How do you guys plan your ship frames? Do you just build from the core, or make a separate structure and then copy:paste it in position? Moreover, where do you put your core? On an exterior bridge, for ease of access, or way in the middle, so it's hard to hit it?
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I visualize the general shape I want, then build a power core that fits those lines. I wrap the power core in shield generators, then wrap that whole core in armor. From there I add in systems and hull and interior spaces as appropriate. Then I usually fly it for a few days (in lots of simulated fights with large and small ships as well as in MultiPlayer), make tweaks to the systems balance, thicken armor or install bulkheads where I've repeatedly seen damage cause crippling, etc. Once I feel like it's pretty healthy and robust and serves its function, I take a bit of time to clean up the appearance.
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More and more, I build out the floor plan of the living section of the ship and then frame it. That way I help ensure that I don't end up trying to cram stuff in or have weird shifts in floor/ceiling height in the one area I'm going to be looking at for the life of the ship. Then again, there are times when a ship design is inspired by it's exterior appearance, or a particular feature, and I frame out the exterior to make sure I nail that down before doing much else. I think in those cases I have a strong feeling that I'll have the room I'll need for the interior. A missile ship I've been working on recently is a good example of this, where I wanted to have missile silo's on the top of the ship along its dorsal. I built those first to make sure that I got the layout I wanted, and now I'm going back to figure out the rest of the layout.
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I think you might want to check that thread. It's not the same questions but you can take some ideas spoke there.
Personnally i do some drawing before starting, then i think at the best place to place the core, where the different system will be. For example where i should put the power lines to be the safiest and so on. After the planning roughly done it's time to draw the shape of the ship in starmade. For example a small thing that i started yesterday :
Then put the system where they should be, change things because you didn't planned enough place and so on until it's finished. Also i like to place the core on the bridge but it isn't always the case.
Personnally i do some drawing before starting, then i think at the best place to place the core, where the different system will be. For example where i should put the power lines to be the safiest and so on. After the planning roughly done it's time to draw the shape of the ship in starmade. For example a small thing that i started yesterday :
Then put the system where they should be, change things because you didn't planned enough place and so on until it's finished. Also i like to place the core on the bridge but it isn't always the case.
Edymnion
Carebear Extraordinaire!
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Lately I've been building my carrier titan from the inside out.
This is an older picture now, but it gets the point across. I started with a core room, put some hallways on it, then played around with the hanger bay spacing. I'm placing all of the interior/living/important spaces down first, and then later I will build the hull around the interior to make sure I have enough space to put everything I want in there.
I have vague notions of what kind of detailing I want, and the general shape of the ship, but the end product and exactly how it looks is going to be almost as much a surprise to me as it is to anyone else.
This is an older picture now, but it gets the point across. I started with a core room, put some hallways on it, then played around with the hanger bay spacing. I'm placing all of the interior/living/important spaces down first, and then later I will build the hull around the interior to make sure I have enough space to put everything I want in there.
I have vague notions of what kind of detailing I want, and the general shape of the ship, but the end product and exactly how it looks is going to be almost as much a surprise to me as it is to anyone else.
Dr. Whammy
Executive Constructologist of the United Star Axis
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Before I do anything else, I always "turn the lights on..." Basically, I build power lines out from the core area and define the overall dimensions of the ship.
Power grid is always the first consideration. At this stage, I make the most efficient layout I can and push toward the 2,000,000 power soft cap and usually a little beyond so I don't lose that high power output if I take damage. Then I start to shape it a bit and plan out things like hull spacing, thruster locations and computers. Everything else will fall into place once that's taken care of.
By the time My ship actually looks like a ship, power, thrust and computer placement are all set up and I just fill it interior with weapons, shields, and interior.
Then I "greeble' the outside with some windows, vents and hull superstructure components. Add my turrets and air locks. Then BAM!... Starship...
Power grid is always the first consideration. At this stage, I make the most efficient layout I can and push toward the 2,000,000 power soft cap and usually a little beyond so I don't lose that high power output if I take damage. Then I start to shape it a bit and plan out things like hull spacing, thruster locations and computers. Everything else will fall into place once that's taken care of.
By the time My ship actually looks like a ship, power, thrust and computer placement are all set up and I just fill it interior with weapons, shields, and interior.
Then I "greeble' the outside with some windows, vents and hull superstructure components. Add my turrets and air locks. Then BAM!... Starship...
