Urban Assault Vehicle

[Amad]

Sup guys, just getting back to some projects for the summer!

I've had this idea for a semi-futuristic 3 wheeled armored vehicle... something that police or MP could use in a partner situation (ie: a driver and a gunner). This is where it's at so far.

I still need to go through and optimize. Right now I'm at 2460 tris.

Any feedback on design or anything else would be appreciated :)

Thanks in advance,

Josh

[dabu]

exhaust pipes are way too dense compared to the rest of the car... silouette isn't working for me yet, feels unbalanced.

[z_2]

the front bumper (i'm assuming it's suppose to open blocked paths) need to look more aerodynamic. You got this really sleek body design with good airflow but the front is breaking that look.

[brentonsmith]

The back tire looks too far back. It looks like it is in danger of snapping off.

[Amad]

Thanks for all the critiques. I think they helped to make this thing stronger, and I'm really feeling it now.

I added some stability to the frame in the way of wheel mount supports, changed the shape of the front bumper and added a vent in back. The idea is in a riot situation, that top/back vent could create smoke screens or spew tear gas or something like that. Hopefully this helps the overall shape.

[dabu]

improved, for sure. your underlying design is a little difficult though, it looks like it wants to be both heavy and armored, and light and fast. the 3 wheel design fights the notion that this is a heavy tough vehicle.

I would tend to make it 4 wheeled instead...

[brentonsmith]

or make the third wheel double-thick. Also...the front wheels are lacking any detail, like rims. They seem like wood or stone flintstones wheels.

[Amad]

I agree about the design conflict... that's why this idea spent more time in my head than in maya.

I'm thinking that the best thing to do would be to widen the rear wheel enough to tip the scales towards armored and heavy.

The other problem I'm running into is 3 wheeled cars in general just kinda look off. It might be because the world's been using 4 wheeled cars forever, so seeing that one rear wheel just feels weird. Either way, it's hard to get something that looks right.

I'm gonna mess with different scenarios and come back with something this week.

Anyway thanks for the additional feedback. Off to maya again.

Josh

[dabu]

while thinking of nimble vs armored, consider the vehicle design from the new batman series...

http://www.uncrate.com/men/images/batma ... umbler.jpg (http://www.uncrate.com/men/images/batman-begins-tumbler.jpg)

http://herocentral.com.au/blog/wp-conte ... tpod22.jpg (http://herocentral.com.au/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/batpod22.jpg)

both of these are beefier looking, but also fast...

[Amad]

Dabu, thanks for the links! I'm noticing that a lot of armored vehicles lend themselves well to low poly modeling.

I've redone the back by widening the shape and adding a fourth wheel. The two back wheels are very close together so it doesn't detract from the overall design, but it does make more visual sense than it did before. I'll tweak it more and post soon.

[Charlie Volpe]

I was wondering how it is going to steer? The back wheel may need more free motion if you want it to be a really maneuverable vehicle.

[rburke]

well to retain the 3 wheel design while also making it seem like it could actually turn i would do a few things. First of all i would raise the front fenders a bit from the ground for this next thing to work. If the front wheels could turn slightly and also if the body of the vehicle would be able to shift slightly from side to side while the wheels remain fixed it would be like one of the cool 4 wheeled motorcycles. What I'm trying to get at is that regular cars turn due to the wheels turning and pulling the car in that direction. However another approach is to allow the body to "roll" over the wheels shifting the weight of the vehicle. A motorcycle works like this hence the the rounded tires that allow you to lean and keep some rubber on the ground. Now you got a issue though is if you lean too far the tires break loose and you wipe out. sooo, by making 2 wheels in the front that can still be tilted while staying on the ground you just doubled your front end traction, yay. I did not explain it too well so here is a scooter that does that. called the piaggio mp3 400 this video will show it in action so you can get an idea what I'm rambling about.

http://www.piaggiousa.com/scooters.php#/videos/Piaggio%20MP3%20400

so a few things that relate directly to your model are.. more rounded tires, slightly narrower tires in front also more rounded. and a way for it to pivot while keeping the front wheels on the ground. This will prob include separating the front fenders from the body.

[rburke]

oh and you would never want the back wheel to turn as that would make it like a forklift, it makes the vehicle able to turn on a dime but it will roll over at speeds higher than 1 mph lol.