WIP: Futuristic F1 Model (4-27 UPDATE)

[RobertT]

4/27 UPDATE: Please see the SECOND PAGE for the latest version of this model. Thanks!!

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Original post:

Here’s something I’ve been working on for the F1 contest. It’s supposed to be a futuristic F1 racer that has a little a story I made up to go along with it and help explain part of its design:

The year is 2211 AD, almost eleven years to the day humans confirmed the existence of zero point energy, a source of limitless energy eliminating the need for all other fuel. The discovery of this power source changed how humans did many things, including racing. Formula 1 racers now average a speed of 1,100 MPH. There are no pit stops because no refueling is necessary. This race, in many ways, provides the ultimate demonstration of human mastery over technology and physical extremes deemed impossible to overcome by predecessors of ages past.

This new generation of Formula 1 drivers wear something akin to a virtual reality helmet, since their cars now outpace the limits of human perception. With special cameras mounted on the side and rear of the car, drivers are able to plot their courses through winding tracks, most of which will take them halfway around the world in terms of distance.

While these Formula 1s are powered by zero point energy, the mechanics behind their mobility are perhaps even more interesting: their special tires, spun by electromagnetic pulsators, produce highly charged magnetic fields that propel the vehicle forward. These tires also interact magnetically with the track, which can be preprogrammed with magnetic and other anomalies to make races more challenging and unpredictable. A special three dimensional steering column controls all three tires, allowing for very sharp turns at extreme speeds. Triple arrays of exernal sensors on both sides of the racer assess various vehicle and track conditions in real time as well as other speeders either approaching or being passed.

Due to the sheer velocity and physical track length of these races, there are no traditional onlookers encircling the track. Instead, audience members are provided virtual reality helmets similar to what the drivers wear, allowing for unprecedented first-person witnessing of races. New audience members must be prescreened and are required to attend a series of orientations before attending events to ensure they can survive the relentless excitement of supersonic racing. Most observers opt to watch Formula 1 events from the comfort of their homes through their XHDHTVs (extreme high definition holographic televisions), through which they can watch races unfold from any angle.

The driver below is carefully edging her speeder into position for the all-important qualification lap. In a moment the word QUALIFY will glow bright green, and her racer will transmute into an unbridled blur of luminous energy and streak away as the sound of thunder erupts and lightning flashes as the speeder pierces the air as if in two. If you blink you will miss it…

Well, something like that anyway

Hope you like the picture.

Robert

[traitor]

:o

turbo fast

[BgDM]

Nice work! Looks very cool so far and I really like the fact that you put a story to it.

Only crit is the texture stretching on the wheels/tires a bit.

BgDM

[RobertT]

Thanks BgDM and GFX. I rendered another with completely redesigned tires:

Hopefully an improvement. There are some artifacts in the overall image due to 40% JPEG compression. The final image for the F1 contest will be much smoother since it will not be compressed.

Robert

[Alltaken]

my crit is that the tyres now look really out of place from the rest of the car in terms of style.
perhaps some spherical magnets stick out from the bear rims of the current wheels.

other than that i think it looks really cool.

but for some reason i prfered the original wheels (kinda tron like)

but yeah it looks pretty cool.

Alltaken

[RobertT]

Thanks for the feedback, Alltaken. I myself prefer the original tires and will be working on them more. The final render for the contest will likely have them instead of the ones in the second image above.

Robert

[djfuego]

I get the distinct impression you do.
Good job!

[Logik_Guy]

Nice,
It’s look good

Logik_Guy

[RobertT]

Thanks, Logik_Guy! Here’s a side view of the model before rendering. I’m still adding more details, but maybe it will give a better idea of what kinds of proportions and overall aggressive shape I’m going for in this one:

Thanks for checking it out. Considering other F1 WIPs I’ve seen posted in this forum the competition will be packed with great talent and creativity – which means all the more I have to work on getting this thing up to competition calibre.

Robert

[Enigma]

My first reaction was… “cool.” I really like the design you’ve come up with.

