<![CDATA[MeteorCreations - Spotlight]]>Sun, 10 Jun 2012 17:20:11 -0500Weebly<![CDATA[Explanation for my leave of absence. ]]>Sun, 20 Nov 2011 05:40:31 -0500http://meteorcreations.weebly.com/2/post/2011/11/explanation-for-my-leave-of-absence.htmlReaders of Spotlight,

 It has been quite some time that any new interview has been posted, or has there been any major update to the site since June of this year. And I would like to apologize for the breaking the promise that I made to you, regarding Season two of Spotlight. 

 The year of 2011 has been a rather joyful but also extremely rough time for me. Back in April of this year, my mother was diagnosed with what at the time was Stage 4 Non-small Carcinoma lung cancer. Since that time she underwent chemotherapy treatments to fight the cancer, but it was to no avail.

 My mother passed away from respiratory failure on September 28th, 2011. The day after I was laid off of my job at a local pool supply store. 

 I have since fallen out of touch with most of the community, with exception for a few individuals.

I will do my best to continue with things and I will keep everyone informed and updated as to the status of future Spotlight articles.   

 While I have been away I have since gone over my entire format of the program, while I know everyone has enjoyed them so far, I want to try and take them to the next level. What I mean by that is perhaps attempt to conduct the interviews in a podcast and or video-cast setting. While that would take some substantial planning on my part, I do believe it could be done in time. 

In the meantime I will be getting back in touch with my creative side, and attempt to release some new renders. 

See you all again soon! 

]]><![CDATA[Spotlight Season Two Coming!!!]]>Thu, 16 Jun 2011 21:40:06 -0500http://meteorcreations.weebly.com/2/post/2011/06/spotlight-will-return.htmlSoon....

Details coming! 

Soon.....


]]><![CDATA[Spotlight on hiatus.]]>Thu, 17 Mar 2011 23:23:41 -0500http://meteorcreations.weebly.com/2/post/2011/03/spotlight-on-hiatus.htmlI'm sorry to have to rely the bad news, but Spotlight will have to be placed on hold for the time being. Due to the lack of a stable internet connection. I do humbly apologize for the inconvenience that this will cause my followers and readers. But in the mean time please enjoy the past interviews that have been released. ]]><![CDATA[News update. ]]>Fri, 11 Feb 2011 20:36:10 -0500http://meteorcreations.weebly.com/2/post/2011/02/news-update.html To start, I would like to apologize for the lack of interviews for the last two weeks, I have been very busy and my time has been stretched thin. Also my connection to the internet has not been the best. 

However Spotlight will return next week. The next guest will be announced soon. 

You may have also notice Twitter and Facebook buttons have been added to the individual interviews, and posts. Please use them to spread the word about Spotlight! 

- Meteorafallen ]]><![CDATA[Spotlight Christmas Special Part Two: DJ Curtis]]>Fri, 28 Jan 2011 04:13:02 -0500http://meteorcreations.weebly.com/2/post/2011/01/spotlight-christmas-special-part-two-dj-curtis.htmlGood day everyone, I'm Angel Hernandez, and welcome back for long awaited Part Two of the Spotlight Christmas Special!

 Today's guest is currently one of the most popular modelers in the Bridge Commander community, and has recently joined the Excalibur Development Team. His ships include the Leonidas, Vivace, Valiant, Eclipse, and the ship he's most known for the Century Class. Which has had a number of appearances here on MeteorCreations, and is also featured along with the Vivace in The Ultimate Universe Mod for Star Trek: Legacy.

 In the six years that he has been around, he is easily one of the greats. And his quality of work only continues to get even better, with each ship that he releases.

  His latest releases include the Alberta Class, and his take on the Ambassador Class. Both of which are top notch. He is currently working on an unnamed Cruiser, and his own take on the TOS era Constitution Class.

 Please give a warm welcome to Mr. David Curtis!
Picture
let's get started with the basics..

Q: So when did you start modeling? And how long have you been around in the modding community?

 I started modeling in 2002, shortly after Bridge Commander was released. I had an account on BCU and followed quietly for a year or two.

Q: What was it about modeling that fascinated you, and was that why you ultimately got into modding yourself?

 I’ve always built models. As a kid, I had dozens of model kits of cars, starships and planes. I’ve always been the type to lean towards artistic endeavors, and 3d modeling seemed a good method of expression for me.  I had been out of high-school for a couple of years, and wanted to learn some new things, so I decided on 3d modeling and learning guitar.

Q: Do you remember the first thing you tried to build?

 I actually went through a lot of tutorials, so I think the first thing I ever made was an orange or something like that.  As for first starship, I pretty immediately started trying to recreate a Galaxy Class.  It did not look good.

Q: How did you hear about the Bridge Commander modding community?

 I actually don’t recall. I found BCU pretty quickly after starting to play the game.

                                                                                                        This interview continues after the break.
Q: In your own opinion, how do you feel you were received within the BC community when you first started?

 I eased my way into the community gradually. I actually spent most of time in the political forum on BCU, arguing with my much missed friend, Weasel, as opposed to the modding forum.  When I started showing off my work, I usually put it in the art forum, as I really had no clue how to mod, only model… badly.  People were, as they’ve always been in BC, very supportive and encouraging.  That’s been a real hallmark of our community over the last near-decade.

Q: Which ship of yours was first released? And how well was it received?

 My first ship was the Supremus Class.  I released it in early 2006.  I think it was well received and popular, though it certainly had its flaws. 

Q: Do you mod for any other games other than Star Trek related ones?

 No, though I’ve done some modeling and texturing for Excalibur.

Gaming and Trek.

Q: So what are a few of the games that you favorite?

 Well, Bridge Commander was a mainstay for a long time, though I don’t play it much anymore.  My favorite games of all time would be the Civilization series, SimCity series, X-Wing series, Jedi Knight series.  I really enjoyed the Mass Effect Games.  The original Medal of Honor was amazing when it came out.  Masters of Orion 2, and of course, Oregon Trail!

Q: Do you console game at all? And if so what is your preferred machine? Also would you care to share your gamertag with the readers?

 I’ve got a 360 for me and a Wii for the kids.  I only have Xbox Live for DLC.  I don’t do multiplayer because I actually suck at games.

Q: What are your favorite Star Trek games? And which was the first that you owned?

 My first Star Trek game was Star Trek: 25th Anniversary, which came out in 1991.  It was great fun for its time.  My favorite is Bridge Commander, though all the Activision run of games were quite good.

Q: How long have you been a Star Trek fan, also what was your favorite and least liked series growing up?

 I don’t remember not being a Star Trek fan.  I’m an unabashed geek, though I’ve developed fairly solid personal hygiene skills that have served me well. I really love TNG, but my favorite is probably DS9, particularly seasons 4-6.  For me, they were the best.

Q: Do you have a favorite Trek movie of all time? And explain your reason behind that choice.

 Let me first say that I really enjoyed the new movie, and it ranks high for me.  Probably Star Trek VI is my favorite.  Christopher Plummer is at the top of his game as General Chang, and I think it is the film that best reflects the political realities of its day.

Q: What is your favorite class of ship? And what makes it unique to you? Either canon or non canon.

 Canon, I love the Galaxy Class for its size and elegance.  It’s a marvelous piece of work.

Q: Apart from your own work, what are some of your favorite mods?

 So many good ones, but I there are a few I can’t have an install without.  LC’s Romulan Warbirds are some of the best produced ships ever made.  His Defiant and Intrepid Class ships, as well.  Wiley’s Excelsiors are absolutely great.  Khaliban’s Connie.  CG’s Sovereign.  I love GravityFX and the big BCSTNG packs.  I also always load up the packs of ships that Zambie Zan compiled.  Lots of great modders.

Q: If you could recommend any one of your mods to a first time player of a Star Trek game, which one would it be?

 I would have to say the Century Class Enterprise F.  I never thought that it would be so popular, and I’ve never matched its level of popularity since.  I’m very humbled that so many people downloaded it.

Modeling and final questions.

Q: So far out of everything you have built so far, which have given you the most amount of challenge?

 Well, in their own way, the earlier ships were the most challenging, because I had less skill and knowledge then.  In terms of hours of work put into a mod, the Galaxy Class mod pack was a very large undertaking, and I have not since been interested in doing anything like that again.  As I’ve matured as a modder, my work has become much more efficient, and what used to take me months, I can now do in weeks or sometimes days.

Q: Do you have any intentions of releasing any kind of tutorials on ship modeling, texturing, or things of that nature?

 I’ve added some stuff to the BC Wiki, and done the odd tutorial.  I’ve always meant to do some, but never stuck to it.

Q: Would you care to share with the readers anything about what you are currently working on? And will it be available for both Bridge Commander, Excalibur, and possibly Legacy ?

 I’ve got several ships completed and on the go.  I’m most excited about the cruiser I’ve been building, though I’m in a lull at the moment.  Over the last year, my modding has been in fits and starts.

Q: I'm going to ask this next question, because I'm sure a lot of people are curious about this subject.
What was the reasoning behind your forbidding modification of your work? And do you see a time where you would one day again allow people to release variants of your work?

 It’s been a touchy thing over the years.  I haven’t absolutely forbidden any derivative work, but I rarely say yes.  For me, I’ve had a number of incidents with people using my work and stealing credit.  It’s the internet, and I understand that happens from time to time, though many people have been very respectful.  Another part of this has to do with how long I’ve been around BC for.

