I found some really incredible plugins for Google SketchUp that allow you to much more easily manipulate and sculpt semi-organic surfaces. For instance, one plugin called "joint push/pull" allows you to extrude curved surfaces, which the original SketchUp push/pull tool cannot do. I also downloaded one called "Offset on Surface" which allows you to "bring in" the edge of a curved surface so that you can separate out a panel in the middle of it. This is different from cloning the edge and scaling in that the lines stay mapped to the surface and contours of the object, and the distance from each edge is equilateral instead of scaled proportionally. By using both of these tools together, I was successful in creating a rough bust of an NDC "Archon". Don't let the diminutive chest detract from the image; I haven't sculpted the chest plate, yet.

Again, it's just a rough copy; the conceptual design is much more detailed. But I'll get to that at a later date; for now I just wanted to play with the tools and confirm that I could use them. If I decide I need to create some smoother ship designs, such as perhaps some of the civilian craft, it should be much easier, now. With these tools, something classical like the Starbridge would be a fairly easy ship to make (though you won't see the Starbridge itself in the game).

Edit: For those not up to date on the lore (I don't blame you, 70 pages is a lot to read), Archons serve as the NDC's "special enforcers", combining the roles of investigator, sheriff, and bounty hunter. Most Archons fly in advanced Scimitar class heavy fighters, which they favor for their moderate size but quick speed; an excellent single-pilot assault ship. In their capacities they are often called to many different worlds of the Coalition, whether they are tasked with rooting out insurgent operatives, performing espionage against enemy forces, policing an anarchic settlement, or just simply being called upon to execute those who work against the Coalition's interests.

In the TC, you have the opportunity to join the NDC Archons and rise through their ranks, but only once you have proven yourself through other means. Similar to the bounty hunter minor storyline in EV:N, you will be given specialty missions that offer different rewards from your typical missions, and usually with a higher degree of odds stacked against you. On the plus side, it makes the Scimitar fighter available to you at a steep discount, which may come in handy when you need a heavily armoured, fast ship (the Scimitar behaves very much like the RAGE gunboat in EV:N, and is similarly tough).

This post has been edited by Delphi : 03 April 2015 - 09:35 PM

Bonus picture: showing how the human head fits into one of these weird helmets.

The helmets contain a sophisticated sensor suite built into the "nose", which accounts for the helmet's front-heavy design. The entire headpiece is gyroscopically balanced so that the wearer doesn't have to account for the weight when moving around. The "visor" is not transparent, as would be typical for most sealed helmets, but is rather part of a visual receptor that captures photographic data from in front of the wearer and relays it directly to the user's visual cortex. This effectively gives the wearer an unimpeded field of vision; as the boundaries of the helmet are not visible, the wearer sees as if they weren't wearing the helmet at all. However, further increasing the visual acuity of the helmet is a wide range of zoom modes, and the ability to artificially adjust the field of vision to a higher number of degrees, allowing the user to see further to either side. Most soldiers report that this artificial FOV can be disorienting and confusing, more often than not, so it isn't used except in necessary circumstances.

In the "crest" of the helmet, running from either ear and around to the back of the head, is an auditory sensor that works almost the same as the optical sensor, sending sound data directly into the brain. In addition to this is a very heavily-reinforced structural bar that helps the helmet maintain its integrity and makes it almost impervious to crushing. On the lower edge of the crest is an array that is used to radiate thermal energy accumulated from the full suit of armor that the helmet is connected to, cooling it. The helmet contains a removable battery at the back of the crest that operates redundantly to the power systems of the wearer's body armor, allowing the helmet to operate even if the suit's power center is disabled, and independently powering the helmet's respiration systems, allowing the operator to perform work in a total vacuum.

The upper plates of the helmet are multi-layered and extremely resistant to damage. Vacuum spaces within the design offer the benefits of a "crumple zone" and also serve to insulate the helmet against thermal changes and against the blasts of directed energy weapons.

Not yet pictured in the model is a pair of laser rangefinders built into the "cheeks", which can be linked with the wearer's handheld weapons (if they are compatible), to enable extreme-precision targeting. For this reason, most NDC weapons are built without zoomed sights; soldiers requiring extreme range, such as snipers, are equipped with similar rangefinders that allow them to aim the weapon using their own sight alone.

