QUOTE (darthkev @ May 8 2010, 04:42 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

What's the purpose of its actual shape? I see a semi-circle cockpit/weapons area, a rectangle box for engines, and what appear to be supports holding metal cylinders in the back. Focussing modules for the engines, perhaps?

The Theta-Wing carries racks of rockets and bombs all along its length. And you're correct in your guess, but they're supposed to be rings, not cylinders. I got that idea from Star Wars ' Y-wing.

As I mentioned, the Theta-Wing is pretty antiquated; I actually recommend, if you go through the Varellavite string, to sell the Theta-Wing bay on the Kraken and switch it with a Starhawk bay (civvie-legal fighter-bombers).

As long as I'm posting images of fighters, here's another: the Shinobi.

New Japan Shipyards Shinobi -class Fighter

Hundreds of years before humanity left Earth, shinobi (also known as ninja) worked in the shadows of Japan as the forerunners of commandos and special forces. New Japan has long treasured its heritage, culminating in the creation of the Shinobi -class starfighter by New Japan Shipyards. Built for speed and defense, Shinobi are lightly armed and built for surgical strikes.

Pilots in the United Galactic Fighter Corps have nicknamed the Shinobi "pinch" due to its shape (it's supposed to look like a pincer). The image is of a model I made of it using LEGO Digital Designer.

QUOTE (StarSword @ Mar 25 2010, 11:04 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

A simple explosive mine has a weapon that blows up the user when it fires. For this to work as I envision, each major faction needs its own mine GOVT to make the mines attack anything that moves except for the government that placed them. I used a "xenophobic" flag, a "can't hail" flag, and a "doesn't send distress signals" flag. Sound like it'll work?

More on the mines: simple proximity mines are immobile bombs. There are also "seeker" mines, which are mobile and hunt their targets until they explode. I've also got ion mines, which are immobile ion cannon emplacements, and missile mines, which are loaded with long-range missiles.

First, the Shinobi. It looks awesome and I strongly support your use of LEGOs. I may be 19 years old, but I'm still into LEGOs and have even built my own version of the Republic Gunship from Star Wars using an N-1 Starfighter set and whatever pieces I had lying around. But back to the Shinobi, it looks good!

Second, the mines. This is interesting. If I understand you correctly, bombers are armed with fighter bay weapons that launch fighters which are immobile and simply shoot things or blow up. From the player's perspective, the ship is dropping either a stationary platform that may or may not shoot at them (depending on the type of mine) or is dropping a drone of sorts that seeks out its target and detonates when in range. That's actually a really clever weapon design.

QUOTE (darthkev @ May 9 2010, 05:01 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

First, the Shinobi. It looks awesome and I strongly support your use of LEGOs. I may be 19 years old, but I'm still into LEGOs and have even built my own version of the Republic Gunship from Star Wars using an N-1 Starfighter set and whatever pieces I had lying around. But back to the Shinobi, it looks good!

Second, the mines. This is interesting. If I understand you correctly, bombers are armed with fighter bay weapons that launch fighters which are immobile and simply shoot things or blow up. From the player's perspective, the ship is dropping either a stationary platform that may or may not shoot at them (depending on the type of mine) or is dropping a drone of sorts that seeks out its target and detonates when in range. That's actually a really clever weapon design.

An immobile proximity mine is just a SHIP with speed 0, whose single weapon destroys the user when fired. A seeker mine is a mobile SHIP with the same weapon. And as I said, an ion mine has ion cannons (borrowed that from Star Wars) and a missile pod or missile mine has missiles (an idea from David Weber's Honorverse). (That's the current idea, anyway.) Obviously, these aren't purchasable ships; the idea is to use them in such missions as "Clear Minefield at <DST>" or "Defend Minefield at <DST>".

The idea is to have them already in the system when you drop out of hyperspace. I suppose I could build minelayer ships like you suggest, but that would be another day's work (and might not work properly, considering mines use a separate GOVT from the main military GOVT, though inherent attributes GOVTs might bypass that). Right now I'm focused on mapping and SPOBs.

OOH!! StarSword, I just had an idea that will allow you to make your own graphics and give your TC a unique feel, graphics-wise.

