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Can I be unblocked from SO now

LOL

The forums are gone man ...I fear I've upset the balance of this thread... sorry guys.

This post has been edited by Ravenheart : 06 March 2008 - 04:05 PM

Hey, I'm back again, currently hammering out the physical structure of a fearsome NDC "Dominant" assault ship.

For more information on ship classifications and nomenclature, and generally to waste time while I work tediously, I present you with this data sheet:

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Ship Prefixes and Classifications

EX (prefix) - Denotes experimental spacecraft, either in prototype stage or simply a result of the application of new technology to older vessels to give them new life. Experimental craft range from fighters up to some of the larger mid-range ships. Not very many Dominants or Heavy Cruisers carry the EX prefix, as these massive craft are very difficult to design in the first place, often resulting in their unusually long periods of use, some for decades at a time. The EX prefix is most commonly associated with new-tech ships in the small cruiser range, often put to use as specialized craft designed for very specific tasks. For instance, an experimental craft may be custom-designed to bear nothing more than a new weapon prototype, enabling the testing of the weapon in spatial conditions and its efficiency when hooked up to real ship systems, as opposed to a simulator computer on the ground.

DC (prefix) - Denotes "Direct Combat" spacecraft, mostly fighters and small cruisers. Many direct combat craft remain in heavy production, the most reliable source of military power available in the fleet. Direct combat ships are usually cheap to produce, and provide the assault-fire base for most modern space militaries. Some anti-fighter-specific cruisers are given the prefix of "DC" because of their specialty in close-range combat, but the application of the term almost completely disappears once outside of the range of ships staffed 200 and under. Direct combat ships sport short-range, ship to ship weapon systems, usually energy-based in nature, though some carry missiles as an auxiliary offensive/defensive measure.

LR (prefix) - Denotes "Long Range Engagement" spacecraft, ranging from some heavier fighters to many medium-sized missile-based offensive corvettes. Long range craft rely on powerful guidance systems and plenty of guided weapons to function in combat, and often fall victim to close-range fighters and cruisers that quickly pick them apart with energy weapons inside an engagement range where a long range ship's missiles are almost ineffective. To counter this, some fighters are upgraded to a long range status, equipped with fast anti-fighter missiles such as the Talon, their fighter-typical maneuverability allowing them to tail the now-seemingly defenseless direct combat fighter craft before they can assault the larger cruisers.

TT (prefix) - Denotes troop transports, or any other military-natured cargo/freight vessels. Though nowhere near as glamorous as their civilian shipment-bearing brothers, military transports make up for it by being armed to the teeth with whatever defensive systems can be fitted to the craft, mostly anti-fighter turrets that will defend the ship without the need for any user input. Would-be marauders soon meet their better when attempting to disable and board a military transport vessel such as the dropship.

HK (prefix) - The "Hunter Killer" ship classification, HK ships are feared by fighters and cruisers alike, both for their excellent maneuverability and their terrifying weapon arrangements. The most popular Hunter Killer model at present is the HK-9 "Gunslinger" - the only one to bear an official name, as opposed to a simple model number - popularized by its recoilless "sidearm" configuration, which enables it to carry two rather hefty Nichron cannons without sacrificing maneuverability during combat operations; the recoil-absorbing shock system behind each gun prevents the ship from shifting off axis during firing. Hunter Killers are dispatched primarily for battlefield cleanup, picking off fighters and smaller cruisers with deft ease, paving the way for the larger artillery ships to take the front lines without having to deal with a wall of smaller ships blocking an important shooting solution. However, these craft have gained a large amount of popularity with "lone wolf" captains, those sent to patrol the border between major confrontations, as these compact craft carry enough energy and armament to operate for a surprisingly long time without any fleet support, even should they come under fire.

