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It is with no small amount of pleasure that I present to you...
The Centurion remodel. The first step in my attempt to re-model and re-texture all the dated meshes from VO.
At this point, this is considered alpha snapshot one. You will notice that it is not properly rendered - instead, it is simply a screencap from my modeling program. Expect proper renders when she is pretty enough. :)
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn163/Fediroc/alpha1.jpg
Yes, it is low poly. Both higher and lower poly(a total of four quality stages, the one present here being second from bottom rung) are in simultaneous development.
Alpha Two:
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn163/Fediroc/CenturionAlpha2.jpg
Details in thread.
Alpha 3:
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn163/Fediroc/Alpha3a.jpg
Alpha 4:
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn163/Fediroc/Alpha4a.jpg
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn163/Fediroc/Alpha4B.jpg
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn163/Fediroc/Alpha4D.jpg
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn163/Fediroc/Alpha4C.jpg
All normal copyright crap applies.
The Centurion remodel. The first step in my attempt to re-model and re-texture all the dated meshes from VO.
At this point, this is considered alpha snapshot one. You will notice that it is not properly rendered - instead, it is simply a screencap from my modeling program. Expect proper renders when she is pretty enough. :)
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn163/Fediroc/alpha1.jpg
Yes, it is low poly. Both higher and lower poly(a total of four quality stages, the one present here being second from bottom rung) are in simultaneous development.
Alpha Two:
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn163/Fediroc/CenturionAlpha2.jpg
Details in thread.
Alpha 3:
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn163/Fediroc/Alpha3a.jpg
Alpha 4:
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn163/Fediroc/Alpha4a.jpg
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn163/Fediroc/Alpha4B.jpg
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn163/Fediroc/Alpha4D.jpg
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn163/Fediroc/Alpha4C.jpg
All normal copyright crap applies.
Nice maybe you should make something that looks a bit more centurionish looking but i think thats nice even though the shape isn't really my stile
I have yet to master wings 3d is it hard?
I have yet to master wings 3d is it hard?
Wings is very simple to use, but finding a renderer for it can be a chore.
Matter of opinion on the original Centurion style. Personally, it looks far too much like the original Scout from Escape Velocity for comfort.
Matter of opinion on the original Centurion style. Personally, it looks far too much like the original Scout from Escape Velocity for comfort.
Have you tried Blender?
@Fediroc
I have to say I really like that design... it's very unique, not a think I would change.
I have to say I really like that design... it's very unique, not a think I would change.
very neat, but why not make a whole new ship? Isn't the centurion good as it is?
Yeah, but it looks so generic and unimpressive.
(Whoever made the currently used Centurion, please don't take that personally; it's better than I could do!)
(Whoever made the currently used Centurion, please don't take that personally; it's better than I could do!)
The background grid reminds me of AutoCAD 3D.
Why do people put winglets on spaceships? :P
Thanks for all the replys, folks. That's what keeps modelers going, feedback!
psortland: Thanks, I really tried to go for a blend of classic sci-fi and harder sci-fi.
JJPro: Yeah, but the interface gives me fits.
Whytee: See Professor Chaos' post. :P
Pointsman: I wanted to put another armored thruster bank on the edges, but polycount was quickly shooting up. I figured I'd throw a bone to the folks that enjoy aerodynamic shapes, and handwave it as being able to operate in upper atmospheres to a limited extent. or something.
I found a renderer that loves this mesh, so after the textures are done expect a pretty multi-hour render shot. Sometime tonight/early morning.
Thanks everyone!
psortland: Thanks, I really tried to go for a blend of classic sci-fi and harder sci-fi.
JJPro: Yeah, but the interface gives me fits.
Whytee: See Professor Chaos' post. :P
Pointsman: I wanted to put another armored thruster bank on the edges, but polycount was quickly shooting up. I figured I'd throw a bone to the folks that enjoy aerodynamic shapes, and handwave it as being able to operate in upper atmospheres to a limited extent. or something.
I found a renderer that loves this mesh, so after the textures are done expect a pretty multi-hour render shot. Sometime tonight/early morning.
Thanks everyone!
Why do people put winglets on spaceships? :P
to land on planets you doof!
to land on planets you doof!
