Every adventure must begin somewhere...
...And this one begins with no maps, compasses or guides
I think the best way to kick a thread like this off is to set blunt expectations. I have no clue what I'm doing, and I am 100% learning on the fly. The model you see above is the first proper 3d model I've made 100% from scratch in blender in 5 years, I've not tested if I can even work models into nr2003 yet, nor do I have any plan for attacking the coding side of things when I get there.. I'm jumping into the pool of sharks and then learning to swim, and that's how this thread will play out. I'm gonna be upfront when I say not to expect much from this project, I have full intentions to make a mod, but time will tell if I have the skill to do it right. I want an SRX mod, so I'm going to do it myself.
Alright, now that the bluntness is out of the way, lets talk goals. Ill be honest, I'm not aiming for 100% 1:1 accuracy, I do want a little but of wiggle room. I'm sure by now you might have noticed things like the X grill aren't there. Instead of going for a fleshed out 3d model, I'm using the aero88 approach where ill let the template do most of the talking. That's not to say ill have a low-poly model, but more of a model without tons of inlets and edges. The end goal is simply to have a functional mod, I'm not looking to break boundaries or impress, just a nice mod with decent models and damage and the like.
I'm confident in my modeling ability, though I'm worried about nr2003's poly limit. I do not know the hard limit, but I've heard talk of 1K vertices and 2K faces being the tipping point, however, I have read the work around to be kind of simple. I'm sure someone can correct me, but my plan is to separate segments of the car into different objects, them merge them into one scene later on... Kind of like how I've done the Cage and the Shell so far. Again, I'm learning on the fly, so any help or input is very much appreciated.
Here's to the beginning of this hopefully soon-to-be mod...