Vehicle:Space Carrier Hephastus

[BrockSamson]

This is a great start, I like the layout and porportions. You may want to add a flat floor to the large bay at the front of the ship, the oval shape would be akward in practice. Anyway, looks good, I can't wait to see it with more details.

[jedilaw]

New shots:

http://img23.exs.cx/img23/7048/bigmotwoyafraybluesky4zt.th.jpg (http://img23.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img23&image=bigmotwoyafraybluesky4zt.jpg) http://img23.exs.cx/img23/6595/bigmotwoyafraybluesky20xa.th.jpg (http://img23.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img23&image=bigmotwoyafraybluesky20xa.jpg) http://img23.exs.cx/img23/3893/bigmotwoyafraybluesky34hp.th.jpg (http://img23.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img23&image=bigmotwoyafraybluesky34hp.jpg)

There will be decking and other details added to the main launch bay.

[jedilaw]

Added some new body panels, in the style of the original ship:

http://img127.exs.cx/img127/2021/bigmotwomopanels5ee.th.jpg (http://img127.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img127&image=bigmotwomopanels5ee.jpg) http://img202.exs.cx/img202/2776/bigmopanelsmodeled9rm.th.jpg (http://img202.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img202&image=bigmopanelsmodeled9rm.jpg) http://img202.exs.cx/img202/9084/bigmopanelsmodeled28yh.th.jpg (http://img202.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img202&image=bigmopanelsmodeled28yh.jpg) http://img202.exs.cx/img202/3392/bigmopanelsmodeled32ro.th.jpg (http://img202.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img202&image=bigmopanelsmodeled32ro.jpg)

[jedilaw]

I've started over on the panels (again). These shots are from what amounts to the proof-of-concept section. I'm going to panel the entire main hull the same way (in a month or so :sad: ).

http://img230.exs.cx/img230/1494/bigmotwonosepanels1jh.th.jpg (http://img230.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img230&image=bigmotwonosepanels1jh.jpg) http://img207.exs.cx/img207/6126/bigmotwonosepanels26bl.th.jpg (http://img207.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img207&image=bigmotwonosepanels26bl.jpg) http://img207.exs.cx/img207/3839/bigmotwonosepanels39wn.th.jpg (http://img207.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img207&image=bigmotwonosepanels39wn.jpg)

More progress (slooooow progress) on the panels:
http://img148.exs.cx/img148/1630/bigmotwomopanels7wl.th.jpg (http://img148.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img148&image=bigmotwomopanels7wl.jpg) http://img148.exs.cx/img148/3112/bigmotwomopanels22sn.th.jpg (http://img148.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img148&image=bigmotwomopanels22sn.jpg) http://img148.exs.cx/img148/2231/bigmotwomopanels35xt.th.jpg (http://img148.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img148&image=bigmotwomopanels35xt.jpg)

[jedilaw]

Further refinement. I'm going back and forth on using smaller panels versus large panels.


Comparisons:

small panels

http://img172.exs.cx/img172/2946/bigmotwoinsanepanels2ny.th.jpg (http://img172.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img172&image=bigmotwoinsanepanels2ny.jpg)
http://img213.exs.cx/img213/6903/bigmodeuxtightpanels7th.th.jpg (http://img213.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img213&image=bigmodeuxtightpanels7th.jpg)
http://img112.exs.cx/img112/8555/bigmotwoludicrouspanels2wn.th.jpg (http://img112.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img112&image=bigmotwoludicrouspanels2wn.jpg) (includes larger panel style in middle)

larger style:

http://img162.exs.cx/img162/4134/bigmo2fullpanelside8ul.th.jpg (http://img162.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img162&image=bigmo2fullpanelside8ul.jpg)

I'd appreciate some feedback on which approach works better.

[BebeteLANUITE]

Hello Jedilaw

Very interesting concept.
I like it.

The panel work is amazing.

so just a question to begin :
What sort of ship is it ?

:thumbsup:

[pixeltroll2005]

It looks good so far. Do you have concept sketches for this? I'd like to see what the intended end result is.


pixeltroll2005

[jedilaw]

Hello Jedilaw

Very interesting concept.
I like it.

The panel work is amazing.

so just a question to begin :
What sort of ship is it ?

:thumbsup:

It's a carrier. The openings in the "wings" are the fighter launch and recovery tubes. The middle opening is where larger craft such as troop transports, heavy bombers, and gun corvettes launch. The middle also doubles as a mass driver. The ship can load asteroids and other large debris into the front bay, and propel them towards a target (generally planetary, as a ship would be able to evade).

It looks good so far. Do you have concept sketches for this? I'd like to see what the intended end result is.