New models should be just that, new models. I don't think that every design needs to be the best, variety is much better.
How else would it be possible for us to have such disasters as like the pacer?
http://images.google.ca/images?q=pacer&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&sa=N&tab=wi
[Just imagine how embarrassed the guy who designed that is.]
How else would it be possible for us to have such disasters as like the pacer?
http://images.google.ca/images?q=pacer&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&sa=N&tab=wi
[Just imagine how embarrassed the guy who designed that is.]
I'd like to see some sort of Jeep Cherokee in this game. Haha.
The reason we put wings/winglets/fins on our ships is cultural. We're used to flying things having to be aerodynamic, so it's hard to imagine a thing that flies and is not aerodynamic or doesn't have wings. It's the same reason we make everything symmetrical.
The reason we put wings/winglets/fins on our ships is cultural. We're used to flying things having to be aerodynamic, so it's hard to imagine a thing that flies and is not aerodynamic or doesn't have wings. It's the same reason we make everything symmetrical.
Remember, in space a cube is just about as 'aerodynamic' as a speeding bullet -- that is, not at all because there's no air!
... in all seriousness, yeah. In space the shape doesn't matter as much as it would in a planet's atmosphere. A cube would be just as effective as a sphere or cone or pretty much anything else.
... in all seriousness, yeah. In space the shape doesn't matter as much as it would in a planet's atmosphere. A cube would be just as effective as a sphere or cone or pretty much anything else.
The trick is, what's gives the most volume-to-surface-area? What gives the smallest profile? Those are the questions that matter when designing a ship, since they detail how much it can carry, and how easy it is to shoot.
Therefore all our ships should be spheres.
Anyone read any Larry Niven? I think it was in his Ringworld series, or maybe "The Mote in God's Eye" that he had the idea of four different hulls, only four, of different sizes, which were cheap and could be loaded up and customized for any purpose.
Here's the thing: The look of the ships doesn't affect gameplay beyond affecting the profile of a ship in a fight and the physical location of weapons as they fire. This being a game, we are free to make the ships look cool regardless of whether it would be feasible in the real world. If they look too ridiculously unrealistic, that would be a problem; but we can have some fun with these.
Good work, Fediroc, I look forward to seeing the finished thing.
Anyone read any Larry Niven? I think it was in his Ringworld series, or maybe "The Mote in God's Eye" that he had the idea of four different hulls, only four, of different sizes, which were cheap and could be loaded up and customized for any purpose.
Here's the thing: The look of the ships doesn't affect gameplay beyond affecting the profile of a ship in a fight and the physical location of weapons as they fire. This being a game, we are free to make the ships look cool regardless of whether it would be feasible in the real world. If they look too ridiculously unrealistic, that would be a problem; but we can have some fun with these.
Good work, Fediroc, I look forward to seeing the finished thing.
vIsitor hits the nail on the head.
Unfortunately, aircraft, spacecraft and the like are interpolative stories. In most stories, the proper mindset behind any design is often lost to committees who pursue concepts that are either not ready for primetime or completely erroneous.
Take for example the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom.
It's story is that of an attempt to capitalize on a new technology - guided air-to-air missiles - and the belief that thrust is far more important than other characteristics of good aircraft performance.
The story here leads to only partial success. Air-to-air missiles at the time were not reliable enough to do away with the gun of yesteryear, and after the Phantom had shot it's load it was left with no way to defend itself(this was further aggravated by U.S. policy at the time of restricting beyond visual range engagement).
However, thanks to the correct belief that thrust WAS the defining factor of performance at the time, the Phantom enjoyed relatively few losses even though it had a major flaw.
Later models corrected the lack of a gun and the Phantom went on to be regarded as a fantastic aircraft - especially when mated to later generation air-to-air missiles.
See? That is the kind of story told through design that is interesting. The job of a modeler is to create a story through a design that is believable and fun.
The story I have in mind for the Centurion is linked to the Vulture.
It became public knowledge that Serco was attempting to build a heavy carrier capital ship, which would rely primarily on carried broods of fighters for it's striking power.
They revived one of their dated atmosphere/low orbit fighters, the Nighthawk, and began work on adapting it to space carrier operations.
