Nope. I've been working on it for about 4 years now, probably more, and I've still got a lot to do. I can tell you it will be released... eventually. I'm just not sure when.

Wow. I was planning on making a small TC once I get the hang of making ships, but now I don't know... 4 YEARS?!? Wow...

Well I slacked some in the beginning and had improper tools. It was also originally designed as a TC for Ares so it took a bit of time to switch things over. TCs do take a lot of work, though, and can take even longer when worked on alone such as mine. It's best to get plenty of experience with small plug-ins first, and then gather a dev team to help make the TC once you're ready.

Newton Electronics Standard Armament Light Fighter

What this vessel lacks in offense, it makes up in speed, defense, and being a technological wonder. High-power shields, powerful engines, and long range are common characteristics among Newton designs, but this light fighter adds in a higher tolerance for ionizing effects. It comes at a pretty penny for such a small craft, however, and it's up to the buyer to decide if it's worth it.

One of the things you may notice is the lack of a model number in the designation at the top. Model numbers such as the ones Sol Shipyards uses are only used in public by the Earth Empire and its affiliated factions, such as the Star Navy and the Star Corps. Most designs do have an official model number, but only the Earth Empire uses them as the official 'name' for each design. The other names were either code names during the ship's development of nicknames given by the public. Every other faction keeps model numbers quiet for one reason or another.

PS: hey Mk.32, is this sleek enough for you?

QUOTE (DarthKev @ Aug 7 2010, 05:04 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Newton Electronics Standard Armament Light Fighter

(insert nifty fighter)

What this vessel lacks in offense, it makes up in speed, defense, and being a technological wonder. High-power shields, powerful engines, and long range are common characteristics among Newton designs, but this light fighter adds in a higher tolerance for ionizing effects. It comes at a pretty penny for such a small craft, however, and it's up to the buyer to decide if it's worth it.

One of the things you may notice is the lack of a model number in the designation at the top. Model numbers such as the ones Sol Shipyards uses are only used in public by the Earth Empire and its affiliated factions, such as the Star Navy and the Star Corps. Most designs do have an official model number, but only the Earth Empire uses them as the official 'name' for each design. The other names were either code names during the ship's development of nicknames given by the public. Every other faction keeps model numbers quiet for one reason or another.

PS: hey Mk.32, is this sleek enough for you?

Very slick, dk. Gotta be a good interceptor -- the engines appear to take up the entire aft half of the craft. (Hey, that sorta rhymed! :p)

One question about your "model numbers" remark: is that the same as my Black Knight's official designation "SF-81A" or the Balcrusian Sunflash's "4c4"?

This post has been edited by StarSword : 08 August 2010 - 01:10 AM

QUOTE (StarSword @ Aug 7 2010, 11:10 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

One question about your "model numbers" remark: is that the same as my Black Knight's official designation "SF-81A" or the Balcrusian Sunflash's "4c4"?

Not entirely sure what you meant, but I'm assuming you mean the format. Yes, it's more similar to the Black Knight's designation. It starts with a 1-2 letter section denoting what class the ship is, and then a numerical representation of the craft itself, depending on capabilities, weaknesses, and appearance. A dash separates the numerical section and the class section. Attached to the numerical section may or may not be an extra letter, either 'L', 'H', or 'M'. 'L' signifies the ship is a 'light' version of its core class, such as 'light fighter' as opposed to 'fighter'. 'H' signifies a heavy vessel and 'M' signifies a design that uses mainly missiles for offense, such as a 'missile frigate'.

QUOTE (DarthKev @ Aug 8 2010, 12:59 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Not entirely sure what you meant, but I'm assuming you mean the format. Yes, it's more similar to the Black Knight's designation. It starts with a 1-2 letter section denoting what class the ship is, and then a numerical representation of the craft itself, depending on capabilities, weaknesses, and appearance. A dash separates the numerical section and the class section. Attached to the numerical section may or may not be an extra letter, either 'L', 'H', or 'M'. 'L' signifies the ship is a 'light' version of its core class, such as 'light fighter' as opposed to 'fighter'. 'H' signifies a heavy vessel and 'M' signifies a design that uses mainly missiles for offense, such as a 'missile frigate'.

I'm speaking from the perspective of somebody who used to study military aircraft as a hobby. For instance, we've got the F-22 and F-35 fighters, B-1, B-2, B-52, etc. bombers, and so on. I borrowed this system in slightly altered form (I think the US military uses "H" for helicopter, not "heavy" as in my HB-60 Scallopshell bomber) for the UGF's fighters. But it seems to me that the US military is the only one with a unified cross-manufacturer designation system; the Russians, for instance, appear to designate by manufacturer (Mig-whatevers come from Mikoyan Gurevich or however that's spelled). (The closest analogy I can think of from EVN:UGF is the Balcrusian starfighter manufacturer Kandava, which uses a number-letter-number for the class, followed by a modifier letter if necessary (the 4c4 unmanned Sunflash versus the 4c4M manned Sunflash).)