No concept sketches, my drawing skills have atrophied so much over the years that I really only doodle out concepts for certain details. My work process, so far, has been to just mentally walk through the steps I want to take, and plan out the modeling before I sit down at the PC.

[jedilaw]

The shots I'm including below are for the most accurate comparison between the larger and smaller panel style. I've used identical lighting and camera angles, and identical materials/textures, and simply swapped out the panels. I'm interested to know which style people prefer, and I wanted an ideal setup for comparison.

http://www.imagehosting.us/himages/ihnp-293809thumb.jpg (http://www.imagehosting.us/?id=293809&type=viewpic) http://www.imagehosting.us/himages/ihnp-293812thumb.jpg (http://www.imagehosting.us/?id=293812&type=viewpic)
http://www.imagehosting.us/himages/ihnp-293813thumb.jpg (http://www.imagehosting.us/?id=293813&type=viewpic) http://www.imagehosting.us/himages/ihnp-293818thumb.jpg (http://www.imagehosting.us/?id=293818&type=viewpic)

I've added anti-fighter turrets, and updated the design of the shield generator array on the nose:

http://www.imagehosting.us/himages/ihnp-294658thumb.jpg (http://www.imagehosting.us/?id=294658&type=viewpic) http://www.imagehosting.us/himages/ihnp-294667thumb.jpg (http://www.imagehosting.us/?id=294667&type=viewpic)
I've included a shot of the old guns for comparison.
http://www.imagehosting.us/himages/ihnp-294650thumb.jpg (http://www.imagehosting.us/?id=294650&type=viewpic)

http://www.imagehosting.us/himages/ihnp-295897thumb.jpg (http://www.imagehosting.us/?id=295897&type=viewpic) http://www.imagehosting.us/himages/ihnp-295902thumb.jpg (http://www.imagehosting.us/?id=295902&type=viewpic)

Thoughts, anyone?

[BebeteLANUITE]

Hello JediLaw !

Ok i see what kind of ship it is. ;)

I can help you to improve your concept, if you want, by asking question about the fonctionnality of your ship.

So about the way of the ship can load meteor in the front. The ship is very big or the asteroid is small. For the debris i am agree. But they must cut it in small parts before.
They can't keep them a long time because they must have place to other ship inside and place to unload this ships.

Do you know battlestar galactica miniseries. The ship "battlestar galactica" have a cool principle the decks on the side can fold to protect the ship inside and to pass in hyperspace.
I think it's a good reference for your ship.

So keep it up ;)

[jedilaw]

BSG is a big influence, no doubt, the launch bays on the side are pretty much a direct take from there.

As for loading the mass driver, I envision the Hephastus lurking out on the edges of an asteroid field, loading the mass driver (using work craft/tugs) and then firing long rage at its target, following up with a bomber strike.

Debris would only be loaded on a case by case basis, they wouldn't be trying to keep it on hand.


I've modified the "nose" shape, and added a larger cannon:

[BebeteLANUITE]

Hello Jedilaw !

An other question.
What the ship have to load parts of astéroïds for?
Why they don't call a specialized ship for that?
For debris i can understand but the astéroïds.

:thumbsup:

[jedilaw]

It has more to do with versatility. The mass driver is not a primary weapon, but having the ability to use it gives the ship more options. Adding a specialized ship to the task force that does nothing else would mean one more ship consuming fuel, one more crew to feed and give air to, and one more potential target for an opposing force. The Hephastus is multi-modal (can perform multiple tasks in multiple ways).
I've been updating the shape of the upper decks:


http://www.imagehosting.us/himages/ihnp-303284thumb.jpg (http://www.imagehosting.us/?id=303284&type=viewpic) http://www.imagehosting.us/himages/ihnp-303289thumb.jpg (http://www.imagehosting.us/?id=303289&type=viewpic) http://www.imagehosting.us/himages/ihnp-303293thumb.jpg (http://www.imagehosting.us/?id=303293&type=viewpic)

[jedilaw]

Started modeling the main hangar bay: Note that the first two shots have the rear wall of the bay further back then it is going to be finally located.

http://www.imagehosting.us/himages/ihnp-305083thumb.jpg (http://www.imagehosting.us/?id=305083&type=viewpic) http://www.imagehosting.us/himages/ihnp-305090thumb.jpg (http://www.imagehosting.us/?id=305090&type=viewpic) http://www.imagehosting.us/himages/ihnp-306132thumb.jpg (http://www.imagehosting.us/?id=306132&type=viewpic)

Added some detailing to the lip of the hangar bay. The small antenas are for telemetry, short-range scanning, and communications with ships doing launching and docking maneuvers.

http://img24.exs.cx/img24/7773/bigmotwonosegreebs7mb.th.jpg (http://img24.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img24&image=bigmotwonosegreebs7mb.jpg) http://img24.exs.cx/img24/4710/bigmotowfullview3dd.th.jpg (http://img24.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img24&image=bigmotowfullview3dd.jpg)

Poly count on that first shot of the antena details was 1.6 million, took an hour and a half to render on my Athlon XP 2100+ with 512mb DDR. And that's without any textures at all, or any sub-d being applied to the hull panels to smooth them out.
And here I wanted to use the model in an animation...

