ATTN MODDERS: Too Many Fed Ships These Days / Lack Of Variety (posts split from Screenshot thread)

[starship]

First, let me tell you a bit about myself.

A few of you know me from other forums by my same nick: Starship

I?m in 46 years old, married, and with two childrens (08 and 03 years old), as DJ.
Starships are my hobby since I was a kid. I have a HUGE (you have no idea...) amount of screencaps, renderings, meshes in high and low polly, drawings and sketches. I?m a scifi collector. From time to time I try to build my pwn meshes, mainlly in 3dsmax and sketchup. I know I?m not that good, and don?t know if I will be someday but... I keep trying to model my high polly starships.  As a note, I made just one release: The high-polly USS Enterprise-B.
I joinned these forums cause the starships, as you already know. I never played BC, but I do have A LOT of the meshes that you all built along the years saved in my hds and dvds. I would like to see my own ships flying in BC battles, of course, but I don?t have time nor skills needed to make them compatible with the game.

Back on topic:

DJ made a great post. Mature, perfect. Talking about the named modders, I believe that DJ is right.
It?s just me, or you all think that DJ?s post is a goodbye? Good lucky DJ, whatever you go. You inspired me a lot along theses years, and I?ll just say thanks!  

Discussions are needed when growing and the ideas are changing, but can?t lead to the break point. Whatever the modders are offering, they are doing this cause they like to see their ships alive. Talking about the lack of variety, I believe a way to increase it is offering ideas, sketches, drawings.... The modders aren?t obligated to take them, but can get inspiration and, maybe, if the time permits, turn a few of them in new mods. Why not to start a thread where you all can post? I know that some peoples can?t model, but sometimes can drawn very good. It isn?t a "make it modders" thread, it will be just an inspirational thread. ;) You all need to keep this feeling alive.

Along the years, I took part of several well known communities (now dead): Taldren, Wolfpack, 3D-Gladiators, Scifi-art, M-cgi... Talking about my experience there, I saw that ne day, the point of rupture is achieved between the members. Some ones left us and took new flyes, sometimes solitaire, and never come back. Sometimes, they started new communities (Scifi-meshes, Foundation3d, BCU...). Other ones prefered to stay, and have the mission to keep the old community alive.

Go ahead, and good luck! ;)

[FarShot]

Inspiration isn't a problem.  I have tons of creativity just waiting to be slapped on paper.

Time is.  If we had the time to make every single thing we all have planned, then maybe we'd get to the ships that the community has more of a need for.

The art forum has always had people making sketches of their own ships, and that's worked perfectly fine.  I picked up Flarespire's Inferno from there, not really because he asked so intently for someone to make it, which is pretty much a request, but because I felt it was a design that I might have sketched myself.

I've actually taken several requests for STO ships and put them on the to-do list on the FSB Shipyards thread.  If I had the time, I'd make every single STO ship, but I have to prioritize.  I can't speak for Wiley, but I do believe he has a to-do list just as long.

It's a sad reality that we can't do everything that the community wants us to, but it's true.  There's only around a dozen active ones, and we have our own stuff we want to take care of first.

I'd say we just keep to the status quo.  We make what we want as we always have, without community input unless it's personal, and the community can take it or leave it.

[JimmyB76]

indeed ive had a personal request of a ship i would love to have in my install, and ive made slight mention of it here and there, but i know how backlogged modders are so i am content with the fact it may never happen...
and thats ok with me...  some things in life you just have to accept and live with...  to complain about it really is just kinda childish really...

[FarShot]

What is it out of curiosity?

[Killallewoks]

indeed ive had a personal request of a ship i would love to have in my install, and ive made slight mention of it here and there, but i know how backlogged modders are so i am content with the fact it may never happen...
and thats ok with me...  some things in life you just have to accept and live with...  to complain about it really is just kinda childish really...

Is that the New Orleans by any chance?  ;)

[mckinneyc]

You and the New Orleans! Which I have just added to my pic list.

I understand completely what Jimmy is saying. I too made a request of one of the modding gods on the site. Never felt so guilty and awful in doing so. I was totally prepared to be told to go away but I wasn't and he was lovely about it.

Again, like Jimmy, I may never see it come to fruition but that is part and parcel of the community and the lives we all lead which are far more important than a PC game

[JimmyB76]

What is it out of curiosity?

Is that the New Orleans by any chance?  ;)

nah, it is a Dominion War/late DS9-era Nebula Class, which is composed completely and entirely of Galaxy Class parts...  (gal saucer, gal stardrive, gal deflector, gal nacelles, etc)
it is different from the regular Nebula Class, i think the most notable difference is the gal stardrive...
it has been mentioned that CR did it already in his pack but it really isnt galaxy-class parts...
a new New Orleans would also be cool - especially if that one consisted entirely of Galaxy Class parts also (which wouldnt be canon, i know, but it would look cool anyway)...
but anyway, thats getting a little offtopic to this thread lol

the point is, if i could make these ships myself i would...  but since i cant, i will be happy with what is available...  it would be rude for me to be upset that no one has, even if i had requested it...  thats the negative and very wrong attitude to have...

