[changed title] Mule interiors

[CoD]

Last night, while I was flying around with my llama (I love that ship) I docked with a mulebank.

The mule is big, I know, but.... I found it bigger inside!

Furnishing and feng-shui could help a lot, I imagine, but.... it looked like a space station!

What if we try to design a ship interior (or maybe 2 or 3, depending on ship class and race) to use when your ship docks with another one?

I'm not good in 3d modelling, so I can't make good realistic interior images.
Is anyone interested in this?

I think we need:
- a corridor with doors (the main concourse)
- a lunch room (the bar... maybe)
- a cargo room (is it... "hold" in english?)
- something realistic for the docking image (I suppose that ships does not "enter" the main vessel... I suppose they dock outside with some sort of corridor... don't they?)
- something realistic for mission computer, ship dealer end upgrade ship.


I made this very ugly scratch, just for saving what whas floating in my mind last night:

[klauss]

I like it.
I don't see anything not doable, so keep on doing those "concept art" thingies (like the picture in your post). Probably someone will pick it up and model it in 3D later, if you can't.

[dandandaman]

Looks great. One thing we really need is more diverse ship interiors

Dan

[chuck_starchaser]

Yeah, keep the concept art coming; I'll take a crack at modelling it when you're done, if no one else does it first.

[klauss]

Idea: consider making corridors just for eye candy... like you have to "walk your way to each place".

[chuck_starchaser]

Another idea: You might want to think about the layout of a ship from an architect's perspective to make sure it makes sense. I was working on figuring out where everything should go inside a WC carrier, and came up with a list of necessary rooms, then added which other rooms should be near each of them, and a general picture emerged.
http://vegastrike.sourceforge.net/wiki/ ... eqCarriers
(withoug making it that detailed, of course)

[CoD]

The idea of planning an entire mule interior is very interesting.

But... I need to know the exact size of that ship.

Where can I found these datas?

I downloaded wings3d, converted the mesh and opened it but I don't see any information window showing its measures.

Could somebody give me a clue?

[klauss]

Mule: approximately 191 meters long, 145 meters tall, 88 meters wide (counting every feature, even not prominent ones - I'd only trust length and width, height not so much).

[Zeog]

That rearranging you guys are talking about reminded me of this java applet (plots dynamically the graph layout of linked nodes) you might want to use to figure out an optimal arrangement.

[CoD]

Mule: approximately 191 meters long, 145 meters tall, 88 meters wide (counting every feature, even not prominent ones - I'd only trust length and width, height not so much).

Thanks klaus.

Where did you find these measures?

Is there any file I can look at to obtain other datas (for example if I'll work on other ships) ?

[klauss]

In data4.x/units/mule:

Code: Select all

../../bin/mesher mule.bfxm mule.bfxm -dims

It will show the "dimensions" (actually, the extremes).
First one is min X, then min Y, then min Z. Then max X, max Y, max Z.
Z is length, Y is height, X is width.

Just do the subtraction, and you have the model dimensions. Since models are scaled ingame, then you have to open data4.x/units/units.csv, look up the corresponding entry (that one with mule in its first column), and take note of the value in the column labelled Scale. Multiply the dimensions you got in the first step by that number, and you have what you want.

Circumventional? Perhaps... but most accurate. Only caveat is that even lights, posts, and whatever mesh information other than the main hull gets accounted for this way (that's why I wouldn't trust that height value I gave): I think the mule has some vertical features you wouldn't consider for, say, volume computations.

[CoD]

Thanks again!

Now I can start working on realistic interiors

So... I'll start from... uhm... toilets!

Let's think: where can I place toilets? uhm......

[Ryder P. Moses]

The Bridge. Everyone knows the Captain's chair is actually a john.

[CoD]

I started with the hold.

The mule ship is said to have 200000 cubic meters of available space... it's really difficult to fit all those cubic meters in a ship with these measures.

BTW tomorrow I'll try some new ideas I had... now I'm veeery tired: this forum says it's 4:35 pm but... here it's 00:35 and tomorrow I have to work.

So: goodnight space merchants, bounty hunters, iso terrorist and pirates.
Good night space dreamers

[chuck_starchaser]

Yeah, just give it a cargo hold that's maximized within sense, and we can later change the capacity figure for the ship. I think someone just threw dice to come up with it.
Good night and keep it up. We really need good concepts for interiors. Ships and bases.

[CoD]

At the moment I can fit a hold of 125242 cubic meters, but I'm still working on it.

