Chess figure graft for G3+G8 MALES
manekiNeko
Posts: 1,405
A lower body part - same type as a merfolk or naja figure's tail - but formed as a base for a chess piece, so you can basically transform any character into a full chess piece. and why not, anatomical addons (like a towerformed hat, something like a solid horse's mane or a knight's helmet etc) and complete material presets for graft-figure-addon to complete the look. also matching shaders for individual additions of elements.
i specified G3+G8 MALES (earlier generations very welcome but they're not so much used anymore i guess) because way too many products that would be way cool for males too, like good-looking attractive aliens (not only monsters and creeps) and fantasy figures are created for chicks only, and it's extremely frustrating, since while i could use the textures with my UV swapper, the amazing morphs and grafts are lost... and even i have the free transgender morph by @AgentUnawares, i'm not sure it wouldn't interact unfavorably with any character morphs, and i'm not ready to pay for female charas anyways.. so, "add" females if you want as a separate product (don't wanna pay for them since mixed pack is almost bound to be more expensive), but i personally ask for a male pack, either G3 or G8 separate or both together ^^
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I would support this and think it could be done by way of just a base and corresponding set of various material shaders you could apply to the figure, to make it look like it's a singujlar sculpt. That also has the advantage of allowing for any generation of figure to be applicable. Techncially, this could be done now, but while there are a couple of Iray chess boards in the store, there aren't the lower bases.
It's probably better not to specify only one gender, however, unless you want male figures to somehow represent a Queen... ;)
true, especially with UVs like sculptural that make uniform tiles...
well... actually i WANT my males to look like queens quite often.. lmao
This is a great idea - I might have to look into how to do geografts if nobody else is going to make it ... sadly time doesn't permit it right now.
awesome! IF, lol. i'll keep my eyes peeled ^^. i'm also sure looking at the most recent merfolk graft couod be helpful - i have no clue tho, and since i gave up on using 3D apps like hexagon etc, i won't be looking into it myself...
I'll have to play with the idea when I've got time. The modelling and texturing should be easy. I wonder if a geograft would be necessary v. making it wearable like clothes (I suspect that'd be easier to transfer to another figure, but I haven't tried either before) - I'll try both approaches and see what works better. (Don't hold your breath though ;) I've got another project going at the moment too and time is limited for a while).
you might be right about wearables.. i think the legs of the G2M minotaur are actually a wearable - the G2's legs becoming invisible might just be a setting, not sure.
ah, no pressure, easy. i'm not working on or eager to begin a project with this right now, and i'll be busy with RL soon anyways. i just communicated the idea as it came to mind ^^
Honestly, if someone does make this so that it allows for a base and corresponding array of shaders to correspond into making any generation of (or even stand-alone) figures compatible, this would be instantly sellable. Imagine being able to give new life to even Genesis or V4/M4 figures as plastic, metal or glass chess pieces! The set wouldn't even need to include many/any, because we could just apply our own. No costume pieces would be needed. People can use what they already have and simply apply a shader of the figure and its outfit to match the base they would stand on, like when we want to create a statue.
Duplicate multiple boards, use Marshian's 'Wireframe And Hologram Shaders' product and someone could even use it to create 'Star Trek' 4D holographic chess sets! Or a conventional board with those shaders applied to fantasy creatures and you have the 'Star Wars' holographic board game.
Allow the chess board to have different material zones for each square and people could even alternate them into fun different customised colours. Apply emmissive shaders? Psychadelic! Scale it up to massive human size? You have yourself a simulated dance mat for teenage characters!
Maybe even make boards which have triangular, circular, hexagonal and octoganal 'squares', too, for people to create their own unique game ideas for fantasy/futuristic settings?
In fact, why stop at just a chess board? Something like an updated-for-Iray version of this: https://www.daz3d.com/game-master-s-tools Except allowing for the user to plug in any picture of their choice for the board's surface, so that we could use it for anything from generic board games, right up to combining it with rescaled rock, battlefield and dungeon props, to make it look like characters are playing 'Dungeons And Dragons' or 'Warhammer' games. :)
Over the years, some of us must have collected tons of fantasy and sci-fi characters and this would be a fun and constructive way to use them. Older generations of figures would actually work well, because their lower detail resolutions would look convincing for emulating toy-size figures.
Also, if Daz is still offering the 3D printing service, I imagine a lot of people would use a 'game figure base combining' prop as a way to 3D print their own unique figures for war-gaming, scaled to whatever dimensions they'd want, with the bonus of the intricate quality of HD characters.
what you said. ^^
Lots of ideas there - just replying to a couple:
That's why I figured 'clothes' rather than geograft, as it'd be more easily transferable to other figures.
I'd at least want to include 'hat's for the figures (crowns for King and Queen, bishop's mitre, - maybe a horsie mid-section for the knight - not sure about rook but maybe just a castle-top 'hat'). Other clothes could be provided from your own content - I'd include shader presets to apply to any surface rather than making it texture based.
Are you imagining them standing on a base? I was thinking replacing their lower body with a classic chess-piece. Having an alternative stand-on base for other gaming pieces is a good idea...but may be a separate product idea.