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How I build a ship depends to a large degree on how large it is and if it will make use of medium to large turrets. My turrets are nested ball turrets, which take up a lot of room inside the ship. They look deceptively small on the outside, but pack a huge wallop compared to similarly sized turrets that are not nested ball turrets.
If the ship is such that it will not use such turrets, typically anything under 10K mass, it's shape will be primarily determined by the power structure I use for power generation. There are a number of options for such power lines and I will pick one based loosely on how I want it's final shape to be. Often however, I will have little idea what the final ship will look like until I am very close to finishing it.
For large ships using turrets, power is less of an issue. They are large enough that one of my standard power structures will fit somewhere along the length, height and breadth of the ship sufficient to generate maximum power regardless. In that case, my ship planning always starts with me laying out the turret placement on a wire frame. I want turrets to have clear fields of fire, for them to not obstruct one another and be minimally obstructed by other parts of the ship. While wireframing, I will also box other any other critical interior and exterior elements so I'll know they will fit and what impact they might have on the ship's shape and function. By doing all this in wireframe before hand, I can eliminate most issues that would otherwise force a complete redo.
Once I am satisfied with the wireframe, if the core was not already properly placed, I will redo the wireframe with the core placed exactly. Typically I will actually install the turrets first thing, as the ship will quite literally be built around the turrets. Then if I am intending any interior I will usually build the bridge first, then any essential passages and rooms so I don't inadvertently mess up an area I will likely see frequently. Then I will install any mission critical elements that take precedence over any aesthetic concerns.
From that point, I will normally wedge the exterior hull so I know what space I have on the inside and then proceed to fill the inside (any not used up by interior spaces anyway) with systems such as shields, thrusters, etc. Once it is fully wedged, I will give it a once over to see if there is anything I can add to the exterior that will increase either it's functionality or it's combat performance. Frequently at this point I will figure out several places where I could add additional point defense turrets, and I will make whatever changes are necessary to do so.
I will also make a tiny concession to cosmetics here and see if there aren't at least a few tiny touches that could not be made to give a ship a bit more color or texture. As little as a single line of complimentary color can make a real difference to the visual impact of a ship. I typically do very little greebling. (Greebling is adding decorative features and textures that have no bearing on functionality or combat, and exist solely to make the ship visually more interesting.) I personally do not find such greebling attractive, I find most ships use WAY too much of it. I like my ships showing what they do, sheer functional efficiency in all domains, be it civil or military.
If the ship is such that it will not use such turrets, typically anything under 10K mass, it's shape will be primarily determined by the power structure I use for power generation. There are a number of options for such power lines and I will pick one based loosely on how I want it's final shape to be. Often however, I will have little idea what the final ship will look like until I am very close to finishing it.
For large ships using turrets, power is less of an issue. They are large enough that one of my standard power structures will fit somewhere along the length, height and breadth of the ship sufficient to generate maximum power regardless. In that case, my ship planning always starts with me laying out the turret placement on a wire frame. I want turrets to have clear fields of fire, for them to not obstruct one another and be minimally obstructed by other parts of the ship. While wireframing, I will also box other any other critical interior and exterior elements so I'll know they will fit and what impact they might have on the ship's shape and function. By doing all this in wireframe before hand, I can eliminate most issues that would otherwise force a complete redo.
Once I am satisfied with the wireframe, if the core was not already properly placed, I will redo the wireframe with the core placed exactly. Typically I will actually install the turrets first thing, as the ship will quite literally be built around the turrets. Then if I am intending any interior I will usually build the bridge first, then any essential passages and rooms so I don't inadvertently mess up an area I will likely see frequently. Then I will install any mission critical elements that take precedence over any aesthetic concerns.
From that point, I will normally wedge the exterior hull so I know what space I have on the inside and then proceed to fill the inside (any not used up by interior spaces anyway) with systems such as shields, thrusters, etc. Once it is fully wedged, I will give it a once over to see if there is anything I can add to the exterior that will increase either it's functionality or it's combat performance. Frequently at this point I will figure out several places where I could add additional point defense turrets, and I will make whatever changes are necessary to do so.
I will also make a tiny concession to cosmetics here and see if there aren't at least a few tiny touches that could not be made to give a ship a bit more color or texture. As little as a single line of complimentary color can make a real difference to the visual impact of a ship. I typically do very little greebling. (Greebling is adding decorative features and textures that have no bearing on functionality or combat, and exist solely to make the ship visually more interesting.) I personally do not find such greebling attractive, I find most ships use WAY too much of it. I like my ships showing what they do, sheer functional efficiency in all domains, be it civil or military.
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