Bridge Commander Central
BC Forums => BC Modding => Topic started by: Raven Night on March 10, 2009, 09:47:56 PM
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Ok, this redo has ALOT to do with DJs brilliant eye for feds. He has certain design cues that, when applied to the idea I had seemed to work much better than what I had before. So I give him most of the credit for this redo, since it is his work that inspired the changes.
That said, it still has a long way to go, and I need to know what you guys think at this point. This is a rough mesh still, still a sep but the sep has been changed dramatically, and other major changes to make the design flow better.
This ship is a beefy battleship. Im trying to avoid the look of speed, so I am making it more stocky compared to a Sov. That means shorter thicker nacelles that are a bit more boxy, as well as a squarish body and thick saucer....all to indicate much higher levels of armor.
The deflector was rebuilt based on quite a few of DJs designs, going with a flattish oval dual configuration....but I extended that to the engineering section as well, eventually shaping it out of the main hull almost as a separate pod.
I also removed the huge warp vents on the saucer, replacing them with temporarily crude "defiant-like" ports for a more embedded look. Adding a channel fore to aft on the saucer sets apart the warp assembly in the saucer.
At any rate, here is the current shape..looking for criticism, even the smallest critique is appreciated. Though I appreciate praise, im really looking to improve it. I have to get this fed thing down. Just keep in mind that alot of the smoothing is undone while I continue to work on the shape.
Thanks in advance for your input.
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much improved over the last incarnation of the mesh. i think the back end still looks a little drawn out, however. I think you can get away with leaving the secondary hull the same length if you try flipping the flow direction of the nacelle pylons. glad i could inspire you to get going on this thing. how old is this mesh now, anyway? i think i remember seeing it in the BC2 forums at bcu, no?
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LOL its REALLY old. Your the one that gave it life. Thanks to you I might....might....be able to make feds one day.
I was looking at that too, perhaps shortening the back end a bit. it does look a bit long.
As usual your eye is sharp hehe.
Any other critiques?
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I like the way it looks, but the tubes or whatever they are on the saucer should be narrowed down to one, cause two makes it look awkward.
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The two tubes underneath? They are heavy cannons, I could do one instead....I think ill try that, might be a nod to the future galaxy....
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Ok, some quick changes...shortened the hull a bit, definitely works better, could maybe be even a bit shorter. I also changed the ventral heavy cannon to a single barrel.
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Interesting concept... can't wait to see where this one will go. Incoming cookie!
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Reminds me of STO.
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hmmm
I kinda liked the look of the double barrel ventral heavy cannons...
also I think this ship could use sov style pylons, if a bit wider from the engineering hull...
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makes me think of an ENHANCED excelsior - maybe the newst in the line :D
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I sort of liked the dual canon as well, but if you're going to go single canon may I suggest placing it under the deflector/engineering area, as it sort of looks like it will interfere with the quantum launcher in its current location.
Aside that the rest is gorgeous. I love its aggressive lines :twisted:
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Reminds me of STO.
I hope thats a good thing ;)
hmmm
I kinda liked the look of the double barrel ventral heavy cannons...
also I think this ship could use sov style pylons, if a bit wider from the engineering hull...
Ill try that, widen them a bit and see how it looks.
I sort of liked the dual canon as well, but if you're going to go single canon may I suggest placing it under the deflector/engineering area, as it sort of looks like it will interfere with the quantum launcher in its current location.
I can go back to the dual cannons, I preferred them myself as well. The problem with putting the cannon on the engineering hull is this is a sep ship, so the cannon would go with the main hull when I need it on the saucer. The main hull already has some heavy hitting firepower, the saucer needed the cannons to come up to speed, so both sep ships were about equal in bang.
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Still looks a bit long. Also you could try sweeping the nacelle struts foward and raising them a bit. That would give the ship a more compact and bulky look, as opposed to the slender, long look it has now.
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Looking great so far. Looks a little like Queballs Victory.
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I like the idea of having two heavy cannons too, however something about them in the first screenshot didn't seem right. Maybe they were too far apart, so how about putting them closer together? Far apart enough that they don't interfere with the torpedo launcher, but still quite close.
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I really like the little rotation on the Nacelles ( are you the first one who did this? Incomming Cookie)!
I also like the Dual Cannon more than the single. The Deflector Pot looks like it would do like a good Shuttle/ Fighter Bay on the Aft End.
However I think the Saucer looks a bit weird. And as I am a big Ent D fan, I would maybe shorten it a bit, move it a little backwards and widen it, to keep the same space. But thats just me.
