Looking for advice, critics, and help

Ok so I'm really new to the boards and to Plug-in developing. I'm starting out by just modeling some 3D objects. I made my first 3 ships and would like some constructive criticism. I also have a problem with a simple plug-in I'm creating.

Ok first off, here is my first ship The Hawk, what do you think?
Hawk2.jpg (18.29K)
Number of downloads: 36

Ok here is my second ship The Krato:
Krato.jpg (19.54K)
Number of downloads: 47

OK now for my troubleshooting. I have created the sprite and sprite masks, and I filled out all the ship aspects for The Hawk but when I buy it in the game and try to fly it, the turning is inverted. I don't know what I did wrong or how to fix it. Any Ideas?

Thanks in advance,
Eirikr

This post has been edited by Eirikr : 13 June 2008 - 10:12 AM

maybe in the spite, you have the ship rotating in the wrong direction?

also, about the 3D models, they are not bad for starting out, but the Krato doesn't make much sense from a design point of view. the support structure looks very flimsy, as if a single blow there will completely incapacitate the whole ship. reall, it can be fixed my adding more that holds the ship together.

other than that, they are pretty good for starting out

Quote

the support structure looks very flimsy, as if a single blow there will completely incapacitate the whole ship.

So does the Nebulon-B Frigate, but that doesn't stop it from kicking ass.

@yamfries, on Jun 13 2008, 10:29 AM, said in Looking for advice, critics, and help:

also, about the 3D models, they are not bad for starting out, but the Krato doesn't make much sense from a design point of view. the support structure looks very flimsy, as if a single blow there will completely incapacitate the whole ship. reall, it can be fixed my adding more that holds the ship together.

Welcome to the ASW Boards, Eirikr! Enjoy your stay and may you be blessed by the light of Lathander!

I must agree with Yoda about the Krato. It would be a good idea to add some things that will support the chassis, because it looks a little too weak to hold the engines. Other than that, for a new designer, I think it looks pretty good.

Thanks! I agree about the Krato, I just don't know what should be added that will contribute to the structure and stability and not make it look too.... bulky/ distract from the design. Any Ideas? I was planning on making it a semi-small fighter similar to the Firebird or Viper. Maybe not so small but the same type of ship.

@eirikr, on Jun 13 2008, 04:16 PM, said in Looking for advice, critics, and help:

Thanks! I agree about the Krato, I just don't know what should be added that will contribute to the structure and stability and not make it look too.... bulky/ distract from the design. Any Ideas? I was planning on making it a semi-small fighter similar to the Firebird or Viper. Maybe not so small but the same type of ship.

well, you could start by making the tubes a little bigger, or you could add some more tubes side by side, or you could use something different than the tubes, a more box shaped structure, whatever. it really depends on how creative you are.

and welcome to the boards

I agree that the overall appearance of the Krato is good, but just not quite practical-looking (not that that's a trump issue in graphics design, however). My suggestions would be:

Make the tube connecting the wings thicker
Shorten the tube connecting the cockpit to the wings

Those shouldn't be too difficult, and it would make the ship look sturdier without detracting from the overall aesthetic.

Honestly though, what something looks like and what something is can be two different things. I imagine that if the linking struts were made entirely from structural material, with nothing substantive besides a few control wires running through the center, it would be plenty strong enough. The bulkier parts of ships are most certainly not solid steel (or whatever), and even though they look bigger, it's the much smaller skeletal frame that actually provides the strength. Given how the rest of the ship appears, I'd imagine a purely structural bar that looked like that would be in keeping with the hull integrity of the rest of the ship--and harder to hit with point weapons.

One engineering point I might add though, is that it being in more of a Y shape than a T would probably be better for taking the acceleration load from the engines, assuming that they are in the same pods as the missile/gun racks.

Of course you might want to enlarge the structure so it appears more solid in the sprite image, but exaggerating details so they are readily visible in the sprite is another matter entirely.

