@starsword, on 20 June 2011 - 03:03 PM, said in Legacy TC Status Thread:

It's interesting the way you've taken basic models and done variations on a theme rather than designing each separately. I've only done that a couple of times myself. (The Kangaroo freighter and Orion Frigate, and the Carrack, which shows up in four different forms.)

Yeah, in this respect, HOTS can be said to be similar to EVN in that there are few actual ship hulls, but many variants of those hulls used by as many factions. However, HOTS still has plenty of unique hulls populating the space ways, many more than the recycled ones. There are also some recycled ones I didn't include in the above post. They're absent not for any real reason. I just forgot them.

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Yeah, I'm the one he should be worrying about.

Well, it's good to see you back!

Just a little thing I threw together using various shuttle and fighter models. Each is to scale with the others, and to scale with the little 'Sang' characters (the people).

A few of these guys aren't even in the gallery, so enjoy what you can see of them here.

Unless I'm underestimating things, it would appear the fighters in HOTS are a good deal bigger than the fighters in EVN:UGF. (For reference, the Black Knight is 18 meters, and the Sunflash, one of the tiniest, is only 6 meters.

I like how I can recognize the governments of some of the ones I've never seen before. Front row, last on right is flown by the Shipwreck Rogues, right?

But what's the one with the forward-swept wings? (Back row, third from right)

@starsword, on 30 June 2011 - 11:52 PM, said in Legacy TC Status Thread:

Unless I'm underestimating things, it would appear the fighters in HOTS are a good deal bigger than the fighters in EVN:UGF. (For reference, the Black Knight is 18 meters, and the Sunflash, one of the tiniest, is only 6 meters).

Well, like I said, some of these are fighters, some are shuttles. Back row, second from left is actually a very small scout repurposed as a shuttle/transport. Most of the fighters in HOTS fall within the range you describe. Shuttles, however, are usually much larger given their duties of transporting cargo.

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I like how I can recognize the governments of some of the ones I've never seen before. Front row, last on right is flown by the Shipwreck Rogues, right?

Correct. Now see if you can name the rest of them.

Here's a hint: not every faction has a ship in this image, but the ones who do only have one ship in the lineup.

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But what's the one with the forward-swept wings? (Back row, third from right)

<cryptic grin>

@darthkev, on 01 July 2011 - 02:13 AM, said in Legacy TC Status Thread:

Correct. Now see if you can name the rest of them.

Here's a hint: not every faction has a ship in this image, but the ones who do only have one ship in the lineup.

Well, let's see. I'll even throw in the names when I know them.

• Front row, L-R: Askan Gladius, ???, EEI Accipiter, ELX Deimos, Mosoto Attack Fighter, ???, ??? (but reminds me of one of Delphi's Enclave fighters), Shipwreck thingy.

• Back row, L-R: Mafia Strafer, Goliath Raider, DFS Hornet, DCD Puffin (very nifty heavy shuttle, by the way), ???, ???, Star Corps Wasp, SD Falcon.

I like that the fighters are huge; I once read a report somewhere (It might have been on the atomic rocket page) that a "real" star fighter would probably be the size of a 747. Of course, if we can ever figure out the photon-drive, micro-fusion reactors, and acute muscle atrophy, then we can have iron man-size space ships capable of getting to Pluto in a matter of weeks :heythere:

@starsword, on 01 July 2011 - 10:08 AM, said in Legacy TC Status Thread:

Well, let's see. I'll even throw in the names when I know them.

• Front row, L-R: Askan Gladius, ???, EEI Accipiter, ELX Deimos, Mosoto Attack Fighter, ???, ??? (but reminds me of one of Delphi's Enclave fighters), Shipwreck thingy.

• Back row, L-R: Mafia Strafer, Goliath Raider, DFS Hornet, DCD Puffin (very nifty heavy shuttle, by the way), ???, ???, Star Corps Wasp, SD Falcon.

First I'd like to congratulate you on your answers. Only one wrong answer, and it wasn't any of the question marks. I say this because the races who use those three vessels have not been named or even mentioned in this thread before... well, one was mentioned once... sort of. Another of their ships was displayed in a previous post and I confirmed it belonged to an alien race of some sort.

However, I have one comment on your post, highlighted in bold: there is only one ship between the Attack Fighter and the Shipwreck 'Piranha' fighter. Yet your post shows two ships, indicated by the double set of question marks. A typo, or did you see something more?

Oh, your one wrong answer was front row, second from right. That would be the Wraith, a fighter of indy pirate design sporting a cloaking device and a weapon setup ideal for up-close ambushes.