  Some mods like CG’s Sov and Scotchy’s Galaxy, and especially Rick Knox’s work have been redone and reused so many times that they’ve lost their identities and the true creators of the work have gone by the wayside.  I don’t want that happening to my work.

 I also had a couple of incidents where modders were given permission to use my work, and then they bandied their products about publically as a “huge improvement” or upgrade.  Having spent months of hard work on these products, I will admit to taking offense at the idea that something could be so quickly “upgraded.”

 Being a member of the Ultimate Universe mod team, I would like to once again thank you for allowing us to use the ships you gifted us with, that being of course the Century Class and the Vivace Class.

 No problem, I hope they’re being enjoyed, and I would probably be okay with some of my other work being ported to UU if Chris asks.

Q: Can you share with us what your experience has been working with the Excalibur team so far?

 I’ve been on the periphery of the project for some time now.  I never made huge commitments to it, and have also handed some stuff off to Mark because BC has always been my first focus.  The team is closely knit in my opinion.  A lot of us have known each other for a long time.  They’re good people, helpful and extremely creative and talented.

Q: Can you give us a run down of your modeling process? How you do come up with such elegant yet powerful looking ships?

 I’m glad you think they’re elegant and powerful looking.  In truth, I don’t tend to go through much of a process, I just sort of start with something and the design just ends up coming out of that.  There are a few things that I try to do, though.  I look for smooth, clean and sleek lines that flow from one part of the ship to another, even if those parts aren’t directly connected.

 I try to make the ship look purposeful and believable.  Proportion is a big thing for me.  I try to make sure that the saucer is the right size for the drive section, and that the nacelles are not too long or too short.  I often use boxes as placeholders to try and get a sense of where I want things and how big I want them.  I try to design ships that have a wide stance and look stable, even if they’re not large.  Ultimately, I simply try to mesh out one part that goes nicely with the part I built before it, and so on and so on until the ship is complete.

Q: Being an extremely talented modeler, are you disappointed that you cannot enter into the Star Trek: Online Enterprise-F contest?

 I appreciate your compliment.  To be honest, I’m not losing any sleep over it.  My ships don’t look like STO ships anyhow.  I do enjoy playing STO, and am also enjoying seeing some of the authentic new designs that people are entering into the contest.  Frankly, I don’t feel that I need the contest to validate what I do… my Enterprise F has done pretty well for itself over the years, and I’m proud of that.

Q: How do you see Star Trek gaming progressing in the next few years?

 Probably towards the JJ universe, if at all.  I see games coming out in time with the new movie releases.  Probably not very good games either.  Free to play browser games that are supportive of micro-transactions are probably also in the cards.  Since Dan Stahl has taken over STO, it has improved dramatically, and it should be around for a good while.

 Its developers are constantly releasing new content and improvements to the game, and it’s becoming and enjoyable play and social experience.  It’s the basket where I’d put most of my Star Trek gaming eggs.   I’d just love to see a “Forge” for starships in it.

And for the final question..

Q: Aside from what you are releasing, what ship or mod are you the most excited about seeing in the Bcfiles Christmas mass release?

 I’m sorry I didn’t answer this before Christmas.  I’m a school teacher and I was insanely busy, and I spent most of my holiday traveling about visiting family.  I had no time for my mods or to download anyone else’s work.  Though I’d say those shuttle bridges look great!

 Well it's no problem DJ, we all have busy lives and it's completely understandable. And thank you for taking part in this interview.

 I have really enjoyed speaking with DJ, I'll say this, he's got to be the coolest school teacher I know now haha.

 There's no doubt on why he's now considered one of the greats of the modding community. His models are highly detailed, his textures are crisp. And every ship he builds actually looks like it came right out of Star Trek.

 I can not wait to see what he builds in the near future, but whatever that may be, I have no doubt that it will be incredible.

 I would also like to take this oppertunity to announce that DJ has just made a deal with Chris Jones Gaming, which will involve bringing his entire ship library to Star Trek Legacy, and will be exclusive only to the Ultimate Universe Mod. You can expect to see his ships beginning to pop up here and there as the year progresses.

Until next time I am Angel Hernandez, and this...has been Spotlight

Show Notes

Below you can find the link to DJ's BCFiles profile page, where you can download all of his ships for Star Trek Bridge Commander.

DJ Curtis's BCFiles Profile Page
Link

Don't forget to leave a comment, and express your opinion on the interview.

 As I have been having issues with my internet connection I am uncertain as to when the next episode of Spotlight will be released. You can keep up to date with news on MeteorCreations Facebook page, or follow me on Twitter @MeteoraFallen.

]]><![CDATA[Spotlight Special Edition, Episode Six: NanoByte]]>Tue, 11 Jan 2011 02:10:56 -0500http://meteorcreations.weebly.com/2/post/2011/01/spotlight-special-edition-episode-six-nanobyte.html Happy new year everyone! I'm your host Angel Hernandez, and welcome to Episode Six of Spotlight,
featuring a very special guest.  

  Today's guest is someone who has literally changed the way that we all look at Bridge Commander, in terms of special effects. And this guest is also responsible for the original tools that we all used up until recently to import ships and mods into Bridge Commander. 

 For the past four years he has been working alongside some of the communities finest and talented individuals to do the impossible, create a Star Trek game from the ground up. Using a game engine custom built just for this game, the Evolved Game Engine, headed by John Hardy.

 While Hardy may handle the core components of the engine, it is today's guest who is responsible for the NanoFX Graphics Renderer, which is responsible for everything we will see in this game. From the visuals, to the particle, lighting, and special effects.

 Though I am of course talking about only one game, and that game...is Excalibur.

 Please welcome the Visual FX Leader of Excalibur Mr. Michael Braams.

Who is of course the one, and only..NanoByte.  
Picture
Let's get started with the basics. ..

Q: Could you tell the readers how long you have been with the community, and when did you start?

 I guess my first public appearance was shortly after the release of BC, I followed the forums on BC Universe and got involved with the other modders there when something as simple as adding new ships to BC proved to be difficult

Q: What was it about modding that sparked your interest, and was this why you ultimately got into modding for yourself?

 Initially it was when problems starting coming up in BC and people we having trouble.  Modders like Dasher were providing ways to mod BC, but for the average Modder it was still way too difficult.  So I decided then and there I could lend my programming talents and create easier interfaces to help people and thus BCMP (BC Mod Packager) was created. Later followed BCMI (BC Mod Installer) and there was even a BCME (BC Mission Editor) in the works, however I left the BC Community to peruse other interests.

Q: Can you recall your first attempts at modding, what was the first mod that you created?

 My First attempts at modding were with Totally Games previous games the X-wing Series.  I followed that community however I just watched the forums instead of participating.  With those games I mostly just worked on bringing the old X-Wing and TIE Fighter Missions into the latest game X-Wing Alliance for my own personal enjoyment.  After that I did a minor mod for Klingon Academy where I modified the ships to always have their glows on for the Warp Engines to be more like the show.

Q: You have been around since the days of Bridge Commander Universe, what is your opinion on the current state of the Bridge Commander community?

 I really can't say as I have not followed the Bridge Commander community much since I left it to start on the NanoFX Game Engine, however I still get emails from people requesting to include NanoFX into their own mods, so I'm still rather impressed that the community is still making mods and trying to make things great for BC.
                                                                                                            The interview continues after the break.
Q: With the NanoFX 2.0 Beta approaching almost 100,000 downloads, do you see a time where you would possibly release a updated version of 2.0, and perhaps finally bring it out of beta?

 This is highly unlikely to ever happen, after all we wouldn't want to take away time from development on Star Trek Excalibur and the NanoFX Graphics Renderer would we?  Unfortunately for BC, NanoFX 2.0 Beta is as good as it gets from me... but things were left in a pretty modable state, BC Modders should be able to take what I have done and complete anything unfinished, unless they hit an Engine Roadblock, which was one of the frustrations that lead to me leaving BC and working on my own game development.

Q: Have you in the past modded for any other Star Trek games other than Bridge Commander, and Excalibur?

 This was mostly answered in the question about my earliest mods.  The only other project I've done that most have never seen is a 3D version of Pac-man that I did to learn how to create a DirectX 9 game.

Q: Aside from working on Excalibur, do you have any other hobbies?

 Surprisingly, not really, I live and breathe programming, aside from spending time with my family, that is all I do in my spare time and work.

Q: What is it that you do for a living?

 I am the Project Manager and Programmer Analyst for a Computer Business Company that specializes in Inventory, Accounting and Point of Sales systems.

Gaming and Trek

Q: What are some of your favorite games that you play ?

 Most of the Star Trek and Star Wars games really.  Simulation games are primarily  what I like, such as Space Sim, Flight Sim, Race Sims.

Q: Do you console game at all, and if so what is your preferred machine, and would you care to share your gamertag with the readers?

 I have a PS3, Wii, and DS.  I like them all about the same... The PS3 for more realistic immersion, I like games like Assassin's Creed, Batman Arkham Asylum, and Red Dead Redemption. The Wii, I love the Mario and Zelda games and how the family can all play it.  The DS, well that's for on the go... Mario and Zelda there too.
 
Gamertag for PS3 should have been easy to guess... it's NanoFX :P

Q: If you do not console game what is your preferred choice of computer PC or Mac? And what does your setup consist of?

