I'm really liking this design though I agree there's more than a passing resemblance to the old school Battlestar Galactica. Thing is, you've managed to make a real "can do" little ship here.
Paragon: There are actually two docking ports, one on each side. They're positioned directly aft of the RCS thrusters. And I agree about deflector- I'm just buggered if I can figure out how to make it bigger without redoing that entire section, too (and I REALLY don't wanna do that).
Update without pics: I've lowered the profile of the aft/engine section dramatically. Gives it a MUCH slimmer profile now. Working on gridlines next and a bit of panelling then I ought to be done. I think. I hope.
Well, I would've posted this sooner, but I had to do a WinXP reinstall on my daughter's laptop. Damn kids keep going to websites riddled with "anti-spyware" advertisements that end up surreptitiously installing malware.
Anyway... here she is: lower profile, as promised. I'm not too crazy about the new gridlines, but I'm at the point where I simply don't give much of a damn right now to worry about it- looks good enough, IMHO.
I have been thinking about this concept of yours since I ran into it yesterday.
If she is a cutter, and follows losely, the pattern of the U. S. Coastguard, then certain things become apparent. There are three types in the Guard, the first being the PB, which can stay out for one to seven days, and is the smallest of them, and is used for harbor patrol. The next step up is the Medium Endurance, which stays out for 10 to thirty days. The final, is the High Endurance cutter, which can stay out for thirty to forty-five days.
But TOS estblished that the Enterprise-nil stayed out for five years - about twelve times what a Navy ship here in the real world would stay out for.
So why is this important? Spave is big, according to Douglas Adams. What this means for ST(all) is that it takes a long time to get anywhere, so the higher the endurance, the better.
So... are you saying that the Damocles doesn't look like she has enough endurance or does she look more durable than you'd expect? The Defiant, technically, is considered a scout/border control ship and she was VERY durable... even though she didn't go on over-long missions.
Welcome back Jay! ItAâs a long time without to hear news from you. How the life is going?
ItAâs a beautifull lilAâ ship. With a few things here and there, you can do a version that can fits in the GalacticaAâs universe too.
Life's interesting, as always, Starship. I'm about deploy to Afghanistan for a year- departure is just a few weeks away. Look for us in the news: 2nd Brigade, 2-502nd Infantry Battalion. We're being billed as "the main effort of the main effort of the main effort." A lot is riding on our shoulders with this truly historical deployment- we're expected to make the impossible possible: secure the most dangerous region of the country and remove the Taliban from its home ground. I've had the last 2 weeks off for pre-deployment Leave, so I've decided to wrap up a few projects before I go and this is one of them.
I'm glad y'all like the ship. Yeah, she bears a strong resemblence to the original BSG, but the design itself has a definite Trek feel to it and I'm really enjoying how she looks now. Kinda reminds me of a Trek hot-rod, y'know?
Re endurance, surely that's down to supplies and fuel?
Replicator + anti-matter + deuterium etc etc would give any ship a long endurance IMHO. But then I'm not the brightest bulb in the box!
Slimmer profile suits the ship Nightshadow. Is she likely to be for release?
I'm still sitting on the fence about releasing her. And, for the nonce, even deuterium would take up space on a ship. Where would it be stored? I expect that the Damocles would be able to go on missions lasting no more than a few months, possibly a year with a limited crew. She's not meant to be like the Enterprise or Voyager, y'know? Her purpose is to patrol an area of space, get intel, end fights and provide escort through hostile regions of space for ships that couldn't defend against a considerable foe. Long-term missions just wouldn't be feasible for her.
Since its a scout, and a small one at that, just scarcely bigger than a Danube-Class; is there any chance of an Argo wheeled exploration vehicle access door that branches off from the personnel bunk-area, infirmary, and/or a cargo bay?
I'm sure that a little corner of the very small cargo bay in the underbelly could be set aside for such a wheeled vehicle- but only just barely. I'd expect that the cargo bay would be home to essential supplies such as critical spare parts, rations (MRE's), medical supplies, some personal effects for extended missions, EVA suits and a few other odds and ends. As for the size of the ship, I'm guestimating that it's somewhere around twice the size of a Danube-Class runabout. It could probably handle a crew of about 20 comfortably. No holodeck, but perhaps a small holo-room/suite for R&R, a modest sickbay, small mess hall, two-man state rooms similar to what you'd find on the Defiant, an engineering section, conference room, small laboratory, small armory and a few other essential rooms- in short, it'd be pretty damned cramped inside that ship. If/when I ever DO get around to making an interior for it, you can be assured that my layout would reflect just how cramped it would be.
So... are you saying that the Damocles doesn't look like she has enough endurance or does she look more durable than you'd expect? The Defiant, technically, is considered a scout/border control ship and she was VERY durable... even though she didn't go on over-long missions.
