Vehicles Updated, Your Input Wanted

[Rooster3D]

Personally, I'm more of a GI Joe cartoon guy, which they had no Pit. The only reason I used the comic version of Cobra Island is because it was a consistent layout. The cartoons were never clear about Cobra Island. I sometimes think they intended Springfield to be Cobra Island.

I am contemplating on starting over on the island with the version that was painted up for a poster before the Terror Drome toy was conceived. There is a newer version of that island painted WITH the Terror Drome, which comes with the 2008 FANG/CLAW set. The original painting ahowed indetail where certain facilities were placed. Though the FANG/CLAW set's rendition is far less detailed, it seems to reinforce a major principle I stick to. That is, of course, that I give any references from the toys themselves priority over the cartoons and comics.

I do intend to use the GI Joe Headquarters, though it won't be as big and obvious as the Cartoon version, and it won't be as small and bunker-like as the toy. The land area might be big to allow for the airfield and vehicle storage, but the front cannon isn't going to rival Lady Liberty in size. Honestly, that building looked like it could have transformed into a half-sized Metroplex.

[Rooster3D]

Very cool. So, is it for the new 'toon?

Yes, yes it is. I revealed this info on my sig, trying to be all sneaky about it. Now it has been on my sig for a while, but no one has even been curious! I wonder if this is a sign that it will not be well-received?

[Viperman]

I'm sure most people just haven't noticed; there's not realy much reason to look at sigs here on YoJoe

[Rooster3D]

Or... they see "<<< it's a Resolute HISS" and they don't realize it's pointing to my avatar icon. Maybe I nee to change the sig, to be more obvious. But you're right, there's nothing special about the sigs here. The good thing is that it keeps the site looking nice. Not all that clutter.

[Urban Saboteur]

Wow!
That looks excellent, I'd love to play a game with GIJOE related vehicles and characters in it.

Are you doing this for a specific reason? I checked out rooster studios from your signature and just wondered if you hope hasbro would pick it up as an actual videogame?

I really like the work you've done on the vehicles and the island and hope you continue to work on it!

Great stuff.

[Rooster3D]

Wow!
That looks excellent, I'd love to play a game with GIJOE related vehicles and characters in it.

Are you doing this for a specific reason? I checked out rooster studios from your signature and just wondered if you hope hasbro would pick it up as an actual videogame?

I really like the work you've done on the vehicles and the island and hope you continue to work on it!

Great stuff.

Thanks Urb,

It would be swell if Hasbro picked it up as a game. I have a lot of gameplay ideas I've documented that would give GI Joe a slightly different approach to the whole First-Person-Shooter genre of games.

Unfortunately, EA is going to come out with a GI Joe game to tie-in with the movie. Historically, games based on movies come out with a lot of hype and all the "impressive" parts of the game get overshadowed by every side effect that comes from rushing it to release with the movie. Typically, the only thing worse than a game based on a movie is a movie based on a game (Mario Bros, anyone?), but I guess that's heresay. Getting back to my point, since EA is going to publish a GI Joe - Movie game, I doubt Hasbro would be willing to try with someone else. EA would have done a smarter move by contracting Dice to make a Battlefield: GI Joe game, based on a the previously established backstory developed for the 80's TOYS and using the physics and game mechanics that Battlefield games are famous for.

I said based on the toys, such as information from the file cards and whatnot, because I believe the stories developed for the cartoons and the comics weren't entirely true to the struggle between Joes and Cobras (though either would have been a better story for the upcoming movie and game, so long as they were made more believable). I imagine it wouldn't hurt to utilize those stories as a possible resource, but not to override the character bios and event settings. Besides, not only do the cartoons and comics conflict the toys in some ways, but they also conflict each other in many ways. No matter what, they both seem to lack that gritty, edgy feel that should be present. Reolute adds some edge to GI Joe, but at the cost of creating another new, anti-original story.

