Not the right paint job, I assume. But. But, when I think of Megladon, this is what I think of.

You're right, it isn't the correct paint job. As for the Megalodon itself, it's a massive supercarrier used by the Shipwreck Rogues, a group of xenophobes who have been labeled as pirates. Only seven have ever been built and currently five remain. They almost never venture out of Shipwreck space, instead playing a vital role in the defense of their space.

All Shipwreck ships can be seen in the gallery, including the current model for the Megalodon. Their ships are hobbled together from other ship parts, thus the asymmetric shapes. Your model is nice, Jai, but it wouldn't serve well as the Megalodon. It's too sleek and is completely symmetrical. That's what I meant by 'modifications' to the other model before it could serve as the Megalodon. It's also symmetrical, and I'll need to change that before using it for the Megalodon.

Edit: But I would love to see your model in your TC. Very vicious-looking.

This post has been edited by DarthKev : 05 March 2011 - 06:37 PM

@darthkev, on 05 March 2011 - 06:36 PM, said in Legacy TC Status Thread:

You're right, it isn't the correct paint job.

Darn. So close.

@darthkev, on 05 March 2011 - 06:36 PM, said in Legacy TC Status Thread:

As for the Megalodon itself, it's a massive supercarrier used by the Shipwreck Rogues, a group of xenophobes who have been labeled as pirates. Only seven have ever been built and currently five remain. They almost never venture out of Shipwreck space, instead playing a vital role in the defense of their space.

This is where I will get my combat rating from! Fun!

@darthkev, on 05 March 2011 - 06:36 PM, said in Legacy TC Status Thread:

Your model is nice, Jai, but it wouldn't serve well as the Megalodon. It's too sleek and is completely symmetrical. That's what I meant by 'modifications' to the other model before it could serve as the Megalodon. It's also symmetrical, and I'll need to change that before using it for the Megalodon.

Edit: But I would love to see your model in your TC. Very vicious-looking.

Much appreciated. However.
Megalodon is the ancient massive shark, I think. As far as I know, sharks are symmetrical. And, I've only modeled one thing ever that was asymmetrical that looked good.
Also, my version will not be appearing in Broader Horizons. Well, actually. You gave a great excuse to add a ship that shouldn't be there! Same with the asymmetrical ship...

Megalodon is the name of an ancient and massive shark, which is why the name was chosen. Shipwreck ships are all named after predatory fish. And yes, fish are mostly symmetrical (except flounder) but Shipwreck ships are not. The asymmetrical aspect of their designs is not based in the names of the ships, but in the fact they're built from salvage. They take whole pieces of other ships they find/destroy and put them together to make their own ships. As a result, though each class of Shipwreck ship is virtually identical on the outside for the sake of normalcy and distinguishability, the interior of any two Shipwreck ships is almost guaranteed to not be the same. That goes for armaments, too, though to a lesser extent.

@darthkev, on 05 March 2011 - 09:17 PM, said in Legacy TC Status Thread:

As a result, though each class of Shipwreck ship is virtually identical on the outside for the sake of normalcy and distinguishability, the interior of any two Shipwreck ships is almost guaranteed to not be the same. That goes for armaments, too, though to a lesser extent.

You could build a plotline off of that. I think you should. Besides. The Shipwrecks in your gallery aren't that asymmetrical. With the exception of the Hammerhead.
EDIT: Picture Time! This is what I thought you meant by asymmetrical.

This post has been edited by Spartan Jai : 06 March 2011 - 12:03 AM

What do you mean by 'not that asymmetrical'? Because the command centers are more or less centered? How does that make them less asymmetrical? Your model is asymmetrical, but i fail to see how it is more so. The central hull is still largely symmetrical.

And what did you have in mind as far as a plot line involving the interior structure of Shipwreck ships?

@darthkev, on 06 March 2011 - 06:20 AM, said in Legacy TC Status Thread:

What do you mean by 'not that asymmetrical'? Because the command centers are more or less centered? How does that make them less asymmetrical? Your model is asymmetrical, but i fail to see how it is more so. The central hull is still largely symmetrical.

What I meant was, there was little difference in general from side to side. My fighter was indeed symmetrical at the core, but the cockpit being offset and the weapons on the right side make it structurally unbalanced.

@darthkev, on 06 March 2011 - 06:20 AM, said in Legacy TC Status Thread:

And what did you have in mind as far as a plot line involving the interior structure of Shipwreck ships?