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The secondary hull looks more fit for a Sovereign style deflector. Since this is going to be a seperable ship, you probably need some sort of deflector on the primary hull. In fact, here are several suggestions:
1. Round deflector on secondary hull
2. Forked front on the primary hull (been awhile since we've seen one of those!)
3. Put existing deflector in the fork
4. Have cannons to either side of the fork
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A one suggestion...
maybe move the front of the secondary hull forward by about 30%.? It just doesn't sit well with me.? Other than that, the ship looks great :)
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One thought: Excelsior styled nacelle pylons. You'd have yourself a 25th century Ex, there :).
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I agree with what others are saying, it still looks a little long and drawn out.. like someone grabbed the nose of the saucer and pulled it until its streched too far.. from certain angles it looks gorgeous, and others it looks ugly but in saying that its not supposed to be pretty being a heavy ship i suppose.. I think defiant type panelled textures would rock on this.
Good Job Raven
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I *love* how the lines seem to smooth downward from the top of the saucer to the back of the secondary hull. It really reminds me of the Luna Class USS Titan, only smoother and more streamlined. I love it! The bottom of the saucer still needs some work IMO and the secondary hull is still a bit longer than most, but that might even be an issue with the saucer; most ships with a secondary hull that size would have a larger saucer section i'd think...
good work so far, buddy!
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Thanks for all your input guys.
The saucer is actually its own fully functional ship, including warp nacelles. It is a bit small, but Marine Corps saucers tend to be smaller because they carry less personnel...no families. I went with an overall bulky shape to denote its heavy on armor and light on beauty...but she cant be too ugly hehe.
I'm working on a few ways to shorten the hull a bit...it deforms if I do it too much, the length is tied in with the shape unfortunately.
One thing I will note is that I shortened the rear even more and brought the deflector out a bit. Also, I could center the bridge and torp module a bit better in the saucer....but then that would get away from the "cab forward" design I shoot for in Marine Corps ships. Ill see what I can do with her.
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lol. cab forward. Chrysler LH series. 1993. :D
i wouldn't shorten the hull too much. it makes it distinct.
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That verdict works for me DJ ;)
I have to admit, I like the odd shape. But you were right, it was TOO long before. I think its about right now.
The "cab forward" thing is really just to make the ships look more aggressive, but my excuse is to say that a forward bridge is easier to protect with shielding...so generally speaking, like on modern military ships the bridge is rarely the top deck.
I think I figured out what might make it look stretched to most...the position of the bridge in relation to the tail.
On most fed ships the bridge is right in the middle, so the tail tends to be X long. Since I design most of my ships with bridges that are closer to the fore bow of the ship, and on this one especially with the blunted saucer, the distance to the tail is much longer...hence the flow is thrown off.
If you look at a side by side, you can see that the engineering hull is actually about the same length as the Sov...if you ignore the far forward bridge.
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i think it looks great! :D
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It really reminds me of the Luna Class USS Titan, only smoother and more streamlined.The bottom of the saucer still needs some work and the secondary hull is still a bit longer than most
i agree with all of this except for the part about the secondary hull.
it really does look like an off shoot of the titan, maybe you could go off of that, maybe give it like a sensor pod or weapons pod, not necessarily with a roll bar like with titan, but maybe a neck?
and with the lower saucer you could take cues from the sovy, cause i feel like there should be like some parts raised.
but i think making this design more like a ship around the titan era would make it better... :mrgreen:
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What..raven going conventional?
Those cannons actualy look more like the ronin or maybe another ship I've seen, but good either way. Nice to have something with some bite. Texture tiger teeth from old ww2 p51's for the cannons.
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Hehe. Sounds like a winner.
There is actually a raised part on the bottom of the saucer section, it was just hard to see in one of the renders. Ill post some close-ups later so you guys can see it...but the sep saucer hull is still being worked on, so the shape is tentative.
I also forgot to mention that this is actually a 4 nacelle ship...two of the nacelles are hidden in the saucer section, port and starboard. They are usually not active when the saucer is docked, but can be brought on line in case of failure of the standard nacelles...and can also operate with the others to increase speed. Without both nacelle sets active the ship is substantially slower at warp than a Sov, running a top speed of only warp 8.5. She is built like a tank, so she flies like one.
Maneuverability suffers as well compared to a Sov, but in weapons, shield strength, armor, power availability, cargo space and survivability she is head and shoulders above the former. This was part of the Advanced Starship Design Project (ASDP), of which the Defiant, Prometheus, Sovereign and Akira were brethren....as well as my Scorpion and the Infinity of course.
You know me...love the backhistory.
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You know that top view gave me an idea..
more sovvy styled necelles sat slightly further forward, would make it look less drawn out without having to rebuild major areas, and I think sovvy shaped necelles would look much nicer as the overall shape is nice curvy and flowing with sharp lines. Im not saying use sovvy necelles, but in that design ethic..
