I've been trying to come up with a way to show you what I've been working on without breaking the contest rules or offering myself up for plagiarism. This is what I arrived at:
Actually, I kind of miss the old style clunky sci fi ships from back when models were used for films. Something about them seemed more...hmm...functional? A lot of ship designs these days are so sleek they don't really look real. Just airbrushed...
Does this scale (window, escape pod and airlock size) look right to you?
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Specifics: There are the outside 1st 2nd and 3rd circles of windows. Those are Enterprise D style and size (floor to ceiling), then much wider ones which start at waist height, like office building windows, then, on the deck below the bridge are port hole style, then skylights in the ceiling above. The bride has no windows.
I don't know the exact size of the escape pods, does anyone else? I know they are supposed to seat 10-20.
MustangArbiter of Unpopular OpinionsRegistered Userregular
edited December 2010
I don't know if you mentioned this already but is there some kind of NDA preventing you from showing us the whole model? It's really hard to crit something so heavily cropped.
I don't know if you mentioned this already but is there some kind of NDA preventing you from showing us the whole model? It's really hard to crit something so heavily cropped.
There's some rule about your submission image not being posted to a third party website. I imagine this is to prevent ass hats from stealing art from said third party websites and entering it as their own, but Fuzzy doesn't want to risk being dq'd for not following the letter of the rules, regardless of intent of the rule.
Yah. Sorry. Even nuances within the rules (which I'm pretty sure refer only to the final submission image) aside, 50% of the entries thus far are plagiarized, and I don't want to risk it
Hey guys- I'm 99.9% done texturing now, but I had one last question before I render and begin polishing the image for submission:
I have nothing on the forward part of my neck where the torpedoes usually go, as mine hang from below the saucer.
Is there any reason not to eject my warp core from the neck forward? As a "Hail Mary" tactic the Enterprise could fire her warp core at the enemy and detonate it, potentially destroying a much more powerful opponent, but rendering herself powerless in the process.
Does the core have to eject back or down with the assumption that you will be running away from it in the event of an impeding breach? I mean, you don't want to shoot it forward and then run into it.
I know! I'll put an ejection port on the back of the neck too. It will almost graze the roof of the shuttle bay, but I think it will be okay.
Maybe some mechanism to aim it a bit? It will need to be fired at high velocity, especially shooting forward... Not sure how to achieve that...
This won't be a game mechanic of course. That would be ridiculous, but do you like the idea? Is there some obvious flaw in this plan that I'm over looking?
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How about a powerful force-field that can hold an breach-in-progress in check for a few seconds until the core hits the enemy?
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Shafts leading to the core might be a vulnerability, but what if the core were raised into the firing chamber from below prior to ejection? This would keep it much safer, though more moving parts mean more can go wrong of course...
In all the cases of ejecting the warp core that I remember, it's more of just...pooped out, not fired.
I don't think designing the warp core as a bullet really fits well with what we've seen in Star Trek. I don't ever recall the warp core getting ejected to be used as a weapon...but instead because it was overloading (or in one case, it was ejected and exploded to stop a subspace weapon, purely defensive).
Like you mentioned, it's a last ditch thing. I can't imagine more then the necessary steps would be taken to streamline this tactic. It would be like designing a carrier today with extra thrust and more a more aerodynamic build for the purpose of "Just in case you need to ram somebody" Can a carrier ram another boat? Sure. In extraordinary circumstances can the captain choose to? You bet. But the carrier isn't designed for that, it would cripple the ship, if not total it.
When did photon torpedoes change from glowing red to blue? Is it quantum torpedoes that are blue?
According to the game, yes. Quantum torpedoes are blueish white, photon torpedoes are red. Also, plasma torpedoes are green. There's a couple other types that are rarely used, so I don't know what color the Tricobalt, Transphasic or Chroniton warheads are.
As for launching the warp core as a last ditch weapon, it might work, but wouldn't the ship most likely be moving in the same direction as the warp core if you launched it straight forward? Seems like a potentially bad idea to throw a large antimatter explosive in the same direction you're moving. Especially if by doing so you are crippling your own mobility making it harder for you to get away from said large explosive.
