Bridge Commander Central
BC Forums => BC Modding => Topic started by: DJ Curtis on October 30, 2010, 03:23:51 PM
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So I got the modeling bug last night and have been working on this. I know I've go three other ships in the pipe, but hey, why not? It's been a while since I've done anything. I kinda got sucked into STO for a while, but am taking a break. Not sure what this is exactly yet, some sort of upper mid level cruiser. As I've been building it, it's showing signs of Galaxy, Sovereign, Prometheus, and maybe a touch of love too. :P
Anyhow, pics.
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Hey, cool. I hope you go with deflector bands for this, insted of a dish :thumbsup:
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The back seems very disproportionate to the front. If you don't want to lengthen it, then give it some bigger girth and beefier pylons.
Otherwise, Ryan approves. :thumbsup:
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as it is now, I'm seeing the same kind of "flat" nacelles that went on the Australia. i also have a feeling you've just created the Enterprise F.
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Already did that ship, KCS. ;)
As for being disproportionate in the rear, I actually did beef up the pylons right after posting. Also, the underside is fairly heavy, so as it stands I think it's working on it. Once I've the secondary hull fleshed out I'll post more pics.
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If suggestions are allowed..
Bartholdi-class, USS Belfort, NCC-91871
Cookie to the first one who gets the reference.
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The Lion of Belfort is Bartholdi's masterpiece, along with the Statue of Liberty.
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Already did that ship, KCS. ;)
I had to go look that up. the last Century I Dled was the Picard...it sucked :P someone must have changed stuff around. besides, I keep forgetting I have the Soulwolf class enterprise F
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DJ so glad to see you modding again. I love your ships!!! The TNG cruiser was awesome. Why not make this a link between the Galaxy and Sovie? The aft of the saucer looks like a mix of both
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Ha. Should had known that it was too easy. *cookie*
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That looks amazing DJ!
Your designs are always so expertly conceived and implemented. :)
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On a completely unrelated note that should not be elaborated on in this thread any further: (:P)
-Have you put any thought into rebuilding the Century class? Not re-imagining, but just making a v2.0. I'm sure over the years you've picked up some new tricks of the trade and could build a cleaner and more beautiful rendition. Even CG found ways to improve on his Sovereign.
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Here are the latest pics. Don't be too hard on the rear end of the ship, it needs significant refinement still.
Farshot--> The thought has crossed my mind before. Though when it really became serious, I made a list of things I would want to do, and the result was the Eclipse Class. With that in mind, the Ent F is a pretty solid mesh. Not as good as what I can do now, but still pretty good. I'm ont planning on redoing it any time soon. Plus my style and method of texturing is much different now. I'd have a hard time staying true to the original.
Kitkat--> Thanks. Just kind of flows.
Lionus--> I admit it. I Googled.
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Nifty
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I refined the back end. Still want to put details in, but or the moment, the basic shape is there. in the previous version, the nacelles sloped upward at the base. I could resolve that along the bottom, so I added a bit more to the dorsal section of the engineer hull by the shuttlebay and then level off he pylon bases. I rebuilt them entirely, but used the basic shape of the old ones.
*edit* I also refined the engineering hull around the under the saucer. I made it more traditional and less bulbous.
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as always looking good
great to have u back
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Thanks, though I never really went anywhere. I was checking in all summer almost every day, just not posting much. I was posting in the STO thread...
-added some detail to the underside of the saucer.
-finished reworking the aft end of the ship.
-widened the nacelle pylons.
-added bridge area.
I particularly like the last render. As far as positions for beauty shots go, that's a common one, and it looks good from that angle, I think.
That's it for tonight. :dance
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That's almost a Sovereign MkII Refit.. And there's no shame in using the Google, DJ. :D
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I like how you have added cloaking devices to the nacelles, should make it harder to lock on to them so you can still escape. :p
Really though, she looks great in those latest shots.
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Very nice design indeed.
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Nice original design. It's not an Enterprise, but definitely a cruiser. I look forward to see how you will be texturing this.
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just a suggestion, but have you thought about using MVAM on this ship so it separates like a galaxy class? If so i would ask you to add a torpedo turret to the saucer section, but its your idea, not mine so you can decide.
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DJ, she is just an awesome ship! :yay: :bow:
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Deadthunder--> The thought had crossed my mind about using MVAM. I'm not quite sure how it would work yet, given the impulse engines, but I've reworked a whole bunch of the lower saucer and much more smoothly integrated the two together. As you can see, there is now a much more obvious line for the separation plane than there was before. If I think of a way to make it work, I'll go for it.
Vladkko--> Thanks
Wiley--> You're right, this isn't going to be an enterprise, but if we assume that the Galaxy Class has a production run of 30 years or so, starting in the mid 2350's, then this might be a ship class that starts entering production in the late 2380's and early 90s as a replacement. (Not to replace the fleet of Galaxy's, but to replace the new production slots, so to speak.
Vortex--> Not sure what you mean about a cloaking device. In fact, I haven't added any nacelles yet. :P If you're talking about those two mechanical bits along the sides near the deflector, those are torpedo launchers, al a Excelsior class.
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Vortex--> Not sure what you mean about a cloaking device. In fact, I haven't added any nacelles yet. cheeky If you're talking about those two mechanical bits along the sides near the deflector, those are torpedo launchers, al a Excelsior class.
