Hard Light Productions Forums
Modding, Mission Design, and Coding => The Modding Workshop => Topic started by: DarthWang on June 22, 2005, 09:53:03 am
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In FS1, the ships were, frankly, huge. If some of these ships existed in the real world, it would be hard to believe how big they are. For example, if you took an Orion class destroyer and stood it on end, it would be nearly as tall as 5 Empire State Buildings! Then there was the Lucifer, which was even bigger. In Silent Threat, the GTA got its own superdestroyer, the Hades, which was comparable in size to the Lucifer. FS2 upped the bar yet again, by adding the juggernauts - the GTVA Colossus and the SJ Sathanas, which were 6 kilometers long! Now modders are making custom 'Super Juggernauts' that range from 10 to 15 ks! Eventually, when we have all these absolutely huge ships, there has to be a point where we just throw up our hands and say 'this is ridiculous!'. When it comes to custom FS ships, how big is too big? Just thought I'd ask.
BTW, is this in the wrong folder? Since it has to do with modding I thought I'd put it here.
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It's a very good question, and there are a couple of possibilities. For ships which are meant to be used in missions, then I'd say nothing larger than the Lucifer (definitely under 3000m). Beyond that, ships are simply too big for the player to affect them. If you're going to create a "supership", then it has to be a plot device for a campaign. Take the Sathanas, for example. It's great as part of the story, because it's big and bad, but you only ever face one of them because it's just too big to kill without serious capship backup.
If you're trying to make new ships, I'd say limit yourself to destroyer size and below (nothing over 2500m). Anything bigger just isn't practical unless the storyline of a campaign demands it.
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ssj dante is still smaller than a super star destoyer by about a kilometer. getting to that range poses other problems, beam cannons ranges are less than a third of the ship length, requiring tweaked beams and an awacs tag.
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Only today I got I_E_Maverick's Vorlon Planet Killer model working in-game. 45km long.
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That's just silly... :p
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What next, a Death Star?
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Um... :nervous: (http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php/topic,33330.0.html)
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Pfffah, I made a true scale planet for OTT, it was earth scale, but it also had rings, so I'm pretty sure I've made the largest model ever for FS :p (and it worked, but that was just before the scp, so there were cliping problems with the ring ).
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Put that in the same mission as the Death Star, and you can have a working demonstration of the superlaser.
Although it would probably crash the game.
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nah, it changes nothing, you know, in 3D, it can be big or small, it's the same deal, it's just coordinates after all.
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You get some serious zbuffer issues with supersize ships though. So that's something you have to watch out for.
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The biggest ship I made is 5km, nad it's the only one that big... Usually my ships are destroyer size or smaller..
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My largest model is 3Km, IIRC, and only because it was requested to be made so large. Usually, I make Corvettes and cruisers.
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i perfer to keep my caps in the 600-800 meter range, ssj dante was just me wanting to make something you could fly your ship through, its got about 20km of tunnel throu it. i still need to detail model the interior.
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Originally posted by Nico
Pfffah, I made a true scale planet for OTT, it was earth scale, but it also had rings, so I'm pretty sure I've made the largest model ever for FS :p (and it worked, but that was just before the scp, so there were cliping problems with the ring ).
I made a full scale jupiter :)
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Someone make a Full-scale sun, to put everyone to shame.
With animated textures!
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I don't want to give anyone any ideas, but I just watched the ST:TNG episode 'Relics'....
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NO! BAD! *Thwack* >_<
Lesse... Although all of these are still trueSpace models, these are the biggest designs I have... As long as I'm here, mind telling me if you think these are decent sizes?
SDn Nosferatu: ~3 or 4km; storyline imperative, rarely seen.
GTBs Parthenon: ~4km; storyline imperative, rarely seen. (And decently balanced, even)
SSSSSSSSJ Omfgitsgonnagetusallanditsuberanditsscaryanditsmeanlooking: ~431063829km; me experimenting with how big trueSpace can handle models :p ;)
SBc Rikkitath: ~2-2.5km; player interactive.
SCa Sicalith: ~2-2.5km; player interactive.
TCCa Falconer: ~2-3km; player interactive, storyline imperative, rarely seen.
TCD Arbiter: ~1.5-2km; player interactive, background ship (ie, 'just there').
(The 'TC' designation is 'Terran Cooperative'. Don't ask. I'm not in the mood for explaining things right now :p )
Those are what come to mind for me... Those are just the big ones. The little ones I'm not gonna bother mentioning.
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*Slap
WHERES MY HI-POLY HECATE?
