General Critique of Sword

[cosmo007]

If you wouldn't mind, I would like some criticism of this sword I am working on. It is nearing completion and I just want to know how I did. I think it looks "okay" but I am not sure of my eye. Anything you could tell me would be great. I want to improve more and I would like to have some target in mind.

Specifications I set for sword:

Maintain a vanilla styling

Create a unique and interesting sword

[ub3rman123]

The spikes on it looks kind of chunky, like they wouldn't pierce much. I'd suggest making them sharper by shrinking the base. The guard also looks big compared to the hilt.

[The Vyper]

I like the overall design, but I'd make the grip a bit thicker. The grip should at least be reinforced with metal (if not made of metal entirely), because it looks like it would break after two or three hits. And to be honest, I think it should be considered a "blunt" weapon, because something like that appears designed to break bones that are "protected" by armor (like ribs or a shield arm).

Still, I would very much like to use this in my game. Any timeframe for a release?

[_echo]

It has little to no characteristics of a sword, namely, no cutting edge, so it would be more of a bludgeoning weapon.

Other then that, the concept is good but could use some fleshing out, particularly the textures.

[cosmo007]

Great feedback!

I completely agree that this isn't a sword. It was a remnant from the file name that I seem to have carried over.

Points:

+ Grip needs resized/reinforced

+ Rework spikes

- the guard is supposed to function as a hammer, so I feel the size is right

Other then that, the concept is good but could use some fleshing out, particularly the textures.

I feel I need to do this, but I am having a hard time doing it

I like that it is fairly simple in design, but I will add some more detail. When you say that the textures need to be fleshed out what do you mean? I have inspected the textures for other weapons and mine seem similar, but I do feel some extra touch is missing. Might you be able to describe specifically what mine lack?

[_echo]

The main shaft of the weapon. The texture looks like a bandage and the spikes do not fit well with that texture. There is no shading for "shadows" on the textures so it looses some depth because of that. It looks too clean basically.

Its mainly that bandage looking texture that throws everything off.

And the hilt functioning as a hammer? I don't see how that is practical. Not that i mind the size, its just the logic behind it doesn't really work. The spiked part will offset the weight of the weapon making using the "hammer" bit completely impractical.

[cosmo007]

Update- No Normal Maps Yet

So, I decided to give it a Dwemer theme, as that seemed to be most fitting for the style. Overall I am very pleased with the texture. It is hard however to compare with the Beth Dwarven weapons in game as they seem to rely heavily on the normal maps. Looking at the plain texture, I think I have got it fairly close.

I have done some tests trying to mimic the Beth Dwarven normal maps and I am finding that it is very hard to reproduce the same effect. If anyone has experience I would love to here your advice.

Changes:

+ more unified textures

+ boxier guard

+ thicker grip, textured as metal

+ more support on grip

- no change to the spike model, I am concerned though that they look a little pinecone-esque