Star Ship Polaris

[Maurice]

Vektor wrote:

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And now back to the 3D model...

Hey Vektor. How many landing legs does the lander have?

[Herkimer Jitty]

They're probably folded against the side of the body, since they don't seem apparent on the bottom.

I'd guess 3 or 4, cause those are kinda classic looks.

[Vektor]

It has four landing legs surrounding a central hub as shown in some of the earlier design sketches. I just haven't gotten around to adding them to the paintover or the 3D model.

No progress at all over the last few days, I'm afraid. I've had a bunch of other stuff going on that has kept me away from both my computer and my digital tablet. I have class tomorrow night so don't expect anything new until Thursday at the earliest.

[sojourner]

We really need to start a Vektor trust fund so he can quit his day job and make pretty images for us full time.

[TheSeeker]

sojourner wrote:

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We really need to start a Vektor trust fund so he can quit his day job and make pretty images for us full time.

This.

[Vektor]

You guys aren't waiting for me to argue with you, are you?

[TheSeeker]

Our people will be in touch.

[Vektor]

Okay, I'm putting out a call for creative assistance. I've run into a late-stage design problem on Polaris that I need a solution for and I haven't been able to come up with one on my own that I'm completely satisfied with.

It occurred to me within the last couple of weeks that I never allowed for any docking ports on Polaris. I do have a set of EVA pod bays on either side of the main fuselage just forward of the lander modules, but those were never intended to be docking ports per se. They wouldn't be ideal locations for them anyway because of the weapons pylons and main engines sticking out so far on both sides. A space station might have extended docking arms they could link up with but another ship wouldn't necessarily. At the very least, Polaris should be able to dock directly with another ship of the same class.

Ironically, the best locations for the docking ports are probably right where the point defense turrets are located at the tips of the weapons pylons. I'm actually giving serious consideration to the idea of moving the turrets somewhere else and reworking the CANE guns to make room for a connecting passageway. There are equally good reasons for the turrets to remain where they are, however, so I'd like to find some other alternatives.

It should be noted that neither the point defense turrets nor the docking bays are actually required for the script, but they still need to make logical sense.

What I'm hoping for is that all you clever and creative artists and designers might be able to help me out and throw some ideas my way. As I said, I already have a few of my own, but none of them have really jumped off the page and declared, "I am the perfect solution!" It may be that there is no perfect solution, but I figure it can't hurt to open this one up to the community at-large just to see what brilliance might appear.

Don't confine your ideas to conventional concepts, feel free to think outside the box. The docking bays don't necessarily have to be located along the sides of the ship, they could be almost anywhere as long as it makes logical sense and doesn't conflict with some other part of the ship, such as the moveable drive sails. Go crazy and see what you can come up with.

And thanks in advance for whatever help you can provide.

[Santaman]

http://www.baka-rangers.net/images/polaris.jpg

^^ I have a possible location, the ship could dock nose first and there are no engines or the like in the way.

I have no drawing/CGI talent whatsoever so I can't show you a good looking docking port design.

[junxon]

how about an inflatable-tentacle-walkway-tube that could be hidden behind a hatch somewhere until needed

[Patrickivan]

Do you have an internal laid out? That'll help with the docking location.

[Albertese]

What are the "docking bays" for? Would a tunnel to move people around be enough, or are we talking about a larger passage for transfer of cargo or bulk supplies? Or are we talking about an actual bay, where something can fly into the ship? Like accepting a small craft from some origin other than the Polaris?

I have some ideas. I'll whip something up this evening after work and post it if I have time.

--Alex

[Admiral Buzzkill]

No artist here, but it seems to me reasonable that small docking ports would be located on the same central dome structure that provides both the docks for the landing boats and the hatchways through which equipment and personal worksuits move in and out of the ship.

[Psion]

Similar to Santaman's suggestion, how about a pair of swivel arms -- reminiscent of a jetliner passenger tunnel -- that is mounted near the nose and tucked in the gap between the fuselage and the sail until needed? Then it swivels out and possibly telescopes to attach to another ship/station.

[sojourner]

I forget, does Polaris have artificial gravity? or is it under gravity only when accelerating? If the former, then nose to nose or any docking where the ship orientations are not the same, would be awkward.