Vents added to the Neutron Blasters, additional detail added to the primary Engine Hub, Detector (sensor) Arrays added to the hull, Life-Rocket (Esacape Pod) hatches built in, Seeker (missile) Tubes/launchers updated to include more launch tubes and detail.
Thinking of swapping out the lower Ram Scoop and turning it into a hanger bay. Whilst the in series of the Liberator did in fact scoop up a small craft and move it to one of the many cargo holds the ship has (eps "Time Squad"), and the scoop arm was seen a few times on different FX shots, the ship was never stated to have a dedicated hanger bay, instead relying on the Teleport system to get the crew on and off the ship.
Thinking this updated version could benefit from a dedicated hanger bay. Something to think on.
Comments and the like welcome, more soon!
The watcher in the tower... Waiting, hour by hour...
- Mike Oldfield
Oh I remember this one, still looks good, think you might go for some more texture/playing on the hull (thinking hexagons, keeping with the idea of a beehive look). And I don't know if you remember the idea for The Dominator, an expanded version of this design.
Oh I remember this one, still looks good, think you might go for some more texture/playing on the hull (thinking hexagons, keeping with the idea of a beehive look). And I don't know if you remember the idea for The Dominator, an expanded version of this design.
Thank you!
I'm playing with a hexagonal texture pattern, can't quite get it to sit right at the moment. Not sold on the darker colour scheme either, so going to switch back to the original.
More soon!
The watcher in the tower... Waiting, hour by hour...
- Mike Oldfield
Thoughts and info on the Liberator taken from various episodes of the TV series:
The Liberator or Deep Space Vessel 2 (DSV2) to use its original name was built by a tyrannical regime called The System which occupied a distant corner of our galaxy. The vessel was a pure warship and was one of the most advanced ever built.
The ship was armed with three giant Neutron Blasters, capable of destroying other ships with a single blast. The power of these weapons could be adjusted to deliver surgical strikes, both in space and against planetary targets. As well as the Blasters, the ship carried a complement of Seeker Missiles, fire-and-forget weapons capable of destroying or severely damaging another vessel. Seekers were used to destroy another DSV.
The primary defence system was a projected Force Wall shield system that could protect the ship against energy weapons and projectiles. Like the Neutron Blasters, the Force Wall system was energy-hungry and would deplete the seven power banks the ship had in short order. Secondary defence was provided by a reinforced outer hull made of pure Herculaneum, which could withstand several direct energy strikes.
A fully functional auto-repair system could rebuild any part of the ship damaged, or destroyed - providing power was available. The system was methodical and worked on a first-damaged first repaired basis. It had limits on how many systems could be repaired at one time, which led to the crew having to evacuate during the final moments of the Intergalactic War when there was "insufficient capacity to repair the life support system" at the time. Ultimately, lack of power led to the destruction of the ship when the auto-repair system bled the power banks dry attempting to deal with a biological cloud that, eventually, disintegrated the ship.
Power was regenerable, and the vessel was more than capable of being self-sustaining. The ship had a ram scoop and solar arrays to help generate more energy. It required time to regenerate power, but used modestly, the ship was formidable.
Like all System vessels, DSV2 was fully computer-controlled and could operate without a crew, all systems could be operated by the computer systems. The flight deck had five primary stations, with a sixth one as backup. The primary computer - Zen - had a visual interface at that location.
Again, like all System ships, DSV2 had a Teleport system for crew use, as well as airlocks and a boarding ramp (when landed, and the ship landed one time). The operational range of the teleport was limited to planetary orbit, but the range was never specified.
DSV2's top speed was Standard by 12 (Time Distort 20 on the Terran Federation scale - the best the Federation could manage was TD 10). Range was limited by what was in the energy banks at the time. (What all of that means is up for discussion, but the simple fact is the show used two speed measurements for FTL).
The ship was capable of docking with others and had four massive holds for storing cargo as well as multiple rooms for a much larger crew. Various internal rooms were seen on the ship, including one that had windows. The internal crew area was considered massive.
Off-screen:
The Liberator was designed by Roger Murray-Leach for the BBC. He not only drafted the designs for shooting models but designed the interior sets as well. In various interviews, he stated that the Liberator was 1,000 meters long, with most of the internal space taken up by engineering and power systems. That said, the layout he drafted for one deck of the ship was massive. The Flight Deck set was never built to withstand squibs and canned explosions and by the end of season 3 was looking worse for wear, it was a multilevel set and still ranks as one of the sexiest starship bridges of all time. The asymmetric nature of it lent to the "alien feel" something Murray-Leach wanted to capture. But three years of "explosions" and use left it damaged and the decision was taken to strike the set and destroy the ship.
Season 3 was originally meant to be the end of the show, but such was the popularity that a 4th season was commissioned. A new hero ship was built, and a smaller Flight Deck set was designed - with the advantage that it could handle squibs and canned explosions.
The BBC cancelled the show without notice, with an over-the-air announcement after the broadcast of the final episode "Blake," known as the year the BBC ruined Christmas, lol. A fifth season was being prepped at the time, and some of the scripts were later published. Attempts at revivals have failed, and with so many of the original cast now dead the only way forward would be a modern reboot, if that's ever likely to happen.
I mean, who would want to watch a show about a bunch of people trying to take down an evil and corrupt government?
The watcher in the tower... Waiting, hour by hour...
- Mike Oldfield
Not a great deal is known about this type of ship - it's crewed, fast and two of them were able to cripple the Liberator when the System attempted to retake the ship. The scale is about right, again it's not a small ship.
But having it allows me to generate this image -
Comments and the like are welcome, more later :-)
The watcher in the tower... Waiting, hour by hour...
