Okay, I couldn't sleep, so I decided to finish the next model.

_ Imperial Civil Engineering Escort Frigate, 'Ke'vak' and 'Sublime' Types_
Long Range Escort Ship, Axe-tail Imperial Ministry of Justice

Imperial Civil Engineering builds the 'Ke'vak' Type Escort Frigate primarily for the Imperial Ministry of Justice. An integrated wide-field cloaking device enables it to hide ships in formation, making it perfect for such duties as witness protection and escort duty. It is armed with proton burst weapons and Slaughter missiles, with autocannons for defense. Fitting all this equipment into such a small hull, however, severely reduces the available room for modification.

The Imperial Martial Engineering 'Sublime' Type Escort Frigate has only been in service for a few years, but it is already displacing the 'Ke'vak' Type. In addition to more powerful engines than the 'Ke'vak,' the 'Sublime' has greater range and stronger defenses. The addition of a photon beam to its armament grants the ability to take on much larger vessels, and of course the wide-field cloaking device gives it the ability to conceal allied ships. All these additions, of course, come at a commensurate price; the 'Sublime' Type is half-again as expensive.

It should be noted that the escort frigate is also used by the Axe-tail Imperial Starfleet, albeit rarely. The AIS mainly uses it for covert operations: it's small enough to evade enemy sensor nets, and is fully capable of atmospheric flight (unlike the larger ships).

The only reason I was up until two in the morning working on this was I just plain couldn't sleep.

Not sure why, but this one reminds me of a flounder. In a good way, though.

QUOTE (StarSword @ Dec 23 2010, 10:54 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Okay, I couldn't sleep, so I decided to finish the next model.

QUOTE

The only reason I was up until two in the morning working on this was I just plain couldn't sleep.

I know how you feel. I've done the same thing more times than I can remember. Hang in there, you'll fall asleep eventually... maybe.

... maybe...

Merry Christmas, gang!

Imperial Martial Engineering 'Rapier' Type Prowler
Patrol and Interdiction Vessel, Axe-tail Imperial Starfleet

To more effectively combat Galactic Prominence-class gunboats, Imperial Martial Engineering created the 'Rapier' Type Prowler in 1001 GSD. This patrol ship has great range and, though not quite as agile or fast as the Prominence, Axe-tail prowlers are better-defended and have a broader selection of weaponry. Though power requirements preclude the use of a cloaking device in a ship this size, the prowler is nevertheless quite effective in its assigned role.

By stripping out most of the weaponry to reduce the power consumption, the prowler becomes capable of managing a cloaking device, though not by much. This version of the Axe-tail Prowler is flown primarily by the Axe-tail Ministry of Intelligence, although the Imperial Starfleet also uses it for covert operations. It lives up to the name "prowler" far more than the other type; while it mounts few weapons, the Stealth Variant is fast and has great range.

The Stealth Variant is painted in gray and black instead of yellow.

You can't see it too well from this angle, but the ship has some resemblance to a Y-wing from above. I'm not really sure how it happened. (I've got another view angle that shows it better.)
Axe_tail_Prowler__standard__top.jpg (83.59K)
Number of downloads: 13

The Axe-tail ships have proven quite popular over on DeviantArt.

This post has been edited by StarSword : 24 December 2010 - 07:13 PM

This one reminds me of 'flying fortresses' from WWII, mainly for the cockpit. It looks to span two decks, and flying fortresses had a cockpit right on top of a forward gun turret, IIRC. Seeing as gunships in EVN:UGF probably have similar duties and performance to flying fortresses, I'm not surprised.

QUOTE (StarSword @ Dec 24 2010, 02:38 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The Axe-tail ships have proven quite popular over on DeviantArt.

I'd say all of your ships are popular over there, not just the Axe-tail. Most of your EVN:UGF-related images have view counts in the 50s or higher and download counts in the 100s or higher. You've got a nice little following on DeviantArt.

And you mentioned me three times! :wub:

This post has been edited by DarthKev : 24 December 2010 - 06:18 PM

I have a minor technical question regarding hail quote STR#s. What is the effect of having a line that contains only an asterisk (*)?