@meaker-vi, on 01 July 2011 - 10:16 AM, said in Legacy TC Status Thread:

I like that the fighters are huge; I once read a report somewhere (It might have been on the atomic rocket page) that a "real" star fighter would probably be the size of a 747. Of course, if we can ever figure out the photon-drive, micro-fusion reactors, and acute muscle atrophy, then we can have iron man-size space ships capable of getting to Pluto in a matter of weeks :heythere:

I strongly agree with those notions. At the same time, though, HOTS takes place over 7,000 years in our future. I'm confident by then we'd have learned at least a smidgen of miniaturization.

@meaker-vi, on 01 July 2011 - 10:16 AM, said in Legacy TC Status Thread:

I like that the fighters are huge; I once read a report somewhere (It might have been on the atomic rocket page) that a "real" star fighter would probably be the size of a 747.

I would say that's one of the things Halo got right: that's about the size of a UNSC Longsword fighter. Based on cutscenes in Halo 2 (it makes brief appearances during the first level), I think the Covenant Seraph is about the same size.

Still, the bigger the ship, the bigger the target, the more engine power you need to maintain dogfight speeds, and, most importantly, the bigger the hangar required. That's why my fighters are closer to the scale of 21st century fighter jets: smaller fighters are just more practical.

I've decided I hate my current ELX models. So I've been rebuilding them. New shots to be posted soon.

@darthkev, on 16 July 2011 - 10:18 PM, said in Legacy TC Status Thread:

I've decided I hate my current ELX models. So I've been rebuilding them. New shots to be posted soon.

Are you still going to use Starfleet ships as a design basis for them?

Yes indeed, they will still be Starfleet-inspired. I'm just making them sleeker to better do their muses justice. I'm also changing which ship some of them are based on. Here's a list of what's based on what.

• Danube Runabout -> ELX Uranus

• Class 9 Shuttlecraft -> ELX Deimos

• Delta Flyer -> ELX Phobos

• Intrepid Class -> ELX Neptune

• Norway Class -> ELX Mercury

• Prometheus Class -> ELX Venus

• Defiant Class -> ELX Mars

• Akira Class -> ELX Pluto

• Ambassador Class -> ELX Jupiter

I've been considering changing the Askan Claymore to actually be based on one Star Wars ship instead of parts of several, but it just looks so damn good I don't want to.

@darthkev, on 17 July 2011 - 12:12 AM, said in Legacy TC Status Thread:

Yes indeed, they will still be Starfleet-inspired. I'm just making them sleeker to better do their muses justice.

That works.

Trouble is, the Delphi library doesn't lend itself to smooth ships (unless you really know what you're doing, as Meaker VI proved).

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I've been considering changing the Askan Claymore to actually be based on one Star Wars ship instead of parts of several, but it just looks so damn good I don't want to.

Several? The only one I knew it was based on was the Acclamator -class troop transport.

Personally, I say leave it as-is. It looks fantastic.

This post has been edited by StarSword : 17 July 2011 - 08:18 PM

@starsword, on 17 July 2011 - 01:29 AM, said in Legacy TC Status Thread:

Trouble is, the Delphi library doesn't lend itself to smooth ships (unless you really know what you're doing, as Meaker VI proved).

So far I believe I do.

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Several? The only one I knew it was based on was the Acclamator -class troop transport.

Personally, I say leave it as-is. It looks fantastic.

I agree. As for the ships it's based on, the Acclamator is not one of them. It is in fact inspired by portions of the Venator-class Star Destroyer, the Mon Calamari Star Cruiser, and the Super Star Destroyer. I took the Venator's dual towers and stuck them on a mash-up of the Mon Calamari and SSD hulls. The smaller, forward tower was pretty much just extra thrown in for fun.

Fun fact: the Claymore is the largest battleship in HOTS at three times the size of most battleships. It also carries fewer launch-able craft than any battleship.

@darthkev, on 17 July 2011 - 03:03 AM, said in Legacy TC Status Thread:

So far I believe I do.

Can't wait to see the results.

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I agree. As for the ships it's based on, the Acclamator is not one of them. It is in fact inspired by portions of the Venator-class Star Destroyer, the Mon Calamari Star Cruiser, and the Super Star Destroyer. I took the Venator's dual towers and stuck them on a mash-up of the Mon Calamari and SSD hulls. The smaller, forward tower was pretty much just extra thrown in for fun.

(Image reposted as a reminder and out of sheer coolness.)

