Thanks for the input on this! The interface style will part of what determines where things go with the interior as a whole. Finally getting a change to breathe after a long couple of weeks at work, but I did get the lounge room shaped out and did a test render with the 2340's style interface. I'll do a comparative LCARS version to compare it with. (I wanted to design the interfaces myself instead of just copying them from other folks.)
Also, still trying to think of what to put on the "relief" wall. Without a lineage like the Enterprise, I'm not really sure what would balance the space in that area.
If I remember correctly, they switched to that for the 5th season. It made sense, because the Enterprise-C on there wasn't accurate to the studio model and, even though it was about 3 years off, the Enterprise-B would wind up being inaccurate as well.
Just because she hasn't saved the galaxy and ended up with a repeating hull number in the same way as Enterprise, doesn't mean she doesn't have a lineage. Where does the name come from? Is it a person? How about some sort of retrospective of that person's life? How about an image of previous ships to bear the name?
you can sort of see what I'm talking about on the left
Thank you for the reference, that is awesome! This could work, and it also helps with the overhead lighting; I kinda guessed with that part. And I like the lighter, solid carpet texture. It definitely makes the space look clean.
If I remember correctly, they switched to that for the 5th season. It made sense, because the Enterprise-C on there wasn't accurate to the studio model and, even though it was about 3 years off, the Enterprise-B would wind up being inaccurate as well.
That's definitely a disadvantage of skipping so much of the timeline without establishing much of the events/ships in between. The season 5 variation may make sense in the case of this ship, though. When this is done, I'll most likely re-badge and modify it as the C to use separately. If I haven't done a lineage relief by then, it'll almost certainly be included on that one.
Just because she hasn't saved the galaxy and ended up with a repeating hull number in the same way as Enterprise, doesn't mean she doesn't have a lineage. Where does the name come from? Is it a person? How about some sort of retrospective of that person's life? How about an image of previous ships to bear the name?
That's a very good point, actually. evil_genius mentioned Admiral Nakamura, who would've been around in the 2330's/40's before the ship's commissioning. (though it's unclear how long he was an admiral in the show) There aren't any other known ships to bear the name, and we don't know all that much about the admiral, unfortunately.
I'll be sure to do more research before I'm done with the design, though.
Ok, I tried a few things but wasn't happy with the results, so I went a little more conservative. I took IRML's advice and went with the wall pattern, which I think works works well, given the space.
That was the main room I wanted to detail. (Hadn't had much time to do the LCARS version, but I still plan to.) The other visible rooms will be *a lot* more generic. Gonna slim down the doorways a bit and make few more adjustments, then the saucer should be done. The saucer separation parts should be in-place as well.
This is looking great! And the NCC number fits too! I love a model with a no nonsense reg.
Amen! I figure if nothing else, this ship should be believable from the registry to interiors and proportions too.
Getting the miscellaneous rooms in place now, so she'll light up properly. Got a couple of ideas for the hull shading too. I'll post a couple of renders sometime later today.
the interior looks awesome !! looking forward to what ya got comming!
sad thing is.. interiors for this era are kind of a crapshoot... not much out there for references (i.e. None!) and all we have to go on is a bridge redress... now if they had the monies to build a new bridge maybe some coridors etc. then we might get a linage to go on,,
Conference room is very well done, but looks too Galaxy-ish, IMO. I'd love to see one that's a little more of a cross between movie era and TNG (maybe like this bridge I did). I'd expect Ambassador class sets to look more modern than something from Star Trek VI or Generations, but not as luxurious as TNG.
Conference room is very well done, but looks too Galaxy-ish, IMO. I'd love to see one that's a little more of a cross between movie era and TNG (maybe like this bridge I did). I'd expect Ambassador class sets to look more modern than something from Star Trek VI or Generations, but not as luxurious as TNG.
It would probably depend on when this ship was built. Later ships would have a newer look. However, you're right about Ambassador-class ships in general. (or at least the Enterprise-C) The Enterprise-C bridge was definitely less advanced looking than the TNG main bridge but it was also more advanced looking than the TMP bridge (even though it was built on the same set. )
Conference room is very well done, but looks too Galaxy-ish, IMO. I'd love to see one that's a little more of a cross between movie era and TNG (maybe like this bridge I did). I'd expect Ambassador class sets to look more modern than something from Star Trek VI or Generations, but not as luxurious as TNG.
I actually think the dining area looks more luxurious and elaborate than the TNG version, though the latter seems more advanced in part because of the lighting. But I take your point - I could try using a similar texture pattern on the walls and the carpet, and see where that takes me.
Again, I appreciate all of your comments and feedback, everybody. It motivates me to keep doing research and trying to finish this thing!
Yeah, but you can't really consider the interiors from Star Trek V and VI to be that "accurate" as to how they should be. Budget issues dictated that they reuse TNG sets. The transporter, engine room, Enterprise dining room, Federation President's Office and a few others are just redresses. I think, if they'd had a better budget, those interiors would have gotten a style of their own. Just like the bridge of the Bozeman used TNG-style consoles because it's a redress of the TNG Battle Bridge (which, in turn, is a redress of the TMP bridge set) and they used those consoles, even though the ship was launched in the 2270s and those consoles were out of place. :rolleyes:
But, that's a whole other rant. Your best bet when you're dealing with the "lost era" of Trek is to just do what feels right to you.
Yeah at that point, it becomes meta and we focus too much on production decisions and not enough on storytelling through the art. I was just trying to show that they could make essentially the same sets still feel like they're in the appropriate period with a different lighting/color palette, when taken in context of the entire ship.