I'm starting work on the Axe-tail fighter-bomber now, but I probably won't finish today.

Any asterisk in an STR# resource is replaced with the name a player enters for their ship when purchasing it, IIRC. For example, you can have ships, upon purchase, change the player's ship's name to any entry in an STR# resource. Say those entries read U.S.S *. Then whatever the player enters for the name of their ship when they buy it will become U.S.S. <ship name>. At the same time, I don't think it works in place of <PSN> if the player isn't buying the ship right then, and I'm fairly certain it only does this in STR# resources. Anywhere else, I believe it just sits there like a normal asterisk.

QUOTE (DarthKev @ Dec 30 2010, 12:17 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Any asterisk in an STR# resource is replaced with the name a player enters for their ship when purchasing it, IIRC. For example, you can have ships, upon purchase, change the player's ship's name to any entry in an STR# resource. Say those entries read U.S.S *. Then whatever the player enters for the name of their ship when they buy it will become U.S.S. <ship name>. At the same time, I don't think it works in place of <PSN> if the player isn't buying the ship right then, and I'm fairly certain it only does this in STR# resources. Anywhere else, I believe it just sits there like a normal asterisk.

I knew about that effect and was planning to use it to add national prefixes (UGNS, HMS, etc.) to government starship names. I was thinking in terms of ship greeting quotes.

The Trader GOVT in standard EVN has several lines in its Hail Strings STR# that contain just an asterisk. My suspicion is that those lines are for commodities and JUNK information.

Happy New Year from EVN:UGF! My resolution is to finish at least two factions by the end of the month (counting the Axe-tails). To that end:

Imperial Martial Engineering 'Warhammer' Type Fighter-Bomber
Tactical Bomber, Axe-tail Imperial Starfleet

Imperial Martial Engineering designed the 'Warhammer' type fighter-bomber in direct response to the first contact with the UGF in 995 GSD. Though the A5 Interceptor is quite capable of outflying the Black Knight, if the former crosses the latter's bow, it's bye-bye A5. And that doesn't even consider what happens if an A5 tries to take on a Galactic warship. To combat the sudden increase in A5 losses (admittedly partially due to a complacent peacetime officer corps), Axe-tail spies reverse-engineered the Republic Naval Systems HF-3 Starhawk and mounted similar engines on the two-man fighter-bomber.

The rarely seen Class II fighter-bomber eschews a grenade mortar for a third disruptor field generator and a small number of Slaughter missiles. It is a midrange vessel between the standard 'Warhammer' type and the Prowler, and is in high demand. The difficulty in arming it (grenades are easy to handle, but antimatter missiles are not) makes it a poor choice for shipboard duty, however; this type is more often seen in an escort or patrol role.

Given its classification of 'Warhammer' Type, I was going for a sense of bulk and weightiness while at the same time minimizing its overall size (it is a carrier-launched ship, after all). I think it turned out well, but I may make one change to this ship: the cockpit placement. It seems a little small and cramped for the size of the craft.

@starsword, on Jan 2 2011, 11:46 AM, said in EV Nova: United Galactic Federation:

I think it turned out well, but I may make one change to this ship: the cockpit placement. It seems a little small and cramped for the size of the craft.

Agreed. I initially thought this vessel was much larger as you made the cockpit in the same style you've made the command decks on several UGN craft.

Yippee, dance around, clap hands, squeal with glee...

I'm getting a new computer! Intel quad core processor, 4GB memory, everything I need to make Sketchup ships.

@starsword, on Jan 4 2011, 10:01 PM, said in EV Nova: United Galactic Federation:

Yippee, dance around, clap hands, squeal with glee...

I'm getting a new computer! Intel quad core processor, 4GB memory, everything I need to make Sketchup ships.

That is indeed good news. I must say , I'm quite impressed the progress you've made , it makes me want to start working on Super Nova again.

@grenth, on Jan 5 2011, 09:04 PM, said in EV Nova: United Galactic Federation:

That is indeed good news. I must say , I'm quite impressed the progress you've made , it makes me want to start working on Super Nova again.