Askan Shipyards Claymore -class Battleship

Okay, the double command deck from the Venator -class destroyer, sure, I see that. And I can see the engine section from the Executor -class star dreadnought. (I'll see your Fun Fact and raise you an item of Trivia: "super star destroyer," despite originally referring to the Executor -class, sort of became a catch-all term for any super-size star destroyer-like design.) But the main hull looks more like one of the other Star Destroyer classes in the EU comics than a Mon Cal cruiser.

Ooh! Ooh! Maybe you should design an Askan carrier based on the Eclipse -class star dreadnought!

@starsword, on 17 July 2011 - 02:19 PM, said in Legacy TC Status Thread:

Okay, the double command deck from the Venator -class destroyer, sure, I see that. And I can see the engine section from the Executor -class star dreadnought. (I'll see your Fun Fact and raise you an item of Trivia: "super star destroyer," despite originally referring to the Executor -class, sort of became a catch-all term for any super-size star destroyer-like design.) But the main hull looks more like one of the other Star Destroyer classes in the EU comics than a Mon Cal cruiser.

I'll admit there's not much of a resemblance to an MC-80 now, but when I originally set out to design the ship, I planned to incorporate the wings of the MC-80 into the design. They ended up looking more like standard sections of a Star Destroyer, as you can see. Also, while not entirely canon, Mon Cal cruisers in Star Wars: Battlefront 2 did have a small, forward tower like the Claymore. So it wasn't completely extra, there was a small basis for it.

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Ooh! Ooh! Maybe you should design an Askan carrier based on the Eclipse -class star dreadnought!

You know, that's not a bad idea. However I really only plan to have major powers have true carriers. Currently that's limited to the Earth Empire's Basilisk-class carrier for the Star Navy and the Orion Government's Komodo-class carrier for the SD Mercs. Technically the Shipwreck Rogues aren't a major power, but they have accumulated enough scraps to build seven carriers of their own. Albeit smaller than the other two carriers, the Megalodon-class carriers serve a vital part in the defense of their space. Two have been destroyed over the years leaving five guarding key points in Shipwreck space.

There are some other carriers in the Milky Way, but nowhere near as powerful. The Shojen Samurai have the Daimyo-class escort carrier and the Onli Conglomerate have the Ruche-class carrier, a variant of the Vache-class bulk freighter. Neither is anywhere near the size of the Basilisk or Komodo, and they carry much less firepower. Newton Electronics' own bulk freighter does carry a small squadron of fighters, but isn't classed as a carrier because of a lack of armament.

Lastly, there are other aliens in HOTS, and they do have their own carriers... I just don't want to talk about them too much.

@darthkev, on 17 July 2011 - 12:12 AM, said in Legacy TC Status Thread:

Yes indeed, they will still be Starfleet-inspired. I'm just making them sleeker to better do their muses justice.

Liberal use of latheing in Sketchup can make smooth ships that might be starfleet-inspired. I think you know how to lathe, but if not: Make a circle. More segments = smoother result = larger file and slower manipulation times. Make your lathe shape perpendicular to the circle; it can be just about anything as long as it has a face. Again, more segments = smoother result = larger file. Click the circle, then the follow me tool, then the face. It'll lathe the shape around the circle for you. This process works for other shapes/lines too; an example would be a swept wing with a solid cross-section.

Failing that; use blender for subdivide and smooth as I've recommended in a few places.

Well, I'm not making completely smooth ships like what Star Trek actually had. Not for starships, anyway. ELX ships will still be composed completely from Delphi parts, but I'm arranging them in smoother shapes. I only have two more to finish, then I'll post the new images here all in one post. The last two I need to finish are the Uranus and Phobos.

@darthkev, on 17 July 2011 - 03:03 AM, said in Legacy TC Status Thread:

Fun fact: the Claymore is the largest battleship in HOTS at three times the size of most battleships. It also carries fewer launch-able craft than any battleship.

Does that mean it carries over 3x the amount of direct and indirect firepower of most battleships?
WANT. WANT NOW.

Heh, no. Sorry, but most of the extra girth is devoted to shielding and armour plating. It does have a lot more firepower, though.

Eh, still want.

Also, I decided to start going around the various Nova TC's and offering a little help. Getting a bit bored in RL while I wait for classes to start again. Anyway, I don't really have any technical skills, but I'm a fair writer. For some reason or another, I'd particularly like to write the descriptions of planets. Not really sure why, but it's something that appeals to me.

Yes, I'm copying and pasting this post in several threads. Trying to be visible.