For this kind of product, I'd include a board, but the squares would be texture-mapped. Including separate material zones for each square on a chess board would be a nightmare to set up and test - 64 material zones (65 including the border). Might be worth adding texture maps to have hexagonal or triangular spaces...or maybe save that for the other product mentioned above.
I started modelling this idea at the weekend - not got much time to work on it but I'm liking where it's going.
great news! i'm glad i could trigger your inspiration ^^ - what i read from you in this thread sounds good! :D
I know it's been about 7 months, but I've finally had time to do something with this. Couple of renders below - made each piece for G8M and G8F. The base can be used by itself or with the head-grafts (or vice-versa) and there are shader presets to use on other outfits/weapons/props to integrate them into the look if so desired.
I'll be looking for beta testers soon if anyone wants to jump in. Just need to make a JCM to fix one bending issue at the waist.
Then I'll see if Daz are interested in brokering it.
woah this looks so awesome!
.. sorry didn't check the forums for a while.
i could be a bety tester - but i never did it, and i'm not sure i'd be of any use, lol - what is a beta tester supposed to test and what to report? except "yeah cool loads fine and looks great" ;)
Without getting into any of the specifics of this project (unless Silent Winter would be ok with it), beta testing involves making sure everything works as expected, not just out of the box, but also with different variables introduced. Do all of the included morphs, texture options, props etc. load and function correctly? Which components aren’t working properly, and HOW? Does any part of the product react violently to other products? Which ones, how, and why? Basically, a beta tester puts a product through its paces to find errors that the creator might not have picked up on, partly because different users use products differently, and thus might do something with the product that the creator wouldn’t have thought to do, and partly just because creators are humans and might overlook details.
That's what I've been hoping someone would make for Iray. Hope this sees the store! Then we can convert figures or even architecture and vehicles into chess game pieces.
awesome poses
well i guess i can be counted in then. i do tend to try unexpected things with my items ^^. i do the expected too, luckily.
srsly, since this answers a request of mine, i would be honored to be able to help the creator of this amazing implementation of the idea!
@Silent Winter, whenever you want ^^
Nearly missed this - not getting notifications for it.
Thanks but I'm afraid I've got enough beta-testers for this one (it's been in testing since shortly after my last post and is *fingers crossed* nearly ready.
I did get an e-mail back from Daz saying it "looks interesting" and asking some other questions - I replied but still waiting on their answer (if it doesn't get in the Daz store, it'll end up over at my Rendo store but I can't link that here).
I should probably have mentioned in the PMs but I'm not too worried about secrecy once something's at the beta-testing stage so feel free to discuss specifics (unless it's of the "gaah, SW has broken everything" variety lol) or even post renders if you've got any you're proud of. But if it's "for example, I [did this] and noticed [this problem] and SW fixed it" kind of thing, that's totally fine.
well then, hoping the betas test with all their might, so that daz acknowledges the awesomeness of this set and hurry to give this the place of honor it deserves in the shop! already wishlisted in advance! ;) again, thank you for having put your talent & creativity into this ^^
hey btw in passing, thanks for the idea of using vehicles - might not have thought of that one on my own ^^
^That's a great idea - I also thought of using the Centaur as a knight (but I don't have a centaur yet).
I'm going to add a shader-preset that leaves the normal and bump/displacement mats alone as well as the one that zeroes them (so you can retain that detail or not as you wish for your scene) - that will help integrate other content into the same look :)
ah, integrating a centaur (7 or 8 or both..) is a brilliant idea! well if you can't do this now for this first batch, it would be a priceless idea for an addon ^^
You can do it yourself with this set - use the 'Knight' head geograft with the Centuar (8) body and then apply the shader presets to give it the same look as the rest of the figure. If you want, you can then stand it on the solo-base (or just have it standing on its own).
gonna have to try when i've bought your set... and centaur 8 lol, i only have the 7 version ;) - i'm thrilled to discover how the solo base unifies different figures or props and all. versatility and allowing kitbashing are always very appreciated!
Well, the geograft head-pieces will only fit to G8 (it's a limitation of geografts that they only work on the figure they're made for), but you could still use Centuar 7 with the shader presets alongside other pieces.
Don't get too excited about the solo-base - it's just a shallow base prop to stand things on - the base seen above is a geograft to replace the lower body and will only work with G8 - I'm not at home now but I'll try to post an example later of the solo-base.
Looks like this:
sure, i know about how geografts onlx fit the figure they're designed for (well, depending on how graft & figure look like, sometimes i still get decent results just sticking the graft on, like head tentacles or tails including mermen's.. might need a good bit of fumbling, a special angle to place the cam, some bit of clothing hiding the seam or a bit of postwork..) - but of course your shader would/will help a lot too.
and even the solo base, i still get excited cuz it's fitting with the rest of the set - less work/search/fumbling with kitbashing stuff than if i had to find a matching base by myself ^^
still not sure if/when i'll get centaur 8, the 7 version is fine, i haven't even used him that much, i have some matching gear created for G3 and centaur7, and i have so many other things urgently wishlisted, stuff that i really don't have in double. also, how many versions of a centaur does one need, lol.. so it's pretty sure i'll fumble with the 7 version for a start ^^