LC (prefix) - Applied to any ships under the category of "light cruiser", these craft are the support backbone for any fleet. Though armed with the same devastating weapon types as the larger Dominant cruisers, albeit in smaller number, light cruisers are far more maneuverable, and often take to the front lines at the onset of a battle, providing a fire-support base for the fighters already in the fray. These simple gunships work well against enemy vessels of the same type, and can even hold their own when sent in number against larger ships. Their only fear is the deadly Hunter Killer ships, which can both fly circles around them like a fighter as well as blast decent pieces of their hull away with each pass. It's projected that with the amount of research being put into the development of more powerful HK craft, the light cruiser classification may soon become obsolete, and they are already becoming less present in combat situations, often being relegated to backwater patrol missions.

SC (prefix) - Applies to science vessels in the employ of the Nova Defense Coalition. Though NDC Science is a completely separate body of the government, their abilities would be severely hampered without the assistance of the military branch, which supplies them with ships and weapons for defensive purposes while on the front. Recently, the need for dedicated science vessels has become clear, resulting in the construction of several completely unique science ship designs, a much different approach than the previous method of simply converting a military cruiser to a flying laboratory.

C (prefix) - The "C" prefix denotes ships in the classification of "cruiser", and similar vessels. This is the smallest ship size that can effectively bear artillery weapons, and its light stock compared to the heavier ships gives it added maneuvering ability on the battlefield, making cruisers the staple hull class of the fleet. Because in this size class ships start to get rather heavy compared to those before, the range of new models becomes somewhat limited, many older ships still finding work in modern missions, thanks to their long-lived durability, not to mention a hefty number of refits over the years.

CC (prefix) - Denotes ships under the category of "Command Cruiser", a more distinguished type of standard cruiser with slightly stronger weapons but most of all, enhanced shielding, designed to spearhead into the battlefield and lead the other cruisers in behind it. Only two of these vessel types are currently in production, the others in the series decommissioned for one reason or another, often as a result of faulty armor configurations resulting in exploitable weak points in the frame. The two remaining command cruisers, the CC-4 and the CC-13, are specially designed with a physical forward plate to protect from impact, earning them both the nickname of "steamroller" because of their ability to literally plow straight into the combat environment, right through fighters and most smaller ships.

HC (prefix) - Denotes ships of the Heavy Cruiser hull size, the primary artillery warships of the fleet. Heavy cruisers rely on fast-paced short range weapons for defense against fighters, while using their heavy forward guns to pummel the ships of the enemy fleet from a great distance. These ships are sometimes employed as Direct Combat craft, armed with short range Nichron cannons and sent directly into the middle of combat to cause destruction and confusion. The direct combat configurations of these ships are usually given stronger armor and slightly weaker shields, with the assumption that the shields will become largely ineffective anyway within the first few seconds of enemy fire.

DM (prefix) - Denotes the highest hull class used in the NDC fleet, the "Dominant"-type ships. These behemoth battleships are a terrifying monolithic icon on the battlefield, capable of decimating entire small fleets completely on their own without any allied support. Dominants are the most common ship class to support fighter hangars, a compensation effort toward their sluggish maneuvering capabilities. Often built around a singular weapon array inset into the forefront of the craft, Dominant ships carry the majority of their firepower in their forward arc, sometimes coming under overwhelming fire from enemy ships that break the fleet line and attack from behind. Fortunately, as a result of their sheer size Dominants are quite capable of receiving modular upgrades, such as anti-fighter turrets and other defense systems. Some captains will have the primary weapons array downgraded to a weaker configuration, opting instead for short-range turrets, turning their Dominant from an artillery craft to a heavy anti-cruiser battleship.

Awesome. I can't wait for this delphi. There is nothing to save me from this awesomeness.

Alright, it's poll time.

1. Dark-grey with tan secondary, or gunmetal blue/gray with lights?

2. Straight and bulky, or angled and (relatively) sleek?

I am, of course, talking about ships here. NDC ships. I'm stuck on design again, and could use the public voice to make a decision.

