Star Ship Polaris
- Thread starter aridas sofia
- Start date
I was going to post some really big updates on the Polaris this weekend but I went to boot up my workstation at home last night and it crashed on startup. Not sure what's going on yet, maybe some bad memory or a graphics card failure, but it will have to be fixed before I can make any further progress.
In the mean time, I do have a few renderings from last week that I hadn't gotten around to posting yet:
The main thing to see here is the FTL drive system. I detailed all the internal guts for two reasons: First, because some of it is visible around the edges of the sphere even with the access panels closed; second, because the objects surrounding the sphere relate to a specific plot point in the script.
Aside from some texturing updates (all still temporary), the only other features of note are the tail fins on the aft ring. I was just experimenting with some ways to finish off the blunt ends of those ring segments. I kind of like them myself but I can't guarantee they will survive beyond the next round of updates. I am interested in everyones' feedback, though.
In the mean time, I do have a few renderings from last week that I hadn't gotten around to posting yet:
The main thing to see here is the FTL drive system. I detailed all the internal guts for two reasons: First, because some of it is visible around the edges of the sphere even with the access panels closed; second, because the objects surrounding the sphere relate to a specific plot point in the script.
Aside from some texturing updates (all still temporary), the only other features of note are the tail fins on the aft ring. I was just experimenting with some ways to finish off the blunt ends of those ring segments. I kind of like them myself but I can't guarantee they will survive beyond the next round of updates. I am interested in everyones' feedback, though.
Well, more often than not, I put hours and hours into it myself, though I am getting better, I think. For as long as I've been using 3ds Max, it amazes me how many new and faster/better techniques there are to accomplishing all sorts of things. I also can't overstate the value of planning such things out in advance, doing some sketches on paper, etc. I did both a cross-section and a perspective view of that FTL drive assembly just doodled out on a notepad and it saved me tons of time figuring out how the build the parts so they fit together properly.
Flashbacks caused by doing too much LDS?
Doesn't it just make you want to beeyatch-slap him, and then go into your room and pout?
I know I do.
.
You know, with a few necessary changes, I could easily see this as going where we normally see a deflector dish & housing on the secondary hull of a conventional Star Trek starship.
I'm not quite sure about the tailfins. They feel like the ol' "slap airplane bits on spaceships that never enter the atmosphere" idea, and kind of look akward viewed from the front.
They look very cool from the back, though.
They look very cool from the back, though.
GOD DAMMIT, HOW DID I MISS THIS THREAD??? Awesome!
I will say that I prefer the original approach somewhat better rather than the vertical orientation. And I could quibble with some of the later, more recent details. But THIS is exactly the kind of thinking that should have been going on in ENT.
I dunno. I think the fins are cool. And what's more there could be a technical reason to have them. Most sci-fi ships totally laugh in the face of the laws of thermodynamics. These fins could be something related to the ship's heat dissipation system. Contrary to popular belief, hard vacuum is a wonderful insulator. A ship like this, that is continually producing power would necessarily also be producing a bunch of heat, and external radiators are pretty much the only way to dump it out of the ship to avoid baking the crew to a nice golden crisp.
--Alex
I am really digging the detailing around the FTL drive "bubbles". With the flaps open, the structure reminds me of a Serenity but with a clean 1960's scifi spin to it. Awesome work.
But on the other hand... and I hate to say this... I don't like the new fins. To me they disrupt the natural "flow" of the engine cowling and make the sides of the craft to visually "busy". I also think the sharp angles don't fit well with the curves featured everywhere else. But if you are intent on keeping the fins maybe you could move the angle from 45 to 90 degrees so the two fins are parallel with each other. I would also suggest shortening them a bit. That may give you the look you are after while keeping things more uniform.
But on the other hand... and I hate to say this... I don't like the new fins. To me they disrupt the natural "flow" of the engine cowling and make the sides of the craft to visually "busy". I also think the sharp angles don't fit well with the curves featured everywhere else. But if you are intent on keeping the fins maybe you could move the angle from 45 to 90 degrees so the two fins are parallel with each other. I would also suggest shortening them a bit. That may give you the look you are after while keeping things more uniform.
