Catamaran Style Freightor (My First Starship Model)

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Catamaran Style Freightor (My First Starship Model)

Post by prestidigitator »

I was rather inspired by the thread with sketches of the Aera, and this is my first little attempt at a starship. I figured that non-fragile cargo could be hauled externally using gravitic fields (disperse tractor beams), and anyway I thought it looked cool.

I don't know if it would fit well in VS. Is it worth going any further on?
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Post by prestidigitator »

Oops. Bear with me. Attempting to create attachment/link. Does this particular forum not allow attachments or something? Seems a little backwards....
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Post by chuck_starchaser »

Free hosting by sourceforge has some minor disadvantages; I think only text attachments are allowed. You can use image shack for pics.
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Post by prestidigitator »

Actually I can't even find the buttons for attaching. I've attached log files in the compilation forum though. They just don't seem to be there now. :(
Last edited by prestidigitator on Tue May 16, 2006 2:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by prestidigitator »

Anyway, here are (linked) images. Ignore the skids; I'm not at all proud of them and I'm working on replacements.

Image

Image
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Post by chuck_starchaser »

Well, looks like some katamaran, allright; buy why? Better to start from function and go from there to form, than start with a totally arbitrary form concept and then try to justify it, I find. Anyways, you seem to have some modelling skills, but if you show something as soon as you have anything to show, or not even, you'll get a lukewarm response at best. Better to work hard at it, have people go WOW!, and that fills you with self esteem and positive associations. ;-)
Tons of details, well considered measures and scale, some familiar forms that help feel the sense of scale, such as windows and supporting structures; and purposeful looking stuff, rule the day. Engines should get special attention.
Read this thread:
http://vegastrike.sourceforge.net/forum ... php?t=4915
And check this one for references:
http://vegastrike.sourceforge.net/forum ... php?t=6319
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Post by prestidigitator »

Cool. Thanks. I'll definitely check them out.

Function was involved a bit (along the same lines as a conventional catamaran: greater stability and less mass than a more traditional ship; see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catamaran). With a broader width more torque can be generated for like force (though moment of inertia is also increased), and with a smaller hull for the same cargo space mass will be dramatically decreased (think a freighter with the base mass of one half its size).

I was thinking of eventually doing models with: A.) three or four hulls, and B.) solar sails.
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Post by Oblivion »

but if you show something as soon as you have anything to show, or not even, you'll get a lukewarm response at best. Better to work hard at it, have people go WOW!, and that fills you with self esteem and positive associations.
Oh. :shock: So that's why... :lol: I will not show WIPs again.
I was thinking of eventually doing models with: A.) three or four hulls, and B.) solar sails.
Spaceships that look like ships. :D
Not sure if the advantages of catamarans work for spaceships though. But an inspired model is a good model. :)

I'm partial to ships with weird shapes and lotsa jutting parts. nice. :wink:
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Post by Halleck »

WIPs are okay by me, especially if you're looking for comments/criticism... just don't post a WIP and expect the same response that you'd get for a finished model. :wink:
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Post by klauss »

Good point - posting WIPs has to have a specific purpose: get guiding feedback. If you're lost, and don't know what to do with it, post a WIP. If you, however, have a clear idea of where it has to go, just do it, and post the not-so-WIP, to get feedback on the "quality" area.

One reason to post early WIPs, is to get approval over overall design, if you're concerned it might not fit entirely within the game (and don't want to model something that won't).
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Post by prestidigitator »

klauss wrote:One reason to post early WIPs, is to get approval over overall design, if you're concerned it might not fit entirely within the game (and don't want to model something that won't).
That's kind of where I was on this one. What do you think of it as an Aera freightor? Do you think the style works? They are supposed to have smoother, sleek designs if I understand correctly. I also made it a bit, "anthropomorphic," in the sense that it's main viewports are on the underside (the skids also had three fold symmetry, but I'm probably going to completely redo them).
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Post by klauss »

I'm not the one to ask, JackS is, but I'd say the surface quality (as in characteristics) is quite aerish, but not the overall shape and construction.

The fact that it is built of two modules connected by those... struts... is anti-aeran. Aeran tend to have monolithic-looking (though not monolithically-built) ships.
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Post by Halleck »

Yes, aeran ships are supposed to look like they were carved out of something solid, even when this is not actually the case.
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Post by prestidigitator »

Cool. Thanks. This one'll probably just stay a, "futzing around with starships," model then. :)
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Post by Oblivion »

Umm. Maybe a Shmrn ship. Designed by them without help from the Andolians. Ask JackS if it fits. :wink: I remember some ships that never made it into the named lists. An effort at rebalancing, still unfinished.

So maybe a Shmrn freighter. It fits because Shmrns are amphibious. :)

And with WIP... okay. But I'll still show only not-so-crappy WIPs. :P
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Post by Halleck »

Oblivion wrote:So maybe a Shmrn freighter. It fits because Shmrns are amphibious. :)
Yeah, this does sort of look like an amphibious boat, come to think of it...

So if something can travel in land, sea, and space, what is it called? Ambiphibious? :P
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Post by Oblivion »

Polybious probably :wink:

It uses tarctor beam tech. So it should be pretty versatile.
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