Simply put, use LEGO Digital Designer to make all your ships. (or at least the ones you don't already have graphics for)

After designing a ship, just take screenshots of it from above (maybe at an angle, too, depending on how you want them to look) and then line them up in a grid to make RLEs out of them. You already know more or less what every ship looks like, you just need to build it out of LEGOs now.

Just thought I'd pass on the idea in case you hadn't thought of it. ^_^

This post has been edited by darthkev : 09 May 2010 - 05:29 PM

QUOTE (darthkev @ May 9 2010, 06:28 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

OOH!! StarSword, I just had an idea that will allow you to make your own graphics and give your TC a unique feel, graphics-wise.

Simply put, use LEGO Digital Designer to make all your ships. (or at least the ones you don't already have graphics for)

After designing a ship, just take screenshots of it from above (maybe at an angle, too, depending on how you want them to look) and then line them up in a grid to make RLEs out of them. You already know more or less what every ship looks like, you just need to build it out of LEGOs now.

Just thought I'd pass on the idea in case you hadn't thought of it. ^_^

LEGO Nova. Sounds catchy! :heythere: Maybe that's my next project: a TC that replaces everything that isn't a blaster shot with LEGOs.

Unfortunately, it's a little too goofy for EVN:UGF.

I've also got a LEGO image of another starship I'm putting in the plug, but I left my flash drive on my desk at home.

Porsche Aktiengesellschaft Corsair, S-, CE-, and EX-Class
Porsche Aktiengesellschaft has been around for millennia, originally as a 20th century AD luxury groundcar manufacturer on Earth. They still make various speeders, but their main claim to fame these days is their high-performance starship line. During the days of the Federation, they made the popular Valkyrie star yacht. The 'Valk' was eventually succeeded by the Corsair. Though fairly expensive, the Porsche Corsair is beloved by countless crews for its combination of performance and defense, though the stock weaponry is somewhat weak.

If you like Porsche's offerings and have an extra hundred grand, the CE-class Corsair gives all the best points of the S-class, with the added benefit of a military-grade sensor suite and better stock weapons. The only drawback is that the cargo bay is somewhat diminished in size, to make room for a better shield generator.

Porsche Aktiengesellschaft reaches its zenith in the EX-class Corsair. Made famous by being the favored off-duty starship of a certain Terran starfighter ace, the engines are impressively powerful, and the weaponry is extensive for a ship of its size. Few other craft in its class can compete with this keel. It's also got a well-earned reputation as a favored ship for smugglers, as it has good range and a fairly roomy cargo bay.

I should point out that I have no idea what that little purple cage is doing there; I think I may have had one of the bricks highlighted when I took the screenshot. The minifigs are supposed to be the off-duty Gen. Davis and his wife; his actual Corsair EX, the Kendor Eyada (a Corunian blessing), is black and chrome. Unfortunately, LDD's color selection leaves much to be desired.

This post has been edited by StarSword : 10 May 2010 - 09:49 PM

Question: if those minifigs are to scale with the Corsair, then how does a ship that size contain a 'roomy' cargo bay? I'd think the most something that small could carry would be a few parcels and a copy machine.

QUOTE (darthkev @ May 10 2010, 11:15 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Question: if those minifigs are to scale with the Corsair, then how does a ship that size contain a 'roomy' cargo bay? I'd think the most something that small could carry would be a few parcels and a copy machine.

They're not to scale, actually. The real Corsair is much bigger. It's a result of using LEGOs, and basing it off of a ship I made with real bricks. And "fairly roomy" in this case means it's got about 50 tons of space. (The basic shuttle, TEC's C-5 Pigeon, can carry 20 tons of cargo).

This post has been edited by StarSword : 11 May 2010 - 06:40 AM

Got a couple more ships to show off, both of them from the Varellavite Imperium.

Mvleng-Ulngaas "Kraken" Battleship, Obrala - and Emperor -class
Due to the disadvantages in Varellavite technology when compared to Galactic technology, Varellavite war vessels tend towards brute force rather than finesse. The Obrala -class Kraken is a brutal vessel that mounts the most powerful (and power-hungry) weapons the VIN has at its disposal. Though slow, its thick armor makes it quite durable, and it can deploy both E-Wings and Theta-Wings at need.

The Emperor -class Kraken is designed for a similar role as the Galactic command ship. It is a multipurpose heavy capital ship that carries many starfighters and is designed to slug it out with its opponents. Three of them stand a good chance against Apache -class command ships, in theory.