Forgive my editing, im in work and had to use paint :shock:
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Ok, I reshaped the nacelles a bit, tried to keep them from looking too "Sov", and moved them forward. What do you think.
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I don't know... The pylon connection just doesn't seem right.
If I may be so bold to make a suggestion, I'd put a torpedo launcher under each nacelle, which connects back to the pylon. That way the pylon looks a bit more balanced, while you get to keep that warship look.
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Definately mate.. I think it works much better, again its just my opinion, but for giving it a shot **cookie** 8)
Good job
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Lovely ship :shock: I like it!
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oooh that is nice!! :D
awesome Raven!
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how bout instead of torp tubes why not house a phaser cannon instead they would get energy directly from the warp reaction system thus they would be more powerful compared to using torps
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This ships looking hot, I have a feeling that within the next couple months there's going to be some great ships being released for BC.
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lovin the ship raven, very agressive, :D
iv always liked fed designs with bridges further foward and i think it really works with this ship
cookie coming your way i think :D
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Thanks guys. Its really thanks to DJ that it is starting to look relatively acceptable...his work has given me design cues to follow that I can run with finally.
Just messing around, I decided to do one version with a Sov-like saucer. It works on some levels, but doesnt on others I think. I dont know, I think it is less unique this way, but not a stretch since it was designed at the same time as the Sov, just never finished.
Tell me what you think...I could still do a few more edits or versions.
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Smoothing groups, please? Hehe. Looks pretty cool, I say!
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I like the small aspects of mixing some Sovvy aspects like the look of the front of the nacelles and stuff and adding the whole DJ-Fleet Elements to it.
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The nacelles remind me of the Siberia Class from Feyman Shipyards.
http://www.feymanshipyards.com/CruiserSiberia.html
It's a nice combination of the Sovereign, and of those weird ships from ST: Online. I like it. I should start making my own designs.
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Now THATS an upgraded Excelsior hehe. I like those nacelles too, alot like my originals on this ship.
I didnt like the nose part so I removed it, and redid some of the smoothing groups. I will put the nose channels in with textures I think, or just have the channel reach the flat deck.
I think I like the longer chevron on top better than the original though. Here it is as it stands now, as well as a pic showing my planned changes if I keep the new dorsal chevron configuration.
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I'm liking it buddy. Looks great from above. I think a few extra polys around the nose of that bridge section would look good. smooth it out a bit, unless of course you were going for a sharper look, which is cool.
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I was actually trying to "club" it, remove some of the rounded edges in favor of a more blunted boxy look here and there, but it might not be working in front of the bridge. Maybe I should round it out a bit more.
I still have to work underneath as well, im trying a few things with the deflector channel just rear of the quantum pod.
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hey man, keep it blunted if that's what yer rollin for.
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I like it blunted up like that. It works well with the overall style of the ship, which is sort of like a blunted up Sovereign. Very intimidating. If you don't really like the way it works with the bridge tiers, then why not change the tiers? Also, maybe you should do what you did with the back windows to the ones up front. I added my two ideas to that pic.
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Nice design my friend, did you ever get my email about the scorpion.
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Its really shaping up raven mate.
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no doubt! this is coming along very nicely!! :D
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Marky D damn u - u owe me a new keyboard i didn't know they wasn't drool proff!!!
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Wait, you were drooling at markyd? Kinda weird when this is Raven's ship. :lol:
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Intresting....This post wanst ment to be in here....Lol this wasn ment to be in marky-d's one but still gotta love raven's following of DJ's ships well have more than just a fleet we're have an amada soon :P
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hmm i have a suggestion... houw about forward swept pylons?
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MayhemUK, I did get the email and replied...you didnt get my response? Send it again if not. Sorry about that.
Ok, here it is sofar with notes attached. I still have to change some details around the forward windows and decide where to put torp launchers. The launchers under the main deflector, foward of the deflector and in the tail underneath the hanger deck go with the main hull during separation, so the saucer needs its own launchers.
I will probably design Ent-E style launchers (Nemesis) for just before the bridge or behind the bridge, but will just use textures if I put launchers above the saucer deflector.
I am also planning on reworking the nacelles to smooth them out, and tweaking the main deflector to be more Intrepid-like, with a solid assembly inside a surrounding glow channel.
Here is the pic.
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hmm i have a suggestion... houw about forward swept pylons?
I could try that and see how it looks. I want to work on some of the other details first, but ill try it out a little later on in the process.
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Ah, I see you noticed my suggestions about the torp launcher and front windows. That or you just think along the same plane as I do. :D
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Have you thinked about the class name? Since this ship is really beautiful I would call it "Aurora". :D
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she has the makings of a great federation design mate.
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It was your suggestions Farshot ;) , as well as others in the thread. Thanks for all of your input.