I guess the question I was asking was, what did you mean by "model number"?

This post has been edited by StarSword : 08 August 2010 - 04:48 PM

QUOTE (StarSword @ Aug 8 2010, 02:42 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I guess the question I was asking was, what did you mean by "model number"?

I see now. Well if you scroll back up to the other ships made by Sol Shipyards, you'll see model numbers like FR-26 Class Frigate for the Shuto Frigate and LL-74 Class Luxury Liner for the Tulip. Those are model numbers, but the only ones players will know will be ships made by Sol Shipyards, Sol Naval Yards (manufacturer of Star Navy ships), Jupiter Orbital Yards (manufacturer of Star Corps. ships), and Star Medical Shipyards (manufacturer of Star Medical ships). Everyone else simply states the type/class of ship it is—such as Mantis Class Cruiser and Hwacha Class Corvette—for the ship's long name.

This post has been edited by DarthKev : 08 August 2010 - 05:49 PM

Newton Electronics Armoured Light Transport

Originally intended to be a shuttle design, it quickly became apparent Newton couldn't accomplish everything they wanted to while keeping the design small enough for a shuttle. Additonally, being Newton's newest design, it sports all the latest advancements in electronics. Better sensors than the courier, an armour-size ratio to compete with the gunship, and speed to outrun most fighters. It performs miserably in combat, however, so if running is out of the question, you'll need to get creative.

Before anyone says anything, I know it looks kinda like a hover tank. That was not intended, it just kinda happened. I only realized it looked like a hover tank after showing it to a friend. Although, resembling a tank at all I guess is a good thing in this case; it's truly tanky for its size. The bulb on top if the tail fin is for sensors/communications equipment/shield generators. It's basically an all-purpose electronics hub. In addition to the Messenger, the Newton Courier and Newton Bulk Courier have them, the latter two having two each of the pods.

Newton Electronics Long-Range Courier Transport

Any seasoned merchant will tell you courier designs are a dime a dozen. It's not hard to find someone manufacturing their own take on this classic light transport. However, those seasoned merchants will also tell you that not all couriers are the same. In the case of the Newton Courier, it has much better sensors and an extremely fuel-efficient engine allowing long range. This does cut into its cargo capacity somewhat, and its engine doesn't put out as much power or thrust as other couriers, but it nevertheless is a decent design.

You'll notice that, despite being a civilian design, this ship sports visible weapon ports. While most designers build civilian models on the basis of defense and speed to evade danger, Newton Electronics knows running is very rarely an option with the current situation. As a result all of their ships, civilian or otherwise, are designed with combat in mind. You won't take out a full-on warship with this courier, but you should be able to take down one or two fighters and hopefully open a window for escape.

This post has been edited by DarthKev : 19 August 2010 - 04:42 PM

Mmm Ares ships actually look quite nice with Delphi parts. Only Ares race that'd actually be an issue would be the one with the black ships and cloaking as they have a more organic design. Perhaps I should redo my recent ship with an Ishiman styling.

Newton Electronics Luxury Courier

No one is quite sure how the bulk courier came to be a part of Newton Electronics' civilian line. In fact, no one outside Newton Electronics even knows how it came to exist at all. Theories abound but the official story released by NE executives stated that Newton Electronics wanted to cater to richer merchants who preferred luxury over economics. The truth of the matter is the bulk courier was actually the original design for the standard courier, but was scrapped for one reason or another. Somehow the plans made it into the hands of Newton's shipyard teams who proceeded to build a batch of them. They were then shipped to public display areas as an upcoming design. Rather than admit their mistake, Newton covered it up and marketed it as an alternative to couriers and freighters alike.

Because NE prefers to focus on combat ability when it comes to their civilian ships (the Messenger being the one exception) the Bulk Courier's design should come as no surprise. Visible weapons, sleek, and a reinforced hull. By that last part I mean the 'grills' along the top and bottom of the front end. They enhance structural integrity allowing these ships to suffer a few more blows before buckling. Those few more blows are often the difference between finishing a cargo run and hot, fiery death.

Being that this is your own TC, why are your ships made out of delphi's pieces? Don't yell at me for not reading some part of the thread.