Mvleng-Ulngaas "Grendel" Battlecruiser, Admiral Messhik -class
Actually, the correct transliteration of its Varellavite name is closer to "Gondorl," but the UGN calls them Grendels after a monster in an ancient Terran myth. These heavy cruisers are designed to escort the Kraken, though they can operate easily on their own. With heavy armament that includes a heavy rocket launcher and an E-Wing bay under the stern, the Grendel is the backbone of the VIN.

Sweet! Alien ships! Interesting how the Grendel closely resembles atmospheric fighter craft from human history. Is it a coincidence or did the Varellavites manage to gain access to Terran Historical Archives and liked the design?

The Kraken looks considerably deadly on its own, let alone with a pair of Grendels flanking it.

QUOTE (darthkev @ May 14 2010, 06:21 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sweet! Alien ships! Interesting how the Grendel closely resembles atmospheric fighter craft from human history. Is it a coincidence or did the Varellavites manage to gain access to Terran Historical Archives and liked the design?

The Kraken looks considerably deadly on its own, let alone with a pair of Grendels flanking it.

I'm not sure which atmospheric fighters you're referring to, but the resemblance is coincidental. Their battlecruisers haven't changed much in the nearly 400 years since First Contact with the Milky Way Union. (For the uninitiated, that's one of the two governments that merged to form the UGF in October of 900 GSD.)

I didn't mention it, but this Kraken image is a higher-detail scan of a previous post.

Up next, the ThrensinCorp F-40 Dynacross, the EVN:UGF version of the civilian Viper.

This post has been edited by StarSword : 14 May 2010 - 09:08 PM

QUOTE (StarSword @ May 14 2010, 03:29 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'm not sure which atmospheric fighters you're referring to...

I mean the kind of planes seen here. From a top view, they look similar. Go to the section 1930-1940 on the left.

The ThrensinCorp F-40 Dynacross isn't half bad as an interceptor; in fact at one point it was the staple craft of the United Galactic Fighter Corps. Since then it has been displaced by faster and better armed fighters -- first the White Lightning, then the InvisiBlur, next the Foxfire, and now the Black Knight -- but the Dynacross is still pretty popular in the defense fleets and security forces of Galactic member worlds.

The Dynacross is available both as a flyable ship and as a shipboard fighter, and made a minor appearance in the UGF Preamble, where a UGFC Dynacross (mentioned as an "F-40") peeled off to intercept an attacking atmospheric fighter. In terms of performance, it's approximately equivalent to a Viper from standard EVN.

It is armed with light laser cannons and a missile launcher with a small number of fighter-to-fighter missiles, and like all ships sold in the UGF, comes with an integrated sensor suite capable of density and IFF scanning. (The more advanced version, the "military" sensor suite, also reduces interference.)

Its sublight engines are below the stern (kind of like the F-4 Phantom fighters the US Navy flew back in the Vietnam War).

This post has been edited by StarSword : 14 May 2010 - 11:40 PM

This is going back a long, long ways, but I just had a thought: the hypergate usage should really be significantly more money. Think about: a standard jump costs 100 bucks. Going between galaxies only costs the equivalent of 5 jumps? I think it should be something of a trade-off. You can get where you're going faster, but it's going to cost you more than it would take to go the long way, or at least as much.

That does make sense. The same could go for standard hypergates which only cost 100 credits to use. Unless they only move the player over one jump, the UGHGA is kinda getting cheated here. They're offering travel that takes the player the same distance in no time at all. If one thinks about it, each normal hypergate should cost a little more than the amount of credits it would take to refuel if they made the jumps themselves. This can fluctuate, too, as individual spöbs can have their own price for landing.

There is one problem, though: for each hypergate, all other gates it connects to must be the same distance from the starting hypergate. Example:

The player starts at Gate 1. They need to get to Gate 3. Gate 1 connects to Gate 2, Gate 3, and gate 4. The system Gate 3 is in is three jumps from the system Gate 1 is in, making the trip cost 300 credits in fuel. Gate 1 may cost a bit extra then, say 400 credits. For it to work properly, Gate 2 and Gate 4 must also be three jumps from Gate 1.

This would also mean all hypergates would need to be set distances from each other unless you had some one-way connections. In the above example, perhaps Gate 2 doesn't connect to Gate 1, which then means Gate 2's connections can be more or less jumps away.