I appreciate the name suggestion, but this ship has had a name for a long time....she is the Ares class, specifically this model will be the first in the line, SMS Ares, CBB - 110
For those not familiar with my naming scheme, this is a military ship, specifically a Starfleet Marine Corps ship and does not use the same catalog as Starfleet vessels.
I replaced USS with SMS, for Starfleet Marine corps Starship, and the CBB replaces NCC or NX, as each ship has a class designation it belongs too, just like modern military ships.
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Here is a shot of the ventral hull sofar. If you look close, you can see the saucer for the sep ship. Also note the changes to the deflector. Most of the smoothing for the secondary hull has been applied.
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Have you seen concepts of the Ent E separating? I think it would look better like this:
(http://www.starshipdatalink.net/art/images/dee-7.jpg)
(image uploaded)
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404 error. If you could post the URL I could check it out.
One note though...early on I tried a few different sep concepts...the problem with a shorter sep saucer, which looks pretty good when the ship is separated is the quantum launcher pod under the saucer...since it is so far forward it makes shortening the saucer impossible unless I repositioned the pod AND the bridge to be more center to the saucer. That would negate the cab forward design and make it look too much like a Sov or DJ's ships. Though I did get some ideas from his meshes, his work needs to stand on its own unplagiarized. This ship has to remain unique.
Now, on to the quantum launchers. I decided that this ship will not carry photon torpedoes, only quantums. It will have 2 launchers above the saucer deflector, two in front of the bridge platform, 6 below the main hull deflector, 2 below the aft hanger deck and two behind the bridge area, for a total of 14 launchers with 800 torpedoes available. Although all launchers could be used at once it is usually not done this way...the large groups of launchers simply provide redundancy.
I am still deciding where the phaser elements will be located...I have decided to model them in since the poly count sofar is still good. It can rise quickly with modeled phaser strips though. That and the two heavy cannons will give this ship a murderous punch.
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There's no Battle Bridge on E I think, I think it's only for emergency seperation kinda like how 1701 did.
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I believe there was a battle bridge on the MSD.
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Ok, after messing with it a bit to see if I could solve the stretched problem and still maintain the cab forward design, I came up with an idea. It seems to have worked, but you be the judge.
I moved the engineering section forward instead, compressing it if you will. This way there isnt as much of a stretch to the quantum pod and bridge, but the ship still retains its overall shape. If you guys like this, I have to redo the forward sep section of the main hull.
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I really like the look of this 8)
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That looks good that way. I also noticed that you modeled in the launchers on the saucer top. Nice. 8)
As for the separation style, I think you still should go with that idea I posted at the top, fixed by Jimmy. Thank you Jimmy! :D
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Well, I might be able to do that now that I have shortened the engineering hull. The real problem is the deep hood back to the neck...if you notice it has a cobra-like thing going on back to the spine of the ship from the saucer. Wherever I cut it I still have to create a flow from the cut to the front of the sep nose.
Ill see what I can do.
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the ship is shaping up to have a really unique aesthetic. Nice work. Though I think you should change the thread title, because this is obviously being done in a style quite different from mine. kudos old man. ;)
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Hehe.
Ok, will do, wanted to make sure props went to the "young" artist out there that shames me into hard work.
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lolery
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Another point of discussion...size of this ship? Originally I was going for something about the size of a Sov, but to be honest it looks too much like a Sov in the same scale, like some mutated brother on steroids. Instead I decided to lower the size of the bridge, expanding the ships size to be about 20 percent larger than the Sov.
Tell me what you think. Worthy of note is the huge hangar deck, important for housing troops/walkers/fighters and dropships.
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Ooh! Just got an epiphany (orgasm of the brain :P)!
Make this have landing gears similar to the Intrepid. Put a large bay in the bottom similar to the Excelsior, so it can land and unload troops!
As for ideas for separation, look at the attached pic. If you're confused by it, just ask and I'll explain it to the best of my abilities.
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Just thought:
That thing halfway up the spine - I'm not sure if it is like the Ent E's shuttle bay, or if it is like the Ent D's impulse engine. Feel free to correct me.
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Actually the sep line includes the saucer impulse vents. Let me see what I can come up with, but I do have an early sep setup.
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Actually, I was rearranging it somewhat:
The ones I included onto the secondary hull becomes the secondary hull's engines, while the slits at the back of the nacelle things (which right now are Defiant style warp grilles) become the saucer impulse engines. I was thinking you could do something like have traditional side grilles, but slightly different:
(forgive me for this poor illustration lol)
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Its not a bad idea, but I need those slits for the warp vent. Also the engineering section already has an impulse engine on the spine.
Here is a shot of the current sep setup. I still have to tweak the separation plane a bit.
