Help with detailed ship exterior

[Rigel]

Hello,
I need some help with my ship. Some time ago I decided to build a ship. But I didn't want to make just another flying brick loaded with tons systems. So I made a ship, which tries to approach the "reality" as close as possible (for instance - it has toilets divided into "men only" and "women only" on every floor, escape corridors leading through the whole ship right to numerous escape pods, storages of food, water tanks, kitchen,..)
But this leads to my problem - because of the RP point of view - outer hull is just one huge piece of grey armor. The whole ship is smooth, because logically all of those "cables on the surface of the ship" are just weaknesses of the ship - they have no place on a true battleship, because their only purpose is to make a ship more aesthetic. Unfortunately - because of absence of these "aesthetic elements" on the outer hull the ship looks just like that flying brick. And I can't figure out a way, how to make the ship look better (not that simple as it looks now) - but also keep the RP value of the ship..
Here are pictures of my ship:

Spoiler: Ship 1

Spoiler: Ship 2

Spoiler: Ship 3

By the way - again, due to RP requirements, are blocks like "ice" and "lava" unacceptable - maybe engines full of glowing ice looks nice, but they makes no sense.

I'll be glad for any idea that might help me, thanks
(btw. sorry for my english, I didn't want to hurt your eyes :p)

 

[jayman38]

1. I recommend using different colors. For example, you can place artificial seams using black armor.
2. Similarly, you can break up the solid sheets of metal with white and dark grey blocks.
3. If you don't mind breaking up the surface a bit, you can use slabs to make raised plates or even a whole plate of random-height "greeble".
4. Maybe throw some caution blocks around the airlocks or near engine ports.
5. Place down large sheets of Plex or Blast door to simulate access/cargo/maintenance hatches. (even if they don't lead anywhere)
6. Antenna farms with deactivated light sticks.
7. Radar dishes.
8. Maintenance structures on the outside, built with mesh and scaffold blocks. (Basically, left-on construction supports)

 

[Stike7g5]

First off let me begin by saying that is one awesome looking ship you have built there! I love the fact you went through all the trouble of building a purpose built RP ship and included everything including the kitchen sink. (At least there better be a kitchen sink. If not add a kitchen sink, it is important :P ) Any how I cannot wait to see how this turns out and hopefully I can be of some assistance with the some of these tips I have picked up in my time on StarMade.

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Never doubt the power of ice, you can achieve a great deal of detail with ice with a few lights placed behind it. A good example could be the Imperial class Star Destroyer I am working on.

The Main engines have about 30-40m radius of ice in the centre portions with about 5-7m radius of blue lights (This way I can shut off the engines for complete Role Play functionality) and it provides a nice glow.

As for the smooth hull, try varying the colours or hull types. If RP is your ultimate goal than don't worry too much about combat orientated specs. Vary between Standard, Advanced and Basic Hull of the colour you use to give it a worn out look, or battle damage. Also don't be afraid to use other block types as well, like in areas where one may find cooling vents (Wiring may not be logical on the exterior but vents to well vent exhaust is logical) use blocks like Metal Mesh or Grills or even Plex/Blast doors to give it more depth or texture. Depth is also a good one, Try adding Layers or entrenched breaks in the armour. Armour plating is not often made in large sheets due to either the manufacturing/transportation or installation issues that can arise from it. A good example to take a look at is what lordzorax does with his RP Star Wars ships, such as the work he did on the exterior of the Mandalorian Jehavey'ir.

lordzorax also uses other blocks like systems blocks to add detail to his ships. One such example is scape shuttle he replicated from the Star Wars Legends where he used Thrusters for added detail. Paint Canisters also work adds barrels for weapons or antenna for sensors

or what I did with the tops and bottoms of Jump Drive modules for the added round textures in the hull on the VT-49 Decimator

Try slabs. Slabs is relatively new sort of speak, but it can add a lot to the aesthetics of a ship. It can be used to provide that extra depth to a ship or tidy up some of the more "Corrugated angles" that can plague the ships looks. using all the mentioned tips above I was able to transform my Fury-Class Interceptor from the Star Wars The Old Republic MMO from this

to this

And I am still improving it as I learn more and more from the greatest source available the Community. Don't be afraid to take a look at other peoples' ships and creations, message them asking them how they achieve certain looks.