[BebeteLANUITE]

Hello jedilaw ! :thumbsup:

Ok i better understand your concept about the hangar bay.

So there is no artificial attraction the piece of asteroïde or debris stay in weightlessness.
Good. Very good ;). I like it.
I think there is some shuttle to handle the debris or asteroïd to the hangar bay.

Just one question ( i'am here for that ;) ):
If there is an asteroïd or debris in the hangar bay and the ship is attacked. How to unload more fastly all of fighters? (I think just the side decks are not sufficient.)

See you soon ;)

[jedilaw]

Well, the design has been heavily re-worked (again). Instead of forward launching from open bays in the wings, the fighters now launch from lateral tubes. The entire complement of 40 fighters can launch at one time.

The wings have been almost completely scrapped, though one can see vestigial shapes along the sides. Landing for fighters is in the open bays at the rear (the last shot shows it). I've not lit the landing bays or launch tubes, so they may be a little hard to see.

Still to do: redesign the top deck structures. Right now, I really dislike what I have, but I haven't succeeded in developing a replacement structure.

Cs and Cs, as always, are sought and will be much appreciated.

http://img217.exs.cx/img217/249/bigmotwowingsagainoverhead0le.th.jpg (http://img217.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img217&image=bigmotwowingsagainoverhead0le.jpg) http://img219.exs.cx/img219/192/bigmotwowingsagainoverhead26yh.th.jpg (http://img219.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img219&image=bigmotwowingsagainoverhead26yh.jpg) http://img219.exs.cx/img219/2265/bigmotwowingsagainrear1gn.th.jpg (http://img219.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img219&image=bigmotwowingsagainrear1gn.jpg)

[jedilaw]

I've taken a stab at adding some appropriate structures (and guns :D) to the top decks. Please ignore the wing shapes in the background, they're from the older version (the new one seen above is not on this PC).

The basic design for the guns is pretty firm. Details need to be added, obviously, especially to the large cannon.

This thing may be morphing into a fighter-carrying dreadnaught instead of a "mere" carrier...

http://img17.exs.cx/img17/9702/bigmotwotopguns8ju.th.jpg (http://img17.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img17&image=bigmotwotopguns8ju.jpg) http://img17.exs.cx/img17/7789/bigmotwotopguns24wn.th.jpg (http://img17.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img17&image=bigmotwotopguns24wn.jpg) http://img17.exs.cx/img17/2183/bigmotwotopguns31zz.th.jpg (http://img17.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img17&image=bigmotwotopguns31zz.jpg)

[jedilaw]

Added some detailing to the guns, including turrett mounts, etc...

http://img23.exs.cx/img23/6061/bigmotwobiggun0sv.th.jpg (http://img23.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img23&image=bigmotwobiggun0sv.jpg) http://img23.exs.cx/img23/1066/bigmotwobiggun24kl.th.jpg (http://img23.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img23&image=bigmotwobiggun24kl.jpg) http://img23.exs.cx/img23/199/bigmotwobiggun33zq.th.jpg (http://img23.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img23&image=bigmotwobiggun33zq.jpg)

Get's a little frustrating sometimes, what with the relative absence of feedback...

[jedilaw]

The top decks have been revised pretty heavily, and I've added the bottom structures in, at least in rough form.

I'd appreciate some feedback, if anyone has any comments to make.

http://img227.exs.cx/img227/2022/bigmotwolowerdecksgunsallangle.th.jpg (http://img227.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img227&image=bigmotwolowerdecksgunsallangle.jpg)

[jedilaw]

Ah, the sound of the crickets chirping in this thread drew me back here for an update.

At any rate, I've added a ton of detailing to the armor plates.

Thoughts, anyone? Anyone? Bueler? Fry?

BTW This render was edited in Photoshop. I made the starfield by following a great tut on Greg Martin's site, www.artofgregmartin.com (http://www.artofgregmartin.com)

http://img193.echo.cx/img193/6090/bigmotwogreebliespsd27jx.th.jpg (http://img193.echo.cx/my.php?image=bigmotwogreebliespsd27jx.jpg)

[BebeteLANUITE]

Hello Jedilaw.

The ship take a lot of details. Very good.
When you put a texture on it?

See for further images :)

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