 I used to PC game a lot, but then I got a PS3, so typically I'll play games on the 55" LED Big Screen now ;)

Q: What was the first Star Trek game you owned, and what are some of your favorite Trek games?

 First Star Trek Game was Star Trek: 25th Anniversary followed by Star Trek: Judgment Rites and then Star Trek TNG: A Final Unity.  Those games bring back the most memories, so they typically are still my favorite Trek games.  I'd like to perhaps bring some of those gameplay elements into Star Trek: Excalibur if it's a good fit for it and makes it fun.

Q: How long have you been a fan of Star Trek, and what are your best and least liked series?

 I've been a fan of Star Trek since about Season 2 of when Star Trek TNG was airing in North America.  I'd say TNG is still my favorite... least liked series is Star Trek Enterprise (mostly because I never got into it, I haven't even watched very many episodes of it).

Q: What would have to be your favorite Trek movie of all? And explain your reasoning behind this choice.

 I'd say Star Trek First Contact.  It has the best action and I just love the scene with the battle of Borg Cube.  If I can reproduce those on screen visuals into the Game FX of Star Trek Excalibur, I will be satisfied.  And I've said before on the Excalibur forums that I won't rest until I am satisfied!  ;)

Q: What is your favorite class of starship, and what about it makes it unique to you personally? The ship can canon or non-canon.

 Galaxy Class. When first watching TNG, it was that ship that actually drew me into the show... I didn't even care about the characters at first, all I cared about was watching the show so that I could see shots of the Enterprise-D in action!

Q: What are some of the noteworthy mods that you have seen so far to come out of Bridge Commander, and Legacy?

 I haven't followed the mods of those games at all, so it's hard for me to say, but when I do look at the mods, I look at the bigger ones or the ones that improve on the graphics either new ship models or Visual FX.

Q: Did you expect NanoFX to have the kind of success that it has had since it's release?

 Not really, I knew what I was doing really helped the game because BC always seemed half finished, which was a let down for me because I was a big fan of Totally Games for their X-wing games. I suppose it could be expected that NanoFX would be popular because without it, the game does really seem to be lacking a certain wow factor by just itself.

Excalibur and final questions...

Q: How will Excalibur differ from games like Bridge Commander, and legacy?

 Excalibur will expand your vision of what a Trek Game should be about, BC and Legacy were ok with Battle Sims (more so BC than Legacy), but Excalibur is a game being built by the fans, so we already know what the game should be like to capture the essence of Star Trek.

Q: What was your reaction when you heard the news that Excalibur had been featured in PC Gamer magazine?

 Oh it's great news to start being recognized by some more mainstream media.  We now have PR team for Excalibur and all I can say is as time goes on Excalibur is going to continually get more and more attention like this.

Q: Can you share with the readers some of the features that we have to look forward to in Excalibur?

 Well of course I can say the Visual FX, as I've said I won't rest until I get the game looking as close to the TV series and Movies as I can!  Aside from that they can expect a great story and total immersion into the Star Trek Universe.

Q: What have been some of the advantages of creating your own game engine?

 In creating our own Game Engine for Excalibur, it becomes a great advantage to acheive exactly what we want so that it can be represented in the game. With no limitations there really isn't a limit to what we can accomplish. The only problem is it's very time consuming and a TON of work, so I hope in the end the community really appreciates all the time and Dedication the Excalibur team has put into this project.

Q: is there any news or announcement that you would like to announce first here on Spotlight?

 Hmmm while I'm limited on what I can reveal, I can say... I just finished initial work on Nav lights and I will be updating the Model Viewer one last time with bug fixes for the public.

Q: During the development of Excalibur you have acquired many exceptional modders and modelers  from the Bridge Commander community, is there any fear of creating animosity because of individuals in some cases permanently leaving the BC community to work on Excalibur?
 
 No I don't think there is any of that, people are free to do what they want.  We are building the Evolved Engine to be very modabble just as BC is.  So I truly feel that after the release of Excalibur we will see many people from other Trek Modding Communities joining the Excalibur community to create mods for it.

 The Evolved Engine will give people a new updated playground to work with that wouldn't have engine limits because we have the power (the source code) to change, modify and improve the engine well after the Excalibur game is released.

 If anyone now is interested they should contact us to help out, this would help speed up development and the release of Excalibur as well.  Any talented people we can get to help out with modelling
scripting or programming is always welcome.

Q: There has been a lot of speculation that Excalibur may never see the light of day. Is there anything you would to say to the readers, to reassure them that the project has not stalled or is dead?

 Well I for one can say that I will work on this project until it's done, even if I have to do it all myself!  And to be honest, the current Excalibur staff feel similar.

 It is taking a long time because we only have limited man hours (our free time at home) to work on this project.  But rest assured work continues everyday. I don't think anyone should worry about this project dying.

Q: What is your opinion of the Bridge Commander Universal Tool that was created by U.S.S. Sovereign, and how do you feel it compares to the tools you once created for importing ships and mods into Bridge Commander?

 I can't say really, I've seen a few screens of it, but haven't actually played with it.  Kudos to him for creating another tool, it it works better then great!  Glad someone could continue to help the BC community... I did feel bad that I just left BC high and dry... but a man only has so much time in a day to get things done!

Q: Any final comments before we finish this interview?

 Thank you for your time and thank you everyone for your support in my work and I look forward to showing you great things in the future to come!

  I would like to thank NanoByte from taking time out from his busy schedule to participate in this interview.

 I have never personally met NanoByte until before this interview took place, It was truly an honor to speak with someone who's work I see every day in Bridge Commander. From every blinker, to every warp flash. It could have not have been possible with out NanoFX. 

 If what we have seen from Excalibur so far is any indication of the level of quality that this game will consist of, then I can not wait to download my copy of it, whenever that day may be. Perhaps one day when my talents are worthy enough, I will help contribute to Excalibur as well. 

Until next time, I am Angel Hernandez, and this...has been Spotlight. 

Show Notes

Below you will find links to the NanoFX Evolved website, as well as the Excalibur forums, and NanoBytes BCFiles profile page. 

NanoFX-Evolved Website:
http://www.nanofx-evolved.com/

Excalibur Website, and Forums:
http://www.stexcalibur.com/index.html

NanoByte's BCFiles Profile Page:
http://bridgecommander.filefront.com/developer/NanoByte;1173

And as always, please feel free to leave a comment, to share your opinion on the interview. 

Next weeks guest will be announced soon, please don't forget to become a fan of MeteorCreations on Facebook, and follow me at twitter, you can follow me at @MeteoraFallen. To stay up to date with the latest news about website and Spotlight. 

]]><![CDATA[Spotlight Episode Five: Phoenix]]>Wed, 29 Dec 2010 17:08:45 -0500http://meteorcreations.weebly.com/2/post/2010/12/spotlight-episode-five-phoenix.html Greetings, I trust you all had a pleasant holiday. I am Angel Hernandez and welcome to Episode Five of Spotlight.

 I know you were all expecting Part Two of the Christmas Special, as was I. But as of late I have not heard back from DJ Curtis, I promise that as soon as I hear something regarding his interview, that I will keep you all apprised.

Also this interview was on purposely made longer than normal, to make up for the lack of the second part of the Christmas Special.

 But in the meantime Spotlight will continue as usual with today's episode. Featuring another member of the Ultimate Universe modding team.

 This person is responsible for a lot of the custom ships built just for UUM, and is a very impressive modeler. He has also built kit-bashes for Bridge Commander, and Klingon Academy. He was the first to being the Dominion to Star Trek Legacy, and since then has been a member of the Ultimate Universe Modding team.

 He is now one of UUM's  Assistant Directors, the head of Asylum, which is a modding school hosted by Chris Jones Gaming. And the head of the Modeling Department for Ultimate Universe.

 His latest ship the TOS era Proxima was released for Christmas, and can be found on Legacy Files, and UUM.net

Please welcome Mr.Phoenix Bondi, but we all know him as Nix, Phoenix, or PhoenixFett
Picture
 To start I would like to thank Phoenix for being able to take part in this interview.

Q: So when did you start modeling? And how long have you been with the modding community?

 Well my basic’s started with Star Trek Klingon Academy, I use to play and hang around with exar-kun, and Jakeo but it was simple Kit bash’s and stuff, nothing major as I had No clue what I was doing with Light wave, I released a few mod’s but have no time frame memory to give u a date, L But the 4th of January I released a reskin of Rosh for Star Wars Jedi Academy which picked up a nice amount of downloads, I had also been experimenting with 3d max trying to mod for star trek bridge commander, But alas it was still only kit bash’s, before I disappeared due to personal life I released my 2nd and 3rd variant of my borg hybrid Defiant class – F.A.S. Kadet, A Beta for a Huge kit bash called the invincible and about 4 others. Then I resurfaced when legacy came out and started all over again, having lost ALL my old acquired skills L so I’d say from 2000 onwards with K.A

Q: What was it about modeling that fascinated you, and was that why you ultimately got into modding yourself?

 Oh without a doubt being able to firstly improve the game, and secondly add things you want your self. Not limited by damn companies doing only what they wanted.

Q: Do you remember the first thing you tried to build?

 Yea I had a tutorial for light wave to build a Constitution class starship, But couldn’t do it, No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t do it L so I gave up L - wish I hadn’t as I’d be even better by now

Q: How did you hear about Ultimate Universe, and the Star Trek legacy modding community?