 

[Crusade]

Use all the blocks you possibly can to get detail. I use activation gate modules for flooring, ice crystal for highlighting details, orange standard armor for piping, as well as paint and rod lights for antennae.

 

[BJammin]

One thing I always have to tell myself when adding hull details is, "don't give yourself any pointless rules." Yes, it's nice to follow a singular design philosophy on one ship, but don't let it keep you from taking advantage of your full creativity. Maybe you think, "I'd really like to add some X to my ship, but for Y reason, it might not work." My answer: try it anyway. You can always take it off if you hate it, but it might also lead you into another idea that's 10x better.

Also, don't expect it to look perfect on the first try. As you keep building new stuff and trying new things, you start to become more familiar with your own style and what you're best at. Just keep at it, and you'll be building uber-artistic builds left and right before you know it.

 

[StarWars1981]

Obey the First Law of StarMade Construction:
Place blocks. If you don't like it, place some more.
If you still don't like it, delete and place more blocks.
If you don't like it, repeat above steps until satisfied.
Or ... dock a turret on top and call it decorated.

 

[Col_Kurtz]

For me it's all about trial and error. The most basic advice I can give in building, be it MC or SM, is break up solid lines and flat surfaces. Not everything has to have a use. By that I mean place lines on your ship that look like wires or even boxes. They don't have to always serve a practical use. GL man and keep us posted!

 

[Reilly Reese]

Good old fashioned ribbing always works.

 

[Madman198237]

I go with the "Hey look, it's there. Live with it. Oh, and slap some turretS on it." Singular turrets aren't good enough.

 

[Rigel]

Thank you all for your responses. I tried to change colors - from grey to dark grey (other colors looks really weird) - but it didn't work in contrast with those blast doors. So the "light" grey is the only option for me. Caution blocks didn't work too, simply because there wasn't enough of them (and I don't want to add more just on random places). Cargo hatches already are in the ship - but they are covered with the blast doors, so they are not that visible. Antennas are a great idea, I'll try to add them on the ship somehow.
Stike7g5 - yes, in the kitchen is a kitchen sink, as well as fridge or fans, which are supposed to ventilate steam out of the kitchen :D I like that idea of entrenched breaks it the armour. The problem is with realisation. I tried for several hours to use the wedges somehow and interlace them with nearby armor plates. But the result was always the same - the ship looked like one huge jigsaw puzzle. So next time I'll try using slabs instead of wedges - and more complicated shapes of armor plates than just squares or rectangles.
And about those "pointless rules" - I'll gladly use every material ingame to increase details of any ship, which I'll build in future, but not on this ship. Those stupid rules are there because of the roleplay. This ship, Thanatos, should be just a tool for war. It's designed like a submarine, for instance - submarines aren't nice as well - they won't win any prize in a competition called "The most beautyful vessel in the ocean", but in a case of war, they'll be laughing at those fancy ships :P So only on Thanatos - roleplay (pointless rules) > decoration
Ribbing - I also tried this one, but I didn't like it. In fact I love the design of Battlestar Galactica for instance, but I just don't like it on Thanatos. And about the turrets - I don't want to add any on the surface of this ship. Thanatos has only anti-missile turrets and few anti-fighter turrets - but all of them are pretty weak. They're hidden under those round blast doors. Again, because of the roleplay - this ship shouldn't be invincible - it has one huge anti-matter cannon, few smaller missile launchers and few tiny turrets, but nothing more. Every ship have to have some strengths and weaknesses - For example, Thanatos's strengths are main cannon and armoring, weaknesses are weak shields and small number of turrets