The Itani, loathe to lag behind in a potentially war-winning ship design, began work on their own heavy carrier. They chose the ever-popular Diamond advanced flight trainer as their starting point for development.
The Diamond was technologically superior to the Nighthawk since it was both several generations newer, and a full aerospace fighter capable of launching from planet-side bases and operating in the fringes of space.
De-militarized versions were very popular in the civilian sector, and the design was very well understood. Part of the reason it faired so well was it's large diamond-shape wingfoil. With the cockpit perched perilously in the back of the frame, the entire lifting surface save for winglets was well forward of the center of gravity, creating the ultimate supercritical design. Very acrobatic both in space and air due to it's light construction, these were all attributes that had to go if the new fighter was going to be a serious front-line contender.
Much heavier space-primary engines replaced the lightweight dual role engines from it's predecessor. The aerodynamic foil gave way to a armored foil, not nearly as capable of producing lift, but offered much more internal room for fuel, avionics, sensors and all the mechanical equipment one would need for a jump-capable space fighter. This also gave the unintended benefit of giving the huge engines exceptional protection for their size. Large gyrothrusters made of advanced ceramics replaced the wingtip-mounted puffers, and restored the new crafts space acrobatic capability. These were also recessed into the armored wing. After a relatively long development period the new fighter emerged as the Centurion.
Unfortunately, by the time the work was completed, building of ultra-heavy carriers on both sides stopped, and the Centurion was pressed into front-line action as a normal fighter.
The years have not been kind to the Centurion. Heavily armed at it's debut with a single energy cannon of modular construction, and as armored as a heavy fighter for it's era, advances in weaponry have rendered its armor below average, and its armament pales in comparison to modern craft. Still popular with pirates and mercenaries due to it's low cost and ease of operation, and extensively modified by both individuals and forces that are historic users of the spaceframe, some Centurions feature a much greater punch than expected.
That's my story and I'm most likely going to stick to it.
Unfortunately, aircraft, spacecraft and the like are interpolative stories. In most stories, the proper mindset behind any design is often lost to committees who pursue concepts that are either not ready for primetime or completely erroneous.
Take for example the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom.
It's story is that of an attempt to capitalize on a new technology - guided air-to-air missiles - and the belief that thrust is far more important than other characteristics of good aircraft performance.
The story here leads to only partial success. Air-to-air missiles at the time were not reliable enough to do away with the gun of yesteryear, and after the Phantom had shot it's load it was left with no way to defend itself(this was further aggravated by U.S. policy at the time of restricting beyond visual range engagement).
However, thanks to the correct belief that thrust WAS the defining factor of performance at the time, the Phantom enjoyed relatively few losses even though it had a major flaw.
Later models corrected the lack of a gun and the Phantom went on to be regarded as a fantastic aircraft - especially when mated to later generation air-to-air missiles.
See? That is the kind of story told through design that is interesting. The job of a modeler is to create a story through a design that is believable and fun.
The story I have in mind for the Centurion is linked to the Vulture.
It became public knowledge that Serco was attempting to build a heavy carrier capital ship, which would rely primarily on carried broods of fighters for it's striking power.
They revived one of their dated atmosphere/low orbit fighters, the Nighthawk, and began work on adapting it to space carrier operations.
The Itani, loathe to lag behind in a potentially war-winning ship design, began work on their own heavy carrier. They chose the ever-popular Diamond advanced flight trainer as their starting point for development.
The Diamond was technologically superior to the Nighthawk since it was both several generations newer, and a full aerospace fighter capable of launching from planet-side bases and operating in the fringes of space.
De-militarized versions were very popular in the civilian sector, and the design was very well understood. Part of the reason it faired so well was it's large diamond-shape wingfoil. With the cockpit perched perilously in the back of the frame, the entire lifting surface save for winglets was well forward of the center of gravity, creating the ultimate supercritical design. Very acrobatic both in space and air due to it's light construction, these were all attributes that had to go if the new fighter was going to be a serious front-line contender.
