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3DLearning Sketchup

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  • Jimi JamesJimi James0 Posts: 0Member
    Here's the first WIP for the little Elco Class, UNV Abilene....uparmed from its standard configuration.

    I threw on a few Aero-Rams to see how they'd look and to help give it all a sense of scale. I'll render a couple more shots tomorrow so you can get a better idea how the asymmetrical design all fits together.

    In universe blurb:
    The Elco Class, UNV Abilene, started her life as a forward operations patrol craft, acting as an advanced scout and forward observer, collecting information and relaying that info back to its fleet/battle group.

    However as the war progressed, Elco class ships increasing began to come under concentrated fire. To counteract this, due to the vital mission the ship held, all Elco class ships underwent an extensive upgrade program, adding armor and heavy defensive systems. As a trade, some of it's long range sensor capabilities were lost, however survivability was greatly increased.

    As of 2165, the UNV-Abilene is the only Elco class ship left in service and is tasked as the forward observation vessel assigned to the UNV-Ticonderoga Battle Group.
    76746.png
  • SchimpfySchimpfy396 Posts: 1,632Member
    Like I said on deviantart; the ship name makes me laugh, but I like the work you've done. :)
  • Jimi JamesJimi James0 Posts: 0Member
    Thanks. Yeah, that is a bit of a coincidence I guess. lol

    I named the ship after the song Abilene by Damien Jurado, which is a bit random I guess. But I happened to be working on the ships concept art when I heard the song and it just as good a name as any.

    Here's the concept art I created for the Elco.
    th_ElcoClass-1.png th_ElcoClass.png

    I've departed from the original somewhat, but I'm trying to stay true to the general idea. The main sensor cluster will be completely reworked however and won't look anything like what's in the concept art.
  • Jimi JamesJimi James0 Posts: 0Member
    Here are a few new shots of the Elco.
    76796.png76797.png76798.jpg76799.png
  • liam887liam887322 SwedenPosts: 575Member
    good start so far! what are you using to render?
    Just realised how big this ship is if those RAM launchers are to the scale you posted previously.
  • Jimi JamesJimi James0 Posts: 0Member
    Yeah, the Aero-Ram launchers are to scale. I copied them straight out the original file and pasted them onto the Elco. It's still a relatively small ship though. My measurements put her at about 168 meters long (which includes the longest sensor mast on the bow), 50 meters tall, and 60 meters wide....roughly.

    I was worried that the Aero-Rams would be too big, particularly for the Elco. But seeing them on there now, I think they work and on the bigger ships like the Kirov they should be fine.

    The Elco may also get one or two smaller rail guns to serve as additional defensive system in cooperation with the Rams. At the point this ship is in service, 2165, a switch is underway from rail gun based missile defense systems to a short range pulse laser based system.
    Only a handful of ships have working laser turrets at this point however. Most ships still use a combinations of short range missiles like the Aero-Ram and deck mounted rail guns to intercept incoming missiles.


    I'm using Kerkythea to render everything. I'm still in the process of playing with the settings and finding out what everything does, which is why these new pics look somewhat different then the previous ones.
  • Jimi JamesJimi James0 Posts: 0Member
    Here's an update for the AeroRam.
    76876.png
  • Looks really good, you SU users mixed with some Kerk goodness are getting to be a veritable plague of skill and inspiration....not that I'm complaining :D

    The orthographic elevations remind me of UNSC (Halo) warships but the models width negates this initial feeling as it appears as though the whole vessel is square as opposed to rectangular from the bow / stern elevation.

    The launcher looks really good, you going to do a whole fleet?
  • liam887liam887322 SwedenPosts: 575Member
    Firelode wrote: »
    Looks really good, you SU users mixed with some Kerk goodness are getting to be a veritable plague of skill and inspiration....not that I'm complaining :D


    You know what I was thinking the same thing recently, compared to when I appeared I can only remember three or four people using it now there are many and pumping out good stuff also! The days of SU considered as the underdog in the 3D app world are numbered!

    Good updates on the aero RAM! I just saw it on TV yesterday, the rolling airframe missle!
  • Jimi JamesJimi James0 Posts: 0Member
    Thanks for the comments. Before the past few weeks, I had only seen a handful of people using Sketchup and the results I had seen were mixed at best. As I've gotten into it though, I've discovered that there is a huge community of users, much of whom produce a lot of great work.

    In regards to the Firelode's question about creating an entire fleet; thanks. Now I have a legit reason to explain New Haven in detail. :D Bear with me, this will be quite long. The Elco and the AeroRam are both designs from my original universe; The New Haven Chronicles.