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ooh i like that spine across the cobra head. i might adapt something like that to the Eclipse Class if you don't mind?
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Please do. After all, I feed off your designs, Id like you to do the same....
Oh, and I saw the resurrected klingon ship post for excaliber....I hate you ;)
(wrings hands with an evil laugh as he takes mental notes......)
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I'm not really liking the back of the saucer there. I suggest something more like this:
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I did actually try doing that a few different ways...the problem was the spines, when the saucer leaves you are left with these weird hooks either on the saucer or on the engineering hull. If I make the cut straight up it looks even weirder, the final solution was to remove the rail behind that point and then it REALLY looked weird. So unfortunately that is the only spot I can cut it where it will work.
Looks like shes going to have a tail of sorts....
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That doesn't have to be true... I'm working on something showing what I mean.
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See you can have them be like clamp things that keep it down, then have them move away. That way either end doesn't have a tooth looking thing.
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gah that animation is toooo fast *my eyes*
also couldn't you have a rail going into the other rail.....
*edit seems fixed*
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gah that animation is toooo fast *my eyes*
Yeah, I exported it from Fireworks then realized it was changing frames at 7 milliseconds. :lol: Changed it so it changes after 1 second.
also couldn't you have a rail going into the other rail.....
That was what I was thinking too but I'm too lazy to spend the time working on something that complex when he might disregard it altogether. :P
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That was actually a pretty good idea, but I think I already solved the problem. I found a way to move the rails back to the better sep point without breaking the profile of the ship.
Ill post a pic in a minute...note that the recess to the rear of the main hull is still rough and is evolving, but you get the basic idea.
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I love it! She looks really bad@ss!
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Thanks.
Here is one more pic, then I retire for the evening/morning. Shows my progress on the ventral hull. There is still alot of tweaking to do on this mesh, but its coming along. Note how I carried over the cobra theme on to the nacelles. I didnt think it was going to fly, but it looks like it works.
She looks a bit portly doesnt she hehe. Certainly not a Sov hot rod....shes made to take a beating and dish out one as well.
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oh yer, gotta love it :D
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I still like my idea better but that doesn't mean that I don't like yours. :D
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so unique. i love it.
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Great stuff Raven mate, sep look awsome :D
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ya no doubt - i cant wait to fly her around! :)
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Actually this Ship looks like its two Parts can really act truely independent from each other. Unlike the Prometheus, from which Saucer just looks like ... a Saucer.
I like that Design!
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Excellent work Raven!
Beautiful design.
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OHHH! Put an "e" after the "A" in the class name! xD Hehee, kidding. Kinda.
an idea; phalanx torpedo system? The Mithra's to be equipped with it.
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I love the interesting look of the Deflector.
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Im glad you like it guys. Again, its thanks to DJ for alot of the design improvements. Let me be more specific as to the places his designs took me in a new direction.
First, the saucer. His way of capping the interior bulge on the saucer top, then a flat deck followed by another disk drop off to the edge. That improved the saucer shape.
Next, his window cuts. All of the cuts I had done in the past didnt come out right because they were not deep enough.
Third, his deflectors, and this is a big one. I have always been horrible at Fed deflectors, but DJ gave me both the split design as well an oval take...then I went from there. Decided to minimize actual radiation areas to lessen venerability and came up with what you see...inspired by the Intrepid deflector as well.
There were a number of other smaller ideas from his design cues I picked up on...I tried to use them as inspirations only and make them my own, so as not to plagiarize his wonderful work.
I started picking up too many Sov design cues though, and decided to change the deflector to a "pod in recess" design to make it more unique.
That is not to mention the huge amount of suggestions from the people posting in this thread that led to numerous changes. I think it turned out pretty well, but there is still lots more to do.
Whats incredible to me is that he may, in fact, be able to use some of my design cues for ideas as well...this makes me very happy, as it should be a two way process. This is how I believe modding should operate. We all feed and learn from each other, and all benefit as a result.
I will post my latest sep changes shortly to see if you guys like them.
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Ok, here is my latest changes.
I smoothed out each side of the sep point at the rear of the union, leaving the recess inside and rounding it out. This makes it less dramatic and causes it to flow better into the rest of the hull while still keeping it functional (IE the saucer can still dock straight down on it).
I also raise up the front top a bit where I plan on putting in the bridge. Note that this reduces the volume on the saucer section, especially on the ventral side, but it doesnt cause any space problems, meaning that all decks are still functional and accessible as well as able to fully contain the warp engines and impulse drives.
I will leave judgement to you. I still have to round out the rear socket a bit more, but it now has the overall form I want it to have..next comes the smooth groups.
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Can we see the deflector? :)
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Here you go.
I intend to add more polys around the deflector to smooth it out a bit, and then add smoothing groups. At least you get the idea as to where it is going.
