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3DStar Trek Stuff

evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804255 Posts: 11,034Member
edited August 2020 in Work in Progress #1
Updated image for thread thumbnail:

ss_wip_035.jpg

Original post starts here:

What's up, everyone? So, it's been ages since I've been on here. There was a reason for this, my browser started giving me malicious code warnings on the old forum. But, it's nice to see everything has been rebuilt and is all shiny and new.

So, this is a new WIP thread for my Star Trek stuff. For those who don't remember, Star Trek is mostly what I do. I started out using Truespace back about the year 2000 and moved to Lightwave about 7 years ago. Well, my motherboard in my one and only Windows PC crapped out on me, and my Windows license was tied to that board. I'm not keen on paying over $100 for another one, so I've jettisoned Windows again. Repeated attempts to get Lightwave to work in Linux haven't gone well, as the license won't correctly install. This is due to Lightwave 2018 requiring Windows firewall to work. There's no way around this, so I'm trying Blender again. I was working on an Enterprise model in Lightwave, but I can't get that to import into Blender, so I started on a new ship.

I had the urge to do something from the 24th century. I decided to do a cruiser, the same overall design and layout of the Constitution class, in fact it’s even about the same size as a Connie refit. Design elements are a blend of Connie-R, Excelsior and Ambassador. By 24th century standards, this would be a smaller cruiser, when stacked up against the Excelsior and Ambassador.

Most of the main elements are at least started. There’s more work to be done, of course, but the overall layout is there. There’s been a lot of pushing vertices and subdividing to get to this part. Everything is box modeled, as messing with splines is a pill.

24cruiser001.jpg?w=600

24cruiser002.jpg?w=600

24cruiser003.jpg?w=600

24cruiser004.jpg?w=600

So, hopefully there will be more work on this upcoming. I have a bad habit lately of starting but not finishing ships. But, I feel good about my chances of actually finishing this one. ;)
Post edited by evil_genius_180 on
Lizzy777FreakashleytingerrojrenRekkertBrandenberg
«134567

Posts

  • GuerrillaGuerrilla789 HelsinkiPosts: 2,865Administrator
    Welcome back dude. :)
    Comco: i entered it manually in the back end
    Join our fancy Discord Server!
  • evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804255 Posts: 11,034Member
    Thanks a lot, Guerrilla. It's nice to know you're in charge now and the place looks great. :)
  • Vortex5972Vortex5972320 Posts: 1,201Member
    Welcome back. I've still be checking in on your blog every now and then. Nice start on the ship.
  • evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804255 Posts: 11,034Member
    Vortex5972 wrote: »
    Welcome back. I've still be checking in on your blog every now and then. Nice start on the ship.

    Thanks, and thanks for looking at the blog. :)
  • rojrenrojren2293 Louisville, Kentucky USAPosts: 1,968Member
    Good to see you here again. I like the proportions on this ship.
  • count23count23359 Posts: 778Member
    Welcome back dude! Admit it, it was me pestering you on your blog comments that convinced you to come back, right? ;)
    Formerly Nadesico.

    Current Projects:
    Ambassador Class
  • RekkertRekkert4037 Buenos Aires, ArgentinaPosts: 2,302Member
    Nice seeing you here again! :)

    The ship's looking good so far. How are you finding Blender 2.8?
    For all my finished Trek fan art, please visit my portfolio
  • evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804255 Posts: 11,034Member
    edited June 2019 #9
    Hey everyone. Thanks a lot for the comments. :)

    Just to give a brief update on my progress, or lack thereof. I live in Dayton, Ohio. As some people may have seen on the news, this region was slammed by 15 tornadoes on Monday night. I'm fine, in fact I was at work across town when it happened. However, a rare and very powerful EF4 passed about a mile north of where I live. Fortunately, we didn't take much damage, but a tree took out a utility pole nearby, so we lost electricity. It was finally restored this morning, so we went approximately 4.5 days without power. So, obviously I didn't do any CGI during that time. I'll be getting back into the swing of things in the upcoming days. I currently don't have internet at the house. Spectrum was supposed to be out about 12 hours ago to fix it, but they weren't. I probably won't do many updates until it's fixed. I can do them via my phone, but I have to side load the images. I'm still not sure if I want to bother with that. On the other hand, it may be back up before I have much done anyway.

    In the meantime, it's my night off work and I'm probably going to chill out, do some much needed laundry and watch some Japanese Kaiju films. (Godzilla, Rodan, etc.) I got a bunch of DVDs and Blu-rays in the mail during the blackout, which didn't do a lot of good. ;)
    Rekkert wrote: »
    How are you finding Blender 2.8?

