How do you make target,shipyard,comm and icons for ships?

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For one thing, you will need the original 3D Model to do half of it.

To make the Shipyard picture, render the 3D Model in a 45° angle view. The size is 100x100 pixels.
The Comm picture is a front view rendered of the 3D Model. The size is 100x100 pixels.
The 'icon', or Shipyard thumbnail, is a 32x32 pixel version of the Shipyard picture.
The Target graphic is the only part that does not require a 3D Model. It is 128x64 pixels in size, and is commonly done in 2 shades of green, but other adaptations can be applied.

If you don't have the original 3D Model to work with, you are kinda out of luck for the Shipyard and Comm pics.

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(url="http://"http://homepage.mac.com/captainz")Captain Z's Starbase of EV Stuff(/url)

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Originally posted by Captain Z:
The Target graphic is the only part that does not require a 3D Model. It is 128x64 pixels in size, and is commonly done in 2 shades of green, but other adaptations can be applied.

Actually, the 'approved' way to create target pictures is to use the wireframe of your 3D model and adapt it into the proper colours. To my mind, this seems much simpler than drawing a new version, assuming, of course, you have the 3D model.

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David Arthur
(url="http://"http://davidarthur.evula.net/")davidarthur.evula.net(/url): MissionComputer and the Talon plug-in for the original Escape Velocity
MissionComputer 1.1.0 Now Available

Another neat way I've seen target pics done are by taking one of the frames from the spin and adapting it to fit.

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Well yes, if you want to do it the easy way.

I've seen those target graphics that are just the rendered picture done inside it with words pointing toward it. Frankly, I don't like they way they look, so I am redoing them. Example:

The middle row is what you are explaining, but technicly, you don't need the original model to make the wireframe look of the EV target graphics. If you notice, all the graphics in the right column are partially used from another ship (1st = Confed Cruiser, 2nd = Confed Frigate, 3rd = Light Freighter, 4th = Courier)

That's just my opinion, and it can be done any way you want. But it is easier if you have the 3D model to work off of in the target as well.

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(url="http://"http://homepage.mac.com/captainz")Captain Z's Starbase of EV Stuff(/url)

You can basically do whatever you want for these.

Typically, the comm picts are from in front. you can usually use a/the standard view-change button(s) in most 3D programs to rotate the view so you can get a neat render angle... unless you can use preset views, which I don't prefer. The comm pic is typically 100x100 pixels(unless you modify the DITL resource, quite messy). The shareware 'GraphicConverter' is useful for finding sizes immediately without a 3D program, as well as anything else

For the shipyard pic, it is usually more loose, as far as what is normal. From my experience, it is preferred to have a frontal view from above slightly, as looking at the ship facing down-left. You can also add text, e.g. "New Taranto Shipyards"

Finally, the target pic has the most varied designs... The standard EV target pics are basically from above with a kind of basic electronic green wireframe on a dark green background. IMHO, this is rather uncreative, hence 3D views of the ships. Also, if you don't want to make a target pic for everything, you can make something that says "Cannot Scan Target Ship" or something. If you have Magma, for EV/EVO, this is a good example of a variance. The original recommended font is Crillee, available from the Add-Ons page, if you want to add ship specs and stuff.

Have fun.
-Lequis

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