Original Starship Design Thread

[Princess Awinita]

I agree with PA. most of my starship go between 100k- 300k poly count and most of that is in the fine details.

I think you mean PH, because Atem does not do ships, nor as far as I know, does Planetary Alliance. How many times do I have to say 'don't call me that nickname' ?

Anyhowm, naming a ship is a hard thing to do without knowing the desired roles for the craft in question. satnam, do you have anything particular in mind for each craft ?

[satnamboll28]

I agree with PA. most of my starship go between 100k- 300k poly count and most of that is in the fine details.

if your system is having issues handling larger poly counts most modeling programs that i know of do support both components and layers.

components allows you to work on half the ship while what you do copies in the other half. so you are really working on both halves at the same time.

and layers allows you to have different layers to model on. the cool thing about this is you can turn each layer on or off anytime you want. thus making your model more or less crowded. when a layer is turned off the polys on that layer arent tracked by the modeling program and allow what ever is visible to be modeled with less lag.

Hello

Thanks..i had no idea about the components and layers to be honest..now i know, i will try to get this detailed more..
a cunning plan comes to mind...
i have to admit i have crashed maya with some older designs..not fun at all..

I think you mean PH, because Atem does not do ships, nor as far as I know, does Planetary Alliance. How many times do I have to say 'don't call me that nickname' ?

Anyhowm, naming a ship is a hard thing to do without knowing the desired roles for the craft in question. satnam, do you have anything particular in mind for each craft ?

hello again...
the biggest ship is the BS Zeus (1)..kind of an uber star..designed to fit into the myths surrounding zeus and his abilities...hybrid cylon/colonial..finer details yet to be confirmed...but it does have a s**t load of smaller craft, fighters, mid size etc...
the dreadnought (2) you know about....capital class vessel..can enter planetary atmosphere..intergalactic capable...carries a neutrino ion generator/ coil gun/ em rail gun mix..kind of an all in one..fore and aft....ship is powered and it can fire at the same time, as its more efficient with this design..
(3, 4) rattlesnake chassis modified to produce a transport design and a bomber, and a scout (not shown), fast ships, stealth abilities, good shielding, great sensors, minimal crew due to excellent mix of automation and stuff...
5- deep space carrier Atlas...bigger, better than the daedalus class....more fighters, better integration of asgard tech (neutrino generators etc) allowing the ship to go faster, further etc..can carry 400 fighters in a new configuration (just working this one out), planetary landing (well, hovering) and galactic capability...
6 is the condor..i really don't know what this does..yet..maybe jaffa-ish? smaller craft, fast, very maneuverable, stealth stuff, sensors etc...kinda troop transport..ish..
7..ancient vessel, discovered to the forerunner of goauld hatak's...though they found it partially destroyed, this is one of 3 that was found intact..capabilities still kinda mystery to me...i just know that it's cool...
8..this is the Archangel class, earth destiny variant..can sun dive..multiple engines at the rear of all 4 wings..more a long range vessel for exploration..hence the sun dive..story is that the destiny shipyard was discovered, and the tech was used to build this vessel..quite possibly the most advanced old tech..if you get what i mean..
i did design the one great ships over on sfm meshes..though it's stalled for about 2 years due to serious stuff at the time..am working on sorting it out...just need to get used to the wacom tablet...
do check out the asgard conundrum fan fac i'm writing..its on the fac fic section here..these ships play a part throughout the story line..

thanks!!

satnam

[Pharaoh Hamenthotep]

Hello

Thanks..i had no idea about the components and layers to be honest..now i know, i will try to get this detailed more..
a cunning plan comes to mind...
i have to admit i have crashed maya with some older designs..not fun at all..


satnam

Are you saying that the whole ship is one object? ...No wonder you couldn't texture it I break my models up by texture.. If two parts need different textures then they're made as separate objects. Makes unwrapping much easier. And it allows for different parts to be hidden so they're not in the way or moved to other layers so they're not using up system resources..

[satnamboll28]

Are you saying that the whole ship is one object? ...No wonder you couldn't texture it I break my models up by texture.. If two parts need different textures then they're made as separate objects. Makes unwrapping much easier. And it allows for different parts to be hidden so they're not in the way or moved to other layers so they're not using up system resources..

that is indeed affirmative
...now i know i can break it up..bugger me, i have no idea how i put this together..
any ideas/ suggestions please?

satnam

[Pharaoh Hamenthotep]

What I do when I want to break a model apart is I select part of a model, say the engines for example, make a copy of the object and then delete the engines from one copy and the rest of the ship from the other. Then I would do the same thing but select the windows... or certain panels that I want to apply a certain texture to.