This post has been edited by Delphi : 03 April 2015 - 10:13 PM

I sure hope the suit also incorporates some form of ion shielding, otherwise a simple EMP makes any Archon blind, if not entirely immobile, considering the extreme weight the suit must have.

( DOUBLE POST REMOVED )

Edit: Yay, accidental double post!

This post has been edited by Delphi : 04 April 2015 - 11:52 AM

@darthkev, on 04 April 2015 - 01:09 AM, said in EVN - Delphi:

I sure hope the suit also incorporates some form of ion shielding, otherwise a simple EMP makes any Archon blind, if not entirely immobile, considering the extreme weight the suit must have.

Fortunately, most powered armor used by both the NDC and the Enclave is naturally impervious to electromagnetic surges, as is necessary by their design to work with the suit's own EM-assisted servos. This is achieved primarily by the suit's circuitry being composed of artificially-grown neural fibres, meaning that the suit's systems are more like a biological nerve system than they are like conventional electronics. For the components relying on conventional technology, self-assembling solenoids are incorporated that respond to EM bursts by fusing together, bypassing the damaged components, and effectively rerouting the electrical systems instantaneously. In the event of a total systems failure, and provided that an Archon or other soldier wearing sealed armor isn't operating in a vacuum or hostile environment, the suit features mechanical ejection mechanisms for each component of the armor, allowing the wearer to strip right down to the under-suit in a short amount of time. On the helmet, you can see the ejection buttons at the back sides of the helmet. To prevent these from being struck by weapon's fire or a physical impact, both must be pressed simultaneously to release the helmet.

If it really comes down to it, the armor is still capable of locomotion during a total failure; thanks to its lightweight fullerene-based construction and the vacuum spaces in the armor making it not completely solid, the entire suit only weighs about 32 kilograms (~70 lbs), meaning that while it is heavy, it is not a crushing weight, and physically fit wearers can still usually move to safety. Thankfully, because the armor is as durable as it is, they can usually take a few hits on the way and still survive; the Archon power armor is almost completely invulnerable to low-caliber electromag rounds, and even heavier battle rifle bursts are only a risk after repeated hits have compromised the armor's surface integrity.

cool stuff Delphi

As the shuttle cleared the hangar, the harsh, burning sunlight of the Triamus star blinded all of the viewscreens momentarily. The small craft shuddered while its refractor shielding adjusted to the intense radiation streaming down through the atmosphere, and then lurched as the pilot engaged the afterburner and sharply accelerated.

"We'll reach the 'Steelwing' in a few minutes, Commander," came the voice of the pilot over the intercom.

Months. It had been months of slow, painful recuperation, and intense daily physiotherapy as they put my muscles, ligaments, and neurons back in working order. The painful memories of the escape pod were long behind me now, and the prospect of my first real command literally loomed on the horizon.

"I have the 'Steelwing' in visual range now, sir," said the pilot, "switching viewports to forward sensor feed."

All of the viewscreens flickered and simultaneously cycled to show the view from the direct front of the ship. The NDCV Steelwing, a "Monolith" cruiser, lay atop the service pad, bathed in the monochromatic fire of the radioactive sunlight, rays glinting off of the more reflective elements of its hull. The whole ship lay dark and dormant, waiting for its captain. No doubt at least half the crew were already aboard, preparing the massive starship for its voyage. Several dock workers were barely visible in their bright white environmental suits, disconnecting heavy maintenance equipment from the hull and closing up various access panels.

"Hangar bay 4 is prepared for your arrival. Beginning our descent now. Switching to docking control." The pilot's voice faded out as I watched the ship come ever closer, and with it, a long-awaited freedom.

(I'm spending some time coming up with landing graphics for the game.)

Nice intro text, though that shuttle looks a little too big to be docking inside the 'Steelwing' there, assuming that image is supposed to be what the text describes.

@darthkev, on 12 April 2015 - 10:07 PM, said in EVN - Delphi:

Nice intro text, though that shuttle looks a little too big to be docking inside the 'Steelwing' there, assuming that image is supposed to be what the text describes.

The shuttle is much closer to the camera. The Steelwing, and other Monolith cruisers like it, are just a little over a kilometer long.

On another note, not necessarily the game's intro text, but just something I could come up with that fit the general plot narrative while also describing the image.

Edit: Here's a more direct comparison, with both ships to scale with each other.