Sorry to butt in, but, I believe it was a joke, since the nacelles are invincible (missing).
On the main topic:
She looks great, always loved your designs DJ and it's interesting to see how this will turn out :thumbsup:
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Haha, do I ever feel like a dummy. Stupid internets, sarcasm is so hard to detect. #DJFAIL :hithead:
Anyhow, I added phaser arrays, and while we're on the topic of the nacelles, I've removed the cloaking devices... ;) Actually, at the moment these are just stand in study models. Nacelles can make or break a ship design, so I want to just put these there and stare at them for a while. They're pretty conventional, but that's more or less what I'm going for I think. Suggestions on the nacelles welcome. (Suggestions on the whole thing are welcome, as always.)
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Since it seems to have a lot of Edmonton-class in it, how about nacelles with some TMP/X-era flair to them?
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Don't worry DJ, I'll start putting "Sarcasm alerts" in my posts for ya. ;p
How about something like this for the buzzards:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uv-qYn_b7YQ/SRqG8xJ_scI/AAAAAAAAAM4/AxsUBs83LyE/s1600-h/Picture+12.png (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uv-qYn_b7YQ/SRqG8xJ_scI/AAAAAAAAAM4/AxsUBs83LyE/s1600-h/Picture+12.png)
(Last time I post a pic for reference, I promise. ;) )
Rest of the ship looks great.
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Whoa. That could make a very interesting ship. The inaccuracy of it made me not realize it was the Enterprise for about a second, then I realized it was just terribly done. In places, it's different enough to be something totally awesome. I particularly like the saucer and nacelles. Now I want to model "The Playmates Sovereign Class", full of all the inaccuracies that somehow make it look cool.
And yes, somehow I feel that those bussards would look good.
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how about you split the Impulse engines in half, and at that split the ship will seperate?
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Adding on to what DT said, how about mirroring the impulse engines so that there's a pair directly underneath the current ones, and split between the two?
Farshot: I've always loved the nacelles on that toy, been very tempted to get one just for that. I've never been able to get any photo's of the underside though Don't want to derail this thread with it though. xD
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Love the new ship, can't wait to squash some bugs with it.
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I kinda like those nacelles you have right now lol
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Vortex--> Great suggestion, (and don't worry, I don't mind reference pics.) I'm using those bussards as a cue and am starting to build the nacelles, what do you think so far?
Deathunder--> I like the idea. i'm thinking about it. I have to take into account how the cobra head will look, so I'll keep it on the backburner for the moment.
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wow, nice!
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Glad you liked it, you've got a great start there.
How about something like this for the grille?
(Forgive the bad paint job, I'm to tired to open up photoshop. xD )
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Here's an idea for the sep. Most of the idea is contained in the impulse engine separation, not the cobra head, which I failed at sketching.
Also, I look at this thing and I see some elements of my Ent I design. Am I right, or no? Cause it looks hot. :P
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I see what you're getting at with the drawing, though I think the cobra head will extend out further. I'll post some orthos soon which might help. Decent sketch, by the way.
You should post some pics of your Ent-I in this thread or link to them so I can have a look. I haven't looked at it since you first posted about it a while back.
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http://bc-central.net/forums/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=7613.0;attach=45399;image (http://bc-central.net/forums/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=7613.0;attach=45399;image)
The aft view mostly. Impulse engines, pylons, shuttlebay, overall shape. I like. :D Gotta go now, but I have some more ideas. I'll post in a couple of hours.
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Whoa. That could make a very interesting ship. The inaccuracy of it made me not realize it was the Enterprise for about a second, then I realized it was just terribly done. In places, it's different enough to be something totally awesome. I particularly like the saucer and nacelles. Now I want to model "The Playmates Sovereign Class", full of all the inaccuracies that somehow make it look cool.
Actually, it's not really inaccurate. The First Contact Enterprise E that Playmates did was based on the concept art for the ship and not the final design. Hence the four shuttlebays in the saucer, the huge impulse engine where the main shuttlebay should be, and the completely different nacelles.
Anyways, back on topic, I agree that the bussards look good for this particular ship. Can't wait to see what happens with the rest of the nacelle.
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Voila, the rest of the nacelle!
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Also, here are the orthos of the ship so far.
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Hmm, the idea I have now is pretty hard to sketch. In words:
The impulse engines seen here stay with the secondary hull when separating. The saucer's impulse engines are housed immediately fore of these, and after separation, they are exposed and fire to life.
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That would work!
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This is close to the idea. Pay no mind to the battle bridge structures, I just threw those in as place-holders.
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Awesome, Farshot. What I'm doing is pretty similar. The main thing is that I have to leave a space in the middle of the cobra head to accommodate the shuttlebay that goes along with the saucer. Gotta think about the inside of the ship.
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Schmexy!!
Have a cookie, sir!
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The main thing is that I have to leave a space in the middle of the cobra head to accommodate the shuttlebay that goes along with the saucer. Gotta think about the inside of the ship.
Ah yes, that definitely would be a consideration. :facepalm:
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Sweetness!
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why not a collapseable bridge under the shuttlebay?