Individuality. You're among pirates. You don't want to stand out. Ever seen Analyze This with Robert DeNiro and Billy Crystal? DeNiro plays Paul Vitti, and he's a tough mafia member. Pretty high up, and he stands out. This causes others to go after him, even thought they're in the same family. Also, he has to see Billy Crystal, playing psychiatrist Ben Sobel. He eventually gets out of the family. Different. Plotline. Individual. Details, details, details. I can elaborate more if you are still confused.

I like the new models. The old python model has some potential, but as is, it seems a little too bland. I agree on unflattening the cannons at the front, but it still leaves the whole ship, itself, looking kinda flat. Honestly, at first glance on the first picture, I couldn't tell which end was the front, lol. But yeah, it's an interesting model, it's just very plain compared to some of your other work. Love the two new models, though.

Oh, I had a couple other thoughts, not just for HOTS, but for conversions, in general. What about putting a little more detail into ship upgrading? For instance, you could have extra engines buyable, but put a limit on them based on the hull, similar to how weapons are limited. A placeholder part for each ship that's replaced by the engine part when bought could handle that. Just maybe some basic/generic upgrades any ship can use, like the armor you can buy in the original.

Also, is it possible for scripts to edit systems? Like, could you have scripts that can actually transfer ownership of a system from one race to another?

I hadn't planned anything like extra engines, but there will be upgrades for your engines to make them faster. As for switching ownership of systems, you can simulate that by having two copies of the system, one belonging to the first and the other to the second, and make them mutually exclusive (ie: system 1 shows on !b1 and system 2 shows on b1). Then just clear/set the bit when you want the system to switch. You can't do this any other way, however. Not that I know of, anyway.

Well, I went back and fiddled with the old Python, which from here on till I decide what to do with it will be referred to as 'Mystery Mothership'. Here's some views.

Isometric

Dorsal

Side

Front

Rear

As you can see I stretched the cannons vertically, so they reach both higher and lower on the overall model. Because that made them stick out of the hull, I also stretched them all the way back to the rear so they resemble integral cannons. I might also rotate them, similar to the main cannons on the Anaconda, or in a different direction, but I'm not quite sure yet.

Also, just because I think it's so damn cool, here's a close-up on the bridge sections. Yes, multiple sections.

The foremost area is the main bridge where helm, navigation, and tactical would be located. The area just beyond it is an observation deck where more powerful sensor systems could be accessed for various duties. The area just beyond that is fighter control. The main bridge would relay generic orders and targets to the fighter bridge, and the fighter bridge would give more specific commands based along those parameters to the fighters.

In case it's hard to tell where on the vessel the bridge sections are located, here's a shot further out.

So I still don't have any ideas just yet on what to use this for. I suppose it would be a good fit for the Megalodon (being a supercarrier, it makes sense it would have the bridge configuration) but it still needs modifications to fit the Shipwreck theme. I'm working on that.

@darthkev, on 09 March 2011 - 05:23 PM, said in Legacy TC Status Thread:

Also, just because I think it's so damn cool, here's a close-up on the bridge sections. Yes, multiple sections.

Aaaaawwwweesssooooommmeeee. I'd never thought to do that.

@darthkev, on 09 March 2011 - 05:23 PM, said in Legacy TC Status Thread:

So I still don't have any ideas just yet on what to use this for. I suppose it would be a good fit for the Megalodon (being a supercarrier, it makes sense it would have the bridge configuration) but it still needs modifications to fit the Shipwreck theme. I'm working on that.

Just add an arm with some bays on one side, and another bristling with gun turrets on the other, or maybe a superweapon...

@spartan-jai, on 09 March 2011 - 06:23 PM, said in Legacy TC Status Thread:

Just add an arm with some bays on one side, and another bristling with gun turrets on the other, or maybe a superweapon...

I could add an arm holding some launch bays, but I don't have a turret graphic just yet, and I don't plan to have turrets visible on ships, anyway. It just wouldn't make much sense with how turrets are going to be played out. Besides, I always thought it looked weird on ships that did have visible turrets when said turrets didn't turn when aiming.

The superweapon route is even less likely. The Megalodon isn't intended to be a major boss. More like a series of mini-bosses. I'll probably add in a massive ordnance bay (torpedoes, missiles, rockets, etc.) and change the central ordnance tubes (quad cannon in the center of the front end) into smaller cannons or extra launch bays. Maybe sensors.

Alright, I've done some more work on the model, and I'm probably going to use it for the Megalodon, thus the new paint job. I still think it needs some work, though. Here's some shots.