Dennis and I have talked about the "sails" functioning as heat dissipators in addition to being part of the FTL drive system. He wanted to see them in an open--or partially open--position more often than just when the ship jumps through hyperspace. I think the current plan is to have them closed when the ship is in combat or traveling at high sublight speed, partially open when the ship is coasting or in orbit, and fully open when the ship goes FTL. Heat dissipation might be a good rationale for that.
As for the fins, I like they way they make the gaps in the aft ring look a little more purposeful rather than like someone took a hacksaw to them, but I don't like the way they add to the general clutter and complexity and shapes jutting out all over the place.
I'm actually struggling with the ring itself and have been for a long time. It looks pretty cool from the front or the back but seems to clash with the flow of the ship's lines from most other angles. I'm giving serious thought to a couple of different alternatives, including one that would relocate the big cannons on either side of the bow. Stay tuned on that one.
Funny you suggest that. The original plan for those fins was to have them all horizontal like the wings of a bi-plane. I only did the 45 degree angles on a whim and was sufficiently struck by them that I decided to leave them that way for the time being.
Horizontal fins are still an option, but a lot depends on whether or not I decide to keep the whole aft ring the way it is or do something a bit different.
I need to make a practice of leaving town for three days every weekend - every time I do, I come back to find all this new coolness.
So that's what the Nielsen generators look like? I like that - even better than I like being the writer who just has to type "Nielsen generator" and then see something like this materialize from someone else's talent.
I also like the fins a lot - not necessarily just as they are, because I figure that whatever you do to them will just make them even better.
It's not a done deal that this ship never lands - I imagine that it does, though probably never on an object as massive as Earth. I can totally see this ship landing on, say, the Moon, nose up and fins down just like in the 1950s science fiction movies.
Vektor, if you don't mind I'm going to post some of these images on the Polaris Facebook page.
So that's what the Nielsen generators look like? I like that - even better than I like being the writer who just has to type "Nielsen generator" and then see something like this materialize from someone else's talent.
I also like the fins a lot - not necessarily just as they are, because I figure that whatever you do to them will just make them even better.
It's not a done deal that this ship never lands - I imagine that it does, though probably never on an object as massive as Earth. I can totally see this ship landing on, say, the Moon, nose up and fins down just like in the 1950s science fiction movies.
Vektor, if you don't mind I'm going to post some of these images on the Polaris Facebook page.
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For some reason it just occurred to me for the first time that looking out a window on this thing is going to look like it is raining stars. I hope you exploit that great image in some way Dennis.
More on topic, it seems to me that the back end is very square in profile when the warp sails are unfolded. feels like there should be something breaking up those big (nearly)right angles a bit.
I like the fins off the broken ring on the back for the most part, but the forward ring coming off the guns remains an odd distraction for me.
More on topic, it seems to me that the back end is very square in profile when the warp sails are unfolded. feels like there should be something breaking up those big (nearly)right angles a bit.
I like the fins off the broken ring on the back for the most part, but the forward ring coming off the guns remains an odd distraction for me.
By "forward ring" I assume you mean the missile racks. If they seem a little odd, that's as it should be because they were never part of the original design. They were basically "bolted on" when the Polaris was rather hastily converted from a science vessel to a war ship.
I've been doing quite a bit of work on the Polaris and I will soon be ready to post a bunch of new WIP images. In the mean time, I thought I'd share a little teaser of some of the latest progress.
In case it isn't obvious, this is a lander module, Polaris' rough equivalent to a shuttlecraft. There are two of them, one on each side. Landing struts and other details are yet to be added.
I hope to be able to post some additional images before the weekend is out.
In case it isn't obvious, this is a lander module, Polaris' rough equivalent to a shuttlecraft. There are two of them, one on each side. Landing struts and other details are yet to be added.
I hope to be able to post some additional images before the weekend is out.
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