Launched from twin torpedo railgun tubes forward and aft at relativistic velocities. Targeting, counter targeting-jamming, telemetry, force-field and shield disruptor devices deployed via three pop-up armatures. Target intercept RCS, aft. Just their mass alone could devastate an unshielded hostile target.
Matter/antimatter charges forced apart by magnetic plasma gives it it's distinct appearance when deployed, and boy, do they pack a wallop on impact or other specified event detonation.
Also comes in a probe variety with a number of sensor packages. Navigation marker breadcrumb and blackbox "message in a bottle" variations as well.
So these "photonic torpedoes" are closer to what we saw in TOS rather than the movies or spin-off series. For some reason I've never been able to fathom, in "Star Trek II" the power of the ship's phasers and photon torpedoes diminished significantly and remained that way forever after. In the TOS episode "Obsession" it took just a few ounces of matter/anti-matter to punch a nearly continent-sized crater into a planet. The explosion also completely ripped the planet's atmosphere away as well. By the time ST II rolled around, though, the Enterprise and the Reliant were lobbing photon torpedoes at each other like they were softballs. The incredible devastation these weapons were capable of was strikingly reduced, never to be seen again. Nice to hear these ones seem to have the punch they're meant to have.
I'll take ten, by the way. I have some neighbors who play bad music way too loud and it's time I did something about it. ;-)
You're right, the weaponry was pretty weak in the motion pictures, probably to heighten drama, more powerful in the series to help speed up the action.
I loved it in Enterprise, when they overclocked the phase canons and took out a mountain.
This version of projectile is more closely related to the 'spatial' torpedo as seen in Ent (which were likely fusion based nukes), but as in TOS, employs matter/antimatter annihilation.
My version is also launched using a magnetic mass accelerator/railgun that can also launch RCS guided slugs, which would devastate without complex, pricey warheads, but when the occasion calls for overkill (shielded hostiles), it's good to have the high tech torps ready to load.
Man, you're really pimpin' Captain Kirk's ride with this project! The logic and style of your sense of detail is, frankly, amazing. Every part of this ship looks like it was made to do something, yet it doesn't seem overdone or too busy. I thought I was a stickler for detail, but you have me beat by a mile!
Not sure how to get bigger thumbnails from Photobucket. I usually just right-click an image and choose Open in a New Window. That takes me to the site and I can enlarge the images I want to see better.
The material map is extremely subtle, but I don't think it looks bad. I have noticed that the ship is very grey, though. I suggest adding more color; maybe shdes of blue to harken back to the color everyone thought the TOS Enterprise was painted.
I also noticed the size of the windows. They indicate (at least to my eyes) that this version of the Big-E is indeed really big. I don't think they need to be changed necessarily, but they do leave me with questions about your thoughts on the ship's scale. How big is it supposed to be?
Hmmm... scale, as I use the 6' figure to model this with, I get the impression that maybe it's not quite as big as the TOS Connie, which I believe was 497' long, but then again, it's hard to tell. The square windows are about 2' wide.
The texture is just to see what a plating pattern would look like, I'm planning on learning how to do full UV textures in C4D. I dont know how to do that yet, but I have some material from CineUniversity and Greyscale Gorilla which will help.
Then of course, there'll be sweet aztec plating, tech-ey markings, Starfleet branding, displacement markings, etc...
Or I may just post this model and let someone with better skills have a crack at it. Hard to tell at this point.
I should start on the nadir planetary sensor next.... or maybe it should be a mission vehicle/personnel carrier?
I like that idea better than a ridiculous "Captains Yacht"...
Or I may just post this model and let someone with better skills have a crack at it. Hard to tell at this point.
Well, if you decide to post it I hope you'll include a .3ds or MAX 8 version because I'd love to play with this baby!
Not including the Captain's Yacht is a good idea since they didn't show up until the TMP era, and even then we never saw one in operation until "Insurrection" (which is a better movie than it gets credit for, by the way). I would suggest adding an Ion Pod, which was mentioned in the TOS episode "Court Martial." It would be a cool "Easter Egg" for Trek fans.
Insurrection was a good one, but the bad guy... kinda bland. Would have made a good TV episode, but a whole movie? My fav TNG flicks were Generations and First Contact.
This ship is really just half, using a symmetry modifier, grouped in an intuitive hierarchy... If I exported to Max, you'd have a real mess if it didnt at least preserve the grouping somehow... and as for cloned instances... oy. There are only 4 windows, all you see is instanced, along with many greebles. I preserve their originals by placing them on an invisible layer.
Ion pod, thats right, I remember that. Still, I like the idea of a larger craft used as a mission carrier, but I suppose transporters would make that obsolete... ah the details!
Although, I still think it looks like a separate vessel that could detach and land...
Perhaps a few strut-like objects attached to the pieces surrounding the hull lighting fixtures would give it a more permanent look. One each leading to a corner of the flat hull platform. Other than that the only solution I have is the judicious use of material maps. Once you have them in place it may not look so much like a separate piece of the rest of the ship.
This is turning out really great ! As for the saucer's separation, you can always add some piping connecting the saucer and neck - pipes are undetachable by default
Thanks for the feedback, guys! I got the sensor platform sorted out, I'll post a render later, it's bigger and set into the saucer, now it looks like part of the ship.
The saucer/dorsal interface should be a fun challenge when I come to it... I cant wait to see how that turns out!
