I wouldn't read too much into it, Seph - asymmetric fighters with "floaty bits" have been around for a while. Case in point, I was actually hoping to resurrect my old Seraphim for this challenge... (And no, I am not suggesting the KSV-33 was the source of inspiration either) Sadly, she's oversized to begin with, so squeezing a warp-drive in was just not happening. Not to mention, buried thrusters everywhere... a rebuild may happen someday, but not for this challenge. On that note, Ningues orbit is starting to look like a junkyard from this endeavor. I'd thought a compact fighter would be a pleasant break from the grind the NXT has become, but inspiration has been utterly failing me lately. Might need to just pack it in on Empyrion for a few months.
I love the Seraphim, great handling, great name It was/is actualy the inspiration for my flaoting bits designs
I see! I wouldn't have guessed from the Alvage, but the Pace did make me wonder a little. Anyway, wasn't trying to rain on your parade or anything - I realized shortly after I posted how that might come across. But we're getting off-topic I suppose. Hm... Asymmetric floaty-bits challenge in the future, perhaps? "Flying Artwork for sale, slightly used. 1 owner, little old hermit on Oscutune. 20,000₢ or best offer."
What i would suggest is you get a panel of say 5 judges together to vote for future submissions, with obvious rules in place (ie judges cant submit etc)
I'm also having trouble hitting my groove with this challenge; the warp drive and cockpit end up dominating the shape So I started with the standard wedge-shuttle - Spoiler ...then moved onto a 60's rocketship version of... a wedge shuttle - Spoiler I was getting the same shape each time, and my normal build style doesn't work for a build on this scale (lay down keel, spine and profile and build within it... not enough space in this challenge). So I went off on one with a split nosed design - Spoiler ...which I end up not overly happy with. Also, you have to clamber over exposed thruster housings or teleport from the nose to get in After I looked at some of the current entries, I realised that the compact wedge shuttle and flowing graceful shapes were already well represented. There are some damn good entries for these, ones that beat mine into a corner. So I thought I'd try something completely different. Something passably functional with a major flaw or two, but properly ugly, in the Rat-Rod/Reaver style of things. I wonder what these ships look like with all the paneling removed, and all the conduits , pipes and cables exposed..? Plus a little bit of hillbilly engineering to get it to run like that... Dunno if it's going to be my final entry (I have some time to keep experimenting), but I'm kinda proud of my Junkyard Dog. Just don't forget to bring an EVA suit; that's an open cockpit, with no pressurised cabin
Ended up altering a bit after I got it into a tossle.... https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1297730472
closes mouth and wipes drool from chin... love this, kind of, for unknown reasons. The most fun I've had in a while is spawning all the entries onto a beach, it's like a great big boat show at the local county fair. Seeing all the ships next to each other, hopping in and taking each one for a spin, good times. Hicks, I think your big green potato is likely to be underappreciated. When no one was looking, I climbed in and gave it a thorough beating. If I were a fighting man, I'd want that thing on my side. I refuse to acknowledge anything with parts that are not connected. Sorcery. I applaud the open minded outside of box creative... creativeness though. Functionality is my creative steamroller for this challenge. I get so mired by what it needs to be (fighter) and what I know from fighting, complicated by self imposed design restrictions (it needs to be interesting and carry non-fighting things)... it's a conflict of many interests. Razorwire described the struggle perfectly. Building a good fighter isn't hard... the process has been refined to a science by now and veering off the beaten path often results in something more interesting, but less of a fighter. I hated my first entry almost as much as all the others I never finished because I'm not good with compromises. I think I have another "fighter" in me, but it won't be very good at fighting. This has been a great challenge so far.