Whenever I finally get this thing finished, it should be good. And my computer parts arrived yesterday; I'm putting her together this weekend.

I don't think I've seen you around here before, Grenth.

I had some trouble getting the new computer working. First the "engine" wouldn't "turn over", so to speak. I solved this by upgrading the power supply to a Thermaltake 600W (from an Antec 500W). Once that was solved, I couldn't get the power-up self-test (POST) to complete, and had no response on the monitor. After much deliberation, unplugging, re-plugging, swapping graphics cards, and of course, swearing, it turned out I had the RAM cards in the wrong slots. :rolleyes:

After I got Windows 7 reinstalled (in order to start with a clean 64-bit install), my product key was refused by the Microsoft computer system (because I had already used it in the previous computer). I finally called up Microsoft customer service and got a new activation code.

This new box is a jillion times better than my first box (which died on me), and better still than the Dell I was forced to use until now. I'm running an MSI motherboard with 4GB RAM, an Intel i5 2.8Ghz quad-core processor, and an nVidia GeForce 9600GT video card. I've tested it with one of my new games, X3: Terran Conflict , and it has no problems at all (whereas the Dell couldn't even start it, having only a basic VGA graphics adapter).

I still want to make one final upgrade, though: installing twin nVidia or ATI graphics cards. (Feel free to weigh in on which one I should get; it'll be a while as I'm out of cash.)

I'm going to test it with SketchUp this evening weekend ; stay tuned, as I'll be modifying the Axe-tail fighter-bomber.

This post has been edited by StarSword : 14 January 2011 - 11:43 PM

I'm not sure why, but when I read you were getting a new computer, I immediately assumed you were getting a Mac. As you can guess, reading "And my computer parts arrived yesterday; I'm putting her together this weekend." was fairly puzzling to me as I still thought you had bought a Mac. My only guess as to my assumption is I thought you might be buying a Mac to run Mission Computer.

<shrugs> I guess Macs have just infested my brain as 'the only computer'. I look forward to seeing the new Axe-tail fighter bomber!

I have no input on which graphics cards to get, however. My knowledge on hardware is sorely lacking.

DarthKev PM'ed me a question regarding curved starship hulls. I figured this could be a useful piece of information, so I posted my response in public.

Quote

I'm trying to model the Space Squids and Mantas for HOTS, but I'm finding it exceedingly difficult to make the curves I want for their bodies and, in the case of the Squids, their tentacles.

I've noticed you've had a lot of success in making curved hulls and was hoping you could offer me some pointers.

I'm not really sure about tentacles (I've had some trouble of my own with the Varellavite Cuttlefish and Kraken), but I know how to make curved hulls.

My favorite technique, which I use frequently for wings, is to lay out the wing shape on a flat plane. I then use push/pull to expand it, and draw a line around the midpoints of the vertical edges. I then scale the horizontal faces to my specifications, or move the upper and lower edges. The former trick is in the Sunflash, the latter is in the Moonblaze and Durandal.

For more complex curves, I make vertical arcs connecting opposite endpoints of the line segments that form the arcs of the horizontal framing lines. This only works if the outer and inner lines have the same number of segments:

  _ _ _ _
<_ _ _ _)

The horizontal lines represent the outer edges; you make an arc on the component's vertical axis, an arc whose endpoints are corresponding ends of opposite outer edge segments. You then connect the segments of the vertical arcs to make filled-in faces. I first developed this technique for the pinched-in portion of the Ganba command cruiser, and have since used it for the "hilt" of the Balcrusian Marauder and the wings of the Orion Bomber.

Another trick, useful for curved hulls that flare outward (Carrack) or taper inward (Scallopshell), is to design a cross-section on the vertical axis, then push/pull it in a direction to make a fuselage. You can then move or scale parts of it for various effects. Or you can set vertices of cross-sections on arcs and scale to fit, and connect them as I mentioned above.

This post has been edited by StarSword : 30 June 2011 - 12:06 PM

It's been a while. School has started, and I'm playing a lot of X3 , so I haven't made any progress recently despite my previous notes. I'm at school as I post this, so I haven't got access to the Axe-tail fighter-bomber model at the moment (I only upload a model to Box.net if I work on it at school), but I'm still here. After I do the fighter-bomber tonight (I promise), I think I'll start on the Axe-tail Probe (inspired by the Protoss Observer).

