[MatthTheGeek]

Tenebra features energy flak for Vasudans if you want something to base yourself on.

[An4ximandros]

Hades' "FINISHING MODELS IS OVERRATED" is contagious.
 
 Updated NCorvette:
 -Turned the missile launchers into 4 Quad turrets;
 -Made new cannon models;
 -Added 2 custom AAAs;
 -Turned the top antennae into 4 Mass Drivers.

 New model: http://p3d.in/eODF8

 I added the MDs and upgraded the MLs to give it more Corvette scale firepower.

[Nyctaeus]

I would like to see it rather as a cruiser. Otherwise, great work

[Black Wolf]

Hades' "FINISHING MODELS IS OVERRATED" is contagious.

Oh no! Anax is Hades Incompletion Virus positive! Watch out, or it'll develop into full blown HAIDS.

[Axem]

Not Hades Artistic Inaction Development Syndrome!

[An4ximandros]

I would like to see it rather as a cruiser. Otherwise, great work

Thing is, I already have the other Noah ship (Destroyer) as a cruiser, given their difference in size I felt it would work better as a Cruiser & Corvette duo. I could make them both cruisers and pull a BP. IE: using a rolling pin in the destroyer. Or just make it a gunship.

[Darius]

Keep it Noah dimensions. Those wishing stretchy destroyers can do it easily in pcs2.

[An4ximandros]

I upgraded this thingy: http://p3d.in/0wf1e

Edit: just noticed the hole. My bad, forgot to displace that part.

[BritishShivans]

Oh hey, that looks pretty cool. I think you should get rid of some of the open spaces, it kinda detracts from the BEEG GUHN

[An4ximandros]

 So I made my first ship as part of a TC I've been thinking about for a while now. http://p3d.in/XcP9Q It's a huge shipyard, starbase type of vessel. I am still thinking of how to categorize the craft levels, as they are many. For now I am using an alternate name for battleship, but it does not really fit there.

 The scale of the vessel was inspired by the gigantic derelicts scattered thought the Homeworld games (though not as gigafukhtastic as some of them get.) The ideas is that the large berths are where things such as fleet command vessels and true "battleships" are fabricated. The small hangars are essentially to transport resources or cargo through outside the ship, as there are massive gaps for construction sites inside.

 This is still very much a WIP, and will most likely be built upon as my other models progress. Good news on the Noah ships is that I've found tools to make UVs easier. PolyUnwrapper is the one I am using at the moment. I've started UVing the Noah Cruiser.

[An4ximandros]

 I've gotten into an "artist's block" and I've been unable to continue work on the Gandiva or Iakh. In fact, I've even rebuilt the damn things from near scratch at least thrice (I have backups of the old models.) Since I can't seem to get anywhere and my exam season begins this Friday (officially...) Would anyone be interested in grabbing the models and toying with them? If so, I can put them up for download.

 The rest of the stuff is moving along fine.

[AndrewofDoom]

I'll be more than happy to take a look at them.

[An4ximandros]

...And in need of help; I am having a really hard time coming up with a texture for this thing:

Edit for clarity: I decided to start texturing with a simpler ship, thing is... I have no idea what to do!

[Rodo]

Well what will it be?, Vasudan, Terran?

[Black Wolf]

Counterintuitively, it's sometimes harder to get started texturing on a simple ship than a more complex one. The reason for this (or at least, the reason I always had) is that, when you have very simple geometry, you're relying almost entirely on the texture to produce a reasonable level of detail in the overall model. That means that the texture normally has to be a bit more complex, which, if not supported by geometry, makes it look somewhat odd.

So there are two options here (Both are asusming it's UVed). One is to make a simple texture and accept it for what it is. This isn't always a bad thing - I followed that path when I made the texture for the Albanus. You can see, there are a lot of relatively solid colours following the geometry, with detail provided in a few small areas of higher detail (the danger stripes on the cargo dividers, the glowmapped windows etc.), as well as a small number of distinct panels, and a high amount of granularity on the textures. This effect was (IIRC) mostly achieved by using high res photos/downloaded textures to fill large areas, then various layers and details were applied over the top. This is most pronounced on the front of the ship - see all those lines running side to side? They were initially pasted on and then heavily edited.

Option 2 is to increase the detail of the ship. The quickest and easiest way I've come up with to do this is to generate some greebles, UV and texture them (The greebles will ultimately be small, simple parts of your mesh, so the textures can be similarly basic (i.e. easy to do) and still look good), remembering to sneak the UV for the greebles into holes in the existing UV Map, so you can keep your texture count to one or two, and then place them - often in more than one place on the mesh. The increased model detail will take the pressure off the texture, and, when your ship is covered in textured greebles, you might get inspired as to how the rest of it should look. For specific ideas, I'd say you could put little trapezoids or buttons on the port and starboard of each of the five "ribs" (or alternatively, some little rectangular bits where windows could be added), you could add some big exposed engines to the rear, you could add some pipes or a "handle" running from the front to the back, you could add an exposed bridge, some antennae or rotating radar dishes, or a couple of big multipart turrets.

Finally, the only specific texture generation ideas I would give to help you get started would be to look at he design of the ship. I'm basically seeing 2 sections - the "armoured" majority of the ship, and the recessed minority. You can probably get away with a repetitive texture on the recessed part, something to increase the visual distinction between it and the outside.

A good way to get started is to use colour blocks. Pick the areas of your ship you want to separate visually, and colour them in a solid colour (on a separate layer of course). There are some other areas that you can do this to other than the recessed parts - I'm seeing the extruded "arrowheads" on the top and bottom of the bow, the curve-topped rectangles over the rear, the individual ribs, the doodads at the very front and very back, and the inside of recessed parts. Pick your colours here and you'll be well on your way to defining how the final visual look will work, which is a good way to find inspiration.

[whitearrow]

An4x, I'd like to see your models but whatever p3d link I click on leads always to an error page... 

[An4ximandros]

Because I killed them all, arrow...

Black Wolf, I decided to go back and add more details, thank you very much for your input!

Just updated the model; added some more detail, like the faux-crane for the "rib holds" and the antennae.

For the curious about how the crane works:

[An4ximandros]

It lives.

[Colonol Dekker]

 

[yuezhi]

Happy birthday An4x!