Guess what this is??!!!???!!!

[marble_sheep]

...ANOTHER SPACESHIP! Well, at the risk of being the latecomer on the bandwagon, I thought I'd go ahead and post what I have so far. This design was one I did a couple years ago for a school project, but I was never happy with it due to rushed timing, etc.

So, I've decided to remake it with more detail. To give credit where it is due, Shockwave's Blockade Runner thread has been really inspirational. That guy does detail right!

Anyway, here's what I have so far... closeups of the bridge, engines, and a gun turret. It's supposed to be a freighter or cargo ship.

Progress is slow, since I have to work on it during my free time at work, but I'll keep posting updates as I get them done. I thought that putting it up here would be good motivation to keep going :dance:

[fixer1977]

Really nice detailing. I especially like your gun turret. Can't wait to see the whole ship!

[marble_sheep]

thanks, Fixer! I modeled it after the guns on naval battleships. These are supposed to be sort of a rapid-fire rail gun. They are unmanned because I always thought it was funny when spaceships show manned turrets. Current-day battleships have machine guns that lock on to a target via a targeting computer, so surely in the future it would be even better!

more updates to come later... maybe i'll try to work on it at home this weekend...

[shockwave]

Looks good so far. Im glad you found inspiration in my work, it makes it all the more worthwhile to spend the time and add all the details and not try to fake it with textures. Keep up the good work. :thumbsup:

[marble_sheep]

shockwave... i totally agree about the details. it makes it a slower process, but the end result is worth it. i've never tried to do anything of this scale before... it's kinda fun ;)

Here we go, another update. I changed the turret up a bit, and added some detail in the area behind it.

[starbase1]

Lovely sense of scale - hoew about pulling back for a long shot, I can't really grasp the overall shape well...

Nick

PS - Why don't you guys start the million polygon plus club or something?!?! :question:

[marble_sheep]

haha, yeah... or maybe a contest to see who's computer catches on fire first! :compbeati

Here is a distant shot to show you the basic shape. As you can see, I have a long way to go! The little thing next to the ship is just one of the characters in the LW content folder, to show scale.

Thanks for the comments, everybody!

[marble_sheep]

one more....

[fixer1977]

Very very nice. If it's a cargo ship or freighter it needs some large heavy duty cargo doors! One comment though, that bridge window is absolutely huge in comparison to the person stood next to the ship. Did you do a concept sketch of the ship before you started or are you making it up as you go along?

[lede]

Yeap you can never replace good geometry with a texture map on up close shots. Besides there is always somehthing to be said when you have a model that is over a million polies :D. Your detial is looking good and defiantly breaks up the flat surface. Another good trick is to layer your levels of detail so that it addes even more depth to your work. But keep going and I'm sure in a few months you'll have a huge ship on your hands.

-Lee

[marble_sheep]

@ lede --
Thanks for the comments! I see what you mean about the levels of detail. After I get more of it roughed out, I may go back and add some more "layers."

@ fixer --
You're right about the doors! All in good time :D They main door will be on top, designed to be loaded from above, similar to a cargo boat. I went back and took another look at the bridge area... I had intended for it to be large, but I think you're right about it being too large. I'll try to fix it before moving on.

I did some concept sketches for the original version of this ship that I made about 3yrs ago. However, that one was a military ship, and I like I mentioned, I was never happy with it so I started over. So, to answer your question, I'm mostly making it up as I go... at least in the details.

"Real" work has kept me busy lately, but I'll try to get updates soon!