Open War III: OOC

[FunkyFreshMan]

I actually asked that same question a while back. (This is my first battle thread, as well.) Go back to the very first page of this OOC. I think that's where it is. It should get you ball-park. Actually, it might be good to skim through it for a few pages since I probably asked a lot of the questions you'll probably have.

ESS Central's a wonderful resource. You won't find any of my characters there since, like I said, this is only my first battle, so if you need any info from me, I'll be glad to share what I can. But I can't just go around revealing all my secrets now, can I?

[Seagulls]

Salute*

[Will T]

I decided I'd take the liberty of having Vince make a clear decision, so I get a post out.

Hope that's OK, GT. I can change it if that's not what you wanted to happen.

[General_Trageton]

Nah that's perfect. Saves me much work
Heh, loved the last part

Now, apparently I cannot risk letting Gyttel aboard the Mirage. But I tihnk I know just the kind of ship suited for a team of that size.

[FunkyFreshMan]

It looks almost like it has a bronze tint to it. Is that actually in the textures or just the way the light is? Either way, it's pretty wicked! I think Gyttel would enjoy his stay on it.

Okay, this is sorta pertinent to the current thread. For those who haven't seen it (because I know some of you already have ) I've been revising my Day of Reckoning model a bit.

Here's before

And after

Being the first model I ever made, it was in desperate need of revision. I might see if I can push it a little further, but as you can see, there's already been major improvement.

[Will T]

I see what you're trying to do, but from my point of view there's no practicality to that design.

The whole stern of the ship is a big hollow block, that's got to be structurally weak. A couple of well placed shots and you've separated the entire ship from it's drive thrusters. Moreso, to me, there doesn't seem to be enough space between the hangar and the thrusters. Where's the power plant on this thing? The fuel tank?

Then there's the nose fuselage. I realise you need some space for the ship's occupants, but that front bit like entirely unneccessary. It looks like an attempt to make it aerodynamic despite there being no air in space. I reckon if you chopped off that nose and bulked up the divide between the hangar and the thrusters (outwards as well as lengthways) it would actually look better. That said, with a flatter front section and that cockpit, it would resemble a carrack cruiser, or one of GT's Liberator corvettes. You could give the bit behind the hangar a couple of winglets, maybe as gun mounts. Maybe give that hangar section a bit of thickening up too - a chamfered 'roof' on the top would make it look sturdier and make that back section more than a flat box.

Sorry if that's a bit heavyhanded, it is your design after all. I recognise it's your first model, and it's already way better than anything my modelling 'skills' (or lack thereof) have achieved. I just think it looks a little... goofy.

It looks like you've gone into a modelling package and seen what you can come up with, rather than something with a detailed design in mind.

But please, if you disagree with what I've said, feel free to ignore it. Like I said, at least you've been able to give your idea more than a doodle on the back of a notepad - unlike myself .

[FunkyFreshMan]

Moreso, to me, there doesn't seem to be enough space between the hangar and the thrusters. Where's the power plant on this thing? The fuel tank?

Ah, you noticed that, eh? Figured someone would. Don't know why I never bothered to fix that, but I definitely will, now. There are really a whole bunch of issues I have with that area. I had to devise this complex system of interlocking plates just to justify how the hangar doors would work. Of course, you can't see any indication of that here because I was going to do it in textures if it ever got that far.

It looks like you've gone into a modelling package and seen what you can come up with, rather than something with a detailed design in mind.

Yeah, pretty much. That's why I'm going back and revising it. It was originally based loosely off an extremely old design I had and the resulting first model was pretty much the product of opening Rhino for the first time with absolutely no previous experience and trying to come up with something close to said design. At that time, it took me forever just to figure out how to chamfer the sections so they would look slightly less box-like. And they still came out looking boxy. The first version of the model itself is at least two years old and the original design has to be—oh, goodness—six, seven years old, back when I struggled to comprehend the conversion between Metric and Imperial. That still messes me up sometimes. All that being said, though, the Reckoning isn't supposed to be a warship. She's a privately-owned transport sort of deal. The hangar only holds a handful of small ships; the midsection is all the living/operations decks, which would include bunks, galley, a small medbay, and other rooms that serve no other purpose than recreation. And the nose section is supposed to house an indoor small arms range (Yeah, I don't know. Don't ask), some backup systems and the fore landing skid. And, though it's not actually intended to be used extensively in atmo, it can land on a planetary surface.
In hindsight, the entire floor plan makes no sense, but it's just one of those things that, when you've had a design in mind for so long, you get attached to it, no matter how silly it is, and hate to change it too much. Or is that just me? It's not quite as fancy as, say, this, which was a teensy bit better thought out (WIP):