    New Haven is a science fiction war drama, set in the mid-late twenty-second century (2165). There are no aliens, no FTL travel, and humanity hasn't moved out beyond Mars. Powerful corporations, such as the Pax Tecum Corporation, have cornered the market on the technologies used to develop space. With highly trained private military's at their disposal and a superior technological edge, the United Nations faces certain defeat.

    The UN's fuel reserves are tapped, their refineries are inoperable, and roughly eleven ships of the line are all that stand between the UN and the PAX taking the last UN stronghold; Earth. Combat in space happens at extreme range, with ships firing volleys of missiles at each other and trying to engage those missile to destroy or disable them before they impact. I liken the combat to submarines fighting each other with ICBM', with CIWS's beings used to shoot down incoming missiles. Weapons exchanges take several minutes sometimes longer. There are no fighter's in the Star Wars or BSG sense. All fighter craft have been replaced with UAV's and UCV's, which now serve a ground combat support role and have little to no use in space combat.

    The Pax have already landed troops on Earth and there is an extensive ground war on the surface. At least half of the story is devoted towards following the ground war while the war in space rages on. The ground war is rather conventional, however there are some unique aspects (like the use of UCAV's providing air support) that I think really set it apart from the usual sci-fi action we see.

    The name New Haven, is in reference to a man made island located in the Northern Atlantic, where the Pax built their original fusion reactor prototypes. The Island was largely a technology demonstration, to prove that their fusion reactors could be a viable energy source and generate sufficient power for an entire town. Later on, the island served as corporate headquarters for the Pax Corporation until the New Hope exodus, which saw all employees of the Pax corporation relocated to domed colonies on Luna.

    So at some point, I hope to be able to each the point where I can actually model the entire town of New Haven, both in it's prime condition and as a war torn battlefield. After the Pax left Earth, the UN assumed control of New Haven and now that the Pax are returning home, they want New Haven back.

    So that's a fairly quick rundown, but there are much deeper components to the story and the universe that would take much longer to explain. I'll go into more detail as I begin to flesh out more of the world in 3d.....at the very least, the story will be told in a prose form, some sort of books or online. How much of it will be done in 3d also remains to be seen, however I'm hoping that all of it will; which includes ground and spaces forces the military's fighting on both sides of the conflict, a number of civilian designs, as well as a number of neutral factions.

    Ideally however, and this is rather ambitious, I would love to see New Haven take shape as a fully animated cgi series. As I said though, that's incredibly ambitious, particularly seeing as how it's just me doing everything right now and I've only been working in 3d for a little over 2 weeks. We'll see how it goes though.

    When I get a chance, I'll add the project design list to the first post, so that those interested can follow along and keep track of the progress.

    Here is the first wip for the AeroRam's missile and the launch cell. I tried adding the launch cell to the AeroRam model, but my laptop can't handle the workload and begins to melt. lol
    76929.png
  • liam887liam887322 SwedenPosts: 575Member
    before I had my mac and SU used to melt with larger models I got around the problem by exporting it in little pieces and putting it together in another package, I used max through the college I was at but you could use blender? Just an idea?
  • sorceress21sorceress21269 Posts: 577Member
    I dunno Jimi, I use SU and have managed to squeeze some pretty good results from it.
  • liam887liam887322 SwedenPosts: 575Member
    have you tried enabling/disabling hardware acceleration in the options menu, I know that is a common problem for many SU users, it might help you get the extra boost you need?
    It might also help to delete geometry you cannot see, for example the inside of the tube etc etc?
  • Jimi JamesJimi James0 Posts: 0Member
    Apologies for not getting back to this sooner. It's been one of those weeks, but it's finally over and I can finally relax a bit.

    I dunno Jimi, I use SU and have managed to squeeze some pretty good results from it.

    I have no doubt that SU can produce good results, my computer is just old and overheats very easily, even when it's doing simple tasks like watching youtube videos. I was actually surprised that it was even able to handle rendering any images at all.

    Liam
    I have broken the model up into several components, though I suppose it might help if I broke it up even more. I haven't tried disabling/enabling hardware acceleration yet.

    I think that regardless of all that, I simply need to break down and by a new computer.

    Now, back to the Elco. I've started a major overhaul on the Elco. The model was getting so bogged down with errors that it was becoming extremely difficult to make any changes. So I started over, trying to do things a bit cleaner, simpler, and more planned out this time.
    77169.jpg
  • Marian87Marian87171 Posts: 0Member
    Looks much better now, you're getting the hang of SU pretty fast :D
  • Jimi JamesJimi James0 Posts: 0Member
    Thanks.