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Are there SIX torpedo launchers just under the deflector dish?! :shock:
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Yeppers...and two more in the pod forward of the deflector, two more in the nose and two more under the bridge...for a total of 12 forward tubes.
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With the colour, I'd say it could be where they keep the ship's supply of Mountain Dew. =P
(Because it can't be replicated)
Wow, this is turning out really nice, great work! The deflector is definitely different from what we're used to, but that's good, we don't need more cookie-cutter designs. =) Are there going to be ANY blue/radiator areas on it at all?
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Yeppers...and two more in the pod forward of the deflector, two more in the nose and two more under the bridge...for a total of 12 forward tubes.
oh so only a couple of top bays nothing major! thought this was a battle ship (runs for cover)
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Beautiful work Raven, it's about time the Feds flexed their muscles 8)
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With the colour, I'd say it could be where they keep the ship's supply of Mountain Dew. =P
(Because it can't be replicated)
Wow, this is turning out really nice, great work! The deflector is definitely different from what we're used to, but that's good, we don't need more cookie-cutter designs. =) Are there going to be ANY blue/radiator areas on it at all?
Hehe, the color is green because they are quantum launchers. This ship has no photons. Only Tri-cobalts and quantums.
As to the blue radiators, all Marine Corps vessels use type L or type LX deflector arrays instead of the standard type A, C or F arrays. They are not as efficient as the latter arrays, but are much more resistant to damage and use much less power...a side benefit, important for Corps ships, is that the arrays allow cloaking. The type L and LX were codesigned by the Klingons. Type L are used for "sensor cloak" systems, a sensor signature damping system that does not violate the Treaty of Algeron, and Type LX are for full cloak systems that are approved under the Romulan/Federation cooperative act of 2381. This ship has the LX type, and as a result has the full cloak capability.
...A fancy way of saying all Marine Corps ships deflectors are red instead of blue to set them apart. Red screams "im a warship".
oh so only a couple of top bays nothing major! thought this was a battle ship (runs for cover)
...the Infinity is even worse...40 launchers, most of them revolving turrets ala DS9 hehe.
Beautiful work Raven, it's about time the Feds flexed their muscles
Thanks. This was a way to create warships without violating the prime mission of Starfleet. By making this part of the Marine Corps fleet (3rd Fleet), she can have all the weapons she can hold.
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so unique. i love it.
The funny thing is you know how it USED to look lol. It was REAL ugly.
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Glad that you made it much better :P It looks pretty neat, to say the least!
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Wow...so this actually has less teeth than this..."Infinity" ship? And that thing has 40 launchers? O.O
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The Infinity is the flagship of the 3rd fleet, Starfleet Marine Corps. It is over 2000 meters long and serves as mainly a carrier with assault capabilities. Most of its weaponry, about 60 percent is defensive.
We have gone through quite a few design changes. Needless to say it is a huge ship...which is actually not a ship. It is classified as a mobile battlestation.
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Holy crap, dude, this Ares Class is even more heavily armed than the Mithra!!?!?!? o_o Are you kidding!?!?!?
Hmm. Perhaps I have adequate reason now to make a *true* battleship out of my girl to compliment this 'marine corps' trend...
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Since the ships separates, the saucer is going to have torpedo tubes as well correct?
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Yes. The saucer has two rear and 4 forward tubes.
I actually changed the launcher layout a bit...the main hull now has 2 forward medium range heavies, 7 forward and 4 rear torps, and the saucer has the two long range heavies, 4 forward and 2 rear.
That adds up to 11 forward and 6 rear torp launchers. Only 4 of the batteries can fire tri-cobalts, I havent decided which ones yet. Next I move onto phaser strips.
Here are the pics of the reworked launchers and a simple schematic.
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Now if those Nacelles weren't bent on that odd angle the ship would be perfect :D
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You would like it better if they were straight up and down instead?
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yeah.
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Perhaps I can do a version like that.
On a side note I would like to request that all forum members refrain from nominating me for Modder of the Month. I receive enough grief as it is just being a member here...I frankly dont need the additional flack.
Thank you all for you understanding.
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Wow, beautiful work on the torpedo launchers! Kitty's got claws! >:3 raaawwwrrr.
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Lol thanks :)
Im still work on the torp designs and smoothing out a few rough edges. I wanted to make sure my proposed hangar decks have the proper clearance to exist.
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Ok, here is the latest work.
I have reworked the saucer cannons, repositioned and redesigned some of the torp launchers, reworked the nacelles a bit to reduce polys, as well as other parts of the mesh.
