serving as news platform, while the other was focused around the Blue Phantom Project, providing OPT downloads, background info and project-specific information.

From now on this website will be the central platform for all my modding activities, including downloads and progress updates on all my content, be it general XWA, Blue Phantom-speciffic or custom builds for Space Engineers. It may also feature links to my deviantArt profile and other stuff I do. Meanwhile everything revolving around the Blue Phantom Chronicles lore will be documented in the new Blue Phantom Chronicles Wiki.

With the relaunch I have decided to greatly simplify the website, cutting the main sections down to 3
- X-Wing Alliance contains all the OPTs and mods I've ever created, including XWAUP releases, the Episode III shipset, standalone OPTs and OPTs from the Blue Phantom Project.
- Space Engineers contains spotlights and links to my build releases for said game, available via the Steam Workshop.
- The Workbench contains WIP spotlights for various models in progress from both XWA and Space Engineers - along with a few other things.
Apart from that you have the obligatory Links and Disclaimer sections.
The old URL, www.vince-t.de still works but it is now a mere redirect to the new one: https://vince-t.com (mind the https!)

While I haven't closed down the old Blue Phantom Project website just yet, I am now "formally" opening the aforementioned Blue Phantom Chronicles Wiki, which can also be found via the link in my signature. As soon as I am certain I have moved all the relevant info over to the wiki, I will also redirect the old website link to the wiki so you won't have to update any bookmarks.

So, that's all for now. Hope you find your way around. If you don't, ask a policeman for directions.

[Oldcode]

Can't wait to see it!

Update: Looks fantastic Vince! It's very easy to navigate and I love the background image.

[JeremyaFr]

Well done

[Darksaber]

Nice looking site update mate, fancy having a go at mine only joking

[Trevor]

Awesome site and new updates.
I had an idea for your hangars though, to simulate the shiny floor you can duplicate and mirror the visible surfaces (walls, ceiling, other protruding structures) and set the floor to 0.5 transparent.
however, maybe Jeremy could add mirrored hangar objects too?

Trev

[Vince T]

Nice looking site update mate, fancy having a go at mine only joking

You know, your site is so huge, I wouldn't even know where to start

I had an idea for your hangars though, to simulate the shiny floor you can duplicate and mirror the visible surfaces (walls, ceiling, other protruding structures) and set the floor to 0.5 transparent.
however, maybe Jeremy could add mirrored hangar objects too?

I could imagine this being somewhat possible if you use XWA with Reshade. Not sure if it adds reflection tho.

[Trevor]

erm, no, reshade cannot do reflections, that's why I said to mirror your model and set the floor to semi-transparent (like cockpit glass). this would look like a shiny floor.
I did afterward see one problem which is the sink-hole (elevator I presume since I believe in ANH stormtroopers come up through a similar hole) however you could have the elevator in the up position.

exampleShinyFloor.jpg

I know calamary isn't shiny but its was the only model I had to hand to show example

Trev

[Driftwood]

Depends on the art, I've seen a piece online inside a cala hangar that had a shiny floor. I think hangar floors are not going to be high gloss regardless of how clean it is, or what kind of material. However that is an interesting effect you have achieved there. But since the shipment part of the hangar it would be odd to see the ceiling reflected but not the ships and items.

I presume since you're using animator you're using some kind of after effect?

[Bman]

That's brilliant Trevor. I've been wanting to add a shiny black floor (like the death star hangar bay in the movies) for some Imperial hangars. I didn't know Anim8or had that feature. I'm still using it for design purposes and might need your help with some texturing projects. By the way, can a similar effect be used to create a static lake/ocean/water effect if we had an outside ground hangar to launch from, like an airport ? I believe a large flat rotating "pilot" mesh could be used to create a moving effect of waves etc.

[Vince T]

Only problem I see here is illumination. As of now, AFAIK a texture can only have either illumination or transparrency. So, by making the floor transparrent, you‘d sacrifice the numerous floor lights OR have to make the lights actual meshes.

Then there‘s the issue of the various craft. While the static ones could probably be duplicated and mirrored using the hangar setup hook, it definitely won‘t work for the player craft.

Also, it probably won‘t work for models like the Star destroyer hangar, as for a fully credible effect you‘d have to mirror the exterior as well, which would eventually conflict and intersectwith the ‚actual‘ geometry.

It might work for the Death Star Hangar. I‘ll take a look at that once I‘m done with the SC1