Hard Light Productions Forums

Modding, Mission Design, and Coding => The Modding Workshop => Topic started by: Axem on June 14, 2006, 12:32:28 pm

Title: Light Cruiserish
Post by: Axem on June 14, 2006, 12:32:28 pm
Wanderer was lamenting about how there were not many light cruisers/gunships out there. So I decided to show him and made some sort of an Aeolus bastard child.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v109/NarfPics/lightcr3.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v109/NarfPics/lightcr4.jpg

Its got 8 turrets, but in its original configuration, the canard mounted turrets would very likely be shooting through the ship. So I also did two variants getting around that. One with the canards flipped. (Which looks sorta silly IMO)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v109/NarfPics/silly.jpg

And then with two turrets fixed on the side (bringing its armament down and total field of fire).

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v109/NarfPics/sidemount.jpg
Title: Re: Light Cruiserish
Post by: TrashMan on June 14, 2006, 04:43:32 pm
Very nice...  :yes:
Title: Re: Light Cruiserish
Post by: Goober5000 on June 14, 2006, 05:10:32 pm
Super. :yes: Post the model and maybe someone can finish it up.
Title: Re: Light Cruiserish
Post by: Scooby_Doo on June 14, 2006, 06:05:34 pm
Oh how I wish side mounted turrets were operational.
Title: Re: Light Cruiserish
Post by: Taristin on June 14, 2006, 06:13:58 pm
I thought I saw someone attempting to implement it a few months ago?
Title: Re: Light Cruiserish
Post by: Scooby_Doo on June 14, 2006, 09:15:56 pm
Well they got my full support...

I'm just wondering how turret targetting is currently done. I haven't seen the C code, but I'm sure you guys understand it better than I would. What happens if you put a cap ship, with turrets on the top, on it's side in a mission and place an enemy next to the ship (so that the enemy is "on top" of the cap, relative to the cap). Do the turrets fire correctly, I would assume so.  Could this indicate that the whole universe is rotated so that the cap ship is facing up, then the target solution gets created and adjusting occurs?  If so, then could it be done so that for each turret, the entire universe gets rotated so that it's facing up? I'd do the formulas but my trig & matrix math is quite rusty.
Title: Re: Light Cruiserish
Post by: Trivial Psychic on June 15, 2006, 11:28:28 am
Axem, those engine nacelles are very Defiant-esque.  I prefer option 2 myself.
Title: Re: Light Cruiserish
Post by: Axem on June 15, 2006, 01:17:07 pm
I suppose they are a bit. I didn't really have that in mind, just a random greebling thingy.

Anyhow, the model is pretty much done. Just a bit over 4000 polys. The pics before had around 6000-7000, which was mostly me trying to see what stuff I could do with it.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v109/NarfPics/cretheus1.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v109/NarfPics/cretheus2.jpg)
Title: Re: Light Cruiserish
Post by: TrashMan on June 15, 2006, 05:40:10 pm
I would suggest a alternate turret placement. Those side turrets have a very interfering Field of Fire and are thus innefective.

The turret pointing up is BELOW the turret pointing down???

You could try a extension of some sort at the very middle and put turrets on the top and bottom part of hte extension.
Title: Re: Light Cruiserish
Post by: Axem on June 15, 2006, 06:06:29 pm
What's wrong with that? They're quite effective. There is no firing blind spot at the sides. The only blind spot it has is to the side facing the ship, and the other canard on the same side. Your idea would only eliminate the blind spot given by the other canard.

However, FreeSpace does not care if the ship is there or not and will fire through itself. So I'll most likely be using the second variant, which does give a huge blind spot at the sides. :sigh: Oh well.
Title: Re: Light Cruiserish
Post by: Trivial Psychic on June 15, 2006, 11:47:17 pm
It already has a blind spot... between those 2 hulls.  Are you gonna give any of the Aeolus' forward beam guns or the single-part wedge turrets?
Title: Re: Light Cruiserish
Post by: Scooby_Doo on June 16, 2006, 12:06:02 am
You know from that last pic, the rear upper turret almost looks like a bridge tower.
Title: Re: Light Cruiserish
Post by: Axem on June 16, 2006, 09:49:58 am
It already has a blind spot... between those 2 hulls.  Are you gonna give any of the Aeolus' forward beam guns or the single-part wedge turrets?

