Hard Light Productions Forums

Modding, Mission Design, and Coding => The Modding Workshop => Topic started by: TrashMan on April 30, 2007, 09:32:09 am

Title: Teh Constructor...re-done (WIP)
Post by: TrashMan on April 30, 2007, 09:32:09 am
I'm starting to spiffy up this old bugger... I' just started an hour ago and I wanted some adviceon what to add.

This is a HUGE ship (bigegr than Collie) that's a mobile shipyard (evident by the HUGE bay below)
(http://img250.imageshack.us/img250/5915/constructor1qf1.th.jpg) (http://img250.imageshack.us/my.php?image=constructor1qf1.jpg)

(http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/9060/constructor2cy7.th.jpg) (http://img338.imageshack.us/my.php?image=constructor2cy7.jpg)

The green arrows point the the drawn black lines  where I plan to make griders (like on the Ravana and my Deamon)
So?
Title: Re: Teh Constructor...re-done (WIP)
Post by: HermeZ on April 30, 2007, 03:47:44 pm
Hmm... more engines? Maybe few guns (huge rotational turrets) and generally more details...

And in the first picture it looks like BS Galactica ;) :D
Title: Re: Teh Constructor...re-done (WIP)
Post by: TrashMan on April 30, 2007, 06:25:50 pm
Dunno about the huge turrets...this is a fleet support ship, not a battleships..
It will have a few turrets here and there, but nothing special....I think :confused:
Title: Re: Teh Constructor...re-done (WIP)
Post by: Mefustae on April 30, 2007, 06:33:02 pm
Dunno about the huge turrets...this is a fleet support ship, not a battleships..
It will have a few turrets here and there, but nothing special....I think :confused:
Perhaps two slightly different versions: A dedicated shipyard with no armament whatsoever designed to work far behind the lines, and a version designed to work on the lines retrofitted with a few beams, blobs and flaks. It should have an armament to reflect its size, but lousy placement could decrease the overall offensive efficiency so that it can't take down a Destroyer or anything.

Anyway, nice work. Not enough support ships these days. Perhaps you could give us an idea of scale and put a ship in the service bay?
Title: Re: Teh Constructor...re-done (WIP)
Post by: TrashMan on May 01, 2007, 04:09:02 am
A Lucifer can fit more than comfortably into that bay...how's that for size reference? :D
Title: Re: Teh Constructor...re-done (WIP)
Post by: Mefustae on May 01, 2007, 04:34:22 am
A Lucifer can fit more than comfortably into that bay...how's that for size reference? :D
Christ on crutches, she's big!
Title: Re: Teh Constructor...re-done (WIP)
Post by: HermeZ on May 13, 2007, 07:30:52 am
Any progress? :D
Title: Re: Teh Constructor...re-done (WIP)
Post by: Mobius on May 13, 2007, 07:46:47 am
Suggestions:

1) Arm it to the teeth;
2) Create interesting and realistic hangar bays plus construction facilities;

:)
Title: Re: Teh Constructor...re-done (WIP)
Post by: shiv on May 13, 2007, 07:50:58 am
Really nice ship... I don't like arcadia textures in the front of it. Remove it, please :P
Title: Re: Teh Constructor...re-done (WIP)
Post by: Vasudan Admiral on May 13, 2007, 09:30:18 am
Ok, for a ship of that kind of scale, I honestly think it needs far more in the way of geometric detail and less of a tiled texture appearance (which might even actually happen automatically as a result of more geometric detail).

You have multiple flat polygons the size of corvettes if not destroyers in there, and no matter what you want your design to be like in terms of philosophy, such huge flat and tiled areas look very fake and thus boring. The overall shape of this ship is quite simple - a good thing in this case; at that scale it makes it look impressive. It also means you can get away with spending a _lot_ of polygons on the hull itself to make it more interesting. Something that big is going to be a very complex machine right? Show some of that complexity off!

An example of what I mean would be a borg cube. Why is a borg cube more interesting than a flat faced cube covered in armour? Your eye can comprehend the full detail of a flat faced cube near instantly, and then gets bored and wants to move on. However, on the borg cube it can take in as much of the surface detail as it wants, which I reckon is what eye candy is all about. ;)

In fact, I think I may know how to prove it to you:
(http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y184/VA--Twisted_Infinities/Misc/TMDemo1.jpg)

Spent about half an hour smacking this together with no attention or thought paid towards overall design, individual greeble quality or anything remotely like it. It's based around the front of your design, and my aim is to show that just adding geometric complexity like this can straight away vastly increase the realism and eyecandy factors of most ship designs. :)

You also may notice that there are pretty much none of the recessed areas you said you dislike in the loki thread. ;)
All the greebles are individually quite simple, but when used together it creates a visual complexity that is far more interesting than flat surfaces.
Title: Re: Teh Constructor...re-done (WIP)
Post by: TrashMan on May 13, 2007, 10:14:39 am
Actually, that looks like what I'm aiming for :D

That are early WIP shots, so they're stil lvery simple.

Title: Re: Teh Constructor...re-done (WIP)
Post by: TrashMan on May 13, 2007, 03:27:44 pm
(http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/8661/constructor3vg8.th.jpg) (http://img140.imageshack.us/my.php?image=constructor3vg8.jpg)
This better?

I'm still not sure what to do with the front...perhaps I'll make those indents and recess similar to yours...
Title: Re: Teh Constructor...re-done (WIP)
Post by: Vasudan Admiral on May 13, 2007, 06:49:24 pm
That's imensely better, yes. :D Well done and keep it up.  :yes:
Title: Re: Teh Constructor...re-done (WIP)
Post by: Topgun on May 13, 2007, 07:03:36 pm
the textures tile too much. and by the way, how long did it take you to get to this point?
Title: Re: Teh Constructor...re-done (WIP)
Post by: TrashMan on May 14, 2007, 05:32:48 am
You mena from the first pic? Half hour or so...
Title: Re: Teh Constructor...re-done (WIP)
Post by: HermeZ on May 15, 2007, 05:48:00 am
It's beautiful :D
Title: Re: Teh Constructor...re-done (WIP)
Post by: Colonol Dekker on May 15, 2007, 06:44:09 am
Very nice,  Good to see an original ship........ :yes:
Title: Re: Teh Constructor...re-done (WIP)
Post by: HermeZ on May 15, 2007, 07:36:22 am
Oh does it have some kind of hangar bay for launching fighters?
Title: Re: Teh Constructor...re-done (WIP)
Post by: TrashMan on May 15, 2007, 09:13:52 am
2 bays...but I might add more
Title: Re: Teh Constructor...re-done (WIP)
Post by: Mobius on May 15, 2007, 11:34:45 am
You must add more! If that ship is even bigger than the Colossus, it should have plenties of hangar bays! It would be beautiful! :D
Title: Re: Teh Constructor...re-done (WIP)
Post by: TrashMan on May 16, 2007, 03:37:36 am
ya...but..it's a mobile repair yard...not really for combat..

Has to cary lots of people, equipment and spare parts + that huge destroyer bay below reduces the avialable volume... 2 bays should be enough..alltough I guess I could add 1-2 more o nthe front...
Title: Re: Teh Constructor...re-done (WIP)
Post by: Send in the TMF on May 24, 2007, 12:31:25 am
hecka awsum keep up the good work, do you think we could get some data like turrates/max area of docking bays(like how many fighters/bomber)/exactly how long (well almost exact)   keep up the good work  :D