- Mike Oldfield
Posts
Comments always welcome, more later :-)
- Mike Oldfield
Vents added to the Neutron Blasters, additional detail added to the primary Engine Hub, Detector (sensor) Arrays added to the hull, Life-Rocket (Esacape Pod) hatches built in, Seeker (missile) Tubes/launchers updated to include more launch tubes and detail.
Thinking of swapping out the lower Ram Scoop and turning it into a hanger bay. Whilst the in series of the Liberator did in fact scoop up a small craft and move it to one of the many cargo holds the ship has (eps "Time Squad"), and the scoop arm was seen a few times on different FX shots, the ship was never stated to have a dedicated hanger bay, instead relying on the Teleport system to get the crew on and off the ship.
Thinking this updated version could benefit from a dedicated hanger bay. Something to think on.
Comments and the like welcome, more soon!
- Mike Oldfield
Not quite big enough to hold a ship like Scorpio - but still large -
Comments welcome, more soon :-)
- Mike Oldfield
Comments and the like welcome, more soon!
- Mike Oldfield
Thank you!
I'm playing with a hexagonal texture pattern, can't quite get it to sit right at the moment. Not sold on the darker colour scheme either, so going to switch back to the original.
More soon!
- Mike Oldfield
Comments and the like welcome, more as and when :-)
- Mike Oldfield
Need to work on the seamless side of things. But the concept is good (IMOO)
Comments and the like welcome, more later.
- Mike Oldfield
C&C welcome, more later!
- Mike Oldfield
Therefore, this ship is locked for the moment, and I shall move on to the next (and then beauty renders) -
Comparison, 1978 TV version - 2024 revamped version -
Comments and the like welcome, more later
- Mike Oldfield
The Liberator or Deep Space Vessel 2 (DSV2) to use its original name was built by a tyrannical regime called The System which occupied a distant corner of our galaxy. The vessel was a pure warship and was one of the most advanced ever built.
The ship was armed with three giant Neutron Blasters, capable of destroying other ships with a single blast. The power of these weapons could be adjusted to deliver surgical strikes, both in space and against planetary targets. As well as the Blasters, the ship carried a complement of Seeker Missiles, fire-and-forget weapons capable of destroying or severely damaging another vessel. Seekers were used to destroy another DSV.
The primary defence system was a projected Force Wall shield system that could protect the ship against energy weapons and projectiles. Like the Neutron Blasters, the Force Wall system was energy-hungry and would deplete the seven power banks the ship had in short order. Secondary defence was provided by a reinforced outer hull made of pure Herculaneum, which could withstand several direct energy strikes.
A fully functional auto-repair system could rebuild any part of the ship damaged, or destroyed - providing power was available. The system was methodical and worked on a first-damaged first repaired basis. It had limits on how many systems could be repaired at one time, which led to the crew having to evacuate during the final moments of the Intergalactic War when there was "insufficient capacity to repair the life support system" at the time. Ultimately, lack of power led to the destruction of the ship when the auto-repair system bled the power banks dry attempting to deal with a biological cloud that, eventually, disintegrated the ship.
Power was regenerable, and the vessel was more than capable of being self-sustaining. The ship had a ram scoop and solar arrays to help generate more energy. It required time to regenerate power, but used modestly, the ship was formidable.
Like all System vessels, DSV2 was fully computer-controlled and could operate without a crew, all systems could be operated by the computer systems. The flight deck had five primary stations, with a sixth one as backup. The primary computer - Zen - had a visual interface at that location.
Again, like all System ships, DSV2 had a Teleport system for crew use, as well as airlocks and a boarding ramp (when landed, and the ship landed one time). The operational range of the teleport was limited to planetary orbit, but the range was never specified.
DSV2's top speed was Standard by 12 (Time Distort 20 on the Terran Federation scale - the best the Federation could manage was TD 10). Range was limited by what was in the energy banks at the time. (What all of that means is up for discussion, but the simple fact is the show used two speed measurements for FTL).
The ship was capable of docking with others and had four massive holds for storing cargo as well as multiple rooms for a much larger crew. Various internal rooms were seen on the ship, including one that had windows. The internal crew area was considered massive.
Off-screen:
The Liberator was designed by Roger Murray-Leach for the BBC. He not only drafted the designs for shooting models but designed the interior sets as well. In various interviews, he stated that the Liberator was 1,000 meters long, with most of the internal space taken up by engineering and power systems. That said, the layout he drafted for one deck of the ship was massive. The Flight Deck set was never built to withstand squibs and canned explosions and by the end of season 3 was looking worse for wear, it was a multilevel set and still ranks as one of the sexiest starship bridges of all time. The asymmetric nature of it lent to the "alien feel" something Murray-Leach wanted to capture. But three years of "explosions" and use left it damaged and the decision was taken to strike the set and destroy the ship.
Season 3 was originally meant to be the end of the show, but such was the popularity that a 4th season was commissioned. A new hero ship was built, and a smaller Flight Deck set was designed - with the advantage that it could handle squibs and canned explosions.
The BBC cancelled the show without notice, with an over-the-air announcement after the broadcast of the final episode "Blake," known as the year the BBC ruined Christmas, lol. A fifth season was being prepped at the time, and some of the scripts were later published. Attempts at revivals have failed, and with so many of the original cast now dead the only way forward would be a modern reboot, if that's ever likely to happen.
I mean, who would want to watch a show about a bunch of people trying to take down an evil and corrupt government?
- Mike Oldfield
And now revamped for 2024 -
Not a great deal is known about this type of ship - it's crewed, fast and two of them were able to cripple the Liberator when the System attempted to retake the ship. The scale is about right, again it's not a small ship.
But having it allows me to generate this image -
Comments and the like are welcome, more later :-)
- Mike Oldfield