What's most important to you when designing a ship?

[Johnathan Dahmnation]

Just curious how other people's design process goes. Do you always have a design in mind, or maybe start with a task? Do you build the functions around the desired shape? Maybe think of stats second to having a nice interior structure?

 

[OdraNoel]

i voted for over all aesthetics, but since i only started playing 3 days ago, i haven't made anything aesthetically pleasing yet. been figuring out all the grouping logic and the overall basics of the game, so my first few ships have been purly funcional so far, followed by my first "battle cube" as iv seen people referring to them. (just a big block of weapons shields and power units surrounded by hull, very un-aesthetic)

but now that i more or less got the basics down im starting to make my first aesthetic ship. i started off making the systems first and then trying to build the hull around it, but it started being battle cubey again so i think the best method for building something nice to look at, would be to concentrate on the hull first, with a basic idea of what systems you want to add. and then once you have the hull down or at least a decent outline of how your ship will look, then go ahead with the systems. thats what im going to be working on today at least.

best of luck!

 

[Aecetym]

Some players build a basic frame of the ship first. Others fully plan their ship on paper or something before building. Some build the systems of the ship first. .... You can build a ship in a big number of ways tbh and all can result in beautifull results.

I myself start with a few basic ideas in my head, start with the core room and then build my way out till I have a full detailed shell, then I fill up the shell. If a a section of my ship seems 'off' then I just redo that bit till I like the shape of it.

What is a really good thing to have is a basic concept for building ships, somewhat a formula you can find in all your builds. Often when you see a fleet of original ships or just 1 ship you can often tell who build it by just looking at it.

 

[NeonSturm]

When I build ships which are not giant pyramids with core on top and diagonally sliced reactor/thruster rectangles on bot?

I build the core room first. That is the room you will mostly be in.
I connect it to a small logic room containing logic for the main bridge door, which is an air-lock.

I try to have the captains core chair looking out of some big plex-wall which representates a monitor with few obstructed vision

Usually 2 neighbour chairs and 2 control panels with their own chairs left and right in front of it for bigger ships - 1 block lower with 2-3 blocks in front of the captain's chair
Inspired by StarTrek, Voyager​

But I also try to include own elements like the ceiling, a stair to above/below captain + co-captain quarters, briefing and the logic room... Some rooms are designed as airlocks since the new logic system to make the bridge more secure in case of hull breaches.

I always try to use double-layered hull for ceilings (and floors), to let you place light in the ceiling

• Everything meets at 15. 2+(1), 3+(2), 13+(2) (sometimes split into 8+(2)+3+(2)).

If we can link logic to AI functions, it will be a challenge for redundant, fail-safe circuits in multiple machine rooms

The redundancy I also try to avoid having anything once (symmetry helps, but if I have 2 big systems in symmetry, I also have 2 times the same a bit smaller elsewhere).



I did not get to build ships > 300 blocks length with above rules yet, but if you design ships with interior first, you get more unique looking hulls.

 

[Zeno9141]

How I build really depends on what I build. There is one rule I follow, however. I never do systems first. That's usually going to make my ship look like a dungpile.

Another little 'feature' I have, is that I build with little to no planning, and never redo something. I am always satisfied with what I end up with. I do however, always have a certain shape in mind, but my planning does not go any further. (I also hate refitting ships)

And it's hard to choose between External Detail and Overall Aesthetics. Because I don't only detail exteriors... @_@

 

[ToyotaSupra]

I'm not a very good builder, but to me a good interior is essential. After all, you'll spend most of your time in the ships than out of it. Flashy capn's cabin, barracks obama and nice gardens for oxygen/food are my usual choices. Interiors do not get enough love.

My favourite though is when I'm building a capital: Build a park with trees, ponds and flowers and then add high-rise skyscrapers to house your VIP's. Admiral gets a full size mansion. I usually add different 'biomes' of parks in case we get some alien who's homesick.

Another category to add would be 'fancy Logic systems' because they're getting popular.

 

[Crashmaster]

I like to pick projects that strike me as technologically innovative (exploity) and push the boundaries of Starmade engineering in their execution and then try to build something out of it. FIAR POWAH was the goal of the 16 million dps Wrecktangle_2 - though it was a bit laggy when firing. The Brick was built focused on excellent stats, it was certainly the best turning 200k mass class ship of it's time. The transformable appearance of my Gadelaza model was a task I just had to complete after imagining the basic implementation of the mechanics. It was my only ship that looked good - since I wasn't in charge of the appearance. I like building stealth ships as well since it is a nice challenge to make ones that actually look ship-shape and have proper functionality.
So I guess design challenge and complexity are the most important aspects of the ship's I build.
I've just designed a compact power source that makes over 85 million e/sec in an approximate 51x51x31 volume and a simpler 22 million e/sec version that is more reasonable but I don't know what to do with the thing yet.
I wish I had a better eye for aesthetics though because my stuff looks boring.

