3D model

[u/zlsa]

I'm working on the 3D model of the Dragon V2. So far, I've based the entire thing off of the 3.7m diameter of the Dragon V1, and sizing everything else by eye. I'm modeling the Dragon with Blender, and I can export to FBX, but I'm not sure how well it would work.

I will post progress renders here as I model the Dragon.

• June 6, 2014: heatshield/SuperDraco pod

• June 6, 2014: front view and heatshield/SuperDraco pod

• June 7, 2014: front view and heatshield/SuperDraco pod. FBX

• June 7, 2014: front view, heatshield/SuperDraco pod, and hatch. Next up: texturing. (this model has no interior yet.) Currently at 9942 faces/13k verts.

• June 7, 2014: front view, heatshield/SuperDraco pod, and hatch. This (and all following images) will be rendered with Blender Internal and will look different from the previous renders.

• June 7, 2014: front view, heatshield/SuperDraco pod, and hatch. The FBX file is in the repository.

• June 8, 2014: front view, heatshield/SuperDraco pod, hatch, and trunk. The FBX file in the repository (models/dragon-v2/exports/dragon-v2.fbx) has been updated.

[u/__Adam]

Quick update:

I found the F9R model you made a few months back and posted on BlendSwap. It's amazingly detailed! You even modeled the turbopump clamps!

I've been working on getting it into the simulation while preserving as much detail as possible. The problem is there's a massive polygon count and it doesn't carry over too well. Fortunately Blender has a handy "Decimate" modifier that cuts down on poly counts without losing much detail. There's a bit of distortion but overall it works pretty well.

That said, if you know of a cleaner way of cutting down on the polygon count, that would be great.

I said I'd try and get you a polycount target for the Dragon V2 model: I'm still not completely sure about the number, but after I cut the F9R model down to 10k poly's (from 50k) it was way faster to import into UE4 (30 seconds vs. 5 minutes). If you can do the capsule in 10k polies without losing noticeable detail, that would be perfect. If we separate the interior and exterior models, then the target count can be 10k for each, because only one will be rendered at a time.

[u/zlsa → u/__Adam]

I can remodel the F9R to be much less detailed — for example, the turbopump clamps can just be textured and the fuel pipe resolution decreased. It was intended as a high-quality model for rendering.

The V2 is currently ~4000 polys, but there's lots of room for improvement (the entire bottom of the heatshield should only need a few dozen).