Right now shes sitting at about 9500 polys. I need to get that down to about 9000 at the most so I can model in the other phaser strips. Im going to need another 1000 polys for the remaining strips to be modeled, putting this sep model around 10k polys...alot, but since it is a complete sep ship (really two ships) it doesnt seem too high to me.
I also intend on redesigning the sensor blister forward of the deflector (the one with the torp launchers and cannons)...it seems a bit off to me, perhaps too big and long. Might reduce it a bit.
I am also adding a shot of my work sofar on the deflector forward torp launcher. I have reduced the polys considerably and integrated it into the mesh, I still have to redesign the cannons.
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After redesigning the cannons to be less poly hungry they looked strange in the current housing design...so I decided to redesign the housing as well. I think it works the way it turned out.
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That's pretty nifty looking there Raven!
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I really like that cannon redesign.
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Thanks, the reshape of the blister just hit me when trying to fit in the prior cannon...it just asked for a flat wall to place it against, so I came up with what you see. Still working on reworking all the launchers, trying to reduce polys here and there so I can model in the phaser arrays.
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Oh that's it! *rolls up sleeves & opens up the Mithra* xD
hehehe. :3
hey raven dude, in deflector forward torp launcher.jpg are the red torpedo launchers separate objects alltogether? Or have you booleaned them in? or what? :]
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Dunno, are they supposed to be that little? Im a little confused. I love the design, but they seem... tiny :?
I think I watched Voyager too often... small ship -> big tubes
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Oh that's it! *rolls up sleeves & opens up the Mithra* xD
hehehe. :3
hey raven dude, in deflector forward torp launcher.jpg are the red torpedo launchers separate objects alltogether? Or have you booleaned them in? or what? :]
The red guys are modeled in.....and they are actually heavy cannons hehe. Both the main hull and the saucer have a set of heavy cannons ALA neghvar. The ones in the saucer are slower to recharge but more powerful...the ones in the main hull of course have higher ROF.
Ill post a scale picture compared to a Sov so you can see the torps are actually the right scale.
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Ok, here are the compare pics. Youll notice that the bridges are the same size, which is what I used to scale the rest of the ship properly.
Looking at these you can tell that the last thing this ship is is graceful. It looks downright portly compared to the sleek Sovereign. Thats the intent...this ship has massive amounts of armor, sacrificing impulse and warp speed for survivability. This vessel was specifically designed to engage in long battles with other capital ships and survive. It has 5 times the armor and 3 times the firepower of the Sov, but only about 70 percent of the maneuverability and 80 percent of her speed.
The fore alpha strike from this ship is especially murderous...it should be enough to completely destroy a ship in the Vorcha class range if in overload status at relatively close range. Even at long range the heavy cannons in the saucer are strong enough to collapse a single shield face on most capital ships.
Notice that the relative size (length) of the warp nacelles are the same, but they are more bulky...this represents the same output but more armor. Unlike Sov nacelles these can take quite a beating and still function, including direct hits to the radiator vents. The textures will show Defiant-like honeycomb armor on the vents, much like my Falcon design.
Not just the warp core but the ENTIRE engineering section can be jettisoned and the ship will remain fully functional...using the core in the saucer section. It can also jettison both nacelles and still travel at warp, using the saucer nacelles instead. Also note that the hangar bay is huge...it has a rear door and a dorsal spine door that can open ala-space shuttle to allow larger vessels inside the bay. She has a smaller hanger deck up on the dorsal spine as well, similar in location to the Sovs upper bay.
At any rate, here are the pics.
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Impressive. That looks absolutely gorgeos. Can see that it is the battleship of your choice in the ufp.
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Omg she is amazing, she is a very impressive killing machine, i mean starship.
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Top and Side views look greart. But theres something odd about seeing it on the front. But its still great!
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The front view is a bit odd because of the way the engineering section fits into the hull.
The bottom of the saucer might look a bit odd as well....still havent added the details there yet.
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I think I know why it looks odd to me. To me, the the engineering hull neck is too long/tall. Makes it look like a newly growing giraffe.
But it's your model and I'll let you got on with this pretty killing machine. :D
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Ah, I see what you are saying. It is a result of the sep form, underneath the saucer is a main hull that has a forward semi-saucer. I can post a pic with it saucerless if you want, I wanted the sep to look viable.
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Now, if that where to ram a Scimitar i think it would survive the encounter pretty well, nice job mate.
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heh awesome model alright :)
though I still think those oddly tilted Nacelles throw off the front view.
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Very lovely model. This will give any opposing force a run for their money.
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Just a heads up guys, Ive relocated to Massachusetts. There is some heavy stuff going on at Nightsoft since I refused to stay. Cant give details, except to say obviously that the website will be offline for a while.
At any rate Ill have an update on this ship shortly.
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Ok, one small update...the ventral side of the saucer. The detailing isnt done yet of course, but you get the idea.