Heh, yeah. I might put an invisible box there so any devious person who tried to take advantage of that would get a taste of invisible-collide. Cheap, but a bit more fair to the ship. And for a light cruiser/gunship, I think the 8 twin turrets is enough. Its meant to be a fighter killer, not for engaging cap ships.
Title: Re: Light Cruiserish
Post by: Kosh on June 16, 2006, 12:39:30 pm
What sort of guns does it have?
Title: Re: Light Cruiserish
Post by: Wanderer on June 16, 2006, 01:23:15 pm
At this point it seems that Cretheus is going to get only relatively light guns... If ported to main FS stuff it would have mainly flaks and couple of terran turrets. No beams though.. Its not supposed to be supergunship that can outfight fullfledged cruisers in duels but rather a fast escort ship that can tear approaching fighters and bombers into shreads and still keep up with the fastest escorted ships.

Actual projected armament is large amounts (4 to 6 turrets) of rapid fire antifighter guns coupled with few (1 or 2 turrets of each) general purpose cannons and flaks.
Title: Re: Light Cruiserish
Post by: Axem on June 16, 2006, 10:29:56 pm
UV Mapped and texturing (sorta) is beginning. I'm no texture wizard, so I'm just pillaging the Media VP texture files and sticking them in. The windows I'll probably redo on my own since they need to be a bit different.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v109/NarfPics/cretexwip2.jpg)

If anyone can suggest some good textures to use, that'd be great. I don't really like the one on top of the lip at the front (Awactile).
Title: Re: Light Cruiserish
Post by: Trivial Psychic on June 17, 2006, 12:24:14 am
Heh, yeah. I might put an invisible box there so any devious person who tried to take advantage of that would get a taste of invisible-collide. Cheap, but a bit more fair to the ship. And for a light cruiser/gunship, I think the 8 twin turrets is enough. Its meant to be a fighter killer, not for engaging cap ships.
How about adding a meson-ish reactor in that space?  Not to say that it would be a Meson reactor, but it would resemble the Meson bomb.
Title: Re: Light Cruiserish
Post by: Shade on June 17, 2006, 08:42:43 am
Remember to add the big neon sign saying "Reactor core, shoot here for chain reaction" if you do that. Personally, if I were a starship captain I'd prefer my reactor well inside the armoured hull. I really like the model though. Ony thing that bugs me are those turrets on the side extenders, where I'd prefer just one extender with a turret on each side instead (sorta like you see on homeworld heavy cruisers). But overall, very nice job  :yes:
Title: Re: Light Cruiserish
Post by: Fineus on June 17, 2006, 11:46:26 am
Personally, if I were a starship captain I'd prefer my reactor well inside the armoured hull.
I always liked the notion that having the reactor exposed to space aided with cooling. But that might not be scientifically viable - I don't know ;)
Title: Re: Light Cruiserish
Post by: Axem on June 17, 2006, 12:18:25 pm
I think the problem with that idea is that vacuum is a terrible conductor of heat. So while it might be freezing, space won't take the heat away.
Title: Re: Light Cruiserish
Post by: Shade on June 17, 2006, 12:34:06 pm
Heh, yeah. If humans could survive such low pressures, we would not actually be troubled by the cold at all, as there is literally nothing there to transfer it. Space stations like the ISS need huge radiators to dump heat through infrared radiation as otherwise they'd be frying inside.

That had nothing to do with me wanting it inside though... that was simply because I wouldn't want every single enemy pilot trying to pull a death star trench run (without the trench or the hard to hit vent, just a big juicy target) on me.
Title: Re: Light Cruiserish
Post by: Axem on June 17, 2006, 08:46:38 pm
Pix

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v109/NarfPics/creth/creth1.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v109/NarfPics/creth/creth6.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v109/NarfPics/creth/creth9.jpg)
Title: Re: Light Cruiserish
Post by: Mehrpack on June 18, 2006, 02:26:08 pm
hi,
look really nice  :yes:

have that light curiser only flak or aaaf too?

Mehrpack
Title: Re: Light Cruiserish
Post by: Polpolion on June 18, 2006, 03:23:38 pm
Hows it work?
Title: Re: Light Cruiserish
Post by: Wanderer on June 18, 2006, 03:58:10 pm
hi,
look really nice  :yes:

have that light curiser only flak or aaaf too?

