help

Could someone please tell me a ship creating program for windows?
thanks

Eragon, on May 16 2005, 05:39 AM, said:

Could someone please tell me a ship creating program for windows?
thanks
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Ok, by "ship creating program" i hope you mean a 3d program that lets you MAKE the ship itself and not the skins, if thats the case, i heard that Blender3D works. you can try it at the Blender3D Website

Hi again Eragon, and welcome to the Developer Corner! Glad to see you're sticking with this.

Diehard is correct in saying that ship creation starts with a good 3d modeler. There are several out there, and I suggest reading post #4 in this link. It will explain some of the 3d modelers out there, and you can choose your own. The downloads range anywhwere from free to $7000. Now, since I know your new to plugins and ship creation, let me explain WHY you need a 3d modeler.

All the ships in EV nova are 3d views ( ie... not strictly a directly-overhead view). To create the smooth ship rotation that you see in the game, each ship is broken down into 36 graphic images- the first usually being #0 and the view being directly ahead, forward or whatever you wanna call it. Then you rotate the ship 10 degrees clockwise (usually) and save it again, under #1. Continue in this manner until you get to #35, which would be 10 degrees left of center.

If you want your new ship to bank in the turns, the whole process becomes proportionally harder- requiing additional sets of 36 graphics.

The easiest way to create these sets of graphics is to create a 3d model, and then simply rotate and save to new filenames as necessary.

Once you have made your 3d model, it will look like a computer-generated block of wood in the shape of your ship. The next step is to render (or paint) that block of wood. The above link touches on that subject too.

Once you have accomplished all of this, you drop everything into a utility from Nova Tools thats converts all your hard work into a format that the game uses and ( the Nova Gods willing....) looks good.

Then you use EV New to create a ship resource that tells Nova specifics about your ship such as speed, acceleration, weapons, etc. This is also where you tell Nova to use the AWESOME ship graphic that you created.

Sound like a lot of work? It is. I've actually made it sound a lot simpler than it is. But if you stick with it, you'll end up with a plug-in of your very own ship that you are intensely proud of. Why, you might even be so proud that you use an image of your favorite ship as an avatar. :rolleyes:
(an avatar is the pic underneath your name in the forum......)

Good luck. Hope to see some ships from "Eragon Shipyards" on the add-on page soon !

Do you have your shipyard online anywhere FlyBoy?

Thanks alot to all of you especially flyboy

and if i can figure out how to use the programs hopefully soon i'll have my own ship

Thanks!

If you're going to use blender for rendering ships, be sure to read LOTS of tutorials first. It is not very beginner friendly, mainly due to the fact that it is focused around having keyboard commands for just about everything you ever want to do, so, it takes some practice to figure out what all the buttons you need to press are to get the thing to do what you want it to do. On the plus side, it's free, and ain't half bad once you learn how to use it.

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Do you have your shipyard online anywhere FlyBoy?

Alas, not as yet.

I'm a graphic designer working in the film industry, using full-blown versions of Maya Unlimited 6.5 and 3ds Max 7 on state-of-the-art computers specially designed and configured for graphics animation/production. Talk about the perfect setup for creating spobs and spin graphics!!!

Trouble is, there are propriatary issues. Technically, most of my creative endeavors are the "property" of either a well-known graphics studio (not named for safety's sake) or a major gaming manufacturer (ditto). And generally speaking, the better the work, the more jealously they protect it.

The good news is that there's a grey area. The fact that I would be posting them in a public domain, for no personal profit, means that the answer's still maybe, not NO! I think they'll eventually allow it, if only because I don't think it breaches my contract.

However, the final word is still not in. Keep your fingers crossed and stand by. If I get permission, even for a day, I'll submit them to the add-ons page and send a few strategic e-mails. Where they go from there, who knows?