Which itself is also a somewhat older design/model and could also be accused of design flaws. (What exactly is the whole point of the giant fins, the vulnerability of the secondary thruster pods, etc. The apparent discrepancy of the windows/bridge viewport size, however, was intentional.) Of course, you could do that with a lot of ships. Fashion over function. And I haven't been at this nearly as long as, say, Master G_T Even since doing the above, I discovered a lot of things that I wish I had known back when I did it that would have made it come out closer to my original plan. And I've barely even started dabbling with textures.
And that's my little diversionary, excuse-laden, explanatory rant for the week. Now back to your regularly scheduled battle thread business. Seriously, though, I'm not trying to be cheeky or anything. Your thoughts are greatly appreciated as is your actually taking the time to share them. A lot of people I know outside the XWAU community tend to blow it off and just say, "yeah, that's nice" without putting near as much thought into it. I salute you for your insight, sir!

[General_Trageton]

It looks like you've gone into a modelling package and seen what you can come up with, rather than something with a detailed design in mind.

Nothing wrong with that, I do that all the time

[Will T]

Yeah, pretty much. That's why I'm going back and revising it. It was originally based loosely off an extremely old design I had and the resulting first model was pretty much the product of opening Rhino for the first time with absolutely no previous experience and trying to come up with something close to said design. At that time, it took me forever just to figure out how to chamfer the sections so they would look slightly less box-like. And they still came out looking boxy. The first version of the model itself is at least two years old and the original design has to be—oh, goodness—six, seven years old, back when I struggled to comprehend the conversion between Metric and Imperial.

Fair enough, I hadn't realised it was quite so old. And I still haven't figured out even that in Rhino (though admittedly I only tried it briefly, my woes in Gmax are far greater), so I have no right to criticise.

In hindsight, the entire floor plan makes no sense, but it's just one of those things that, when you've had a design in mind for so long, you get attached to it, no matter how silly it is, and hate to change it too much. Or is that just me?

Nope, not just you. I know exactly what you mean . That's the ship you designed and that's how it'll stay, I understand completely

And that's my little diversionary, excuse-laden, explanatory rant for the week. Now back to your regularly scheduled battle thread business. Seriously, though, I'm not trying to be cheeky or anything. Your thoughts are greatly appreciated as is your actually taking the time to share them. A lot of people I know outside the XWAU community tend to blow it off and just say, "yeah, that's nice" without putting near as much thought into it. I salute you for your insight, sir!

Thanks for taking it in such a positive tone, I realise it was a fairly critical take onn the design, and a little hypocritical coming from someone who doesn't even have a fraction of your artistic ability, but I know a contrasting opinion can ultimately help a lot, so I figured I'd present mine as is and see how you replied.

I like that other ship design a lot actually, looks very KotOR (as in the original TotJ comic, rather than the game and game inspired comics) - almost like a design bridge between the weird ships in those comics and the game (which was only set fifty or so years later). And I love that era, so I appreciate that look.

Nothing wrong with that, I do that all the time

Yeah, but you at least have a distinct style in place. Plus you're a lot more practised

[FunkyFreshMan]

Nothing wrong with contrasting opinions. I've always found that's a great way to learn. The only time it really bugs me when someone criticizes something is when they just say, "That sucks, I don't like it" without giving any reasonable explanation. Like I said before, it's your logic I appreciate. I might not be the smartest nerf on the farm, but I do like logic and thought and respect those who put as much, if not more, thought into something than I did. Sometimes you miss the most obvious things until you get a fresh set of eyes. (Like, for instance, the utter lack of engine space ) I'm sure you can see how very different the two ship designs are, though. Just what a few years' experience makes.

Yeah, but you at least have a distinct style in place. Plus you're a lot more practised

A LOT more practiced! Maybe in ten years or so I'll be near the same level of incredible, ship-making designery that you are. Ahh, it's good to have dreams....