But if your models don't have such well defined areas then you will need to make seams in the mesh so you can unwrap the model for texturing.. It can be scary at first, I know I didn't like doing it when I first started.. But you have to look at the mesh and think about how you could break it apart to lay it flat..

[satnamboll28]

What I do when I want to break a model apart is I select part of a model, say the engines for example, make a copy of the object and then delete the engines from one copy and the rest of the ship from the other. Then I would do the same thing but select the windows... or certain panels that I want to apply a certain texture to.

But if your models don't have such well defined areas then you will need to make seams in the mesh so you can unwrap the model for texturing.. It can be scary at first, I know I didn't like doing it when I first started.. But you have to look at the mesh and think about how you could break it apart to lay it flat..

break a model?
nooooooooo!!!
okay then, will check it out..
i have to admit, this does fill me with trepidation..bugger..i feel like i'm going to violate my 3d model!!!
am checking out seams in maya as we speak..hopefully it goes well, if not, i will curse somebody on the street i live on, and pray the lottery jackpot comes to me....

thanks

satnam

ps..have you checked my other ships in my previous posts on this thread?

[Pharaoh Hamenthotep]

Make a copy of it first.. That way if it doesn't work you haven't lost anything. I've checked out your other models.. They all look a little unfinished...

[satnamboll28]

Make a copy of it first.. That way if it doesn't work you haven't lost anything. I've checked out your other models.. They all look a little unfinished...

i made the copy..hopefully it will go much better...
now that i now about the layers and components, i will be making better use of them..
the models are unfinished because i got stuck..perhaps now i can become unstuck?
by the way, what did you think of the designs/ shapes etc?

second thoughts..i don't think i did it right..can i come back to you later with this by any chance?

thanks

satnam

[Pharaoh Hamenthotep]

The shapes look good But they definitely need more detail.

[satnamboll28]

The shapes look good But they definitely need more detail.

Hello!!!

Thanks..getting there detail wise..i think..
anyhow, i have another ship of some kind..thought you would like to check it out..
http://www.thelordofeternaldarkness....01.10.2012.jpg

please check it out and tell me what you think...

satnam

[Pharaoh Hamenthotep]

It's hard to tell at this point.. Looks like a good start..

[Princess Awinita]

Hello!!!

Thanks..getting there detail wise..i think..
anyhow, i have another ship of some kind..thought you would like to check it out..
http://www.thelordofeternaldarkness....01.10.2012.jpg

please check it out and tell me what you think...

satnam

Looks something right out of Transformers to me, looks nice for a good start!

[satnamboll28]

Hello!!

glad you like it so far...it's been sitting on the hdd for some time...

funnily enough, this was one of my off shoots for my one great ship design idea...i didn't think it would work...but now i had the idea for a city ship/deep space facility that can travel through hyperspace, with all the mod cons..
not sure what to call it yet...
any ideas?

[satnamboll28]

hello again...

have more stuff to show..
please check and tell me what you think...they are my first foray into sub d..done quite some time ago..i haven't touched it since a little while ago..
http://www.thelordofeternaldarkness....23.06.2012.jpg
http://www.thelordofeternaldarkness....23.06.2012.jpg
http://www.thelordofeternaldarkness....2023.06.12.jpg

the rattlesnake design is a modular concept craft, that is multi mission capable..scout, high speed intercepter, cargo vessel, bomber...general vessel that can do lots of things..
minimal weapons, but great shielding, sensors and it's fast..can carry lots of crew for resupport and troop deployments..or as a medical ship...quite handy..can be built within a few months due to its simplicity..can also be upgraded with the latest tech without extensive docking etc...
certain military variants have stealth capability for intelligence work..
size wise..less than 100 metres long, less than half that wide...height about 10 metres...these are still work in progress...
smooth as they are still undergoing change..
tell me what you think..

satnam

[StargateWatcher]

hello again...

have more stuff to show..
please check and tell me what you think...they are my first foray into sub d..done quite some time ago..i haven't touched it since a little while ago..
http://www.thelordofeternaldarkness....23.06.2012.jpg
http://www.thelordofeternaldarkness....23.06.2012.jpg
http://www.thelordofeternaldarkness....2023.06.12.jpg

the rattlesnake design is a modular concept craft, that is multi mission capable..scout, high speed intercepter, cargo vessel, bomber...general vessel that can do lots of things..
minimal weapons, but great shielding, sensors and it's fast..can carry lots of crew for resupport and troop deployments..or as a medical ship...quite handy..can be built within a few months due to its simplicity..can also be upgraded with the latest tech without extensive docking etc...
certain military variants have stealth capability for intelligence work..
size wise..less than 100 metres long, less than half that wide...height about 10 metres...these are still work in progress...
smooth as they are still undergoing change..
tell me what you think..

satnam

very versatile ship; perhaps the most versatile ship so far; what race created it?