I hope that was all clear.

Edit: On the other hand, StarSword probably has some good reasons for making the costs what they are. Perhaps the limiting example I gave is why he chose the values he did.

This post has been edited by darthkev : 15 May 2010 - 01:46 PM

QUOTE (darthkev @ May 15 2010, 02:44 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That does make sense. The same could go for standard hypergates which only cost 100 credits to use. Unless they only move the player over one jump, the UGHGA is kinda getting cheated here. They're offering travel that takes the player the same distance in no time at all. If one thinks about it, each normal hypergate should cost a little more than the amount of credits it would take to refuel if they made the jumps themselves. This can fluctuate, too, as individual spöbs can have their own price for landing.

There is one problem, though: for each hypergate, all other gates it connects to must be the same distance from the starting hypergate. Example:

The player starts at Gate 1. They need to get to Gate 3. Gate 1 connects to Gate 2, Gate 3, and gate 4. The system Gate 3 is in is three jumps from the system Gate 1 is in, making the trip cost 300 credits in fuel. Gate 1 may cost a bit extra then, say 400 credits. For it to work properly, Gate 2 and Gate 4 must also be three jumps from Gate 1.

This would also mean all hypergates would need to be set distances from each other unless you had some one-way connections. In the above example, perhaps Gate 2 doesn't connect to Gate 1, which then means Gate 2's connections can be more or less jumps away.

I hope that was all clear.

Edit: On the other hand, StarSword probably has some good reasons for making the costs what they are. Perhaps the limiting example I gave is why he chose the values he did.

Actually, my theory is entirely different. Based on the hypergate explanation at the EVN wiki, and on the fact that there really is no correlation between the distance between two hypergates and the number of normal jumps between the systems (Tichel-Kania is one jump, but Aurora-Dani is about half a dozen), I propose that the energy used to jump between systems using hypergates is the same, to a point. The reason a new type of hypergate had to be developed for inter galactic transit is because of the sheer scale of the distances involved.

My logic for the pricing is pure economics: in EVN:UGF, probably upwards of half a billion ships use the main hypergate system every day , and 100cr x 500,000,000 ships = 50 billion cr. Apart from the Bose-Einstein Condensate used in the hypergate petals, which pretty much lasts forever if kept properly cooled, the parts involved in hypergate maintenance are fairly basic (the regular gates are powered by simple fusion reactors, though the higher power expenditure of long-jump gates forces them to use matter/antimatter reactors instead to keep the weight down). The reason for the hypergate tenders is twofold: Number one, they transport parts and support EVAs to repair the gates. Number two, they are also used as tugs to separate the petal sections when the gates are used to transport very large ships (colony ships and UGN command ships, for instance).

Maybe I ought to up the prices somewhat, but at the moment, I think 100/500 is probably the best.

(I'm a little surprised you didn't mention the Dynacross in your post, dk.)

This post has been edited by StarSword : 16 May 2010 - 03:36 PM

Like I said, StarSword probably had his own reasons for choosing the pricing he did. You post brings up a few more questions, though.

First, I'm curious as to whether or not you have details on how Humans recovered the knowledge to generate BEC so that they could make new gates. It couldn't have been easy what with the United Powers War and then first contacts aplenty causing trouble now and then.

Second, you mentioned that the Hypergate Tender, because of using UGHGA IFF codes, is a good ship to fly in because no one except pirates ever attack the UGHGA due to the importance of working hypergates. Pirates don't need then as much, thus why they will still attack. However, I'm wondering if you're planning on putting in missions to perform maintenance on Hypergates that are only available when the player is flying a Hypergate Tender. It would be an interesting way to get some extra cash.

QUOTE (StarSword @ May 15 2010, 03:52 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

(I'm a little surprised you didn't mention the Dynacross in your post, dk.)

Oh, right! Because of the design and color scheme, my first thought was a salamander with wings. Definitely a handsome ship, but not one I'd fly considering it's on par with EVN's Viper. While I do like to fly a fair amount of the fighters in EV games, the Viper is one of the few I would not try out. Though I can't say for sure until I see a Dynacross in action.

Bottom line, I like it. ^_^

QUOTE (darthkev @ May 16 2010, 12:18 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Like I said, StarSword probably had his own reasons for choosing the pricing he did. You post brings up a few more questions, though.