Well I was hanging around the Legacy forums and had luckily found out about the armada sod files working in legacy before it was announced so I started to put the legacy dominion pack together, then I ended up with 2 emails, one from Chris Jones and one from Acidrain, both from CJG at the time, another team also took note of me who where, - I apologies I really can’t remember, it wasn’t New-Gen or Aftermath, the other main contender back then.
                                                                                                        Please keep reading after the break.
Q: In your own opinion, how do you feel you were received within the Legacy Community when you started?

 A lot of problems at first, as it was the first time I’d gone public in a long time, and many of my ideas where I presume a bit pig headed, I was full of ideas and no way to do them. But after I started to show off my dominion work, people soon started to take note of my work

Q: Which ship of yours was first released? And how well was it received?

 Oh good question –
1)    K.A – My Invincible class star ship – Kit bash (a mix of an intrepid, excel refit, akira, sov)
2)    B.C – Kadet class Defiant / Borg Hybrid
3)    Legacy – My Port of 7of9’s Dominion Bug

Q: Do you mod for any other games other than Star trek oriented ones?

Not anymore, but I use to mod Jedi Knight Academy, Counter Strike source,

Q: So aside from modeling for Legacy, do you have any other hobbies?

I really love my music, so playing on my guitar is my biggest past time...other than that, I’d say riding my Bike

Q: What do you do for a living?

 I use to D.j a little apart from working in a store called Asda which is owned by Wal-Mart
Gaming, and other Trek related questions comin' up!

Q: So what are a few of the games that you favorite?

STO, BC, Red Faction Gorilla, All C.O.D’s

Q: Do you console game at all? And if so what is your preferred machine? Also would you care to share your gamertag with the readers?

I own both a ps3 and Xbox 360 – not online with ps3 but my live account is Phoenixfett if anyone wishes’s to add me. But I’d say Xbox for me, due to the huge selection of games!

Q: What are your favorite Star Trek games? And which was the first that you owned?

First owned was 25th anniversary, but favorite would be between KA and BC

Q: How long have you been a Star Trek fan, also what was your favorite and least liked series growing up?

All my life from as far as I can remember! favorite is DS9 due to the wars, but least id say voyager but I still loved that though ….

Q: Do you have a favorite Trek movie of all time? And explain your reason behind that choice.

It’s a draw between Wrath of Khan and First Contact, for first contact all I can say is BORG, but WOK is just EPIC, the atmosphere is INTENSE from open to end, a death of a main player – even though he’s back next film! And well BEST SPACE BATTLE EVER!!! Just an amazing film though and though

Q: What is your favorite class of ship? And what makes it unique to you? (It can be either canon, or non canon)

Tie again L but 3 way this time Sorry
1)    Defiant as I Love the fact it’s a warship
2)    Excelsior since it was just a beauty to look at, What a timeless design
3)    Classic Hell and Refit Connie – Need I say more???


Q: Apart from your own work, what are some of your favorite mods?

Hum, well I won’t say UUM then lol, but I’d say Km and Ds9 effects for BC,

Q: If you could recommend any one of your mods to a first time player of a Star Trek game, which one would it, be?

Either my Dominion pack for extra race and lot of ships, or my Guardian class as it give the Oberth Some teeth

And now for the final set of questions of the year..

Q: Do you have any intentions of releasing any kind of tutorials on ship modeling, texturing, or things of that nature?

 I actually already have, as an idea put to me by Brex and Marky-D I opened the asylum earlier this year, so far it has 1 tutorial on but I’m in the process of making a lot more

Keep your eyes open as 2011 will see a lot more input into this site!

Q: So far out of everything you have built so far, which have given you the most amount of challenge?

 My Origins pack I’m doing at the moment, it’s all TOS era stuff, and once I’m finished, I think I can do better and end up restarting it – getting annoying in all honesty lol

Q: Would you care to share with the readers any news about what you may be releasing in the near future for Ultimate Universe?

 Well why not, I’ll give you a few pictures too if you like? Well I hope to get this finished for an Easter release if not earlier, I’m working on a project called ORIGINS which is all CLASSIC TOS stuff, so far 1 ship from it was released for XMAS my TOS PROXIMA Class which I had help porting it by Muldrf, but I hope as to have a nice list for you,

There will be K7, all MK’s of the Connie, Rommie bop, Rommie battle bird, my own Rommie vulture hell just too many to say, all I’ll say is keep your eyes and ears open

Q: Legacy has just turned four years old this December. It's fair to say that when it was released, it wasn't received well. A number of modelers refused to work on the game and still do to this day, what was it about Legacy that meant you personally wanted to work on it?

At the time, I’d lost BC and I wanted a fresh start with a new game! So basically the early bird gets the Gak (lol) I wanted to do something new for the game that hadn’t been done yet, IE THE DOMINION

Q: Is it difficult working within the constraints of a game like Legacy?

Yup it drives me completely insane at times and bore’s me to death... lol.

Q: Can you share with us any bad experiences you have had in your times of modding?

People who steal your work and say it’s their own, EVEN with your secret water mark embedded on the textures – Dumb Barstards!

Q: How has working for Ultimate Universe changed your perspective of the Legacy community?

 Well as a member I was around when the TEAM WAR came about, but luckily, I was part of the comittiee that kind of held things together, as I was part of the ambassador ship or whatever you call it, I was doing some joint operations between new-gen and aftermath. Helping to keep a good friendship between all 3 teams, Even though even to today some idiots still try to destroy what people like me and Travis (Muldrf) have worked so hard to achieve!

Q: What are some of your responsibilities, being one of two assistant directors of UUM?

 Well I head the Asylum which is the School of Modding. I am also the head of the modeling department and all models NOW go though me or Muldrf, but since its only us two doing anything at the moment it don’t matter. I also deal with some PR helping promote and represent UUM. I do the odd pod cast with Elite force and have done a couple of others for example Argus array

Q: What have been some of your personal highlights working for UUM?

 Apart from being the first to bring the dominion to Legacy, I’d say Learning How to model from scratch! And then obviously the promotions to where I am now!

Q: Within the Ultimate Universe team, you're known for improving your models, sometimes completely remaking them from the ground up, it sounds like the quality of your work is important to you.

 Oh it is, for some reason I have a strange fetish for the Oberth, so when I started to get somewhere with my scratch built models I built my own edition with it, the guardian class. I don’t like games that say here is *what ever* class of ship – then you look at it and you’re like WTF That’s Crap – like the Connie, Romulan BOP, and Oberth! I mean come on, they could be 1000 times better – so I did the best I could and rebuilt them from the ground up!

Q: Word is that you have been working on a major expansion to UUM entitled Origins, can you give us an idea what Origins is and what will it mostly consist of?

 Well in 2009 star trek fan base got a huge BOOST with JJ Abrams version of star trek, and people now see a NEW Kirk and a new Classic 1701 Enterprise, Origins Is just what it says on the box, it’s the original, its meant to remind people of what Star trek once was before it got bastadized by JJ, but alas u see what one ship in TOS really and a couple more from books and games so I’ve done my best to bring you more ships, higher quality and a selection of race’s so far I have at least one ship from the Romulan's, Thoilans, obviously Federation and hopefully will get more done, I can guarantee it will turn a couple of heads, upset some people with a ship I have in there and hopefully have some others awaiting with anticipation – If they like my work that is!

Q: Would you care to share with the readers any information regarding the Doomsday Machine that you are currently working on?

 No Lol, It’s a pain in the ass, I need to speak to Wiley about how he did his, as I’m having not much luck with it at the moment lol

Q: Apart from building from canon, you've also contributed a number of original designs, such as variants on the Oberth Class and the Romulan Battle bird, which all add to the unique feel of the Ultimate Universe, where do your ideas for these designs come from and do you plan to make more original ships in the future?

 Well origins will show off some more of my ideas, but basically they are normally kit bash’s or things that shouldn’t be For example TOS EXCELSIOR, and PRIME TOS Kelvin, I also see other work which inspires me, think Yea I could do something like that, So I build my own with differences and get to work from them, like my vulture class bird of prey I’m working on now, was inspired between the classic BOP and one of Altoms classic designs. Another example is if you look at the USS Grissom's Registry is 3 digits which makes it older like the Daedalus class or earlier than the constitution, so my brain says HEY it should have been around before the Connie, Let’s give it a TOS feel!

Q: Recently you have been working on replacing the stock ships that have been left over in Legacy; can you give the readers some examples of the ships that you are replacing? And have you made that a priory of yours?

 A priority, no not really, but as of origins I think I’m only changing the Romulan BOP, K7, The D7 but the Romulan one,

Q: I know every modeler has a different setup and has their own way of building their ships, how do you go about making your ships?

 A good question, one I get asked a lot of and one I will be very happy to finish my video tutorial about, firstly in 3d studio max I start off with 5 Planes, one for the Left or right view, Top, Bottom, Forward and finally Aft. Once they’re all arranged into position I start adding basic shapes like a cube, cylinder or a sphere, get them all placed into positions, then start Molding each part to be the correct shape I’m after *I’ve included a couple of pictures to show what I mean* after the shapes are looking right and in the correct place, I then optimize the mesh, making it 1 SINGLE object instead of multiple ones, for example you’d have Hull, Saucer, Neck, pylons x2, and nacelles x2- so that’s 7 shapes, make them into one single mesh and then, Break it all apart again for texturing, One reason I choose to optimize is, it gets rid of Unwanted polys that u don’t need/see and saves on the ships, FPS if you know what you mean,

Q: Any final comments before we finish this interview?

