Explorer class starship Mod TMP era

[starshipdriver]

I wanted to ask if ANYONE ws willing to help me by teaching me HOW to create a Bridge commander Mod? I know of a TMP era class of starship titld th "Explorer" class recon cruiser. It is a tmp I have tried to gt done for YEARS but since I lack any skill in the creation of Mod's or textures I can not do this one myself by any means....I would want to be sure it was created with Blank textures as well..has anyone got any advise? lessons etc?  I have attached an image of the type. I would be very greatful for any pointers, lessons etc....

[King Class Scout]

intriguing.

unfortunately, your timing couldn't be worse.  there are a grand total of THREE of us that still create mods left.  senior modders with plenty of experience have all retired or moved onto other areas, especially our TMP era experts.  one is a porter that just started to learn on scratch building ships to avoid problems, the second is a converter making TOS versions, and I'm basically the guy that brings existing mods into the shop, fixes errors, and resprays em (basically, I'm the guy from MAACO, if you get the joke)

that does not mean, however, that one of us would NOT try and tackle this class.  this looks like it could be easily kitbashed from existing TMP's with only a minimum of scratch building required.  this would mostly involve the miniaturized engineering hull and the torpedo pods section in a diagonal orthographic for clarity.

as for DIY?  besides the lessons here, you must have a 3d modelling program, a converter for the format the game uses that is old enough to both work and be recognized by the game (the NIF format the game uses is being downgraded, possibly for retirement), AND an art program that can and still does use the TGA format, which may also be obsoleted, soon.

you would also have to learn HOW to model your parts so that they look like how you envision them in your head.  for some of us, it would take YEARS to figure it out

TMP era style is notoriously difficult to get to look correct even in stock style, and your ship appears to be an 'era x' transition type with its hybrid refit/Excelsior nacelles and what appears to be out-of-era commillated phaser strips.  some parts of the lineart would have to be clarified as to their purpose; it's kinda thick with a reduced resolution in the plan view.

all that said, however, doesn't mean it couldn't be done.

[starshipdriver]

I undrstand. any suggestions on hw to get someone to consider tackling the type? I have as i said spent a few years seeking a Mod maker who would do th type. I use 3DS max 2010, I can Import NIF files and apply textures to render. I simply wuld LOVE to see this design created with blank textures so I can use it for still shots

[King Class Scout]

mod requests are/were heavily frowned upon because of the time and effort involved in making them, and the fact we kept getting whiners wanting things in a rush if I remember right.  a lot of guys used to say the same thing that the Baby Boomers did; "go learn yourself"...and it took a lot of convincing to squeeze the smallest of tips out of them

like I'd said in the earlier post, this could probably be easily kitbashed with minimal scratch building needed.  have you tried tackling the basics of it yourself yet?  plenty of us would be able to give advice.

oh, and blank registries are the EASY part.  it's making the names and numbers look RIGHT, and in the correct font, that's the hard part.  this one would only require the main dish registry and the contract number on the nacelle butts (the e-hull lettering would be almost invisible even with 2048's)

i do have a texture suggestion, however.  DO NOT bake the textures into the model.  this makes it a lot harder if something does not work and has to be fixed.  for example, I have two with pre-baked textures where the entire model would have to be built all over from scratch to bring the ship up to modern minimum appearance standards.

[starshipdriver]

Understand you well. sadly however I TOTALLY lack ANY ability to create a model...I'm damned lucky I an render a still shot!!LOL

it is a shame this design likely will never be created.... I would LOVE to try this myself but have ZEO clue where to even look for lessons honestly.... Much less to create the needed textures...I have photoshop, and paint.net tho for that part if I ever find lessons.

[starshipdriver]

well, I'm making attempts to create this design...thus far I have found the connecting neck and torpedo bays near impossible....

[hobbs]

hi there nice to know another is trying to model... If you are stuck on a particular part (such as the neck) whynot load in a ship with a similar neck then you can look at the construction of it... might give you insight into building your own?

also just start building... build a basic neck for a ship... i used to start with a oblong then widedn one end so its like a triangle from the top, then shamfer the edges.

[MSR1701]

I wanted to ask if ANYONE ws willing to help me by teaching me HOW to create a Bridge commander Mod? I know of a TMP era class of starship titld th "Explorer" class recon cruiser. It is a tmp I have tried to gt done for YEARS but since I lack any skill in the creation of Mod's or textures I can not do this one myself by any means....I would want to be sure it was created with Blank textures as well..has anyone got any advise? lessons etc?  I have attached an image of the type. I would be very greatful for any pointers, lessons etc....

Interesting design, was this from the Starship Schematic Database?

I'm wading into the modding world of BC/KM/RE, and have a strong affinity for TMP-era ships.  This is one I'll see if I can eventually make, as it is certainly an interesting desgin.

Hope you have been well!