The Sphere

Accountant · Post by **Accountant** » Wed Feb 10, 2010 11:19 pm

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]

49rTbird · Post by **49rTbird** » Thu Feb 11, 2010 12:24 am

Make it square and sell it to the Borg. LOL

:D:P

Accountant · Post by **Accountant** » Thu Feb 11, 2010 12:31 am

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

49rTbird · Post by **49rTbird** » Thu Feb 11, 2010 12:49 am

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.

Post by **Marvin** » Thu Feb 11, 2010 5:44 am

Originally posted by thetiebers

Make it square and sell it to the Borg. LOL :D:P

Too late. First Contact.

TheCalebB · Post by **TheCalebB** » Thu Feb 11, 2010 6:31 am

very....... interesting?

alpha45 · Post by **alpha45** » Thu Feb 11, 2010 1:55 pm

Eh, I'd take this over a flying cardboard box anyday. At least it's practical.

Accountant · Post by **Accountant** » Thu Feb 11, 2010 2:21 pm

Interesting design theory.

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

49rTbird · Post by **49rTbird** » Thu Feb 11, 2010 4:45 pm

It would be an easier design for any future force fields as they would tend to radiate out from a center.

Post by **Marvin** » Thu Feb 11, 2010 9:01 pm

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.)

Maarschalk · Post by **Maarschalk** » Thu Feb 11, 2010 11:10 pm

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....

:P:P:P:P

Accountant · Post by **Accountant** » Fri Feb 12, 2010 1:03 am

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]

Post by **Marvin** » Fri Feb 12, 2010 5:13 am

Is it possible, then, to just move the three status screens so they overlap the three forward partitions?

Accountant · Post by **Accountant** » Fri Feb 12, 2010 5:50 am

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

Accountant · Post by **Accountant** » Fri Feb 12, 2010 6:09 am

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

Sinbad · Post by **Sinbad** » Fri Feb 12, 2010 12:50 pm

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.

Accountant · Post by **Accountant** » Fri Feb 12, 2010 5:33 pm

@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]

Post by **Marvin** » Fri Feb 12, 2010 6:58 pm

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].

MMaggio · Post by **MMaggio** » Fri Feb 12, 2010 7:42 pm

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!

49rTbird · Post by **49rTbird** » Fri Feb 12, 2010 7:48 pm

Or Cockpit must have it's own gravity control. Lol

Accountant · Post by **Accountant** » Fri Feb 12, 2010 8:08 pm

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