 Yes most defiantly, firstly I’d like to say it’s been an honor being asked to do the interview and I would just like to throw some thank yous out there to the people who have helped me get where I am today.

Ok a big ass thank you to the following people;

Adonis, Brex and Marky-D = without your help I’d still have no clue about making mesh’s

Chris Jones – Without you I’d of not wanted to learn more, and have nowhere to show off my stuff.

Muldrf – Helping me with my new ships, so I don’t have to do every damn thing! I make the mesh and textures he does the rest lately – Thanks mate!

Starforce – for offering to help get my work into Bridge Commander

And finally the last question for today's interview..and 2010.

Q: Chris Jones gaming has a policy of allowing Ultimate Universe modders contribute their own work to the mod, as long as the quality is not lacking. Is this important to you to have complete creative control over what you want to contribute rather than being restricted to time tables?

 Oh most defiantly, I just don’t have the time to ADHERE to time tables; I need to be able to work on my own time and my own pace! But sometimes I throw out Example mesh’s quicker than you can imagine just then takes me time to optimize the mesh and then my most HATED job TEXTUREING!!! *YUK!!!*

 And this concludes the last episode of Spotlight for the year of 2010. I would like to thank Phoenix for taking part in this years final interview. 
 
  Nix is one of the easiest people to get along with in the UUM team, I was there when he joined the team, before he achieved his modeling greatness. He has been a tremendous asset to UUM over the past years, and I couldn't ask for a better assistant director. Him and Muldrf are the dynamic duo that keep this well-oiled machine that is Ultimate Universe running. 

 I would like to say so far this program has had more success than I had imagined, since the programs announcement, before even the first interview, there has been a total 2,818 page views, and from only been 7 guests in total. If these are the kind of numbers that have been achieved so far, then I can not wait to see the numbers that will be reached next year.

 I would like to thank everyone that has participated in Spotlight so far Tim Bondi, Luiz Cordova Jr, Travis Durf, Chris Jones, Armando Perez, and Greg Smith. Without them this program would not have been possible.

 Also I would like to thank some of the groups of individuals who have publicly shown their support in this project; BCS:TNG, Chris Jones Gaming, CG Web Consulting, LegacyFiles.com, and Outpost Gamez.

And of course a big thanks goes out to the of readers of this blog, and the modding communities.

 I have't even yet to scratch the surface of the community, please join me next year for interviews with more of the communities contributors. Such as AcidFluxxBass, Bones, DJ Curtis, Fallen_Warrior, Kaden, NanoByte, and U.S.S. Sovereign...

As well as an exclusive interview with one of Star Trek's most famously known contributors...Doug Drexler. 

Please join me for next week for the first episode of Spotlight of 2011. As next weeks guest will be announced soon. 

Until next year, I'm Angel Hernandez, this has been Spotlight...and happy new year!

Show Notes

Listed below are links to sites that Phoenix is currently are a part of.

You will find links to his Legacy Files profile page, as well to the Ultimate Universe Mod website, Facebook page, and more.

Phoenix's Facebook Page:
http://www.facebook.com/phoenix.bondi

Modding Asylum Homepage:
http://www.moddingasylum.info/

Phoenix's LegacyFiles Profile Page:
http://legacy.filefront.com/developer/phoenixbondi;5298

Chris Jones Gaming:
http://chrisjonesgaming.net/news.php

The Ultimate Universe Mod Website:
http://www.ultimateuniversemod.net/news.php

Please don't forget to leave a comment, and share your opinion on the interview. Also I have had to make changes to the comment system in which I will now approve each comment myself, due to spamming.

]]><![CDATA[Spotlight Christmas Special Part One: WileyCoyote]]>Thu, 23 Dec 2010 02:36:27 -0500http://meteorcreations.weebly.com/2/post/2010/12/spotlight-christmas-special-part-one-wileycoyote.htmlSeasons greetings everyone, I'm Angel Hernandez, and welcome to Part One of the Spotlight Christmas Special!

 This special will be split into two parts, mainly because these two individuals deserve their own separate interviews, and are each extremely talented modelers

 Let's get started with out first guest...

 In the 4 years he has been here, this person has released impressive work. At first he started doing texture mods and ended up creating some of the most dead-on accurate and highest quality recreations, that we have yet to see of the Constitution, Constitution Refit, Doomsday Machine, and Excelsior. And as of lately the Enterprise from the latest Star Trek movie.

 He has also built ships from another movie entirely, such as the City Destroyer and Attacker from the hit blockbuster film Independence Day. He's also the only person to fully recreate the Star Trek Phase II Constitution, the fan-favored Bonaventure, and the Infamous Monarch Class Enterprise J. 

 His latest ship, the Proteus, is a radical change in starship design, and is truly innovative. It is slated for release in this years Bridge Commander files Christmas Mass Release. As well as an undisclosed surprise ship.

 He also appears in a webcomic known as Hyper Boy Comics, which was created by his brother back in 2005.

 Please give a big holiday welcome, to the man behind the Coyote, Mr. Michael Wiley!
Picture
 I would like to begin by saying Happy Holidays Michael, and thank you for being able to take the time out to participate in Spotlight. Let's get started with the basics...

Q: So when did you start modeling? And how long have you been around in the modding community?

  I started modeling in early 2008 with the completion of the TOS Akira. I was using gmax then, and it was awesome. Though the program has some limits, it has everything you need to make ship mods. I've been modding since January 2006, so that's about 5 years. When I was first modding, I never thought I would be making 3D ships, being one of the "modding legends" alongside of Scotchy, P81, LC Amaral, and Zambie Zan. I guess I'm part of the "next generation" of BC modders. In 2006, I just started with retexturing- it was easier. As long as computers can still run the game, I'm going to still be here for a while.

Q: What was it about modeling that fascinated you, and was that why you ultimately got into modding yourself?

  I was amazed how people can get such detail into something that was low poly. I like the feeling of saying that "I made that ship from scratch."  I just decided one day to try to build or at least script an individual ship so it will not overwrite anything to expand my skills. What I really like about modeling is that anything is possible in a 3D form, a clean slate when starting. You really start showing off your individuality when modeling.

Q: Do you remember the first thing you tried to build?

 The first thing I created was a Terran Empire retexture of the C2 Galaxy. At the time I thought it was cool, but many people were picky about details. They wanted the high poly ships that were recently released, but my computer couldn't handle them.

Q: How did you hear about the Bridge Commander modding community?

 When I was creating additional Terran Empire ships, Tiqhud tested them and Starforce2 helped me with hardpoints and scripting. I think one of them pointed me toward toward BCC. Since I joined, I've started making ships from scratch.

                                                                                                          The interview continues after the break.
Q: In your own opinion, how do you feel you were received within the BC community when you first started?

Everyone was nice. They all knew I could retexture ships, so I had some skill to bring to the group.

Q: Which ship of yours was first released? And how well was it received?

 My first ship was the TOS Akira. I should really thank Lint for doing the bussard animations. That really made the ship a keeper. I still see the ship occasionally in screenshots.

Q: Do you mod for any other games other than Star trek related ones?

 I first modded SFC 1 by adding the Enterprise-D for my own personal install. I was afraid at first thinking that scripts and text files, etc were going to mess up the game and my computer. The mod worked and I was happy. I've been playing with other mods for Armada II, but so far I only mod for BC. It was much easier than Armada II.

Q: So aside from modeling for Brisge Commander, do you have any other hobbies?

 I build Trek model kits and put LEDs in them. I have a closet full of kits, completed ones, somewhat completed and unbuilt. The 1/350th scale 1701-A is a beast to complete. It is a minimum 1 month completion time, and a good summer project. I now have the Pearl Ex iridescent color-shifting powders for the TMP hull effect. That is going to be a LOT of masking tape.

Let's talk a little about gaming, and other trek related things.

Q: So what are a few of the games that you favorite?

Grand Theft Auto, ST:Armada II (for massive fleet battles), SW: Battlefront II, War of the Monsters for PS2, the Neverhood and Roger Wilco in Space Quest 6.

Q: Do you console game at all? And if so what is your preferred machine? Also would you care to share your gamertag with the readers?

I have PS2 (the old boxy one), but I now use it as a DVD player. I now use my computer for gaming. The first time I ever played an online multiplayer game was when I beta tested ST Online in January 2010. It was fun and highly addicting, but the download was too long. Since then, I still do not play with other people.

Q: What are your favorite Star Trek games? And which was the first that you owned?

I had lots of fun with Interplay's StarFleet Academy and SFC 1. I remember trying to install ST: Armada 1 into my first computer and it took up half of the hard drive space. BC and Armada II are now my favorite Trek games.

Q: How long have you been a Star Trek fan, also what was your favorite and least liked series growing up?

  I can't pinpoint the exact date, but ever since I was little with Back to the Future and Independence Day. I grew up with those scifi movies. TNG was still new in my childhood- All good things was probably the only episode I remember when it was new on TV or at least recorded on VHS. I loved the space battles. I liked TOS back when it was on the Sci-Fi channel (now SyFy) with MYST3K. I never really caught on to DS9, but each series had its ups and downs.

Q: Do you have a favorite Trek movie of all time? And explain your reason behind that choice.