[RobertT]

Here’s an update of the pure energy F1 model with some more details:

To give you an idea of what I’m looking at when I’m working on this here is a picture of the mesh:

The reflection of the car in the final render is actually produced by a second model spun 180 degrees upside down, and placed right beneath the track, which is mostly transparent. Having a “reflection model” makes it doubly interesting when trying to make changes and add parts because what you do to the top one has to be done to the bottom one as well as long as whatever’s being added would be visible in the reflection. Double the fun!!

Here are two more closeups:

Still working at it…

Robert

[BgDM]

Nice stuff! You are getting there very nicely.

The second car under the ground plane is a good idea. I used that on one of my F1 entries last year, cause I hadn’t got env mapping down 100% yet to get the proper reflection. I would forget about having this in your test renders though, as it will increase your render times. Only copy and flip the car model when you have the actual, visible model done.

BgDM

[Nayman]

TRON

[RobertT]

Thanks, BgDM!! I’m pouring so much time into this project because I think this contest is a great opportunity to learn about Blender and also to aspire to be as good as the master Blender users at this site. I will be working on this for a while

Nayman – I loved the movie Tron as a kid, and when the anniversary DVD came out I got it and watched it again. Great movie! Yeah, I guess it can be said there’s some undeniable “tronness” to this model too, maybe more because of the blue hue and the geometrically wild wheel.

This model originally started in red, but I had a pretty clear concept of an electrically powered car, and not just some alt fuel car. Blue seemed the more appropriate color as the model took shape. I wanted something to seethe with obvious velocity, something that would give every indication that just a tap on the accelerator would result in outrageous speed and to go pedal-to-the-metal would bring upon the ultimate driving rush. Hopefully this kind of stuff will be conveyed in the final render

Robert

[varg_black]

the funkiest vehicle i’ve ever seen, very kul, however i’d be better as a spaceship

[RobertT]

Thanks, Varg. I noticed several great F1 models posted in this forum tend to resemble what might be considered spaceships. I think that’s a logical evolution of current car designs. Cars of the future will eventually look like that because of advances in technology and in the way humans will travel. Race cars will no doubt be much faster and more powerful than what we have today. I’ve even seen some F1 WIPs posted here with what appear to be jet engines, and that’s not at all a stretch of the imagination either if we consider what future cars competing in the “fastest race on Earth” might have in terms of technology. Already in our time there have been vehicles developed like that, so just imagine what a race car of the future might be like

Just to point something out about my model – the big two silver cylindrical things at the back of the car with tubes coming out of them are not jet engines – they’re supposed to be (in keeping with the story I introduced my model with) “zero point energy vortex chambers,” basically the power supplies for the car. Some more about the science fiction behind the design: to maintain ultra high ground speeds yet not fly off the track the tires on this car produce magnetic fields that help keep the car from flying off the track. The resulting magnetic flux surrounding the vehicle also repels air particles so as to leave very little wind resistance for the vehicle to confront at it moves at ultrasonic speeds. This sudden rush of air particles away from the vehicle also routinely produces lightning and occasional thunder, which is why in this alternate future the F1 race is also known as the “greatest spectacle” and “loudest race” on the planet.

…or something like that

Robert

[sonix]

Robert, wicked work. The colours are excellent, and I dig the whole design concept of your racer, very coool. Brilliant idea visa vie the reflection, but doesn’t this double the length of time for a render tho?

Sonix.

[Bab]

Very goods works, but my friends who loves Formula one says : “Too blue”, he thinks that there is not enough color but very good.

[Logik_Guy]

very nice,
I like the style,(smoot)
Good job

Logik_Guy

[RobertT]

@sonixsculpt

Robert, wicked work. The colours are excellent, and I dig the whole design concept of your racer, very coool. Brilliant idea visa vie the reflection, but doesn’t this double the length of time for a render tho?

Sonix.

Hi, Sonix. Thanks!! Yes, the reflection not only doubles the render time but also apparently the file size. I’m up to 11MB for the .blend file, and I’m at a point where I have to be extremely careful with what I add because Blender is getting very crash prone at this point probably due to all the parts. The next image I post will have more parts and details added. I’ve also been working on refining the main meshes for an even smoother look as well as adjusting lighting/shadows. Thanks again for checking it out!

Robert