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heavy stuff? In a good way or a sh*t has hit the fan way? Or heavy drinking for the "raven is finally gone" party? 8)
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I looks good mate, is the rest of the mesh going to get this much attention? :)
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Oh man, can't wait to see this beauty textured. :D
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Just a heads up guys, Ive relocated to Massachusetts.
no way! whereabouts? i live in Providence, Rhode Island, so we're neighbors!
(unless you're in western Mass., north of Connecticut, then it's a few hours drive :P)
we should meet up for a drink sometime lol :)
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I wish he'd come live in minnesota. then I'd tech him how to mod.
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I'd tech him how to mod.
teach u mean? :P *ducks*
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heavy stuff? In a good way or a sh*t has hit the fan way? Or heavy drinking for the "raven is finally gone" party?
Well, the second one. Since im leaving Nightsoft's largest investor has pulled the plug so to speak.
I looks good mate, is the rest of the mesh going to get this much attention?
I intend on possibly adding more detail to the top of the saucer, and I will look at some other vessels in the Federation lineup, in particular the Defiant to see if I should add more detail to the hull. Polys are a concern, however, so I am going to try and keep the mesh on the lean side.
no way! whereabouts? i live in Providence, Rhode Island, so we're neighbors!
(unless you're in western Mass., north of Connecticut, then it's a few hours drive Razz)
we should meet up for a drink sometime lol
Im in Wrentham right now, looking around the Taunton area. Housing is still a bit high so I might rent for a bit. Pretty close to you methinks :)
I wish he'd come live in minnesota. then I'd tech him how to mod.
I even worse at spelling then you are, so I wont poke fun...but on a side note I do intend to start using Messenger or some other messaging program again so perhaps I can take that modding course after all.
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Looking sweet, I hope those phasers can rip holes through standard shields like the Galaxy and stuff carry.
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Ok, here is a small update.
I decided to redesign the nacelles a bit and set them in a flat position relative to the ship. Its a bit more conventional then I would have liked, but I think it still works. Let me know what you guys think.
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It's great. Nice RCS thruster positioning, btw. :D
*cookie*
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I really like those nacelles, awsome work! cookie!
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Thanks guys. Just a quick inquiry...I have added more phaser arrays to the rear main hull. I put one on the dorsal spine, ventral, lateral aft, one small one on each outside port and starboard nacelle and one on the dorsal and ventral side of each nacelle strut. I think this gives the ship 360 degrees of coverage.
My intent was to arm her with a mix of standard phaser strips (for range and accuracy) and pulse phaser emitters (ala Defiant, for power). This gives her a murderous amount of firepower up close, but more moderate at range between heavy cannon fire recharges.
The question is this...does the lack of phaser strips make the ship look weak, or more importantly can both weapon types be mixed in BC? Thanks for your input.
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Thanks guys. Just a quick inquiry...I have added more phaser arrays to the rear main hull. I put one on the dorsal spine, ventral, lateral aft, one small one on each outside port and starboard nacelle and one on the dorsal and ventral side of each nacelle strut. I think this gives the ship 360 degrees of coverage.
My intent was to arm her with a mix of standard phaser strips (for range and accuracy) and pulse phaser emitters (ala Defiant, for power). This gives her a murderous amount of firepower up close, but more moderate at range between heavy cannon fire recharges.
The question is this...does the lack of phaser strips make the ship look weak, or more importantly can both weapon types be mixed in BC? Thanks for your input.
Certainly. to my knowlege BC supports three weapon types: Pulse, Torpedo, & Phaser. By default, Phaser is left click, Torpedo is right click and pulse is center [wheel/button] click on the mouse. You can totally support all these without problem.
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Excellent. The weapons shouldnt be a problem then.
Ok, more minor shaping updates. Im trying out a change to the impulse drive. I formed the lower half of the upper housing into the saucer edge and left a "chevron" platform on top, closer to the Sov style. I also extensively reworked the nacelles to give them a more aggressive look overall. Let me know if you like the changes or prefer it how she used to look, impulse and/or nacelles.
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It's perfect this way. 8)
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yeah it looks very good this way. i like the neck much more! fits into the evolution better.
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Good...looking for some more opinions, this was a big move for me because it is very similar to the Sov, more similar than I would be comfortable with. I did, however, add extra details to and change the shape of the nacelles to set them apart more from the Sov, so that may still strike balance.
The idea is the same people that worked on the Sov worked on this ship along with Klingon engineers.
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Klingon, eh? Sure they weren't Kingons? :lol:
Joking aside, could a weapons pod be in order?
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I actually planned on doing a few versions...since the saucer seps, I could make a few different saucers, including one with a weapons/sensor pod attached. The plan was to make the pod carry torps and drones.