Some space would be used for cranes (You do need internal cranes if you're able to eject cargo while flying, don't you?)
I'm also trying to put a little "cargo computer room" from where you can look at the hold and selecting cargo missions.
This room is needed because I suppose the hold hasn't vital support or even oxygen, so you need a small room with a large window for operating cranes and selecting cargo.

I've already found a place for the fuel tank (2333,33 cubic meters + an inspection-maintenance bridge)

I'll work on the main bridge now.
I've noticed that the mule doesn't have bridge windows..... did some of you find them?

If there isn't any bridge-window maybe we could design a bridge with a very big screen and assume that exterior images are taken from one or more external cameras.

Tell me what you're thinking, boys, because we can project this ship together!

And... if the author of the mule model doesn't like something... just let me know


EDIT: I changed the title of this thread with a more explicit one

[JonathanD]

This is a good place to tie in my attempts at providing better descriptions of the ships. CoD, interested in helping me a bit with this?

[klauss]

I think ships in VS aren't supposed to have any kind of windows.
The "windows" you see in cockpits and bridges are actually simulated, through screens and things, and the pictures in them are also synthesized (to enhance relevant features), instead of a simple feed from an external camera.

[chuck_starchaser]

I've read posts of JackS promoting windows as a way to provide size references. Without windows it's almost impossible.

[jackS]

well, there's a yes and no to windows - and it varies depending on whether or not it's a civilian vessel. The utility of windows for sense of scale is most apparent in larger vessels. However, no military vessel is going to have a windowed bridge/command deck. "Windows" on a military vessel are going to be part of observation/recreation decks, or coverings for inset optical sensors. In a military vessel, even if there were windows, you couldn't see anything intelligible with the naked eye while the shields are up. Many civilian windows will be, like their military counterparts, coverings for inset optical sensors, but they may have real windows as well for aesthetic reasons. The long and short is that no one is trying to pilot any significant (and here even an interstellar capable fighter is significant) craft by staring out a window.

As for the location of the crew area (and thus any windows for their benefit) on the mule, it should all be in the underslung area, except for access to the cargo holding and equipment regions.

[CoD]

Here I am!

First of all: JonathanD, yes I am interested.
What if we wait a bit until I finish the mule interiors? Then we'll be able to write a more complete description, maybe listing also some "special feature" this ship has (like, for example: internal bridge cranes, heavy hermetic doors in corridors, a completely new fire-control systems, etc...)
Shall we?


When I was a starwars maniac (yes: I WAS, now I'm a vegastrike maniac ) I had a lot of links about sw technology.

One of these links was http://www.stardestroyer.net/Empire/
This man uses a physic-mathematic approach to sw, spending a lot of time in studing how shield, laser beams and other techs work.
There are also satr trek techs analyzed here, but this site is a totaly anti-trek site, so don't expect a balanced approach.
Take a look at the Technology -> Shield Technology section, especially to Physical Nature of Shields and Physical Impact Issues

About windows: I noticed that llama and other little ships have a transparent canopy (I don't know if this is the correct word: I'm talking about the transparent part of a cockpit, the one through which you're able to look outside)
Also the Claydesdale has a long recess which could easily be the main bridge window.
If you think it's possible for some ship not to have windows, well... we'll assume that the mule is one of those ship.

The mule, after all, is a transport ship. Large capable, slow and (like the animal) "stupid" in some way.
Mule design should be entirely aimed at transport and this could be a really good reason for taking out windows: a solid metal hull it's just less expensive and assures high protection.
Yes: in battle I'd like a transparent canopy, just in case something in the electronic system stop working, but this is not the main role of a mule class.

It could even be a good thing: you could take out the mule sensors and let the ship totally blind.
We could describe the mule as a "large, cargo vessel. Heavy enough for save your cargo from pirates, stupid enough not to let you engage enemies in a dogfight. If you have this ship and somebody shoots you: just flee before they make you blind and steal your cargo"

[klauss]

Moved the "shields, windows, damage, etc..." discussion to
here

[CoD]

Still working.

Have faith, boys, something will come sooner or later

http://www.cod.altervista.org/vegastrik ... .php?img=3

At this time I've already set up:
- a hold of about 130.000 cubic meters
- the fuel tank (with inspection bridge)
- 2 large rooms at the docking points
- corridors and elevators
- a hold-toilet (maybe with an emergency-shower for decontamination)
- a hold service room

As you can see the hold doors are in the "nose" of the mule.
I thought it was the best place to put them (Take a look at the texture of the mule you have in the game... you can already notice the doors boundaries)

Suggestions and ideas are always welcome... just say them without aiming at me with your leech gun, please

[klauss]

Nice work.
Once done, you should put it in the wiki.

[chuck_starchaser]

Coolness Gracious! Can't wait to start modelling it.