Much heavier space-primary engines replaced the lightweight dual role engines from it's predecessor. The aerodynamic foil gave way to a armored foil, not nearly as capable of producing lift, but offered much more internal room for fuel, avionics, sensors and all the mechanical equipment one would need for a jump-capable space fighter. This also gave the unintended benefit of giving the huge engines exceptional protection for their size. Large gyrothrusters made of advanced ceramics replaced the wingtip-mounted puffers, and restored the new crafts space acrobatic capability. These were also recessed into the armored wing. After a relatively long development period the new fighter emerged as the Centurion.
Unfortunately, by the time the work was completed, building of ultra-heavy carriers on both sides stopped, and the Centurion was pressed into front-line action as a normal fighter.
The years have not been kind to the Centurion. Heavily armed at it's debut with a single energy cannon of modular construction, and as armored as a heavy fighter for it's era, advances in weaponry have rendered its armor below average, and its armament pales in comparison to modern craft. Still popular with pirates and mercenaries due to it's low cost and ease of operation, and extensively modified by both individuals and forces that are historic users of the spaceframe, some Centurions feature a much greater punch than expected.
That's my story and I'm most likely going to stick to it.
Don't get me wrong, I like the design. I would just like to get more frames into the game, and this could very well be the natural follow up design to the centurion, thus "resigning" the centurion to a "trainer" fighter that actually works very well. A bit like the F-5's were superseeded by the F-16 and 18's, but still fly as T-38's (and can be used for the intentional purpose very easily)
Which is why I wanted the ship to be a new class, and hopefully more successful than the Raptor:)
Which is why I wanted the ship to be a new class, and hopefully more successful than the Raptor:)
It looks much heavier than the Centurion. Perhaps in the same league as the Warthog.
Actually, that's one of the issues I'm resolving at the moment, Toshiro. The cockpit is very scalable for adjustment - intentionally created this way. As my first ship in this universe, I knew I'd have issues with human to average fighter scale.
Whytee, while I agree with you that more frames in the game are important, I think that updating our spaceframes that are long in the tooth is more important from a PR standpoint. Think about it, what is VOs major competition? EVE-Online, for one. That new Jumpgate title coming out may turn out to be very similar to VO. Infinity will have similar gameplay, and is already garnering an audience with it's playable demo. Evochron is supposed to come out with a new MMO as well, but that's a ways down the road.
How, from a new players standpoint, do we stack up? I am a new player, and I can firmly state that the artwork was a major turn-off for me. I knew about VO in passing a few years ago, but one look at the screenshots made me go "Ew, no." Now I'm looking for a good experience, and I believe that VO may mature into that. Also, I learned that it was developed by four people, if my sources are correct. That deserves note and reward, and hence why I'm here.
But in order to get more widespread participation in VO, mere advertising won't be enough. The screenshots themselves need to be advertising. Look, they will say, we look just as good as the next guy, give us a try! The $10 a month and matured core members will hook them after that. But it's that first eyecandy bait that draws people in.
Once I'm done re-modeling all the ugly ships, I'll move onto original designs, although to be honest I'll likely be starting with capital ships - an interim between heavy fighters and light frigates called a Corvette for starters.
Whytee, while I agree with you that more frames in the game are important, I think that updating our spaceframes that are long in the tooth is more important from a PR standpoint. Think about it, what is VOs major competition? EVE-Online, for one. That new Jumpgate title coming out may turn out to be very similar to VO. Infinity will have similar gameplay, and is already garnering an audience with it's playable demo. Evochron is supposed to come out with a new MMO as well, but that's a ways down the road.
How, from a new players standpoint, do we stack up? I am a new player, and I can firmly state that the artwork was a major turn-off for me. I knew about VO in passing a few years ago, but one look at the screenshots made me go "Ew, no." Now I'm looking for a good experience, and I believe that VO may mature into that. Also, I learned that it was developed by four people, if my sources are correct. That deserves note and reward, and hence why I'm here.
But in order to get more widespread participation in VO, mere advertising won't be enough. The screenshots themselves need to be advertising. Look, they will say, we look just as good as the next guy, give us a try! The $10 a month and matured core members will hook them after that. But it's that first eyecandy bait that draws people in.
Once I'm done re-modeling all the ugly ships, I'll move onto original designs, although to be honest I'll likely be starting with capital ships - an interim between heavy fighters and light frigates called a Corvette for starters.