[FarShot]

Ah, I would maybe have tried it, but I think it would be more fitting for someone who had already made a Galaxy to do so.

[moed]

I totally agree with Jimmy. I also (like so many of us) have a ship that I would love to be made but the only way I ever requested it - and I did it only once and respectfully - I did through a PM. The modder whom I asked was very cool about it and he said that it was on his to-do list. So... if he never gets to it, no worries. But if he ever does, then that's fine too.

I'm just grateful for all we have been given... and all for free!!

[starship]

Inspiration isn't a problem.  I have tons of creativity just waiting to be slapped on paper.

My fault. To write in a language that isn?t your native, can lead you to mistakes or don?t express very well.
I know you all have inspiration and creativity enough.

Time is.  If we had the time to make every single thing we all have planned, then maybe we'd get to the ships that the community has more of a need for.

Time... Yes, I understand and totally agree with you. I have a HUGE backlog, full of conversions (maya, lwo, nif and others) to do, and a folder full of incomplete meshes from my own. Also, tons of sketches from my own and others. If I had the time, how many from those Atolm?s sketches I would like to flesh out... Yes, time is a problem.  

The art forum has always had people making sketches of their own ships, and that's worked perfectly fine.  I picked up Flarespire's Inferno from there, not really because he asked so intently for someone to make it, which is pretty much a request, but because I felt it was a design that I might have sketched myself.

That?s fine! So, forget my suggestion. 

... We make what we want as we always have, without community input unless it's personal, and the community can take it or leave it.

Ditto!
Keep doing the great work.  

...some things in life you just have to accept and live with...  to complain about it really is just kinda childish really...

Yes Jimmy, you?re right.
I experienced this a lot along the years...

[El]

Wow, well I haven't posted on here for what? A couple of years I suspect.

To continue some of the 'kudos' posts, I would like to tip my hat to Laurelin, her hardpoints are what got me started on BC Modding these 9 years past! I would also like to say a huge thanks to ZambieZan, his HP's were always that little bit unexpected.

And to take some of the limelight from the Modellers and Texturers out there;
The coders, HPers, tweakers, you know who you are, who made all the fancy features work. Hats off to you guys.

To address Sov001's post, I didn't think you guys should shoot the messenger as the message isn't invalid.

The BC community is fading, as DJ said 'All good things...'.
BC has been lucky to have a large number of modders who started on Fed ships and (in some cases) moved on to alien races.
Some of these modders have left or moved on to other things, some have stayed.
As there are now only a few guys still producing ships, it is much more apperant that Fed ships have been the mainstay of BC, modellers are more familiar with them.

So while Sov001's point is valid, I see it as an inevitable result of the twilight modding community BC now has.

So long, and thanks for all the fish...


....but, times move on, new technologies and techniques are developed. New ideas and concepts can be realised.
Yes, I work on Excalibur, I'm really excited about it and belive the strong leadership, talent and mutual goal to produce something that gamers and modders have been lacking for many years, will see it to completion.

The drive and talent of the team is something I've not seen since the early days of BC modding.

Aurora....

[King Class Scout]

Excalibur just got called "vaporware" on the facebook image page.  people still don't believe you guys will pull it off at all.

Vince Kostelnik nice graphics...too bad this game is still vaporware...if they could do something with it it would be a very strong competitor with STO.

I think you'll pull it off, but it'll be too high end for someone without a gaming rig.  and some of us can't afford the high end.

there are less modelers, now.  the last big mod group has broken up

sov001 was being a Drama Llama about it

[El]

Excalibur just got called "vaporware" on the facebook image page.  people still don't believe you guys will pull it off at all.

I think you'll pull it off, but it'll be too high end for someone without a gaming rig.  and some of us can't afford the high end.

Speculation. Believe me, the dev build I have on my machine isnt vapourware.
And since even the devs don't know what the final hardware spec will be, anything out in public is pure.... speculation.

[JimmyB76]

people will say what they will...
but when they are playing it, in some time, their socks will be knocked off and theyll be eating their words when they said previous that it wouldnt happen...

[FarShot]

A lot of the people that say those things have no idea how games work.  A lot of the people that do know that are working on Excalibur.

[El]

A lot of the people that say those things have no idea how games work.  A lot of the people that do know that are working on Excalibur.

Agreed, they obviously haven't read the ReadMe topic on the Excal forum. But some people just like scaremongering for their 5 seconds of fame, lol.

Anyway, I'm derailing the thread topic, sorry Jimmy.

[JimmyB76]

Anyway, I'm derailing the thread topic, sorry Jimmy.

not to worry - i think the original point has been made from both sides and really not much more can be said about it from either perspective...  discussion of excalibur is much more awesome and exciting