;)
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Geezer has a great saying. "If I can't blow it up, I'm not interested".
Basically any ship the player can't kill himself in a mission should have a lot of story wrapped around it to justify its existance.
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Originally posted by Bobboau
I made a full scale jupiter :)
Pah, I just picked the wrong planet :p
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I lost my old 24km DS pic... Borg Cube, Zent Nupetiet, and Gigas attacking it.
Here's one after I fixed the SSD. When I first converted it I accidently made it 115km long, AND IT WORKED! However once you attacked it that crashed the game ;P
(http://img179.echo.cx/img179/1758/ssd2xj.jpg)
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Originally posted by karajorma
Geezer has a great saying. "If I can't blow it up, I'm not interested".
Basically any ship the player can't kill himself in a mission should have a lot of story wrapped around it to justify its existance.
Dammit, that was going to be my point!
Um, yes. Exactly. I'd say anything > 4km needs a good reason to exist beyond being big & scary. (and anything in the 2-4km range had better have a decent point too, because that's verging on the edge of what the player can really take on).
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Originally posted by karajorma
Geezer has a great saying. "If I can't blow it up, I'm not interested".
Basically any ship the player can't kill himself in a mission should have a lot of story wrapped around it to justify its existance.
That's perfect. :nod:
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People should definately make superjugs because they're useful and fun and we have waaay too many good cruiser/transport/freighter/corvette models anyways, whereas superjugs are extremely rare and never seen. The superjugs should also be either grey, badly-textured Terran superships or cheap Sathanas rip-offs, the bigger the better. Don't bother actually texturing them, just slap some brown... stuff over them and claim it's the future emissive armour duraplate or something. You should also come up with completely arbitary designations for the ships - for example SSJGDn - and the names should be something that have been used before, because it gives us that warm feeling of familiarity. "Tor" and "Odin" are good, solid Terran names that are not overused.
It's not that easy, though. For your superjugs to be feasible and immersive, you need to implement ridiculously overpowered weaponry into them. One focused beam is usually enough, but it should have firepower to destroy at least Uranus-sized planets with no difficulty whatsoever. If you set up the hitpoints into some insane amount, you can make sure that nobody destroys your superjug - people want to see it, not blow it apart. Your artistic talent must be seen.
And not even that is enough! If you make a superjug - a Shivan one would be ingenious - you should make it's Terran counterpart at least 2 kilometers bigger [although that's a bit too little in my opinion], and the Terran ship must have a cool name as well. AND HUGE ÜBERBEAM.
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Originally posted by Janos
People should definately make superjugs because they're useful and fun and we have waaay too many good cruiser/transport/freighter/corvette models anyways, whereas superjugs are extremely rare and never seen. The superjugs should also be either grey, badly-textured Terran superships or cheap Sathanas rip-offs, the bigger the better. Don't bother actually texturing them, just slap some brown... stuff over them and claim it's the future emissive armour duraplate or something. You should also come up with completely arbitary designations for the ships - for example SSJGDn - and the names should be something that have been used before, because it gives us that warm feeling of familiarity. "Tor" and "Odin" are good, solid Terran names that are not overused.
It's not that easy, though. For your superjugs to be feasible and immersive, you need to implement ridiculously overpowered weaponry into them. One focused beam is usually enough, but it should have firepower to destroy at least Uranus-sized planets with no difficulty whatsoever. If you set up the hitpoints into some insane amount, you can make sure that nobody destroys your superjug - people want to see it, not blow it apart. Your artistic talent must be seen.
And not even that is enough! If you make a superjug - a Shivan one would be ingenious - you should make it's Terran counterpart at least 2 kilometers bigger [although that's a bit too little in my opinion], and the Terran ship must have a cool name as well. AND HUGE ÜBERBEAM.
(http://www.game-warden.com/nukemod-cos/Images/sideshot1qh.png)
will this do :D
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The forward arms on the Dante, indeed the forward as a whole, always struck me as too Terran-looking...
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i was going for the fs1 lookfor the forward section, the original plan was to put in several armor plates to make sort of a hulking cavernous gilled hanger in the front, but it looked stupid so i took it out. i still consider it my coolest ship, at least till i finish the hi poly ragnarok class :D
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Originally posted by Nuke
will this do :D
Someone completely missed the point of Janos' post. :rolleyes: :p
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oh i got the point
some people just dont know a smartass when they see one. :D
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Well, remove the 'smart' bit and people are very good at spotting it.......
:p
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fear me, i have dante!