    I'm finding that even though I thought I had a fairly good idea what this ship looked like on paper, building it in 3d has forced me to change the design somewhat. It seems that I wasn't planning the design entirely in three dimensions, so the sides tended to be very flat and boring. So I'm trying to change things up a bit now and add in more details without changing the overall design too drastically.

    I suspect a similar change in design will have to be made to many of my other designs.


    Some In-Universe info about the UN Fleet. This is brief and thrown together, and by no means a comprehensive appraisal of the current status of the conflict; commonly referred to as Operation Enduring Guard by the UN.
    Of course, the Pax Tecum Corporation has their own name for the conflict; Operation Homeward Bound.

    Here's a shortened list of the United Nations Vessels that I plan on doing in 3d. These are all ships of the line and doesn't include the array of support craft and auxiliary craft attached to each vessel.

    Elco Class Forward Observation Vessel
    Essex Class Command & Control Battleship
    Ark Royal Class Marine Carrier
    Defiance Class Cruiser
    Kirov Class Cruiser
    HMS Spectre Arsenal Ship (the only ship of her class)
    An as of yet Unnamed Heavy Cruiser

    The UN fleet is a haphazard array of vessels, thrown together in hasty preparation for a conflict that many saw coming, yet was difficult to plan for. While the UN fleet was originally intended to operate in Battle Groups, the fortunes of war have reduced the 'fleet' to elven ships holding the line in orbit of Earth.

    The Fleet has few common factors, aside from a shared threat and a standard fusion based drive system. While a crash program was initiated prior to the war to begin upgrading the fleet to a standard level of technology and combat effectiveness, the program was short lived as the conflict forced the ships not caught in the surprise attack on the Lunar Ship Yards out of their docks and into the fight.

    This has created a massive logistical nightmare, with ships from differing nations using different weapons, requiring a multitude of supplies and resources to maintain operational status. Few ships are capable of sharing parts, or crewmen/officers due to the multitude of language barriers and lack of training among different technological systems.

    While the UN has tried to create a standard combat technology level with the introduction of the Essex Class and the Elco class, as well as the widespread procurement and expansion of entire combat systems (for example, a standard UNMC assault rifle), the effort has met with limited success. Only the Essex Class UNV Ticonderoga and the Elco class UNV Abilene remain in active service. The remainder of the fleet consists of ships 'drafted' into service by UN Mandate.

    The Ark Royal Class entered service as a cargo long hauler, and was retrofitted to serve as a mobile platform for the deployment of Marine forces. A tactic that is all but useless in a conflict in which the UNMC has yet to launch a single operation beyond Luna.

    The Kirov and the Defiance lack the advanced anti-missile systems found on the Essex Class.

    Given their current state, it's amazing the UNMC has been able to win any engagements at all.
  • Jimi JamesJimi James0 Posts: 0Member
    Update time, with some different angels and lighting tests. Pretty much still trying to find out what does what in Kerkythea.
    This may be the last update for a while. With Mass Effect 2 coming out tomorrow, I predict all productivity to come to a complete and utter halt.:D
    Though I suppose I may have to take a break at some point....I might be able to squeeze in some work while eating.
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  • sorceress21sorceress21269 Posts: 577Member
    Well Jimi I like this ship you have here. It's simple and functional. And the SU learning curve will give up it's secrets in a relatively short amount of time. Just keep at it! Borgman, myself, Liam, Ozy can help you with Kerk. Ozy is probably the kerk master of SFM though!
  • Jimi JamesJimi James0 Posts: 0Member
    Thanks. I'll be sure to pester you all with questions when they come up.

    The Elco is coming along nicely I think. Not exactly where I want it yet, but the overall basic design is getting there and I'm beginning to lock in some of the finer details. I keep forgetting to work on the thrusters though...I need to make myself a note.

    I decided to lighten up on the number of AeroRam launchers, as eight was pushing it and in this version, there aren't a lot of good places to stick them. So I'm only giving her two launchers and two rail guns, the latter of which will likely be the next model I start on.

    I'm terrible at starting a dozen different things, so when I get frustrated with one design I can always move onto something else. The only draw back is that I end up never finishing any of them. lol
    Hopefully that won't be the case with 3d however, because I'm really enjoying learning how to use sketchup.
    I was looking at Kerk's animation capabilities the other day and was quite impressed. That'll come in handy later on.
  • liam887liam887322 SwedenPosts: 575Member
    eek lol kerk does animation, why do I not know these things!
  • Jimi JamesJimi James0 Posts: 0Member
    Apparently Kerk does everything, except sing you to sleep at night....though I wouldn't be surprised to learn it does that as well.
  • Jimi JamesJimi James0 Posts: 0Member
    I started working on a new design, the Slava class Heavy Lift Transport-Landing Craft. Included is my original concept art, inspired in part by the Russian Zurb Class LCAC, style and purpose rather then tech.