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ummmmm i dunno, that just sounds silly lol
i dont mean to sound rude... :P
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The more you add moving parts, the more you have things that can go wrong (BMW). Keep it simple and it'll work after nuclear holocaust (Volvo).
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Ok, here's the solution for the impulse engines. I decided to go with the split engine design. What do you guys think? Obviously, it's not complete yet, and please ignore the weird shading.
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I was thinking in spliting it horizontally, vertically kinda looks wierd to me
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Okay, the separation is pretty well set up.
*edit* Also, just gotta show this picture. (last one) I love the way the ship looks from this angle.
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I wasn't liking it at first, but now I'm getting a feel for it...I like it! Keep it up DJ!
Oy, I really need to learn from the master *bows* :P
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I was sort of with eclipse74569 when I started looking at the thread, but she has pulled together nicely. Very unique looking.
Sort of has the feel of one of the concept designs for the Sovereign I saw for "First Contact" the way you made the pylons.
Will be interesting to see how you go with the textures for this one.
Nice job. :)
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That separation plane looks really neat. I like the vertical split in the impulse drive, gives it a unique flavor.
EDIT: One other thing, DJ I really love how your MVAM ships always look like the separate pieces could just be starships on their own.
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It?s to much cool!! :yay: :dance
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That separation plane looks really neat. I like the vertical split in the impulse drive, gives it a unique flavor.
EDIT: One other thing, DJ I really love how your MVAM ships always look like the separate pieces could just be starships on their own.
Technically they are ships on their own :P *runs*
I just can't wait to see the textures on this baby!
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DJ, when you are done with the model and you are about to texture, make the bussards transperant, like in the Ecplise. It was very cool :) About your progress now, I can say she is just beautiful! :thumbsup:
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Oh that turned out nicely.
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Great work as always, dude. :)
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Regarding the split, I would change the angle of split a bit. The saucer's engines look fine, but the secondary hull's don't sit right with me.
Right now it's very vertical. I would split it at more of a 45 degree angle.
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I've added a bunch of details to the ship and changed a few things. I also optimized in a number of places, redistributing polys from less needy areas to more needy ones.
Key areas of work--
bridge reshaped
deflector enhanced
mesh of saucer underside reworked
added details to aft nacelles
added detail above saucer shuttlebay
added paneling under rear shuttlebay
Most of the work I've done to the mesh isn't really noticeable, but the mesh is better.
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I really like the direction youre going with this! Awesome!
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I would have no objections at all if you'd add the deuterium fill ports to the aft top dorsal, between the 3 torp tubes :)
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Those two parts on the spine aren't launchers, they are the fill ports. :)
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Very nice work there mate. :thumbsup:
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Thanks Marky.
I've reworked the separation. The split impulse looked cool at the impulse, but as I stared at it more, with the shuttlebay, the saucer would have to shimmy both backwards and forwards at the same time to successfully separate. Obviously that's not possible, so I'm going to work out an alternative solution for saucer impulse engines.
I also eliminated the edge that ran around the base of the cobra head, so now the drive section flows smoothly into the saucer section like on the enterprise d.
For now, this is how things look. The next place I'm going to go is some sort of captain's yacht.
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split them horizontally
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Thanks for the suggestion, deadthunder, but doing that wouldn't leave enough room for the fusion reactors.
Does anyone have any suggestions for what to do in the captain's yacht/lower sensor dome area? I rendered that area so you can draw over it. I move the saucer up a bit so you can see the separation plane.
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Wait!, put impulse engines on the nacelle pylons!
also, why not a testbed torpedo turret on the bottom saucer?
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Can you try to make a hole in the engineering hull, and make in this part of the saucer connected the captain's yacht. the whole on the engineering will be like for the yacht can fly away without the need of separating and when separating, yacht will be still attached to the saucer. And the hole needs to be a bit bigger than the yacht for safely separating :)
My english is still a bit bad, so I hope you understand me DJ ;)
Edit:
Here is and my ungly painting. With the pencil is written "the hole" and with the pen is written "the yacht". Sorry for my ugly painting and writing :D I hope I've helped ;)
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I think something like this, slim line looks like its good for entering an atmosphere, i need more time to draw it out but the shape of your impulse engines fits perfectly with the idea i have in my head :P
Of course you'd need to scale it to a size thats suitable to the ship.
I tried to keep the prometheus/sovereign/galaxy hybrid shape. although there might be a hint of defiant. I'll finish the design if you like what i've got here.
Anyway see what you think.
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yes EDD, that's better. I only pointed the hole :)
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I recommend something simple, with a ventral appearance very similar to the Galaxy class, except elongated. Maybe visible nacelles, either on pylons, in wings, or built in.
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Farshot, detele the warp naccels, because when separating, will be hard to pass with the engineering, because it is attached on the saucer as it should be. I think EDD's one is better ;) But this is DJ's ship, still he didn't accept the idea :)
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Mine isn't going with a hole in the cobra head. IMO, that would look weird.
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Thanks for the suggestions so far guys, I'm leaning towards the elongated galaxy style, but am not sure yet. Feel free to keep them coming.
After spending some time on Skype with Adonis, I redid the cobra head from scratch. Previously it was too complicated. As a result, the main shuttlebay is now a part of the drive section, and I've moved it back a ways. I've added a small shuttlebay behind the bridge so that the saucer still has shuttles. I've also added details to the nacelles, deflector, and refined a bunch of areas in the mesh. I've also cleaned up the impulse engine housing. The engines are now entirely attached to the drive section, and as you can see, when the saucer separates, two impulse engines are exposed.