I intend to publish all of them as a collection once I'm done playing around and actually submit an entry, so you'll get to have a play. I have a small CV along the same lines kicking around somewhere... Truth. It's the only challenge I've looked at where I've ended up with more than one or two contenders, and I've only actually submitted to one challenge, though I have built for a couple. This one has me trying to decide which to submit, rather than whether I should at all
Since I couldn't seem to follow through with any of my more... "creative" ideas, I decided to dig up another old BP and give it a massive and much-needed overhaul. The Stratus is (loosely) based on my old compact Shard workhorse. Unlikely to impress, but it got the job done and being barely more than pocket-sized was always a bonus for me. However, this challenge - more specifically, the warp requirement - called for something substantially bigger, and performance-wise, I've warmed considerably towards the Jet-S thrusters for their obscenely good TWR. Been at this practically all night and it's very "late" for me, so no upload yet - I want an opportunity to go over her with a fine-toothed comb and make sure I haven't missed any details or texture spots. More tweaking may be required! ...I included an Armor Locker as well, mostly because I had the space, but now I'm wondering if I remembered the fridge. O2 station, cargo box, and constructor are all accounted for also. Armaments are twin gatlings for drones & wildlife, twin homing rockets for the bigger stuff.
Nice! This looks like a cool little ship so I can't wait to take it for a test flight. Oh and I understand building way too late until noon with the "just one more tweak" as I am also a 3rd shift nightwalker wait why am I still awake too?
Snuck an attempt at a SV for this challenge under Dad's nose last night hoping to head start at it... but my SV Rut is still at it too... I can't seem to figure out anything I can be even remotely satisfied with...
Lamentably, I've just put those blocks together so many times that I can't bring myself to do it again. It doesn't help that, outside of a very narrow window, the warp SV is about as useful as a football bat.
Ok, i'll play , was wanting to build a single warp seater, so here's challenger 1 Sideview leaves me bit of a potato feel, but yh... Went for a lvl 10, so thrust isn't super on all sides. Experienced an odd thing happening during the build. I usually cover some thrusters with shutter windows (but that requires sath) or as in this case walkway blocks. Couple minutes later i notice they disappeared so tried to put new ones on, wich it wont let me (?!?). Apparantly they're still there and not at the same time. Sampe thing with allready occupied blockspace on the left side thrusters in the back. Just left it alone, was trying to fiddle more side thrust but game says NO ! lol http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1299768246 EDIT: After i went for dinner, reloaded the game and i was able to adjust the oddity i spoke of before. So i added bit more side thrust and changed configuration of bottom thrust. Feels better EDIT 2: Darn, noticed the walkway blocks on top made the hight 7 instead of 6, took 'm off again. EDIT 3: Had to iron the bulckyness out a bit, lost a bit of weight so pinched 1 m/s more out on each side.
Raido Corporation 'Firefly' Light two-seater warp capable fighter for long range escort missions. Pretty fast & agile. Does not win beauty contests. Size limitation became an issue real fast - but I guess it's nice to build something that I can actually fit into a normal hangar for once Thanks @Jenniphurr for setting up this challenge Attached is a BP.
Dayum, I hadn't really looked at this thread as I haven't time to take part yet, and... well, I'm glad there isn't a limit on Likes per day, or I'd have knocked out a weeks worth in one pop... This thread isn't just a challenge, it's pure inspiration driving goodness, great job all!
Awwwww... Look at this cute little guy! So adorable! Niiiiiice design. Globular, but angular and with a touch of personality. Wonderfully done. +awesome points for getting twin cockpits onto something that small and still have it viable for the challenge. I really like that bottom picture. Excellent work with the camo and the protected thrusters. Makes me think of the A10 Thunderbolt.
I had a ton more fun with this than I expected (as I'm not well experienced with SVs) I went with a UFO aesthetic! Invader: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1299924087 This was actually my 2nd version of this. The first is identical except it has less power and fewer thrusters so I was constantly checking my stats any time I added anything to make sure I wasn't losing a bunch of maneuverability. And since that weaker version hits 93% generator usage in flight on Omicron anyway, I decided to say "screw it" and actually use the expansion space I'd planned in. 2nd Generator, more thrusters. This also allowed me to add equipment (such as an o2 dispenser and a 2nd cargo box) that I'd left off due to weight concerns before. I tend to scope small and cheap, but I'm much happier with this version. I don't have a lot of experience building SVs, so I found this an excellent practice opportunity. Thanks for setting this up, Jenniphurr