This post has been edited by Delphi : 12 April 2015 - 10:48 PM

So how scalable is that intro pic?(I'm assuming it's an intro pic, anyway) It looks bigger than the screen I'd likely be playing this on.

Also, check your PMs.

That will actually be one of the landing graphics, particularly for the planet mentioned in the narrative. This is the uncropped, un-resized version of the picture. I always render at a significantly higher resolution then I will actually be using in the game, so that I can perform a second round of anti-aliasing while down-converting; manual super-sampling, as it were.

The game intro will actually be significantly different, very much like the traditional Is Escape Velocity games, giving you a general history of the universe up until the current date.

Spoiler

The game then opens on a "special mission" in which your already-crippled ship is attacked by an unknown assailant, and destroyed. You survive by way of escape pod, and go through a harrowing months-long ordeal as the pod drifts aimlessly and slowly begins to kill off the other crew aboard; NDC lifepods recognize the rank and status of those aboard and in the event of a systems failure, priority is given to keeping the commanding officers alive. You are basically starved for a very long time and begin to experience severe muscular atrophy and brain damage when you're finally picked up. The game then drops you at a medical facility with a basic spacecraft, where they release you into the world but keep you on medical probation until your rehabilitation is complete. Hence, you get the typical "space trader" experience of climbing the financial ladder and upgrading your ship through your own merits, but with the promise of a return to your military career as a starship captain as soon as you can prove that you are once again the soldier you used to be (a combination of several mission bits and your combat ranking).

The graphics used in the game will fit your display; I'm sure of it. With it in mind that I have lately started to enjoy playing Nova in a window, I am endeavoring to modify the visual resources of my TC to fit comfortably within an 800 x 600 window.

@delphi, on 13 April 2015 - 03:40 PM, said in EVN - Delphi:

With it in mind that I have lately started to enjoy playing Nova in a window, I am endeavoring to modify the visual resources of my TC to fit comfortably within an 800 x 600 window.

So my 1920x1080 resolution will make everything look really tiny. Suddenly I'll feel like I have a screen twice the size. This excites me.

@darthkev, on 14 April 2015 - 03:24 PM, said in EVN - Delphi:

So my 1920x1080 resolution will make everything look really tiny. Suddenly I'll feel like I have a screen twice the size. This excites me.

Note to self: make a version for DarthKev with all the sprites sized down to less than 24 x 24, to make his monitor feel REALLY huge.

I wonder if the engine glow feature could be exploited to make ships grow and shrink and do other weird crap just to mess with Darthkev even more...

Working on a new ship.

The Peregrine is an ancient gunship, manufactured by independent interests only a few years after the end of the Orion War in 2496. Its original manufacturers, Prodigy Spaceframes Ltd., are long defunct, but these ships still seem to appear in starship inventories the galaxy over. While the original vessel was manufactured as a defensive gunship, protecting isolated colonies from would-be pirates and other threats to their sovereignty, its now-outdated systems make it useful for little more than light courier duties. To this end, most Peregrine owners have long since stripped out the vessel's weaponry and targeting systems, replacing them with cargo space, improvements on its engine, and a much-needed shield generator; the original Peregrine was protected by armor alone. A few original Peregrines are still out there, preserved for posterity more than anything, but they are a distant echo from the original's glory when compared to the 300 years of advanced technology developed since.

Alright, back to reality for a moment. The Peregrine is a hopelessly outdated ship, but can be purchased for fairly cheap, in its original configuration. However, the person who can sell it to you is something of an aficionado of the craft's legacy, and has some lofty ideas for ways to upgrade the ship and turn it into a modern fighting vessel, possibly even outclassing the NDC Scimitar (their elite fighter). The Peregrine is unique in that it has an extremely high top speed, originally designed to hunt like its namesake, diving rapidly at an enemy and defeating them with a series of devastating hit-and-run strikes, while remaining so fast that even point-defense weapons have difficulty tracking it. In its original unshielded and poorly-armed configuration, it wouldn't be much of a threat to any modern vessel, but with the right defensive and offensive improvements, it could once again be a terrifying gunship. Perhaps you can do something towards that end.

Oh, and when you turn the vessel, it spins.

