Welcome to Rooster 3D Studios.
NEWS
2009.June.15  
It's a long-overdue update, but a lot of things have been going on for Rooster3D. For starters, some of the GI Joe vehicles have gotten a Crysis treatment. It's not the best game engine for a GI Joe game, but it sure looks great. These vehicle images are from screenshots taken within the game editor.

2007.November.28  
New renders! WOOT! Check the GI Joe Renders section for new renders in the GI Joe section. Newly updated renders include the HISS and VAMP, and completely new are the FANG, Killer WHALE, Mauler, RAM, Rattler, Skystriker, Stinger, Trubble Bubble, and Water Moccasin. I hope the new images get you as fired up as I am!
2007.January.02  
A quick update here for y'all. For those of you that are still fans of the UT2004 Yo Joe mod, I have provided a link to the file I created on FileFront.com. You can get Yo Joe here, or find it at File Front.

Be on the look out for a few more WIP images coming soon. In focus right now are the HISS, Mauler, and Stinger 4x4. Things are shaping up nicely... a bit slow, but coming along well. See you here soon!
2006.November.19  
We have five more Yo Joe WIP images to look at.

First, there's the GI Joe Slugger, a mobile giant cannon, featured in two images. I'm not sure how it will best work in the game, but it will be there nonetheless. If you've played Battlefield 2, then the Slugger will probably act like the commander's artillery, except that anyone can fire it and it is mobile.

Next is a group shot of all the GI Joe team vehicles that have been started on or completed thus far. Again there are two pictures here, with different angles. In one of the shots, Wild Bill is posing with the set. When I make more Cobra team vehicles, I'll do a similar image for them. See if you can identify the latest vehicle addition to the set so far. I'll give you a hint: It's white.

Last is an image of the nearly completed (again) VAMP. I did it up like the box art on a GI Joe toy package. The VAMP's real box art looks different, but this is more of an inspired treatment rather than a re-make. What's different about the VAMP from its previous releases and the WIP images is that there are a few more polygons and some texture detail. the most significant addition is the normal map. A normal map is an advanced method of making a flat surface look like it has bumps on it, by creating shading and highlights. When a light moves in relation to the object, the "bump's" shadows also move, thus creating an illusion that there is actually a bump (or dent) there. Height mapping does the same thing, but the effects are not as dynamic. Nav on over to the renders section and see if you can tell the difference between a modeled bump and a Normal Map bump on the box art VAMP.
2006.October.30  
A few minor updates for the Joe fans out there - again in the renders section. Added was the Sky Hawk and Wild Bill. The Sky Hawk is one of my existing models that is undergoing an overhaul. Wild Bill has never been announced on this site, even though I haven't done anything with it since about Feb '06. Still looks good and I added the explosive box art background to one of the WB renders.

If you've been trying to reach the Atari Forums from my link on the mods section lately, then you may have noticed that the link was gone. Epic has moved the Unreal Tournament forums to their own site, instead of depending on Atari to host them. I think Atari may be dissolving. Nonetheless, the link has been edited and you can still see the Yo Joe thread as an archive at Epic Games Forums.
2006.October.25  
It has been too long since my last update, but I will do my best to bring news more frequently. Today I have a few announcements.

First, there is a new subsection added to the site, which showcases works-in-progress of GI Joe models. Different from actual in-game screenshots, these renderings present the models in various stages of development, from one-color models that need geometrical detail, to fully sculpted models lacking merely a little texture (surface) detail. So, make sure you check out the GI Joe Renders section.

Next up, I have decided to switch game engines for the Yo Joe! project. Previously, I was using Unreal Tournament 2004 as foundation for playing my GI Joe models. UT2004 runs on the Unreal Engine 2. After playing Battlefield 2 and Battlefield 2142 for a little bit, I have decided to switch to their game engine, Python, using the BF2 Editor as the conversion tool. Unreal Engine 2 was and still is quite capable, and I'm sure Unreal Engine 3 (which will be the engine for UT2007) will be an extremely capable tool. However, with the Battlefield games, the foundation is already laid out for military action games that require teamwork to play really well. This is trait I want for the Yo Joe! game.

Another noteworthy announcement is that Colin Greenhalgh, one of my former students, has agreed to work a little bit with Yo Joe. So far, he has modeled the GI Joe Mauler MBT tank, and is working on the texture for it. Colin has an exceptional ability to create military-style models and is a greatly appreciated contributor to this project. I will have some of his work up sometime soon, but for now you can see them at his blog, Industry Relevant. (and this is he Mauler MBT render link)

Lastly, in regards to the Unreal Transformers project, I have decided to leave that project. This is kind of old news, but I still wish that team all the best in their Transformers endeavors.
2006.March.23  
Rooster3D is now actively involved in the Unreal Transformers project, with the folks that brought us TFQ - Transformers Quake. TFQ was a popular mod for the Quake 2 Engine, and is frequently updated to this day. UTF is a tentative title, but the project will use some version of the Unreal Engine (hopefully Unreal 3.x or whatever they will use for Unreal 2007). Scot will be contributing his Transformers models for the project, as well as creating new models. Visit Unreal Transformers for more info.
 
2006.February.03  
Ok the GI Joe vehicles have been updated. Even though they are still in Beta phase, I believe they are much more improved over the previous versions. Changes in code have resulted in more solid vehicles and no dependencies. That means it will work even if you don't have (insert mod name). Because I was using existing code to springboard my vehicles, there were artifacts that created that problem. Cool little tidbits, like rudders flapping, engines rotating, etc., have been added. Poly detail has increased and Textures have been added. Major changes to the VAMP and Stinger include a shortening of the wheelbase and removal of the rear seats (more like the toys). The ICING on the cake is that there is one more vehicle included - the Cobra Water Moccasin, and it's my best model yet, artistically. It's a straight shooting (double meaning) boat with forward cannons and a passenger turret machine gun. Check back soon for screenies, or just download the YoJoe Vehicles 01 Beta and see for yourself.
 
2005.November.08  
There are a few more goodies to download now, including a Blaster Master buggy and the GI Joe vehicles. The BM Buggy, which is designated as Nora MA-01 and named Sophia the 3rd (I am so not making this up), has just undergone a bit of engineering and close attention in order to get it to work rather closely to what I wanted. I tweaked and tweaked... it was so tedious. I still will be going back to it to try and figure out why the lod's become transparent, and to finish the textures. Then again to add jumping and a way to make the character turn with the turret.

The Joe and Cobra vehicles have been up for a while, but I have been neglecting to mention it as a site update until I had confirmation they work on someone else's machine. Even though they work, I have already been heavily working on the models to get them updated. They mostly all need some serious code tweaking as well.

The downloads can be found in the Video Game Modifications section.
 
2005.June.16  
Rooster 3D is now officially launched. Hooray and streams of confetti! So take a few moments and look around at all the 3D roostery goodness.

To start you off, we have a whole lot of content for the Video Game Modifications section, like screenshots of the GI Joe vehicles and the Transformers Bumblebee vehicle mode test. While you're there, look in the Transformers Renders area to see what characters are in the works. If you're into cars, be sure to check out the Toonerz section to see what will be rolling out in the near future. There are a few other pages to visit too, so don't forget to scope 'em out.
 

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