  Wrath of Khan or TOS movie trilogy, followed by First Contact and Star Trek (2009). Would Galaxy Quest count? Once again the TOS movies were what I grew up on- recording them from TV or renting them from the local library. I liked the Mutara Nebula battle from TWOK, and stealing the Enterprise from TSFS.

Q: What is your favorite class of ship? And what makes it unique to you? (It can be either canon, or non canon)

  Constitution-Refit and the Sovereign. Maybe because they had more screen time, I don't know. I liked the final warp sequence in TMP- whoosh and it's gone. For the Sovereign, the first time you see the ship in First Contact and when it comes to the Defiant's rescue. I really like how the ship's bussard collectors pulsate.

Q: Apart from your own work, what are some of your favorite mods?

  KM and DS9FX Xtended for the larger mods. I pretty much like other people's mods of ships I haven't built yet. (insert chuckle here) DJ makes some great stuff and Zambie Zan too- I like the Wolf 359 ship mod.

Q: If you could recommend any one of your mods to a first time player of a Star Trek game, which one would it be?

  Many new people of BC probably saw the recent Star Trek movie, and it is still fresh in their minds, they are going to want the new Enterprise (WC JJ Enterprise v3) as well as the Kelvin. For those who hate(with a few explicatives) the new Enterprise, I have a good TOS Enterprise for people to try.

Now let's get to the more serious questions...

Q: Do you have any intentions of releasing any kind of tutorials on ship modeling, texturing, or things of that nature?

  Yes. I probably will have some video tutorials on 3d modeling and texturing in Photoshop using either Youtube or Livestream. People just can't get enough tutorials.

Q: So far out of everything you have built so far, which have given you the most amount of challenge?

  The Enterprise-D and E. The deflector dish area of the D was very tricky to achieve and the smooth flowing shapes of the neck and saucer shuttlebay area. It's much like the new Enterprise. The Ent-E is another story. If one can successfully build that ship, they can pretty much build anything. It has a little bit of everything.

Q: Would you care to share with the readers anything about what you plan to release in the BCFiles Mass Release? And will it be available for both Bridge Commander, and possibly Legacy ?

  The Proteus-class ship I built in August that is reminiscent of a speedboat. The other is a secret that only I and Meteorfallen will keep until Christmas/Christmas Eve. It is a fan favorite that no one has built for either game. They are only for BC, but not too many people in Legacy are good at converting my ships.

Q: You seem to take on a lot of projects at once, are you not afraid of stretching your resources too thin?

  Preferably I like to do everything myself on my own time. Other people have different schedules and sometimes might be pushy to get their project done. That's why I quit being a ship texturer for Excalibur- it was a bit out of my skill level and half of the stuff they wanted me to do I had no clue how to. But now, I might have the ability to re-join. I still think that modding for BC is more fun and the positive comments are nice.

Q: Can you share with us any bad experiences you have had in your times of modding?

  Attempting to make the Narada for BC. It was frustrating. The model kept warping and stretching whenever I exported it. I never released the ship.

Q: I once recall a small scrap you had with Filefront, how was it that you came to be banned from there, and what was your reaction to the whole situation?

  I was kitbashing the Dignity Class made by Zambie Zan making it into the Enterprise-J. I didn't ask for permission or never got a reply back from ZZ for kitbashing and I got banned from Filefront for 3 days. I sent a polite email to Starforce2 saying that banning me was harsh and a warning would have done just as well. Soon enough I was back on Filefront.

Q: After all that was said and done, was your perception about the community changed in any way?

  I just had to be careful. Always give permission and let the original owner know what is being changed to their mod. Since then everything was smooth sailing. Generally people are very nice and you get quick responses.

Q: Can you give us a run down of your modeling process? How you do come up with your designs?

  I've pretty much been building existing ships for BC, making them updated and high-res to keep up with today's computers. It is only until now I've started making my own unique designs. The Proteus is the only original ship so far. I just grab my sketchbook and start drawing. Do lots of drawings, keep parts you like and refine the shapes. The basic ship designs have already been laid out for us, it is just a matter of rearranging and redesigning the components.

Q: Word has been going around that you are planning on entering the Star Trek Online Enterprise-F Contest, Would you like to address this now?

  Yes. I'm entering in the Design the Next Enterprise Contest. Designing a ship worthy of being named Enterprise is very difficult for a fan. Just trying to make it not look like another ship is hard enough as it is. I don't plan on winning the grand prize, but it would be nice to at least get a lifetime subscription or a signed poster. It's way to early to tell.

Q: So what else can we expect next from you after the holidays? What's at the top of you to-do list?

  My Enterprise-D is 75% done and I have yet to export it for game use. I plan on having another ID4 ship pack for July 2011 because the last one was a big success. I'll be updating my previously released ships with better updated ones and maybe throwing in some new ships too.

And we'll end today's interview with this question...

Q: Aside from what you are releasing, what ship or mod are you the most excited about seeing in the Bcfiles Christmas mass release?

Sovereign001's High Quality Planet textures (they have been already released) and Baz1701's TMP bridge.

I would like to thank Wiley, for being able to take part in this interview on such short notice.

  There is no doubt on why he is now being called one of the greats. His ships are exquisite, extremely detailed pieces of work. And while he may just now be starting to build his own creations, I have no doubt that we have not see anything yet, compared to what awaits in the years to come.

 It has been a pleasure to work with him on the Sentinel so far, and I can not wait to see how it looks when he is finished with it. I am also thrilled to say that I have been given the privilege to beta test his Christmas surprise, which should be extremely fun.

And that's it for Part One! Please join us very soon for Part Two, featuring another one of the next generation of BC modelers as DJ Curtis sits down with me for the second half of the Christmas Special.

Until then I'm Angel Hernandez, this has been Spotlight...and Happy Holidays.

Show Notes

Below you will find the links to Wiley's BCFiles profile page, as well as his DeviantArt page.

He has also provided a link to his brother's website, whom of which is the creator of Hyper Boy Comics. 

Wiley's BCFIles Profie Page:
http://bridgecommander.filefront.com/developer/WileyCoyote;17941

Wiley's DeviantArt Page:
http://trekmodeler.deviantart.com/

MattWileyArt's Website:
http://mattwileyart.com/index.html

Please remember to leave a comment, to share your thoughts on the interview.

]]><![CDATA[Spotlight Episode Four: Muldrf]]>Thu, 16 Dec 2010 04:16:45 -0500http://meteorcreations.weebly.com/2/post/2010/12/spotlight-episode-four-muldrf.htmlGreetings everyone! I am Angel Hernandez and welcome to episode four of Spotlight.

 Today I will be joined by another member of the Ultimate Universe Mod team, he has been part of the modding team for a little over three years now, and in that time he has done impeccable work for the mod. Recently he was made the second Assistant Director, and also holds the title of Quality Assurance Director. 

 Please welcome to the program Mr.Travis Durf, but we all know him as Muldrf.
Picture
Thanks for joining us today Muldrf, first off lets start off with some basic questions...


Q: So how long have you been in the modding community for? And when did you start?

As far as the Legacy modding community I have been working with CJG/UU since the middle of  2007.  I had done some minor things prior to joining the UU team but nothing I ever released.  The first and only other mods I ever released were some maps for Doom 2 back when it was new.  I tinkered around after that with maps for other games, but nothing very serious.

Q:What was it about modding that fascinated you, and was that why you ultimately got into modding yourself?

To me Modding is most fascinating in that it lets you add things to games that you always wanted.  The reason I actively became a member of UU was because a special situation happened to overlap one of with abilities from my job, more on that later though.

Q: Can you recall the first thing you attempted to script?

As far as “Legacy Mission Scripting”, which is what most referred to in Legacy as Scripting.  That would be easy, it was what became the Vs Battle mode.  Remore, who happens to be one of the brightest people I have ever come across, was talking about something he found in the Mission Scripting that he expected would let you create a real customizable battle where you picked the exact enemy ships you would fight.  That’s all the incentive I needed to learn scripting and try to tackle it.  It was a major lacking feature in the game, and it was one I REALLY wanted.  That’s what Skirmish should have been to start, and it came out far better than I ever though possible.

Q: How was it that you first heard about the Ultimate Universe Mod?

I came across UU on the no longer existing Official Star Trek Legacy forums that Bethesda use to maintain.  I was very active over there, while I didn’t mod I got in discussions and followed all the modders there.  I tinkered with a few things but left it up to the people with the time.
                                                                                                            This interview continues after the break.
Q: In your own opinion, how do you feel you were received within the Ultimate Universe Team when you first started? 

I was received very well by them.  My work was on a very small part of the mod at that time, but we all talked regular on Team Speak and had quite a lot of fun those days in multiplayer.

Q: What was the first thing you released for legacy? And how do you think it faired within the community? 

That would be the old Race Selection tool (which is now called the UUTools) that was part of the UU Dominion pack release in August 2007.  It was a small part of quite a nice pack so there wasn’t a lot of feedback.

As far as an “independent” release.  That would have been the Modified Legacy Mission Editor.  I had done a fair bit of making the original Bethesda Mission Editor more user friendly.  It was received very well by the mission scripters of the day.

Q: Do you intend to mod for any other game than Star Trek Legacy?

Not at this time.

In this next section we talk more about casual gaming, and other Trek related topics.

Q: So what are a few of your favorite games ? And they do not have to be related to Star Trek.

I play very little these days but some old favorites would be Summoner, Ultima Ascension, the Mechwarrior games and Mech Commander.  I have to throw in Wing Commander Prophecy, X Wing Alliance.  There really hasn’t been anything very recent that has left a lasting impression.