[Mako]

Sorry for the absence. Been working on a new project. Introducing the Dominion class cruiser.


Now the newest in Coalition system security. Guaranteed to keep all your black market dealings safe with in KC controlled boarders. Get yours today!

[General_Trageton]

That's an interesting design. I love those engines. Onle quarrel I'd have with it is it looks like somebody stepped on it. You might wan to keep the engines round rather than squeezing them, too.

Now get your @$$ back into the thread or prepare to receive some serious whacking with my patented DBFP (TM)

[FunkyFreshMan]

I actually kinda like the oval engines. It's different. But that's just me. I definitely like all the little vent-things around the thrusters. The overall structure of it—almost like it's a smaller ship layered and spliced into a bigger one—is pretty cool, too.

[Mako]

GT wrote:
Onle quarrel I'd have with it is it looks like somebody stepped on it. You might wan to keep the engines round rather than squeezing them, too.

I wanted the engines to be oval in shape to get away from the usual/ordinary engine style. But even still yeah the ship does look kinda squished.

FFM wrote:
The overall structure of it—almost like it's a smaller ship layered and spliced into a bigger one—is pretty cool,

Actually you're not too far off. Once i got the basic shape down I cut it into smaller pieces and distorted some of them to make the smaller hull sections.
NOw that i look at the picture for the rear I notice the the picture makes the rear hull look as if it's curved and not straight as it really is. I like the curved idea better so I know what I'll be doing next. As for the Thread I guessing it's safe to say that Squarehead is AWOL. So it's time to bust my guys out. Time for the Cerebus' debut.

[General_Trageton]

OK, I gave some more thoughts to my GT-5000 Series, namely the GTX Corsair. While working on the Cockpit mesh (Yeah, it will have one ) I went a little nuts on it and built the entire ship's interior to get a clearer picture for myself, of how much space there is and what would be placed where.

Click the preview for the full version

[FunkyFreshMan]

Dude...that's crazy! Crazy awesome, that is. I love that kind of stuff. I kinda did the same thing with the Naginata Corvette. Made an entire bridge for it, even though that part could never make it into XWA. It's just fun to do!

[General_Trageton]

So ... who's next?

Post now and get a free pic of an awesome ship

[FunkyFreshMan]

Uh-oh, he's got something else to unveil!

Mako, you have anything? Obviously I set myself up for some stuff in my last post and I pretty much know where I'm going with it, but I'd rather have Mako go first, if possible, just in case it might affect anything with my post. Unless, of course, he's waiting for my post first in case it would affect his. Either way works for me!

[Mako]

Once again I was waiting to see if Squarehead would reappear or perhaps Dragon. But to no avail. So let me see what I can do.

[squarehead93]

*poof!*

sorry, been gone for the past few weeks. I'll get something up. Mako, correct me if I'm wrong, but it looked like you were going to handle the whole Canthas/ Montana Green rescue.

[General_Trageton]

Looking forward to your next post, Squarehead

Hmmm, my baby is coming together Made a lot of progress here in the last few days...

[FunkyFreshMan]

Yes, well, that is quite something there isn't it? It's so pretty! I want one! Loving the dynamic lighting and all those little windows. But what do you mean by coming together? Looks like it already came together and then some. You seriously do some amazing textures (and models, of course).

Squarehead!! Nice to see you again; I was starting to worry. All right, now we can get this baby moving again.

[squarehead93]

Man! It seems like everyone's coming out with these beautiful WIPs! I'll get a post up in a week. Goin' on a road trip.

[General_Trageton]

Heh, nice one, Mako. Looks like we're chasing the 'hood from two or three sides now.
Your turn, Squarehead. I leave it to you as to how the brotherhood deals with Shiromy's dramatic entrance.

I'd point out that it's not her aim to destroy the ship and crew - not yet at least. That entrance was more or less a provocation and a "don't f### with me" message. After all she'll rather convince them that she is the one they've been looking for

[squarehead93]

I'm baaaaack!

GT, I have a post in the works, but I'm not sure as to if and how want me to get Shiromy out of this. It sounds like you wanted her and Toth to fake like they wanted to join the BoS and then infiltrate it?