I know those are supposed to be escape pods (well, I'm pretty sure of it anyway), but that's awfully close to what I was thinking about / trying to suggest for the "reinforced but inset" look for that little control module on the nacelles. Sort of an inset with little baffles or ramparts (appearance-wise anyway) that extend out from the deepest inset part out beyond the outer armor. Like if you were to take what you've done here, but extruding the part of the hull under the 'inside' (i.e. close to the central structure) parts of those hatches/pods inward (i.e. into the hull). But on the nacelle control structure, rather than here.
If only I could illustrate it properly
Of course, it's your model, and your vision. If you have something you like better, by all means go with it!
I'm having a hard time imagining what you mean, other than maybe interconnecting structures between the features? The direction I'm going in is keeping a fairly smooth, traditional Starfleet surface, with hull openings that reveal a little of the busy understructure, in places like the phaser cannon recesses, nacelle strut unions and nacelle control room insets... this is still pretty unfinished, long way to go! Whew!
I have to say I find your re-design far, far more interesting than 99% of other Trek re-designs. I guess I'm a bit tired of the endless streamlining approach, as if design aesthetics always progressed that way historically (They didn't, until the age of 20th century modernism). You can only take minimalism so far until you end up with a Naboo yacht. Beautiful work!
I appreciate an open mind, you need one for this rendition... sleek and futuristic she's not, I'm going for a more utilitarian naval vessel sort of thing. I'm glad she's getting as good a reception as she is, the usual starfleet designs do seem to go all aerodynamic (in space!)... which is cool, I wanted to try a different direction.
A little detail on the e-hull forward rcs and registry:
Have you thought about using the Tech Floor test panels from the nearby thread for surface details? I think that might be a good alternative to the usual aztek panels.
I love those tech floor panels, they remind me of TrekIII when the 1701 returned to spacedock with all those hull plates missing, I dig the idea of multiple surface depths for realism. I'm hashing out some UV chops with my Eagle, and I'll be on this, too, as I go...
Posts
Matter/antimatter charges forced apart by magnetic plasma gives it it's distinct appearance when deployed, and boy, do they pack a wallop on impact or other specified event detonation.
Also comes in a probe variety with a number of sensor packages. Navigation marker breadcrumb and blackbox "message in a bottle" variations as well.
So, how many can I put you down for?
=o)
Thanks guys!
I'll take ten, by the way. I have some neighbors who play bad music way too loud and it's time I did something about it. ;-)
I loved it in Enterprise, when they overclocked the phase canons and took out a mountain.
This version of projectile is more closely related to the 'spatial' torpedo as seen in Ent (which were likely fusion based nukes), but as in TOS, employs matter/antimatter annihilation.
My version is also launched using a magnetic mass accelerator/railgun that can also launch RCS guided slugs, which would devastate without complex, pricey warheads, but when the occasion calls for overkill (shielded hostiles), it's good to have the high tech torps ready to load.
More to come!
Thanks man! More to come... stay tuned.
Testing a texture out, I made it from a UPS barcode pattern... I repeat, this is just a test:
Does anyone know how to get bigger thumbs from photobucket?
The material map is extremely subtle, but I don't think it looks bad. I have noticed that the ship is very grey, though. I suggest adding more color; maybe shdes of blue to harken back to the color everyone thought the TOS Enterprise was painted.
I also noticed the size of the windows. They indicate (at least to my eyes) that this version of the Big-E is indeed really big. I don't think they need to be changed necessarily, but they do leave me with questions about your thoughts on the ship's scale. How big is it supposed to be?
The texture is just to see what a plating pattern would look like, I'm planning on learning how to do full UV textures in C4D. I dont know how to do that yet, but I have some material from CineUniversity and Greyscale Gorilla which will help.
Then of course, there'll be sweet aztec plating, tech-ey markings, Starfleet branding, displacement markings, etc...
Or I may just post this model and let someone with better skills have a crack at it. Hard to tell at this point.
I should start on the nadir planetary sensor next.... or maybe it should be a mission vehicle/personnel carrier?
I like that idea better than a ridiculous "Captains Yacht"...
Thanks man!
Well, if you decide to post it I hope you'll include a .3ds or MAX 8 version because I'd love to play with this baby!
Not including the Captain's Yacht is a good idea since they didn't show up until the TMP era, and even then we never saw one in operation until "Insurrection" (which is a better movie than it gets credit for, by the way). I would suggest adding an Ion Pod, which was mentioned in the TOS episode "Court Martial." It would be a cool "Easter Egg" for Trek fans.
This ship is really just half, using a symmetry modifier, grouped in an intuitive hierarchy... If I exported to Max, you'd have a real mess if it didnt at least preserve the grouping somehow... and as for cloned instances... oy. There are only 4 windows, all you see is instanced, along with many greebles. I preserve their originals by placing them on an invisible layer.
Ion pod, thats right, I remember that. Still, I like the idea of a larger craft used as a mission carrier, but I suppose transporters would make that obsolete... ah the details!
Got the nadir sensor package roughed out:
Although, I still think it looks like a separate vessel that could detach and land...
Perhaps a few strut-like objects attached to the pieces surrounding the hull lighting fixtures would give it a more permanent look. One each leading to a corner of the flat hull platform. Other than that the only solution I have is the judicious use of material maps. Once you have them in place it may not look so much like a separate piece of the rest of the ship.
The saucer/dorsal interface should be a fun challenge when I come to it... I cant wait to see how that turns out!
If only I could illustrate it properly
Of course, it's your model, and your vision. If you have something you like better, by all means go with it!
Thanks man!
A little detail on the e-hull forward rcs and registry:
My inspirations for hull texture: