You know . . . something this new warp capable SV has made me realize would be VERY COOL addition to the game: "Half-sized warp modules and fuel tanks." A ship needs two of each in order to be warp capable = = double-pylon external warp nacelles like in Trek.
Since it is not an essential game feature / mechanic, it has a good chance of being implemented very soon... Now is it not a sweet paradox in an Alpha game ?
I get my panties in a wad just like any gamer . . . the single shot rocket musket launcher was irksome and the need for the overhaul to the small arms damages eludes me . . . but having played it so far doesn't feel like it "ruined" anything so I'll restrain myself and go with the flow for now. That said, YES! sweet paradox (not interactive). I don't know who these Eleon folks are (are they renegades from the studio that developed the X series??) . . . guess I should read their about page . . . but I am impressed at their overall vision, attentiveness to user feedback and creative accumen. They don't get everything EXACTLY right, but most things So yeah: give us half-size warp engines and tanks so we can build symmetrical external nacelles.
Today I worked on a warp-capable SV to add to my HPOD lineup. It still has to meet the HPOD rules, but I thought it went pretty well. The normal SV HPOD's are a little small, so I built something larger. I am still debating the weapons and textures, but here is what I have so far. (the new one is on the left) Interior. AND... it still fits through a 5x3 hangar door. (barely)
I like those spaceships fluffy. Something I just added to the workshop (I have several things on there though I'm not sure how much is set to public . . . should be most?): a starter base. http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1176679579
I don't want to annoy you with the same stuff over and over again, but i would welcome some opinions. I'm still in the process of finding my own visual style. While i'm pretty content about the saucer - ring, i'm still struggeling with finding a fitting nacelles style. Which "nacelles" type looks better? The left one is a WIP, of course but it is basically the same ship as the right one. I have build the ship with the hollow, big and short nacelles, but it just feels too much like a cheap copy of a Star Trek ship imo. I'm really not sure about the left one though. Sometimes when i look at it, i find it terribly ugly, sometimes i find it not bad at all. I'm basically looking for a elegant but yet powerful looking visual representation of a FTL drive i can use for my future ship designs. Something that hasn't been done or at least something that doesn't look like a blatant Star Trek rip off (or some other iconic design). The only Trek hommage i'm ok with, is the saucer like ring structure, but i want to avoid to make a ship look even more like a starfleet ship. I also tried a big ring as FTL drive element, but it looked terrible (i didn't even made screenshots of it. ) Does anyone have an idea what i could try aside from this, maybe something i haven't thought about?
Maybe you could try with 3 or 4 instead of just 2, and on different axis, just to get a feel of it ? Maybe playing with asymmetry of the nacelles as such, having part of the "tube" longer than the other, with more prominent "deco" elements (ridges, big half-pipes running out of sides, etc)? You could also try different points of "attachment" from the central dish instead of always from the central cylindrical body.
I tend to gravitate more to the one on the right. It does look a bit more star-treky, but at the same time the basic concept nacelles for engines has been a thing for some time. Spoiler I think what i don't like about the one on the left is it's one solid piece, and i'm not sure about the arc facing back. For some reason i feel like it should be arcing forwards, but i'm not sure.
These are some really interesting ideas. I'll definitely try one or the other on future ships, but this one, since it will be the first featuring the new design, i try to keep everything clean and simple to have a basic design which other ship designs can evolve (if this makes any sense ). I've been thinking about this for over a week now and still i haven't found a satisfying design idea. Yeah, i know what you mean. It looked better on paper than in 3D. It looks odd no matter how you turn it. Yeah, the ship on the right has hollow nacelles. I was experimenting with one big ring shape earlier this week (or last week? idk), but it didn't work with the rest of the ship, so i though why not make it two smaller ones? Still it feels too Star Trekkish. Especially with the latest series (which feel i don't like at all) i try to dissociate my designs from it and try to make something of my own. I just can't find a design i really like. (I think "fall in love with" would be a appropriate term.)
Well i've been thinking about it some more, and i think its the one solid piece is the biggest problem. Like if you were to divide into 2 or 3 sections it would look better. Not necessarily physically separate it, but like indented lines (if that makes any sense) to make it 'look' like its not necessarily one piece and break up the visual profile. And again, there's just something about the way it curves backwards that makes me feel like it would be better curving forwards.
That still looks like a regular nacelle though. I was thinking an actual ring shape like the Vulcan D'Kyr. You could do one big ring or do a series of smaller rings on each side instead of a solid nacelle. Or do something like the Romulan D'Deridex. Or you could have the nacelles extending back from the edges of the saucer ring. Maybe add an arch like the Miranda class has but set further back connecting the nacelles.
How about this: If i keep this design i'll work a bit at the proportions. I't s really strange, some angles it looks huge, but other angles make it look tiny. I'm not sure about having it face forward though. I fear it would look too agressive. Maybe i make them less wide. From above the proportions look ok to me (i like to have the visual mass at the mid of the ship or even closer to the saucer) Wow, much to consider, must compute... hehe. Seriously, thanks for the ideas! Btw. i made a smaller ship this week that has the nacelles attached at the saucer, but i woudn't want my main ship to look like this tbh. The thing is, i want to keep it simple for a start. Once i found "my" style, i'll surely add strouts and try different kinds of configurations on other ships that evolve from that design. But at first, i feel that i need to create an "ideal" that looks elegant but also simple. Something like a good basis to work with.
See I was thinking you could just extend the saucer ring backwards into nacelles(kind of like the NSEA Protector).
HMMMM I want to like the on the left because I could see it being a post Picard Era new design Star Trek ship but I like the one on the right . So I will say number 2.
Yeah, that makes an improvement imo. Where you've added those lines, you could make them follow with like 2 slope blocks facing each other so the hull integrity is still the same (roughly, half blocks instead of full blocks), but it creates a visual line for the eye to follow. The angle problem is a big pita to fix, and not necessarily worth doing, but it just occured to me what it looks like to me - if you stand it up, it looks a bit like a stick figure drawing. The big circle at the other end is the 'face', and the rear end is the 'legs'. Not necessarily a bad thing, but once seen i can't unsee. On a side note, i'm working on my frigate atm. I know eleon is a german team, but while i was painting the hull with the new bigger brushes i was singing the team america themesong (america! f*ck yeah!). Major QoL improvement there. Took me a couple minutes instead of 30+. Much appreciation.
The ship on the left has a less traditional approach to the the nacelles, so it has a greater visual interest for me. Make something unique.
Burning a meteor trail running out the door for work, but the Weta has been uploaded to the workshop. Constructive feedback is always welcome.