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Phear me! I have Styphalia! And it's spreading! :shaking:
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Why the hell is the Rahu's designation SSG? shouldnt it be SG?
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SSSSSSSSJ Omfgitsgonnagetusallanditsuberanditsscaryanditsmean
*Shivan High Commander shows off to new recruit*
"Nice ship you got here sir. What does this button do though?"
*Presses Big Red Button*
"No, you fool!..."
*Universe implodes.*
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Man, I gotta catch up, you've beaten me by at least 2 million km.
*has also been experimenting with how large a model truespace can handle.:D*
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Originally posted by FireCrack
Why the hell is the Rahu's designation SSG? shouldnt it be SG?
Shivan Super Gas Miner?
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On an almost completely random note, I like the Dante because the front looks almost Indian. That kinda goes with the Shivan's being Indian..ish and all.
Of course, Indians are human/Terran...so I guess it kinda does look Terran. :D
EDIT: Shivan's Stinky Gas?
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Nuke is that yours from the ground up?
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indeed, save the textures. i had ment to make new tiles or just use single maps but its a low priority on the nukemod adjenda. its there incase somone needs a white elephant.
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:thepimp:
(http://www.3dactionplanet.com/hlp/hosted/babylon/img/screenshots/vpk1.jpg)
45km Planet Killer with working collision/turrets/animated textures/glowmaps (read: everything).
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Isn't the VPK 5 miles, not 45kms?
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thats a sexy white elehant
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Originally posted by FireCrack
Why the hell is the Rahu's designation SSG? shouldnt it be SG?
Because for reasons that cannot determined, SG was used for the sentry guns.
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Wow Nuke that must have taken some time to put together. Bravo mate:yes:
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Originally posted by Raa
Phear me! I have Styphalia! And it's spreading! :shaking:
Get some ointment. And stay away from loose women.
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Originally posted by ngtm1r
Because for reasons that cannot determined, SG was used for the sentry guns.
No, the sentry guns are SSG (Shivan Sentry Gun) as well IIRC. That's the confusing point, the Rahu should be regular SG, like the the Zephyrus and Anuket are GTG and GVG, respectively.
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Okay, my memory is shot...
Perhaps the Rahu was not originally meant to be a Gas Miner, but some sort of "monitor"-type vessel?
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Originally posted by RED DIAMOND
Wow Nuke that must have taken some time to put together. Bravo mate:yes:
about 3 weeks.
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Personally, I've been waiting for an asteroid the size of a small moon that you can fly into. Maybe if Omni ever gets us a REAL size Death Star 1 we'll eventually see a real size Death Star II complete with tunnels you can fly into to get to the reactor and get the heck out Porkchop Sandwiches style...erm...*drools* i can dream T_T
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Originally posted by Nuke
(http://www.game-warden.com/nukemod-cos/Images/sideshot1qh.png)
will this do :D
owned.
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I have no frame of reference to judge the size of that Shivan warship...may we see a comparison shot of its size with it above the GTVA Colossus?
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You see those little black specks? Those are Sathanes. :D
okay, not really...
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shes only like 11 k in length. i figure its about the same as when the collossus was compaired with the lucifer in the colossus cutscene, just scaled up abit :D
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Originally posted by ngtm1r
Okay, my memory is shot...
Perhaps the Rahu was not originally meant to be a Gas Miner, but some sort of "monitor"-type vessel?
Shivan AWACS?
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Monitor; owes its name to USS Monitor, first ironclad enlisted in the US Navy. Describes a ship meant to mount a single, or a very small number of, very large and very powerful weapon to the exclusion of all other characteristics. An attempt to cram maximum destructive power into minimum hull.
Tactically monitors offer excellent firepower, at the cost of extreme vunerablity to virtually all forms of attack.
The third picture here gives a good idea of what a monitor would look like: http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNBR_18-40_mk1.htm
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I'm making a Terran monitor at the moment... :drevil: Inspired by the HMS Roberts and HMS Abercrombie, that were built in the 40s and scrapped in 1965 and 1954 respectively. Rather cool ships, actually, if somewhat silly. They were the size of light cruisers, but carried a pair of 15" battleship guns and were very slow.
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Shivan's Stinky Gas?
SSG was probably Shivan Solar Gas miner, SSGM would have been too long.
Assumption. :nervous:
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SG stands for Sentry Gun. GTSG Watchdog, PVSG Ankh, SSG Belial.
They just goofed.
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I think we all know that, but the Rahu is not a Sentry Gun.
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Originally posted by Goober5000
They just goofed.