Hi there!

Since I answered a question like this a few months ago, it was relatively easy for me to look it back up. It's not a total solution, but should get you moving in the right direction. Good luck!

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Hi again Eragon, and welcome to the Developer Corner! Glad to see you're sticking with this.
Diehard is correct in saying that ship creation starts with a good 3d modeler. There are several out there, and I suggest reading post #4 in this link. It will explain some of the 3d modelers out there, and you can choose your own. The downloads range anywhwere from free to $7000. Now, since I know your new to plugins and ship creation, let me explain WHY you need a 3d modeler.
All the ships in EV nova are 3d views ( ie... not strictly a directly-overhead view). To create the smooth ship rotation that you see in the game, each ship is broken down into 36 graphic images- the first usually being #0 and the view being directly ahead, forward or whatever you wanna call it. Then you rotate the ship 10 degrees clockwise (usually) and save it again, under #1. Continue in this manner until you get to #35, which would be 10 degrees left of center.
If you want your new ship to bank in the turns, the whole process becomes proportionally harder- requiing additional sets of 36 graphics.
The easiest way to create these sets of graphics is to create a 3d model, and then simply rotate and save to new filenames as necessary.
Once you have made your 3d model, it will look like a computer-generated block of wood in the shape of your ship. The next step is to render (or paint) that block of wood. The above link touches on that subject too.
Once you have accomplished all of this, you drop everything into a utility from Nova Tools thats converts all your hard work into a format that the game uses and ( the Nova Gods willing....) looks good.
Then you use EV New to create a ship resource that tells Nova specifics about your ship such as speed, acceleration, weapons, etc. This is also where you tell Nova to use the AWESOME ship graphic that you created.
Sound like a lot of work? It is. I've actually made it sound a lot simpler than it is. But if you stick with it, you'll end up with a plug-in of your very own ship that you are intensely proud of. Why, you might even be so proud that you use an image of your favorite ship as an avatar.
(an avatar is the pic underneath your name in the forum......)
Good luck.

Topics created by klompeman91