First, I'm curious as to whether or not you have details on how Humans recovered the knowledge to generate BEC so that they could make new gates. It couldn't have been easy what with the United Powers War and then first contacts aplenty causing trouble now and then.

Second, you mentioned that the Hypergate Tender, because of using UGHGA IFF codes, is a good ship to fly in because no one except pirates ever attack the UGHGA due to the importance of working hypergates. Pirates don't need then as much, thus why they will still attack. However, I'm wondering if you're planning on putting in missions to perform maintenance on Hypergates that are only available when the player is flying a Hypergate Tender. It would be an interesting way to get some extra cash.

Oh, right! Because of the design and color scheme, my first thought was a salamander with wings. Definitely a handsome ship, but not one I'd fly considering it's on par with EVN's Viper. While I do like to fly a fair amount of the fighters in EV games, the Viper is one of the few I would not try out. Though I can't say for sure until I see a Dynacross in action.

Bottom line, I like it. ^_^

In reverse order:

• Salamander with wings, huh? Now that you mention it, it does resemble a salamander.
• Yes, hypergate tender pilots do get access to specialized missions. (Haven't quite thought about the details yet, though.) Unfortunately, outside of using them on light cargo runs, gate tenders aren't good for much. It's basically just a light cargo ship with decent range and a tractor beam.
• I haven't really considered that. I guess they figured it out sometime after the founding of the Milky Way Union. There's about 300 years in the timeline between then and first contact with the Balcrusian Empire that is blank, 200 years between that and the 2nd Kag War, and 150 years between that and first contact with the Varellavites.

In other news:
Busy day for concept art. Capital ships, baby, capital ships.

Merlin Starcraft Corporation CR-28 Chevron -class Cruiser

The CR-28 Chevron -class Cruiser is the crown jewel of the Merlin Starcraft civilian starship line. Originally designed by Kurt Channing Enterprises, the production line was bought up by MSC after Channing filed for Chapter 11 during the Depression. Armed with turbolasers, missiles, and the famous Starhawk bay from ThrensinCorp, the Chevron is very popular among privateers and merchants.

The Extra Fighters Version of the Chevron eschews ion cannon and one turbolaser bank for two Dynacross bays in addition to its existing Starhawk bay. Though it relies more heavily on its starfighters for defense, it is still a capable warship without them.

The Heavy Weapons Version carries Stingray and Corona missiles in addition to an extra pair of turbolasers and point defense laser clusters. All that, plus defenses nearly twice as thick as the original, make it almost a match for O'Brien-class battlecruisers.

New Japan Shipyards Shogun -class Cruiser

Named for the samurai overlords of feudal Japan, the Shogun -class cruiser by New Japan Shipyards is one of the most dangerous ships on the market. It carries two bays' worth of Shinobi -class fighters and a formidable arsenal of turbolasers and ion cannons that make it among the greatest starships ever built. Private captains and planetary defense fleets make heavy use of the Shogun, mainly due to its surprising agility for a ship of its class.

(The Chevron and Shogun also come in "piratized" forms.)

H.A.V.O.K. Command Cruiser, Verlodra -, Mozugoda -, and Furka -class

The Verlodra -class is the classic H.A.V.O.K. command cruiser. This vessel is crude compared to the newest generation, the Furka -class, but it mounts a dizzying array of weaponry. The prototype, GIS Verlodra (which translates to Basic as "Invincible"), still serves as the flagship of the Ganbar Imperial Fleet. It is heavily defended and can deploy a squadron and a half of fighters.

The Mozugoda -class was commissioned in the on the 13th day of the 13th month of the year 1313 VE (which doesn't have any significance to a Galactic: it's just November 3rd, 989). Built specifically to battle the Apache -class UGN command ship, the Mozugoda has half-again the defensive strength of the Verlodra -class, and, as always, more firepower.

The Furka -class command cruiser was built partly to compensate for the arrival of the O'Brien II - and Anaconda -class vessels. It is fast, and designed around the "strategy" of beating the living (expletive) out of your opponents before they can get close enough to return fire. As such, its armament is centered more around torpedoes than around energy weapons, although it is certainly not lacking in the latter department.

This post has been edited by StarSword : 16 May 2010 - 03:33 PM

With all these capital ships everywhere, there are going to be some epic-ly epic battles in EVN:UGF for sure.