Accountant
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Registered: 12-24-2008
Location: Milwaukee, WI
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The Sphere
Just so all of you know, the name of this mod release is the reason I am an accountant and not a marketer 
Some of you may remember this thread that alpha45 started with the article about space battles. After I read that article, I decided to create a ship that the author
described would be a probable design in the future. As you will soon see from the screenshots, the result is ungainly I am quite sure the reason games and video media use sleek designs is because they
look so much better than a drifting ball.
I created 2 versions of my design, one with maneuvering engines and one with exhaust ports (that line up with EL's maneuvering thruster locations).
I also created a cockpit specifically for the ships, which I think looks much cooler than the ships themselves. With the cockpit being in the middle
of the ship, there would be no windows to the outside. As a result, the only way to pass on visual information would be through the use of cameras
and computer screens. I have modeled the cockpit to simulate being in a round enclosure with screens all around. Obviously, with this sort of
visibility, it would be prudent to keep visual obstructions to a minimum. Therefore, this cockpit is the definition of minimalism, comprising only of
the pilot's seat and avionics screens.
Ship Link
Cockpit Link
Cockpit 2 Link
Changelog:
V1.00: Initial Release
V1.01: Changed UV Mapping
Here are some screenshots.
Sphere version 1
Sphere version 2
Cockpit
As you can see, the ship is kinda fugly. I like the cockpit much more than the ship. Guess which mod took me longer to make 
-Accountant
[Edited on 2-12-2010 by Accountant]
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thetiebers
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Make it square and sell it to the Borg. LOL
CLAN "UNIVERSE EXPLORERS" "[UE]"  AKA : [UE]49rTbird "There is no going back (Yet) so Make Today Count!
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Accountant
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Registered: 12-24-2008
Location: Milwaukee, WI
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Lol thetiebers! I work for no Borg. Maybe our spherical ships will be the weakness of the Borg and we will be impossible to assimilate.
-Accountant
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thetiebers
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Accountant
Lol thetiebers! I work for no Borg. Maybe our spherical ships will be the weakness of the Borg and we will be impossible to assimilate.
-Accountant |
LOL, I like the openness of the cockpit also.
CLAN "UNIVERSE EXPLORERS" "[UE]" AKA : [UE]49rTbird "There is no going back (Yet) so Make Today Count!
Play All Day!
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Marvin
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Mood: I think ... I feel good about it.
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| Quote: | Originally posted by thetiebers
Make it square and sell it to the Borg. LOL
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Too late. First Contact.
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TheCalebB
Lieutenant Jr. Grade
Posts: 25
Registered: 7-18-2009
Location: Adelaide Australia
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Mood: Unpredictable
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very....... interesting?
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alpha45
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Mood: Excited!
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Eh, I'd take this over a flying cardboard box anyday. At least it's practical.
\"Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.\" -Anonymous
\"Love your enemies. It makes them so damned mad.\" -P.D. East
\"Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being
shared.\" -Buddha
Delicious brains! |
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Accountant
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| Quote: | | Interesting design theory. |
| Quote: | | very....... interesting? |
You guys can be honest if you do not like it. I don't even like it all that much. I designed the ship only to be an exercise, a
visualization if you will, of what future ship design could be. I was not initially going to release the ship, and the only reason I did was because
I modeled the cockpit and kinda liked it.
I hope our future spacecraft look nothing like this I would much rather they
look like cheop's Stingray, Nigel's Bat, alpha's Havok Mk 1, Eclipse's Talisman, Wasp's Wasp, or any one of the other really good looking models 
-Accountant
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thetiebers
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It would be an easier design for any future force fields as they would tend to radiate out from a center.
CLAN "UNIVERSE EXPLORERS" "[UE]" AKA : [UE]49rTbird "There is no going back (Yet) so Make Today Count!
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Marvin
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Mood: I think ... I feel good about it.
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If the command chair was in the center and could rotate in all three axes,
the sphere would be the perfect shape ... allowing the pilot equal-distant access to equipment attached to the interior. Unfortunately, the cockpit
only has skinny braces ... not much space for attaching anything.
 Except maybe a variety of HUDs. (Personally, I like the design ... reminds me of
a "habitat" design I saw years and years ago for multi-generation voyages. But, a more practical mult-generation ship would be ring-shaped ... with
the ring spinning so as to generate artificial gravity.)
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Maarschalk
Captain
Posts: 8926
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Location: USA, Also check your six!
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Mood: Always sunny!
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I think I would use a design like that for exploring and research purposes. It would be perfect for that....forget about the Borg, they explore to
asimilate.......LOL....
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Accountant
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| Quote: | | Unfortunately, the cockpit only has skinny braces |
Technically, those "skinny braces" are the gaps between the computer screens that display the outside world to the pilot. Remember, the cockpit is
deep within the ship and there are no windows. I modeled the braces to attempt to simulate computer screen edges. It takes a little bit of
imagination, but the illusion is possible.
So, because those are merely edges of computer screens, it would be possible to attach something to the wall, much as I have done with the two side
avionics displays. All you have to do is "cut out" some of the camera display and attach a fitting in its place.
-Accountant
[Edited on 2-12-2010 by Accountant]
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Marvin
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Is it possible, then, to just move the three status screens so they overlap the three forward partitions?
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Accountant
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I could try doing that, but doing so could cause the screens to be unreadably small because, in order to make the screen movement match the ship's
movement, I would have to move them further back.
I could play around with it and post something in a day or so.
-Accountant
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Accountant
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Registered: 12-24-2008
Location: Milwaukee, WI
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I have changed the UV mapping for the two frames. I think what I have now is a considerable improvement over what I originally had. Download link is
the same.
-Accountant
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MCCON
Lieutenant Commander
Posts: 600
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I like the cup holder by the flight stick where you can put your can of beer so it won't spill during a dogfight.
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When I die, I want to go peacefully like my Grandfather did, in his sleep... not screaming, like the passengers in his car. |
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Accountant
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Posts: 488
Registered: 12-24-2008
Location: Milwaukee, WI
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@MCCON
Yes, I like the cup holder as well. It has sort of become my trademark as every cockpit I have created has had a cupholder somewhere
@Marvin
I did what I think you suggested. The download link for the Sphere Cockpit type 2 is in the first post. Below are screenshots of what the new type
looks like.
-Accountant
[Edited on 2-12-2010 by Accountant]
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Marvin
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My fault, Cupholder (er, Accountant) ... I didn't check the parameters for "gauges.txt" before making the suggestion. I thought (incorrectly) that you
could change the size of each display so that it would fit in an entire "window" ... but, checking the ReadMe for the customizing kit, I see I was wro
... wro ... wron .... [choke].
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MMaggio
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I hope that "beer holder" is in a gimbal mount!
Even in space, I have managed to spill some beer.
It really messes up the electronics!
\"To kill hubris with humility is a goal rarely achieved by men\"
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thetiebers
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Or Cockpit must have it's own gravity control. Lol
CLAN "UNIVERSE EXPLORERS" "[UE]" AKA : [UE]49rTbird "There is no going back (Yet) so Make Today Count!
Play All Day!
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Accountant
Lieutenant
Posts: 488
Registered: 12-24-2008
Location: Milwaukee, WI
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | | My fault, Cupholder (er, Accountant) ... I didn't check the parameters for "gauges.txt" before making the suggestion. I thought (incorrectly) that you
could change the size of each display so that it would fit in an entire "window" |
Yeah, I wish this was possible because I am sure the result would look pretty cool.
Thanks for the suggestion.
-Accountant
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