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Incredible, awesome :thumbsup: Cookied ;)
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Also, I made this for fun.
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Love it!!
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Another winner for sure.
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nice, although it could use bigger engines on the saucer, I think you could put two larger impulse engines in the cut out, but further apart than the existing ones, approximately even with the Stardrive impulse engines. Perhaps that way they can tie the reactors into the mains during docked flight mode. Also, placing the engines further apart allows for higher maneuverability at Impulse speeds during separated flight. The holes where the existing engines are would make a good place for a torpedo bank.
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nice, although it could use bigger engines on the saucer, I think you could put two larger impulse engines in the cut out, but further apart than the existing ones, approximately even with the Stardrive impulse engines. Perhaps that way they can tie the reactors into the mains during docked flight mode. Also, placing the engines further apart allows for higher maneuverability at Impulse speeds during separated flight. The holes where the existing engines are would make a good place for a torpedo bank.
seconded
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I'll third that. :P No matter what you do DJ, this already has my download. :thumbsup:
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Yes, but the saucer should have at least a fore torpedo tube
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I really don't think the saucer needs bigger engines than what's on there already. Adonis and I actually talked about this... Most of a ship's weight is in the drive section on account of the warp coils. They're by far the part of the ship with the most mass. The saucer section is not nearly as heavy, and thus doesn't require as much propulsive energy.
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only DJ could title a thread "cuiser" and have it go 5 pages. :yay: :bow: I like it ofcourse, as always. :thumbsup:
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I think what's throwing us off is the circular impulse drives in the saucer when the other impulse engines are rectangular.
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I think what's throwing us off is the circular impulse drives in the saucer when the other impulse engines are rectangular.
I agree, something more in line with the look of the main impulse would look better and go better with your design.
I also like the thought of the yacht being more like the Galaxy's but with an egg type shape.
Very nice. :thumbsup:
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what about this since the ship does have some similaries to a sovereign as well as a galaxy what about a combination torpedo turret captains yacht like they have on the sovereign?
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agreed, a turret would be great, but it should be on the saucer instead of on the snakehead because the saucer needs torpedoes. It is to protect civilians, and torpedoes are needed to protect from large starships
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After several experiments, I've actually decided not to extrude anything from the underside of the saucer. When the ship separates, it just looks funny, no matter what I put there. I'll work something out.
Here's a look at early textures. I'm going with an extruded look like on the Athena, only in more detail. Pay no mind that the phasers are rendering oddly. The mapping is somehow buggy and I've yet to fix it.
Also, I'm going to go with a separate ID map on this ship, for those of you who like to customize your ships.
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good one. will make her look more armored.
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After looking at it for a couple hours, I think I've going to make the paneling more uniform and less bumped up.
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Great start on the textures DJ, I also agree with your last comment :thumbsup:
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and with that...
I've gone with a more uniform hull paneling. There is a three color scheme going on, with a grey, light blue, and cream color for highlights.
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Take a cookie mate.. that looks superb :bow:
:thumbsup:
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Getting pretty darn good, but if I were you I would revise one of two things: the layout of the windows or the paneling. Because when the windows sit on top of the panel edges, it looks like they're "floating" above the actual surface, without depth.
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Getting pretty darn good, but if I were you I would revise one of two things: the layout of the windows or the paneling. Because when the windows sit on top of the panel edges, it looks like they're "floating" above the actual surface, without depth.
I disagree mate, granted at the minute at this stage of texturing the windows are not 100% and the paneling may still be a little too prominent, but I do not think you should let the panelling dictate your window placement. Instead i think we should think that the port holes are cut out of the main shape and as such are as shown.
But i do see where you are coming from. :thumbsup:
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Cookied!! Love this ship. :D
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Looking real nice DJ.
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Thanks.
Work progresses. The name is more or less a placeholder until I come up with something, unless you guys figure it should stay.
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What the hell, I say go for it. The original Excelsior was a testbed of sorts, maybe this one is too? Besides, the Excelsior would be around 90 or so years by now (2370-ish), so it would be about time to replace her.
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TBH, until you slapped the name on there, I was wracking my mind to see if this would replace something. I think it would be the perfect successor to the Excelsior class. She has the general build, but with far sleeker lines to her.
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I wish I can make ships like that :bow: :bow: :bow: It's awesome! :thumbsup:
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You know, I generally don't like any ship named "Excelsior - A" but somehow it just fits that ship.
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Awesome ship!! :yay: -I agree the name Excelsior works for this ship. It seems very reminiscent of the excelsior in many ways, like the forward torpedo launchers. I do, however, feel that any ship calling itself excelsior ship be a large ship...idk if that's just me. Do you have an idea on how big this ship will be compared to a sovereign class?
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Excelsior all the way!
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Mmm.. Perhaps Excelsior - B or Excelsior - C?
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The original Excelsior (or so we are led to believe) was still operating during TNG, a B or C might be a bit much.
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i dunno, i disagree with everyone here lol
it just seems very difficult for me to get used to any ship being called Excelsior if it is not from that class or a kitbash/style of that class...