 

[Rohen]

Well mostly i design the basic hull shape first, then i go for details.
Next on my list is then the interior. So i am going mostly for aesthetics.
I do mostly have a purpose in mind when i am designing a ship, so i try to build it so it can perform this purpose.
But stats are a lower priority.

Playing on a RPG Server makes this easier as there is a lower chance of getting attacked outright. And as almost all of the people i met there actually try to build ships that are RPG-Ships with lots of interior and nice design you do not need over the top stats to be able to pvp, if it comes to that.

 

[MossyStone48]

As long as the systems fulfill their roll I don't care too much about looks. The now obsolete Shard fighter was a great and super fast small fighter that could eat away larger ships shielding and anything 3-4 time her size was good as dead. She had very simple styling extrenally and internally had nearly no space for anything but her pilot and a bottle of wodka. With the new weapons system the need for the shotgun array disappeared so the Shard is mostly used as a speedy single seat joyrider. A new build loosely based on the Shard's "aesthetics", the Qatar class, now takes the previous ship's role in the SR7 squadron. Tho not as useful due to various nerfs; The Qatar is far faster and poses a true modernized threat to ships easily twice her size. Unlike the Shard the Qatar is meant only for anti-fighter or small vessel restriction. Luckily she looks better at the job than the Shard ever did.

 

[NeonSturm]

Does anybody do triple-walls?

I found it rather annoying to not be able to place a computer in a wall without having it look out the other side.

I my most recent ship, I will ue hollow triple-walls which can easily hold doors, shields, effect modules or whatever needed.

 

[Dalmont]

For me; form usually comes well in advance of function. Its an interesting challenge to fit a powerful ship inside of a modest shell!

But I think that overall though, balance is most important.

I typically find myself taking a step back and looking at my ship from all angles, internally, externally, from the top, bottom, in different lighting settings, texture packs, etc. The goal is to make it so that they look just as good from every angle, inside and out. Its really helped with getting the shapes right on some of my more complex designs. Particularly the newer ones like the Catalina.

Does anybody do triple-walls?

I found it rather annoying to not be able to place a computer in a wall without having it look out the other side.

I my most recent ship, I will ue hollow triple-walls which can easily hold doors, shields, effect modules or whatever needed.

Urgh, tipple walls! I hate them as much as I love them. Typically I'll use them for any area getting windows. Can't stand the flat 90* cutoff that you get with glass blocks in a single thick wall.

 

[the guyver]

for me overall look usually comes first, since most of my builds are replicas of quirky ships from scifi shows and need to look reasonably accurate before fitting them out with any systems

 

[ToyotaSupra]

Does anybody do triple-walls?

I found it rather annoying to not be able to place a computer in a wall without having it look out the other side.

I my most recent ship, I will ue hollow triple-walls which can easily hold doors, shields, effect modules or whatever needed.

OMG you're not the only one! I also do the roofs/floors in case I put lighting there.

 

[Johnathan Dahmnation]

How I build really depends on what I build. There is one rule I follow, however. I never do systems first. That's usually going to make my ship look like a dungpile.

Another little 'feature' I have, is that I build with little to no planning, and never redo something. I am always satisfied with what I end up with. I do however, always have a certain shape in mind, but my planning does not go any further. (I also hate refitting ships)

I tried this. It didn't end well. I know there are people who do it well, but for me it ends up like a series of self replicating space tumors unless I actually have a semi well fleshed out plan. I salute your building skills though, as you have some very good results posted, o7.

I'm not a very good builder, but to me a good interior is essential. After all, you'll spend most of your time in the ships than out of it. Flashy capn's cabin, barracks obama and nice gardens for oxygen/food are my usual choices. Interiors do not get enough love.

My favourite though is when I'm building a capital: Build a park with trees, ponds and flowers and then add high-rise skyscrapers to house your VIP's. Admiral gets a full size mansion. I usually add different 'biomes' of parks in case we get some alien who's homesick.

I'll be honest. I will probably never do what you do. A hallway leading to a core from a hangar entrance is about all I've got in me in ships up to 60k mass so far.

Another category to add would be 'fancy Logic systems' because they're getting popular.

May do that, but I haven't seen many examples of that fleshed out and posted as of yet so I thought it might be a bit soon. I do look forward to seeing more options though.

I've just designed a compact power source that makes over 85 million e/sec in an approximate 51x51x31 volume and a simpler 22 million e/sec version that is more reasonable but I don't know what to do with the thing yet.

