USS Kiaga - Perimeter Action Vessel

[chancellorjake]

I really like the most recent design of the baffles.
There is one thing I'm not finding. Where is the navigational deflector dish?
Does this ship not need one?

 

[asdf1]

Deckplans?

 

[Unicron]

I would guess the deflector system simply doesn't take the form of a dish on this class. It seems to me like the paired units on the dorsal surface of the saucer might perform that role, but I'm not sure.

 

[Vektor]

There is one thing I'm not finding. Where is the navigational deflector dish? Does this ship not need one?

Again, referencing a recent correspondence with Aridas, the deflector will be on the leading edge of the saucer when I get around to modeling it. It will look just like those three illuminated circles on the bow of the TOS Enterprise, possibly with some slight embellishment on my part.

 

[Vektor]

And here, by popular demand, are two renderings showing the current baffle design in a sliding retraction configuration as opposed to the hinged flower petal setup:

I have to admit, I like the look of this better than I did the first time I tried it. I might have to give it some further consideration.

 

[ST-One]

 

[chancellorjake]

There is one thing I'm not finding. Where is the navigational deflector dish? Does this ship not need one?

Again, referencing a recent correspondence with Aridas, the deflector will be on the leading edge of the saucer when I get around to modeling it. It will look just like those three illuminated circles on the bow of the TOS Enterprise, possibly with some slight embellishment on my part.

Good to know!

And here, by popular demand, are two renderings showing the current baffle design in a sliding retraction configuration as opposed to the hinged flower petal setup:

I have to admit, I like the look of this better than I did the first time I tried it. I might have to give it some further consideration.

That is one sexy starship!

 

[JuanBolio]

Very nice. You took the original 2D design and made it something totally badass, thanks largely to the dark, gunmetal color scheme. I like the ramscoop baffles, too, though I remain scientifically dubious toward the idea of stealth starships. They look like they channel interstellar hydrogen into the scoops, which is logical and functional, and looks great in both open and closed modes. I like the original design for them a bit more, but both are cool. Well done.

 

[USS Jack Riley]

Wow! Just....wow.

She looks great!

 

[Vektor]

The more I think about it, the more I think the slide-back option is the better way to go. I kinda like the propeller effect of the hinged option, but it occurs to me that they might not want the baffles engaged during normal operating conditions, only during "silent running." That would mean the disengaged configuration would be the ship's typical appearance. Given a choice between the slid-back and the hinged-back versions as typical, I'm definitely leaning toward the former.

 

[Reverend]

Yeah, slide backs are defiantly the favourite so far.

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

I'm partial to the hinged design.

 

[Vektor]

I was playing around with some different rendering effects today and kinda went a little crazy. I started with some depth-of-field...

...and then tried some environment mapping and background compositing...

No real progress on the model itself but I did learn a few new things about photorealistic rendering. I'm also pretty pleased at how well the textures are holding up considering they're just a couple of stock, lo-res texture maps overlaid with mix maps and some specularity tweaking.

Anyway, thought they were cool and wanted to share.

 

[Santaman]

Those pics look awesome! whip up a landing gear and an airlock so the crew can enjoy a day in the sun.

 

[JuanBolio]

Hey Vektor - What the heck are these things?

 

[Vektor]

Hey Vektor - What the heck are these things?

I believe those are sensor pods. They're not finished yet.

 

[Psion]

Spectacular work, as always, Vektor!

One minor suggestion you've probably already considered: I definitely prefer the new retractable baffles, but could you rotate them a bit around each nacelle's axis? If the unstealthed position is indeed the normal operating position, the baffles obscure the arrowhead markings on the nacelles.

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

Hey Vektor - What the heck are these things?

It's a caterpillar drive!

 

[JuanBolio]

It's a caterpillar drive!

I was thinking the same thing!

 

[USS Jack Riley]

Glad to see the change in the baffles worked. I wasn't sure how it would look and you pulled it off beautifully (as expected with all your work). Can't wait to see more work on her!