Because I don't have the patience nor experience to model pieces of my own in Sketchup. I mean, I can make a few (the two cockpit pieces I've made, the gatling gun) but even then all of the pieces I've made were based on or incorporated Delphi's work. The standard cockpit I made was actually based on the cockpit piece Delphi made* and the sleeker, pointier cockpit piece I made is actually the standard cockpit with some points moved around. I made it mostly be accident just fiddling with the other cockpit piece. The gatling gun is just a bunch of cylinders, the real detail is on the back and comes from a few more of Delphi's pieces.

*You won't find Delphi's cockpit in the second collection and not officially in the first. The first collection has it only because it includes one of Delphi's ships that incorporates the piece.

This post has been edited by DarthKev : 24 August 2010 - 07:00 PM

Ah.

QUOTE (DarthKev @ Aug 24 2010, 03:49 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Newton Electronics Luxury Courier

<image>

No one is quite sure how the bulk courier came to be a part of Newton Electronics' civilian line. In fact, no one outside Newton Electronics even knows how it came to exist at all. Theories abound but the official story released by NE executives stated that Newton Electronics wanted to cater to richer merchants who preferred luxury over economics. The truth of the matter is the bulk courier was actually the original design for the standard courier, but was scrapped for one reason or another. Somehow the plans made it into the hands of Newton's shipyard teams who proceeded to build a batch of them. They were then shipped to public display areas as an upcoming design. Rather than admit their mistake, Newton covered it up and marketed it as an alternative to couriers and freighters alike.

EV Nova meets Dilbert. I like.

Interesting design, dk. What are the vertical thingies at the aft corners supposed to be?

This post has been edited by StarSword : 24 August 2010 - 10:39 PM

QUOTE (StarSword @ Aug 24 2010, 08:37 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

EV Nova meets Dilbert. I like.

Huh? I read Dilbert sometimes, but I'm not sure what you mean.

QUOTE

Interesting design, dk. What are the vertical thingies at the aft corners supposed to be?

As I said regarding the Messenger, those pods are equipment pods. They carry extra sensor, shield, and communications equipment depending on what the captain/player decides is necessary. If you go back a few posts you'll see the courier also has two of these pods sans the support pylons. The Messenger and the bulk courier both have their pods on fins to distance them from the ship itself, improving sensor and communications equipment that may be inside. The courier doesn't have them on fins since the wings themselves distance the pods enough on their own.

In-game players will be able to buy extra equipment kits for their Messenger, courier, or bulk courier, depending on how many pods the ship has. Pods like those can also be bought for any other ship and then filled with one of the three choices of extra equipment. The Messenger, courier, and bulk courier are the only ships to come with those pods equipped as standard.

However, in Ares (the game the ships take their designs from) those pods are for weapons. The Messenger is based on the Ishiman Engineer Drone, the courier on the Ishiman Cruiser, and the bulk courier on the Ishiman Assault Transport. All three vessels had laser cannons (or something similar) that were fired by those pods.

This post has been edited by DarthKev : 25 October 2010 - 03:32 AM

QUOTE (DarthKev @ Aug 25 2010, 01:19 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Huh? I read Dilbert sometimes, but I'm not sure what you mean.

I re-read The Dilbert Principle the other day, and the whole back-story about how the Bulk Courier wound up being manufactured by mistake sounded like something out of Dilbert.

I'm going to take a momentary break to send out this call for assistance.

As some of you already know, I've yet to render a single thing. Not for lack of trying, of course, I simply don't have the knowledge to use the free software out there nor the money to buy the software I might understand. I've been trudging though, regardless, hoping to find some way to finalize my ships, but to no avail. I realize now I need someone else with the software and experience to render these for me and assist me in the creation of this TC.

All I need are rendered frames. If you can/want to put the frames into sheets yourself, you're welcome to it. However, I'm perfectly capable of putting frames together myself. All I need is someone to render for me. If you have the time, resources, and willingness to help, post here or PM me. Anyone that can help will get a përs ship flying the ship of their choice (bar a few specialized ships reserved for other purposes).

Thank you for taking the time to read this message. We now return you to your normal post reading and ship viewing schedule.

QUOTE (DarthKev @ Aug 25 2010, 01:24 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I simply don't have the knowledge to use the free software out there nor the money to buy the software I might understand

I thought I saw one of your ships 'rendered' straight out of sketchup earlier - that actually didn't look to bad. Additionally, you can set up a standard camera and render setup fairly easily, make a file and set your camera to a position you want, then set up the shadows so you like them, and modify the style to your tastes (no lines? all-blue lines with an otherwise rendered ship? lines colored based on the government of the ship as decided by you? scanlines? No problem!).

I don't have the time to commit to rendering a huge lot of ships, unfortuneately, but I will work on developing another render setup. I think you can see all the files I've uploaded in my profile, one of those was meant for use as a rendering setup with no renderer.