    I'm using 2.79. It's what's available in the repository of the Linux distribution I'm using. (yes, I could download 2.8 but I have yet to do so and won't be doing so until I have internet at the house again)
    Post edited by evil_genius_180 on
  • MadKoiFishMadKoiFish9696 Posts: 5,299Member
    Nuts, did not know they got that high up. Then again we had them in Seattle when I lived up there. I will take smoke and pollution over hell air eating your stuff. Could say no internet means less distractions to getting some modeling done :p
    Each day we draw closer to the end.
  • evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804255 Posts: 11,034Member
    Last night, it meant more time to watch Godzilla films. ;)

    The problem with no Internet and trying to work in Blender is, if I have a question about how to do something.
  • MadKoiFishMadKoiFish9696 Posts: 5,299Member
    Ah yeah, true. Forget your back to picking up/remembering blender vs lw. Add in all tuts or simple tuts are all videos now vs easy to skim text and images.
    Each day we draw closer to the end.
  • evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804255 Posts: 11,034Member
    I did some stuff in Blender before leaving for work. Nothing worth keeping, just a proof of concept on the warp coils. The method I tested works fine, but it may not be the route I take. I also did a test search on my phone for something else I wanted to try. The search went OK, so it's workable. But, I hope Spectrum has us hooked back up tomorrow. If not, it's time to take a look at other internet providers. I hate switching that stuff, but I'll do what's necessary.
  • RekkertRekkert4037 Buenos Aires, ArgentinaPosts: 2,302Member
    I'm glad to hear you're okey, even if it's unfortunate that your services are down for a long while.

    Regarding Blender 2.8, yes it's not in any repo yet as it's in beta, however I would suggest you give the latest build a spin whenever you can, as it does change the UI quite drastically from 2.79 to be easier and more similar to other 3D software. If you're essentially having to relearn Blender, it might be worth your time getting into 2.8 sooner rather than later (so long as your ISP allows you to, of course. :) ).
    For all my finished Trek fan art, please visit my portfolio
  • ashleytingerashleytinger1989 Central OhioPosts: 1,225Member
    Glad you're ok! There were some that hit Dayton and then some that hit about 30 minutes northwest of me. I'm about an hour north on I-75. It was not a fun week in the area.
  • evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804255 Posts: 11,034Member
    Thanks, both if you. :)

    Yeah, I'll probably give Blender 2.8 a spin. Though, to be honest, I never had much issue with the Blender interface. The biggest issue I have is accidentally hitting Lightwave keyboard shortcuts in Blender. Well, that and not remembering what a tool is called in Blender.
  • Lee80Lee80193 Posts: 458Member
    Glad to hear you're Ok Chris.
  • evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804255 Posts: 11,034Member
    edited June 2019 #18
    Lee80 wrote: »
    Glad to hear you're Ok Chris.

    Thanks bro. :)

    Well, my ISP lost a customer. They were supposed to call back Saturday with an estimate of when they'd be out. Even if the estimate was a week or two, they should have called and told us something. But, they haven't and it's Monday night. So, my new internet will be installed on Friday. In the meantime...

    So, this may not look like much, but I got new nacelle bodies built. Much of what I’m doing on this ship is proof of concept, as I’ve never built components like these before and I’m also getting used to the quirks of different software. Still, it’s going well. This is only version 4 of the nacelles (the less said about versions 2 & 3, the better.)

    24cruiser005.jpg?w=600

    24cruiser006.jpg?w=600

    Much of what I did was shape refinement. The first version had some mesh errors around the back, I eliminated those with the new shape. I also wanted them to be a much more complex shape than juat a simple half circle, so that took some refinement. The top cutout starts a little farther back and is deeper than it was on version 1. So that’s all I have for now. More to follow.
    Post edited by evil_genius_180 on
    RekkertLizzy777FreakashleytingerBrandenbergpubliusr
  • evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804255 Posts: 11,034Member
    Due to my work schedule and other stuff that needs done (cleaning, etc.) I’m working on this in small bursts. I’ll probably hit it harder this weekend.