    While I've got a few different concepts for smaller craft that can carry troops, I needed something that was capable of transporting heavy armor from a carrier in orbit to a planets surface.

    In Universe Info:
    The Slava was chosen by the Joint Services Logistics Group to serve in the role of heavy lift transport from among three other contenders. Originally a Russian design, once chosen to serve in the UNMC, production was moved to a host of other manufactures. This has become a common occurrence with many other designs chosen to serve in the UNMC from the military's of UN member nations.

    While primarily intended to transport heavy armor, the Slava can be adapted to carry troops as well, and has even found a role as a mobile M.A.S.H. station, able to provide care for up to one hundred people, practically anywhere on Earth.

    The addition of remotely operated weapons systems, has allowed the Slava to serve as a highly mobile Forward Operations Base, landing anywhere on Earth, the Moon, or Mars, deploying a wide variety of troops and equipment.

    The primary draw back of the Slava is one of engine output and exhaust. Because of the extreme amount of thrust and heat created to achieve V/TOL, the Slava is unable to land within several hundred meters of active personnel. This means that the craft cannot deliver troops and equipment directly to a battlefield, but must rather deliver them to a secondary landing zone away from UNMC personnel. While this does present some draw backs, it is marginally negated by the ability to deliver three Titan Main Battle Tanks, or 150 plus Marines to within half a mile of a combat zone, anywhere on earth, in less than an hour, or a considerably shorter amount of time if transiting from a carrier in orbit.

    Dimensions (roughly)
    Length: 56.5 m
    Width: 21.5 meters
    Height: 14.5 meters

    Cargo Hold (roughly)
    Length: 42 meters
    Width: 9 m
    Height: 6 m
    77649.PNG77650.png77651.png77652.png
  • Jimi JamesJimi James0 Posts: 0Member
    I'm probably going to scrap this version of the Slava. While I like the general look and idea, it's far too blocky in it's present form.
  • liam887liam887322 SwedenPosts: 575Member
    Just keep working at it, hacking away till in gets a bit smoother. Also I only model half of my ships usually for the basic form, makes life easier.
  • omnipotentomnipotent658 SwedenPosts: 466Member
    i hear that liam modeling it in halfes and using cloned components makes a SU users life that much simpler ;) i make all my stuff that way ;)
  • liam887liam887322 SwedenPosts: 575Member
    I make the basic shape in half but some of my details are not symmetrical so they are not but generally it helps a lot. I only double up when its render time.
    As for your blockyness thats just something your going to have to work at. I make all my different parts separately then make them a component and move/scale them into place.
  • omnipotentomnipotent658 SwedenPosts: 466Member
    liam887 wrote: »
    I make the basic shape in half but some of my details are not symmetrical so they are not but generally it helps a lot. I only double up when its render time.
    As for your blockyness thats just something your going to have to work at. I make all my different parts separately then make them a component and move/scale them into place.

    As do i.
  • Jimi JamesJimi James0 Posts: 0Member
    Lately, I've been using the trick/tip that Sorceress mentioned (I forget which thread it was), where in you double a component before you edit, so that any changes made to the original are automatically reflected to the duplicate. I then hide the duplicate so it's out of the way and I can work on the original side/half without the duplicate getting in the way. And when I'm ready for a render, I just un-hide everything and a complete design appears.

    It does become a bit more tricky when working with something that's asymmetrical like the Elco, but it comes in handy when things needs to be exact and saves time later on in that I don't have to copy and flip large detailed components, which can slow down my computer.
  • Jimi JamesJimi James0 Posts: 0Member
    So here's the new direction I'm heading in for the Slava class Landing craft. The general idea and purpose are the same, but this version is far less brickish...except for the engines which are just place holders for the time being. I'm going to try and bring the engines in a bit more so that the her ass isn't so huge.:D

    And I still have to design some sort of pressure doors for the front and rear hatches, as well as a ramp for the front.
    We'll see how it goes.

    I'm using the Abrams M1-A1 as a guide for the internal cargo hold, and going by that three tanks could easily fit inside. If the barrel of their main gun were removed, then she could easily hold four.
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  • Jimi JamesJimi James0 Posts: 0Member
    Just got my new pc today....quad core, 8 gb's of ram....oh yeah.

    To see what it could handle, I threw together this render. Knocked it out like it was nothing.

    Everything pictured here is to scale. Still lots of work to be done, but interesting to see what's been accomplished in merely as few months. Be sure to click on the thumb nail and let it load, so you can see everything....including a second Slava transport that is sort of hidden. lol
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