Q: Do you console game at all? And if so what is your preferred console? Also would you like to share your gamertag with the readers?

I don’t play consoles these days.  Well I play a little Wii but I hesitate to call it a Console..

Ha ha, I would have to agree with you on that one. The only time I get excited about playing a Wii, Is when Wii Bowling is involved. 


Q: Do you have any favorite Star Trek games, and which was the first one you owned?

Star Trek 25th Anniversary for the PC is my favorite all time Trek game.   The first Trek games I ever had were Star Trek 25th Anniversary for the NES and Gameboy as I got both for Christmas that year.

Q: How long have you been a Star Trek fan, also what was your favorite and least liked series growing up?

I’ve been a fan since the mid 80s sometime.  I was a bit young to call myself a fan but soon as I found the Original Series reruns I was hooked.

Q: Do you have a favorite Trek movie of all time? And explain your reason behind the choice.

Star Trek 2 of course is the all time best Trek film.  It had a great nemesis, not to mention the most amazing space battle in the films.  It wasn’t a one sided battle, and overall was largely a fair fight, after the ambush and trickery was out of the way.

Q: What is your favorite class of ship? And what makes it unique to you? (It can be either canon, or non canon)

My favorite ship off all time has to be the Original Connie.  It was the true first, which makes it unique in a way that no others can be.  It has a simple majestic beauty to it.  There are a lot of amazing designs out there though.

Q: What are a few of your favorite mods?

Hmm.  I’m a sucker for canon ships, what ever series they might be from.  That is if they are done reasonably well.  For specifics that fall outside that the first to come to mind are CoolGuy’s ships.

In the final section of the interview, we get talk more about his involvement with the Ultimate Universe Mod. 

Q: What was your reaction to being made one of two assistant directors of the Ultimate Universe Mod?

“I don’t have the time”.  I think that’s basically why when Mindwipe moved on that there became two of us.  That’s the only way I would even accept the title.  For a good while I had added “2nd” to the beginning of the title.


Q: In your opinion what is the one defining feature of Ultimate Universe, that no one else has yet to accomplish?

Chris is never afraid of “giving them to much”.  People want options so Chris says give them options.  So while some have in the past said there is “to much”, we prefer that to leaving people wanting more.  Our goal is to make the best and most complete Trek Universe in Legacy, some might say to make the “Ultimate” Trek “Universe” for Legacy.

Q: So what was it that motivated you create the Ultimate Universe Modding Tools? Chris mentioned it as being a funny story.

The first thing I did for UU was the Race Selection tool.  Chris had made some batch files that copied alternate race files to change what race you could pick ships from in the now removed One on One mode.  I didn’t like having 6 icons plus Legacy itself for that.  I had been writing batch files for fun and work for years, so I spent maybe an hour writing a single “smarter” batch file that could handle it all in one and posted it to the UU Forum.  That wasn’t good enough for me so I looked of another framework to use and came up with what is called a hta file, basically an executable webpage.  That soon gave way to a Visual Basic Application and the UUTools was born.  They have grown in features ever since and are many thousands of lines of code.  It has been a great learning experience.

Q: In your opinion, what is the most difficult aspect of scripting for a game like Legacy?

The biggest problem with Legacy mission scripting is that it’s “nearly” C++, and that good solid code doesn’t “always” work as expected.  That quickly becomes frustrating to scripters.  When you spend many hours making the script to find it does work right and spend many more trying to get it to work.  Sometimes you find it was right, but because you used a specific variable name it failed to work.  

Q: If you had just introduced a friend to the Ultimate Universe Mod, which feature would you point out to them first?

That would have to be all the amazing ships.  After all this time on of my favorite things to do in the game is look at these beauties up close.  In part it has to do with wanting to see more of the ships and that I loved onscreen, and in part it’s to look at the amazing work done by the artists and modelers.  There are literally hundreds of ships in UU and they were created by a large number of talented artists, many for other games and some specifically for UU and/or Legacy.

I would like to read you a quote that your friend Chris Jones said about you last week, in the first episode.

 “His attention to detail is second to none – and I can say that without him – The Ultimate Universe would not be where it is as you read this. His attention to the Star Trek XI pack resulted in a lot of players enjoying the level of detail. “

Q: What persuaded you to port Baz1701's ST XI Ships to Legacy, and the Ultimate Universe Mod? 

We had been talking about doing an XI Pack since before the release of UU2.0 in November 2009.  I eventually learned to port.  After awhile I came across Baz’s XI and XI Inspired models and things fell into place.  As I have that crazy attention to detail I included as many features in the porting process as I could.  The less standard features of the models are that the station is usable as a dockable repair station, the shuttle has custom “smaller” lights  to better fit it’s scale, it also shares the animated bussards from the XI Connie even though they are nearly impossible to see.  For all ships it was practical I included breaknodes they also include plasma emitters which is a feature the stock ships had but I believe Moonraker is the only one to have used them in the past.  The XI Connie styled ships all have the texture animated bussards and translucent bussard domes.  All of the models feature low poly damage meshes, as well as custom strobe patterns on the lights.  One issue that I addressed that is often seen with ported ships is the sprite based lights will show through the hull of the ship.  Another issue we usually refer to as torpedo circling was minimized as much as I could manage, although it’s never perfect it is greatly improved from what it “would have been”.  

Q: What is it like being assistant director of the Ultimate Universe Mod? I assume there are a lot of responsibilities?  

Basically I coordinate and compile all our beta and release builds and keep track of what people are working on what part of the mod.  I also contact people who release content we would like to include in future UU released to obtain permissions to use their work.  I’m also the QA Director and take care to ensure that anything coming into the mod meets our release standards.  I also work to bring anything already released up to our current standards.

Q: Now that you have begun to do touch-up on models, do you plan to begin to learn how to model, and eventually build your own ships?

I might eventually learn to make my own models, but honestly with the time I have to devote to it I doubt anyone will ever see something I built in Legacy.

Q: How do you see Star Trek gaming progressing in the next few years? 

At this point Legacy has some age to it, and it wasn’t exactly the perfect engine to start with.  I don’t know where Star Trek gaming will be in a few years unless something like Excalibur gets released.

And I think we will end the interview with this question...

Q: With the release of Star Trek Online, do you believe Chris Jones Gaming can continue to keep the Ultimate Universe Mod up-to date, and unique? 

I haven’t played  STO, so I can’t say how it might affect Legacy’s lifespan.  I’m doubtful STO will have literally hundreds of unique ships at your disposal with the press of a button, so games such as Legacy will still have their place.  We have long term plans of continuous improvement to the mod by bringing the quality of existing content up, as well as the inclusion of new content such as maps and ships and custom scripted missions.  Until something better suited to our needs comes along we will keep improving Legacy to the best of our abilities.

I would once again like to thank Muldrf for taking time out of his work in the Ultimate Universe Mod, to participate in this interview. 

 I wasn't around much when Muldrf was working his magic, but I was very glad to see the end result of his hard work. And I can't wait to see what he brews up next for UUM. It's also nice to see that UUM is in good hands, with him and Phoenix as assistant directors. 

Please join me for next week's Christmas special, and to keep it in the spirit of Christmas, I will make next weeks guest a surprise :D

Until then I'm Angel Hernandez, and this...has been Spotlight. 

Show Notes

All of Muldrf's work can be found in the Ultimate Universe Mod for Star Trek: Legacy.

The Official Website Of Star Trek Legacy: The Ultimate Universe
http://www.ultimateuniversemod.net

As always please feel free to give your opinion on today's interview, and leave a comment.

I would also like to take this opportunity to announce that after the Christmas special, that I will be making Spotlight a one day a week event. This decision was made due to the fact that it will make it easier on myself to line up guests, and to ensure a level of continuous quality on each interview. They will be posted every Wednesday.
]]><![CDATA[Spotlight Episode Three: Bankrupt Studios]]>Tue, 14 Dec 2010 04:55:04 -0500http://meteorcreations.weebly.com/2/post/2010/12/spotlight-episode-three-bankrupt-studios.htmlGreetings everyone. I am Angel Hernandez, and welcome to Spotlight Episode Three.

 Today I will be speaking with one of the newest members of the Bridge Commander modding community.

  In the two years that he has been here, he has released more than 17 mods that range from the Vesta Class, to the USS Jenolan. He has also even given us an ant's perspective with the E.V.A. Suit, and has brought to life several designs from others within the community. Such as the Legacy Class by Galen from GK Designs, and the Corinium Class by Hobbs.

Please welcome the founder of Starfleet R&D, Mr. Bankrupt Studios himself, Greg Smith.
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Q: So how long have you been in the modding community for? And when did you start?

Well, I’ve been modding games since late 2006. I had got Star Trek Legacy pre ordered and for some damn reason I got my copy like a month after. So it took roughly a month to beat it (at the time I was working 13 hours a day and I also have kids to spend time with) and by then there were a couple of new ships out so I DL’ed them to play. During this time I was also playing a My Space Star Trek Role Playing game ( funny enough, this is where I meet my Wife) and I wanted some cool pic’s of ships. That’s when I decided to do my first mod, and all it was was changing the letters on the Enterprise, lol. From there I did loads of stuff for Sims 2.

Q:What was it about modding that fascinated you, and was that why you ultimately got into modding yourself?