This post has been edited by Keldor Sarn : 13 June 2008 - 04:48 PM

@archon, on Jun 13 2008, 03:39 PM, said in Looking for advice, critics, and help:

Make the tube connecting the wings thicker
Shorten the tube connecting the cockpit to the wings

Those shouldn't be too difficult, and it would make the ship look sturdier without detracting from the overall aesthetic.

Consider it done

@keldor-sarn, on Jun 13 2008, 04:45 PM, said in Looking for advice, critics, and help:

Honestly though, what something looks like and what something is can be two different things. I imagine that if the linking struts were made entirely from structural material, with nothing substantive besides a few control wires running through the center, it would be plenty strong enough. The bulkier parts of ships are most certainly not solid steel (or whatever), and even though they look bigger, it's the much smaller skeletal frame that actually provides the strength. Given how the rest of the ship appears, I'd imagine a purely structural bar that looked like that would be in keeping with the hull integrity of the rest of the ship--and harder to hit with point weapons.

One engineering point I might add though, is that it being in more of a Y shape than a T would probably be better for taking the acceleration load from the engines, assuming that they are in the same pods as the missile/gun racks.

Of course you might want to enlarge the structure so it appears more solid in the sprite image, but exaggerating details so they are readily visible in the sprite is another matter entirely.

Exactly my thoughts on the structure. The connecting bars are made of very strong metal while the rest of the ship has a strong skeleton with lightweight plating. I was originally going to use a "Y" shape instead of a "T" shape... dunno why I didn't... prolly cus the "T" is easier to model... haha but looks like my original idea turns out to be better.

Oh and the problem about the inverted turning was solved.

For just starting, those are pretty good. Better than my first ones. Ooh, look! A sphere! Anyway, what program are you using? Just wondering. So, where you go from here really depends on what you intend to use it for. If it's for a ship sprite in EVN, then you probably want to add a little more detail, but you don't need that much, as it's going to be zoomed out quite a bit. If it's for a still frame, like a landing pic or the shipyard pic, then you need to add quite a bit more detail. Some suggestions.
Missile tubes! Everyone likes missiles, and their variants. Torpedoes, rockets, etc.
Even better, external missile racks. Looks really awesome.
Armor plate it. Add some obvious plates. It's not important to be aerodynamic in space.
My specialty, form-fitting add-ons. Find a nice, straight section of the hull, then make 90 degree turns to all of the surfaces. Make a set of faces parallel to it, but a bit bigger. Now extrude it, and use it as a mounting for all sorts of stuff. I generally do lasers and missiles.
Sensor rods. Very delicate tubes, sticking out towards the front of the ship, starting about halfway back.
Hatches. Hey, you want to be able to get on, right?
Fins. Yeah, there's no need, since you don't need to be aerodynamic, but seriously, they look cool. The three classes of ships, fighter, cruiser, and battleship, take differant stands on this, though. Fighters are very sleek, and generally have some very cool fins sticking out. Cruisers generally have no fins, but are very flowing, smooth designs. Battleships, of course, don't care about any of it. When you weigh in at 500 tons, you don't bother making it aerodynamic. It doesn't help.

Also-- some realistic excuses for fins: tucking missiles under them (weapons hardpoints), increasing the torque of rotational thrusters by moving them further from ship center, or moving sensors away from things that might provide interference (engines), or widening the "depth perception" of sensors with binocular detection.

@0101181920, on Jun 14 2008, 03:59 PM, said in Looking for advice, critics, and help:

For just starting, those are pretty good. Better than my first ones. Ooh, look! A sphere! Anyway, what program are you using? Just wondering.

I'm using Blender. I'm really new to 3D modeling and Blender but I'm learning realatively quickly. The thing that intimidates me the most is...detail. I can get the general shape and design out really quickly and nicely but all the intricate designs/paneling and weapons just simply overwhelm me. :blink:

I've got a lot of time on my hands though so I'm gonna figure it out some day.