Star Wars walker

[MajorPayne]

Dam, thats impressive Fractal. I can also see this as a tracked vehicle or possibly a repulsor lift heavy attack unit.

Quick edit. With regards to a suggested name, how about AT-TJ (All Terrain Tactical Juggernaut).

[JDR]

I think you should perhaps let Fractalsponge model the walker the way he sees fit. More than a few SFM members have run away screaming because of fanboy interference in their designs.

[fractalsponge]

Thanks JDR.

I appreciate the input on the design, but I don't think I'm changing it much from here on out, as I'm quite happy with it. I wouldn't rule out variants, but the rolling idea is a bit much imho.

And no name decision yet. Trying for something not-too flamboyant. I thought AT-TE in AOTC was pushing it to be honest.

[Glazy]

The wheel idea turns this into a Transformer almost, I prefer Fractalsponge's design as it is !!

[traq]

I'm sorry to have let that run away. fractalsponge, just wanted to let you know, I wasn't seriously suggesting you put wheels on it. I just thought it was a fantastic (in a funny way) idea. And yea, it's very transformer-ish. I do love this walker as you've made it.

[MajorPayne]

Fractal. I know this is your model and its equisite (sp??) (as I would expect with many of the works on here). The attention to detail goes way beyond anything I'm capable of. Yet, you know that the likes of myself will give suggestions for things even if your not going to use them.

Back on topin proper though. One thing thats bugging me, does the walker have very heavy armour?? I'm asking because after looking at the side-by-side shot with the ATAT it would benefit greatly from it. Will you be giving some proper specs on it when your finished??

[fractalsponge]

Specs...no. Especially since we don't actually know much technical details about the AT-AT, in the rough size range of this. Any concrete numbers I put out is just technobabble really - you seriously want numbers about how many cm of armor this thing has? I don't know really, but the plating is roughly AT-AT scale, if that helps .

More work on the walk cycle (again, QT H.264):

http://fractalsponge.net/leg/step7_long.mov

Getting better, imo.

[stonky]

Looking good, it's coming along nicely. You might want to think about losing the bounce on the feet as they contact the ground. A vehicle that heavy tends to sink into the ground with the feet easing into their resting place. I think that one of the reason that the AT-AT walk works so well is because the leg continues to travel downwards after the foot makes contact, compressing the upper telescoping portion of the foot.

Here's a really rough animation (excuse the crappy render and the missing foot strut ) but I think it demonstrates the point:

[CommanderJRB]

This design is simply awesome. I love the heavily-armed feel, as most AT-series walkers tend to serve other purposes to attack (usually transport). With this in mind, there are a few walker names that have never had an image attached to them, such as the AT-AV (All-Terrain Attack Vehicle) or AT-HE (All-Terrain Heavy Enforcer, though it's usually suspected to be a beefed up AT-TE) which you might (or might not for all I know) like to use for your design.
With regard to the walk, have you by any chance played Star Wars: Empire at War? It has an excellent walking animation for the AT-AT, particularly showing it turning. When it turns (and it is of course rather slow to do so, and loses all forward motion in the process), the leg nearest to the direction of the turn actually moves a short distance laterally away from the body and twists slightly. The other legs then turn to match the orientation. It can only turn so far per cycle, but it looks extremely authentic. How exactly you'd carry it across to a two-legged design, where you can't really lift one foot for too long without the whole thing falling over I'm not sure though.
Great work! Can't wait to see more!

[fractalsponge]

Good point stonky. Instead of the shudder for the whole leg I think I'll try a small shudder for the ankle only, and the sinking foot idea, which is indeed what I'm missing. I might need to find a way to have the whole shin assembly telescope into the ankle, or I might just make the footpad itself telescope, which is probably the easier way to do it.

Some distractions at the end of the year, so updates will be slow for a while. Trying to work a little on detailing the rest of the walker...6 sections left.

As for the AT-AT turn, I think the way they did that in the game was to have the "hip" joint pivot out from the central shaft. I'm certain the filming motorized models couldn't manage this (just meant to walk forward), though I suppose there's no in-universe reason why it couldn't be (though it does seem an awfully flimsy connection). It is probably the best way to do it though. For a two-legged version of that in-place turn, it would be 1 leg up, xy-rotation in the balanced foot, step down, and repeat for the other leg until the walker has turned to the new heading. Basically waddle side to side and twist while doing so. For this walker, rotation would be handled in the split footpad (see closeup in earlier post). When I revise the animation again (which given my schedule might not be till mid next week), I will try to include this move. AT-AV was my original choice, long ago when it was just a leg, but I might go with something flashier - we'll see