The more complex you make the system, the less likely it is to be useful. You're talking about an absolute last ditch weapon one step less severe then ramming your target. Having a large targeting system and raising the warp core into firing position then charging the rail gun launcher... Is the enemy going to sit there and let you do all this? Are your systems going to hold together long enough for the whole thing to come together (presumably the ship is taking a sever pounding before the captain decides to use this)?
I like the idea of the warp core loading from the front, but not designed as a weapon. Put it there to allow maintenance crews to get at it in starbase, or because it's the last component added to the ship before it launches. Then, an enterprising captain may come up with the idea of using it as a last resort weapon in a moment of desperation even if it isn't planned that way.
I like the idea of the warp core loading from the front, but not designed as a weapon. Put it there to allow maintenance crews to get at it in starbase, or because it's the last component added to the ship before it launches. Then, an enterprising captain may come up with the idea of using it as a last resort weapon in a moment of desperation even if it isn't planned that way.
Great idea! Thats what I'll do
Thanks for the torpedo clarification too. Would they be carrying both types, or have they switched over to quantum torpedoes entirely by this point?
I like the idea of the warp core loading from the front, but not designed as a weapon. Put it there to allow maintenance crews to get at it in starbase, or because it's the last component added to the ship before it launches. Then, an enterprising captain may come up with the idea of using it as a last resort weapon in a moment of desperation even if it isn't planned that way.
Great idea! Thats what I'll do
Thanks for the torpedo clarification too. Would they be carrying both types, or have they switched over to quantum torpedoes entirely by this point?
In the game, photon torpedoes reload faster, travel slower and have a chance to disable a lot of crew (makes the ship repair slower)
Quantum torpedoes reload slower, travel faster and have a chance to kill a small amount of crew (takes the crew longer to regenerate so they can repair hull damage)
Plasma sets stuff on fire causing a DoT effect that also disables cloaking devices. (I like to use the plasma)
Most people equip their ships with quantum torpedoes as they do more damage per hit, but there's nothing preventing you from using both. Problem with that is that torpedoes share a cool down, so if you fire one launcher it takes a few seconds before you can fire the second, even if it's loaded and ready to go. And of course even the largest ships only have 8 weapon slots, so weapon space is a very limited resource.
Standard loadout (IE, what comes with the ship when you get a new one) is Phasers and Photon torpedoes though.
I'm basically done with both the submission and animation now, and in time to add a nice layer of polish
I really can't wait to show you. The little boy inside me is screaming "Lookit! Lookit! Lookit! Lookit! Lookit!" but I must resist the urge to submit early, as other legitimate entries are being screen-shotted, altered slightly (if at all) and re-submitted under a different name.
I'd hate for there to be any question as to my entry's authenticity, so I'll wait if it kills me... which it might.
I think the "Brooks" entry is my favorite from those. The shape of the body/necelles on that one have a cool "leaping forward" feel to them. The ones that move away from a round/oval saucer section stop looking like an "Enterprise".
I like Brooks too. His perspective lines are a bit broken (The saucer is angled down compared to the engineering section) but the concept is dynamite.
I almost want to see his neck connect with the middle of the saucer (rather than the rear), moving the center of gravity back, and moving the nacelles below the saucer. I think a forward elongated saucer would work well too.
His engineering section and nacelles totally are my favorite thus far. Very very sexy. His saucer is just a bit vanilla.
I know it doesn't look like much, but this is the first attempt at printing my model with my friend's reprap.
The final product will be 5x that size, and printed in six separate parts. I'll then assemble it, putty over the extrusion contours, and paint it
More pics to follow, but I'll likely take my time with this project.
____________________
I'll also be printing out interchangeable sections of castle wall, and then little grainarys and inns and stables and towers and cathedrals and such for the inside. I'll then paint the pieces and give them away as gifts. I think swappable castle parts would be a cool little coffee table toy.
That's pretty cool. Can't wait to see it completely built and painted.
You should win something for taking your entry to such lengths. I mean, I look at the other entries and they're cool pictures maybe a 3-d rendering with views. But an actual physical model that's just taking the awesome to a whole new level.
Very impressive Fuzzy! Voted five stars, ya defiantly deserve it. Animation particularly adds a nice touch. It's one thing to see pictures, but another thing all together to see it all in action. I hope you do well, I'll spread the word.