I'm trying not to go into rants again about how GI Joe started -strictly- as a post-Viet Nam/Reagan-era/Cold War-era, small group of 13 elites with a larger number of recruits/hopefuls - the 'greenshirts' (which some became well known full members as the 80's marched onward)... so let me just say that when the smoke has cleared and the money has been made from the over-hyped new-lameness of GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra, there will be a need for them to fill the game market void with a much more substantial game or series of games based on GI Joe. A game that will not be rushed unnecesarilly to meet some other industry's deadline capacity. By then I will be in the front with a great team, leading the way to the best interactive GI Joe experience outside of actually being there. Until then, I will be doing my research and solidifying the details while presenting some really cool content from time to time.

[Rooster3D]

The art is still not complete, but it looks great anyway. There needs some texturing here and there, and it'll have more equipment like rolled tarps, tools, water can, and an antenna - maybe more.


I have also made two wallpapers for this image:
1920x1200
800x600

Enjoy!

[cgenterprise]

Great work, as always! What are the two "wheels" on the right side? Have you done a VAMP or Stinger to this degree yet? If so, I'd love to see 'em! Thanks!

[Rooster3D]

Great work, as always! What are the two "wheels" on the right side? Have you done a VAMP or Stinger to this degree yet? If so, I'd love to see 'em! Thanks!

Thanks CGE! The two wheels are spares. It's common to see spare wheels and tracks hanging off of tanks here and there. This particular set-up came from the source of the Armadillo, an M4A3 Sherman. I like to include as much detail from the influential vehicles as possible, along with my own additions and, of course, whatever makes the GI Joe vehicle unique. In this case, the rough breakdown of that is as follows:

M4A3 Source: main hull shape, wheel patterns, turret position, spare wheels holders.
GI Joe Armadillo: change of size and hull direction, turret type, and role of vehicle, hull details, added side armor and extra armor plates to hull, shortened the tracks.
Rooster3D GI Joe Armadillo: added camera, periscopes, and hatch to the turret, shortened the roll bar, elongated the tracks, lowered the hull in relation to the tracks.

I have made a VAMP to this degree. In fact, it has until now been my standard for my GI Joe models. The gun control set-up involved a monitor on the dash, which was fed from a camera on the gun. I actually have this set-up working in the Battlefield 2 game.

I have since then re-worked the control mechanism for the main gun. It will be using a laser-pointer system mounted on the dash in front of the passenger. The laser pointer is old-enough technology to have been "cutting edge" technology in the early 80's. Imagine, if you will, the way in which a machine gun would be mounted on the dash of a Chenowth FAV. The controls look just like the handles on a .50 cal, and has the laser guidance in the scope/reticule position. Therefore, the ease of control is compatible with conventional guns. The difference is that the device will be behind the windshield rather than a big gun barrel protruding through where the windshield should be. The laser pointer will guide the gun's aim, and only the gunner will be able to see the laser-lit area (the red dot) through a small window-scope on the control device. This set-up works with the rear-mounted, computerized gun, but the window will need to be clean and clear at all times.

So there's no more bulky monitor in the passenger side, which is good. It was a cool idea, but not a practical one. It was looking too cluttered. Because of the changes, the VAMP is still undergoing re-texturing and geometry changes. It has seen the most action of all my vehicles, being that it has driven in Unreal Tournament 2004, BF2, and Crysis, and it has consequentially seen the most upgrades. The HISS falls just short of this feat, because I can't get it to work in Crysis, though it has seen an equal amount of upgrades. As for the Stinger.... well, I had a working version of it for UT2004, but I haven't decided how it should really look now. I am envisioning using the Lamborghini LM02 (aka Rambo's Lambo) as the source vehicle, but eliminating the back seat and shortening the wheelbase. This will simultaneously make the LM02 the counterpart to and differentiate it from the Lambo Cheetah, which is the source vehicle for the VAMPs and original Stinger.

[L1zrdking]

Your page is reported by google as an attack site, bummer, I really wanted to see your work.