Tan and grey ships would be composed of large sandy-colored armor structures affixed to a heavy industrial superstructure, with lots of pipes and plates and such sticking out here are there, like that sandwiched bit in the midsection of a Star Destroyer. The gunmetal ships would be very dark and brooding in their composure, but as the entire ship would be armor-plated, they would end up looking somewhat featureless, save for the occasional marker light.

As the for the design, the question there is largely whether or not the ships should have a bit of a slant to their shape, running from front to back the slightest bit, causing all front surfaces to "lean back" the slightest bit. The alternative is to opt for the "flying brick" notion, which is in essence the same design but with hard, flat frontal surfaces on all major elements of the superstructure.

As it stand right now I'm leaning toward the touch of tan color and the occasional angle, but I need to make sure I've got support on this, as it will require a minor fix and a re-rendering of several ship models, about a week's work.

God knows it'd make the texturing easier though.

Im fine with tan but I was kinda leaning to the slant with the gunmetal. Those go together.

1. gunmetal blue with lights

2. angled and sleek

It's funny, every time I think of a new, creative design, I keep coming back to the old ones, the ones that always appealed to me most in the beginning, but just never came to realization.

Though this shot is the Spirit of Fire, from Halo Wars, THIS is pretty much EXACTLY how I always imagined NDC ships looking:

It's damn hard to model in 3d though.

I'd better get to work, I guess.

Ooh cool. With one of those plus NDC weapons, I COULD RULE THE UNIVERSE!

Seeing this, I think some of your models from the old nova.net forums seem not to be that far away designwise. Especially the one with the "hammerhead" and bulky engines (the Renault if I recall correctly)

@lastsummer, on Mar 26 2008, 03:47 PM, said in EVN - Delphi:

Seeing this, I think some of your models from the old nova.net forums seem not to be that far away designwise. Especially the one with the "hammerhead" and bulky engines (the Renault if I recall correctly)

Precisely. That's what I meant when I noted how things always seem to come full-circle.

For the time being, I was inspired by a hood ornament to create a VERY cool civvie cruiser, a massive, multipurpose ship akin in function and ability to the Polaris Cambrian. Picture a wide, sweeping body, almost like the "flying wing" design of a stealth aircraft, the center of which bends upward and back into a sort of laid-back "tower", the control facilities at the top in a sort of flight deck arrangement. The entire forefront edge of the "wing" design is habitable living space with hundreds of brightly lit windows and lights, making the whole ship look a little bit like a sleek vacuum cleaner with one of those nifty headlamps across the front edge. The ship itself is massive, housing a possible total of 1800 people extremely comfortably (luxury liner variant), 3100 average passenger load, with a maximum of 12,000 under colonization purposes.

However, it ought to be noted that this behemoth vessel still doesn't hold a candle to the carrying capacity of the Delphi colony vessel, which bears over 700,000 crew and colonists. Unfortunately, the Delphi is not a playable ship in the game during the normal storyline, but a trimmed version (smaller size and full spin animation; current incarnation is a massive station) may be released as a bonus ship you can unlock by beating the game, though I don't really see the point in its inclusion; it's just too cumbersome to use in any feasible extent.

@delphi, on Mar 30 2008, 05:21 PM, said in EVN - Delphi:

However, it ought to be noted that this behemoth vessel still doesn't hold a candle to the carrying capacity of the Delphi colony vessel, which bears over 700,000 crew and colonists. Unfortunately, the Delphi is not a playable ship in the game during the normal storyline, but a trimmed version (smaller size and full spin animation; current incarnation is a massive station) may be released as a bonus ship you can unlock by beating the game, though I don't really see the point in its inclusion; it's just too cumbersome to use in any feasible extent.

I'd still fly it. Sheer enjoyment purpose. Also, maybe if you can fit enough turrets on it....

drools

Photo Booth sure is handy when you just need a quick snapshot, isn't it?