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I agree with Jimmy, so many great names out there plus I feel that the Enterprise should be the only ship with a letter prefix. If you are going to call her Excelsior it should be in honour of Sulu's ship with a standard registry. I think she looks like a Majestic, the name is free thanks to the Dominion. :funny
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I'll take all the suggestions under advisement. I do like the name, Majestic. I also like Fearless. Like I said, the name is more or less a placeholder for the moment. It's always interesting to me though how the name of a ship can sort of make or break it. For example, on JOAT there is a really well designed ship, not always pretty, but well designed and detailed... and it's called the USS Arrogant. To me, the name wrecks the ship.
Anyhow, did some work to the bridge module and the underside of the saucer.
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Looking so sweet DJ!!
Seeing as it is Remembrance in the UK and Commonwealth how about naming her after a famous ship in any of the Royal Navies? I have a roundabout connection to the Canberra, a Belfast built liner which was used as a troopship in the Falklands War. She was right at the heart of the action alongside HMS Fearless. My parents met in the Falklands and I was born in Belfast.
Or for something quite topical here in the UK what about Nimrod or Ark Royal?
Anyway DJ keep up the great work. Every ship you do I think how can he top that and you always do!
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Eerie? How do you mean?
I guess I'm bored of saying "It doesn't look right". :P
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Judging from the Starfleet Insignia you have chosen, this ship fits into the Era with your 1701-G? She's looking good, and Majestic sounds like a good choice over Excelsior.
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Underside of the saucer is progressing.
Nihilus--> Used the wrong one. I took it out. This ship is somewhere in the 2380s I think.
Dalek--> I'm in too deep. That's not changing. :D
Mckinneyc--> Thanks for the suggestions.
Toa_Kaita--> Not crazy about that. Neb's suggestion neither. I like to go with pretty traditional western names. British ships often have the best sounding names to me. Though, Nimrod isn't one. Lol.
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Hmm...you could add some e la Sovvie style panels all over, slightly saturated teal, blue, purple, skin color or combos of two of either or even bronze colored panels. Whichever of these looks good on her. Remember my Rising Sun class slipstrem ship? She has the purple/skin color combo.
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I'll do some more detailing and paneling later on in the texturing process.
Starting on the secondary hull...
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She is looking well DJ.
May I suggest placing a registry number in yellow on the approach to the main shuttlebay? Like the Galaxy class had.
Also at the rear of the superstructure on the saucer section is that a secondary shuttlebay or a cargobay?
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hi right i might get a bit of slack for this but i dont like the design (but it is growing on me). I know alot of hard work goes into making a ship, but i feel that the sacuer neck just dont go with the eng hull and warp eng's, but hay it will be great when finished like all DJ's work.
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That looks absoloutely brilliant. Awsome texture job so far :thumbsup:
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Awesome job, DJ, as always.
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Man that paneling is coming along nice, raised effect is coming along well.
Color scheme was unexpected, Design wise, thought it would be more like Century. It really sets the design off IMO, looks great. :thumbsup:
Was wondering what you were planning for these sections? Just curious.
(http://i1135.photobucket.com/albums/m633/Captain_D111_photo/54_question.jpg)
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Man that paneling is coming along nice, raised effect is coming along well.
Color scheme was unexpected, Design wise, thought it would be more like Century. It really sets the design off IMO, looks great. :thumbsup:
Was wondering what you were planning for these sections? Just curious.
(http://i1135.photobucket.com/albums/m633/Captain_D111_photo/54_question.jpg)
Windows could easily go there, like on the Sovereign.
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Yeah, some windows would be nice in those locations.
I think however, that the edges of those sections are too sharp.
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Wow. That looks really slick :dance
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would be awesome to see one of your designs submitted for the STO enterprise contest. your work is always top notch :thumbsup:
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He wouldn't be able to since he doesn't live in America. I almost forgot that myself, hes a Canadian like me.
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He wouldn't be able to since he doesn't live in America. I almost forgot that myself, hes a Canadian like me.
TBH, I'm saddened by that restriction on any contest. It's completely unfair.
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TBH, I'm saddened by that restriction on any contest. It's completely unfair.
It has to do with international law. The dev's on the official forums have talked about it.
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Thats why you send your design to one of us.
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I love this Model, It doesn't have any random chunky parts or over smoothed parts, IMO it really represents what 25th Century ship Design really is About..
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Hey guys. Sorry it's been so long since an update on this ship, as well as others. I had a really busy December and basically traveled all through Christmas, so I didn't make time to work on any mods. In fact, I didn't even really visit BCC much.
That being said, I'm going to try and get this ship finished in a reasonable time frame since things have cooled off a lot. December is an insane month for teachers. :hithead:
I worked on the drive section today. I mapped out the bottom of the cobra head, as well as reworking part of the mesh around the impulse engines. I also felt that the dorsal phaser coverage was lacking, so I added Venture style phaser arrays to the tops of the nacelles.
I gave the hull lines a heavy forward slant, so that from the side view, you'd be able to draw smooth angled lines that match up with the pylons, the drive section, and the lines that sweep in on the top rear part of the saucer. I'll do some more work tomorrow.
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Oh My GOD he's alive!!!