Not at all, what I am saying is don't underestimate her. Or the tech level. This was done multiple times in TNG, DS9, and Voyager(sorry for bringing that one up).
Too much was compramised in these shows for the purposes of drama, but by bringing in a real world understanding, and removing things done for drama, rather than logic's sake, a little more thought by you will produce a very credible ship, instead of just credible ship.
So what do I see when looking at this ship?
Well for starters it looks to be safer for longer journeys than the runabout does. Safer for the crew that is.
I picture a small squadern of these laying in wait to serve up their brand of trouble for smugglers, with others forward deployed to merely listen, and watch(running silent).
The only real problem I see for your idea is that the Federation is limited to around 2,000 g of acceleration. And that is Star Fleet. We don't know what civilian craft can do.
So here is what you are going to have to do. Think civilian, and come up with a logical commercial fleet.
In other words you have dug yourself in fo the long long haul.
I'm glad y'all like the ship. Yeah, she bears a strong resemblence to the original BSG, but the design itself has a definite Trek feel to it and I'm really enjoying how she looks now. Kinda reminds me of a Trek hot-rod, y'know?
And I've decided against making it available to the public. When I create something I like to see it get used and I don't think anyone would use this ship for much of anything. It's nice to look at, but I just don't think it would see the light of day when there's so many other better designs and ships out there. Not only that, but I'm not 100% sure that I'm completely satisfied with the textures yet. Unless someone out there can make a REALLY good case for me to release it, I'll keep it on the "shelf" and use her for my own images in the future.
Sandy? Not in the region of Afghanistan that I'm going to it isn't. Actually, from the pics and research I've seen, the area is pretty much like southern Idaho- lots of farm land. Dusty in some of the more populated parts, mountainous terrain in others, prairies here and there... quite a mix of geographical terrain where I'm going. And temps range anywhere from 68 F at night to 102 F during the summer days- a lot like northern Tennessee except that it isn't as humid.
Posts
Nice!:thumb:
Update without pics: I've lowered the profile of the aft/engine section dramatically. Gives it a MUCH slimmer profile now. Working on gridlines next and a bit of panelling then I ought to be done. I think. I hope.
Anyway... here she is: lower profile, as promised. I'm not too crazy about the new gridlines, but I'm at the point where I simply don't give much of a damn right now to worry about it- looks good enough, IMHO.
If she is a cutter, and follows losely, the pattern of the U. S. Coastguard, then certain things become apparent. There are three types in the Guard, the first being the PB, which can stay out for one to seven days, and is the smallest of them, and is used for harbor patrol. The next step up is the Medium Endurance, which stays out for 10 to thirty days. The final, is the High Endurance cutter, which can stay out for thirty to forty-five days.
But TOS estblished that the Enterprise-nil stayed out for five years - about twelve times what a Navy ship here in the real world would stay out for.
So why is this important? Spave is big, according to Douglas Adams. What this means for ST(all) is that it takes a long time to get anywhere, so the higher the endurance, the better.
Replicator + anti-matter + deuterium etc etc would give any ship a long endurance IMHO. But then I'm not the brightest bulb in the box!
Slimmer profile suits the ship Nightshadow. Is she likely to be for release?
ItAâs a beautifull lilAâ ship. With a few things here and there, you can do a version that can fits in the GalacticaAâs universe too.
I'm glad y'all like the ship. Yeah, she bears a strong resemblence to the original BSG, but the design itself has a definite Trek feel to it and I'm really enjoying how she looks now. Kinda reminds me of a Trek hot-rod, y'know?
I'm still sitting on the fence about releasing her. And, for the nonce, even deuterium would take up space on a ship. Where would it be stored? I expect that the Damocles would be able to go on missions lasting no more than a few months, possibly a year with a limited crew. She's not meant to be like the Enterprise or Voyager, y'know? Her purpose is to patrol an area of space, get intel, end fights and provide escort through hostile regions of space for ships that couldn't defend against a considerable foe. Long-term missions just wouldn't be feasible for her.
Not at all, what I am saying is don't underestimate her. Or the tech level. This was done multiple times in TNG, DS9, and Voyager(sorry for bringing that one up).
Too much was compramised in these shows for the purposes of drama, but by bringing in a real world understanding, and removing things done for drama, rather than logic's sake, a little more thought by you will produce a very credible ship, instead of just credible ship.
So what do I see when looking at this ship?
Well for starters it looks to be safer for longer journeys than the runabout does. Safer for the crew that is.
I picture a small squadern of these laying in wait to serve up their brand of trouble for smugglers, with others forward deployed to merely listen, and watch(running silent).
The only real problem I see for your idea is that the Federation is limited to around 2,000 g of acceleration. And that is Star Fleet. We don't know what civilian craft can do.
So here is what you are going to have to do. Think civilian, and come up with a logical commercial fleet.
In other words you have dug yourself in fo the long long haul.
I understand.