    The warp coils are in, or at least the blue part is. I decided to just box model and subdivide those, as I did the nacelles and secondary hull. The bussards are also started. One thing that’s superior with Blender’s Cycles render engine is that I find it quite effortlessly filters light through a transparent material. The materials are all temporary, but I like how that’s working. I couldn’t find the setting to make that work correctly in Lightwave 2018. Anywho, this is where I am for now:

    24cruiser007.jpg?w=600

    24cruiser008.jpg?w=600

    24cruiser009.jpg?w=600

    I’m going to move back to the saucer next, as I still have major components to add to it.
    Lizzy777FreakashleytingerRekkertBrandenberg
  • ashleytingerashleytinger1989 Central OhioPosts: 1,225Member
    Nice work so far!
  • evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804255 Posts: 11,034Member
    Thanks. :)
  • scifiericscifieric1122 Posts: 1,497Member
    I love to see your progress! Excellent work!
  • evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804255 Posts: 11,034Member
    Thanks Eric. :)
  • evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804255 Posts: 11,034Member
    Well, my internet at the house was spontaneously restored today. Still no word from Spectrum, it just started working again. Great customer service. (disclaimer: that part was sarcasm) Anyway, we cancelled AT&T coming out tomorrow and are just sticking with Spectrum. Switching everything over is a giant pain, plus you have to let strangers in your house. You used to be able to set it up yourself, but AT&T won't allow that anymore. (we set up the Spectrum equipment ourselves)

    So, that's good news, especially going into the weekend. I don't work Friday or Saturday nights, so I'll be doing some model work. :)
  • FreakFreak1088 Posts: 4,361Member
    Good to hear that your internet is up and running again.
    Just out of curiosity why do AT&T need to come out to your house? If your changing provider you just swap out the router (that is if your using the one they provide.) If your using your own nothing needs to be done. Any work that need to be done on the phone line to swap you over would be done at the local exchange. (Here in the UK it a green box that sits at the end of the road or at an entrance to an estate and in some cases the main exchange for the area.)

    The only time an engineer would have to come into your home here is to fit a new line, or if you go with SKY / Virgin to have Satellite dish/Cable Box installed for the TV.
  • evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804255 Posts: 11,034Member
    AT&T runs on Cat5, Spectrum is on coaxial cable. They'd have to come and switch the cables. Plus, they insist on installing it themselves. I don't know why, they're weird like that. With Spectrum, they just mailed us the equipment and we hooked it up ourselves.
  • FreakFreak1088 Posts: 4,361Member
    I see, in the UK we just have a universal standard phone socket. Just plug and play.
    Old houses will have old standard of Cat5 running to them and are slowly being changed over to Fibre.
    While all new building will have Fibre going straight to them. (future proofing them. Though I am not sure how the fibre works as the phone socket are not set up for fibre, so there must be a converter somewhere.)

    Below is a picture of the plug we use in the UK for our landings
    British_Telephone_connector.jpg

  • evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804255 Posts: 11,034Member
    I don't know, they may have even been installing fiber. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. The house I live in has old telephone line, the stuff that was laid out decades ago. Either way, they insist on installing it themselves. It wasn't always that way, though. Back when AT&T had regular DSL (over regular phone lines) all they had to do was hook up the service. I used a DSL modem that I bought online, so I obviously set it up myself.
  • MadKoiFishMadKoiFish9696 Posts: 5,299Member
    US does not use that connector (bs3212), US uses RJ11 and mostly only for phone lines as each line would sit on a single twisted pair. IE that cable would allow 2 lines. I am shocked they have not tried to phase these old connectors out entirely. I have not touched or dealt with rj11 in over a decade. Heck last time I wired a house for landlines back in the 90s it was done with cat5 for 4 lines per run. It did of course terminate into multiple rj11 sockets.

    It is the provider who denotes what system there is. In the US we had multiple competing formats Cable ADSL microwave (yes a microwave transceiver, sooo 90s), sat, etc so there are multiple types of line that can enter a home.

    Keep in mind cat5 cat6 is category 5/e/6/7 or whatever they come up with next, is the wire, the 4twisted pairs of solid copper. The connector is a rj45. Most cables off a modem are a crossover cable.
    EthernetRJ45B.aspx
    providers love to charge ridiculous fees for this cable if not returned with the other hwd. Seen some try to charge up to 50usd for these.

    Least in the USA providers need to test the lines in the home to the provider modem to verify services are good. It is mostly to prevent consumer error service calls.

    Sorry, super way off topic.
    Each day we draw closer to the end.
  • evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804255 Posts: 11,034Member
    MadKoiFish wrote: »
    Sorry, super way off topic.

    Heh, I started it, so it's all good. Besides, your knowledge is always welcome. :)
  • XFozzbouteXFozzboute654 Posts: 1,627Member
    The ships looking good so far.
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