I've read through the rules maybe a dozen times now, and I'm confident that the "Assets" that may not be used elsewhere are existing Star Trek assets, like if you wanted to use a sovereign for scale. The "Submission Image" must be created originally for the this contest specifically, but the rules say nothing about posting it, or wips elsewhere afterword. Now that the submission period has closed, I can restore my wip images to this thread. I couldn't find them all, but you should still be able to see the design evolve. Thanks again for all your help
Hey- can you guys see where the all the torpedo launchers, phasers and thrusters are? Like, do you think it would be obvious to the casual observer, even in the small version? I did what I could to prep for it, but that jpg compression really kicked my ass.
MustangArbiter of Unpopular OpinionsRegistered Userregular
edited January 2011
Pretty rad Fuzz, voted you a 5. ^ don't worry about all that shit, casual observers don't give a toss about torpedo launchers, they just want something to be cool straight away which yours is.
It's true. I'm even a Trekkie and that kinda detail doesn't come to mind much. So long as the torpedo don't come shooting out of Ten Forward things are ok.
I dunno if I've commented on it before, but I love your shuttle bay. In fact, it's such a cool feature I wish it were even more prominent. Again, nicely done.
Posts
Maybe I'm just old.
Damn kids! Get yer ship off my lawn!
Does this scale (window, escape pod and airlock size) look right to you?
[edit]
Specifics: There are the outside 1st 2nd and 3rd circles of windows. Those are Enterprise D style and size (floor to ceiling), then much wider ones which start at waist height, like office building windows, then, on the deck below the bridge are port hole style, then skylights in the ceiling above. The bride has no windows.
I don't know the exact size of the escape pods, does anyone else? I know they are supposed to seat 10-20.
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Comparison with the Enterprise-E
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Designed a new escape pod style:
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Designed another escape pod style:
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..........
There's some rule about your submission image not being posted to a third party website. I imagine this is to prevent ass hats from stealing art from said third party websites and entering it as their own, but Fuzzy doesn't want to risk being dq'd for not following the letter of the rules, regardless of intent of the rule.
I have nothing on the forward part of my neck where the torpedoes usually go, as mine hang from below the saucer.
Is there any reason not to eject my warp core from the neck forward? As a "Hail Mary" tactic the Enterprise could fire her warp core at the enemy and detonate it, potentially destroying a much more powerful opponent, but rendering herself powerless in the process.
Does the core have to eject back or down with the assumption that you will be running away from it in the event of an impeding breach? I mean, you don't want to shoot it forward and then run into it.
I know! I'll put an ejection port on the back of the neck too. It will almost graze the roof of the shuttle bay, but I think it will be okay.
Maybe some mechanism to aim it a bit? It will need to be fired at high velocity, especially shooting forward... Not sure how to achieve that...
This won't be a game mechanic of course. That would be ridiculous, but do you like the idea? Is there some obvious flaw in this plan that I'm over looking?
[edit]
How about a powerful force-field that can hold an breach-in-progress in check for a few seconds until the core hits the enemy?
And what about firing the core with, like, a rail gun?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railgun
[edit]
Shafts leading to the core might be a vulnerability, but what if the core were raised into the firing chamber from below prior to ejection? This would keep it much safer, though more moving parts mean more can go wrong of course...
I don't think designing the warp core as a bullet really fits well with what we've seen in Star Trek. I don't ever recall the warp core getting ejected to be used as a weapon...but instead because it was overloading (or in one case, it was ejected and exploded to stop a subspace weapon, purely defensive).
Like you mentioned, it's a last ditch thing. I can't imagine more then the necessary steps would be taken to streamline this tactic. It would be like designing a carrier today with extra thrust and more a more aerodynamic build for the purpose of "Just in case you need to ram somebody" Can a carrier ram another boat? Sure. In extraordinary circumstances can the captain choose to? You bet. But the carrier isn't designed for that, it would cripple the ship, if not total it.
According to the game, yes. Quantum torpedoes are blueish white, photon torpedoes are red. Also, plasma torpedoes are green. There's a couple other types that are rarely used, so I don't know what color the Tricobalt, Transphasic or Chroniton warheads are.