The closest I might be able to come to answering that is seeing all the new classes of ships being built by other modders and the fact that they looked so good and at times so real. But I never really thought about modeling. I had wanted to do a free internet comic starring a lot of ships from Legacy and BC but to get some of the screen shots that I would need meant I would have to get in to the model itself. So I looked around and got 3ds Max on sale, unaware that I simply could have used Nif Scope for the BC stuff, lol. So I stopped looking at ships for a while because I was deep into researching Star Trek and writing scripts, I got around 13 full scripts and then realized that I had no idea what my ship was, lol.

Q: Do you remember the first thing you tried to build?

Yes, I tried to fix Hobbs’ USS Griffin for the internet comic. During the process he wanted things changed and we ended up building a completely new ship called the Dragon that was never released. Then, a little while later we did the Corinium, a ship he designed and I built... well actually kit-bashed, from Red Dragon’s Sovereign. That was our first official mod.

Q: How was it that you heard about the Bridge Commander modding community?

It was in a search for a ship that was going to be a lead ship in my show. I stumbled across DJ’s Leonides Class USS Raptor. Immediately I fell in love with it.

                                                                                                            The interview continues after the break.
Q: In your own opinion, how do you feel you were received within the BC modding community when you first started?

In the BC central forums it was actually pretty good. You get a couple of people that get annoyed with all the questions I asked, especially since you don’t know the name of what you’re asking so you can’t search for it on the forum. Other than that, the positive energy and the fact I was very well received in BC forum is the reason I chose to mod for BC. I was going to do all my mods for Legacy and for Armada, but the people on those forums were, let’s say – less welcoming.

Q: What was your first mod released? And how well was it received?

It was the Executive shuttle – SD 103. People seemed to like it. At this point it was just a texture job and then I did the modding and texturing on Corinium NX.

Q: Do you mod for any other games other than Star Trek ones?

I used to, in the beginning. I modded for Sims 2. I planned on doing some UGC later on for the foundry over at Star Trek Online.

This portion of the interview consists of casual gaming, and other trek related questions.

Q: So what are a few of your favorite games?

Absolutely favorite game/series ever is Resident Evil. From there, I’d have to say HALO and now Star Trek Online, I’m a lifer for that one.

Q: Do you console game at all? And if so what is your preferred machine? Also would you like to share your gamertag?

Yes, I do console, it was a hobby of mine to collect consoles and games since my very first Atari. I have everything from Atari to the new XBOX360. That includes Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Game Cube, Wii, PSX, PS1, PS2, Dreamcast, Sega, Sega Genesis. I even have the Bently Com-View system, the very first home video game. So you could say I’ve got a lot of them, and let’s not even go into games. I do have to say, XBOX and Wii are my favorites. My gamertag is enforcerknight1.

Q: What are your favorite Trek games? Which was your first one?

My first one was Armada 2. My favorite one has to be Star Trek Online.

Q: How long have you been a Star Trek fan, also what was your favorite and least liked series growing up?

I’ve been a Star Trek fan for as long as I can remember. As a kid, I’d watch Captain Kirk, Spock and Bones every Saturday morning, while “normal” kids watched “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”. My favorite series, hands down, is TOS and least liked, hmmm… probably Voyager. It’s just something about making the Borg real cheesy that didn’t sit well with me.

Q: Do you have a favorite Trek movie of all time? And explain your reason behind the choice.

That’s simple! My favorite Star Trek movie of all time is the new Star Trek by J.J. Abrams. Reason being is that not only was it a kick ass movie, but it has gathered more interest in Star Trek so that hopefully it comes back to life and continues to prosper ;). Let’s face it, we, the Trekkies, are killing Star Trek. My case point – look at Enterprise. Awesome series, loved it. Then a whole wack of Trekkies complained that someone was singing in the theme song and that it wasn’t classical. Oh, come on people!!! I think a hundred years from now, people will still be listening to Rock, Jazz and probably a new category of music we probably haven’t even heard of yet. And sure, they made mistakes, but what series hasn’t made them, starting with TOS. It has contradicted itself over and over again, so you have to look at the core of the idea. As long as the core is good and sound, then whatever the mistakes, they should be forgivable. The JJ Abrams core is good, sound and proper with me. All the ideas that Star Trek upholds are firmly in place in this movie.

Q: What is your favorite class of ship? And what makes it unique to you?

My favorite has to be the Akira class, I love the fact it has the hull above the saucer and it’s profile is so predatory you have to think twice before going up against it.

Q: Do you have any favorite mods, aside from your own?

Kobayashi Maru hands down. Everything you want in a one stop shop and trust me, I hate shopping, just ask my wife :)

Q: If you could recommend any one of your mods to a first time Star Trek player, which would you suggest and why?

I think the new Star Trek R&D engineering kit that has just been released. It has over 80 new canon and non-canon weapon and engine sounds and new accurate weapons textures. Plus our new mods like the Vista prototype, Legacy class and Storm Crow.


  As we come to the final section of today's interview,Bankrupt studios would like to announce that he is also decided to retire from Bridge Commander modding, to work on an undisclosed project.

Q: In the short time that you have been with the community you have done fantastic work. Why the sudden decision to leave?

My work schedule’s is pretty demanding, plus my family needs my attention too. Coupled with my new venture, I have my hands pretty much full. Mind ya, I’d love to drop a model here and there if I get the time.

Q: Are you currently working on anything that you would be willing to share with the readers? And wil you allow these ships to be ported to other Star Trek games?

My last projects have been completed and are in Beta testing phase. They’ll be released for Christmas. Any model done by me for Star Fleet R&D can be ported to other games as long as I get notified in advance and I get the credit for it. As for my future new venture, I’m really excited about it. It’s still in infancy stage, so be on a look out lol.

Q: Lets talk a bit about your modeling process, are you the type of person to stick with schematics, or are you a someone who likes to think outside the box?

I’d say I’m a bit of both. It depends on a project really. If I’m building a canon ship, I like to stick with the schematics so everything is where it’s supposed to be. If it’s a non-canon ship, most of the time I look at the shapes and see what logically fits the ship. Then I take it from there. If I only have one view of the ship or a ship that has no detail, then I’ll be waaaay outside the box.

Q How long does it usually take you, from design to finish, to complete a ship?

It varies on the ship and how I feel about the design. If my creative juices aren’t flowing, it’ll take me longer. If I’m passionate about a ship, I can have it done in as little as a week, from start to finish.

Q: How many people have helped you so far in your latest endeavor?

Luckily, I have assembled an awesome team. Hobbs, he’s our deigner/researcher. He’s always great for support and different ideas. Then we have Tiqhud, he does an awesome job doing the out-fitting for the ships and the HPs. Recently JB06 has been doing spectacular textures for me. Gustav Munez, another modeler on my team, has been doing the Star Fleet Museum. Then there’s Baz1701 – enough said. Last, but not least, Leonides, he’s our crash test dummy, he handles all of our betas and just an awesome guy to be around.

Q: Out of everything that you have built up to this point, which has given you the most amount of difficulty?

My hardest ship would have to have been the Vista prototype. It took about two months of just talking to Mark and convincing him to let me do the project. After he finally said yes, we agreed to do it as a prototype, so the big wigs at Star Trek don’t get upset. The ship took me about a month to do. I didn’t have the picture of the ship’s rear, so I had to improvise there, thus making it a prototype.

Q: How do you see Star Trek gaming progressing in the next 2-3 years?

Well, sad thing is, I don’t really see it progressing that much. We have Star Trek Online, which is totally awesome. It gives you any format of play that you want to play, but other than STO everyone is waiting for Star Trek Excalibur. And we have been waiting for how many years now? And how many more years will we have to wait? Everything they show looks really good and I myself, can’t wait to play it, but I’m just tired of endless waiting.

Right now, we as Trekkies are stuck in an endless loop when it comes to Star Trek gaming. No game, no matter how good or how close they try to get it, that has been released in the past 10 years, has been openly welcomed by Trekkies. There are some free to play web browser Star Trek games coming soon, but it’s most likely that big studios won’t endeavor to make more Star Trek games because we are not that open to new ideas. Funnily enough, that is the core message of Star Trek.

And for today's final question...

 Q:  With the approach of Christmas just around the corner, which ship or mod are you excited about seeing in the BCFiles mass release?

I’m pretty excited about all of them, but there are two that top my list. Wiley Coyote’s NX-Proteus class ship, which I’ve had the pleasure of beta testing and DJ Curtis’ Cruiser. These two guys plus Baz always come out with new and exciting ship designs which make Star Trek modding better and better by raising the bar higher and higher. In my opinion, these three modders keep BC alive and are the reason I was inspired to start modding in the first place. After I’m long and gone, I have the feeling that these guys will still be modding in warp 10 with their never ending skills and visions.

 I wish Bankrupt the best of luck in his latest endeavor, and can not wait to see what this mysterious project is. I have no doubt he will do incredible work, just as he has done for Bridge Commander.

Please join me this Thursday, as I speak with the Ultimate Universe Mod Assistant Director Muldrf.

Until then I am Angel Hernandez, and this...has been Spotlight.

Show Notes


All of Bankrupt Studios ships, and the rest of Starfleet R&D's mods can be found on their BCfiles profile page:
http://bridgecommander.filefront.com/developer/Starfleet_RD;32435

The forums of Starfleet R&D can be located here:
http://startrekfrontlines.lefora.com/

Feel free to give your opinion on this interview and leave a comment.

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