An isometric view, more or less, of the ship as it is now. Notice the 4 main cannons have been rotated around their axes a bit. They look a little off to me right now, though, and I'll fiddle with them later. The large cannon in the center is a housing for beam weapons. Simply put, it's where the exit points for beam weapons will be. That's it. The 4 cannons are gun exit points.

Quick shot of the bridge. Still has the same trio-structured design, but now with various paneling colors that don't match. Basically simulating armour plates just stuck on here and there. I know, it's too simple, that'll be fixed in texturing.

Front and rear views of the ordnance bay, mounted on the right side of the ship. Don't worry, they won't be spamming missiles and fighters, most of it is rocket tubes. That said, they are still mini-bosses, so there will be lots of ordnance flying around. Well, more than the rest of the battles, anyway. I'm not going so far as to hit the projectile limit... I hope... At any rate there are a lot of tubes and I might lower that number, too. It looks kinda ridiculous right now.

Again, front and rear views of the launch bay mounted on the left side. Pretty simple, just a big hollow section to store smaller craft inside of. Not much else to say there.

You say simple like it's a bad thing. Sheesh. I know it's a carrier lumped together out of burning hulks left from major battles, but simple is good. Simple is sleek. Simple is cool. i.e.:

@spartan-jai, on 12 March 2011 - 11:13 PM, said in Legacy TC Status Thread:

You say simple like it's a bad thing.

I... do? I know simple can be a good thing, what I said was it was too simple. Just different faces painted in different colors. Simple is a good thing, but you can have too much of a good thing. That's what I meant.

By-the-way, nice fighter there. Any plans for it or did you make it simply to prove a point?

@darthkev, on 13 March 2011 - 12:25 AM, said in Legacy TC Status Thread:

I... do?

That's how I thought you said it... of course, I could be wrong.

@darthkev, on 13 March 2011 - 12:25 AM, said in Legacy TC Status Thread:

I know simple can be a good thing, what I said was it was too simple. Just different faces painted in different colors. Simple is a good thing, but you can have too much of a good thing. That's what I meant.

You could use different shades, go explode (or edit) components and do slight variations of every shade on that one part. I've noticed on this model that you've painted huge swatches of the same color. It's supposed to be patchwork, not look like a paint job (no it doesn't, just exaggerating) and put paint and make little spots for rust, and you also said it would be fixed during texturing.

@darthkev, on 13 March 2011 - 12:25 AM, said in Legacy TC Status Thread:

By-the-way, nice fighter there. Any plans for it or did you make it simply to prove a point?

Thanks. Mmmmmmm... Not so far. Yeah. To prove a point, as I can't think of a way to use it in Regenesis.

@spartan-jai, on 13 March 2011 - 12:48 AM, said in Legacy TC Status Thread:

You could use different shades, go explode (or edit) components and do slight variations of every shade on that one part. I've noticed on this model that you've painted huge swatches of the same color. It's supposed to be patchwork, not look like a paint job (no it doesn't, just exaggerating) and put paint and make little spots for rust, and you also said it would be fixed during texturing.

Exactly, I can fix it in texturing, which it what I will do. The painting in Sketchup is really just to distinguish the images in the gallery and make notes right then and there about which parts will be painted what color. All I meant was don't give the coloring too much scrutiny because it's not final.

@darthkev, on 13 March 2011 - 01:23 AM, said in Legacy TC Status Thread:

Exactly, I can fix it in texturing, which it what I will do. The painting in Sketchup is really just to distinguish the images in the gallery and make notes right then and there about which parts will be painted what color. All I meant was don't give the coloring too much scrutiny because it's not final.

Okay. Sounds good. By the way, what are you using to texture?

Right. When I said 'I' I meant 'EVWeb'. He's doing all the texturing (though he's been teaching me a little of how it's done) and he uses Bryce. I'm still no good at actually texturing, though.

@zephyr8965, on 19 February 2011 - 02:25 AM, said in Legacy TC Status Thread:

Honestly, in original evn, the fighter's bouncing was too much of a disadvantage. Their weapons weren't any longer range than my chainguns, so all I had to do was hold the fire button and let them bounce off the edge of my range repeatedly until they die. I suppose if you have a fighter that outranges most fast-firing weapons, the lower mass would be an advantage, but that would likely make them overpowered.

That ought to have an interesting effect in EVN:UGF: Klavarese masers have a sizeable kinetic impact.