Mehrpack
Well.. i originally requested it for a mod setting where it is going to be very powerfull escort ship with more efficient anti fighter weapons.. But the stock FS2 version will mainly have flaks coupled with two AAAf turrets. As i said earlier its not meant to be a supership with huge AAAf and beam batteries.

Hows it work?
Umm... i take you mean is it ready? Well its atm without anything fancy (like lods).
Title: Re: Light Cruiserish
Post by: Polpolion on June 18, 2006, 04:37:58 pm
I mean like killing stuff, and stats like armor and top speed.
Title: Re: Light Cruiserish
Post by: Axem on June 18, 2006, 04:58:24 pm
From my modular table, it has a top speed of 50m/s, and it has 7000 hp (a Fenris has 10,000).

Going right up against a wing or two of fighters, it fares badly. However, stick one (or two) as an escort ship for a convoy, and they will do a good job protecting it when the normal escort fighters are a little far away from the convoy.

So far it works good as an escort ship, but not as an attack ship.
Title: Re: Light Cruiserish
Post by: phreak on June 18, 2006, 06:32:17 pm
Awesome work.  Sorta looks like the 2nd destroyer type from IW2.
Title: Re: Light Cruiserish
Post by: Mars on June 18, 2006, 06:34:03 pm
From my modular table, it has a top speed of 50m/s, and it has 7000 hp (a Fenris has 10,000).

Going right up against a wing or two of fighters, it fares badly. However, stick one (or two) as an escort ship for a convoy, and they will do a good job protecting it when the normal escort fighters are a little far away from the convoy.

So far it works good as an escort ship, but not as an attack ship.

The Fenris has 8,000 :nervous:
http://www.hard-light.net/wiki/index.php/GTC_Fenris#Performance: (http://www.hard-light.net/wiki/index.php/GTC_Fenris#Performance:)
Title: Re: Light Cruiserish
Post by: Axem on June 18, 2006, 06:39:07 pm
Huh, it does too. The Fenris is weaker than I thought. :p
Title: Re: Light Cruiserish
Post by: Mars on June 18, 2006, 06:40:33 pm
Considering what a woose the Fenris is though, 7,000 is good for a light cruiser in the Aeolus line of technology.
Title: Re: Light Cruiserish
Post by: Black Wolf on June 18, 2006, 07:30:42 pm
From my modular table, it has a top speed of 50m/s, and it has 7000 hp (a Fenris has 10,000).

Going right up against a wing or two of fighters, it fares badly. However, stick one (or two) as an escort ship for a convoy, and they will do a good job protecting it when the normal escort fighters are a little far away from the convoy.

So far it works good as an escort ship, but not as an attack ship.

The Fenris has 8,000 :nervous:
http://www.hard-light.net/wiki/index.php/GTC_Fenris#Performance: (http://www.hard-light.net/wiki/index.php/GTC_Fenris#Performance:)


/me whacks Mars with a wet fish.
Title: Re: Light Cruiserish
Post by: Axem on June 18, 2006, 09:45:35 pm
Upon actually looking at the ships.tbl, the Fenris (atleast in FS2) does indeed have 10,000 hp. Still horribly weak. The Aten has 18,000 for crying out loud.
Title: Re: Light Cruiserish
Post by: Mars on June 18, 2006, 09:49:35 pm
Damn now that I look it's 8,000 in FS1 and 10,000 in FS2

*runs off to edit the Wiki.*

Good catch, that artical has said 8,000 since before I delurked.
Title: Re: Light Cruiserish
Post by: Wanderer on June 18, 2006, 11:49:46 pm
That is/was really annoying as stats for ships are different in FS and FS2.
Title: Re: Light Cruiserish
Post by: Mehrpack on June 19, 2006, 11:27:37 am
Well.. i originally requested it for a mod setting where it is going to be very powerfull escort ship with more efficient anti fighter weapons.. But the stock FS2 version will mainly have flaks coupled with two AAAf turrets. As i said earlier its not meant to be a supership with huge AAAf and beam batteries.
[...]

hi,
i doesnt suspected that i have beams.
i had only ask if it had AAAf.
the reason was i would ask and i think thats at the moment, this is a standart setting in the GTVA.
a ship has two AAAf and other antifighter turrets.

but without AAAf: i see there no problems.
i can life with it *g*

Mehrpack