LOL Welcome back DJ and wow!!! :eek can we say comeback with a vengence???
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The more i see of this ship, the more i think she is great!! Cookie :evil: I really love the plating you have on it, looks real, i think it would be great to see some sovy style dark plating jest for some accent.
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Love it!!
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Wow really great. Wonder what you will do with the naccelle texture. BTW cant wait for your realease of your part from christmas. Yes i know that real life is much more important than BC. Oh, and Cookie.
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Whats this thing called "real life" people keep talking about around here, I never heard it before ;)
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Whats this thing called "real life" people keep talking about around here, I never heard it before ;)
Me neither, must be really important, I hear about it alot.
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Good to have you back DJ.
Good work on this ship... really like the forward swept nacelles.
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I've moved on to the underside of the cobra head. The details in here are taking a while, because I'm having to render a small bit, then go back to the model, then render again, and back, etc. so that I can get everything lined up just right.
As to the real life bit: It's not uncommon for me to put modeling to the side for a couple of months. Probably won't be the last time. I've been spending a lot of my free time playing STO with my wife. I should actually fire up BC soon. I don't think I've played since summer.
One other thing... do you guys have suggestions for the deflector color scheme? Yellow, blue? I was thinking of doing something similar to my Enterprise G and having a black exterior housing with a meshed blue glow on the inner parts. Thoughts?
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i'll say go with Enterprise G-style. Think it suits best compared with the other textures.
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I've no idea why I'm suggesting this Color...But Purple Deflector?
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I've no idea why I'm suggesting this Color...But Purple Deflector?
You know, i had the same thought. Here would be the colors in purple/blue range I would suggest if you decide to go that route ,
(http://i1135.photobucket.com/albums/m633/Captain_D111_photo/Colorsm_01.jpg)
Whats this thing called "real life" people keep talking about around here, I never heard it before ;)
It's the thing that SUCKS sometimes,,, :P
I figured as much about your absence. know how it is about that, finding time between life and what you really want to do. Seems like the older I get, the less time there is.
Things shaping up nicely on her, keep up the great work. :thumbsup:
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Well, I actually spent my RL time doing stuff I like. I have a great career that I somewhat blindly chose wisely. So when I'm not modeling, it's not taht I'm off miserable and toiling through hardships.... lol. I just choose to do other stuff from time to time.
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I'm really liking this ship, DJ :]
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Well, I actually spent my RL time doing stuff I like. I have a great career that I somewhat blindly chose wisely. So when I'm not modeling, it's not taht I'm off miserable and toiling through hardships.... lol. I just choose to do other stuff from time to time.
Didn't mean for it to come off that way, just saying that does happen sometimes. I had been on DC Universe Online for a bit now myself. Those type of games can eat up alot of free time.,, :D
Sorry for getting off topic.
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No probs man. Didn't come off bad.
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We don't see many of your ships that use subtle beveling of the hull paneling. I like it.
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I liked the beveling looked on the Athena, so I thought I'd try a more detailed version of it.
Here's the deflector and some more of the cobra head bottom.
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That's actually a really unique design for the deflector dish! I like it a lot. Roll with it. :]
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wow, this IS awsome, i could use some tips from you DJ, pm me if your willing to give me some tips k?
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I really love that deflector. It's extremely unique.
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I really love that deflector. It's extremely unique.
Agreed.
Kirk: Mr Sulu, load *cookie torpedo*.
Sulu: Ready, sir!
Kirk: Fire!
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That sir is excellent. Like the details on the launchers also. :thumbsup:
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Sure looks good, but with the bevel effect in your last image, I'm not too sure if it looks that great.
~Jb
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That sir is excellent. Like the details on the launchers also. :thumbsup:
^^What he said.
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Thanks!
I did a bunch of re-texturing to the top of the drive section. I never showed off what I had, but I scrapped it all up there and redid it. It's a lot better now. I also mapped the nacelle pylons, so all major surfaces are now mapped except for the nacelles.
Bedtime! :D
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Ah, if only the Enterprise-D could have had half the grace of this beauty. :D
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Looking real nice.
I have to agree with Wiley though, I like the bevel but I feel it might be too extreme... maybe a more subtle bevel effect would do the trick.
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Ah, if only the Enterprise-D could have had half the grace of this beauty. :D
Them there are fighting words :bitch: lmao
Glad to see your back working on this, she is a pretty girl, I'm going to enjoy blow stuff up with it
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Here's the latest update. When BCC goes down for relocation, I'll be positing to this thread at BCS: http://bcs-tng.com/forums/index.php?topic=4763.0 (http://bcs-tng.com/forums/index.php?topic=4763.0)
Other than working on the pylons, I've changed the blue hull color to a gentle green. It smooths the hull out a bit and accentuates the 'whiteness' more than the blue did. I've also done the nacelle grills and the bussard collectors. I'll probably play with the red part of the collectors yet. I don't want to do a transparent effect, but I'm not happy with what's there.
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,,,,,,,,,,,,,Other than working on the pylons, I've changed the blue hull color to a gentle green. It smooths the hull out a bit and accentuates the 'whiteness' more than the blue did. I've also done the nacelle grills and the bussard collectors. I'll probably play with the red part of the collectors yet. I don't want to do a transparent effect, but I'm not happy with what's there.