This post has been edited by Delphi : 25 April 2015 - 07:13 PM

@delphi, on 25 April 2015 - 07:12 PM, said in EVN - Delphi:

However, the person who can sell it to you is something of an aficionado of the craft's legacy, and has some lofty ideas for ways to upgrade the ship and turn it into a modern fighting vessel, possibly even outclassing the NDC Scimitar (their elite fighter).

Any chance there will be an incident where a Scimitar pilot gets shot down by a Peregrine and subsequently cries 'fowl'?

@darthkev, on 26 April 2015 - 03:06 AM, said in EVN - Delphi:

Any chance there will be an incident where a Scimitar pilot gets shot down by a Peregrine and subsequently cries 'fowl'? :D/>

Oh ha ha.

You're not far off, though, in a way. See, I like to think that I'm no stranger to irony, so when you successfully upgrade this ship, it also makes it available to several of the less-savory types out there in the galaxy. Namely, the Pariah Conclave and voidspace pirates. While it means that you unlock a very powerful small ship (great for high-speed assaults on other small ships; like a Class D Starbridge), the universe becomes just a little bit more difficult as a result, and you can expect periodic attacks from the very same vessel you've helped to improve.

Gotcha, so players who upgrade a Peregrine themselves will start to cry foul when pirates copy their work. Clever.

Wow! That's a really nice ship and game mechanic to go with it! I like it (the ship and the concept) and wholeheartedly approve! I always love seeing this forum thread. Whatever's new is always good for a read. I'm never disappointed!

A new ship!

Or rather, an old one, that was in need of a redesign.

The "Insight" is the ultimate NDC science vessel, not so much a starship as it is a mobile space station. The ship's entire starboard side is comprised of an advanced sensor array, designed to reach deep into space to collect astrometric data. As a result of its sophistication, the array is capable of scanning for stable impeller routes several jumps ahead. This, combined with the ship's top-of-the-line impeller, allows the Insight-Class to move around extraordinarily quickly through both charted and uncharted space. In regular spaceflight, the Insight is sluggish like any other capital ship, but makes up for it with extremely advanced shielding and defensive turrets, specially tied to the sensor array for precision targeting of attackers. While the ship doesn't incorporate any heavy artillery systems, it boasts a complement of torpedoes and missiles perfectly suited for fending off both large and small assailants. Rounding out the ship's armament is a pair of hangars at the forefront of the ship's hull. By default, the hangars are equipped for logistic shuttlecraft only, but are easily upgraded to support fighter squadrons and the facilities necessary to their upkeep.

Overall, the Insight benefits from having the highest computer capacity of any ship in the NDC fleet, enabling it to install a wide arrangement of specialty equipment and additional weaponry; the ship's sophisticated research computer is more than capable of handling the extra processor load.

Non-lore, game mechanics now. For the uninitiated, my TC doesn't use the traditional "mass" system of ship upgrades. Instead, ships are specifically capable of supporting specific equipment "sets" particular to their hull class, e.g. a shuttle is prohibited by way of control bits from purchasing artillery weaponry, but is granted access to low-caliber fighter/freighter weapons. On certain ships, their capabilities can be artificially expanded by way of expensive "processor upgrades" that unset the restriction bit for a certain category, such as a frigate which can purchase a systems upgrade that enables access to the artillery weapons of a cruiser. Because of this, items don't have "mass" calculated in quite the same way. A fighter cannon, for instance, may only have a "mass" of 1, representing one "system slot", while a turret may take up 2 slots, as opposed to 5 or 10 tons of physical mass. This makes it easier to calculate values on a larger ship, and prevents jerks like Qaanol (just kidding; I love you, man) from kajiggering the mass and cargo space to fill a shuttle with much better equipment than it should reasonably have. The way this applies to the Insight is that it starts with a staggering amount of free "slots" into which you can install these advanced system components. While it still has a typical "civilian" limit for guns and turrets, it also has upgrades available that increase these limits, allowing you to fill equipment slots with weapons instead.

Regarding the ship's sensor array: the Insight naturally comes equipped with a scanner capable of seeing a few systems away, and has a high-performance multi-jump. Effectively, you can scan and jump 2-3 systems at a time, greatly reducing travel times and offsetting the usual penalties of flying a large ship when you need to do time-limited missions.

Anyway, the ship is difficult to get a good picture of (just because it has a lot of detail), so here are a few different views. The ship's front is in that outboard "pod" with backward-facing antennae on it. The ship's engines are at the back of the scanner array.