Here's a quick little inking of the "flying wing" craft I mentioned above, soon to be modeled and included in the game as a civilian cruiser and a military science ship, primarily. There will be several variants, allowing for different crew and different load-out abilities. One version will be strictly about cargo space; a perfect solution to the enterprising pilot looking to make a long haul for Big Money™. Another variant will be viewable in-game as a colony ship, though not available for the player to purchase, mostly because the player would have no use for several thousand colonists and zero extra cargo space (all taken up by colony equipment). It will be implied in story-line canon that there are hundreds of other customized variants in the universe, everything from mass-garbage scows to mobile production facilities, the latter meaning that you may find stationary ones positioned around planets or near other stations, loaded with ammunition and weaponry for sale. The science variant will carry a minimalist armament for lack of extra turret space, but the two turrets it will be fitted with will pack a decent punch: two turreted Nichron cannons. As do the other science vessels, it will rely heavily on support abilities, like point-defense repulser beams and powerful shielding.

You begin the game aboard one of these "civilian flagship"-like vessels, in a medical lab, undergoing treatments for severe neural trauma. The opening cut-scene, if feasible to produce, is going to be incredible, as you will get a very cinematic fly-by of the massive cruiser. Then again, I may go with my pan-and-scan "comic book" cutscene idea, which would be easier to produce, equally-impressive, and may add a more effective character/environment-driven tone; the "sci-fi noir" feeling that I want to achieve.

The behemoth vessel is 1.1 km across its wingspan. Big ship is BIIIIIIIG.

Here's a little beauty shot just because I think it looks cool.

that big ship reminds me of something but i just can't tell...

by the way: are you still pursuing the idea of having fighter squads instead of single ships? i've been thinking about something similar (although not for fighters) for the conversion i'm working on

This post has been edited by lastsummer : 01 April 2008 - 01:35 AM

It is a sort of ray if I ever saw one. You could call it the eagle ray.

I had a few names thought up for it, actually. Most prominent among them was "Fleetrunner", a loose mutation of the "Freightliner" line of heavy duty tractor-trailer trucks, as these big ships make up for the majority of commercial flights and most importantly, freight.

There are still a few class names up in the air though:

Behemoth
Calvaron
Argo
Ark
(etc)

I like the look of it! Good concept, too.

I like "Argo" or "Calvaron"

I'm coming up on the end of my semester here, so once all my work is done at the end of April I expect to be hitting Delphi like the (productive) fist of an angry god. I've still got some serious work to do, and at the current rate the software won't run on anybody's hardware by the time of completion. Either way, just bear with me in the meantime while I finish up things with school.

Just, maybe bump the thread every couple of days or something. Don't want it to disappear again.

(To the mods)
Not trying to keep a dying thread popular; please don't get angry at me. Just making a bit of a joke.

Either way, I'll be back come the end of April!

@delphi, on Apr 9 2008, 09:20 PM, said in EVN - Delphi:

I'm coming up on the end of my semester here, so once all my work is done at the end of April I expect to be hitting Delphi like the (productive) fist of an angry god. I've still got some serious work to do, and at the current rate the software won't run on anybody's hardware by the time of completion. Either way, just bear with me in the meantime while I finish up things with school.

Just, maybe bump the thread every couple of days or something. Don't want it to disappear again.

(To the mods)
Not trying to keep a dying thread popular; please don't get angry at me. Just making a bit of a joke.

Either way, I'll be back come the end of April!

What do you mean it won't run on anybody's hardware?

Keep it up, I'm really looking forward to this one.

@phoenixfire, on Apr 10 2008, 04:59 PM, said in EVN - Delphi:

What do you mean it won't run on anybody's hardware?

Keep it up, I'm really looking forward to this one.

"Won't run on anybody's hardware", was implying via pun that you'll need an OSX or Windows emulator by the time it comes out; the systems and EV Nova will be so old and outdated. Think along the lines of the changeover between Mac OS 9 and X.

Just poking fun at how long it's taken to get this far.

Also, I'm taking my free time to sketch some panels for the "comic cutscenes" integrated into the story, so I'll post a few of those once I think they're worth something in terms of canonization.