After seeing the pics of the hull, I agree with that decision. evens out the whole look of the ship, though I liked it before.
With the bussards, wouldn't look bad with transparency, but a very light one.
Perhaps if you went toward the look of the Sov's plasma effect a bit more with what you have now, it would work nice with it. Those engines are turning out great. The inlaid bussard assembly with the textures look awesome.
Cookie from me, nice work. :thumbsup:
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She looks wonderful DJ.
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Really, really, really good. Another masterwork from one of the greats!
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Thanks fellas.
I spent some time on the nacelles tonight. Put a lot more work into them than it looks so far. Those angled lines were a real pain to line up smoothly given that there are 3 sides of the nacelle that I had to texture map.
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very nice. good work on the grills. simple, yet very effective. you might leave the bussards as they are now, because it makes the ship look a lot more tng classy.
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I really like those "ample" nacelles DJ.
*offtopic*Heh, Simon Pegg is never gonna live that line down.
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You just keep outdoing yourself DJ. wow
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great work Dj but is it me or the eng section might need a few more escape pod hatches, I have only seen 6 hatches on the bottom of the ship, texture look great so does the ship.
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Yeah. I plan on finding some spots to add more.
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Update time. I've don't a bunch of work to the underside of the pylons. I've also textured the phasers, though they're still rendering funny for some reason. They look fine in the viewer.
I've done two sets of textures for the nacelles, but rid myself of them both times. i just can't come up with a hull scheme on the nacelles that I'm happy with. I'll keep working at them.
Textures are about 75% complete. Also, I added some more escape pods to the secondary hull.
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I really like that a lot DJ, nice work :)
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what can i say... impressed as always. you make it look easy.
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Thanks Mark, JTK.
Guys, I'll update the thread over at BCS from now until BCC comes back up next week.
http://bcs-tng.com/forums/index.php?topic=4763.0 (http://bcs-tng.com/forums/index.php?topic=4763.0)
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Those textures are epic :thumbsup:
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definatly going on my install :bow:
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definatly going on my install :bow:
Yeah hen DJ decides to update us again...
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yup
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Ship's alive and well, with textures that are nearly complete. Problem is that the old computer I has max 3.1 on is pooched. Right now I can't do any converting. Anyone know how to convert using nifskope?
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I'd be glad to help if I had proper Internet. I am running on 3G on my phone
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DJ, what do you mean about converting? Going from a Max file to NIF? I can do that with Max 2009 right now . . .
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That's precisely what I mean. Do you have a .nif exporter plugin for max 9 that will work with BC?
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Yep. I believe I got it here (http://sourceforge.net/projects/niftools/files/max_plugins/3.3/). Although if that doesn't seem right, I can always convert for you.
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Question: Does Nifscope have the ability to convert a nif to a tga? I have a couple of mods where the creator made the textures nif's and I'd like to convert them back to tga's so I can tweak them.
BTW, good to have you back DJ... been a while.
One more question for DJ. How's work going on the final release of your Sovereign?
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good question. i have an older mod that needs a major cleanup, but all textures are part of the nif (and the nif itself needs repaired, too)
a lot of people are holding off on releasing anything until Break fixes FF's problems.
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Yep. I believe I got it here (http://sourceforge.net/projects/niftools/files/max_plugins/3.3/). Although if that doesn't seem right, I can always convert for you.
That worked perfectly, Locke! Thanks!
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DJ, if you dont have a name for this class of ship yet, i have a suggestion, if i may post it.
heres my suggestion on its name and registry.
Aether Class
U.S.S. Aether
NCC or NX-84755
you dont have to use this, its just a suggestion that i think suits the ship beautifully, but if you had a name and regisrty in mind use whichever you feel fits.
and this is one awsome ship that i dont think i could equal.
(a note to jimmy and other moderators, i had to get this out now before id forgotten it)
EDIT: just read the BCS thread, the Excelsior A, seems to fit the ship fine, disregard my class name and registry idea unless it sparks something for you DJ.
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cant wait to see the finish model
and i hope you'll post orthos of this and ur cardassian ship (great job on that by the way)
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Yep. I believe I got it here (http://sourceforge.net/projects/niftools/files/max_plugins/3.3/). Although if that doesn't seem right, I can always convert for you.
cookie sir....cookie
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So the whole pod thing on the Swift is kind of vexing me right now, so I switched back to this ship which I like way better anyhow.
-changed the overall color scheme
-textured the cobra head and saucer undercut
-fixed some window textures
-added details in numerous spots
I realize it's been a while since I've touched this thing, but better late than never I guess.
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the ship looks great!!
about how large is it? seems about the size of a galaxy class?
any chance to show a comparison shot side by side with a gal or sov?
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I think about this size.
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Yay, the mastah is back! Good to see this baby is still on your mind. ;)
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judging by the windows size i think the Cruiser should be a little bit bigger than the Galaxy :)
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Have a cookie DJ. I'm glad you've gotten back to this one.
Also, I love how so many of your ships with separation capabilities look like the individual sections could work as completely separate ships on their own.
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As they say at Micky D's,,"I'm Lovin' it.",, :yay:
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Beautiful ship DJ!
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I think I'm about done with the diffuse textures on the Excelsior now. Here are a few renders with a modified lighting rig.