As for launching the warp core as a last ditch weapon, it might work, but wouldn't the ship most likely be moving in the same direction as the warp core if you launched it straight forward? Seems like a potentially bad idea to throw a large antimatter explosive in the same direction you're moving. Especially if by doing so you are crippling your own mobility making it harder for you to get away from said large explosive.
The more complex you make the system, the less likely it is to be useful. You're talking about an absolute last ditch weapon one step less severe then ramming your target. Having a large targeting system and raising the warp core into firing position then charging the rail gun launcher... Is the enemy going to sit there and let you do all this? Are your systems going to hold together long enough for the whole thing to come together (presumably the ship is taking a sever pounding before the captain decides to use this)?
I like the idea of the warp core loading from the front, but not designed as a weapon. Put it there to allow maintenance crews to get at it in starbase, or because it's the last component added to the ship before it launches. Then, an enterprising captain may come up with the idea of using it as a last resort weapon in a moment of desperation even if it isn't planned that way.
Great idea! Thats what I'll do
Thanks for the torpedo clarification too. Would they be carrying both types, or have they switched over to quantum torpedoes entirely by this point?
In the game, photon torpedoes reload faster, travel slower and have a chance to disable a lot of crew (makes the ship repair slower)
Quantum torpedoes reload slower, travel faster and have a chance to kill a small amount of crew (takes the crew longer to regenerate so they can repair hull damage)
Plasma sets stuff on fire causing a DoT effect that also disables cloaking devices. (I like to use the plasma)
Most people equip their ships with quantum torpedoes as they do more damage per hit, but there's nothing preventing you from using both. Problem with that is that torpedoes share a cool down, so if you fire one launcher it takes a few seconds before you can fire the second, even if it's loaded and ready to go. And of course even the largest ships only have 8 weapon slots, so weapon space is a very limited resource.
Standard loadout (IE, what comes with the ship when you get a new one) is Phasers and Photon torpedoes though.
I really can't wait to show you. The little boy inside me is screaming "Lookit! Lookit! Lookit! Lookit! Lookit!" but I must resist the urge to submit early, as other legitimate entries are being screen-shotted, altered slightly (if at all) and re-submitted under a different name.
I'd hate for there to be any question as to my entry's authenticity, so I'll wait if it kills me... which it might.
Schimpf
Shick
Kastner
Beagle
Trexler
Holts
Gardner
Brooks
Wyman
Tourangeau
I almost want to see his neck connect with the middle of the saucer (rather than the rear), moving the center of gravity back, and moving the nacelles below the saucer. I think a forward elongated saucer would work well too.
His engineering section and nacelles totally are my favorite thus far. Very very sexy. His saucer is just a bit vanilla.
The final product will be 5x that size, and printed in six separate parts. I'll then assemble it, putty over the extrusion contours, and paint it
More pics to follow, but I'll likely take my time with this project.
____________________
I'll also be printing out interchangeable sections of castle wall, and then little grainarys and inns and stables and towers and cathedrals and such for the inside. I'll then paint the pieces and give them away as gifts. I think swappable castle parts would be a cool little coffee table toy.
You should win something for taking your entry to such lengths. I mean, I look at the other entries and they're cool pictures maybe a 3-d rendering with views. But an actual physical model that's just taking the awesome to a whole new level.
Some more new competitors, some of them quite impressive/intimidating:
Samuelson
Inabinet
Rinaldi
Anderson
Summers
Calloway
Gordon
Reynolds
Buzzard
Allen
http://www.startrekonline.com/enterprise/gallery?filter=search&keyword=Shawn%20Weixelman
Animation coming SOON!
I want to thank everyone else who made an effort to push me in the right direction. I couldn’t have done it without you
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEUf9UfRpSU
http://crossovercomic.com/media/extras/Unrelated/startrek_contest/shawn_weixelman_1701f_huge.jpg
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Labeled things: http://crossovercomic.com/media/extras/Unrelated/startrek_contest/shawn_weixelman_1701f_huge_lbs.jpg
I dunno if I've commented on it before, but I love your shuttle bay. In fact, it's such a cool feature I wish it were even more prominent. Again, nicely done.
(Toward the bottom of the page) Thanks man