Star Ship Polaris

[TheSeeker]

I hadn't noticed that. It was a nice touch.

[Venardhi]

It is a nicely subtle way to imply slowing down without necessarily spelling it out.

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Vektor wrote:

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Love the way the sails close up right at the end. Conveys a nice sense of "settling" into orbit.

Agreed - that was Michael Struck's idea, I believe.

Also, at least on the full-resolution version you can see the animation of the texture on the front drive sphere as it passes.

[Santaman]

I can only say "ME LIKE!!" so many times but...

[publiusr]

My pick would be number 1 and 3 (Top left and top right)

The top left version should be a side view though, not a top view.

Number 3 might be modified so as to have polaris nest inside of it in some way. Polaris would be a stock vessel with perhaps many types of shells.

Number 1 should be a capital ship.

[JES]

My Name Is Legion wrote:

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Shield generators? What are those?

Shield Generators are the method of energy shield generation primarily used in the Star Wars galaxy. I guess I was really in a Star Wars state of mind when I was elaborating on how the Trans Human Authority could be a lot like the Confederacy of Independent Systems, specifically pertaining to their fleet.

Where as Star Trek vessels generate their shields I guess through a series of energy emitter grids, either a series of layers of hot and cold plasma, or controlled gravimetric fields, Star Wars vessels emit these energy fields through some sort of generators or nodes. I cannot say for certain how they work, but I've assumed for quite some time that they channel out of these generators and surround the entire ship in a protective bubble or screen.

I suppose how vessels in the Polaris universe generate shields, if at all, depends on you, or who ever makes decisions about these sorts of details. Though I remember watching an educational program about future space travel, and coils that generate plasma were mentioned, which NASA is researching right now.

Oh, and neat starship by the way. I like how the tri-hulled bow of the ship resembles the hull of a Star Destroyer, but also twists it into something completely different.

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Thanks.

Our ships don't really have energy shields for use in combat. There are probably a number of systems for deflecting objects from collision during travel.

[ThunderAeroI]

Must be just me, but I think of the thing speeding up with the ship getting smaller and more streamlined. Now its not a plane, I understand that, my gut reaction just isn't meshed with what I am seeing on screen. It does look great though.

[USS Intrepid]

Worked for me insofar as it suggested the drives were powering down, but I guess different people will take different impressions.

[Admiral Buzzkill]

While Vektor was building the Polaris mesh he rendered an image of it against a NASA photo which we've used for quite a while as the cover photo on the Polaris Facebook page.

I've re-rendered it as closely as I could using the completely rigged, textured and lit version of the model, and this is our current cover photo.

[Vektor]

Combat vessels in this universe rely on a combination of electronic countermeasures, hull armor and point-defense weaponry to fend off most forms of attack. Energy shields along the lines of Star Trek or Star Wars simply don't exist.

They may have something similar to a navigational deflector for clearing away interstellar dust and debris ahead of the ship. It might be a powerful electromagnetic field or something more sophisticated like a gravitational beam that causes matter to "fall" out of the ship's path.

[Vektor]

Sweet!

Did you guys add some lights to the cargo doors?

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Yeah. Michael Struck suggested adding a number of lights to help define the ship in low-light situations. There are also some point lights in the main engine cowlings and the weapons pylons.

Vektor wrote:

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They may have something similar to a navigational deflector for clearing away interstellar dust and debris ahead of the ship. It might be a powerful electromagnetic field or something more sophisticated like a gravitational beam that causes matter to "fall" out of the ship's path.

Also yeah. I've been thinking that's a must, and much less "magical" than the energy shields that protect lots of sf ships from torpedoes and rayguns.

[Warped9]

My Name Is Legion wrote:

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While Vektor was building the Polaris mesh he rendered an image of it against a NASA photo which we've used for quite a while as the cover photo on the Polaris Facebook page.

I've re-rendered it as closely as I could using the completely rigged, textured and lit version of the model, and this is our current cover photo.

That is simply damned gorgeous!

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Thanks. Credit really goes to Vektor, Michael Struck at NEO f/x and aridas sofia - I just sort of moved the camera around and pressed F9.