After a long hiatus, I'm back at work. I hereby present the final Axe-tail military ship.

Imperial Martial Engineering 'Far Eye' Type Automated Reconnaissance Ship
Unmanned Probe, Axe-tail Imperial Starfleet

The Imperial Martial Engineering 'Far Eye' Type Automated Reconnaissance Ship is a unique vessel. Like many Axe-tail war machines, it is a robot, in this case a recon drone that features a unique outfit package. It includes a powerful sensor array that can even detect cloaked vessels, along with a miniaturized cloaking device that makes it undetectable to conventional sensors. Trouble is, it's cannon fodder (provided you manage to hit it).

The Axe-tail probe is not a flyable ship, although it can be hired as an escort. I don't know if having it as an escort will confer the benefits of the cloak scanner on the lead ship.

The conceptual inspiration for this vessel was the Protoss Observer from StarCraft and StarCraft II. Part of its shape was derived from the fighter drone from the video game X3: Terran Conflict.

To build it, I went with a technique I've used before: I constructed a shell by hand, and then used Delphi parts for detail work.

Shown below is a shot of the sensor array.
Axe-tail Probe front.jpg (61.07K)
Number of downloads: 2

It scared me a bit when I loaded the page. Looks like a whale shark with arms, but meaner. Knowing the Axe-tails, this is probably exactly what they were going for.

Also:

@starsword, on 30 January 2011 - 08:02 PM, said in EV Nova: United Galactic Federation:

The Axe-tail probe is not a flyable ship, although it can be hired as an escort. I don't know if having it as an escort will confer the benefits of the cloak scanner on the lead ship.

Escorts with the ability to detect cloaked ships do not impart their ability on a lead ship in a fleet. However, they will head for cloaked targets if the player orders them to attack, and the player can follow them to the target's location and fire where the probe fires. It's not a perfect solution, but it does give players an edge they wouldn't have without the probe.

Also also:

@starsword, on 24 January 2011 - 02:19 PM, said in EV Nova: United Galactic Federation:

After I do the fighter-bomber tonight (I promise), I think I'll start on the Axe-tail Probe (inspired by the Protoss Observer).

So... where is it?

@darthkev, on 30 January 2011 - 09:43 PM, said in EV Nova: United Galactic Federation:

It scared me a bit when I loaded the page. Looks like a whale shark with arms, but meaner. Knowing the Axe-tails, this is probably exactly what they were going for.

Huh. I never figured it for that. Now that you mention it, though, it does look sharky.

@darthkev, on 30 January 2011 - 09:43 PM, said in EV Nova: United Galactic Federation:

Also:

Escorts with the ability to detect cloaked ships do not impart their ability on a lead ship in a fleet. However, they will head for cloaked targets if the player orders them to attack, and the player can follow them to the target's location and fire where the probe fires. It's not a perfect solution, but it does give players an edge they wouldn't have without the probe.

I wonder what effect the "heading for cloaked targets" will have on a ship that doesn't have any weapons of its own.

@darthkev, on 30 January 2011 - 09:43 PM, said in EV Nova: United Galactic Federation:

Also also:

@starsword, on 24 January 2011 - 02:19 PM, said in EV Nova: United Galactic Federation:

After I do the fighter-bomber tonight (I promise), I think I'll start on the Axe-tail Probe (inspired by the Protoss Observer).

So... where is it?

Yeah, I blew it. Here it is, though.

I reconfigured the cockpit by cutting several pieces out of the Equipment Block that formed its base, and built a canopy not unlike that of the Foxfire. The end result is much more like what I originally had in mind.

I also got to test out my new computer's handling of complicated shadows. It took about ten seconds to finish calculating the shadows on this thing, whereas my old computer took like two minutes.

Nice! Much better! Also, its body shape tells me it might have space for a few ground troops, maybe a single squad. Does it really, or is that space for storing ordnance and ship systems?