Wait wut? Tell me your dark arcane secrets!

I wish I had a better eye for aesthetics though because my stuff looks boring.

<Brofist> So much this for me as well.

 

[Aizria]

When all is said and done, aesthetics definitely matter the most to me. When building any ship that I intend to use much over an extended period of time, I typically come up with a vague idea of how I want it to look, build a frame/skeleton for it, skin the skeleton and finish some basic outer details and then I do the internals, weapons, etc, constructing a basic interior as I go.

For me, while I place some importance on functionality, if a ship that I build, excluding basic starting ships on servers and such, is not aesthetically pleasing to me, I don't fly it. Period. I also place a strong priority on having a bare minimum of exposed functional blocks for a given design, and further try hard to use what I call, "functional aesthetics", where "engines" on the outside of a ship are actually crammed full of thrusters on the inside, for example.

Once a ship is fully functional, I then add any extra external detailing that I want, finish out the interior, and make final tweaks to its systems.

 

[SkylordLuke]

ths most important thing when designing a ship? for me,its very easy in a way..simple should i say,if i dont like the ship in first 30mins,good bye :P
and if that ship survives those "30min of terror" hahah i start with exterior first,i never cared too much about systems(or even weapons )
for me it just had to look good,and let the others fill up the ships,but in the last few months i changed a lot,interior is now equaly important to me as the exterior,lots of hard work goes into that.
--Exterior? if there is a small flat area with no details,im mad,so i put up a lot of work,placing all kinds of blocks,to give it more texture from distance,put lights in 2 block thick walls,and what is awesome about that,randomnes is the beauty of nature,so go crazy on random
..but now,with copy paste,i started instaling efficient power/shields systems
--Interior? there..must..be at least 3-4 colors on each wall,i dont care if i use thrusters for floor,if it looks good,it goes there! :P
chairs,storages,pretty pretty pretty ponies :D

 

[TheBlueThunder]

I like to use my imagination when building ships and then go with the flow of building it. From exterior to interior I like to put lots of details but if sometimes simple looks good I leave it that way. And with the system and stats I try to make my ships pretty balance or depending on the type of ship its used for. And now for the weapons design, I like to make it realistic like big cannons will have a big boom. And missiles are my best friend when building. :D

 

[.keJ]

I'm not a very good builder, but to me a good interior is essential. After all, you'll spend most of your time in the ships than out of it. Flashy capn's cabin, barracks obama and nice gardens for oxygen/food are my usual choices. Interiors do not get enough love.

My favourite though is when I'm building a capital: Build a park with trees, ponds and flowers and then add high-rise skyscrapers to house your VIP's. Admiral gets a full size mansion. I usually add different 'biomes' of parks in case we get some alien who's homesick.

Another category to add would be 'fancy Logic systems' because they're getting popular.

I agree...interiors need some love but that is just a product of the raw volume=more stats issue at hand.

 

[ltmauve]

I actually try to strike a balance between the aspects of the design. The thing I am most concerned about is the silhouette of the ship. I will often spend plenty of time redoing areas in order to get a satisfying result.

 

[MrFURB]

If I actively try to create a design out of thin air... Well, it doesn't really work out. I always use some sort of inspiration to get things started out, something that I see and say 'Woah, that looks freaking awesome, let's use it!'
About five minutes into the design I begin thinking something along the lines of 'I could do this part better.' or 'I should add something here.' and within a few more minutes it's impossible to compare what I have designed with that the inspiration for it was. This happens a lot after looking at vessels with a unique overall look to them, such as the vessels from Killzone, or Star Wars/Trek, or just about anything Incap makes.

As for the balance between aesthetics and functionality... Well, I always build the hull or shell of my vessels first because I just don't come across any challenge fitting systems inside. Once you know how things work and fitting vessels becomes a habit you can get almost any shape or size of ship to be within 95% efficiency, and that includes interiors as well. The flexibility of systems in this game allows for nearly any design to be able to fight against any other vessel in it's mass-bracket, excluding RP ships with over 75% of their volume being interiors.

There are designs which lend themselves to a greater surface/volume ratio than others. Having thin outcroppings covered in hull such as wings, pillars, or external tubes are good ways to increase the mass and cost of a vessel without increasing it's stats. Having a rounded, smooth hull without many crinkles or extended areas can increase the amount of useable space for systems or interior without adding a lot of extra surface area to your vessel.

...I guess one could say that I tend to walk between good looking and combat-ready vessels, although I myself really don't see why someone needs to choose one or the other. With a little bit of knowledge of game mechanics and an eye for reducing redundancy in interior space you could make both an RP-friendly and competitive ship.