I'll revisit and tinker around with the interiors and such a bit later though. Probably should get the stardrive up to speed.
Ok, back to work. I haven't made as much progress over the last week as I'd hoped. Had a setback with the stardrive and needed to rebuild parts of it; notably the dorsal/spine section before I started cutting windows in again. As mentioned, I'll revisit the main interior parts of it once that section is shaped up and mapped, so the saucer is pretty much done for the time being.
I appreciate that, and I'll try to be a bit more consistent with updates. I'm hoping to get some time off from work over the next week or so, so I should be able to get those windows in (and hopefully the aft shuttle bay)
Yeah, it was a structural issue, mostly, though I did manage to cut the poly count on that structure by 20%. I tried to chamfer angles that were prone to wrinkling, so I took the original shape and separated/subdivided the pylons to smooth it all out. Plus, I didn't really like the way the secondary shuttlebay opening was shaped.
I got the separation seam cut into the dorsal section now, but I'm thinking about using a bump map for the secondary grid pattern, since the overall poly count is still ridiculous even without all the windows cut :P
Oh man... That's where my inner painter comes out; I stress over lighting! I actually spend more time playing with lighting and shader settings than modelling. It's a bad habit, I know
And thanks man, I'll need it - My head will probably explode if I get to the last detail and end up having to go back and cut the grid in. :P
Posts
Also, still trying to think of what to put on the "relief" wall. Without a lineage like the Enterprise, I'm not really sure what would balance the space in that area.
As for the wall, I don't have any suggestions. That's one thing that always stumps me about interiors, what to do as far as wall coverings.
I can't find a proper reference pic at the moment, but I uploaded a render of mine a while ago
http://www.scifi-meshes.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=93214&d=1319222166
you can sort of see what I'm talking about on the left
Thank you for the reference, that is awesome! This could work, and it also helps with the overhead lighting; I kinda guessed with that part. And I like the lighter, solid carpet texture. It definitely makes the space look clean.
That's definitely a disadvantage of skipping so much of the timeline without establishing much of the events/ships in between. The season 5 variation may make sense in the case of this ship, though. When this is done, I'll most likely re-badge and modify it as the C to use separately. If I haven't done a lineage relief by then, it'll almost certainly be included on that one.
That's a very good point, actually. evil_genius mentioned Admiral Nakamura, who would've been around in the 2330's/40's before the ship's commissioning. (though it's unclear how long he was an admiral in the show) There aren't any other known ships to bear the name, and we don't know all that much about the admiral, unfortunately.
I'll be sure to do more research before I'm done with the design, though.
That was the main room I wanted to detail. (Hadn't had much time to do the LCARS version, but I still plan to.) The other visible rooms will be *a lot* more generic. Gonna slim down the doorways a bit and make few more adjustments, then the saucer should be done. The saucer separation parts should be in-place as well.
I think the blue/green look for the LCARS is the nicest...the TNG+ looks so much more bloated
I think you're right. I'll leave it that way at this point. Besides, I really should focus on getting the rest of the model finished
Amen! I figure if nothing else, this ship should be believable from the registry to interiors and proportions too.
Getting the miscellaneous rooms in place now, so she'll light up properly. Got a couple of ideas for the hull shading too. I'll post a couple of renders sometime later today.
the interior looks awesome !! looking forward to what ya got comming!
sad thing is.. interiors for this era are kind of a crapshoot... not much out there for references (i.e. None!) and all we have to go on is a bridge redress... now if they had the monies to build a new bridge maybe some coridors etc. then we might get a linage to go on,,
looks great!!
It would probably depend on when this ship was built. Later ships would have a newer look. However, you're right about Ambassador-class ships in general. (or at least the Enterprise-C) The Enterprise-C bridge was definitely less advanced looking than the TNG main bridge but it was also more advanced looking than the TMP bridge (even though it was built on the same set.
This is a fair assessment, and a good observation (Your bridge is awesome, btw.) Bridge officers from the C did mention how much bigger everything was on the D, after all. What's interesting here though, is the dining area in ST:VI http://movies.trekcore.com/gallery/albums/tuchd/tuchd0544.jpg is a redress of the TNG lounge set http://images.wikia.com/memoryalpha/en/images/5/54/Enterprise-D_lounge.jpg
I actually think the dining area looks more luxurious and elaborate than the TNG version, though the latter seems more advanced in part because of the lighting. But I take your point - I could try using a similar texture pattern on the walls and the carpet, and see where that takes me.
Again, I appreciate all of your comments and feedback, everybody. It motivates me to keep doing research and trying to finish this thing!
But, that's a whole other rant.
I'll revisit and tinker around with the interiors and such a bit later though. Probably should get the stardrive up to speed.
Sleep for now though, got work in 4 hours! @_@
The engineering hull also looks good so far. Was something the wrong shape on the first one, or was it a mesh structure issue? (I hate those)
Yeah, it was a structural issue, mostly, though I did manage to cut the poly count on that structure by 20%. I tried to chamfer angles that were prone to wrinkling, so I took the original shape and separated/subdivided the pylons to smooth it all out. Plus, I didn't really like the way the secondary shuttlebay opening was shaped.
I got the separation seam cut into the dorsal section now, but I'm thinking about using a bump map for the secondary grid pattern, since the overall poly count is still ridiculous even without all the windows cut :P
Saucer looks great sir!
good luck on the 2ndary hull! really a pain! if you can make the bump map look great.. the go for it!
And thanks man, I'll need it - My head will probably explode if I get to the last detail and end up having to go back and cut the grid in. :P