If you guys have any suggestions for the textures throw em at me.
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She looks fantastic, I have no suggestions. :thumbsup:
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looks good, and id suggest putting some dark hull areas on the ship like the sovereign class has, the ship seems a little bland withought em to me...
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looks good, and id suggest putting some dark hull areas on the ship like the sovereign class has, the ship seems a little bland withought em to me...
As I wipe the drool off my face,,,, :drool:,,,,I can't see anything wanting at all.
If you feel the need to do so, I would go with a shade not much darker than the landing area of the shuttlebays. Anything darker and it would look like a checkerboard, My opinion anyway.
Stunning detail. :thumbsup:
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as per normal i really like it - it dont scream excelsior to me but damn its good! i dunno think its the lengh of the hull and nacelles for me but otherwise the MVAM part is SUPER SEXY!! good work as normal dj!
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If you feel the need to do so, I would go with a shade not much darker than the landing area of the shuttlebays. Anything darker and it would look like a checkerboard, My opinion anyway.
Yeah exactly that
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Depends, I would suggest the new glow system that Cord worked on a few months back for his Nova class.
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I would make the Ventral Saucer registry bigger but thats just a personal preference. You might also think about tweeking the contrast of tha panaling so that it stands out a bit more but again these are just personal preferences. Sho look great! :yay:
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Looks like a model! (compliment!) Cookie!
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looks good, and id suggest putting some dark hull areas on the ship like the sovereign class has, the ship seems a little bland withought em to me...
I was thinking that too, but that second shot just looks so perfectly clean, I think the darker areas would kill the look. Maybe on the dorsal around the bridge and impulse area, it would work, but the venteral doesn't need it.
She's worthy of the Excelsior name, nicely done DJ.
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Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't see any impulse engines for the saucer section. :idk:
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Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't see any impulse engines for the saucer section. :idk:
:lostit: You're right. DJ Curtis' head implosion in 3, 2, 1..
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Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't see any impulse engines for the saucer section. :idk:
As I recall, they are inside the connection area of the saucer.
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6 billion Silver dollars for Captain_D :P
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Jingle bells, jingle bells...
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Do I really have to say that it looks fantastic in-game? I think it already goes without saying, ya know. :thumbsup:
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Jingle bells, jingle bells...
She's in game,,HOORAY!,,, :P :D
Do I really have to say that it looks fantastic in-game? I think it already goes without saying, ya know. :thumbsup:
Agreed. And a jar of cookies from my silver dollar winnings.
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Jingle bells, jingle bells...
Absolutely beautiful! I am so glad you left it without all the darker paneling. She's perfect with this color scheme! Pristine white, similar to that of the Enterprise-A!!! I look forward to using this ship as my 'sovereign' in the single player campaign! As far as a name for the ship... why not use a ship class/name using one from the Royal Canadian Navy. (kinda like you did with the Edmonton, if I am correct) I looked up some names on Wikipedia showing a very large list of ship names and classes. I think it would be great if you would consider this instead of using the Excelsior name.
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Absolutely beautiful! I am so glad you left it without all the darker paneling. She's perfect with this color scheme! Pristine white, similar to that of the Enterprise-A!!! I look forward to using this ship as my 'sovereign' in the single player campaign! As far as a name for the ship... why not use a ship class/name using one from the Royal Canadian Navy. (kinda like you did with the Edmonton, if I am correct) I looked up some names on Wikipedia showing a very large list of ship names and classes. I think it would be great if you would consider this instead of using the Excelsior name.
I don't agree. I think the Excelsior name has distinction. IMO, almost as much as Enterprise. After all, the original Excelsior was commanded by none other than the legendary Captain Hikaru Sulu. This ship is of a high caliber that Excelsior-A is a fitting name. Don't get me wrong, I know there are many excellent names to choose from the Royal Canadian Navy but... the re-use of the Excelsior name is long overdue.
Now a question: DJ, what are your plans as far as how powerful (shield & phaser strength) you're going to make this ship? Will it be maybe somewhere in between the Galaxy and Raptor perhaps?
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I don't agree. I think the Excelsior name has distinction. IMO, almost as much as Enterprise. After all, the original Excelsior was commanded by none other than the legendary Captain Hikaru Sulu. This ship is of a high caliber that Excelsior-A is a fitting name. Don't get me wrong, I know there are many excellent names to choose from the Royal Canadian Navy but... the re-use of the Excelsior name is long overdue.
Now a question: DJ, what are your plans as far as how powerful (shield & phaser strength) you're going to make this ship? Will it be maybe somewhere in between the Galaxy and Raptor perhaps?
I definitely wasn't suggesting the Excelsior's name wasn't any less important, it's just that over the years, it's been used quite a few times in different mods.
By the way, DJ.... any particular mvam music you have in mind for the separation sequence?
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Although it looks NOTHING like an excelsior, it is an AWSOME piece of work. Those early renders really show the detail and clearly show why ur no1 here mate and will be for a while :thumbsup:
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Thanks MarkyD. Good luck on your tour. I'll get this out tomorrow.
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You mean by it will be released tommorrow? If so... YAY! :drink: :drink3: :drink2:
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Yay!!! Screenshots ahoy!
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Astonishing DJ! Have a cookie :bow:
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:dance Screenshot Galore indeed. :D